C72 What would it take ?
What would it take ?
Oldran System.
“ Tell’s fleet is moving and our ships are forming up on them. “ Hope reported as Anthony reached out to swap over to the Seltran jumper, which promptly greeted him with the usual, “ Consciousness detected, reconnecting systems. Welcome Anthony. “
“ Good, keep a watch for those Xa’Leen ships. Keep our ships between the Terran’s and the Xa’Leen just in case. “ Anthony instructed, and then deeply inhaled, hoping he could manage the transfer of Oldran station, without the jumper being identified by the Terran’s.
“ Your hoping they will survive. “ Hope remarked to him, while making sure the conversation was only between themselves.
“ Maybe. I guess after everything, I am just perplexed. Tell and his men go against my perception of selfishness and greed within humans. I guess I should learn not to blatantly generalize. “ Anthony admitted.
“ Personally, I don’t think your entirely wrong either. I think people like Alber are the exception. “ Hope remarked.
“ Maybe, but I am conflicted with his course of action. I mean, he already accepted my offer to take Oldran station away. It should not be a stretch to ask for a lift for his fleet. “ Anthony near protested.
“ He does not strike me as someone that simply asks for favors, and we have not exactly established ourselves as someone that hands out freebies. I guess you could just make a direct offer. “ Hope suggested.
“ Perhaps. “ He admitted, and then directs towards Nana, “ Nana, offer the Admiral that we can transport his ships away from Oldran, anyplace in the Commonwealth, or worst case, even Allistor 5. “
“ Will do. “ She responded.
“ To Allistor ? “ Hope inquired.
“ Yes. If that is where he want’s to go, at least he’ll get there in one piece and has a fighting chance together with the defense fleet. “ Anthony relented.
Then he moved the jump-ship over the carrier frame, usually used to transport the Dusks via electro magnets that where fired towards the ships, connected to the frame via a long cable. And while extending the jump-ships robotic arms, he could listen to how Nana extended his offer, if in a more neutral way then he worded it.
“ After the station has been moved, Sovereign may be able to transport your fleet as well, if you wish. He has suggested moving your fleet to a safer location, but he is willing to take you to Allistor 5 as well, if you prefer. “ Nana spoke, after which there seemed to be a longer pause.
“ If able, a transport to Allistor 5 would be much appreciated, every moment counts right now. “ Alber responded after considering the offer, after which Nana simply nodded.
“ Fuck. “ Anthony cussed hearing his response.
He thought Alber quite honorable, but with the new information gained from the Silencers database, he also thought it incredibly stupid to head there and just have his life wasted, alongside that of his men.
Senseless loss of life, the idea upset him incredibly. And while he admitted to himself that the loss of the colonists was not any lesser, throwing their military into an impossible defense, where was the point in that ?
“ Your getting angry. “ Hope observed.
“ Yeah. I honestly don’t know what to think of it. I can understand the wish to defend the colony, but-, “ He responded, and paused for a moment.
“ I guess maybe I am lacking the whole picture here. The Military arm of the Commonwealth may actually have prepared more then we are aware of. “ He then admitted, reminding himself not to be to quick to judge from his own viewpoint, not until he had more of an understanding anyway.
“ Anthony, we are ready here, Station surveillance is off-line for the transport, though, given your offer to the Admiral, I guess that wont matter anymore. “ Kira interrupted.
“ Yeah, once I start transporting their fleet, it will be obvious where the ship is coming from. “ Anthony admitted, and then starts initiates jump-drive, using an external view provided by Kira so that he could appear just above the station.
“ How is the Xa’Leen movement ? “ He then asks.
“ Two new groups, large once even, I am counting over 300 in the latest. But they are over 15 million kilometers out and headed for a smaller planetoid. It does not seem like they are interested to throw themselves at the fleet or stations defense anymore. “ Hope reported her observation.
“ Let’s hope they are as unenthusiastic in Allistor and Bospherous. “ Anthony remarked, and then triggered the jump over to Oldran.
