Can you forget the thoughts of those who screamed as they died?
14 Aug 06
We are beginning to think that land creatures are born hostile. Strange air breathers called Humans popped out of nowhere near one of our colonies. Though they were only two vessels and poorly armed against a well defended colony that took no aggressive action, their first instinct was to attack. Almost reluctantly the safety devices on our weapons were removed and the Human scouts vaporized. We recorded the screeching curses they broadcast at us. Perhaps if we can find a moment in this hostile galaxy, we'll take the time to translate them. They seem to have come across the great rift. Now we have more pressing matters.
It was inevitable. We knew our retaking of Zozoris had angered the Hive even though the planet was not used by them. We defended it appropriately. The fleet there was the strongest in the colonies. They would send their best against it. We had our best there to defend. Soon enough, the assault fleet appeared on our sensors.
Their slow ships crawled toward Zozoris with menace. We couldn't tell the make up of their fleet yet, but we knew there were nearly thirty ships inbound. No doubt they had even more armor and firepower than the others we had seen. We had two goals. First we would defend the planet. Then we would destroy their gate ships.
The first wave of defense had a new shielded command ship with three of our plasma cruisers for firepower. Then we had our torpedo boats to punish and chase the smaller hiver ships. The planet itself had a full complement of missile batteries. It had a light and a heavy ring of defense satellites. If the Hivers could punch through those defenses, our whole existence was in doubt.
When they closed to attack range, we took comfort knowing that they only had destroyers in their fleet. That would limit their ability to repair damage and ensured we would not be outgunned. Their fleet was made up mostly of attack ships. They had two gates and a couple of support ships. If we could break their first assault, the threat would be largely diminished.
We weren't sure how aggressive the Hivers would be. They had enough ships to attack the planet without risking their gate ships right away. Everything we had seen indicated they would jump to attack, but perhaps they would try to defend the gate ships to overwhelm us later.
The question was quickly answered as we witnessed asteroids at the edge of our sensors being destroyed to clear the way for their fleet. The were attacking in force. Our first volley of torpedoes took out two of their ships. Then the battle was on. It was impossible not to admire the grace of our ships compared to the brute force of the Hivers. However this time we gave as good as we took. Hiver ships expecting to cut through our ranks seemed confused as they watched their fleet explode instead.
The bugs were not deterred for long. They noted our command ship and its shimmering shields and closed for the attack. Whatever their violent beliefs, they seemed convinced that victory came through the destruction of that ship. Though our love for those on that ship was strong, we knew the young on the planet needed us more. The bulk of the fleet deployed to protect the planet though it left the command ship somewhat exposed. If the shields held, they would survive. If not, they would die in the most noble of causes.
Our cruisers zeroed in on their long range attack ships. Mostly they were firing on the command ship, but some were going after the planet. Once our cruisers tore into them, they did not last long. The shorter range Hiver ships opened up on the planet while swinging around behind the command ship, but they were being torn apart by the defensive satellites. Things looking promising as one by one they fell, but then the command ship's shields buckled and fell. There were still too many Hivers around, and the cruisers were too far away to help. The command ship's last order was to engage the Hiver reinforcements coming through the asteroid field. Some of the younger crew lost consciousness as the command crew's screams echoed through our minds.
As our reinforcements joined the fray, the fleet regrouped and assaulted the new Hiver ships. With their combined firepower, they weathered the first salvo and bit deeply into the tough hides of the hiver ships. They cut though our lines near the right end. Instead of burning toward the planet, they swung around to get behind the plasma cruiser on the end. Though they would not survive the assault, they were determined to bring that cruiser down. Even as the last of the wave died, our cruiser burst into flames as well. It was truly a dark day.
The rest of our fleet burned out to find the Hiver command ship. We soon saw more reinforcements arrive. Still we rejoiced to see them since we knew instantly that we had forced the gate ships to take the field. All our ships concentrated their fire on them. Unfortunately, supplies ran low and repairs were needed. As we saw the Hiver pull back, we knew we would have to survive at least one more assault wave. We had taken out over half of their fleet while losing two cruisers and two destroyers.
We quickly repaired the battle damage and rushed new ships into battle readiness. The fleet was reformed under a new command ship. This fleet's mission was to take out the gate ship we knew had been deployed. This time the firepower advantage was on our side.
The fleet wasted no time charging out toward the Hivers. They were mildly surprised to see the remaining Hiver assault ships burning toward us. They clearly wanted to take the battle away from the gate ship and their command ship. We weren't about to allow that. The guns engaged them in passing but pressed on to reach the gate. The planet would survive with its missile batteries and satellites. That might not remain true if that gate wasn't destroyed.
All of our weapons had recharged and were ready as the crews identified the gate ship. The whole fleet locked on. It was quite a site to see plasma and torpedoes converging on the gate. It survived the initial volley, but couldn't last long. Soon there was only dust.
The guns turned to the undeployed gate nearby. It was burning in retreat, but it could not outrun our weapons. In fact, we could see it still wore the wounds from the earlier battle. In mere seconds, it too was gone. Then it was mopping up the remaining support ships. As the last fuel tanked exploded, we knew that Zozoris was safe again. This time the fleet wiped out the Hivers without taking losses. Our new technology was validated. We only wish the price hadn't been so high.
There was no rest to be had though. The next fleet had already been detected inbound on the small planet of Tuumen. This would be a long war.
Jason
