Encounter at Hesperus
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Transcript of Encounter at Hesperus
8/20/2019 Encounter at Hesperus
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/encounter-at-hesperus 1/4
t8
lfO
JUt{E. 23O1
-
Contre-Admiral
Jean-Paul Bertrand's staff announced
that the
Eta
Bootis
Defense
Fleet will
depart to engage the Kafer
yessels
cur-
rently attacking the Hochbaden system
(less
the two Australian
yessels
t
/sr-
rangef an(J Kangaroo, which are still
on
patrol
near Arcturus)-l
F3
JUNE, 2301
-
(excerpt
trom
th e
communicalions fog ot H-rJ.A.,s- Easlr-
range4:
'".-What
do
you
mean
the fleet
went off to Hochbaden? Send a couriel off
ASAP to brang he Detense
FIeet
back- The
whole frigging Kafel fleet dropped into
Arturus to discharge their stutterwarp
drive- They'll be here in a tew daysl"l
[18
JUNE. 23Oi
-
In the Hochbaden
system, the French battleshap Tauyran4
with
contre-Admilal Jean-Paul
Bertrand
onboard, wa s completely destroyed in a
one-on-one
engagement with a Katet
batt leship- Thas eaves he Uklainian com-
mander, Kontr-Admlral Se.gei Sergeayich
Borodin incharge of the combined Earth
Defense Force here an he outea
French Arm ot space.I
fahen from The Ham ao
-Kafef
Uar
btt/ A er Shane,
pab-
23 12-
[21
JUI{E, 2301: 2lO7 hours
GMT
-
Tanstafll Starportl
Two men
stood in the lighted
cloorway
o a
prefab
shelter,one of
many
on thissicte
t
the starport. oth
wore the
typicalkhaki
drill
uniformof
the British
ommonwealth f the 24th
century.
Round
garrison
hats with
black visors, short sleeves,
pressed
slacks,
lack, ow top shoes
polished
to within
a centimeter f their
lives'
completed he
perfect
ecruiting
os-
ter image
hat all military orceswish
to proiect.Oneof the igures ada ot
ol
gold
braict n his visor,anclwas he
one standing
ust
nside he dooMay.
Off in the clistance.
transoort limo.
a
common
sight on colony worlds,
was on final approach o the main
landing ircle or LTAs
Lighter-Than-
Air ehicles).
"Welcome aboarcl,MisterGreen-
wood,"Alexander
sandy'
shane old h e
young
manwho was standingn Shane's
uarters.
Se e
you
on l e Eushrangef
tomorrow.'
one
final
shake f the hands, henGreenwood napped ff
a
sharosalute n
the
line British raclition. hane
returned
t
n
he same
ashion.
Shanewatched he retreating ack of Li eu-
tenantGreenwoocl s he wind uffled oth men's
pressedkhakis.The brown giant Tithonus illed
the
sky
is
if it
were some
god
watching he
strangeworkingsof man on its moon, Aurore.
Appearing ff to the sideof Tithonuswas he
ed
shining clot
of Arcturus,
he
star by
which the
enemy
passes
o reachEtaEootis.
The starport ooked ikeanyold airport n
any
ot lhe hundreds of worlds that man now
inhabited;he
tower
ights lashed heirwarnings
to aircraftanding nd aking lf and ights hined
in o ffices throughout he administration lock.
But this slarport was also the
gfound
base
location of the
United
Nations Soace Fleet
Headquartersand Aurore
(Mission)
Control.
Security eamson foot or in hovercraft
atrolled
the
perimeter
of the starport looking tor any
Kaf rs hatmightstillbe around.
A feminine rmcurleclts wayaround iswaist
anda head
ame o rest
on hisshoulders.
Sandy,
cluty omesearly omorrow."
Shane losed hedoorand u rned o faceBeth
Anderson.
e
stared nlo her ace and encircled
her
nhisarms.
A smile soread across her
face.
"What's
wrong, commodore? Have I broken out in
bloodsucher
pots?"
'Ha,
ha. Haveno fearof that, ass. was ust
thinking
ow
we're ucky ha t we have his time
together efore
oing
backup."
Beth disentangled erself rom hi s arms
to
sleo
back ancl et hi m admire
he view.
A red
ribbon
ying
backher aven
lackhairalsoservect
to trame
her ovely ace.Her
browneyes
shined
with the
glow
of
passion.
Barelycontaining
er
ampls body was a blacksatin and ace bustier
with
g-string
and thigh-high,sheer stockings
hooked p
by
garters.By
he smirk n
your
ace
can ell
you
fike...eve/yth/h9,"ne
softlystated.
Shane miled, ossecl is hat off to a chair
n
thecorner. nd
put
hisarmaroundBeth.