Once there, he first had to establish a stable orbit around the frost giant, not to crash into it, or the station. But then he could lower the ship above Oldran Station where he released some of the magnetic hooks, aiming to attach them to the upper dome structure.
“ Kira, I am ready here. Have you gotten an escort yet ? “ He inquired, planning to have the three transports with the union personal escorted on their way to Rendar.
“ Yes, 4 merc frigates. “ Kira responded.
“ Good, the moment I performed the jump to Akelar, inform the station to start establishing an orbit. And then undock. Hope will take over control, and I want you with the others on one of the Dusks. “ Anthony instructed.
“ Received. “ Kira responded, and then Anthony triggered the next Jump, taking the station over to Akelar.
There he had placed the jump point at an extreme distance towards it’s star, so that their maneuvering thrusters had plenty of time and a better efficiency to establish a temporary orbit.
“ Ok, disconnecting. Hope ? I am jumping to Allistor, I want to get a first impression of the situation, and select a drop point for Tell’s fleet. “ He then stated.
“ I’ll access the ships sensors to get us a clearer picture. “ Hope responded, as she was quicker in analyzing the situation.
“ Thanks. “ Anthony noted, and then once again begun the jump procedure, choosing a spot a few million kilometers away from Allistor 5.
Close enough to get a quick visual of the situation, and hopefully far enough not to be jumping right into the middle of anything. And once there, Anthony powered down most systems to stay undetected, keeping just the sensor suit active for the moment.
Yet he found himself quite surprised as the situation was nothing like he expected. He himself was in no danger, but Allistor 5 was experiencing what he could only describe as a siege.
“ Hope, you seeing this ? “ He asked.
“ Yes, I am detecting around 250 thousand Xa’Leen present near Allistor 5, they are currently engaged with the Terran fleet. It seems there are also multiple Xa’Leen groups engaged in combat with orbital defensive satellites around some of the other planetary bodies.
“ Huh. So I guess, keeping an open mind at times ain’t such a bad idea. “ Anthony admitted, as the Terran’s clearly had prepared and reinforced the system.
By the looks of it, they deployed a large amount of defense satellites, mostly laser based by the looks of it, but there where some that looked like they used a form of Gatling gun, heavier satellites that required constant adjustment in orbit to compensate for the push created by their quick release of bullet showers.
They even deployed mobile missile platforms on some of the smaller planetoids, turning Allistor into somewhat of a fortress. Though by the looks of it, it had been a work in progress, as though they had hoped to just build a defensive line to stop the Xa’Leen.
“ Interesting that we did not notice them when we passed through earlier today. “ Anthony remarked.
“ We haven’t exactly been looking for them, and I suppose they may have been in an idle state, to stay undetected until needed. “ Hope suggested.
“ True, how do you estimate their chances ? “ Anthony asked while selecting the next jump target.
“ The Terran defensive fleet has split into 4 groups to cover Allistor 5 from multiple approaches. The Xa’Leen appear more organized though, using a siege approach. And I am seeing multiple types of Xa’Leen creatures, not just the one we seen in Oldran.
It seems while the Xa’Leen have the numerical superiority, their defensive and offensive capacity is questionable at best, but the Terran fleet already sustained some losses. They use the defensive network effectively, holding the Xa’Leen back, yet I can not see them overcome the sheer numerical superiority.
I am also seeing multiple groups approaching from the gas giants, at current speed, I estimate the first group to reinforce the attackers in about 8 hours. There are at least 6 more groups of similar size in system, and the three gas Giants I am seeing show a lot of movement around them as well. “ Hope reported.
“ So, no good still. “ Anthony sighed.
“ No, unless a sizable amount of reinforcements are brought in, Allistor 5 will be lost. “ Hope admitted.
“ Well, crap. “ Anthony grunted, and directed his attention to Nana.
“ Nana, inform the Admiral that I am incoming, I would prefer not to be shot at. And if they have questions about the ship, it’s a modified salvage. “ Anthony instructed, using a half truth not to directly implicate the Seltran.
