Chapter II: Why We Fall
Rohan froze for a moment before taking control of the situation. "Fleet sitrep! What the hell is going on?"
"All ships alive and operational, sir. DNS Leyte Gulf reports minor damage to shields, most likely from a large piece of space debris."
"I thought you had adjutants for this?" asked Valerian.
Rohan fired back, "I prefer a live person."
Valerian nodded. "Fair eno-"
"Negatory on that first statement, cap. The Hyperion isn't showing up on FleetNet or on the sensors."
"What?!" demanded Valerian.
"Missiles two minutes out and closing. 19 contacts designated Sierra, sir."
The tension in the CIC was palpable.
"Can we jump out of the way?"
"Negative, sir. The jump left our jump drive on cooldown for another 10 minutes."
They'd be lucky to be alive in that time.
"Spread out the fleet! Longhorn formation! I want limited casualties in case any of those missiles hit," barked Rohan. "Get me the Expedition."
"Aye, sir." Two seconds later, a communications link was opened up between one of the two Explorer-class Science Vessel in the task force.
"Captain Dougherty! Sitrep on your vessel."
Dougherty's eyes flicked downwards to his infosheet before he looked up and said, "Energy tanks full, sir. Shields and hull integrity at 100 percent, and nanorepair beams functional. All other functions are available as well."
Rohan thought for a split second before responding, "I want defensive matrix, cast on the Edge, Leyte Gulf, Judicator and Hellraiser, all the older models. The rest of us can use it ourselves. I need this yesterday, captain. Do you understand?"
Captain Dougherty gave off a crisp salute before shouting off orders to his crew.
"Get me Captain Philips!" fired off Rohan, the situation now critical. A few seconds later, Captain Phililps of the DNS Edge of Infinity appeared on his comms screan.
"Yes, commodore?"
Rohan and Phililps had known each other since they were 4 years old. They had grown up together, all the way from kindergarten to the Dominion Naval Academy, where they had graduated at top 1 and 2 in their class.
A moment of weakness overtook Rohan for a moment before he regained his professional composure. "As you are surely aware, there are currently 19 missiles headed towards the Executor. If the missiles get through and… the Executor goes down, I am ordering you to take command. Is that clear, captain?"
Philips stared at the screen for a second before nodding. "Aye, commodore. But let me warn you, if you die on me now I will personally hunt you down and kick your ass, sir."
Rohan laughed. Funny how humor came upon men in the face of certain death.
"I can live with that, captain. Good luck and lets kick some ass. Rohan out."
He switched to the live radar display and found the 19 missiles still steadily headed towards the Executor.
"One minute till impact!"
"How long till in Phalanx range?"
"About 20 seconds, sir."
The Phalanx Close-In Weapons System is the Dominion navy's most recent breakthrough; mounted on the ships themselves, they are the capital ship equivalent of point-defense drones. The idea behind the Phalanx CIWS is not complicated; instead of shooting a missile with a pinpoint accurate burst, fill the area with so much material the missile is not be able to penetrate. With a rate-of-fire of 150,000 bullets a minute or 10 million a minute at near light speed, it is one of the best defensive weapons produced by the Dominion. The lack of any moving parts except for the bullet makes it so the weapon can never jam. Appropriately nicknamed "Metal Storm," it has a 97.9 percent success rate against enemy missiles and can be used successfully against enemy fighters as well.
The other anti-missile system used by the Dominion is the Maelstrom Defensive Missile Pods. When the new missile pods on battlecruisers were deemed inefficient, they were upgraded to the Maelstrom missile pods, defensive missiles designed to shoot down other missiles, although they can also be used against spacecraft as well. The Maelstrom missiles have an almost 98.6 percent success rate against missiles.
Both of these weapons systems have ensured that the Dominion Navy has never lost a ship to missiles. The odds of a projectile making it through both the Phalanx and Maelstrom systems were about 3 out of a million, or 0.029 percent. In other words, there was absolutely no chance a single missile could make it through.
