Tim Murray
Through space, time and dimension
Thanks for the crits, here is the upgrade. I have to split it in half. It went from 602 words to 2200. The POV switches. It makes more sense to me to have it come from the Captain until he is incapacitated, he is master of the ship. It switches to Jack Morgan, his XO after the last phase blasts, hope it works.
Captain Arnold nervously drummed his fingers near the console pad on the hand rest of his chair. What’s taking so long, they should be finished now. We’re too close to Terelian space. This is neutral space; and it doesn’t take much to provoke them. I hope the new post has the shields operating.
“Lt. Johnson, do we have any reports from the planet surface?” The Captain asked.
“No, sir.”
“Raise them, something’s wrong, at least one Terelian patrol should have checked us out by now.”
“Aye, sir.” He waited for confirmation. “Life support is up and the techs are finalizing the computer downloads.”
“Tell them to finish fast; we need to get the engineering crew shuttled up and leave. If the Terelian’s even suspect we are installing a listening post this close to their space, they’ll be all over us. Are the long range scanners picking anything up?”
“No, sir, but the first moon is blocking our signal, they could be hiding on the dark side of that moon.”
“Deploy probes to close that gap.”
“Aye, sir, probes launched, incoming data in five minutes,” Lt. Johnson reported.
“Commander Morgan (the Captains Executive Officer), deploy an Alliance Special Ops (ASO) unit to the planet’s surface, in case they discover our base.”
“Aye, sir, Lt. Commander Phar’s unit is on the way to the shuttle bay, they launch in five minutes. Do you think it’s wise to put a secret listening post this close to Terelian space?”
“Intelligence has confirmed their alliance with the Kek’s. They’re bad news; the Voeleron war taught us that. For a race of reptilians, they’re crafty and intelligent.” The Captain dryly replied.
Just ask Derak about that. Jack Morgan thought to himself. “Launch confirmed, Captain; they’ll land in twenty minutes.”
The bridge crew watched the shuttle enter the atmosphere. A long fiery tail gave away their entry.
“Anyone within the two moons orbits can’t miss that.” Ensign Masterson commented.
“That is what concerns me, Ensign. I would have had them enter from the dark side of Eregor, if time was not of the essence.”
Commander Morgan looked up from his console with a dark scowl. “Sir, the probes have picked up movement from the moons dark side, they’re headed our way fast. Lt. Sperry, notify the ground crew to stand fast and get those shields operating.”
“Aye, sir.” She watched her console for the reply. “Shields are up and they’re taking cover.”
This is the third skirmish with the Terelian’s in the last month in neutral space. Now they’re in league with the Kek’s. Could it get any worse? Jack thought.
It did. Lt. Johnson looked up from his console with dread.
“Captain Arnold, five Ging class cruisers approaching from aft at attack speed. They’re taking a reverse pyramid formation, two port and starboard, two top and bottom side and one five thousand feet behind the primary group.”
The Captain thought for a moment. Standard Ging class, we’ve been in worse situations before. The Armstrong came out of space docks six months ago. The re-fit gave her new armor and the latest shield upgrades. We’re six times their size with new dual phase missiles. We can outlast them long enough to take their attention away from the planet’s surface. We didn’t come here to fail at the last minute.
The Captain quickly returned his attention to the upcoming skirmish. “Red alert, shields up full, charge phase cannons. Take evasive action, we need to move this fight away from Eregor.”
“Aye, sir.” Lt. Sperry, the helmswoman obeyed.
The Armstrong broke orbit and flew towards the second moon at one-quarter impulse. Eregor and the now stranded base fell away from the view port. The inverted pyramid formation of Ging class light cruisers changed course to follow them. As they passed the planet, the bridge crew saw the rear Ging cruiser break off for Eregor’s surface, only to be met by the ASO’s
ship rocketing out of the atmosphere.
They’re hiding something, I know it. We’ll have to come back with a fleet and scour this quadrant. Jack thought before returning to the matter at hand.
“Commander Morgan, are damage control teams prepared and medical bays ready to receive casualties?” The Captain asked.
“Aye, sir, the cruisers are moving in fast and they’re not standard Ging class cruisers, Captain, the have Kek insignia on the bow.”
