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Watched by the inhabitants of the planet Remus, the battle waged around the outer planets of their planetary system, one that would decide the future of this sector of the galaxy. They were lucky, for they were able to watch it via one of their satellites; they were not fighting the battle.
Amundsen looked at the fifty assorted starships that faced his comparatively small fleet of seventeen vessels of various types and sizes. Some of his ships had been mothballed before the war, or had been a central part of a museum display, now they were fighting for the future of the Regan Empire. He could still win this battle, one fought amongst the outer-most planets of the system, if all of his starships were able to support him, but as he knew from the previous battles, this was not certain.
He did not know how many other sleepers Quasar had to call upon, not even aboard his own ship, never mind the other ships in his fleet. They had come to light during the last battle, thankfully, Olsen, his new captain had been able to defeat Quasar in his bid to destroy the Intrepid, as Olsen had also done on the field of battle.
He watched as his space cruisers Defiant and Resolution moved forward to attack the wings of Quasar’s fleet, with them were two smaller starships to offer support. Six of Quasar’s starships moved towards them, seemingly eager to start the morning’s hunt. Now four more of Amundsen’s fleet moved forward, and the battle commenced, soon all of Amundsen’s fleet was involved in the battle and the battle was going well for the Regan Empire. The Defiant and the Resolution had taken a few hits from their opponents Phasers, but had already destroyed four of the attacking vessels making Quasar hurriedly despatch eight more vessels to the attack, four to each of his collapsing wings.
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On board the Nike, another aging space cruiser that was due to be retired in six months time, Captain Ansell looked across at his youthful bridge crew and in a quiet voice gave his orders.
“Midshipman Meyers, take us thirty degrees to starboard, and increase to battle speed.” As the Nike came around on to its new course, he spoke to his weapons officer.
“Lieutenant Ricardo, target the cruiser dead ahead, a full spread of Phasers immediately we are within range.”
Also on the bridge were four new security officers, there to prevent any possible sabotage should one of the bridge crew be a sleeper and under the control of Quasar. There were another thirty such men spread around the starship, stationed at all the key areas, it was to ensure that this ship would not be sabotaged.
Deep within the hold of the ship one of Nikes original security officers was sweating, he was not at his station, he was opening a crate that he personally had checked aboard the starship two months ago and well before the latest security measures came into force. Within the crate was a small nuclear device.
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It was now that things began to go wrong. Amundsen watched as the Nike was torn apart by a massive internal explosion, and without taking any hit from any of Quasar’s fleet. Amundsen knew that this could be but a taste of things yet to come, for the ship had undoubtedly been sabotaged. Even with all the massive security that had been put into place aboard his fleet, it was still almost impossible to fight against such an enemy concealed within their midst, for even the security guards could be under the control of Quasar.
Captain Olsen sat in the command chair on the newly repaired bridge of the Rega. Amundsen as usual preferred to stand; he was just behind the captain of the Rega. Such was the rush to repair the Rega that the repairs were open to inspection, the inside walls and ceiling of the bridge had none of the white panelling to make the ship more presentable, more pleasing to the eye. Metal girders were there above their heads, the consoles no longer part of a sleek work service, just individual units placed before hurriedly installed seats for the operatives to sit in.
They had just destroyed one of Quasar’s space cruisers and should have been celebrating, but curiously, neither the admiral nor the captain were celebrating.
“Helmsman increase to attack speed and take us over towards the Dominion. Ryun open fire on the leading vessel attacking her as soon as we are in range, I expect you to launch at least one more full spread of Phaser bolts before we pass her, and as we pass her by target the nearest enemy ship that we see.” Olsen commanded.
Ryun, along with Jalon, Pallas and David had all come with him from the Intrepid to replace the decimated bridge crew of the Rega, it seemed unreal to Amundsen to have such a young bridge crew aboard the flagship but there were few officers left to choose. The Intrepid was on her way back to Sparta for repairs, as she had been too badly damaged to risk her in battle, ferried back by an aging crew of pensioners. The Rega had not fared much better than the Intrepid, but she was the flagship of the fleet and for moral purposes had to be there.
Amundsen could feel the increased power as the Rega shot forward; they were attempting to relieve one of their starships before it succumbed to the superior firepower of Quasar’s large fleet. Quasar had lost fifteen of his vessels, unknown to Amundsen they were mostly the ships that had been manned by the original crews, testifying to the strength of will that the crews of the Regan Empire possessed and who fought Quasar for control of their minds at every given opportunity. Amundsen had seen six of his own ships destroyed, the odds had now increased slightly despite their best efforts. Now it was getting difficult to see their other vessels, and whether they were in need of assistance, for the battle had developed into a series of individual dogfights around the moons of the outer gas giants of the planetary system.
The Phasers of the Rega targeted the space cruiser ahead of them and fired a fully volley of energy bolts at the stern of the starship, Olsen and the crew watched as the powerful space cruiser veered sharply away giving Ryun no chance to fire again at the fleeing starship. From behind Amundsen, one of the newest members of the crew finally gave in to the stress of fighting a battle that each member of the crew knew they would probably lose.
