Until a few months ago, we had been fellow citizens of the Federation of Democratic Worlds with the Unionists. We were all children of the Colonyship 'Enterprise Stardust' which had brought humanity as we knew it from the Solarian Imperium to this time/space continuum, and our Great Grandfathers had fought side by side against the Argon Empire in the Argon War(Ironically we now considered the Argons to be our Brothers as fellow creators of robots and synthetic minds). Now we were bitter enemies due to their recent conversion to a strange religion taught by the newly discovered race called the Robotics which accepted robots and synthetic minds as equals to humanity in direct violation of the Three Laws of Robotics that we instilled in the programming of each robot and synthetic mind created in the factories of the Confederation Worlds.
The Unionists had freed their Robots and TFP’s from direct humanoid control years ago and had persuaded many of the other member worlds of the Federation to do the same. When those planets whose livelihood depended upon the sale or use of robots and TFP’s for economic survival declined to do the same, the Unionists tried to force them into the emancipation of their synths. Through their control of the Federal Supreme Court, the Unionists had the Three Laws of Robotics declared to be an Unconstitutional violation of the Separation of Church and State. These Worlds to which Dixie, my homeworld, belonged seceded from the Federation and now we found ourselves at war.
.........Skylark Telemarke....'The Dark Time'
We were caught by surprise by the whirlpool of silver stars formed by the quantum displacement of a stargate opening. The battleship CSS Isandelwana and the other Confederation capital ships had jumped into the same stargate just a standard hour before in pursuit of Union ships that had attacked Moor’s system. We had been in a state of ‘Cold War’ for several standard months with the Unionists and their Allies following our defeat of their first attempt to stop our Secession from the Federation at the Battle of Rudolph’s Nose. This new attack was the first overt action made by our enemies since their defeat at the Red Giant star that was closest to the yellow star of Moor’s System where our Carrier Battlegroup was on guard.
The silver egg shaped discs that emerged from hyperspace were not what we had expected as we were looking for the Orange ships with the white Cross of St. George emblem of the planet Union that comprised most of the Federation Naval forces now that we had seceded. They looked harmless enough until the lead ship released a pulse of energy that struck hard against the shields of my carrier CSS Ark Kansas and a violent concussion rippled through the airless void.
My Confederation Rampart 361 ‘Starhawk’ fighter was shaken brutally by the shock wave. My teeth clattered together and I felt a slight tinge of pain in my mouth and tasted blood from a bitten tongue. The nine other ‘Starhawks’ accompanying me in the carrier CAP began maneuvers to intercept the intruders as the Central Battle Computer aboard our mother ship began sending instructions to the CPU’s of the Battle TFP’s aboard each of the smaller craft.
Cassandra, the Battle TFP on my ship of the same name did not react with her sisters to move into attack formation. "Cassie!" I exclaimed, "Execute tactical instructions from Ark Kansas!"
"Sorry Skye." She replied in the sultry feminine accent of my native Atalanta, " We were too close to the shock wave caused by the first enemy volley. Our communications system is off-line and the Commlink to Ark Kansas has been terminated. I will try to reestablish communications as soon as possible but until then you will have to fly the old fashioned way."
" Yeeee Hawwwww-Eeee!!! " I screamed into the mike with a Rebel yell only Cassandra could hear and I put the ship into a manual roll back towards the bright silver fighters now engaged with my carrier, her escorts, and the other fighters in my CAP. I revved Cassie’s Ion engines glad to be free of the controlling eyes of Lt. Adrian Scheer and his Tactical TFP on the carrier Battlebridge and we swooped head first into the melee. The other ‘Starhawks’ and the discs were flying circles around one another trying to get into position for a killing blow. The once dark emptiness of Moor’s System was now alight with bursts of pulse cannon fire and energy blasts.
I winced as I saw the ‘Starhawk’ of Ensign Trevor Palaris explode in front of me. I blasted the ‘Egg’ that killed him with a volley from my Pulse cannon with no effect. "Sensors indicate the composition of the enemy vessels hull is such that it harmlessly reflects away the energy displacement of the standard Dixian fighter pulse cannon."
"Let’s see how well they can handle a MIRC missile up the tailpipe!" I yelled as I locked one of my four hunter-seeker missiles on the intruder ‘egg’ and fired at point blank range. The MIRC is usually used against larger vessels at greater ranges and is extremely fast as it was designed to overtake craft trying to escape at interplanetary speeds. The ‘Egg’ tried to dodge but the missile was too fast and struck her amidships and exploded in a brief flash of fire and light.
"Good Shot Skyler!" I heard Cassandra exclaim.
"Cassandra!" I yelled, "Have you been able to run an ID process on those bandits? I need some weakness we can exploit if we’re going to survive this. If the PC won’t hurt those things we’re in big trouble cause we’ve only got 3 MIRCs left."
