Revolution of the Gods: The Battle for Sol Book Two (9 page)

The Torahnossian attack was largely ineffectual with the destroyer’s shield holding strong against the phase cannons. However, their main target was not the destroyer and this maneuver was simply a distraction. The Torahnossian attack vector was one with the least resistance from the second destroyer’s armaments. One of the fighters concentrated on the bridge while the other blew past toward its true target.

The Nekelmu, lacking the ability to fire directly at the fighters, launched a squad of Gigim Xul interceptors to take them out. These new Ansharian fighters were developed only 150 years ago and the Torahnossians still hadn’t found a good answer for them. The primary wings on the back of the craft resembled a pair of bat wings inverted toward the narrow fuselage. A crescent shaped command module adorned the tip of the ship’s fuselage and accommodated three pilots.

By the time the interceptor squad launched from the belly of the Nekelmu, the other destroyer had obliterated the Torahnossian ship attacking its bridge but was unable to target the other fighter which was now back in front of the event horizon.

Gibil studied the fighter’s movement. Realizing what the Torahnossian was up to, the chancellor activated an alert throughout the fleet to immediately increase its distance from the phenomenon.

The Gigim Xul squad was closing in on the remaining fighter but it was already too late. The unprotected axionic dark matter probe was an easy target for the fighter. Just before the Gigim Xul fired on the Torahnossian fighter, the probe was destroyed by its phase cannons.

The explosion annihilated a pair of frigates coming through the portal and caused the event horizon to begin collapsing after its equilibrium was upset. The Torahnossian fighter and Gigim Xul squad were shredded as the shockwave expanded. The back half of the second Ansharian destroyer was engulfed and completely disintegrated before the wormhole collapsed. The other ships on this side of the wormhole were also about to be engulfed but the collapse retracted the shockwave, sending the unimaginable energy pulse back through the throat and crushing the remainder of the Ansharian fleet inside.

“Report!” the emperor snarled, watching the viewer flicker with static.

“The Nekelmu and twelve frigates are intact but the remainder of the fleet, including the supply convoy has been destroyed by the wormhole collapse. All of our primary systems on the Kashurra are operational with minor secondary damage,” the bridge officer informed.

Suen-Nergal tightly squeezed the arms of his chair in anger and shouted, “Direct our ships to proceed toward Earth and establish a high orbit over Old Cairo!”

C
onrad activated the wall viewer displaying an enhanced view of the newely arrived Ansharian fleet. "Preliminary findings suggest that the Ansharians were able to control the wormhole until two of Uzal's fightersemerged and disabled an axionic device. They took a sizable loss but the Nekelmu and Kashurra survived along with some frigates. Before his destruction, our last fighter was able to transmit a message directly from General Uzal:”

“We have our fleet standing ready at the designated coordinates. Hopefully our little care package will buy you some time.”

“Indeed it has,” Turner confirmed. “Is Raylen in position?”

“Yes sir,” Conrad replied.

T
he bright blue and purple gaseous afterglow of the explosion was still expanding and became even more visible from Earth’s surface than the wormhole itself. The reduced Ansharian fleet reached the planet about thirty minutes after arriving in the system. All of the Ansharian ships were tightly grouped in a synchronous orbit above central Europe.

“We have established a link to the C7 Council,” Sepsu notified.

“
Prime Rothstein reporting your Excellency,”
the head of the EU announced after his image appeared on the bridge’s main viewer.

“Prime Rothstein, I am sending a shuttle to your location. You and the other six primes are to meet with me here on the Kashurra. Alert your forces of our arrival,” the emperor ordered.

T
he Kashurra’s conference bay was located one level under the top two pod tiers of the superstructure. The C7 were in attendance with Sepsu and Emperor Suen-Nergal.

“Sepsu, patch in Lord Chancellor Gibil,” the emperor ordered. Within a few seconds, Gibil’s image appeared on the viewer.

“Prime Rothstein, explain the current status of our new base. Our readings indicate a significant offensive movement against our bases in the NAU and that it is comprised of assets formerly under your control,” the emperor demanded.