“Why are we fighting, we know that we can not win, if we stay we die, don’t you see that Admiral?” Amundsen turned towards the young man.
“Where can we run to Midshipman Parsons, where can we hide? No we stay and fight, we cannot surrender to a monster who knows nothing about honour, we would be turned into his slaves, that or tortured and killed. We will fight for as long as it is possible for us to do so, and if we must, we will die here Midshipman, we can not retreat, for as I said there is no where to run.”
If only they could run for home, Amundsen thought, he would certainly like to be able to return home to his family, but to do so would only put those he loved in greater danger.
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Quasar stood upon his bridge of the space cruiser Andromeda. He was smiling, it was the death and destruction all around him that made him happy, however, his immense satisfaction at the death of more organics was still not quite enough for him to think about allowing some of them to escape. Standing silently behind and to one side of Quasar was Captain Odessa.
“Captain Odessa, bring up the tactical display on the screen.” Quasar ordered.
Captain Odessa relayed this order to the navigating officer and immediately the picture on the large view screen above the bridge changed to show the other starships in the area around the space cruiser Andromeda. He saw the Dominion about to be battered to destruction; he also saw the Rega moving to assist it.
Quasar contacted six of his robotic ships and ordered them to attack the Rega, his order was given telepathically and the order obeyed instantly. Quasar smiled, every type of intelligence bowed down to him, all subservient to his smallest desires, not that his desires were normally very small. Quasar’s mind now reached out to the other ships in his fleet, looked at each of their tactical displays, and smiled as he began to send them new orders, telepathically.
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As the young midshipman hung his head in shame, six of Quasar’s robotic ships moved towards them. On the large view screen before
him Olsen saw two of these enemy space cruisers heading their way, soon the Rega would be in range of their weapons. Lieutenant Jalon was working at the ship`s sensors and had not seen the view on the screen, he now looked up, scared, but under control of his fears.
“Captain, there are two enemy cruisers approaching us from ahead, they will be in range to open fire on us in twenty seconds.” Jalon said to his captain. “There are also four more cruisers slightly further away, they too are heading our way and they will also be within firing range in no more than thirty five seconds.
Olsen took only a moment to consider what his next action should be and then he turned towards his weapons officer.
“Ryun, target the starboard of the two cruisers ahead of us and open fire immediately they are in range.” Olsen then turned to his helmsman. “David as soon as we fire our Phasers, pull hard over to starboard.” Olsen then turned to his first officer.
“Number One, keep an eye on those four other cruisers, keep me updated as to their whereabouts.” Jalon nodded grimly and went back to his sensors.
The Rega was almost instantly in range of the two fast approaching enemy cruisers and Ryun opened fire immediately. The two enemy cruisers were slower to get off their first shots and the Rega was moving away before the ship on their port side managed to open fire. Olsen grinned as he saw the enemy energy bolts sail away into empty space. The other enemy cruiser never managed to open fire and he smiled again as he saw it turning very slowly to follow in his wake. Olsen could only assume that the cruiser had been damaged during one of the earlier battles, but it appeared as if its maintenance team had not been up to the job of repairing it.
“Captain, there are two more enemy cruisers approaching us from our stern and another two on our starboard side.” Jalon`s voice held only the merest trace of fear, fear that the rest of the bridge crew felt in spades. “They will all be in range within ten seconds.”
Olsen knew that he had to ensure that Admiral Amundsen survived this battle to lead them against Quasar, and moving to the aid of the Dominion was no longer possible, not with so many of their own problems quickly closing in in them, so turned to his helmsman.
“David turn hard to port and then take us away at maximum speed.”
Olsen had finished giving this order just as the first two enemy cruisers got within firing range and commenced their attack on the Rega. Even on this first attack run, the enemy cruisers pummelled the Rega’s defences, shaking both the ship and its crew. It was now that a desperate engineer called the bridge as the electrical systems on the bridge began to show signs of distress.
“Captain, the defence shields are about to fail, you must either find a way to stop those cruisers shaking us apart, or else you must get us away from our attackers, and soon.” Olsen smiled grimly at the engineers words, the ship had not been in space dock long enough to have all its systems fully repaired and now it was suffering because of it.
“Helmsman bring us to a dead stop for two seconds then move ahead at battle speed. Weapons prepare to fire at whatever target shows itself after we move on.” Olsen ordered.
The Rega shook violently as it was pummelled again, and many of its systems failed as reports of damage began to flood the bridge. Olsen could not understand how the Rega had withstood the attack, she should have been space debris by now, maybe the gods themselves had decided to enter the battle.
The helmsman now put Olsen’s order into affect. The sudden stop shot the two pursuing space cruisers ahead of the Rega, and now the Rega shot off in pursuit of them, their Phasers firing at the cruiser that was directly ahead of them, it was the old Electra, Olsen had served aboard the vessel as a midshipman, now he was attempting to destroy her. The Rega’s Phasers fired a fully volley of energy bolts at the Electra, and the bridge crew exclaimed triumphantly when the Electra exploded in a flash of light, the starship was now on fire from stem to stern. She had been old when he had been on her; she had been almost a museum piece, which was why she had not been able to withstand their attack. Olsen did not cry out in joy, rather he mourned the death of the ship and its crew, and swore to avenge them.
