Holding the Line

"All senior officers, please report to the bridge."

That com. signal came at a very inconvenient time. It was very early in what humans would have called morning and although he only had a few hours of dreamless Akrennian sleep, Preed still felt sufficiently rested. He was just annoyed that what little free time he had left ended so abruptly. He was lying on his back on the bed playing with his decorated knife while looking out of the window to the stars passing by. They had already been travelling at warp when he closed his eyes and that hadn't changed so whatever it was Ayko called her officers to the bridge for must have gotten something to do with that communiqué from the Military Command. Ayko had spoken very serious about that thing with Kryfar so that must be the thing responsible for their current course. He slowly got up and gave out a loud complaining yawn. Not because he was tired but because he didn't want to get up to the bridge to see Kryfar's ugly face again. But not doing as the Captain pleases was the equivalent of asking Kryfar to kill him which probably had the same effect so he slowly got up from the bed to prepare for duty. The bed was a luxury only shared among the senior officers who didn't have to put up with the bunks in the cramped crew quarters which had to be shared with another crewmate. The Captain probably didn't allow him to sleep in her quarters because it would be completely inappropriate for an Akrennian Captain to share quarters with a lower-ranking officer while not officially engaged. It could get both the Captain and his or her lover killed. With these thoughts in the back of his mind, Preed stepped into the corridor, crewmembers passing by on their way to and from the command deck. He quickened his pace and made himself look taller to look more worthy to be an officer on an Akrennian ship of war when he walked down the corridors on his way to the bridge.

While entering the Tsun'rhaa's command center he noticed that he wasn't the last to enter. The helmsman hadn't been relieved yet by his partner from the next shift and some of the chairs were still empty. The sand-colored female he got to know as Iyu was already present and the female ops. officer had already taken her station next to the helm console. The Captain and First Officer had already taken their places and the last one gave him the same vicious look as before. Preed didn't stare back to make it look like a challenge but just took his place on the Captain's left side greeting her as he did.

"Good morning Lieutenant, I hope you slept well" Ayko said on a calm tone.

"Yes ma'am, I'm fit for duty again" Preed replied wanting that Kryfar would stop staring at him from behind his back.

He was really starting to hate Ayko's First Officer and he wished something terrible and extremely painful would happen to him. Like being thrown into the mud pits in the Ykk'ta region of his homeworld. The thick hot mixture of sand and water from the springs in this volcanic region would be enough to literally boil the flesh from his bones. While Preed began thinking of more creative and most amusing ways to send the Akrennian Commander to his grave, the bridge crew for the upcoming shift took their places. When everyone had taken their stations, the Captain raised her voice to inform her staff about their presumable next mission.

"All right listen up! Earlier, we have received word from the Military Command that the enemy might be planning an attack on solar systems within Akrennian controlled territory. They were right! We have just received word that an unidentified fleet is closing in on the Xirosa system. The Military Command has ordered all vessels in the sector to join the main defense fleet in this system. We have been recalled as well."

"We will not allow those Machines to violate our territory!" one of her officers exclaimed.

The Akrennian male raised his fist into the air.

"Long live the Akrennian Empire!"

Ayko's bridge staff proudly repeated his yell. Ayko nodded approving and showed her long razor-sharp fangs.

"That's what I wanted to hear! Come 'on you filthy desert dogs, let's teach those mechanical fools a lesson they'll never forget!"

The crew cheered and Preed was with them as well. For the first time he was onboard Ayko's ship he felt like an actual member of its crew. However the upcoming battle might prove difficult if the enemy was determined to take the Xirosa system. The Akrennian Empire wasn't very large but the loss of Xirosa to a large enemy invasion fleet could be disastrous. It was a strategic position on the edge of Akrennian space and the loss of this system would allow the enemy to set up a base of operations and begin a major push into the rest of the Empire's territory and even provide them with a way to reach Akrennia itself. But if it was up to Ayko, she would be the one to make a difference. Preed really admired the strong and confident Akrennian female. At least she knew how to command her ship. He doubted if he could do the same in her position, especially with a First Officer who could stab you in the back at any moment without hesitation.

