Chapter 10 (Kalain)
The Humans didn't have a chance and Kalain knew it.
Each pitiful human battle had brought him that much closer to receiving high honors from his clan. At the beginning of his command ten years ago, there were many doubts about his ability to command. But Kalain managed to squash all of them and now he was going to increase his honor ten fold.
Looking through the holographic real-time viewer in his cruiser, the Trigati, he watched the helpless human vessels on the surface of the planet. The storm had offered some resistance to scans, but that did not pose much of an obstacle. It should be easy to annihilate the human infestation.
His orders were simple: hunt down any human military ship and incinerate them. The order came from the high-ranking members of the Gray Council, and he accepted them with grace.
Kalain looked with keen eyes towards his staff in the command chamber. Each one had their own look of satisfaction and eagerness to destroy any human target; it was what gave them purpose. An enemy they could see, touch and kill.
In orbit, he watched the scurrying humans flee the colony and board the pathetic human vessels. He decided to start the massacre and ordered his War Cruiser into atmosphere to give chase. It was a dangerous maneuver, but he had trust in his crew to keep the Trigati safe.
It was the moment of truth for Kalain. This was the decisive moment that would allow his name to be spoken in the Gray Council. It had been a long time since he'd been face to face with a human warship, and this group was more than he could ever ask for.
The human vessels began to lift into the air behind a heavy smokescreen; he assumed they tried to hide their presence with a few particles of dust.
How foolish of them!
With a crooked smile, he gestured toward his second in command, Deeron. "Activate the gun ports, I want to play with the humans first."
He could almost imagine the excitement that drummed in the back of Deeron's head bone. He wanted to touch and caress her, a feeling that he'd been holding back for several hours. But he needed to keep his appearance in perspective and there was no point in giving the humans even the slightest opportunity to escape.
He moved forward to get a better view of the escaping ships. To his surprise one of them was still on the ground. Making a final prayer to your Maker, humans? he thought.
"Target that ship," he said, instantly gaining silence and attention. "I want it destroyed!"
He sneered at the holographic projection as the weapons rained down on the landscape. But after several unsuccessful hits, Kalain could not understand why no one could score a direct hit on the stranded vessel. "I said, target that ship! Why hasn't it been destroyed yet?"
"The storm is interfering with out targeting array. We're currently firing blind, but will only add to the excitement." Deeron gave Kalain a smile. "We'll get them eventually."
Kalain could not believe it. A simple storm deprived him of his victory, how ironic. How was this possible? Did nature give the humans a chance? With all his will, Kalain vowed that nature herself could not stop his advance.
"Flatten everything, I want every building and structure destroyed." Kalain ordered, pointing a finger at the colony.
Perhaps we might hit that ship.
Kalain looked from side to side, studying the real time footage that was being broadcasted on his holographic display. The struggling vessel was airborne and clearly lagging behind. This was his chance to score a direct hit. "All weapons, there's your target, fire!"
A few minutes later, his vessel was in prime position to strike a blow. Kalain ordered hits on the distant ships that were vanishing into the cloudbanks. They offered the most resistance and he saw no honor in attacking a vessel that didn't fire back. Kalain left the straggling vessel alone, for now. He let loose with all his forward cannons and even decided to release a few hard-nut Minbari Nials who wanted to deliver personal blows to the humans.
The battle began to heat up, and Kalain felt the vibrations as several direct hits struck his vessel. The projection flashed before resuming its normal function. Kalain looked at Deeron, he wanted to make sure she was not injured. But the ship did not vibrate hard enough for that; he just wanted a legitimate reason to sneak peeks at her. She returned the favor by looking at him. He was not sure, but she might have sneaked in a smile. Perfect timing. Once I get rid of the humans, I can get back to my romantic endeavors.
Kalain assessed his response and then gestured towards his senior weapons controller. "Take us below the clouds and fire the main cannon at that lagging ship." He moved forward, pointing at the lagging earth vessel. "I believe they fired at us. This protects our honor."
Moments later after the command was executed, Kalain could almost imagine the stunned and panicked crew on the human vessel. This made him feel victorious. He ordered his ship into a full dive through clouds and when they turned and regained their target, they had a clear firing line straight to the underbelly of the human ship. He could not resist, "fire!"
The satisfying roar of the cannon gave Kalain pleasure as he watched the underbelly of the human ship tear open through the middle of the ship. Hull plating tore off in all directions, spilling people and fluid into the sky. He felt an orgy of success; he wanted to do it again.
"Fire!" Kalain yelled. His body was encased inside the holographic image of the doomed human ship, as if he could feel the mortal blows the vessel was taking. This is ecstatic! My own fair victory! Damn the humans!
Moments later, as he assumed victory, the human vessel reeled in space. Its primary hull had stopped rotating and the sky shone through the hole in the ship. Kalain was puzzled. Why was the ship intact?
"The humans have reinforced their armor." Deeron said, as if she heard Kalain's thoughts.
Kalain looked towards his comrade and replied, "It's no obstacle. Fire again at the reactor and finish them."
Before he could issue his final orders to obliterate the mortally wounded vessel, it changed course and headed straight for them.
"Pull back, pull back!" he yelled, but his command crew scattered around the dark room, vanishing into the dark corners as the huge human vessel increased in size on the holographic screen. Upon impact, the room shook violently and then fell into darkness.
Kalain rolled along the floor as the impact sent debris flying in all directions, but one thing remained on his panicked mind, how the hell could the humans do such a thing. He was sure of victory, which required one shot. But he failed to remember the one-thing humans would do when cornered, the ability to sacrifice their lives. Damn them!