“Ok Helmsman get after the next ship, Weapons Officer, open fire when ready.” Olsen ordered calmly, which is not how he felt, for he knew that death now stalked them.
As they approached the next vessel, Olsen saw that another five enemy cruisers had joined the two enemy cruisers already chasing after them and the first of them would soon be arriving before them to pummel the Rega again, for the flagship with Admiral Amundsen inside it were a Priority target. Ryan managed to get off a full salvo against the ship they were pursuing before the enemy space cruisers arrived and opened fire upon the Rega; they could not take much more of this. The bridge was shaken much as a terrier shakes a rat; Olsen decided that he had to get the admiral away from the battle, away to command their plan of last resort.
“Take us out of here Helmsman.” Olsen cried out in anguish as one of the supporting beams above the bridge crashed down killing two of his crew instantly, smoke was beginning to fill the bridge, for the ventilation system was no longer working.
“Navigator, plot a course for the planet Remus, we may be able to hide behind the orbital Phaser cannons while we see to our repairs.” Olsen ordered before moving across to see if the two fallen bridge crew were dead, as he thought they were, unfortunately he found to his growing distress that they were indeed dead, and one of them was the young midshipman who had panicked earlier. It was essential to the admiral’s backup plan that he get the admiral to the planet Remus, the battle no longer mattered for it was obvious to all that it was lost.
It was now that Lieutenant Pallas, for he was the communications officer once again, called across to him. “Captain, the orbital Phaser cannons around Remus have been destroyed, whether by sabotage or enemy action is still unknown. I just heard it on the radio, and Captain, I think that maybe we are the last surviving starship in the fleet.” The young officer visibly broke down now, and wept. Olsen looked at him for a moment and wished that he too could afford the luxury to weep for all of their dead.
The Rega was now heading for the planet Remus at its best speed, they were retreating with a dozen space cruisers chasing along behind, and as these starships got within range they commenced to open fire upon the badly damaged and limping Rega. The engines of the flagship finally exploded as they neared the planet Remus and then all of the ship’s power died.
The citizens of the planet Remus watched the light show in the heavens that was now happening right above their heads; for the Phasers of the enemy starships lit up the night sky. The people had wept earlier when the cataclysmic explosions of light punctuated the show, for it bore witness to the demise of another starship, for they all feared that it was one belonging to their own dwindling fleet of starships. Now fear was the only emotion gripping at their very souls, for they somehow knew that the ship above them was the Rega, and it was in its final death throes. The grand council had also been watching the battle through the only remaining satellite, and President Thorson wept even more than his people did, for he knew which of these explosions signified the death of one more of their own space cruisers. The fighting finally abated, leaving in its wake the wrecks of what had once been the finest fleet in the galaxy. Now all that was left of it were the broken burnt out ruins of the flagship and two other broken starships, destined to either circle their planet for eternity, or to be dragged down and be consumed in fire as they plunged through the atmosphere of Remus.
There were a few signs of life amongst the carnage, some lifeboats were seen to be scurrying down to the planet in search of whatever safety they might be able to find on the yellow planet. This however, would only offer a temporary haven, for the victor would soon arrive to claim his prize.
Scarcely enough time had passed to allow the glow of the battle to subside down to a glimmer, but panic had already taken hold of the home planet of Rega, only thirty five million miles away as both planets w
ere currently at their nearest point to one another. The people there were scared witless by what had occurred during so short a period, and were demanding to know what had happened to the pride of Rega, and why. However, now was not the time for an inquest, for more urgent matters required the attention of the survivors on Remus.
The broken remains of the Rega, flagship of the once great and powerful fleet of the Regan Empire, hung in space near to the planet Remus. Soon it would be drawn down through the planet’s atmosphere, where it would burn up, and whatever survived this would crash onto the planet below. The fires within its hull cast a red glow, aided by whatever was left of the emergency lighting that aided the survivors to find any remaining lifeboats that had not been destroyed in the battle.
“Abandon ship; abandon ship, all crew members will please make their way to their lifeboat station immediately.” The automated voice of the computer droned its terrible message of doom to all who were left alive aboard the burning starship.
Admiral Amundsen stood perfectly still on the bridge of his dying ship, he was staring at the giant view screen that somehow was still able to show him some of his broken fleet, burning in the coldness of space. He was attempting to take in what had happened during the last fateful hours, but failing. Apparently unnoticed by him fires crackled away filling the bridge with a black toxic smoke. The only sign of life was a vein throbbing away on his forehead, otherwise he seemed to be in a trance, mesmerised by the scene laid out before him. He was at a loss to explain to himself, let alone all of the people who were depending upon him, as to how the greatest military force ever assembled could have been reduced to this. How could the finest military minds of the galaxy have been out fought by a maniac from an obscure planet named Purgatory? However, Admiral Amundsen was not allowed to ponder this problem to its end, for his thoughts were interrupted by the captain of the Rega.