The Star Cross Read online

  Hundreds of alien races could be found on the planet Kubitz, either selling or buying, some of it openly and some done in the back rooms of the pleasure houses. It was also a very dangerous place for someone unfamiliar with the workings of the black market system. People were known to vanish quite routinely, and the local authorities always seemed to look the other way.

  “We were fortunate to find this world in this backwater system,” Lantz said. “Few ships have ventured into this area where the stars are so far apart.”

  “We can thank the Kreel for that,” Creed said. “Several of their cargo ships have reported unknown ships detected by their satellite marker buoys in a number of systems they have claimed. It wasn’t difficult for the computers on Marsten to correlate the data and extrapolate the most likely location of those ships’ home world.”

  Lantz nodded in agreement.

  Though it hadn’t been quite that simple, as the computers had given them an area of space nearly thirty light-years across, which had contained quite a few stars, even in this sparse region. The Profiteer fleet had searched for two weeks before finally pinning down the system they sought.

  “It is well that we found this system when we did,” Lantz said with greed showing in his eyes. “They had a sizable fleet and, in a few more years, would have been too powerful to overwhelm without major losses. They still remain hesitant to obey our demands, even after we destroyed their cities. More examples might need to be made.”

  Before Creed could reply, warning klaxons sounded, and red lights flashed in the Command Center. His eyes instantly went to the sensor operator. “What’s with the alarms?” he demanded.

  “We have ships exiting hyperspace,” reported Third Profiteer Bixt, as red threat icons appeared on the sensor screen before him. Then, after a moment, he looked at First Profiteer Creed with astonishment on his face. “They’re human!”

  “We didn’t get them all,” muttered Lantz.

  -

  Admiral Vickers felt the familiar gut-wrenching sensation as the Star Cross dropped from hyperspace within close proximity to its intended target. The tactical screen quickly updated, showing the alien ships in orbit around Earth.

  “Energy shield is coming online,” reported Captain Randson.

  “Target lock!” called out Lieutenant Evelyn Mays, as green lights flashed on her console. “Firing particle beam cannon.” She reached forward and pressed several buttons, activating the deadly weapon. Beside her, two ensigns entered targeting information for the ship’s heavy KEW batteries and prepared to fire the ship’s missiles.

  -

  From the Star Cross, a deep blue beam flashed across space, smashing into the targeted enemy battlecruiser. Its defensive energy screen was operating at a low level, which failed to stop the beam. A massive explosion tore into the cruiser, leaving a gaping hole fifteen meters across in its hull and blasting a huge fragment off into space. The ship seemed to stagger, as valuable systems inside were compromised and ceased to function. Several secondary explosions rattled the ship, sending waves of fire through shattered interior compartments and corridors.

  From the bow of the Star Cross, the two heavy KEW cannons fired, sending a pair of large armor-piercing rounds at 10 percent the speed of light toward the reeling enemy cruiser. The rounds impacted the alien ship, tearing completely through it, setting off additional explosions. The energy generated was like twin nuclear explosions. With a brilliant flash, the battlecruiser blew, sending debris in all directions.

  “Enemy battlecruiser is down!” Lieutenant Brooks reported with elation, as the red threat icon swelled up on her sensor screen and then vanished.

  “We caught them before they could raise their shields!” uttered Captain Randson, his eyes shining with a wolfish glint. “We surprised them, just like they did when they attacked Earth.”

  “Switch to secondary target,” ordered Kurt, as he intently watched the tactical screen, seeing what success his other ships were having. They had to hit the enemy quick and hard if they were to have any hope of victory.

  “The Hampton has downed a second enemy battlecruiser,” reported Brooks, as she saw another red icon vanish from her screen.

  “Vindication is jumping in!” added Captain Randson, seeing more green icons appear on the tactical screen. “We caught them flatfooted!”

  -

  First Profiteer Creed picked himself up from the deck, looking around the Command Center in anger. “What’s happening!” he demanded, as his gaze shifted to the ship’s tactical screen. He could see numerous red threat icons appearing nearby. They were appearing almost on top of his fleet!

