Starship Vengeance

Chapter 4

It had been two days since news of the Zrynt invasion and I beginning to understand just how difficult this was going to be. We named the soon to be constructed evacuation ship Ark1. It was less than a day from being completed. I had notified Earth's governments to start gathering those who were going to be the first group shipped out. I was met with excuses and, in some cases, outright hostility. The worst were the everyday people we were trying to save. Riots were breaking out everywhere. Every continent was peppered with rebellion. Our fighters had been shot at dozens of times. I was brought out of my brooding when I felt Shahae place a comforting hand on my shoulder.

"How do I make them understand?" I asked.

"I'm afraid I have no experience in that regards" she answered. "Our nanites allow us to overcome the communication barriers you seem to be experiencing."

"Trust me, the only thing worse than the threat of a Zrynt invasion, is the threat of messing with people's minds." I replied.

"You'll figure it out" she said encouragingly. "You are a great leader. Your people just don't realize it yet."

I had spoken with Lisa earlier and asked her to use what connections she had to try and calm the masses. I didn't think her influence would make much of a difference, but every little bit helps. I monitored the situation throughout the day. Local governments struggled to maintain control while Ark1 neared completion. I took short naps throughout the day to keep myself going. The situation was too volatile for me to stay away for long.

Finally, Ark1 was completed. I watched in awe as the behemoth of a ship seemed to melt. We were far enough away that I couldn't make out individual ships, but the sheer number of ships breaking away was easy enough to see. Earth was soon enveloped by the smaller ships that made the Ark. If all went according to plan, these ships would be descending into an alien atmosphere in about twenty four hours.

All did not go according to plan. Only a fraction of the ships were filled when the Tuleeririan fleet arrived. I was on the bridge when they arrived. Admiral Vaehil's face appeared on one of my screens. "Admiral, welcome to Earth" I exclaimed. "I'm glad you arrived safe."

"Thank you Admiral Ryan" he replied. "What can we do to be of assistance?"

"Things are a mess here" I explained. "There is so much to do, but I'm afraid those on my planet don't understand how serious the situation is."

"Why don't you show them?" he asked.

"I've tried. I've showed the information about every battle we've taken part in since we first met the Zrynt" I replied.

"So show them" he said emphatically. "Take what ships you can and fight the Zrynt. We'll watch over things here. Show them how real the threat is."

"It's crazy, but it might work. What do we have to lose?" I asked rhetorically.

It took an hour to gather all the military spacecraft from around the world. I knew there would be casualties. I was hoping to keep those to a minimum, but for the world to grasp the danger, lives would be sacrificed. The Unity's hangers were filled to capacity as we left Earth behind. I gave the order to leave the hangers depressurized, so we would be able to launch quickly. The Zrynt ship wasn't hard to locate. It was traveling too quickly to try any kind of offensive, so the plan was to have the Unity attack and get it to slow down. Once slowed, the combined forces of Earth would mount an attack. There were several civilian ships mixed in that would record the battle and broadcast it upon our return to Earth. The distance involved made live broadcast impossible.

The Unity disgorged Earth's fleets as well as its own. I gave my commanders instructions to keep the different fleets from fighting each other. There were over a thousand ships eagerly waiting to take on the Zrynt. Once the trap was set, I gave orders to jump out.