A Time For Change
Ion blasts sizzled through empty space striking the hull of Taiidan ships eventually ripping the hull into pieces sending all crew into the void of space. The Kushan Mothership surveyed the battlefield from it's resting place along the outer edge of the cataclysm; strike craft streaked passed as they re-entered the battle after being re-fueled. Heavy Cruisers, circling the battlefield like vultures, picked off any craft that was disabled or trying to flee. Support Frigates, scrambling to repair damaged Capital ships while trying to dodge enemy fire. The Destroyer, which had been dubbed Angel Wing, was fighting courageously even though all of the Support Frigates had been blown away from it. Angel Wing had already completely destroyed two Taiidan Carriers and three Heavy Missile Destroyers that had literally turned wing after wing of strike craft trying to guard the Mothership into scrap. A group of Salvage Corvettes had successfully stolen a Heavy Cruiser, which was now heading into battle. Taiidan craft where dropping like flies as the Kushan pushed on their attack. It seemed that the Kushan were furious at the attempt to destroy their Mothership by means of treachery. Even the small Defenders were putting in a valiant fight.
The Captain of the Angel Wing clutched the arm of the railing as yet another ion blast struck his ship. In a rage he ordered all batteries to destroy the wing of Ion Cannons that just struck his ship, within thirty seconds the whole wing was obliterated. "Sir, we have an incoming transmission from the Mothership" yelled a young communications officer
"Patch it through" replied Captain Leonard Kelly. "Angel Wing, this is command, withdrawal attack I repeat withdrawal attack, command out," said the garbled voice over the comm,
"What!?" said the surprised Captain, "why do we have to withdrawal?"
Ships all around the battlefield began to flee towards the nearest Capital Ship, Captain Kelly, feeling like a coward, ordered his ship to withdrawal.
The Angel Wing was the last Kushan ship the rejoin the Mothership, which then ordered all of the Capital ships to enter hyperspace and to head to their former home world territory. Captain Kelly did this, still feeling like a coward along with all the other Capital ships capable of completing a hyperspace jump. After about twenty minutes the Mothership joined the rest of the fleet at the former Kushan planet territory. Captain Kelly boarded a small scout fighter to journey to the Mothership for an after-battle briefing with all the other captains and commanders. As the scout sped towards the Mothership Kelly tried to think of a logical way to explain why they were ordered to hyperspace out of battle, even when they were about to eliminate the Taiidan throng that assaulted them.
"Why did we have to withdrawal!?" yelled the Angry captain of a Heavy Cruiser (named the Blue Sea). "We were in our prime, it could have been the Kushan race's finest hour!"
"Yes I know, but we have an explanation for that," said the Kushan Commander, James Rollback, "We had pondered the need to launch a M5 mine (a very powerful Atomic explosive) and we accepted the thought," he went on
"Some explanation!" yelled Kelly; "They could have survived! Sure we would have destroyed half of the fleet but some Capital ships could have survived!"
"That is impossible!" yelled Rollback, "Nothing can survive a M5 mine, that's why we ordered all of you do withdrawal your ship before we launched the bomb"
"Well I say it was an ill-mannered attempt to slaughter my people!" said a voice over the comm
"What was that!?" screamed Rollback
"We are being hailed by a Taiidan Carrier!" said a nervous communications operator
"Kushan fugitives this is the Taiidan Command Ship Fire Storm, we would like to inform you that you are violating the Galactic Treaty stating that the Kushan Refuges are not permitted to create, or operate any craft with hyperspace capability," the voice continued
"We know, we have been told that by all the other Carriers and Command Ships we have encountered; which we have turned into space dust!" Rollback said in an angry rage
"But I will succeed where all the others have failed!" the voice informed, "I have a secret weapon in my fleet! You shall perish for violating the treaty"
"Ha! Well you shall join the other Taiidan scum the Kushan has eliminated!" yelled Rollback still in an angry rage.