  “It’s a human fleet, and they’re attacking,” reported Second Profiteer Lantz breathlessly. “We’ve already lost the Warriors Pride and the Addax. The enemy is using a powerful particle beam weapon against us and kinetics.”

  “Particle beams and kinetics!” roared Creed in disbelief, his eyes growing wide.

  He knew that, for most warships, particle beams were impractical—as they required a tremendous amount of energy and needed a long cool-down time between firings. Most Gothan ships were armed with ion cannons, energy projectors, and missiles, which were cheap and efficient. Kinetics were a thing of the past and had been given up to be replaced by more modern weapons. No one used kinetics anymore!

  “One of the new arrivals is a carrier of some kind,” Third Profiteer Bixt warned. “It’s launching smaller warships toward us.”

  “We’ve lost four of our escorts,” said Lantz, watching the ships drop off the tactical screen. He groaned and murmured, “My profits … the pleasure houses …” Then he reported, “All our ships have their shields up and are returning fire, but I fear we’ve already lost too many. The Glimmer Fire is reporting heavy damage, and they’re asking permission to withdraw.”

  The Glimmer Fire was their only other remaining battlecruiser besides the Ascendant Destruction. Creed looked at the viewscreen, which showed numerous explosions in space. He could even see the flash of a few beam weapons. “Order all ships to jump!” he grated out, knowing that he had no other choice but to withdraw or risk being destroyed.

  They were in this for profits, not to lose expensive warships! He would return to Kubitz and come back with a much more powerful fleet. This planet was too rich to allow a single human fleet to keep him from it. The humans could have the planet for now, but, in time, he and his much larger force would retake it. He would also have to intercept the detainee and cargo ships on their way here and have them return to the Kubitz System.

  -

  “We’ve taken out two more of their light units,” Captain Randson added, watching as a pair of red icons fell off the tactical screen.

  Andrew Randson breathed a little easier. At this rate, they would win the battle, and then, as soon as possible, he intended to take a shuttle to Houston and evacuate his family. He knew others would be doing the same thing.

  “Destroyer Brant is down,” Lieutenant Brooks reported grimly, as the friendly green icon representing the small destroyer vanished from the sensor screen.

  Kurt winced at that news. It was the first ship under his command he had ever lost.

  “Enemy ships are showing an energy spike,” Lieutenant Brooks informed them, per one of her sensors. “They’re activating their hyperdrives.”

  Kurt switched his gaze to a large viewscreen just in time to see one of the two remaining enemy battlecruisers jump away. On the tactical screen, other red threat icons also vanished.

  “Their last battlecruiser is too damaged to jump,” Brooks reported, as the enemy ship turned toward them with its weapons firing. “They’re attacking!”

  Kurt felt the Star Cross shudder slightly as an energy beam struck the ship’s screen.

  “Some type of ion beam is hitting us,” Lieutenant Brooks reported, looking at the data on one of her sensor screens.

  “The shield is holding at 84 percent,” Captain Randson said.

  “Particle beam is
recharged,” Lieutenant Mays stated, as she targeted the alien battlecruiser. “Firing!”

  -

  The deep blue particle beam smashed into the Glimmer Fire, flashing right through its weakened defensive energy screen. A huge hole was blasted in its bow, and the ship seemed to lose all power. Two heavy KEW rounds from the human’s bow cannons plowed into the Profiteer ship, traveling nearly its entire length, and then the vessel detonated in a blaze of light as too many vital systems were compromised.

  -

  “All enemy ships have either jumped or been destroyed,” reported Lieutenant Brooks, breathing a sigh of relief. “We have control of Earth orbital space.”

  Kurt nodded, allowing himself to relax. This battle had gone far better than expected. “Get me Captain Watkins. I’ll have the Vindication check out the shipyard. We may need their Marines to secure it.” Kurt turned his attention back toward one of the viewscreens, which showed Earth.

  “Now let’s try to contact someone down on the surface and see just what the hell is going on!”

