or weeks until a hapless Anquesh battle group crossed their path? Kai's squad was on a standard border patrol when the Earth ships struck them in a move that surprised all his officers and crew.
One minute empty space stretched in front of them. In the next, a barrage of laser fire blasted into the unsuspecting Anquesh battleships.
Five ships of the line were disabled in that skirmish and were currently dealing with failing systems. The ships that remained battle-worthy were scrambling to complete repairs before they encountered the enemy again.
They had run out of time.
Kai looked at the battlefield map projected on the holoscreen in the center of the command deck. Ten more enemy ships had appeared. But where did they come from?
Did Earth have a new cloaking technology? A faster, better engine? Anything was possible, but Anquera had heard no rumors of surprises from Earth.
His ships positioned themselves in a semi-circle flanking his vessel, the Ruvien, but half of them were too damaged to fight. His hands passed over different places on the map, magnifying the view of the enemy fleet and bringing various locations into focus.
The Earth ships remained in their original position. It was a clear stretch of space. There were no planets, asteroids or nebulas to hide reinforcements. Where did they get ten additional ships?
Humans fought differently than the Anquesh, and Kai found it difficult to put himself in their shoes. Most Anquesh commanders would rush all their ships into battle immediately, but the Earth fleet wasn't moving. They must be damaged.
He continued to study the map as his officers reported on each ship in the sector group. Kai heard defeat in the voices of his officers. The arrival of the new Earth ships didn't only provide reinforcements. Their sudden appearance was meant to demoralize their enemy. And it was working.
But there was no way they could be there.
An enemy round of laser fire jolted the Ruvien. It was a relatively weak blast, but Kai fell against the base of the holoscreen rising from the deck. His hand passed harmlessly through the holoscreen.
"Jod, order our functional ships to follow us. Tell the damaged ships to hold back. They only have one long-range weapon and its charge must be weak. Otherwise, they would have continued attacking all our ships. We're going to take this opportunity to strike at close range. I don't think the extra ten ships exist."
"We have definite signatures on all the engines."
"Then they're very clever holographic projections, or something designed to trick our sensors. They can't be there, so they aren't."
"Yes, sir!" Jod said reluctantly. Kai was sure the man questioned his sanity, but he was confident the soldier would carry out his orders. Kai hoped that the rest of his crew would follow the chain of command, despite his failures of the past few hours.
He listened to the orders and various reports of the Ruvien's repair status. They put the shields at maximum strength by taking power from the life support systems. A third of the decks were evacuated and sealed.
Many crew members were injured, but the medical bay operated under triage protocols and only accepted people with life-threatening injuries. Anyone with medical training was being pulled from their regular duties so they could attend the wounded.
Time slowed down as Kai watched his embattled sector group advance on the Earth ships. It was a slow dance that would end in death. If the Anquesh emerged victoriously, it would be by the will of the gods.
The battle board flashed as they arrived at the engagement point. It was far point from the enemy ships, but their weapons could hit their targets. Kai didn't want to wait.
"Fire!" His voice rumbled through the communications system of his ship. Blue laser blasts hit the lead ship, causing explosions and making the Earth vessel start to list.
A cheer went up around the bridge, but Kai knew better than to join in. He saw the forward ship recover
One minute empty space stretched in front of them. In the next, a barrage of laser fire blasted into the unsuspecting Anquesh battleships.
Five ships of the line were disabled in that skirmish and were currently dealing with failing systems. The ships that remained battle-worthy were scrambling to complete repairs before they encountered the enemy again.
They had run out of time.
Kai looked at the battlefield map projected on the holoscreen in the center of the command deck. Ten more enemy ships had appeared. But where did they come from?
Did Earth have a new cloaking technology? A faster, better engine? Anything was possible, but Anquera had heard no rumors of surprises from Earth.
His ships positioned themselves in a semi-circle flanking his vessel, the Ruvien, but half of them were too damaged to fight. His hands passed over different places on the map, magnifying the view of the enemy fleet and bringing various locations into focus.
The Earth ships remained in their original position. It was a clear stretch of space. There were no planets, asteroids or nebulas to hide reinforcements. Where did they get ten additional ships?
Humans fought differently than the Anquesh, and Kai found it difficult to put himself in their shoes. Most Anquesh commanders would rush all their ships into battle immediately, but the Earth fleet wasn't moving. They must be damaged.
He continued to study the map as his officers reported on each ship in the sector group. Kai heard defeat in the voices of his officers. The arrival of the new Earth ships didn't only provide reinforcements. Their sudden appearance was meant to demoralize their enemy. And it was working.
But there was no way they could be there.
An enemy round of laser fire jolted the Ruvien. It was a relatively weak blast, but Kai fell against the base of the holoscreen rising from the deck. His hand passed harmlessly through the holoscreen.
"Jod, order our functional ships to follow us. Tell the damaged ships to hold back. They only have one long-range weapon and its charge must be weak. Otherwise, they would have continued attacking all our ships. We're going to take this opportunity to strike at close range. I don't think the extra ten ships exist."
"We have definite signatures on all the engines."
"Then they're very clever holographic projections, or something designed to trick our sensors. They can't be there, so they aren't."
"Yes, sir!" Jod said reluctantly. Kai was sure the man questioned his sanity, but he was confident the soldier would carry out his orders. Kai hoped that the rest of his crew would follow the chain of command, despite his failures of the past few hours.
He listened to the orders and various reports of the Ruvien's repair status. They put the shields at maximum strength by taking power from the life support systems. A third of the decks were evacuated and sealed.
Many crew members were injured, but the medical bay operated under triage protocols and only accepted people with life-threatening injuries. Anyone with medical training was being pulled from their regular duties so they could attend the wounded.
Time slowed down as Kai watched his embattled sector group advance on the Earth ships. It was a slow dance that would end in death. If the Anquesh emerged victoriously, it would be by the will of the gods.
The battle board flashed as they arrived at the engagement point. It was far point from the enemy ships, but their weapons could hit their targets. Kai didn't want to wait.
"Fire!" His voice rumbled through the communications system of his ship. Blue laser blasts hit the lead ship, causing explosions and making the Earth vessel start to list.
A cheer went up around the bridge, but Kai knew better than to join in. He saw the forward ship recover
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