Starship Vengeance

Chapter 5

Another day passed by quickly. By the time that Ark1 had returned, Ark3 had departed. Ark4 was completed shortly after. With the evacuation in full swing, we had to maintain a balance to keep basic services functional for those who were still waiting. There were a few minor issues, but those were quickly handled by leaders on Earth. By the end of day nine, Ark2 had returned and Ark1 and Ark4 had left.

I woke up the following morning feeling good. We had a very tight evacuation schedule to keep, but so far it looked like we might make it. I was sitting in my office going over a report detailing various methods that might be employed to penetrate the impenetrable shield protecting the Zrynt ship. The ideas ranged from pointless to wildly outlandish. I forced myself to stop as I read one idea. Whoever wrote this was obviously ignorant about many things. They proposed we sacrifice our own moon by placing it in the path of the oncoming ship. Two of the theories I had read actually had my interest.

The first theory would have the Unity jump some distance ahead of the Zrynt ship and launch a large salvo of munitions while heading towards the ship. It reminded me of an ancient jousting match. The theory was the added kinetic energy would aid the munitions in punching their way through the shield. The second theory was simpler in nature. Some self-proposed genius proposed that a laser might be modulated to pass through the field. It was a good idea in theory, but creating a weapon with the capability to pass through the shield with enough energy left over to damage the ship would be difficult. I decided that today would be a great day to test out both theories. Besides, it was about time to slow the Zrynt ship down again.

Shahae walked in as I was sending out instructions to prepare for the upcoming battle. "Shahae, what can I do for you?" I asked

"I'm not sure" she said hesitantly. "I know there is much work to be done, but I don't even know where to begin. This trip is going much differently than I had envisioned."

"I know what you mean" I replied with a chuckle. "I could use some help in here for a while if you don't mind."

She gave me a brilliant smile. I quickly explained what I hoped to accomplish with the next skirmish with the Zrynt. "How can I help?" she asked.

"You nanites should allow you to access all Tuleeririan technology. I was hoping you would have some designs handy on a weapon that we could modify" I answered.

"We have something that should work, but it is not nearly powerful enough to damage a ship that powerful" she replied.

"I'm not looking to damage it" I said, "I'm looking for a way to get past those shields. If we can prove it can be done, then we can construct more powerful weapons to inflict damage. This mission is to slow the Zrynt progress while gathering information." We worked side by side at the conference table. I felt an odd sensation in my stomach every time her arm brushed mine. I wasn't sure if she was aware or doing it on purpose, but it was a definite distraction. I knew that things were changing between us. I could only hope it was for the better. Several hours later we were ready to depart. We commissioned a small part of the shipyard to build the weapon and install it on the Unity. I could tell the crew was anxious to go against the Zrynt again, but it was necessary.

We arrived in our target location. The Zrynt ship would be here in less than ten minutes. We lined the ship up and began to accelerate. "Commence fire in three minutes" I commanded. I had brought along my whole fleet, but decided to wait to launch them. I wasn't sure we would be able to bring the Zrynt ship to a stop like we had before. I watched as the timer reached its end. "Fire all weapons" I called out. The command wasn't necessary, but I was getting caught up in the excitement. I waited for a full minute and said, "Cease fire and brace yourselves. Pilots, get us up to speed." The ship lurched as the inertial dampeners attempted to compensate. The Unity turned and began to accelerate in an attempt to match the Zrynt ship's speed.