The Outer Worlds: Book One of the Epherian Chronicles (25 page)

‘
Good morning, Captain,’ said Ivan, his voice sounded even more
robotic than usual and completely lacked any tone.

‘
Good morning, Ivan,’ replied Michael. ‘What happened to your
voice?’

‘
The fault in my damaged internal vocal chip is degrading.
There is a high probability the chip will fail, and in such a case
I will be left without a voice.’

‘
I will have to do something about that when we get back to
human controlled space,’ said Michael.

‘
I would appreciate that, Captain.’

Michael felt
guilty about not getting the repair done when he had Ivan repaired
back at X5126. ‘I’m sorry, Ivan. I should have had your voice
repaired a long time ago.’

‘
It is quite all right, Captain.’

‘
I’ll make it a priority.’

Sara took the
pilot’s seat and flicked the switch on the holographic projector
panel. A transparent and glowing image of Moros Gamma appeared
before them. The most obvious feature was the number of mountain
ranges.

‘
When the Epherians first discovered the planet it was
uninhabitable,’ said Sara. ‘A group of ancient colonists set about
terraforming about two and a half thousand years ago. It’s still
not considered a prime world, but it does have an oxygen rich
atmosphere and the gravity is rated at 1.13. Before the aliens
attacked the valleys were teaming with flora and fauna. The aliens
destroyed almost everything on the surface in the initial attack.
They dropped heavy conventional bombs on the human cities. Every
city on the surface was completely flattened.’

‘
How did Morosians survive the invasion?’ asked
Michael.

‘
They managed to push back the first wave, even though their
fleet was vastly outnumbered. They sacrificed a lot to hold back
the aliens. From what I can gather the aliens underestimated the
Morosian response and didn’t send enough ships to complete their
first assault. By the time the second alien fleet arrived the
Morosians had constructed the EPHX cannons from secret blueprints
based on the Epherian frontier defences. The EPHX cannons are
extremely advanced and evasive satellites which automatically fire
at any ship or conventional projectile approaching the planet, and
it seems the aliens don’t have an answer to this method of defence,
yet. The only option the aliens had was to attack the surface from
a distance with long range lasers, but the Morosians moved their
entire population underground, so the laser attacks cause little
damage.’

‘
So the aliens set up a siege to stop the population escaping,’
said Michael.

‘
Yes, and they must have known the EPHX cannon lenses would
eventually decay. I expect they’re waiting for the lenses to fail,
and when that day comes the Morosians won’t stand a chance against
the resulting invasion, and they are too far away to flee to
another system. The result would be complete obliteration of their
civilization.’

**

The entire
crew had come out of deep sleep. They were approaching the planet.
Ethan was in the engine room manually checking all the systems.
Acacius, Cynthia, Ivan, Ajax and Gopher were in the living
room.

Michael and
Sara were in the control room. Sara was configuring an encrypted
signal, which she hoped would pass the alien fleet without being
detected and would enable her to open a secure line of
communication.

‘
I will try to open up a hidden communication channel. Let’s
hope this works.’ She hit the external com switch. ‘Moros Gamma,
this is the Out Drifter. Interworld code AMB712. We are approaching
with precious cargo you requested from the Tunnel Makers. Please
respond.’ She flicked the switch back. ‘We have to wait, Captain.
There is a delay because the signal channel is sent out in six
parts and refracted off detectable gravitational fields. Hopefully
the signal will only fully reconfigure at the
destination.’

A few minutes
went by with nothing but silence from the external com.

The com
started hissing. ‘…Out Drifter, this is General Khar of the Moros
Gamma. We’re glad to hear the good news…’

‘
Hello, General Khar. We need a way to pass the alien fleet,’
said Sara.

‘…
It’s going to be difficult, Out Drifter. We are reluctant to
shut down our EPHX cannons…The aliens have been bombarding the
cannons with missiles for weeks. They know the cannons lenses are
deteriorating…’

‘
You have to shut them down for us; otherwise we can’t get to
the surface and make the delivery you need.’

‘…
We understand, but the only option we have is to use what
remains of our fighter fleet to attack the aliens as we open a way
for your ship to approach. If we don’t provide a distraction the
aliens will follow you down to the surface and wipe us out. We need
about two hours to prepare our fleet for battle…’

‘
We are less than an hour away at interstellar speed,’ said
Sara. ‘We’ll wait for your signal to approach. We are running a
gauntlet here, General; there is a chance we won’t make it. I plan
to come out of interstellar speed just short of the atmosphere;
then I will make the dash for the surface. How many ships are in
the alien blockade?’

‘…
The aliens have approximately eight hundred fighters, twenty
four smaller cruisers and two main battleships…’

Sara drew a
deep breath and put the palm of her hand to her forehead. She
closed her eyes and waited a few moments before speaking again.
‘How many ships do you have?’

‘…
We have thirty four fighters, and we have adapted fifteen
standard transport cruisers into battle worthy ships…’

She shook her
head and her eyes filled with apprehension. ‘General, do you really
think you can create a distraction with so few ships?’

‘…
It’s our only chance…’ he answered.

Sara didn’t
say a word for a few seconds. She simply stared at the console
without blinking. Michael knew her mind was racing through all the
possibilities. ‘We’ll wait for your signal to approach and provide
you with our approximate arrival time through this secure
channel.’

She switched
the external com to standby and lowered her head. A moment later
she laughed.

‘
What’s so funny?’ he asked.

‘
If I wasn’t laughing I would be crying. I’m going to buy
myself a present if I manage to get through this alien
blockade.’

‘
I know you can do this, Sara.’

