Starstorm (Starstorm Saga) (18 page)

“Good, now set her down just in front of the colony.” Kondor then left the cockpit sealing the door behind him.

He was then in the troop compartment with his men. There were fifty of them all together. Each soldier was wearing the same type of menacing black space suit as their commander. They dawned their helmets and Kondor moved to the very rear of the barge were there was a large ramp style door. He would be the first one out of the door. He was always the first one out.

They heard the whine of the engines as the large assault barge slowed to a hover and then set itself down on the Titan terrain in front of the main bio dome. There was a rush of air as the ramp-door lowered to the ground. Kondor rushed down it carrying his disruptor rifle and was followed by his fifty soldiers. As soon as the last soldier was off, the assault barge took back off, it’s ramp closing as it climbed up into the air. The next barge landed just as quickly and let off its fifty soldiers. Each remaining barge did this in turn until all five had made their drop offs and there were 250 Zidian soldiers on the ground, and ready to enter the colony.

While the troops prepared to enter the colony, the assault barges circled above, standing by at any time to give air support.  Now Kondor was tasked with getting into the colony. It would be so easy just to blast his way inside the bio-dome, but that would cause it to decompress as well as expose the inside of the bio dome to the extreme cold and un-breathable atmosphere of Titan. Kondor had been given instructions to take them alive if possible. He decided to use a small portable force field projector, but he was unsure if that would work. The interference of the human sun had rendered the force fields of the fleet useless. He hoped, however, that here on Titan’s surface a force field would be just strong enough to hold back Titan’s atmospheric pressure.

He directed the set up of the projector while other troops set up an explosive charge on the wall of the colony.  Kondor’s plan was to use the charge to blow a large opening in the wall of the colony. He would then use the projector to seal it with a force field. The field itself would be passive. It would be programmed to allow he and his troops to pass through without exposing the interior of the colony to the hazardous environment outside. However, if Kondor was wrong then the colony would be exposed to the moon’s unforgiving atmosphere and temperature. If that happened, then most of the humans inside would die before he and his men could seal it. He really did not care one way or the other, but Commander Akdon wanted them alive and it was his duty to try. So far the enemy had shown no hostility. The human colonists had supposedly broadcast their surrender. Kondor was skeptical but would know for sure soon enough. Finally everything was set and in place.

Ever since returning to Titan colony, Sam Grayson like all the remaining colonists were on edge. He couldn’t believe that the colony’s leaders had surrendered, but then what choice had they had? With the Space Force gone, they were defenseless. The only alternative would have been total annihilation. They knew the aliens—the Zidians had been able to understand their surrender message. Whether or not they were going to accept it, was another matter.

The streets of the colony were filled with people. They watched through the huge transparent dome that was over them as five Zidian assault barges flew past. When one of them opened fire on the ridge outside the colony, people started to panic. They felt for sure they were next. The security officers, however, were able to calm down the large crowd of people.

Sam was on a platform that allowed him to look out over the Titan landscape. Behind him, the small circular city was spread out. Outside, he and some of the colonists watched as the Zidians were dropped off outside the colony. The seven foot tall figures were clad in black armored space suits that struck terror into the colonists. Sam watched as the Zidian soldiers started setting up equipment outside of the colony’s perimeter. As scared as he was, Sam could not help but be somewhat curious about what they were planning to do.

Suddenly, there was a large explosion in the wall of the colony. Sam felt for sure that they would all die. With the biosphere breached, it was only a matter of minutes before the air would become totally un-breathable and the temperature so low as to keep nitrogen in a liquid state. But as the roar of the explosion died down, Sam noticed that there was no sound of a rapid change in pressure and the temperature and air were as yet fine.

“Brigadier! The Force field is holding!” Kondor surveyed the entry he had made in the colony. It was a gaping hole roughly ten meters wide. A pale green translucent wall of energy shimmered over the opening.

“The moons atmosphere is reflecting part of the interference but not enough. This barrier won’t last long!”

“How long?”

“An hour at most.”