However, there were currently 19 missiles headed for the fleet, each with a yield estimated to be in the hundreds of megatons. While the Defensive Matrix would absorb most of the hit, the shields of a targeted ship would take a massive hit; additional missiles would probably destroy the target.
"Maelstrom missiles away! 48 seconds to impact!"
A few second later, Rohan could see the first of the enemy missiles taken down by 2 simultaneous hits by Maelstrom missiles.
"Phalanx system online! 14 vampires remaining!"
Valerian gripped the chair. The missiles were getting awfully close. Unbeknownst to him, his face and hand were both deathly white due to the stress and his grip on the chair.
"Splash eight, 11 vampires left! 24 seconds to impact!"
They weren't going to get them all in time. Valerian closed his eyes, whispering softly while Rohan stared ahead with a stoic determination.
"7 remaining! 17 seconds!" The announcements were getting noticeably shorter.
"4 left! 8 seconds! 7! 6! 5 seconds to impact! 3 missiles remaining!"
He got no further. There was a sudden white flash as the DNS Edge of Infinity materialized in front of their screens.
"WHAT?!" roared Rohan. "I NEVER AUTHORIZED THIS."
The comms screen came back to life. "I'm sorry sir, I can't let you leave before me. Else I'd have to kick your ass."
"Get out of there Philips! I'll kill you!"
The first missile struck. The Defensive Matrix held, a flash of green indicating where the deadly payload had exploded. The matrix collapsed as a second missile hit.
"Too late, sir. Good luck, and if I find you down there with me in less than 20 years I'll- I'll-"
He never got to finish his sentence. The Defensive Matrix drained by the first two hits, the third multi-megaton rocket smashed through what was left of the Edge of Infinity's shields and exploded on the left side of the battlecruiser.
In most movies, a ship explodes with a certain dignity; the fireball expands, the ship crumbles and all is lost to the fire. In reality, it is quite different. The explosion that killed the Edge of Infinity was not all that large, as the vacuum of space made it impossible for shockwaves or fireballs to form. However, the sheer force of the payload was enough. The hull was ripped apart and the once-mighty ship began to leak atmosphere. From the Executor's CIC Rohan could only watch in horror as thousands of men were sucked outside, the sudden pressure differential causing their lungs to burst. Pieces of furniture, people, planes and even a random dog were all sucked outside into the cold, unforgiving vacuum of space. Rohan could only watch helplessly as his closest friend's vessel was ripped to pieces.
Miraculously, the Edge of Infinity's communications array was still active- and still broadcasting. On the screen, he could see the CIC of the ship was ruins, with people crumbled over desks and screens crackling with electricity.
To the shock of everyone in the Executor's CIC, a disheveled and bloody but otherwise unharmed Captain Philips stood up, using the command table as a support.
"Hansen! HANSEN! Get to the escape pods now! This is an order!" yelled a frantic Commodore Rohan.
Philips attempted a grin, only to almost fall down again in a coughing fit. "Too… late. I… I'm done."
"NO! IT'S NOT TOO LATE!"
"Re- remember what your dad always told you? Whenver you came home with a bruise or with blood because you fell or got in a fight? Remember?"
Tears streaming down like a flood, Commodore Damion Yates Rohan nodded. "Yes, yes I do remember."
Captain Jason Philips cracked a painful smile. "Why do we fall, Damion?"
Not able to take it any longer, Rohan cracked as he fell back into his chair. "So… so we can learn to pick ourselves… up."
"Always remember that, sir. Remember to pick… yourself…"
The screen faded.
"NOOOOOOOOOO!" It was a cry of anguish deep from the soul itself. A raw sound only made possible by the deepest of grief. The grief of losing a friend, a friend closer to you than your father ever was. A friend who stood by you as you were bullied by your own brothers, who took blows for you when you could not get up. Perhaps his only friend besides Valerian. And now he was gone.
A maelstrom of emotions clouded Rohan's face as he struggled to accept the fact that his best friend was now gone. Shock turned to disbelief turned to grief turned to anger. No emotion in his voice, Rohan spoke to his weapons officer.
"Ready the Yamato Cannon."
