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“Keep them busy,” Admiral Gilmore ordered, “ETA to target?”
“Closing in on target range now, sir!” Lieutenant Small again reported.
“Fire!”
“Firing now, sir!”
Three missiles shot from the bow of the Agamemnon, flying across the void and hit the target, lighting up the emitter station. The red beam that sent energy to the moon of Abbidon, vanished as the complex exploded. Thousands of pieces of shrapnel flew outward in all directions. The blast glowed for several moments before being snuffed out by the vacuum of space.
“Secondary target destroyed!” Reported Lieutenant Small.
“Report on those two Draconian ships?”
“The two Draconian ships are disabled. Their FTL’s are down. Shields failing. They’re receiving major hull damage!”
“Break off attack,” Gilmore ordered, “They can’t follow us now. Send the main fleet to Chardra-5. Take out the stations at both moons, Bunton and Maxia. I want four ships to stay with us. We’re breaking off and going hunting.”
“Aye, sir,” Lieutenant Casey acknowledged, “Message sent to the fleet.”
“Get me the chief!”
“One moment, sir,” Casey began, then pressed commands on his console, “Chief Shumote; I have the Admiral. Stand by, sir. I have the Chief. Go ahead.”
“Chief,” Gilmore began, “What’s our status?”
“All systems are online. No damage from any of that debris. Shields holding one-hundred percent. No hull damage. We’re battle ready, sir!”
“Keep our PDS at the ready. If we find Fitz out there, I want to start hammering his ship before he can pull his pants up!”
“Aye, sir, we’ll definitely catch Admiral Fitz with his pants down, sir.”
“Good to hear. Stand by all stations,” Admiral Gilmore ordered, “Navigation: Mister Fleming. Plot us our first jump. I have a feeling he’s out here close by.”
“Aye, sir,” Lieutenant Fleming nodded as he manipulated his navigation station, “Sending new coordinates to our mini fleet, now, sir.”
“All stations begin jump prep. Start the clock and keep our ships’ navigation systems synced.”
“All ships’ NAV stations are confirmed synced.”
All stations around the CSC called out their readiness, then Lieutenant Casey reported, “We’re jump ready, sir.”
“Jump on my mark—MARK!”
The five battleships jumped the void of space to their coordinates. Then, the engines spun down, before the stars retuned their normal appearance.
“SITREP!” Gilmore shouted.
“Sector is clear, sir. No sign of them.”
“Keep searching,” ordered Gilmore, “Launch a CAP. Send them out as far as they can go to get a good look out there. NAV; start calculating our next jump. Maybe we’ll get lucky next time?”
“Aye, sir,” Lieutenant Fleming acknowledged, “Calculating next jump. We’ll be ready in twenty minutes, sir.”
“Mister Casey, tell Major Rollins to keep a sharp eye open out there.”
“Aye, sir,” Fleming nodded his understanding, “Message sent. The CAP has launched. They are set to return in fifteen minutes.”
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Planet Murgon
Draconian Ship
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The Draconian captain stood over the tactical station, his hand on the officer’s shoulder, “Looks like they jumped away.”
“Yes, sir. Admiral Gilmore’s fleet has left Murgon.”
“That just means they’re heading to the next collector/emitter station. I want word sent to the fleet at Lebencha! Have them stand ready for battle stations; they could hit any time!”
“All communications are down, sir.”
“Send a transport if you have too! Just get word to them, now!”
“Aye, sir.”
“It’ll take us a few minutes to get that transport launched. We’ve taken serious damage down there,” the ship’s engineer reported.
“I don’t want excuses! Make it happen!”
“Yes, sir!” the engineer acknowledged, “We’ll get them launched!”
“Begin repairs, ship wide. There’s nothing left to defend here. I want to move our two ships to Lebencha’s fleet as soon as we can!”
“All repair teams are dispatched, sir. We’ll be ready in a few minutes.”
