First Admiral 02 The Burning Sun (20 page)

“Admiral Chulling?” Billy returned to the Thexxian on the View Screen.

“Sir!” the Thexxian Second Admiral responded.

“What forces can you scratch together right now to get to the Praxos system?” Billy asked.

“Praxos? What’s going on?” Lokkrien asked quietly.

“Maybe five Star-Cruisers, the Memphis, Sherman, Light Brigade, Sontara and Ticonderoga, sir,” a confused Chulling replied, “the system’s uninhabited, so we don’t have much in the vicinity.”

“Which is exactly what the Bardomil planned for,” Billy whispered to himself and drew a heavy breath, “it’s not enough,” he started to drum his fist on the edge of the War Table as he worked the problem in his mind.

“How big is this Bardomil strike force? Three, maybe four, full Imperial Fleets?” Billy sought clarification.

“Yes, sir,” Admiral Chulling confirmed.

“Nine Imperial Fighter Carriers per Fleet gives thirty six Carriers, around one hundred M-Cruisers and a full complement of Harpoons and Flying Devils,” Billy mused.

“That’s an Invasion Fleet, sir,” Lokkrien opined, “We can’t protect Earth and defend against this attack.”

“That is precisely what we’re going to do!” Billy hissed viciously, his eyes flashing with anger, “Admiral,” he turned back to the View Screen, “when will this Bardomil force be at the Praxos system?”

“Calculating, sir,” the Thexxian replied and looked off screen to one of his aides.

“About thirty minutes, sir,” a disembodied voice said quietly from Chulling’s location.

“At current speed around half an hour, First Admiral,” Chulling repeated.

“Admiral Lokkrien, pull together any and every fighting vessel we can spare and send it to the Praxos system. Have Scanners watch for any movement from the Ganthorans,” Billy began, “Admiral Chulling, I want you to take everything you can scrape together to the Praxos system and expect an immediate attack.”

“Yes, sir!” Admiral Chulling snapped.

“And, Admiral,” Billy stressed the next point heavily, “you have to hold that system.”

“Yes, sir,” Chulling replied.

“I mean, whatever the cost, Admiral; it is absolutely imperative that we hold this force at Praxos,” Billy emphasised, “I will personally bring whatever reinforcements we can muster to support and relieve you when we can; the fate of the Alliance depends upon you holding out until we can get to you.”

“Yes, sir!” a slightly confused Chulling barked and the Screen image dissolved.

“What about the Star-Destroyers? We can’t tie them to Earth whilst we’re fighting at Praxos?” Lokkrien asked.

“We can and we will!” Billy said determinedly; conversation over.

“But, what’s so important about Praxos? There’s nothing there!” Lokkrien asked confused by the conversation he had just witnessed.

“What system is next to Praxos?” Billy asked.

“Well, Terra?” Lokkrien scrambled through his memory.

“Next to Terra is Sidionas, next to Sidionas is Botar and next to Botar is Sykith, and what’s next to Sykith?” Billy queried.

“Sykith is our Ganthoran frontier!” Lokkrien gasped, the significance of the Bardomil attack location suddenly becoming clear in his mind, “it’s a corridor through the entire Alliance.”

“If they cut us in two, the whole Alliance falls apart; so, I suggest Admiral Lokkrien, that you round up every battlewagon, bath tub, row boat and canoe you can find, and send them to Chulling at Praxos,” Billy ordered.

“What about the Star-Destroyers, sir?” Lokkrien asked again, “they’ll need them.”

“Bring them here,” Billy ordered, stepping away from the War Table, “and pray that we can finish up here and make it to Praxos on time,” he said softly to himself, setting off to the Landing Bay where the Black Rose waited for him.

Stunned by the realisation of just how precarious the situation had become, Lokkrien took a deep breath, calmed his nerves and began to issue orders to the War Room.

Chapter 26

The Star-Cruiser Aquarius

Emma Wallace sat alone in one of the quietest corners of the Observation Deck. Above her, the great transparent cupola gave her a clear view of the stars against the infinite darkness of space. However, the immeasurable vastness of space was far from her thoughts. Her classmates, wary of her through her association with Billy Caudwell, stared at her anxiously and whispered amongst themselves. Never had Emma felt so lonely and confused as she sat by herself amongst the strange alien foliage in a huge, hangar-like Observation Deck of a spacecraft millions of kilometres from Earth.