“ Received. “ Nana responded, and then proceeded to inform Alber of the situation.
Anthony would give them a moment to prepare, using that time to watch the sensor data about the Terran defenders. How they evasively weaved about while putting heavy fire onto the Xa’Leen, punishing them for any attempt to move in closer towards the planet.
He could not make out from this distance what kind of weapon the Xa’Leen were using, clearly able to spot some of the green orbs, but that did not account for the aggressive movement of the Terran ships.
“ Well, here goes nothing I guess. “ He uttered to himself, hearing how Alber was giving out orders for the ships. It told Anthony that he could now proceed so that he powered the ship systems back up and engage the jump-drive, allowing him to appear a few Kilometers above the Terran fleet in Oldran.
“ Cap, That is a Seltran Vessel. “ Anthony could hear the Tactical officer announce on the Silencer.
Alber, after checking Nana’s reaction to the situation, simply uttered a brief “ Noted, “ not even bothering to ask about it’s origin or Sovereign’s relation to the Seltran.
“ Not the reaction I expected. “ Anthony admitted.
“ Nana, make sure to remind them that all motion will be lost after transport. It will be important to establish Orbit the moment they get into Allistor, I will drop them right above Allistor 5 between the defensive fleets.
I will be taking the Silencer as one of the first ships, I need someone to assure the defenders that the Jumper is not there for target practice. “ Anthony informed while lowering the ship closer to the Terran ships.
“ Ok. “ Nana responded before she spoke to Alber, to relay the information. Which had the man in turn issue new orders for the remaining ships to be prepared for the transfer.
“ Hope, take control of the hooks and capture the closest ships, including the Silencer. “ He then instructed, as the magnetic hooks would need to be aimed at multiple ships, and Hope could do so simultaneously, instead of one after the other under his control.
“ On it. “ She responded, proceeding to aim and release the hooks towards the closest ships. And barely two minutes later, Anthony could start the first transfer.
“ Nana, I am starting the Jump. “ He warned, so that she could inform Alber in turn, and he would wait for a moment to listen to her relaying his warning, before jumping once more.
The process of the transport was smooth, releasing the ships in Allistor 5’s orbit, and then jumping right back before any reaction of the defenders could threaten him.
He could hear through Nana how the Grand Admiral informed the defenders and even started to take control of the defending teams. He was the highest ranking officer amongst them as the Silencers data suggested, and quite experienced no less, so it came as no surprise to Anthony.
Around 20 minutes later, he released the last group of ships above Allistor 5, allowing him some brief time to observe the situation from this close viewpoint. He could see then just how heavily defended Allistor 5 actually was, being able to detect around 152 laser based defense satellites in it’s orbit alone.
What was more interesting however was that Allistor had an active military base. Anthony could watch how groups of fighter craft joined from the planet surface, unloaded their missile payload, and then returned to base to rearm. They looked capable of close quarters combat, but it appeared that was being held back until there was no other choice left.
That tactic seemed to work quite well for now, the Xa’Leen creatures, though much more organized then in Oldran, were being gunned down effectively, forced to stay at range as they tried in turn to destroy defenders and defense satellites.
It was a bit strange to witness, given that the Xa’Leen could probably just perform a blind charge, and effectively overpower the Terran ships and defense. They would clearly sustain heavy losses, but probably nowhere near what they were risking to loose right now.
Their defensive capacity wasn’t anything of value as the best they could do is to evade. Their armor, Bio-metal as Kira called it, posed no real protection against the Terran weaponry, but as he already suspected earlier, the Xa’Leen armaments were a lot more diverse here. There was not only the worm type Xa’Leen they seen earlier, though they too were represented in large numbers.
The main force appeared to be composed of some strange, ball shaped creature with the front being sunken inward, holding a large spike at it’s center. And it seemed like they catapulted that spike forward with what Anthony initially would describe as, pure muscle strength. The rate of fire was not at all that great though, as it took them nearly two minutes to replace the lost projectile.
