Last Stand Read online

  But the Europa needed him and his personnel if the ship and her crew were to survive. Kuznetsov thrust the pain aside and pressed on with closing a bulkhead door to prevent further loss of atmosphere. “C’mon, you apes! Close off this compartment and get on those power couplings!” the damage control officer yelled at his team through his suit’s radio.

  A trail of vapor and debris spread outward from the rift in Europa’s hull. The bodies of several crew members who had been killed by the explosion and then blown out into space by the compartment’s sudden decompression drifted amongst debris.

  On the bridge, Lieutenant Maria Esteban-Smith had been thrown from her seat when the ship had been struck. In falling, her head had glanced off of the side of her console. Captain Dua stepped over and helped her to her feet. “Lieutenant, are you alright?” the captain asked.

  “No, sir,” Esteban-Smith replied weakly. “My vision is messed up. Everything is blurry…all jumbled up.”

  “Very well,” Dua responded. “Can you make your way to the med-bay or should I call for a medic?”

  Esteban-Smith shook her head then immediately regretted doing so. Her head hurt even more and she felt ill, like she might throw up. “I can navigate to med-bay, sir!”

  “You are relieved, lieutenant. Report to med-bay,” Dua ordered. Commander Kepler helped Esteban-Smith to the elevator then contacted the relief navigator to report to the bridge ASAP!

  Elsewhere on the bridge, Lieutenant Commander Caulder scanned his Operations console. Damage control reports, system fluxes and failures, and casualty reports flashed before his eyes. He pushed down his emotions and focused on the ship and the battle. He would have time to mourn his lost shipmates later…if he himself lived. He addressed the captain, “Sir, Damage Control has the decompressed compartments sealed off and rerouted any vital systems around that part of the ship!”

  “Thank you, Ops,” Dua responded. “Pilot, bring us into range of that frigate there.” The captain highlighted another enemy vessel on his screen, updating the tactical monitor. Another Terran vessel fired upon the Europa’s target as it passed beneath the Azairi ship. Europa’s weapons officers took advantage of the hits scored by their fellow Terrans and fired on the same part of the Azairi vessel.

  The TFDF cruiser Indomitable joined Europa in targeting the Azairi frigate. The Azairi shields failed and Indomitable delivered the death stroke by firing three nuclear tipped missiles through the breach. The nuclear weapons detonated against the frigate’s hull, cleaving the ship in two. A series of smaller explosions ripped through the heavily damaged vessel.

  Captain Kwame Dua took a second to look at the tactical monitor. Three of the smaller Azairi vessels had been severely damaged or destroyed. In that same short span of time, six of the Terran vessels had been destroyed. A cruiser, two destroyers, two frigates, and the mine layer had been lost. The screen didn’t register any Terran life boat beacons, but that was common during battle. Why signal the enemy your location if you are in an unarmed and unarmored life boat? The beacons would only be turned on after the battle was over and once the enemy was destroyed or had left the star system.

  Previously, the Azairi had attacked and occasionally captured Terran life boats. Perhaps to take captives or perhaps for something more sinister. Early in the war, the humans discovered that the Azairi never launched life boats from their damaged vessels. Upon examination of some captured Azairi derelicts it was learned their ships didn’t carry life boats at all. Apparently, the Azairi believed death was preferable to abandoning ship and surviving the destruction of their vessels. Terran scientists thought it had to do with a “hive mind” complex unique to the Azairi.

  An explosion on the primary monitor captured Dua’s attention. The Azairi vessels had concentrated their attack upon one of the two Terran carriers. The flash of light that Dua saw was the first of several fireballs to engulf the giant carrier’s engineering section. The destruction of the carrier’s primary power reactors and propulsion systems sent a blast wave surging through the ship from stern to bow. Secondary explosions followed as other power reactors and flammable fuels were ignited. The members of the Europa’s bridge crew gasped as they witnessed the carrier’s destruction.

  “Focus, people…focus,” Dua said to his crew. He tapped another Azairi ship on his armrest screen. “There is our next target. Communications, contact Indomitable and Circe; coordinate our attack with theirs. We need to take out more of their smaller vessels while we can then come to bear on their remaining larger vessels.”

  The “smaller” Azairi vessels were still quite large compared to their Terran counterparts. But, the Terran ships were more maneuverable than the giant Azairi dreadnoughts. If the Terran task force could destroy the smaller enemy vessels before taking on the big ones, the humans might just have a chance of winning this battle!

  The battle waged on, minute after minute. Expanding clouds of burnt, damaged, or vaporized metal hid debris of all sizes. A Terran Marine battle suit, cut in half, might bounce off the shields of a ship, or a thruster pod from a fighter. Twisted metal beams and hull panels spun through space, striking whatever lay in their path. Corpses, human and Azairi, in all states of disfigurement littered the battle space. The sensor suites of each vessel, friend and foe alike, had difficulty locking onto their targets.

  Another Terran vessel was lost, then an Azairi vessel. More death, more destruction, and still the battle waged on. In the midst of it all, the Europa and her crew fought on!