Crouched against the base of a low wall structure that seemed to pen in some strange alien plants that could move of their own volition, Emma racked her brains to try to understand what was happening. Life had seemed so straightforward for Emma when she had gone to school that morning. Now, it had become her worst nightmare. From the moment those strange creatures had appeared in front of Billy from the bright flashes of light, Emma had been ostracised by her classmates. Since the entire class had disappeared from the school, and had re-appeared on this spaceship, no one had spoken to her except missus Collier. Even then it had been a fear-filled and angry interrogation to which Emma had no answers to offer. No one was speaking to her and everyone was avoiding her like she had some deadly dangerous disease. She had never felt so frightened and alone. And, right now, she really needed someone to explain to her just what was going on.

“Hello, there,” a bright cheerful voice chimed from above Emma.

Looking up, Emma saw a short humanoid alien with olive skin, pink eyes and one nostril, carrying what looked like a plate or a tray, smiling at her. Shuffling sideways, the terrified Emma tried to get away from the alien creature.

“It’s all right,” the creature said soothingly, “I’m not here to harm you.”

Wide eyed, Emma tried to shuffle further away but found herself hemmed in by another wall structure.

“I suppose you’ll be hungry?” the alien asked crouching down and offering Emma what looked like pink circular cakes from the tray, “it’s all right they’re not poisoned,” the alien said and popped one of the cakes into its mouth.

Jamming herself into her corner, Emma drew up her knees and wrapped her arms around them, her ultimate defensive barrier.

“They call me Tarissa,” the alien said, “I’m a Communications Technician,” she smiled, “what do they call you?”

“Em…Em…Emma Wallace,” Emma mumbled still terrified of the entity in the pale blue overall that crouched in front of her.

“Yes, it’s all a bit confusing for you isn’t it Emma Wallace,” the alien called Tarissa knelt down, “I’ll tell you what, I’ll explain to you what I know and we’ll take things from there, all right?”

With a frightened nod, Emma pulled her arms closer around her knees and agreed to the compromise.

“Well, Emma Wallace, you are aboard the Star-Cruiser Aquarius, the flagship of the Universal Alliance Fleet,” Tarissa began, “we are about sixty million kilometres from your home planet.”

“Wh…Wh…Why?” Emma managed to stammer the question.

“Why are you here?” Tarissa clarified, “Well, we couldn’t leave you down on Terra after you had seen our people with the First Admiral, but it’s all right, we’ll get you back just as soon as we can,” she smiled.

“F…F…First Admiral?” Emma puzzled.

“Yes, First Admiral Caudwell; aren’t you the human female who mates with him?” Tarissa asked.

Shocked and stunned, Emma blushed at the suggestion. With her head reeling she tried to comprehend what the alien was saying to her.

“No, we don’t…you know…mate,” Emma said with quiet anxiety and deep embarrassment.

“Well, if he was interested in me, Emma Wallace, I would mate with him,” Tarissa smiled, “you sure you don’t want something to eat?” she slipped another cake into her mouth and offered the tray once more.

Carefully, Emma stretched out her hand and took one of the delicacies on the tray. Breaking a small corner from the cake, Emma slipped a small portion into her mouth. Immediately, the strong flavours of chocolate, orange and rum burst onto her taste-buds. Surprised by the delicious taste, Emma broke a larger piece from the offering and began to eat.

“That’s nice isn’t it?” Tarissa smiled helping herself to another, “it’s one of the First Admiral’s favourites.”

“So, Billy is this First Admiral?” Emma asked nervously, nibbling at another corner of cake.

Looking to her right, Emma became aware of the sound of laughter. Many of her classmates were already involved in conversation with other creatures in pale blue uniforms. One of her classmates, a shy boy named James, was smiling broadly enraptured by a young adult male alien with a long gloomy face. The blue overalled creature was swooping and diving with his hands as if he were describing a fighter combat. Missus Collier was laughing with a slightly older adult male who had a face like a bird of prey, and another girl, named Caroline, seemed to be laughing whilst trying to explain something to another young adult female of Tarissa’a species.

“Yes, First Admiral Caudwell has been our commander for nearly a year now, since the Alliance was founded,” Tarissa explained.

“But…Billy…he’s just…well, he’s just…a boy, really,” Emma smiled starting to feel a little more comfortable and happy.

“Well, to your species he’s just a child; but, to the Alliance he’s our most important Senior Officer,” Tarissa replied offering Emma another cake.

“But, he’s just…Billy,” Emma smiled starting to feel a warm sensation in her limbs and a bit dizzy as she munched into the offered delicacy.

