The Attack
Preenasette - Trun Space - 2000
The Cast
Officer Anton Pilz, Supreme Commander Domantry Zander, Commander Dori Mancer,
The Space Dock Attarri 6 duty officer rubbed his eyes and looked at the screen again.
Still there.
A wave of craft heading from Vercetian space in numbers not seen in his twenty years at this station.
He glanced around the control room of the ageing maintenance and overhaul space dock, seeing his colleagues moving away from their stations to view mimic screens, the quiet now turning into a low hum.
He hit the analysis button, and his screen started lighting up with little orange tags attached to the white dots that were marching relentlessly towards him. Three battle cruisers were tagged. The first one was spearheading the armada and the others moving to each flank. The next tags identified twelve bifighters: six deployed to the spearhead cruiser and three each to the flanks. Finally, fifteen delta spheres were bringing up the rear. He hit the second button to confirm what he already suspected. The orange projection lines from the cruisers slowly moved off in three differing directions, but the predictive arcs they followed all converged at the same point—Attarri 6.
The duty officer opened communications. ‘Central Command, do you see this?’ The space dock commander and a small group of his co-workers now standing over his shoulder, were also trying very hard to take in the current situation. ‘A Vercetian fleet comprising thirty vessels, three of which are battle cruisers. The current course confirmed as being inbound to space dock 6.’ One of the cruisers now erupted with a plethora of tiny white dots cascading from its core. ‘Wait, the left flank cruiser is now deploying arrows.’ He paused and looked at his commanding officer who gave him an approving nod. He continued, ‘Awaiting your instructions.’
Central Command Duty Officer Anton Pilz viewed the flurry of information bombarding the peripheral screens in the Main Control Hub—the heart of the massive space station in geosynchronous orbit over Trun.
His team was rapidly transferring information onto the 3D holo-projection system. Segments of the display came into focus, occupying the centre of the hub, processing massive amounts of data. With the view of the Vercetian armada came the darkness of the surrounding space, contrasting with the lightness of the peripheral work zones. An amphitheatre was playing out a drama in space with a ring of technicians as the audience. First, the central battle cruiser appeared, a floating grey image quickly finding its definition, a technological sculpture enacted at blindingly fast speed. Moments later the other shapes appeared, replicating the vessels thousands of miles away. Soon the whole picture was complete.
The spaceport officer’s assessment appears accurate, thought Pilz. ‘Launch your fighters to engage the arrows, then lock down the station. Full defensive mode. A squadron will be with you shortly.’
‘Understood, central command.’
Pilz hastily gave the orders to despatch the standby squadron. Another quick message appraised his superiors of the situation. The Supreme Commander was on the space station carrying out a scheduled review. He would be much too close for comfort.
In no time at all the Supreme Commander’s voice broke through the flurry of activity in central command. ‘Officer Pilz, report current status.’
‘A Verceti armada is on course to arrive at Space Dock Attarri 6 in twenty-five minutes. Three battle cruisers, twelve bifighters and fifteen delta spheres. Fifteen arrows launched by one of the cruisers, with the other two deploying more as we speak. I’ve instructed the station to despatch all available 3W fighters to engage and then proceed with lockdown protocol. Squadron XB3 is readying for immediate deployment. Estimated time of arrival thirty-two minutes.’ Pilz took a deep breath, feeling that he’d been efficient enough in his assessment of the situation. Supreme Commander Zander ruled with a rod of iron, and everyone felt his wrath at some point or another.
Zander was one of the youngest military leaders the Trun had ever selected. He had made a name for himself as commander of the garrison in Three Cities, where he masterminded what came to be known as the ‘Pirate Trail Attacks’. He used a centuries-old pirate route to take small forces southwest along the coast. These raids eventually climaxed in a head-on encounter with the Vercetian Military High Commander, Kam Major. A short, but vicious affair with Zander’s force escaping by the skin of their teeth. He knew she had bested him, but having raided the hallowed grounds of Garin Isle turned into a propaganda victory for the Trun by his return.
‘I’ll be there presently,’ Zander said.
A few minutes later he entered the hub, his bright red cape flowing gracefully behind him, exposing the ebony black lightweight body armour he always wore. His head cap captured the dancing lights emanating from the peripheral screens and brought out the dark hue of aquamarine that most Trun naturally had. Pilz handed his control station to one of his sub-officers and stood up for a better view of the fleet. The vessels appeared to be stationary, the only movement being the smaller ships drifting away from the cruisers. He watched Zander stroll into the swirling mass of ghostly apparitions, perhaps to try and get into the head of the Vercetian commander and fathom out the real intent of the attack formation. All around him the arrows were leaving the cruisers, blinking out of existence as they reached the outer limit of the holographic domain. Pilz watched him stop and contemplate a bifighter tactical twin-cannon ship. Zander waved his hand gently through it, perhaps with admiration. These were formidable ships, light, agile and heavily armed. The Trun would have them soon; their spy network in Verceti had recently stolen the plans. The remainder of the fleet was made up of silver delta spheres, fifteen of them. An odd choice, Pilz thought. They were modestly armed and not what you would consider attack ships. More suited to long range reconnaissance. He wondered if the Supreme Commander would pick up on that.
Zander joined Pilz and instructed him to recalibrate the holographic view to include the space dock. Pilz sent a whispered message via his face communicator and the view of the fleet pulled back until the complete saga could be seen unfolding.
Commander Dori Mancer appeared on the other side of the Supreme Commander.
‘What is happening, Domantry? This aggression is most unlike the Vercetians. And why on this facility?’
Zander’s number two clasped the barrier rail with large calloused hands that had seen more military action than any other Trun. He leant forward, struggling to focus on the armada, well aware that his old body was failing him in so many ways. But he still had the respect and admiration of his men and was determined to see his young prodigy succeed in the top military job. That job had never interested him. He was a leader of men and an astute strategist, but in his heart, he was a fighter, happy to be in the thick of it with his troops. So, when the post of Supreme Commander became vacant, he used all his influence to get Zander selected. He had political enemies he didn’t want leading the Trun military, and with Zander still flying high following his Pirate Trail Attacks, it was all too easy to get him elected.
‘What is their intent? I can’t see the rationale behind this attack,’ Mancer stated.
‘I agree,’ replied Zander.
Pilz couldn’t resist joining in; it was rare to be in such company. ‘Why so many delta spheres?’ He kept his gaze straight forward.
‘My thoughts exactly,’ the Supreme Commander replied and then went completely silent. A minute later he turned to Pilz. ‘How many of our TW Spheres have we available for immediate deployment?’
After another whispered message, Pilz replied in a very nervous voice, ‘Six, sir,’ desperately aware that he had given the order to proceed with some unscheduled maintenance work and many were unavailable.
‘Only six!’ roared Mancer, turning to confront Pilz directly. ‘Is that all?’
‘Despatch them immediately,’ Zander interrupted, ‘and let’s hope for your sake that that is enough!’