  Finally, it came down to Admiral Shimizu’s Kenshin and the Europa versus a lone Azairi cruiser. The Kenshin was heavily damaged and the Europa had sustained significant damage itself. The Azairi cruiser, though damaged, still posed a clear and present danger to the two remaining Terran vessels.

  “Captain Dua!” the Europa’s communications officer suddenly shouted. “Priority message from the flagship, sir!”

  Captain Dua nodded for the comm officer to open the channel. “Go ahead, Admiral Shimizu.”

  “Captain Dua…this is Captain Draper. Admiral Shimizu is dead. She was killed in the last Azairi barrage on the Kenshin.” The image of the flagship’s captain filled the small screen on the right arm of Dua’s command chair. Draper was bleeding from a scalp wound and the bridge behind him was badly damaged.

  Dua paused for a moment to assess the situation. It was becoming apparent to him that they were running out of time…and options. The Azairi cruiser needed to be destroyed at all costs.

  Draper took that moment to say, “Captain Dua, you are senior officer present! What are your orders, sir?”

  Captain Kwame Dua reacted quickly. “Captain Draper, let’s fall back and regroup then finish that vessel off!” Dua looked closely at the tactical screen and found the coordinates he wanted…near a gas giant out system from its star. He punched in the coordinates on his armrest’s keypad. “Captain, let’s rendezvous at the coordinates I’ve just sent you. We’ll press the attack from there.” Draper nodded and terminated the transmission from his end.

  “Navigator, transfer those coordinates into our nav system and, Pilot, take us there at flank speed,” Dua ordered his personnel.

  “Aye sir,” both officers responded. The Europa and the Kenshin began to move. First, they translated downward toward the Azairi cruiser then flew under it, firing upon the massive enemy ship as it drew near. Then, the Terran ships curved swiftly away from the Azairi and accelerated toward the outer system.

  Jarrod Caulder approached the captain’s seat. “Sir, we’re getting serious power fluctuations in the sensor suite just forward of the bridge. I’m going into the forward crawlways and check the circuitry”

  “Be quick about it, Commander! We’ll need those sensors functioning at peak efficiency shortly,” responded Dua.

  Caulder grabbed a small tool kit from under his console, strapped it to his waist, then opened an access hatch along the bridge’s port side bulkhead. He quickly entered the crawlspace beyond and closed the hatch behi
nd him. He moved through the crawlspace until he reached the first circuitry junction. It checked out, so he moved on to the next junction. There, he found a series of breakers that had tripped. He tried to reset them but they tripped again.

  He pulled out his circuitry scanner and ran a scan on the breakers. After reading the scanner’s screen, he pulled the first, third, and sixth breakers from the junction box. Caulder opened the replacement breaker storage box located next to the junction box and pulled out three new breakers. He plugged them in and ran another scan. This time it came back in the green. Caulder closed the junction box then began to make his way back to the bridge.

  Suddenly, the proximity alert klaxon sounded. “Incoming missiles!” Commander Lisl Kepler yelled. “Brace for impact!”

  On the monitors, the bridge crew saw six Azairi missiles streak from their launchers; four targeted at the Kenshin and two at the Europa. The four missiles targeted at the Kenshin detonated one after another along the port shields amidships of the carrier; their nuclear warheads releasing hell on the electromagnetic fields protecting the Terran vessel. The Kenshin’s shields held…for now.

  The first missile fired at the Europa detonated against the already weakened ventral shields protecting the Europa’s upper most decks, including the bridge. That shield flickered and weakened further. Some ionizing radiation leaked through the weakened shield and the hull beneath it. The second nuke detonated and the Europa’s ventral shield collapsed. A massive wave of damaging radiation hammered the bridge and surrounding areas.

  While any spacecraft is shielded from cosmic and solar radiation as a matter of course; the levels of radiation created by the nuclear warheads far exceeded the protection provided. The crew members closest to the radiation burst would die horrible deaths from radiation poisoning in the very near future. Those further away and behind additional shielding were still poisoned, they would just die later than their comrades. But die they would.

  “Radiation protocols!” Dua virtually shouted over the Europa’s intercom system. Throughout the ship, crew members were pulling auto injectors from uniform pockets and administering anti-radiation medications to themselves. The bridge crew did likewise. Dua looked around the bridge, checking on his personnel.

  “Jarrod!” Dua exclaimed, rising from his chair. “Commander Caulder is still in the crawlway!”

  “I’ll get him out, sir!” Kepler responded as she stepped over to the hatch and opened it. Once it was open, she began to crawl inside, stopped, then backed out. Commander Caulder followed her from the crawlway. He flashed a winning smile at his crew mates, gave them a thumbs up, and passed out.

  The comm officer called out, “Medics on the way to the bridge!”

  “Very good! Thank you!” Dua replied then added, “Patch me through to Captain Draper, quickly now!” A moment later, Draper appeared on Dua’s screen. “Captain Draper, your status please?”

  “Captain Dua, we’re hurt bad over here! Systems failing throughout the ship. All of our fighters have been destroyed and we’ll be out of power in about 15 minutes,” replied the other Terran captain.

  Dua nodded. “We’re in about the same shape here. Change in plan. Let’s evacuate as many personnel as we can in our fastest shuttles. Then we’ll take out that bloody Azairi menace once and for all.”