About half an hour later the battlecruiser Tsun'rhaa dropped out of warp at the edge of the Xirosa system. The solar system was composed of only five planets orbiting a binary star. The blue giant and yellow dwarf star were involved in a wild fiery dance, keeping each other balanced in their gravitational pull and constantly tearing the burning plasma from each other's surface. The battle between the two celestial bodies was actually quite beautiful to watch if it weren't for the fact that this system might soon be flooded with hundreds of enemy ships. They couldn't detect any weaponsfire so the Akrennian forces stationed in the system weren't under siege yet. The Akrennian fleet was holding position near Xirosa IV with shields active and weapon systems fully charged. Since this system was a key position, the Akrennians had placed numerous orbital defense platforms around the most important planets. These heavily armed stationary platforms were overloaded with blistering weaponry. Four dual-barreled laser cannons and six rocket pods stocked with guided missiles each, these platforms would surely turn a whole section of the enemy assault fleet into scrap metal.

The Tsun'rhaa moved in on the fleet and was immediately being hailed by the Fleet Commander.

"Good to see you Captain" the green-skinned Akrennian male greeted.

"Sir!" Ayko replied standing up from her chair and saluting the higher ranking officer.

The other Akrennian was huge and looked aggressive. Numerous scars covered his face indicating that he really fought his way up to earn this position. At the same time he was commanding the fleet, he was also in command of the largest warship. All the Akrennian vessels featured the same aggressive design much like the species itself but this monstrous creation was a mere combination of size and firepower. It was probably very slow and hard to maneuver but the amount of fire its weapon systems were capable of delivering was sufficient to eliminate the need for speed and maneuverability. Most civilian and older military equipment was quite bulky but the engineers were gradually replacing these outdated designs with newer sleeker ones.

"From the tactical information the humans provided us with, we have determined that it is likely that enemy will attack in multiple waves. First they will send in their assault fighters to keep us too busy fighting off these little pests to allow stronger ships to enter the battle without much effort. Then they will use their destroyers to cripple our defenses and finally their larger battleships to finish us off."

"What about the 'drone-versus-drone' tactic the humans are planning to utilize?" Ayko asked.

"We've only been able to modify a few of our assault fighters to be used as drones but it's far from sufficient" the Fleet Commander replied.

"We are not expecting any reinforcements from the humans since their first ships are not scheduled to be ready to leave space dock in four days. However we've send out a general call to arms on all frequencies so now it's just waiting if someone decides to show up after all."

"So much for helping each other out" Ayko muttered under her breath.

The Republic had made assisting each other in fighting this war an important point on their agenda so it wasn't unfair of them to expect them to show up now that things were heating up here.

"I'll follow your orders no matter what sir. After this battle is over, we're the ones that will prevail."

"I expect nothing less Captain. Activate your weapons and assume position."

"Aye sir" Ayko replied.

When the transmission resumed on audio only Ayko began barking orders.

"You heard him! Trynan, take us into position!" she yelled.

"All hands man your battle stations! Red alert!"

"Copy that ma'am! Shields to maximum, charging weapons to full power!" Ayko's tactical officer replied.

"We're in position Captain" the grey-furred male helm officer replied a few seconds later.

"Okay! Since we need to keep every single one of those turrets firing we're going to split! Preed! Kryfar! You two are responsible for a third of the turrets. Reroute the controls for the port and starboard sides to your consoles."

"Aye Captain" Preed replied.

Although he was not as good with weapons as Stith was back on the Valkyrie, he was still capable of fighting off enemy attackers. This was no different. Getting acquainted with each one of the ships weapon systems assigned to his control he couldn't help but wonder where the others of his former crew would be right now. He heard something about going to the Mantrin homeworld to find out what their intelligence had found out about the Machines. Had he made a mistake by joining Ayko's crew? Was his mistake about to get him killed?

"Bad time for having second thoughts Preed" he thought.

His thoughts were rudely interrupted by the voice of the Fleet Commander over the com..

"Fleet Commander Phleg to all ships. Enemy warships have entered the system. Prepare to engage."