Near the second moon, the Terelian ships caught up with them. Their formation stayed true as they surrounded The Armstrong.
“Their weapons are charged and firing, incoming, incoming, brace yourselves!” Jack warned the bridge crew.
The crew held on to anything solid within reach before the first volley hit the AS Armstrong. The ship shook violently and the crew rocked with the motion of the ship, staying upright. The shields dropped to eighty percent.
A look of sadness and shock filled Lt. Sperry as she looked up from her console. She fought back tears before reporting. “Captain, we lost the entire hydro-bay, including the personnel.”
Flash frozen plants and debris with floating bodies streamed out into space for all to see.
“Captain, they’re using highly modified weapons. Terelian’s do not have the capability for such fire power. This has to be Kek mods, our shields are almost useless.” Commander Morgan reported with alarm.
“Switch all available power to aft shields,” Captain Arnold ordered. “Lt. Johnson, are the targets locked?”
“Aye, sir, locked and loaded.”
“Fire aft cannons,” the Captain ordered.
The phase cannons fired and Lt. Johnson tracked the shots on his console. “Direct hit sir, they’re losing power.”
“Target the weapons and fire.”
The cannons fired again, the enemy ship rolled to port side and fell back. Debris and bodies shot into space from several hull breaches. One gone and four remained.
Damn these Terelian’s. If we don’t find a way to defend this, were in big trouble. Bob Arnold thought. “What about the ship that broke off, is our base still there?”
Lt. Sperry reported. “The ASO’s have engaged and incapacitated their main drives. No reports of losses on our side or significant damage to their ship. The bogie never entered the atmosphere, sir.”
Another volley hit The Armstrong as she lurched hard to port. Alarms went off and damage control teams reported extensive destruction to the port thrusters and shield generators.
Ensign Masterson looked up from his console in alarm. “Our shields and armor are barely holding, sir. They’re down to fifty percent. Whole sections of decks four through six on our starboard side are missing. My cousin worked there, sir.” His eyes started turning red with tears.
“Get a hold of yourself Ensign; we have a ship to save. There will be time to mourn later.” Captain Arnold sternly reminded him with kindness.
Captain Arnold balled both fists and his face took on an angry visage. In controlled rage, he gave his next order. “Commander Morgan, shove some dual phase missiles down their throats.”
Captain Arnold nervously drummed his fingers near the console pad on the hand rest of his chair. What’s taking so long, they should be finished now. We’re too close to Terelian space. This is neutral space; and it doesn’t take much to provoke them. I hope the new post has the shields operating.
“Lt. Johnson, do we have any reports from the planet surface?” The Captain asked.
“No, sir.”
“Raise them, something’s wrong, at least one Terelian patrol should have checked us out by now.”
“Aye, sir.” He waited for confirmation. “Life support is up and the techs are finalizing the computer downloads.”
“Tell them to finish fast; we need to get the engineering crew shuttled up and leave. If the Terelian’s even suspect we are installing a listening post this close to their space, they’ll be all over us. Are the long range scanners picking anything up?”
“No, sir, but the first moon is blocking our signal, they could be hiding on the dark side of that moon.”
“Deploy probes to close that gap.”
“Aye, sir, probes launched, incoming data in five minutes,” Lt. Johnson reported.
“Commander Morgan (the Captains Executive Officer), deploy an Alliance Special Ops (ASO) unit to the planet’s surface, in case they discover our base.”
“Aye, sir, Lt. Commander Phar’s unit is on the way to the shuttle bay, they launch in five minutes. Do you think it’s wise to put a secret listening post this close to Terelian space?”
“Intelligence has confirmed their alliance with the Kek’s. They’re bad news; the Voeleron war taught us that. For a race of reptilians, they’re crafty and intelligent.” The Captain dryly replied.
Just ask Derak about that. Jack Morgan thought to himself. “Launch confirmed, Captain; they’ll land in twenty minutes.”
The bridge crew watched the shuttle enter the atmosphere. A long fiery tail gave away their entry.
“Anyone within the two moons orbits can’t miss that.” Ensign Masterson commented.
“That is what concerns me, Ensign. I would have had them enter from the dark side of Eregor, if time was not of the essence.”