________________________
The Agamemnon
CSC
________________________
“Major Rollins is reporting the sector is clear, sir,” Lieutenant Casey relayed, “They’re heading back now. ETA two minutes.”
“Fine. Get our ships ready to jump as soon as they get back.”
“Aye-aye, sir. All systems are jump ready.”
“Good. Fitz is out here somewhere. I just know it!”
“Yes, sir,” Lieutenant Small smiled, “We’ll find ‘em, sir.”
“All stations, stand by! Jump on my Mark—”
“The CAP has returned, sir. Chief Shumote reports the landing bay is secure. We’re ready, sir.”
“Commence jump!” Admiral Gilmore ordered, then continued, “And get that CAP launched again!”
________________________
The Rocinante
Medical Bay
________________________
Doctor Lambert continued monitoring his patients. Checking his instruments, he finally nodded as he spoke to the Admiral, “Well, Jed, they’ve finally calmed down. No more seizures.”
“This is a good thing, Doc.”
The comm system rang in their ears as Lieutenant Henderson called, “Admiral Fitz, I have the XO for you. Stand by, Commander Jameson.”
Jed’s eyebrows raised as he stepped over to the console, then he pressed the transmit button, “Go ahead.”
“Admiral, we just spotted fighters flying out there!”
“Fighters?!” Jed exclaimed, “Who are they?”
“They’re Earth fighters. I suggest we go to full battle stations. I have that feeling.”
“I’m startin’ to get that feeling as well, Tom. Go ahead and send out the alert. Get word to the Primrose and Bristol that we’re going to General Quarters. I’m on my way up now.”
“Commander Jameson out.”
The internal comm link ended just before alarms blared in the medical bay, telling Jed that his XO had sounded battle stations.
“Go,” Doctor Lambert nodded, “We’ll be fine down here. You need to go.”
The urgency in his voice compelled Jed to head toward the exit, “I’ll keep the ship as safe as we can.”
“I’ll let you know if there’s any change in their condition.”
Jed began trotting down the corridor as he left the medical bay. Quickly making his way up three decks to the combat support center, his XO announced to the crew, “Admiral on Deck!”
“As you were,” Jed replied as he took the three steps down to the CSC pit, “SITREP!”
“Those two fighters came and went. I suspect they’ll be on us any minute!” Commander Jameson reported. “Bristol and Primrose are ready; all weapons are online. We’re battle ready, sir.”
________________________
The Agamemnon
CSC
________________________
“Sir!” Lieutenant Casey reported, “Major Rollins is back and says they’ve spotted the Rocinante. He’s sending us the coordinates now!”
“Prepare to jump close in!” Admiral Gilmore shouted, his grin growing across his face, “We’ve got him! I want a status on his fleet!”
“Major Rollins reports two additional ships flying with Admiral Fitz: Bristol and Primrose!”
“Prepare for attack!” Gilmore barked, “Jump status?”
“All five battleships are synced and ready, sir!” Lieutenant Fleming reported.
“The board is green!” Reported Chief Shumote.
“Commence jump!”
“Jumping now, sir!” Lieutenant Fleming acknowledged.
The five battle ships flew across the sector, landing on the Rocinante’s door step.
“We’ve got them on scanners, sir!” Lieutenant Small reported, “They’re one minute to weapons range!”
“They’re already moving off,” Fleming reported.
“Flank speed!” Gilmore ordered, “I want that firing solution, now! Do not let them get away!”
“Our coordinates were spot on, sir,” Fleming nodded toward his Admiral, “They must have seen the fighters and began preparing to jump!”
“They’re spooling their jump drives!” Lieutenant Small reported.
“Fire everything we’ve got!” Gilmore panicked.
“Sorry, sir, they’re staying out of our firing solution!”
“Send the following message to the Rock!”
________________________
The Rocinante
CSC
________________________
“Multiple contacts!” Lieutenant Collins reported.
“You were right, Jed,” Commander Jameson nodded, “They found us! Action Stations!”