Shallwe
retire to the bedroom and finish
practicing
"ln
my
first briefingwith Bertrancl,
e
playe
down what happened dirtside,"
Shane
said
grimacing.
All
he alked
boutwashis
inal ictor
over
heir leet.'
.That
jerk
couldn'l
indhis own asshole
venf
someone helped.The
Kafers stomped
his as
twicebefore e
nally
ot
hat'victory' f
his."
"Why,
Beth,
darling. o
you
talk
hisway abou
me and othersof
such high rankwith
your
othe
friends?" hane sked, easingly,urning ntohis
side so that he could rest on
an arm and ool
down ntoher ace.
Beth answeredwith a
quick
kiss,
Of
coufs
not, Sandy. 'veonly told
the femalestaflwhat
a
lousy over
ou
canbe
at
imes."
shane collapsed
ack nto bed.
oh
-
well
That'sditferent.t's nice o
know what he entir
squadronhinks f me."
Beth
laughed.
what?
You thought
I wa
serious
about
that? You're more
uptight han
thought
you
were.
How'bout I massage
ou
neck? hat
always elpecl efore."
'Oh,
might as well.YeFterday
| was on€ of
the
greatest
oversof a ll mankind.
onight the
lousiest. ow hemighty
have allen.
'docking
maneuvers, 'ommanden"
"Aye
aye, ir."
Later, he two lovers ested n each other's
armsand staredal the darkened eiling.Finally,
the
quietwas
roken y Beth.
"What
do
you
thinkaboutour new computer
operaton"
heasked.
sandy
hought or a
moment
beforeanswer-
ing. Amazinghathewas able o live hrough he
tirst Kafer
Invasion.
f ever someone
suffered
througha walkabout, e clid.You shoulct ave
seenhis eyesas
he
told me abouthis cousin's
farm northeast
of her€. We
were over
at the
O-Club, tossing back a mug or two,
when
Malcolm old me abouthis cousin, yingafter
their
group
staged n ambush. etweenrying o
hum a
chorusof waluing Matilda, is cousin
quoled:
'/
hope
you
wt// emain
with me
here tt//
am
quite
dead /l is a comlon to knov that
someone
s by.'lt was tolcl to Jo hn King by
Robert o'Hara Burke
n
1861 0n their
failed
explorationf he outback."
"Hearing
bout t from behind he door was
enough fof me. Now it looks liks we're in a
full-blown
arwith hem.'
[22
JUNE, 2301
*
Long
range
sensor
probes
have teporled
the arrival of
the long awaited
Katel
invasion force.
The Aus-
tralaan hips
plus
the three mer-
chant ships hasti ly
l it ted out
with weaponry have
lett orbit lo
engage
a lone Kater battleship
apparently making a
reconnais-
sance of Aurore-
This is one
reporter's
wish of
good
luck and
good
hunting
to the newly
tot-
med colonial Detense
squad-
ron-l
The
Haman-Kafer ]/ar
bf
Alex.thane,
pua-
23t2.
[22
JUNE, 23Ol: 2lO7
houts
GMT
-
Eta
Eootis |
(Hesperus)l
Five hips
oing
ntoHarm'sWay.
The
gas giant
cataloged
s Eta
Bootis
(named
Hesperus y the
irs
humanexplorers)
oomeclever arge
in the view oorts of
the five little
spaceships. wo of
them looke d like hunter
Various hadesof
gray,
white, and
gold
coate
theirhulls.
he
other
hreewere
glaring
white nd
each
as
massive
s a skyscraper.
o an outsid
viewer, he
ive shipswould appear o'blink'
into
existence
n one spot, then blink out,
only to
reappearmillions
f kilometers way; he ef{ect f
vessels sing tutteMarp.
The eadshiowasof lhe Klevdass.Purchase
trom the Russians ix
years
ago, it was a lean
knife-like esign
inetymeters ongwith wo hic
wings
otating
rounclhe uselage ontaining
ho
maiority f the iving
quarters
or
the crew.Along
the main
hull were five twin-laser
mounls and
three missile bays.
Near the
point
of its
needle-fike
prow
was it's name
-
H.M.A.S
Eush/,anger,nd right next to it, the
proud
flagof
Australia.
Bringing
up the rear was a slightly arge
barrel-shapect
ehiclewith huge solar
panels,
he
H.M.A.S.Kangaroo, a ship based
upon an old
French design, mounting
fifteen asers,with a
lander o carry wentymarines
nto combat.Thg
tntee
Hudson
class
cargo carriers were hastily
modified o be warships y
mounting our aser
ENCOUNTER
AT HESPERUS
2300m iction inspired by the
adventure book
"Invasion"
8/20/2019 Encounter at Hesperus
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/encounter-at-hesperus 2/4
l9
andwerecarryingwo American
IM-14
missile
packs
ach; hreehastily onvertedreighters
ay
overdueon their
maintenance chedules.with
civilian
rews
rying
o
act ike
military
pacers.