Interceptors zoomed out of their hangers aboard the Mothership and Carrier. The Kushan fleet slowly moved out into the void of space to meet the oncoming fleet of Taiidan, the two Motherships lingered at opposite ends of the battlefield waiting to fight for their race. The small, nimble strike craft clashed first, bullets ripped through space occasionally hitting the cold metal of other ships. Next Corvettes valiantly charged into the battle; then came the Ion Cannon Frigates. Ion blasts began to smash into the hulls of Capital ships, which began to blast strike craft into scrap. The Angel Wing finally arrived into the battle and began shooting Taiidan ships into space dust. A small wing of Salvage Corvettes attempted to steal a group of Ion Array Frigates (Ion Cannon Frigates with three additional beams) but were only blasted away by an exceptionally large wing of strange fighters, that of which never seen by Kushan kind. "Ha! So you have noticed my new Ion Fighters!" said the Taiidan Commander through a comm"
"W-what are they" said a dumbfounded Commander Rollback
"They are a small Strike craft equipped with a new, smaller Ion Cannon. They a small wing of about twelve could rip apart a small fleet of Capital Ships!" said the Taiidan Commander, "why am I telling you this? Well it very simple, since I have about forty of these Ion Fighters I estimate that they could obliterate your fleet within one hour of fighting!"
Rollback ordered the communications to be cut from the Taiidan ship because the line was full with irritating laughter.
Taiidan Ion Fighters had destroyed the practically new captured Heavy Cruiser and were headed for the Angel Wing. Captain Leonard Kelly ordered a scuttle maneuver in an attempt to evade the oncoming Ion Fighters; his attempt was unsuccessful. Ion blasts struck Angel Wing in twenty different places and began tearing huge chunks out of the Destroyer. The captain of the Blue Sea noticed the Angel Wing being ripped apart and ordered a protection of that ship. Soon after he made this decision the Blue Sea received a transmission from the Mothership to protect Captain Kelly's ship. The Blue Sea powered its engines to full and began to speed towards the Angel Wing. The Blue Sea opened fire the second it was within range, surprisingly; the Ion Fighters did not have sufficient shields and a thick enough hull to protect it from a fellow ion blast. The Blue Sea's ion cannons tore wave after wave of Ion Fighters away from the Angel Wing; the Ion Cannons changed tactics and started to attack the Blue Sea. The Taiidan Mothership began pumping out Ion Fighters, the Kushan Mothership ordered a Salvage team to steal one Ion Fighter and then for the rest of the Kushan ship to flee.
"Losses include fifty strike craft, forty frigates and about all capital ships including Blue Sea, Angel Wing, Firestorm, Lighting Wing, and the Carrier," said the First Mate aboard the heavily damaged Mothership, "But we successfully captured an Ion fighter and we now have the ability to manufacture more, resource collecting has begun; we have currently 42,000Rus."
"Well, that doesn't make up for the loss of our best Capital Ships and our best Captains" addressed Commander Rollback to the remaining Crew of the crippled Kushan fleet, "Friends, I think that it's a time for change."
A New Start
"
"Sir, are you okay?" asked a young gunner
"Where am I?"
"Aboard your ship"
"But we were destroyed!"
"No we weren't, the Navigator made a Hyperspace jump to the Asteroid Sector"
"Remind me to thank him" Captain Kelly, said as he arose from the ground, "Where are we again?" he asked
"The asteroid sector, when the first Mothership went after Kharak was destroyed"
"Makes no sense to me why he jumped here"
"Umm sir, I was scrambling to find a safe hyper point, this was the first sector to come up" said the shaken Navigator, Tom Johnson,
"Hmm, now it makes sense. Damage report," Kelly ordered as he took his position above the Bridge.
"Hull Critical, at 20 percent but rising, 'seems that a Support Frigate decided to follow us. Comm system down, Life Support critical 40 percent and rising, all other systems normal" the First Officer responded to the order
"Good, once Communications are up patch through tot the Frigate and tell them that we are alright"
"Yes sir"
"I'm really tired to I'm gonna go to sleep, wake me if anything happens"
"We lost that many?" said an Interceptor Pilot
"Yes" replied Commander Rollback, "We are lucky to have made it out of that, lets hope that the new Ion Fighters will help us out next time, that's all, head back to your ships"
Commander Rollback walked down to the Crew Quarters and entered his quarters. "James, you are not good enough for this, you just lost almost the whole fleet because of your temper" Rollback said to himself before slipping into a nightmare filled sleep.