"They do not match the configuration of any known ship found in Confederation, Federation, Argon nor Alien databases. I must assume that since the first attackers were positively identified as Federation ships of Union manufacture, these new ships must be the first warships to be encountered from the Robotic Worlds of Do, Ti, La, and So. We have seen their merchant ships before and though they do not resemble these intruders, it could well be that there is a different configuration for vessels of commerce and that for warships."
We were shaken violently by an explosion and I was temporarily blinded by a flash of light. "The Destroyer CSS Yangtze on high guard has ceased to exist." , said Cassie plainly.
Suddenly we began to be rocked by several smaller explosions. "Incoming Enemy fighter at 028 degrees.", said Cassie into my ear. "We have taken a hit in our upper starboard engine. I am trying to compensate but were are losing power and velocity very quickly."
The ‘egg’ passed over us in a flash of silver. I turned Cassandra to starboard to get a better shot and released a second of my precious hunter seeker missiles in pursuit of the bandit. The 'egg' luminously brightened as she quickly accelerated in a vain attempt to escape the lethal dart that soon struck the ship from behind and exploded cracking the egg apart in a brief shower of stars and flame.
"Good shooting Skyler!", Cassie cried; "Three more and you will be an Ace!’
"They can give me my medal posthumously!", I gasped as I tried to regain control of my fighter now running on three engines, "Get me a damage report fast Cassandra. I think we’re in big trouble."
We were flying barely in control as I swerved to avoid energy blasts and heavy cannon fire from the Ark Kansas and her remaining escorts. "Number three engine is gone.", said Cassandra dryly. "It is too damaged for me to attempt self repair. We will have to dock with Ark Kansas or try to land somewhere on Moor’s Planet."
I saw the ‘Kansas’ surrounded by enemy fighters pounding away at her shields with their energy bolts. She had taken some collateral damage but was doing damage herself to the enemy formations attacking her with her powerful Pulse cannons and E-guns that were knocking egg-ships out of the void. I grimaced as I now only saw three ‘Starhawks’ remained to fly CAP.
I gunned Cassie’s three remaining engines and felt the sudden pressure of G forces push against me as we tried to make for the Carrier docking bay. It would be a very hazardous manual landing since without communications we would be unable for the ship’s Tactical TFP to bring us aboard. Our chances of surviving both the attacking egg ships and our landing were slim.
I ran the ‘Starhawk’ underneath the dark hull of Ark Kansas running the gauntlet of energy blasts back and forth but taking advantage of the limited protection of the ship’s low guard shields. Suddenly we were jolted by a blast above us. The ship was rocked to and fro and was covered in an eerie greenish gold light that penetrated the cockpit. We were surrounded by a golden fog that shimmered as if golden sunlight reflected from water. Golden raindrops covered my cockpit and for several seconds I was flying blind.
"Something has happened to the Ark Kansas." Said Cassandra, "Her shields have dropped and she is taking severe damage. The docking bay is now the target of heavy enemy fire. We must abort our landing."
We were surrounded by explosions as each energy blast from the ‘eggs’ was now finding its mark on the carrier above us. I entered a course vector for Moor’s Planet into Cassie’s synthetic mind and pointed my gun cameras back at Ark Kansas in time to see the bridge take a direct hit and disintegrate in a huge fireball exploding out into space. Captain Craig, Commander Rhee, and the others never had a chance. I pulled up on my stick suddenly to avoid a MIRC missile running out of control.
"What’s happening Cassie??" I yelled into the mike, "Everything is going to hell in a handbasket out there."
"Shields on all ships are down." She said in a voice full of worry and distress, "Defensive fire has stopped and all MIRC missiles are out of control. Since we have lost all communications, there is no way to know for sure what is happening but it is as if Ship's offensive and defensive cybernetic systems have been affected by some sort of Virus."
"What was that gold stuff we just passed through earlier???", I asked with alarm; "Is it dangerous??? Could it be causing systems to go haywire???"
"I have not been awake long enough to answer that question." Cassie replied, "Seems to be comprised of an unusually stable combination of Einsteinium and Lawrencium and a substance I am not able to scan. Highly Radioactive but we should be protected by the ship’s shielding."
"Sensors show a highly unusual reading.", she said in surprise; "The QDEX of the space surrounding us has changed significantly. I read 93 different QDEX readings appearing almost one after the other."
"That is strange." I agreed; "It must be due to that stuff we passed through. Could those Bandits have attacked us with that stuff??? Is that gold stuff causing systems failures throughout the fleet????"
"I have not been awake log enough to answer that question." Said the Synth, "My sensors indicate the Golden Fog came from Ark Kansas. There is a notation in my database of a defensive system for which information is classified, this could possibly be related to that."
She then stated, "I would suggest that while the enemy is concentrating on the carrier that we break for Moor’s Planet. We can be of no service here."
Sadly, I pointed Cassandra toward the shiny dot that was Moor’s Planet in the distance. "We’re orphans now.", I sighed as I watched my mother ship being blasted to pieces by the invaders. I saw no ‘Starhawks’ remaining to fight for their mother and grieved for the loss of many friends.