“Hold that order,” Admiral Fitz countered, “We can’t win this one five to three!”
“Message from Primrose,” Lieutenant Henderson interjected, “Captain Rothgarson recommends jumping to our standby coordinates!”
“I concur,” Jed replied, “Get us out of here!”
“Jump drives are spooling, sir. One minute!”
“Message coming in from the Agamemnon.”
“Put it on speakers,” Jed ordered.
“Fitz! This is Gilmore! You can run, but you can’t hide forever! I’ll find you again, Fitz, and when I do, I’m taking you down!”
“Jump drives are ready, sir!”
“No reply, just jump us!”
“Jumping now, sir!”
The three fleet ships raced across to a new sector, continuing in formation.
“Jump complete,” Lieutenant Fleming reported. “Bristol and Primrose are on each flank.”
“Stay alert, everyone,” Commander Jameson ordered, “They’re out here. If they found us once, they could find us again.” Jameson looked over to Jed, “I’ve got an idea.”
“I’ve seen that look, before.”
“Yes, sir, you sure have.”
“You’re serious, aren’t you?”
“Sure. Why not? We’ve got the upper hand,” Jameson smugly replied, “as in, we know their location.”
“So, get word to the others and have them prep for the Fitz Blitz.”
________________________
The Agamemnon
CSC
________________________
“Jump in three, two—” Admiral Gilmore counted.
“Hold jump!” Lieutenant Small interjected, “Multiple contacts! They’re back!”
Studying his screen in the CSC pit, Admiral Gilmore’s eyebrows raised, “They’re right on top of us!”
“Open fire!”
“They targeted one of the Centaurian battleships,” Lieutenant Small frantically reported. “The Chamoli is being hammered by the Rocinante’s point defense weapons! They jumped in point blank range! We can’t get a fix!”
“You better get a fix, mister!” Admiral Gilmore ordered. “Launch the CAP!”
“We’re two minutes before our fighters can get out there, sir!”
“Break formation! Turn us ninety degrees port and get those weapons locked!”
“It’s too late, they jumped away!”
“They’re positioned just outside our firing solution!” Small reported.
“Get us in firing range, now!” Gilmore shouted.
“The Bristol has jumped in and is now firing on the Chamoli!”
“He’s using multiple jumps to hit us!”
“The Chamoli is taking severe damage!” Reported Lieutenant Small.
“Lock those weapons!”
“Working on it, sir!” Lieutenant Small panicked. “I’ve got a weapons lock—wait—they jumped away again!”
“Get ready for another attack,” Admiral Gilmore ordered.
“Standing ready, sir!”
“Now the Primrose has jumped in at point blank range!”
“Fire everything we’ve got!”
“We can’t sir, we’re still trying to line up. If we fire now, we’ll hit the others!”
“Damn that Fitz!” Admiral Gilmore cursed, “Flank speed to their holding position!”
“The Chamoli is breaking up!” Lieutenant Small again reported, his face turning pale as he watched his console, “The Primrose has jumped away, but we’ve lost the Chamoli, sir!”
“Our remaining ships are closing the gap to their holding position,” Lieutenant Fleming reported.
“They’re going to take us out one at a time, if we don’t get our act together!” Shouted Gilmore, “Now, get us in firing solution!”
“The three ships have jumped away, sir!”
“Set emergency jump coordinates,” Admiral Gilmore ordered, “Get us outta here!”
“Spooling FTL drives,” Lieutenant Fleming acknowledged, “NAV syncing computers in progress—”
“All three of Fitz’s ships have jumped in,” Lieutenant Small reported. “They’re targeting the Redoubt!”
“Jump the fleet! Jump us now!”
“Jumping,” Lieutenant Fleming reported.
Three of Gilmore’s ships flew across to a new sector in a half-second.
“SITREP!”
“Only three of us made it. They took out the Redoubt’s FTL!”