  Chapter Two

  Denise Hunter looked up at the star-studded night sky with renewed hope, after hearing the recent horror stories on the few news broadcasts they had been able to get. For two weeks the world had been held in the tight grip of their alien conquerors. At first the governments of the world had refused to cooperate and had paid a terrible price in the loss of a number of cities. Denise knew that, in the North American Union, both Chicago and Washington, DC, had been struck. Hundreds of thousands of people suffered from radiation sickness. The total number of dead from the attacks remained unknown but was believed to be in the millions.

  Over the last few minutes she had seen brilliant flashes of light, briefly lighting up the night sky in a furious frenzy. She knew she watched an ongoing battle being fought in space. The only ships Earth still possessed that could rally such a fight was her brother’s fleet, which had been at Newton on maneuvers.

  “Please let it be Kurt, and please keep him safe.” She spoke softly, as the flashes died away. The last few weeks had been terrifying, and she was ready for the nightmare to end.

  “Is it Uncle Kurt?” asked Bryan in his childish voice, looking up at the flashes.

  At six years old, he didn’t understand the recent events or what the bright flashes in the night sky were.

  “They’re pretty,” he said with a big smile.

  “They’ve stopped,” Alex said, standing just behind his son. Glancing about the neighborhood, he could see a lot of people outside, looking up toward space and speaking excitedly.

  “Are the pretty lights coming back?” Bryan asked his father.

  “I don’t know,” responded Alex, putting his hand protectively on Bryan’s shoulder, squeezing gently, and gazing at Denise.

  “Alex!” yelled Claude, one of their nearby neighbors. “The TV’s on, and the president’s making an announcement.”

  “Let’s go inside,” Alex said, reaching out and taking Denise’s hand. “Maybe we can find out what just happened.”

  Since the attack, the TV had only been on sporadically. The government of the North American Union had been strangely silent, perhaps afraid the aliens would discover where they were hiding.

  Bryan ran to the kitchen. “I’m getting a drink first.”

  “I’m glad to hear the president’s still alive,” Denise said, as they entered their house in a secluded residential development just east of Houston.

  There had been no formal word as to what had happened to the president and others in the government once reports had reached Denise that Washington, DC, had been destroyed. The nuclear blasts and the ensuing fallout had supposedly killed millions. She had heard unconfirmed rumors that the government had gone underground, and was in hiding. The brief reports issued over the TV had instructed everyone to stay indoors and to not leave their homes unless absolutely necessary. At least the power had remained on, and several local radio stations had stayed on the air, informing people where to go for food and emergency services.

  “If the president announces the aliens have left,” suggested Denise with hope in her eyes, “maybe that had been Kurt’s fleet in orbit, and he drove off the invaders.” She couldn’t imagine her brother not returning, once he learned what had happened to Earth.

  “We’ll see,” Alex said noncommittally, as he turned on the TV and sat down with Denise next to him on the couch. “Don’t get your hopes up yet. We don’t know if the aliens attacked Newton as well. Those flashes of lights could have even been two different alien fleets battling it out for control of Earth.”

  The TV came on, and the emergency broadcast emblem appeared with words scrolling across the screen, stating that the president would be making an announcement shortly.

  “Do you want some coffee?” asked Denise, looking at her husband. They were fortunate that they had a well-stocked pantry. Alex was always teasing her for having so much food in the house. Denise disliked spending time at the supermarket, so, when she did go, she bought in volume. That way she wouldn’t have to return anytime soon.

  “Later,” Alex said, squeezing Denise’s hand. “Let’s see what the president has to say.”

  “Is the TV coming on?” Bryan asked, his eyes growing wide, walking slowly with his drink in hand. “I want to watch cartoons!”

  “Maybe later,” Denise answered with a smile. “We have some of your favorite shows recorded, and, if you eat a good supper, we can watch one later.”

  “The one about the horse,” announced Bryan, sitting down with his parents. “I like that one.”