Onboarcl he Busnt/ange, he flagship
of the
Aurorean olonialDefense Squadron, ts crew
watched
heir
monitorsclosely or the one Kafer
scout
essel
hat
was
supposed
o
be near
his
world.
In
a
small broom closet
of a
cabin, a
lone
figure n shortssat at his computer erminal.A
mu9
ot
lukewarm
ea
rested
near
the
person's
right
lbow,
waiting o be emptied.
Sandy"
Shane
finished
eading
reporton his computer cfeen
and
aved
t
under he'Ship'sPapers"
ile.
Then,
he calledup a data
teadout
of
the
squadron's
position.
atisfiecl ith his indings, e turnedhis
terminal ff a nd
inished lressingor
duty
as his
mind eviewedhe
current
ituation.
The ittle leel eft he comfortable mbrace
f
Tithonus,a
gas giant
five times larger than
Jupiter. heworlct
f
Aurorewas
officially
istecln
lhestar
tlas
as
EtaBootis
lc
meaning
hat
t was
lhe hirdmoon
orbiting
he
second
planet
of the
EtaBoolisbinary
system).
Eta Boolis
Awas
namedMuohrid ndEtaBootis
B, Rubis The systems two
stars
orbiled ne anotherwith an annual
separat ionl 1.425 U
(Astronomical
Units). hesystem
was
irst visilecl y
the French. n the 2240s,
France,
Ukraine,
nd a cartel of American
corporations
et up a
colony
on the
tidally
locked world now namecl
Aurore.
he colony
grew
n size and
population
n the nexl fifty-eight
years.
Then,on
April 4.
2298,
he
peace
was
shattered. large
leet
nvaded
the
Eta
Bootis
system from
the
general
irect ion f A.cturus, t tack-
ing
hehuman leetand destroyingt.
ByAril
8,
he aliens
ad
begun ancling
on the
planet.
For
three
months,
he
fighting as severeat best,brutaland
d 6 . ^ a r . t d . l
\ r r ^ r c l
T h 6
E . d h f l d ^ r . r
Hochbaden,
he next worldwithin he
7.7 ight
year
range of stutterwarp
vessels
n
the ctirectionof
Earth,
eventually efeatect
he aliens ancl
sent
hem
etreating.
ut
he strandect
Kafers n the
planet
fought on
for
another
ear,
waiting
for
reinforcements. ver
300,000
eople,
mostly civilians, ied n thatwar.
The
economy
was
shattered.Citizens
f
Aurore
developed blooctlust gainst
he
Kafers.
f a
citizen
f
Aurorewas
askecl
ow
to
fight he
war
against
he
Kafers,
typical
answerwould
be to
round p the bloody lot and do awaywith them
on a
scale
hat
would
have
made
the ancient.
infamous
itler
reen
withenvy.
CommodoreShane eflected ver the recent
past
on
the
fringe of
human
space. For three
years
we have
stat/oned
an
ntemallona/
fleet
n
th/ssystem. Eertrand d/dn't even tly to sed{ out
tlte a//ens,
Ust
keep tnem away from the co/ony.
Adm/n/
Eorodn
ttrs
supposed to
be a tacfi?a/
genlus.
buthedldn'l wanl
lo
maleanywaves.
Shanemumbled o himself nderhis breath,
"The
German ommodoreWilhelm
utke
s about
the most aggressiveot us all.
And
then
the
American, ear
Aclmiral
avid
Farragut
arker
buthe'sa little oo concernedwith
seeking
lory
ratherhan
protecting
Aurore.'
gut
lhe
lhreeolus
agree
that
the lrght lor Ela B@tls shou/d
be
tnged
at
Arcturus. /Vorv8e/'t/and
nad b
go
of
ind /eaye me to
plolect
tlre who/e
system
tuth
an
ad hoc
squadron. whal
b/oody foo/s the
lot
ol
lhem
aret
Shane
tepped
utof
his
quarters
ncl ntered
the
small
companionway hat was
painted
n
green
andbrownearth ones.From here
t wasa
shortdislance o the hub and he entry
way nto
the null-0ravity
part
ol the
clestroyer.
Once
through,
e
grabbed
nto
he'fireman
ole,"
hen
moved
hand
over
hand
to the TacticalAction
Center
(known
simply as TAC) of
H.MA.S.