“Fitz!” Gilmore again cursed, “You mean to tell me they took out two of our ships? This is unacceptable!”
________________________
The Rocinante
CSC
________________________
“The Redoubt is now breaking up. We’ve got Gilmore on the run!” Lieutenant Collins reported.
Admiral Fitz grew a wide smile, “Well done, everyone!”
“That’s two down! The Chamoli and Redoubt.”
“We’re evened up, now,” Commander Jameson praised, “We can settle in for the long fight if we run into them again.”
“Get those EDG’s exchanged. Maintain fleet formation and stand at the ready,” Admiral Fitz ordered, “If I know Gilmore, he’ll not back down from this.”
“Primrose and Bristol are calling,” Lieutenant Henderson reported.
“On speakers!”
“Captain Rothgarson. Captain McCartney,” Admiral Fitz began, “Job well done! What’s your statuses?”
Captain Rothgarson’s voice echoed across the comm link first, “No damage to the Primrose. We’re good for another attack.”
“Captain McCartney?” Fitz asked next.
“The Bristol took some damage to our starboard PDS. They got a lucky shot off.”
“How bad is it?”
“Just minor damage, Admiral. We’ll have it patched up within the hour.”
“Good to hear. Stand ready,” Admiral Fitz said, “We’ve pissed off Gilmore now. He’ll be back with reinforcements if I know him.”
“We’ll be ready,” Captain McCartney said. His voice crackling over the distorted comm link.
Skatie’s voice broke in over the comm channel, “Jed, might I suggest we move to our next standby coordinates? You’re right about Admiral Gilmore returning with a vengeance, only this time, he knows where we are.”
“You’re so right, Skatie,” Admiral Fitz agreed, then turned to Lieutenant Foster, “NAV: set our jump coordinates and sync up with Bristol and Primrose. Start the clock.”
“Aye, sir,” Lieutenant Foster acknowledged, “NAV coordinates are set. FTL’s are synced. The clock is running. Jumping in two minutes.”
“Call it out!” Commander Jameson ordered.
Chapter Twenty-Four
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Theta Centauri
Chancellor Relegon’s New Flagship
Saragossa
________________________
The battle ridden planet continued to have large sections of debris floating as deadly reminders from when the Warlords attacked. Chancellor Relegon now stood on a new battleship, in orbit around his home world.
With a proud look upon his face, he turned to face the open communication channel and began addressing the ships in sector that continued supporting Relegon.
“My fellow sssurviving Theta Centauriansss,” Relegon briefly paused, then continued, “I come before you today to assssemble my fleet. Zetaal’sss movement hasss become dangerousss to our peoplesss of Theta Centauri.
“He hasss enlisssted the help and ssssupport of the Truven and they fight together for hisss causssse. However, asss we well know, the Truven and their leader, Boldmane, which were alsssso decimated by the Antariansss and seeks retribution, anyway he can. Thisss pact that Zetaal hasss formed, will ultimately lead to our total dessstruction.
“I sssay this becaussse Boldmane isss well known to ussse any meansss to reach hisss goalsss. Thossse goalsss are to become the defining force in the galaxy, at any cossst.
“Hisss plansss are to ussse Zetaal and hisss followersss to annihilate the Antariansss. Yesss. The Antariansss decimated Theta Centauri. Yesss, our brothersss at Kappa Centauri have joined with Zetaal’sss movement.
“I come before you today, to tell you thisss truth. Once Zetaal has defeated every Antarian, the Truven will turn their weaponsss on usss. Then Boldmane will destroy the Humansss and take over the Betelgeussse wormhole. There will be no ssstopping the Truven if thisss isss allowed to occur.
“The Antariansss are no longer the Warlordsss of the galaxy. With the human’sss intervention, their blood ssspirit, their Kron’Ssshulooka that makesss them fight, has been resssolved. Their blood no longer ssspeaksss to them. No longer rulesss them. They are no longer the Warlordsss that decimated our home world.