Kondor signaled his assault barge. “Put me through to the Krusha.” A moment later he was speaking with Akdon. “Commander, we have breached the colony and have a containment field in place, however, it won’t last long. We are going in to secure the humans. Request transports.”

“Very well,” replied Akdon.

Kondor and his troops then began to step through the force field into the colony.

When the first few Zidians stepped through the force field into the colony Sam Grayson did not know what to expect, nor did the rest of the colony’s remaining population. The Zidian soldiers poured through the hole brandishing their weapons. All wore solid black space suits and carried sleek rifles. One of them, however, stood out. He stood nearly a head taller than the others. His shimming black armor was embroidered with fierce looking markings. He pulled out a hand scanner and analyzed the environment. He then undid the seal around his neck and pulled of his helmet. There was an audible gasp at his appearance. His skin was rough and a very dark brown. His forehead was high. He had a beak like mouth. His right eye was like a large black marble. In the place where his left eye should have been, was a cybernetic implant which glowed red. He towered over the tallest of the humans. He walked to the forefront of the invaders and bellowed at the humans.

“Who’s in charge?”

Hesitantly Governor Isabella Hawk stepped forward. “I....I am.”

The Zidian pointed his disruptor rifle at her and pulled the trigger. A bright blue blast lanced out from it and hit her in the chest. It cut straight through her and she fell to her knees. She tried in vain to gasp for breath but the laser blast had damaged vital organs. She doubled over dead. There were screams of panic from the colonists but the Zidians menacingly brandished their weapons and regained order. Kondor lowered the glowing rifle muzzle and ordered his troops to take charge of the terrified colonists.

The Zidians began to group them together. No one knew what fate awaited them. After several minutes three large transports roared overhead and set down outside the colony. The Zidians hastily erected three corridors. Each one ran from a transport to the hole in the colony through the force field. The Zidians then began to march the humans through the force field and up the tunnels to the transports. Sam found himself herded along with all the others to whatever doom awaited them.

Squad leader Brel awoke to find himself in the Krusha’s medical ward. The fleet had received his suit’s automated distress call and retrieved him. He was out of his space suit and comfortably in bed. His head, however, still ached.

“Ah so you are awake,” said the Zidian doctor. “State your rank and name.”

“Squad Leader, Brel.”

The doctor took a few more scans. “Good. You may leave. Go to your chambers and get rest.” Brel got out of the bed and dressed in a casual uniform. He then headed out the doors and into the long corridor that ran the whole length of the ship. He was not in very high spirits. In fact he almost wished he had died.

He believed his future in the Zidian military to be finished. The Zidian fleet rewarded success, but it never forgot failure or forgave it. He had lost his entire squad of ships to a group of primitives. Of course he knew deep down it was not his fault. There was nothing he could have done differently. But his superiors would not see it that way. He certainly didn’t expect Akdon would. No sooner had this thought crossed his mind, then he almost collided with Akdon himself. Akdon and Kaydan were on their way to the lab.

“Ah Squad Leader Brel. I was pleased to hear you had survived,” said Kaydan

“Thank you, Sub Commander.”

“We shall speak later,” said Akdon in a stern voice.

“Yes, Commander.” Brel then went on to his chambers, dreading what he thought lay ahead of him.

Red had once again found himself attached to the gravity table. The alien had not punished him for his escape attempt...yet. There were two armed guards with him in the laboratory. Finally, the two double doors opened and Akdon and Kaydan walked in. Red’s eyes shot over to the area of the floor where he had killed the Zidian scientist. The body had been removed, but there was still a lot of blood that had not yet been cleaned up. Red felt for sure they were going to kill him, but not before they had tortured him for a very long time.

Red listened intently as Akdon and Kaydan started talking.

At least now I can understand them!

“The neural re-sequencer has been prepared.”

“You may proceed,” said Akdon.

Kaydan began to attach leads to Red’s head. Red remembered what had happened the last time he had done that and didn’t care to go through it again.

“No, don’t!” yelled Red. Kaydan ignored him. Akdon stared at Red studying him. Red stared back into those cold black eyes. As soon as Kaydan had finished with the leads, he went over to the console and activated them.