A destructive storm of heavily armed metal forced its way into the system at full speed. Not a single Captain in the entire Akrennian fleet defending the Xirosa system had ever seen something that compared to this. The amount of warp flashes from enemy vessels dropping to sublight speed followed each other up so quickly that the Akrennians started to wonder if it would ever end. The carriers had probably already launched their craft before they entered the system to render them less vulnerable. Literally hundreds and hundreds of attack fighters divided into dozens of squadrons moved in to engage and destroy everything in their path. Behind this massive wall of deadly, rapid moving metal the actual Machine Dominion fleet was holding position to finish what the fighters were planning to start. Actual fear struck the faces of the Akrennian officers observing what they were up against.

"How many Djorath?" Ayko asked not letting a tiny drop of the fear she felt slip into her voice.

"I'm reading twelve-hundred and seventy-two ships ma'am" her tactical officer replied with a shaky voice.

Djorath was a crossbreed. His grey-skinned body was covered by a few patches of fur in a very uncommon blue color. Hairy accents on his ears completed his appearance. Ayko grinned baring her sharp fangs.

"They might have more ships but we have the advantage of the defending side. We have our orbital weapons platforms. Now do we let them take our system or are we gonna do something about it?!" she yelled.

The officers under her command supported their Captain of course and some of them even let out war cries and other obscure sounds to prepare for battle.

"Commence firing!" Ayko ordered vehemently feeling a bit of excitement herself.

The Tsun'rhaa picked a squadron of fighters together with two other ships and Preed, Kryfar and Djorath started to fire the ships weapons. The Tsun'rhaa's laser cannons were powerful enough to take out the enemy fighters with a few shots while its missiles with tracking capability destroyed everything the lasers happened to miss. Trynan was a capable helm officer and the furred Akrennian skillfully maneuvered the ship between the enemy ranks so that the three gunners could take out numerous targets with ease. The entire bridge was bathing in the light of the quickly dying explosions of enemy ships taken out by their fire. The weapons platforms in orbit of the nearby planet automatically locked targets as they came within range. A dazzling barrage of missiles and lasers penetrated the enemy's defenses and took out multiple squadrons. However the Akrennian fleet was taking losses as well. Several ships were destroyed because of the swarming fighters now concentrating their fire on a few selected targets.

"Shields are at fifty-seven percent!" Djorath yelled above the sound of explosions inside the ship.

"We're taking damage!"

"Move us out of their weapons range!" Ayko shouted.

"Fire the starboard cannons!"

"Yes Captain" Kryfar replied his fingers dancing over the console.

At that moment the two ships accompanying the Tsun'rhaa in its assault were stuck by a bright white torpedo weapon. The destructive force of the weapon broke both vessels in two after which both remaining halves exploded.

"The N'rali and the Chun'thoo have been destroyed Captain!" Kryfar yelled.

Ayko cursed violently before ordering evasive maneuvers. In spite of the weapons platforms, the Akrennian had lost nearly a third of their fleet and the enemy just kept sending in more ships.

"This is Fleet Commander Phleg to all ships. The enemy attack fighters are interlinked to their carriers. If we manage to destroy them, it would render more than half of their fleet harmless. Focus your attacks!"

"Easier said than done" Ayko thought.

Of course the enemy was keeping their vulnerable carriers at a safe distance to prevent this from happening. So far they only managed to destroy two of the carriers. They were just too heavily defended by their accompanying fighters. The Tsun'rhaa shook violently when multiple hits struck a single shield vector. A console on the bridge exploded and one of Ayko's officers got severely wounded. The sand-colored female ops. officer crashed to the ground. The right side of her face was badly burned and the upper layer of skin from her arm on the right side was completely scorched away by the explosion. Ayko immediately jumped up from her chair to help her officer.

"Bridge to infirmary! Medical emergency!"

"You're going to be all right Iyu" she assured the wounded Akrennian woman.

"Thank you ma'am" she brought out weakly the blood trickling from her mouth.

"Captain! Several more ships have entered the system!" Kryfar reported.

"More enemies?!" Ayko bit back.

"No Captain, they are… Federation! Four Federation vessels and three Denali cruisers."