Busnrange/,.lexander hane, lean, il gentle-
man
in his
late fifties with sveaks of silver
beginningo appear n
his blonde
hair,
loated
through he hatchwaywith
the
grace
of a ballet
dancer n
zero-g
and
pulled
himself
nto
the
command hair.Shanewas f i l l ing n as
acting
caplainol lhe Bushrangelwhile aptain
O'Conner
recovered
rom wounds
suffered at Arcturus.
Shane
was
dressed in the same
off
white
coveralls hat some how
harkened
ack
o
the
AlphaCentauriWar n appearance;ank
lisplayed
on the
collar
abs,
Ship
and Destroyer livisi on
patches
laced
n chest
andupper eftarmbelow
the
Australian lag
patch.
Zippercd
pockets
covered
lmost
he
entir€
utf t,usually mpty.
On Shane's ighlwas he computer pe rator,
Lt. MalcomGreenwood,
n
individual iminutive
in appearance,ut long on intell igence;ma n
who
had endured he rigors f the Kafer nvasion
the first time aroundwhile on leave.Along he
cabin's
walls
were
oiher
comouter
onsoles nd
their
perators. t.Richard emmonsmanned he
Fire
Control
computer
while severalChiefPetty
Officers perated he RemoleControl onsoles
that
guicted
he smart
missiles
nd
sensor
rones.
EnsignJudy Mayeroperated he main sensors
console.
All
were
rugged
ndivictuals,
he tinest
examples
t
Australian
eritage.
"All
right
mates,
where s the little buggen"
Shane sked hile ucklingimself
n.
Lemmons
answered,
Dfone
numbet wo still
has
a
positive
rack t the arget.t s closing n on
Hesperus.t looks
ike the Kafersare
going
to
sling hot
arouncl
t o
arrive
t
Tithonus.'
'Nothing
about
the r€sl of the enemy leet,
Mayen"
"Not
a
peep,
Captain.
guess
hey're
waiting
on heir
mate's
eoort.'
Malcom
ut
n,
"As
ar as I can cletermine.
ir .
we are still n
theirsensorshadow.The
basta(c
haven't martened
p
yet."
Malcom
was eferring
o
one ot the ew
know
factsabout
he enemy
hat
humans n
the colon
world abeled
as
'Kafers.'
These
wo meter-ta
non-human
ipedswere
real
kil l ing
machine
The
backs
of their heads
and
torsos
wer
protected
y a
ough,
horny
carapace. heir ma
eyeswere ecessed nder
argebrow idges,
n
theirmouths
bore
an impressive
rray
of hooks
needles,siphons, and mandibles hat allowe
them
to
impale, ear, cut,
shred,
chew,
suck
handle,
nd
partially
igest heir ood. Their
hanc
wer
equipped
with three mutually
opposin
thumbs nd
acked
hestrength f a human's
rip
butweresurprisinglyexterous
or
a creature
it
a reputation
or being
stupid
andstrong.
ince h
first
encounter
everal
ears
ago n this
verysam
system, umans ad wondered
why
t took
a few
seconds
or
even onger o resonct
o
an attac
But, when a Kaferclid respond, t
was as if th
creature
ad
suddenly
been
transformed
nto a
cunning,
nnovative,
nd
deadly
pponent.
Lt. Greenwood
knew about these
creature
from
personal
experience.He was a
member of
the famous
'Ramro
Teams'
operated by the
city o
Tanstaafl.everalimes, ehad oun
himself n close
combat with
thes
creatures. one
of those
imes
wer
very
pleasant
was what
sandy
wa
tolcl.
Shane ooked at the computer
generated
acticalon the big
scree
The
whole solar systemwas
laid ou
anct
rbital
mechanics
were
ust
hap
pening
to help
the
defenders
o
Aurore. ithonus
was
on the
opposit
side of the twin suns from
Arcturu
The Kafer fleet appeared
to be
discharginghe
static
buildup
n
the
stutteMarpctrives
ear
Eta Bootis
V
Astraeus,
small
as
giant.
'This
lone
Kafer ship is
eithe
scouting he way or has an anxiou
^a^ t . : ^
"
Sh.^o
cl2 lo.l
Mi l^6m nn.l
ded
n
agreement.
The
Commoclore
thumbed
his
headset mike
button on
anct
said
"Briclge,Shane here. Sound Battl
Stations. Commander
Foster.
Plo
intercept ourseanclmakebestspee
to target." Then, turning lowards Lt. Lind
Fairchild,
Call
up the other shipsanc,have
hem
go
to Battls
Stations.
nformAuroreControl
ha
we
arenowengaginghe oneKaferwarship.'
"Aye
aye,
Commodore,'Lt. airchild
eplied.