A gripping force took hold of Red and his entire body tensed as tight as possible. His head was being pounded, his mind pierced by the power of the Zidian computer as his thoughts were shuffled and manipulated. He had a gaze of shock stuck on his face.

“It will only take a few moments, Commander.”

“Good.”

“So what of the Humans Kondor brought up from the colony? Are there any among them more suited for Tortalus than this one?” asked Kaydan.

“We are going through them now...” replied Akdon, “...however I believe this one will serve our purposes. I have studied our scanner recordings of the first battle to see just how good a pilot Styler is. His performance was quite impressive. He was, however, very aggressive and often made decisions without much thought.”

“It was this fault of his that resulted in my assistant’s death,” said Kaydan with  more than a hint of resentment. “I am glad to see at least that he is not afraid to kill.”

Red continued to be stuck in his torment on the table. Finally, he lost consciousness. Kaydan checked his monitors.

“The re-sequencing was successful. I do advise allowing him to rest so his mind has time to process all the information we put into it as well as all the changes we made to his memory.”

“Very well, inform me when he wakes.”

“Commander,” said Kaydan. “Just because the human military didn’t surrender doesn’t mean their leaders back home won’t. I recommend sending our ultimatum to the Earth itself.”

Akdon fixed Kaydan with a stare. “As far as I am concerned, it is a waste of time. However, if you think it will do any good, by all means send the message.”

Chapter Sixteen

J
ack counted himself lucky to be alive. That was more than many other pilots could say. Trey was dealing with the loss of his friend Sam, whose shuttle had been destroyed when Titan base exploded. Having been through the loss of Red, Jack knew perfectly well how he felt.

April noticed that almost all of the pilots who were left had the same look of hopeless indifference on their face. She spent most of her time tending to her duties on the bridge, while Captain Doran spent hours in his office dwelling on the two battles in which he felt he had been solemnly defeated. The many lives lost under his command weighed heavily on him. But still he had his duty to tend to. And so he was already devising the next step in the defense of Earth.

The Saratoga and the other Space Force ships were going to Mars. He would meet Admiral Shirley and Colonel Travis there and devise a new strategy. The Saratoga and her fellow carriers were extremely damaged. They had barely come out of the last battle intact. Doran knew none of them could survive going toe to toe with the Zidian fleet ships again, therefore fighters would be more important than ever before. Unfortunately, he was running low on Star Swords and pilots to fly them. Space Force Command had already informed him that there were a massive number of Star Swords and pilots waiting at Earth to replace all the ones that had been lost. Some had been sent to Mars.

While this was definitely good news, Doran had his concerns. For one thing the SSI was now kicking out Star Swords faster than the Space Force could train pilots. This was a big worry. A fast construction job meant there was a greater possibility of defects. Then there were the pilots who would be flying them. The majority of them were half trained kids out of the various space academies and flight school. The other half were civilian pilots who had volunteered to serve. Doran was happy to see that some of the latter had seen action during the Pirate Wars and so had combat experience. Most, however, were just shuttle, freighter, and liner pilots who had been given a crash course on how to fly a Star Sword. One thing was crystal clear to Doran. Experienced pilots would be needed to show them the way. It was with this in mind, that Captain Doran called Jack Thunder and Trey Knight into his office.

“Gentlemen, come in, come in,” said Doran as Jack and Trey entered his office and came to rigid attention. “At ease. I must tell you that your performance in recent events has been exemplary. Mr. Thunder, Captain Hudson has told me of your actions on the Essex. Unbelievable! Your capture of that Zidian ship may give us a priceless advantage. Both of you have consistently out witted the enemy and killed more of his numbers than any other pilots. You are also, I must tell you, the only two pilots left who fought at both Neptune and Saturn. Therefore, you two are the most experienced combat pilots we have. As such you will lead all fighter forces. When we reach Mars, we will take on pilots who have never even fired a shot in anger. I want you to brief them on what they will be going up against.”