Commander Morgan looked up from his console with a dark scowl. “Sir, the probes have picked up movement from the moons dark side, they’re headed our way fast. Lt. Sperry, notify the ground crew to stand fast and get those shields operating.”
“Aye, sir.” She watched her console for the reply. “Shields are up and they’re taking cover.”
This is the third skirmish with the Terelian’s in the last month in neutral space. Now they’re in league with the Kek’s. Could it get any worse? Jack thought.
It did. Lt. Johnson looked up from his console with dread.
“Captain Arnold, five Ging class cruisers approaching from aft at attack speed. They’re taking a reverse pyramid formation, two port and starboard, two top and bottom side and one five thousand feet behind the primary group.”
The Captain thought for a moment. Standard Ging class, we’ve been in worse situations before. The Armstrong came out of space docks six months ago. The re-fit gave her new armor and the latest shield upgrades. We’re six times their size with new dual phase missiles. We can outlast them long enough to take their attention away from the planet’s surface. We didn’t come here to fail at the last minute.
The Captain quickly returned his attention to the upcoming skirmish. “Red alert, shields up full, charge phase cannons. Take evasive action, we need to move this fight away from Eregor.”
“Aye, sir.” Lt. Sperry, the helmswoman obeyed.
The Armstrong broke orbit and flew towards the second moon at one-quarter impulse. Eregor and the now stranded base fell away from the view port. The inverted pyramid formation of Ging class light cruisers changed course to follow them. As they passed the planet, the bridge crew saw the rear Ging cruiser break off for Eregor’s surface, only to be met by the ASO’s
ship rocketing out of the atmosphere.
They’re hiding something, I know it. We’ll have to come back with a fleet and scour this quadrant. Jack thought before returning to the matter at hand.
“Commander Morgan, are damage control teams prepared and medical bays ready to receive casualties?” The Captain asked.
“Aye, sir, the cruisers are moving in fast and they’re not standard Ging class cruisers, Captain, the have Kek insignia on the bow.”
Near the second moon, the Terelian ships caught up with them. Their formation stayed true as they surrounded The Armstrong.
“Their weapons are charged and firing, incoming, incoming, brace yourselves!” Jack warned the bridge crew.
The crew held on to anything solid within reach before the first volley hit the AS Armstrong. The ship shook violently and the crew rocked with the motion of the ship, staying upright. The shields dropped to eighty percent.
A look of sadness and shock filled Lt. Sperry as she looked up from her console. She fought back tears before reporting. “Captain, we lost the entire hydro-bay, including the personnel.”
Flash frozen plants and debris with floating bodies streamed out into space for all to see.
“Captain, they’re using highly modified weapons. Terelian’s do not have the capability for such fire power. This has to be Kek mods, our shields are almost useless.” Commander Morgan reported with alarm.
“Switch all available power to aft shields,” Captain Arnold ordered. “Lt. Johnson, are the targets locked?”
“Aye, sir, locked and loaded.”
“Fire aft cannons,” the Captain ordered.
The phase cannons fired and Lt. Johnson tracked the shots on his console. “Direct hit sir, they’re losing power.”
“Target the weapons and fire.”
The cannons fired again, the enemy ship rolled to port side and fell back. Debris and bodies shot into space from several hull breaches. One gone and four remained.
Damn these Terelian’s. If we don’t find a way to defend this, were in big trouble. Bob Arnold thought. “What about the ship that broke off, is our base still there?”
Lt. Sperry reported. “The ASO’s have engaged and incapacitated their main drives. No reports of losses on our side or significant damage to their ship. The bogie never entered the atmosphere, sir.”
Another volley hit The Armstrong as she lurched hard to port. Alarms went off and damage control teams reported extensive destruction to the port thrusters and shield generators.
Ensign Masterson looked up from his console in alarm. “Our shields and armor are barely holding, sir. They’re down to fifty percent. Whole sections of decks four through six on our starboard side are missing. My cousin worked there, sir.” His eyes started turning red with tears.
“Get a hold of yourself Ensign; we have a ship to save. There will be time to mourn later.” Captain Arnold sternly reminded him with kindness.
Captain Arnold balled both fists and his face took on an angry visage. In controlled rage, he gave his next order. “Commander Morgan, shove some dual phase missiles down their throats.”