The target
that
the small human fleet
was
heading
or
was
a large,
dirty,
green-colorec
multi-spherical
raft hat had been ctentified
s
a
battleship
ode-namectA/pha. his inlormatio
was lashingn the ower ight-hand ornerof the
bigdisplay
creen.
"Time?"
skedShane.
"2118
ours, ir," t.Greenwoodesponcled.
'Lt.
Fairchilct,ell the merchant
captains
o
launch
one
missile
pack
each, and we
will take
care
f the
guidance
nstructions.'
"Aye
aye, ir,'
he
ieutenantepliect.
Mayer's
oicewent up a note,
"Drone
s now
reporting
that target is an
'lmprovecl
Alpha
battleship.
t
s
aunching
ixmissiles."
Shane
ookect ver
to Greenwoocl.
Have he
merchants
aunched
he sim-14s
yet?'
'We're
getting
two
from lne Hasegawa and
one rom
the
Bangkok.
Kangarooislelling us tha
the
DonsMayllas aunchecl
wo.'
8/20/2019 Encounter at Hesperus
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/encounter-at-hesperus 3/4
20
'Tell
Kangaroothat we
will handle anti-missile
tire
control while the rest of the
squadron
fires
their lasers
at the battleship,' Shane ordered,
focusing ackon the actical
lot
screen.
Even
with missiles equipped with stutteMarp,
time can
clragby while waiting or the
incoming
strike.Yet t
can lash by too
quickly
o respond
o
the situation.
PeEona/U
thought
Shane, /
peler
to hght by
Emote contro/. Wou/dn't t4zrnt o fighl hand to
hand
wrth a Kafec not aftel t+/ratMa/com
bld me.
Aloud,
Bridge,
bring us about 275 mark
190."
Turning
o look at Malcom Greenwood, e saict,
'Onca
the
freighters have unloacled
all their
missiles,
have hem fall benindKangalooancl
us.'
'l
have received reports that the three
treighters
havs fired off the
first
pack
of thr€e
missiles
ach,'Malcom epliecl.
Lemmons pokeup now.'l've used hreeSlMs
to block
ths incoming Kaler missiles one-
for-one. The
othershavs so far macle t oast he
counter-battery
fir€
-
clamn
Spoke too Soon,
there
goes
another
ne of ours.'
Out n space, he
en meter ong silver ubesof
cleath
clos8d in on their
resoective
targets and
explodsd. nvisible aser
beamspumpedup to gigawatt ower
via their
own nuclear c,estruction,
cutting
nto human and alien
vessels
alike.
The Hasegat+a was
like a
massivg
lockof wooc, hat
some
god
had aken
a
power
drill o.
Alexander
Shanestareclat the clata
readouts
oming n
over his compuler
screens.
he alienbattleshio
ost one
of
its four rotating
'arms'
that he
assumect
rovided
artificial
ravity
n
the
same manneras
such deviceson
humanvessels.
nd some hull
plating
would eventually
oin
the small,
hin
ring
of clebris rbiting
his
planet.
He
peered
verat
Malcom.'well,mister,
guess
we
showed
em
a
g'clay,
hat?"
A smile appeareclon Malcom's
previously rim
ace.'Aye,sir.Thatwe
dict. we've
taken some
minor hull
ctamage.
angarooloo\ an engine
hit,
power piant
ouput reduced by thirty
percent."
'What
about he reighters?'
hane
askect.
Did
they
get
all thearmissiles
off?"
"No,
sir. Hasegatn
didn't
get
hers off Also,
Hasegatn took
most of the incoming
missiles.
She's
heavilydamaged n
engineering nct he
toMard
hull s
iust
so much
swiss cheesenow.
Mayer,
n sensors,was elling
me hat Hasegirwa
is osingatmospheric
ressure.'
Malcomdirected
his attention
to communications.
Lieutenant
Fairchilcl,
aise the Hasegawa or
an updated
damage sport."
'Will
do. sir.'
Shane
ubbeclhis eyes,
hen ocusect n the
plot
baord.
Tell
those other wo
lreighterso fire
off
the estol those
missiles
Again,Lt. Fairchilcl
orked her
comm
board,
carrying ut herorders.
Commodore
Shane
alledup the vicleo mage
ot lne Hasegatn
on one ot the smallermonitors
at hisconsole. ce
crystals railed ehind he huge
spacecraft rom
the engineering/crew
uarters
like the smoke
trail an airolane eaves behind
when
shot down. The briclge
ower was nothing
but
a blackened tump
of metal.
Linda,"
e said
quietly,
have
the
Dons Maypick up any survivors
oll the Hasegawa,
ancl inform
Aurore Control
about
her.'