‘
That makes one of us,’ she said, laughing again. ‘Captain,
this is complete madness. I expected a blockade of about one
hundred alien fighters, not eight hundred. I hoped to find a gap
and run for it, but eight hundred alien fighters! There won’t be
any gaps in the blockade. We will have to fight the aliens no
matter what I do, and that’s just getting to the surface. Getting
away from Moros Gamma will be nearly impossible.’

‘
Sara, we have come this far. We can make it.’

‘
Captain, why are you always so confident? You never worry
about anything.’

‘
Fearing the future doesn’t make the future any better. I
believe we can do anything if it’s in the realm of possibility, and
getting to Moros Gamma is in the realm of possibility.’

She leaned
back in her seat. ‘My people believed they could hold back the
alien invasion of Gazar Prime, but their belief didn’t stop the
aliens destroying my home world; no amount of confidence could halt
the destruction. I understand about being positive, but some things
are just impossible. It’s a matter of being realistic. A realistic
person would never attempt to break through this blockade.’

‘
What about hope?’

‘
Hope is a dangerous word in my life.’

Michael looked
out into the distance. He knew one of Sara’s gifts was that she was
so pragmatic and methodical about life. This way of thinking had
driven her to be extremely efficient, and she was certainly one of
the best pilots he had even met. She believed completely in cause
and effect, and nothing would sway her belief. She had lost hope in
the idea of hope itself when her home world had been obliterated.
She simply couldn’t dare to hope again as she had faced the
desolation of life after all hope was lost.

‘
Sara, trust me; I know we can do this,’ he said
confidently.

‘
Can I really trust the Epherian Emperor?’ she asked with a
dash of sarcasm, raising an eyebrow.

‘
That’s up to you.’

‘
Will you use your magic if we get into trouble? If you say yes
I just might hope a little.’

‘
It’s not magic; it’s science.’

‘
I’m sorry, Captain, but what you do is not scientifically
possible.’

‘
It’s only seems like magic because you don’t understand it.
You have to understand that the End Machine would know our exact
location if I used my powers.’

‘
The End Machine or eight hundred aliens fighters. Which would
you prefer to fight?’ she asked.

‘
Neither, but certainly not both at the same time.’

CHAPTER
SEVENTEEN

Michael
watched the navigation console as the Out Drifter drew closer to
Moros Gamma. He expected to drop out of interstellar speed at any
moment.

‘
The aliens know we’re here,’ said Sara as she reached up and
drew down the combat visor. ‘Are you ready, Captain?’

He nodded as
she switched to normal speed. The ship drastically slowed and Moros
Gamma appeared in their viewing panel. The planet was relatively
close to a small red dwarf star.

Sara instantly
veered to the right and downward and then turned the ship back
toward the planet, increasing the engines to full power.

Michael
couldn’t see the blockade. ‘Where are they?’

‘
Above us,’ she yelled.

A moment later
a cascade of bright laser beams lit up the darkness of space; it
looked like it was raining lasers. An explosion rang out and the
Out Drifter rattled. The electronic shield instantly dropped to
fifty five percent.

‘
We have three hundred fighters on our tail,’ she yelled as she
brought the Out Drifter into a spiralling evasive maneuver. The
space surrounding them was lighting up with plasma blasts and
rockets were whizzing by. Sara fired every weapon she could. The
Out Drifter had over eighty rockets remaining, and she unleashed
every last one in an attempt to hold back the alien
pursuit.

‘
Here is the rescue party!’ she said.

Dozens of
ships were approaching from the planet. A heavy blast rang out, and
the Out Drifter shook again. The entire control console switched
off and went completely dark; a moment later the console flickered
on again and powered up. Michael breathed a short lived sigh of
relief. The life support emergency light started flashing.

‘
Captain! We have a hull breach! We’re losing
oxygen!’

‘
How long?’

‘
Not long! There’s a small hole in the ceiling of the cargo
bay. I’m closing off the cargo bay doors and isolating the
area.’

‘
Is everyone out of there?’

‘
They’re in the living room, but Ethan is in the engine
room.’

She hit the
internal com switch. ‘Ethan, I have to seal you in! We have a hull
breach.’

‘…
Do what you need to do…’ replied Ethan.

Seconds later
the Morosian fleet rocketed by and engaged the alien fighters in
close combat. The Morosian squadron was an assortment of rundown
rust buckets. The battle erupted behind them. Sara’s entire focus
was on getting to the surface of the planet. The shield was at
three percent, and the hull breach was destabilising the ship. She
was straining to keep control. They entered the planet’s upper
atmosphere and the ship started to shake.

A group of
alien fighters broke away from the main battle to follow them.

‘
Captain, divert what’s left of the electronic shield to the
upper side of the ship.’

Michael
couldn’t see her reasoning. ‘Shouldn’t we protect the back?’

‘
Not unless you want to be cooked by the friction as we pass
through the atmosphere. We need to protect area where the heat
shield has been breached.’

‘
Will three percent be enough?’ he asked as he diverted the
remaining power of the shield to the top of the ship.

Sara ignored
the question; she went into a trancelike focus as she guided the
ship through the atmosphere. She kept a blistering pace, as fast as
she possibly could with a crippled ship. A group of alien fighters
were gaining on them and had entered the atmosphere.

Michael
watched the shield system indicator; one percent remaining. He
looked out through the viewing panel and could see the mountain
ranges below. They flew through some scattered clouds descended on
a downward gradient toward the surface.

Sara reached
forward and hit the external com switch. ‘General Khar, this is the
Out Drifter. We have entered the atmosphere with fourteen alien
fighters in pursuit. We need a navigation signal to follow to your
docks. Do you have any ground based defences? Our ship is damaged.
We can’t hold off these fighters. They’ll be on us in less than a
minute.’

‘…
We’re sending a squadron of combat air-vehicles to assist,’
said General Khar. ‘Our land based cannons will make light work of
them if they keep following you. The navigation signal is on. Keep
a steady line of approach…’