"They must have received our call to arms" Ayko replied.

"They are hailing the fleet."

"Put it on audio!" Ayko ordered.

"This is Captain Arthur Wallace of the Federation starship USS Shenandoah to the Akrennian fleet. We have received you distress call and are here to provide aid."

"It wasn't a distress call but a call to arms" Ayko thought a bit agitated.

But these ships were here to help so that meant that the humans had kept word about helping each other out in times of war.

"This is Fleet Commander Phleg to Federation taskforce and Denali vessels. Thanks for helping us out. The enemy is determined to take this system from us. We need to take out their carriers."

"Understood Commander Phleg. We're moving to engage. Wallace out."

The small Federation/Denali fleet joined the Akrennians in their battle as soon as they entered weapons range. The multi-targeting systems of the Federation vessel's phaser arrays could take out multiple targets at once while the Denali ship's slow firing but powerful beam cannons could take out even the larger targets with ease. The taskforce began an attack run on the enemy carriers, a large swarm of fighters in pursuit.

"Status?" Ayko wanted to know as a medical team brought the wounded Iyu down to the infirmary.

Authors note: Music track 20.

"Our shields are at thirty-six percent and we are down to nineteen missiles" Djorath reported.

"More than ninety percent of our orbital platforms surrounding Xirosa IV have been destroyed" Kryfar reported partly replacing Iyu by accessing the ships scanners.

"What about the enemy?"

"They are down to three-hundred and sixty-two ships. The Federation/Denali taskforce has managed to destroy several carriers but their ships are taking damage."

Ayko had to decide if she would take her ship into battle again to take out the remaining enemies or if she had to stand down to prevent her ship from being destroyed. Unfortunately the decision was made for her.

"Captain I'm detecting numerous new contacts!" Kryfar suddenly yelled.

"What?! On screen!" she replied a bit shocked.

"By the gods" she whispered in disbelief staring at the viewscreen with genuine fear on her face. Hundreds, possibly thousands of enemy reinforcements poured into the system. This new reinforcement fleet was probably five times as large as the first one.

"We have to fall back" a tiny voice whispered in the back of her head.

"We cannot hold the Xirosa system. This is a battle we cannot win."

The Federation/Denali fleet already began their retreat out of the fight since it was pointless to keep fighting against such superior numbers.

"This is Fleet Commander Phleg to Akrennian fleet. We have to retreat, the enemy is too strong."

The voice of the Commander sounded full of frustration and anger but above that all defeat. All ships now backed out of the fight. The Federation vessels kept providing support fire to cover the retreating ships. Luckily the Military Command had ordered to evacuate all facilities and colonies in this system in case such a thing like this would happen.

"I'm ordering all Akrennian ships to retreat and regroup at the nearby Vindra system. I repeat, the Xirosa system is lost, retreat and regroup at the Vindra system. Phleg out."

The defeated Akrennian fleet limped out the system. Ayko cursed and slammed her fist on the arm rest of the Captain's chair.

"Do as he says!" Ayko grumbled.

"Aye Captain" Trynan replied preparing the damaged Tsun'rhaa for warp.

"What do we do now Captain?" Kryfar asked.

"Don't ask stupid questions!" Ayko barked.

"We have to wait for now instructions from the Military Command. Every ship has taken damage and needs to be rearmed and repaired before we can even think of retaking the Xirosa system. The best thing we can do for now is lick our wounds and wait before we can come up with a plan to do so."

Every ship warped out for the approaching enemy armada. Even the Federation/Denali reinforcements accompanied them back to the Vindra system in case the enemy might try to follow. Luckily that didn't happen and after making sure that the enemy fleet was not in pursuit their ships left the formation and changed course. On the way back Ayko began to think about Preed. She looked at her new officer from the corner of her eye. He was actually quite capable of handling her ships weapons and she began to wonder why he had left the military. Regret maybe? Or a possible scandal back on Akrennia? She promised herself to try and find out before making love with this guy. Oh she was indeed attracted to him. He had something special. Something that differed him from other Akrennians. She couldn't quite figure out what it was but she would find out eventually.