There was also something that reminded him of a sort of, mutated cockroach, holding swarms of smaller bugs attached to it’s underbelly, from where they swarmed out, fired a sort of, green globule of something liquid before returning to the cockroach, where they appeared to suck in a new load of liquid to be fired by them when they swarmed out again.
That last one seemed to be the most dangerous to Anthony, the frequency that most of these Xa’Leen could fire at was pretty low. But these smaller swarm creatures, they not only fired more frequently, but they did so in what looked like a loosely coordinated formations, making it harder to evade. And those globules appeared to have an acidic quality, aggressively melting through the armor of the ships they hit.
The Terran side was doing surprisingly well so far, but from the 500 or so reported ships, only 389 had remained, as a lot of the frigates had been destroyed. But one could not deny that they were holding the Xa’Leen back with an efficiency that was near miraculous to Anthony.
“ Launch fighters, cover the defender fleets with a squad each. Brawlers up front, primary the Swarm creatures. Destroyer focus main canons on the carrier bugs, secondary armaments primary on those spitter’s.
Tanks, stay evasive for now, cover the sides and keep an eye open for suspicious movements. “ Alber commanded, still in the process of reorganizing the fleet structure.
Anthony guessed he was likely trying to act as a fifth defender group, perhaps to force the Xa’Leen to split their limited fire capacity even further.
“ This is strange. “ Anthony admitted, and opened up the map again to plot another jump.
“ What is ? “ Hope asked.
“ The Xa’Leen clearly act more organized here, equal to a military force. But I Still don’t see the aggressive kind of organization the report suggests. “ Anthony explained, and then triggers a jump over to the Bospherous system.
But when he reached the system, the scene was completely different then what he observed in Allistor. Instead of active battle, there was a near serene silence here, interrupted only by the sight of Xa’Leen swarms that wandered the system, and surrounded the 4 planets.
Bospherous 2, the colony, was surrounded as well, with no active battle, just Xa’Leen that seemed to have yet another type of bug, something that vaguely reminded of a horribly disfigured praying mantis, wandering between surface and Xa’Leen in orbit.
“ What ? “ Anthony uttered in disbelieve, having expected to see active battle here as well. The defense fleet here definitely was smaller, but maybe, they had no defensive installations like in Allistor ?
“ Something is wrong, they move differently, faster too. “ Hope shared her own observation.
“ They noticed you, I am seeing multiple groups changing course. “ She warned then.
This caused Anthony to check the tactical map, though by the projection they would still need an hour to reach him at his current position, which was significantly faster then what he seen in Allistor and Oldran.
“ What’s different ? “ He asked, as if Hope may have discovered something he had not.
“ I can’t find any significant difference other then those units descending to the planet surface. “ Hope admitted.
Anthony would then, trying to find anything useful at all, search for any active frequency, hoping for some form of communication attempts that may even suggest that someone was still out there. And he found something, a signal that he recalled to be an emergency frequency used by the Terran’s.
“ Emergency beacon active, Message on repeat. “ Was the initial message, clearly spoken by a synthetic voice.
“ This is Talia Relwin of Calvin city. We are under attack ! What the hell are you guys doing up there ?! “ A woman spoke in obvious panic, and there was the faint sobbing of someone in the background.
The woman inhaled, audibly preparing to speak again, but she was interrupted by a loud cracking noise, like some heavy structure had just caved in. It was followed by a scream and then a loud chirping and clicking sound.
Then another scream, this time of a young girl, she was calling out for her mother, and that sound came alongside some wet coughing, gurgling, and a terrible crunching and squelching noise.
Just a moment later the girls scream grew panicked, and it sounded like she was struggling, only for her voice to reach a high pitch before it faded into another set of wet gurgles, followed by more crunching and cracking.
At that moment Anthony felt a lump in his throat, feeling like he had difficulty breathing as he tried to make sense of what he was hearing. All he could think about was what the reports suggested, and what he had been told, that the Xa’Leen in their current state, devoured various forms of organic and inorganic matter, including humans.