  “Sure,” Denise promised, as the emergency broadcast emblem suddenly vanished, and the president appeared on the screen. “Now be quiet, so Mommy and Daddy can hear the TV for a moment. Can you do that for me?”

  Bryan nodded his head enthusiastically.

  “People of the North American Union,” President Mayfield began in a steady voice, “I come to you tonight with important news. Two weeks ago the answer to whether we are alone in the universe was answered. In a very decisive and aggressive manner. Alien ships appeared in our orbital space and launched an unprovoked attack against our orbiting spacecraft. Most of our ships were quickly destroyed, and only a few managed to escape.” The president paused, as if making sure of his words.

  “As we learned from one of our fleet’s survivors, the aliens are called Profiteers. They’re a race who raids planets, and strips them of their wealth and anything else of significant value. Once they secured the space around our planet, they issued demands, instructing us to gather up gold, platinum, jewels, and other valuables at specific sites to be picked up. When we refused to do so, they nuked a number of cities around the planet. In our own country, Chicago and Washington, DC, were lost. Civilian casualties from those two attacks are expected to reach ten to twelve million.”

  “So many people,” Denise said, shaking her head. “It’s difficult to imagine the horror of what it must be like living close to either one of those cities.”

  “And that’s just in our country,” Alex said with a heavy sigh. “Claude said he heard that Rome and Cairo were also nuked.”

  The president continued. “There have been unconfirmed rumors that a number of humans were taken away on some of the alien ships. As of this time, we have been unable to substantiate those reports.”

  “I hope that’s not true—the aliens abducting people,” continued Denise.

  “The president said it wasn’t confirmed,” Alex reminded her. “Those rumors have been circulating for several days.”

  “Fortunately not all of our space fleet was destroyed in the original battle,” President Mayfield continued. “A large task group was at Newton, undergoing special maneuvers. The light cruiser Johnas was heavily damaged in the battle above Earth but managed to escape into hyperspace, and so Captain Owens informed Admiral Kurt Vickers about what had transpired. Admiral Vickers returned to Earth a short time ago and destroyed part of the Profiteer fleet in Ea
rth orbit, forcing the rest to withdraw.”

  “It was Kurt!” Denise said, her face lighting up. She leaned forward, closer to the TV, wanting to hear every word. “I knew it!”

  “But how long will the aliens stay away?” questioned Alex, raising an eyebrow. “We don’t know how big a fleet they might have.”

  “Is Uncle Kurt coming to see us?” asked Bryan.

  Denise smiled. She knew how much Bryan liked his uncle. Uncle Kurt always brought him special gifts whenever he visited.

  “We don’t know,” answered Denise. She hoped her older brother would find some way to send a message. “Be quiet and listen to the TV.”

  “I will shortly be contacting other world leaders to determine our future path of action during this time of uncertainty,” Mayfield continued, his eyes looking directly into the camera. “I am ordering everyone to report to their jobs as normal tomorrow. We need to get the stores open and our economy running again. I am also ordering the military to ensure no looting or price gouging occurs during this emergency. People caught doing either will be severely prosecuted.”

  “We better fill up the vehicles with gas and stock up on groceries,” uttered Alex, looking over at Denise for a long and thoughtful moment. “I’ll also see about getting a portable generator for power. If the aliens come back, who knows what might happen.”

  “We should talk to Kurt,” Denise replied. She was certain that her brother would be contacting her shortly.

  “We will,” Alex promised, as his gaze returned to the TV. “I’m sure he will better understand what’s going on.”

  “Our world has suffered a great disaster in this attack and many lives have been lost,” President Mayfield continued. His face took on a very serious and determined look. “As president of the North American Union, I promise to do everything in my power to protect our people and keep our planet safe. In the morning when you get up, take comfort in the fact that our space fleet is in orbit around Earth, ready to defend us if necessary. It may take a while, but our lives will return to normal, but we will never forget those who died such a violent death. I just want to ask each and every one of you to do your part to ensure that happens. As soon as we know more, I will give another address. Thank you for your time.”