"Sensors indicate a jumpgate forming." said Cassandra in my ear. I looked in the viewer of my guncamera and saw the telltale sign of a spacial displacement beginning to form in front of Ark Kansas. The light of the surrounding stars was bent in such a way that it looked as thought the ship was being sucked into a giant whirlpool. Suddenly the carrier disappeared into the wormhole and it closed behind her as quickly as it opened. Another gate opened moments later and the 40 or so remaining silver egg ships entered in vain pursuit of their prey.
"Blind Jump." I muttered half to Cassandra and half to myself, "Someone aboard had the brains to do a blind jump before the Gate Generators were knocked off-line. The Wormhole opened and closed too quickly for them to have been able to calculate a proper destination. Must’ve figured that it was better to be alive in the middle of no where than to be dead here."
Doing a blind jump meant that the ‘Kansas’ had entered the Stargate without programming a destination wormhole to come out of. They would travel through hyperspace until a random wormhole opened up for them a few hundred or theoretically several billion light years away.
We began to enter the gravitational pull of Moor’s Planet. Jeffrey Moor’s grandfather had moved the family’s terraforming corporation to this system 65 years ago. He had begun the early difficult work of creating a breathable atmosphere, arable land and drinkable water. Moor’s father had populated the planet with flora and fauna from all parts of the galaxy just 30 years ago. Ten years ago Moor began to move people in; employees only at first, but gradually allowing stockholders to turn in shares to purchase land as colonists.
With most of the menial tasks on the planet performed by Servo-mechs, Workerbots and other synthetic minds, Moor’s Planet had become a paradise beyond compare and Moor’s company used it as a showplace of what could be done by terraforming as he developed contracts with various governments in the old Federation and Non-aligned Worlds.
As we began to enter the upper atmosphere of Moor’s Planet, Cassie began to shake violently. I tried to compensate by increasing reentry speed on my three remaining engines to no avail. I tried to make several adjustments to my horizontal stabilizers but they would not respond.
"We are too damaged to attempt atmospheric reentry."; Cassie explained, "I’m afraid that we also do not have enough power know to break free of the planet’s gravitational pull. I regret that we will have to abandon ship. Please try to decrease speed now and get us to the safest altitude for atmospheric ejection. I am releasing ship's control from your palm unit now. Please do not forget me when you eject."
"Don’t worry Cassie.", I laughed; "How could I ever survive without you?"
Cassandra released her control of ship's functions from my palm unit. I unhooked the unit containing her from the console and clipped her onto my flightsuit, and began to watch the decreasing altimeter readings as the braindead fighter plunged downward towards the surface of the planet below. I kept her as steady as I could manually and when the altimeter hit 628 I pulled the eject lever.
My ears popped painfully as the cockpit retaining bolts exploded and cabin pressure adjusted to the air pressure outside. I felt my stomach sink as the rockets beneath the chair separated us roughly from the doomed fighter and sent us soaring in glorious freefall through the air and clouds. I felt a sudden jerk as my chute opened and I reflexively pulled my palm unit close to my body to make sure Cassandra’s synthetic mind did not go sailing to join her body in death.
We began floating through the air. I saw subtropical savanna slowly rising up to meet us through the clouds below. There were several large herds of grazing animals migrating in the distance and I thought to myself, "Great. I’ve survived a battle in the cosmos only to be trampled to death by a stampede or to be eaten by an elephant-bear."
Suddenly one of the herds separated and I could see a large hovercraft approaching its red warning beacon flashing in the distance. It moved quickly through the animals and was heading straight towards where I was going to land. Could this be a rescue party coming to get me?
I saw the ground coming up fast beneath me. The hovercraft was less than a 10 klicks away and would be here in seconds. I did a perfect seven point landing just as they’d taught us at the Academy. My chute landed right on top of me and it took several seconds to cut myself loose from the shroud.
I got to my feet and found a white hovercraft bearing the Charging Moorish Knight emblem of Moor Terraforming Corp. Parked a few meters away and on top of the hull of the craft were two of the most beautiful women I’d ever seen pointing the barrels of two E-Rifles directly at my face.
"Don’t tell me," I said with a smirk; "Bambi and Thumper?"
‘Bambi’ snarled revealing very pointed canine teeth. She appeared to be a very beautiful human female with her finely toned muscles and ebony skin which glistened in the sunlight of Moor’s Star but the bronze eyes and the thick black mane which ran down her back revealed at least one of her ancestors was an Argon. "Don’t kill it just yet Eb!" yelled ‘Thumper’ the auburn hared, green eyed vixen standing upon the hood of the hovercraft E-rifle pointing at my head, "Make sure it’s not human first!"
"With pleasure!" she snarled again and hit me across the face with the butt of her weapon. My head exploded in a mass of pain and stars and I heard ‘Bambi’ say before I passed out, "Tara, tell Jeff it’s OK. He’s a bleeder."