The message was repeating while he tried to make sense of it, and again he could hear that gurgling, and he found himself imagining, some creature, actually eating, devouring this woman, and what may have been her daughter, and it made him feel sick.
“ Anthony ! “ Hope spoke up loudly, and Anthony snapped back just enough to notice that a giant maw was suddenly approaching him. Some giant worm creature that was rapidly approaching the jump-ship, as if to try and swallow it whole.
It was then more out of reflex that he quickly engaged the jump system again, taking him back to the Weldor system, where he manged to reestablish an orbit around the closest planetary object.
“ Hope. Coordinate with the girls for now, I, need a moment. “ He uttered, withdrawing from the jumper to just lean back on the crystal throne on his plane, trying to make sense of the situation.
“ Will do. And maybe, you should withdraw for today. “ Hope responded, taking into account the effects that the recording may have had on his psyche.
Anthony refused to respond for the moment, his mind was desperately trying to make sense of what he just listened to. Honestly, it was quite obvious to him, but he was still looking for some reasonable explanation, anything that may possibly soften the blow from the cold reality.
He could feel that lump in his throat, and his guts felt like they were twisting up, followed by a sense of bile rising in his throat. And though he felt like he was about to throw up, there was nothing that bothered to go beyond that point, leaving him just that nauseating feeling.
His breathing then quickened as he felt like he was about to panic, but he ended up latching onto his earlier idea’s again, where he meant to create an AI enemy to forcibly unite humanity. A lofty, stupid goal as he already had realized, one that looked far more pointless now that he only listened to some-once death.
It would seem inconceivable to him now, that he would have willingly risked causing death himself, if he could not even stomach this much.
Then again, this was different, war was one thing, what he listened to, that was not part of war, that was a predator, feasting on prey.
Human’s seemed to just be prey to them, no different then cattle to humans, only that the Xa’Leen seemed to gorge themselves on everything else with no consideration to any long-term sustainability.
Where was the point in that ? Were they not supposed to be somewhat intelligent ? Or, was he perhaps overestimating the value of intelligence here ?
Then his gaze fell on the remains of the TMS Wrath, mostly taken apart by now, but still present enough to be represented on his plane. They had halted her deconstruction for the time being, due to increased Dusk production needs and the space requirements to experiment with new ship designs.
Right now, it felt like that remaining husk was talking to him, it’s name, whispering to him to enact what it implied. He knew there was no point to it, but he begun to understand that cramping sensation in his gut. He was angry, seriously pissed, and while the exact reason evaded him, he felt that incredible craving to act on that anger.
“ Hope. I am going to do something stupid. “ He finally announced, reaching out to the Wrath to forcibly repair her, hungry to give the ship one final purpose.
“ It wont make a difference, and I don’t think it a good idea in your current state. “ Hope responded.
“ Predator. “ Anthony remarked, thinking about Ina, and about his children, his mind somehow projecting their presence into that recording, and the mere idea that it could have been them, it only increased that anger in his chest.
“ What do you mean ? “ Hope inquired as, for some reason, she could no longer clearly sense what he was thinking, which added to her worry.
“ You implied before, Human’s are like predators, until someone comes along that follows natures laws to the letter. I don’t have any intention to become prey. “ He insisted, while his mind started to move transport vessels to load the Wrath up with their own design of combat drones, as the original one the Wrath used had all been taken apart already.
“ I still don’t think this is a good idea. “ She insisted, but she could see that Anthony already had made up his mind.
But she then noticed something else, their resource stockpile, there was suddenly a massive drain on it. Anthony was clearly using his psychic ability to move it, but this seemed different then the usual drain caused by ship repairs. It was more then the repair of the Wrath would require, and she could not detect where it was being moved to.
“ Consciousness detected, reconnecting kccht-. “ The jump-ship meanwhile greeted Anthony as his mind reached back out into it, but it was being cut off for some reason, and Anthony did not really pay it much attention.
Right now, his mind was just focused on one purpose, to give his anger an outlet.