Greovvoodnterrupted.'Commoclore,
nother
group
of missiles nbound '
within
seconds,
lasers
from the
alien
battleship
impactect he
Eushnngea
iatrin
g
everybody.
'Continue
tracking ho bastardand
have hose
freighters irs otf all remaining
missiles. asers
Fireott anothersalvoat himl'
bafiecl
Shane.
The human flset
plunged
cleeper nto the
gravity
wellot the
gas giant
after he enemy,
who
was attemptingo hide n the thin ce ring about
Hesperus,
ac,ingaserfire ll heway.
'TAC,
this s bridgs,' Fostercalled.
That
last
laser
barrage reduced us to
quarter power
and
number hree aser urrst s completely
one.'
'Damn,
mutteredLemmons.
Damage
Con-
trol,Lemmons. ow com€
status f number hree
laser has not been
calleclup to TAC?' Whatever
ths answerwas, nly hs ieutenant
eard t.
Shane
eyscl is mike.'Vsrywell,Commander
Foster.Carryon.'
'Commodore,'
Malcom
callecl ut,
the
Kafsr
has hidden n tho rin g. He's
gone
cleadon us.
We'renot dstecting nything n
oursensors.'
Shane ubbedhis brow,
hen cailedup to the
briclge again.
'Foster,
have Lt. commander
Zeigler
lot
a
search
attern
n the rings.Close o
within
10,000 licksol ths last reportecl
osition
of
that
battleshio.'
'Will
do, Commodore,' osterrsplied.
Malcomstared houghtfully
t shane.
com-
moctors,hat Kafer
has now had enough i me o
analyze
our attack.The bloke is
getting
smarter.
This ooks ikea Vap.'
"l
know,
Lieutenant.'ltooks ikea trao o me as
well. But we
just
can't hang around out here
wating or
it to come backout ancl
play.'
shane
directed is attention
o Ensign
Mayer. n
he red
light of the TAC
center, she ap pearecl o be
gettingpanicky.
Ensign,
I want
you
to be really
alertnow.
Can'thave hatbastard howuo on our
rearallot a sudden, ow
can
we?"
Judy turned
o tace him,
sweat
glistening
n
her fair lace.
"Don't
you
worry, sir.
That Kafer
won't everhave he
chance
o closomething
ike
thatwithme around."
'Now
thats the spiri t, Mayer.Don't
let
'em
intimidate
ou
and
you'll
do fine,'Shane aid
with
a smlle,noticing
hat his
worcls act he
expected
eflectasshoappeared omewhat almer.
uckily,
she coulch't
see his knees behind
his console.
They wers
pumping
ike mact,
as if shane was
trying o inflatea blimp
all by himselfback home
on his anch.
The two warshios
losed n on the
woundecl
Kafer,with the freighterEangkokaclually
keeping
station off ot Kangar@s
port
side,
whils her
sister ship, lhe Dons
/Vaj1 tecoveted both
the
livingand dead
olt the Hasegzn+a.
'Lemmons,
how many missiles as our friend
outthere iredoff
so far?'Shane sked.
Lookingup from
his computer screen,
Lieu-
tenant L€mmons answsred, "Fourteen
in all,
whichmeans s should
havssix eft.'
'Mayer,
what about our
clrones. te they still
arouncl?"
'Only
NumberOne
now, sir. And it's dama-
ged. '
'send
it on
nto he ings.want hatKaf€r.'
'Yes,
sir.'
I23
JUNE, 23O1:. O142
GMT
-
Ot f
Hesperus'sRingsl
It took the Aurorean
Colonial
Defense ouaclron
lmost our and
a
halfhours o find any newsignsof the
Dafer
battlaship, and lne
Bangkol(
suffered
greatly
when three
Kafer
missiles,
rogrammed
o
act like ike
mines, suddenly
came to lifg anct
spearect he huge
ship on invisible
lancesof nuclear
energy.severalhits
in the
power plant
area causecl he
Eangkok to explode,
killing all
onboarcl. he EMP
pulse
of the ship's
nuclear eactor xp loding lossomed,
then
quickly
adecl.
Beforeanyone could
even mourn
the loss, Mayer callgclout,
'l've
got
'em
357 mai/.O47.
e's coming right
at us ' sh e exclaimed,
her voice
raising n
pitch
in the heat
of the
moment.
On
he TAC
display creen,the lip
thatwas he Kaferwarship
was moving
on an ntercept ourse
with he human
souadron.
haneswitchedone of his
video monitors to long range scan
and input the coordinates of
the
enemy. on
ths small screen, the
wounded
giant
climbed maiestically
out of the
plane
of the ring'sorbit.Shanenoticed
that the
enemy battleship
ad
sufferecl
maior
blowout n the orwardspherearea.