“Nearly ten hours ago, the director of the NAU Command was ordered to commandeer the Dugway facility after we learned that the general in command of that facility was compromised by a Torahnossian infiltrator. However, Director Lindherst failed in his duty. He has been subsequently replaced by Mar Sarrim Ningishzida.

“We secured and reinforced all of our vital locations in the NAU before General Bracken and the insurgent forces conducted their assaults. We are currently managing those locations and expect to have the insurgents under control shortly. Since your arrival was imminent, we decided to suspend any further offensive action until you assessed the situation personally,” the EU prime replied, slumping his posture and twisting the facts to mold a different recount of what had actually happened in an attempt to minimize the C7’s incompetence.

“You decided well Prime Rothstein. However we now have an unpredictable variable. We are put in the position of dealing with a force that is capable of its own planet’s annihilation – a scenario that we have confronted before which ended in a less than an optimal outcome… Explain Prime Rothstein, what is the current security status of the nuclear weapons located in the NAU and other sectors of the planet?” the emperor inquired, knowing already that the C7 had lost control of the weaponry in this area of their new planetary base and the history of Lindherst’s first assault.

“We are currently attempting to regain control over the ICBMs in the NAU. The Torahnossians aided Bracken in installing a quantum encryption on all of those systems. The Torahnossian named Dr. Hauer has essentially made it impossible for us to take back control through digital means. We have already sent an auxiliary force to Dulce to stand ready for direct physical recovery of the largest concentrated areas of nuclear weaponry. Again, we decided to wait until your arrival to proceed any further,” Rothstein explained, deferring to the emperor’s ultimate judgment on the matter.

“The STU Command temporary lost control of our systems but they were not shut out and we have since regained command of all ICBMs and nuclear submarines,” notified Prime Nikonov, eager to prove his competence.

The IAU prime delegate also chimed in for the same reason and explained a similar recount as Nikonov for his region.

“I am pleased to know that some of you are competent enough to maintain control of your militaries despite the Torahnossian efforts to subvert your ranks,” Suen-Nergal remarked, looking in the direction of Prime Pike.

“Now, explain to me the escape of this so called ‘GEO’ that created so much destruction in the Restricted Zone known as Las Vegas.”

NAU Prime Pike understood that the emperor expected him to reply. He had dreaded this moment from the second the C7 learned the GEO had escaped the Dugway facility and was at large.

“Mr. Pike!”
Gibil prodded.

The Prime cleared his throat and began his response, “We have determined that Dr. Hauer orchestrated the escape of the GEO. An S2 was dispatched to eliminate the target. After tracking him to the Vegas RZ, the two of them engaged and the GEO eventually destroyed the S2. During the engagement, we learned that the GEO possessed abilities which were not in the original parameters of the project. His last known location was southern California. The auxiliary force at Dulce has also been tasked with the GEO’s termination once we are able to relocate him. It is important to point out the GEO received assistance in the Vegas confrontation. We believe that he is currently harbored by a residual Torahnossian force.”

“Your Excellency, I already recommended that an S2 force be sent to the Dugway facility to capture Hauer. It seems he has unlocked the secret to create clones with the ability to molecularly control the tachyon field. If that is indeed the case, Hauer must be brought under our control. The team will be in position within two hours,” Prime Rothstein interjected, distinguishing his performance from Pike’s.

“So if it were not for this General Bracken, we would have complete control of this planet. As it stands, we have a significant insurgent force in the NAU region that has control of several key strategic facilities. And to add to your incompetence we have a clone loose on the planet that could effectively erase the distinct advantage we have held in this system for millennia.

“The Ansharian command on Earth has had the last 16,000 years to establish complete control of this planet. One would think that is enough time for a completely superior race in every respect to accomplish such a task! I am vexed with the performance of this base. Who among this group of seven do you believe should be held accountable for this failure?” the emperor bellowed to the Council of Seven.

SAU Prime Cortés leaned forward and started defensively tapping his index finger on the table as he spoke. “For the record, I opposed the retention of General Bracken and also the appointment of Director Lindherst.”

Pike immediately attempted to defend his management of the NAU region.