“Appearances can be deceptive, Emma Wallace,” Tarissa smiled, “if he has chosen you to be his mate, then I’d be very proud.”

“Oh yes, I’m very proud,” Emma mumbled jokingly through a mouthful of cake scattering crumbs onto the floor.

Around her the laughter seemed to be increasing in volume. Smiling broadly, Emma looked round once more to see James trying to follow the fighter combat, missus Collier laughing slightly more loudly than would be considered appropriate back on Earth and Caroline was trying to show the alien that was with her some Highland Dance steps. As Emma watched her classmates engaged in ever more animated conversations, she noticed that the pink cakes were everywhere. The overalled creatures all had trays of the delicious delicacies and the humans seemed to be enjoying eating them in large numbers.

Then, it dawned on Emma, but far too late, that she had already consumed two full cakes. Staring at the cake she held in the palm of her hand, she shifted her open mouthed gaze to Tarissa who smiled and seemed to become blurred. Shaking her head, Emma realised that the cakes must be drugged, but how could the aliens be immune from it, she puzzled. Staring over to her classmates once more, she saw James collapse and be caught by the gloomy-faced pilot who lowered him gently to the ground.

Turning her attention back to Tarissa, Emma saw the uniformed creature fade in and out of focus and felt her hand on her shoulder.

“Emma Wallace! Emma Wallace! Are you all right?” her voice seemed to echo as if it were from far away.

Then, closing her eyes, Emma gently passed out.

“Right, Tarissa get her to a Restraint Seat on Hospital Deck three,” an Officer ordered, “it’s going to get rough out there and the First Admiral does not want them to get injured,” the voice added as Tarissa bodily lifted Emma from the floor as if she weighed no more than a dried leaf.

Chapter 27

The Black Rose

Settling comfortably into the single, high-backed chair in the Command Cabin of the Black Rose, Billy Caudwell felt the familiar tingle down his spine as the microscopic machines in his Personal Environment Suit linked with the Mind Control Systems of his shuttle craft. In front of him, the newly modified control panels stood like an island amongst a sea of grey and silver. The three Display Screens had been activated and were being constantly updated direct from the Data Consoles in the War Room of the Aquarius. All the manual controls and instruments aboard the Black Rose had been carefully stowed behind their bulkheads leaving the Command Cabin with a feeling of emptiness and inactivity.

For Billy, the distraction of the various monitors and control mechanisms was something that he simply did not require. He needed his mind clear and focussed on the job at hand. At stake was the fate of his home-world and every living thing on that planet. With wave after wave of super-heated plasma hurtling towards him, he knew that he had to judge and anticipate their movements as well as direct the energy from the massive Proto-Star reactors to the force-shielding generated by the Star-Destroyers that anchored this particular umbrella in space. The Black Rose, Billy knew, was the tip of the umbrella, and it was up to him to switch the power from one sector of the protective force-shielding to the other in response to the oncoming waves of super-heated plasma.

The central of the three Display Screens looked like one of the arcade games he had played when he was younger. Pale blue graphic lines converged to a point in the near distance creating five long triangular sections that formed a five-sided pyramid on his screen. The apex or point of the graphic pyramid he knew was himself and the Black Rose. His viewpoint was from the base looking towards the apex. To his left, the second Display Screen indicated the power drainage on the massive Proto-Star generators aboard the five, huge octagonal-shaped Star-Destroyers that formed each corner of the pyramid’s base. As Billy scanned the five twitching vertical bar charts, he understood that there was very little demand being put on the generators at present. However, in the heat of the action, these bar charts would spring upwards on his screen as he drew vast amounts of power from the generators. The generators were linked through the force-shielding so that he could draw power from more than one source as the situation demanded. But, he knew that he had to be careful. If he overloaded one generator, then the whole pyramid-like umbrella would collapse and the Earth would be swamped by super-hearted plasma. The crews aboard the Star-Destroyers would also be vulnerable and reliant on either Emergency Escape or their own force-shielding. There were nearly one hundred and fifty thousand crew members aboard each Star-Destroyer. Almost seven hundred and fifty thousand Alliance soldiers plus the billons of creatures on Earth were depending on him to get it right. If he got it wrong, however, Billy knew that he would be the first to die. The force-shielding on the Black Rose was being heavily reinforced by the power drawn from the generators aboard the Star-Destroyers. If that power failed, Billy and the Black Rose would be vapourised in an instant.