'All
weaponsare o tire anclkeep on fi ring
il l
the
ubesmelt.Hit'em ' shaneordered.
Lieutenant emmons and the
petty
officers
underhis controldirected heir emainingmissiles
at ths onrushing arget.The ightsdimmed as he
ship's aserswsnt into action. Lemmonshere.
Assign
mount four as close in, ant i-missile
battery.'
Greenwoor t
spoke up.
"Commoctore ,
Kangaloonas
iust
lost her starboard solar
panel.
Her anderhas
also been hit. She's
ettisoning
t
just
n case t might
explocle."
"Acknowleclgecl.
hat s he clamage eport
on
Hasegatld?"
'They're
repairing
he hrusters o
get
the ship
back underway
to
Aurore. She may
yet
be
salvagable."
At that
moment,
a Kafermissile xOlocled
nd
all of
its
pre-targeted
beams impacteclon
the
Bushranger,
lowingoff one of its missilebays
ancl the
deepsystem
scanner, ancl hitting
the
forward
hull
and one of the rotating imbs. The
8/20/2019 Encounter at Hesperus
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/encounter-at-hesperus 4/4
2l
sensor
eedback aused he console
o
blow up
jn
Judy Mayer's ace.
Lt.
Fairchild
alled or
a
medicaleam
o
come
to takecareof the
young
woman
as commodore
shane unbuckleclrom
his hair
nd
grabbed
fireext inguishero
help
one of
the
petty
officers
put
out the electrical
otaze.
Thick mokesoon filled
he
red ighted oom.
Coughing,
hane tarted
o ordereveryoneo
put
on heir xygenmasks, ut heyhad alreactyone
so.
Hesettled ack nto his
chairand ook
his
own
advice.
"Bridge,
hanehere.Put our
bow on
to
that
batt leshipnd
keepus
ike
hat.Don't et 'em
ge t
our
rotile
gain."
"Undersloocl,
ommodore.
We're having o
stop he
gravity
rumnow because f
vibrations,"
within wohours.'llbe n my
cabin."
"Very
appy o do so,sir.'
[23
JU[E. 23{)1: o2O1hours
GMT
-
Eta
Eootis
|
(Hesperus)l
Feeling
ike he
rock of ages,shane eturned
to
hisoffice/cabin. he
gravity
fum
wasstopped,
awailing epairs,
o
he
tloatecl
hrough
what he
crew abeledas The MainGate' and down he
companionway o his
quarters.
sweat
stains
underhis
arms
matched hoseof
the
othercrew
members hat he
passed
n
the
companionway.
Finally, e
arrived t
his
cabin.For a minute
r
so
he
just
heldonto the
nearbyhanclhold,hen
slict
the
hinmetal
anel
ot
a dooropen,enterect,hen
slid
t back nto
place.
He allowed imself
o
calm
down, readying
himself
to
write those
clamn
CANSHARE BOTTLE F
VODKA NDYO U
CANRELATE HATHASHAPPENED
T
ETABOOTIS.
Then,after eadi ng he
irst etter,Shane alledup
thesecondand
began o read.
TOCOMMODOREALEXHANE
FROM EAR DMIRAL
.
F.
PARKER:
SANDY OUOLDOUTBACKUSSIE ASTARD.
HOGGINGLLTHEGLORYSUSUAL. T
LEAST HIS IME
OUSAVED
OME
ORUS ,
SEE
YOUBACKON
AURORE.
Alexander
Shane smiled while readin g
the
messages. wo very
different
ndivictualsaluting
him
or
a
Jb
welldone.He
aid
down on
his bunk
and staredat the ceiling.The
question
hat
al l
warriors face raced through his
mind. one thal even
the
first cave-
man must have hought
after
killing
his ellowman.
"why?"
shane askedhis com-
puter
erminal. e didn't
expect
an y
aswers
o
be forthcoming
rcm
il. /t s
a// we// and
good,
ne
$ougn\ that
we fnd a need lo c/or+n around
amongsl ourse/ves
to
he/p ease lhe
bulden
ol
ouf deeds. And to
gieve
oler our
comlzrdes
and
usl
maybe,
a vo/thy
opponent
/l doesn7 mate
much
sense
-
but
it
ts
a
comlorl.
And
genen/U
we are not
/rearfless,
it /s s/mp/y that we a/e a//
uat/ms
o/
t{ar
The Commodore
got
up and
went back o ship'sbusiness. etters
to wri te, reporls o
fill
out. And for
tonight at least,
the citizens
of
Aurore
could
rest without fearing
another nvasion.But he
was
inter-
rupted y a knockat
his
door.
"Come
n,"
Shane aid.
Beth Anderson slid open the
panel
nd
ooked
n.