"Excellent, that means we have hope, Hail the Carrier, see if it has the ability to construct harvesters," said Captain Kelly
"Yes sir! Umm, it seems that we have an unknown visitor!"
"Well who is it?"
The Comm Operator chuckled "It's the Bentusi"
"Well, why have you honored us with your presence?" asked Captain Kelly
"We feel that we must confess," said the Bentusi Ambassador, "We were the ones who developed the smaller Ion Cannon, we were so excited, because we knew this would bring in a good profit, that we sold it to the first ship we came across"
"Firestorm, you gave the cannon to the Firestorm"
"Yes, we regret it because you know as well as we, that you are the ones we choose to support, we are…" the Ambassador searched for the right words, "sorry for any troubles we may have caused…"
"Troubles!? Most of the Kushan Fleet was destroyed because of you!" yelled the Captain
"Again, we are truly sorry for any…"
"I don't care, I lost friends, comrades, my family!"
"Again we are…"
"It was your fault that our race was practically destroyed! You are a peaceful kind and only trade for the benefit of your race, what a bunch of crap!" yelled the now uncontrollably furious Leonard Kelly
"Yes but, haven't we saved your race from elimination many times before!" yelled the Ambassador back
"I don't care…" Kelly's eyes filled with tears of frustration, "Your kind are no more than low life bums stealing technology and selling for your own profit! You are scum that I would not even attempt to wash from my shoe! You are freeloaders, hypocrites trying to find another piece of new technology to steal and lie about! I think I speak of the whole Kushan race when I say this! You are now considered Enemies of our kind, no better than the Taiidan!" Kelly finally broke down and fell to his knees sobbing
"Well! That was probably the worst, most absurd insult ever given to my kind! To compare us to the true scum of the Universe is an unforgivable insult! When I return to my ship I suggest that you prepare to face the whole Bentusi fleet! You shall perish under our hands!" screamed the Ambassador
"Sir a large, unidentified group of ships are exiting hyperspace!" said a sensors officer
"I don't care…" said Kelly from the floor, " don't you see that we are hopeless, we have no hope now because these piles of dung gave our enemies the power to kill us! Let the ships come let it destroy us! We have no hope"
"I'm sorry sir but I think you should come with me" said an officer.
The officer escorted Captain Kelly to his quarters, gave him some food, and locked him in.
"Sir, I actually have some good news, almost half of the Capital Ships we thought we lost 'Hypered out of the battlefield when they were about to be destroyed," said an Officer
"Excellent!" yelled Commander Rollback
"We know of the Angel Wing, Firestorm, and the Lighting Wing,"
"That's great! How are repairs coming along?"
"All systems are at least at 97 percent, well beyond the requirements for adequate functioning. Hyper Drives are fully repaired and charged, Sir we are ready to regroup"
"How is our new fighter force doing?"
"We have one hundred-three Interceptors, sixty Attack Bombers, seventy Light and Heavy Corvettes, two wings of twenty Ion Cannon Frigates, a wing of ten Ion Array Frigates, thirty-five multi-gun Corvettes, and one hundred-twenty Ion Fighters"
"Alright! We are ready! Order all hands to their stations, and to prepare for hyperspace. Which ship is the closest?"
"The Firestorm, sir"
"Head for that ship! Let's get a move on people!
Traitor in Our Midst
"We are sorry for the Captains behavior, he was one of the few of us who had a wife and children, he was just angry at the thought of loosing them" said First Mate John Boston, aboard the Destroyer Angel Wing,
"It is alright, I was angry too, being said to be Lower than the Taiidan is the worst insult that could be given in the Universe," said the Bentusi Ambassador
"We hope that there will be peace re-established?"
"Of course, we will always remain your friends"
"Good, thank you"
"What of your Captain? What will happen to him?"
"I'm sorry to say this but, if he is loosing his mind he will be…" tears welled in John's eyes, "Put down, so to speak"
"That would be most unfortunate"
"Yes"
"Sir, the unknown fleet is demanding the return of the Ambassador," said a Comm Operator
"I shall depart, as an apology for what we have done, allow us to add some upgrades to your Destroyer" said the Ambassador as he headed for the Hanger
"Yes, we would like that" said John