“Your Excellency, if I may…” the NAU prime began explaining how his was the most difficult of all unions to establish and that the other primes essentially had it much easier. He detailed how the Torahnossians had effectively counterbalanced the Ansharian Earth Command for nearly two hundred years with the formation of the United States and the use of its economic and military power.

“We were able to begin our takeover of North America only eighty
 years ago, a task that was not completed until just three years ago,” Pike concluded, trying to distribute equal fault to the entire group. His focus on how recently it had been that the NEU was established visibly pissed off the other primes.

“Prime Delegate Pike, the question was of a rhetorical nature. It seems that the lesson of Er’dayian has been forgotten by all of you,” the emperor countered with higher volume.

Er’dayian was a system that the Ansharians lost 7000 years ago resulting from a Torahnossian directed interplanetary revolution. The system possessed three habitable planets and was the largest Ansharian controlled system at the time.

The emperor nodded at Sepsu and then continued, “Maybe I can provide a more immediate and effective lesson on what it means to underestimate the Torahnossians - one that you will not forget any time soon!”

Sepsu had slithered quietly behind Pike’s seat while all of the primes were intently focused on the emperor’s words. The shot from Sepsu’s particle pistol burned a hole through Pike’s back and rippled across his chest, painfully decomposing his atoms. The NAU Prime screamed out in pain for only a couple of seconds before he was completely incinerated.

“Sepsu will be taking Prime Pike’s position  and will be head of the C7,” Suen-Nergal declared as he briskly departed the room with Sepsu left behind to tidy up.

N
o one is irreplaceable,
thought Rothstein.

Sepsu stepped forward and fired her directives.

“We are proceeding with the first global address on time. Have the NEU regional communication stations ready to broadcast the emperor’s message of the Ansharian return. The AWR conference stays on schedule and I want an impenetrable perimeter established around the Vatican for the emperor’s arrival. Additionally the emperor’s shuttle will be escorted by a squad of Gigim Xul interceptors,” Sepsu instructed.

“Despite the wormhole collapse, we have more than enough ships to completely suppress this insurgency when the time comes. Their military capabilities are comparatively miniscule even with General Bracken’s additional forces. The Kashurra will remain in its current orbit while the Nekelmu will reposition above Dulce. A smaller force will be over the NAU Capitol in New York,”
Gibil informed with satellite views and maps of the relevant areas in the NAU appearing on the viewer below his image.

“After the ARW address, our forces will initiate a three pronged counter offensive in the NAU. As Director Lindherst spectacularly demonstrated, an underground facility such as Dugway is designed to protect against aerial attack – even orbital attack.

“Thus, once we reach orbit above Dulce, we will be sending down two frigates and six Gigim Xul interceptor squads to drive back Bracken’s forces and prepare a landing base for the Nekelmu. We will establish a base camp for massing our ground offensive armaments once the Nekelmu lands.

“In the meantime, we will strike at the heart of their command in Dugway with the S2s and supporting Gigim Xul squads. This will be a surgical strike designed only to capture Hauer and disrupt their command structure.

“The third prong involves using our frigates to reinforce the key C7 facilities still under our command and repelling all current offensives at locations not yet under Bracken’s control. Once we meet these objectives, we will proceed with the second phase of the suppression,”
Gibil concluded.

“Thank you Lord Chancellor Gibil,” Sepsu said as she turned to look at the primes. “Once we arrive back to Old Cairo, brief your regional command leaders accordingly. I will be accompanying you back to ensure proper execution,” the new head of the C7 asserted.

G
eneral Bracken had watched the emperor’s pre-recorded message that transmitted across the planet. The NEU regional broadcasts of the Ansharian address lasted about ten minutes. The address was prefaced by Prime Rothstein explaining that the C7 had been in communication with the Ansharians for some time now to coordinate their arrival. He also introduced Sepsu as a new Ansharian representative appointed to the C7. Additionally, it was stated that Prime Delegate Pike had voluntarily resigned his position and that the NAU would be cooperatively controlled by the remaining six prime delegates to the C7, completely obfuscating the true reality.