Shane
ould ell
even rom wherehe sat hat shewas
lired. Har brown
eyes wBre recl;
ruptured blood vessels
from the
brief
exposure o vacuum.Sheclictn'
say anything,
ust
entered
he cabin
andcloseclhe
door behindher.
Sandy
wavedher
over o
him
and
pulled
er nto his ap.
You
can
et
go
now,
Beth,'he
whisperednto
her
ear,and
hey both helcl ne anoth€r
close.
IFROM
THE
S|EGE OF ETA AoOTTS
-
23
JUilE. 23Ol
-
The Aurorean Colonaal
Detense Squadron engaged a Kafel
battleship,
destroyang it at
a
cost ol
one
ship destroyed
and another
badly
dama-
ged-
saxty-seven
are listed as
killed
an
action,
twenty-three
wounded- Five are
missing,
presumed
dead.
-
Borodin's
fleet
has
ar.iyed
back in
the Eta
Bootis system
early
this morning
to
engaoe elements
ot
the Kafer tleet now
tagged
'Task
Force
X-Ray.'
driyin0
them
away.l
nte Hsman-KatcLlfar
by
Alrx Shane,
pab.2312-
*
Commander
ndersoneolied.
Shane oulcl ell
somethingwas
wrong.
Beth,
s
somethingwrongup
there?"
'Yes
sir.Commanders
oster nd
Rhocles
reclead. hey
theywere
fighting fife
here on the bridge
whenhe orward
tarboard
iewport
washit.
Both
of
them were sucked
oul before he a utomaticviewoort
shield l id into
olace."After more
than wo
hundred
ears
of
livingand
working
n space, most
people
would
still
call
a blow out being
'sucked
out '. There was
a
slight
pause
efore
she
continued. zei-
gler
nd
areholding n and
he ship
isstill nswering
he helm."
At
/east
Eetn ls
st///
a//ue.
Snane
thought.
Okay
Commander, e wilt
grieve
after
the ba tfle. Not n ow.
You're irst
Otf icer now. Tactical
oul."
Then.
averting
is
attention
o
Ll. Greenwood,
Malcom,
Swiclch
sensor onlrol
o
your
board.Status
on heKafen"
"Looks like our missiles have
totalled
isengines. e s
ust
coast
ing
now;stutteMarp
missions
ead
zero.
ThP commancl
Focl
looks
totally
estroyed."
"Commodore.
message
coming
in
rom Aurore," t. Fairchild epor,
ted.
"Kontre-Admiral
orodin and
the rest
of the lleet
have
just
returned
o the system.
They are
nowheading
or Astraeus
and
the
remaining
af r
vessels."
Two Mecl-Techs trail ing
a
casualty
asket
popped
open
the
hatchand
propellecl
hemselvesover to
the
slumped
igure
of
Judy Mayer.
caretuily, hey
strapped
er nto the
basketand eft
as
quietly
s
they ntered.
shane ooked at the
time readout on the
bulkhead
all. t ead:
156 23JUNE 301Then
he
ooked
ver at Greenwood.
ls
that battleshio
dead
eP"
Greenwood
nodded.
"Yes
sir. Still
getting
someife orm
reaclings,ut
all
power
generation
systems
re
eading
t
?ero evels."
"Lt.
Fairchild,
irect he Kangarootoclose
and
send
ver
a
boarcling
arty
o
capture
hat
hing."
Theywere ooking
at the video
screens
when
the
magnified
iewof theirdefeated nemy
blew
up nto
millions
f
pieces.
"Then
again, Lieutenant,maybe not. stand
down
trom
Battle Stations and inlorm
the
squadron
o
turn
back
owardsAutore.
wanta full
damageeport
put
together or
my inspection
letters every
military commander
sometimes
finds himself
having
o
write. A beep soundect
from
his
personal
omputer.
Over
he intercom,
Lt. Fairchilclpoke, Sir, have wo messagesor
you.
One from Admiral
Borodin, he
other rom
Aclmiral arker.'
"Send
em
on
down to my computer,
Lieu-
tenant."
'Already
waiting or
you,
sir.Fairchilctut."
Tapping
a
tew
keys
and entering is security
code, he dark
green
screencame o life,
illing
withamberwords.
TOCOMMODORE
LEXANDER
HANE,
AUSTRALIAN
AVY. MDR CDS
FROM ONTR_ADMIRAL
.S.BORODIN:
EXTENDO
ALL NYOUR
OMMAND Y
HEARTFELT
RATITUDE
NDPRIDENTHE
SUCCESSFYOUR
ISSION, ILOOK
FORWARD
TO
A
MORE
QUIET
TIMEWHEN
WE
KIEV-class
Destroyer
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