  “Aye, sir,” Captain Draper said before closing the connection from his end.

  Dua didn’t have a second to waste. He turned to his bridge crew and spoke. “I intend to order ‘abandon ship’. The severely injured and any non-essential personnel are to go to the shuttles as quickly as possible. The rest of us shall remain here. That last nuclear device sealed our fates. Let us make our remaining time count by buying more time for our comrades to escape.” He glanced around the room to see all but the unconscious Caulder nod their assent.

  A moment later two medics arrived on the bridge pulling a anti-grav gurney with them. Kepler waved them to the spot where Caulder lay. The two medics slapped several medicinal patches onto Caulder’s left arm and neck, loaded him onto the gurney, and sped from the bridge.

  Five minutes later, as the Europa and the Kenshin reached their furthest point from the Azairi cruiser, a fleet of shuttles left the hangar bays of the both badly damaged Terran vessels. These shuttles had FTL capability and would head for the nearest Terran Federation colony world, Camadin.

  Once the evacuees were safely away, Dua and Draper ordered their remaining crews into battle one last time. The Europa’s captain signaled the Kenshin once more.

  “Charlie,” Dua said to his friend, “it has been an honor and a privilege serving with you, my friend!”

  Draper smiled back at his friend, “The same here, Kwame!”

  Dua nodded and spoke decisively, “Begin attack runs! All power generation system controls released! All weapons full automatic! All warheads armed! Pilot, take us in!”

  The Kenshin and the Europa turned their bows toward the Azairi cruiser and accelerated forward. Plasma weapons, rail guns, and missiles fired from both ships as they closed on the enemy vessel. The Azairi cruiser returned fire. The weapons fire began to take a toll on each of the three spacecraft as the distance between them lessened.

  As the two Terran vessels approached their target, Dua broadcast his final message to the Kenshin and his own crew. “Engage FTL drives…NOW!” The FTL drives of the Europa and the Kenshin jumped to full power and the two Terran ships leaped forward…directly towards the Azairi cruiser. The enemy ship, caught by surprise, could not escape as the Europa and the Kenshin crashed into it! Europa struck the enemy amidships and split the cruiser in half. Europa and her crew died knowing that they were striking a mortal blow against a relentless enemy.

  The Kenshin collided with the engineering section of the Azairi vessel. The aft section of the Azairi vessel exploded, spraying billions of pieces of shrapnel in all directions at incredible speeds. The Azairi cruiser and its crew were dead. So were the Kenshin and her crew.

  Chapter 3

  Chief Medical Officer’s Log

  Dr. Charlotte Rivers

  Camadin Station

  Earthdate: 26 October 2230

  I’ve treated a lot of sick and injured people in my career, but this latest group of war casualties have been the worst yet. Wounds of all kinds, ranging from strains and sprains to avulsed limbs and radiation poisoning. My team and I lost so many of these people, some barely out of their teens and on their first deep space mission, because they got to us too late. Some are starting to show signs of recovery. One case in particular…

  “Well, hello Commander Caulder!” said a cheerful, female voice. Jarrod opened his eyes slowly and turned his head slightly to look for the source of the voice. Yep! Female…blond hair, brown eyes, slightly stocky build. About 5’ 7” inches tall. Could be anywhere from 30 to 50 years old, given modern medicine, Jarrod thought to himself. “Hello,” he said to the woman.

  “Hi! I’m Dr. Charlotte Rivers, Chief Medical Officer of Camadin Station,” the woman introduced herself. “I’ve been your doctor for the past three weeks or so.”

  “What happened?” Jarrod asked in a weak, trembling voice.

  “To make a long story short, you and a few others survived the destruction of your ship. I’ve notified your shipmates here on the station that you are awake and will be able to see visitors soon,” Dr. Rivers answered. She held up her right hand before he could protest. “For now, I’m going to answer a few of your questions, then I’m going to put you back under electro-sleep overnight to help your body heal and build up your strength. Do you understand me, commander?”

  “Yes ma’am!” Jarrod responded. “What happened to the Europa…and my shipmates?”

  Rivers took a deep breath before answering. “Your fleet was destroyed stopping the advance of an Azairi fleet. A number of life pods and FTL capable shuttles were able to escape. Vessels were dispatched in time to pick up those in the life pods. You were injured during the battle and evacuated from th
e Europa before its destruction. You were in a coma when you arrived here. At some point in the battle, you were exposed to a massive dose of radiation.”

  Jarrod’s eye widened. “How bad?”

  Dr. Rivers’ pause told Jarrod all he needed to know.

  “How long do I have?” the young officer asked. Rivers found him to be surprisingly calm.

  “You were given the usual anti-radiation drugs by the medics aboard the shuttle during the evacuation. Since your arrival here, I’ve tried a wide range of treatments, to include some highly experimental ones…I’m sorry,” she began. “I estimate six to ten months. Given the treatments you’ve received, you should remain functional, until the last month or so.”

  Jarrod nodded his head then cast his eyes toward the far side of the room. He pushed his emotions down where he could maintain control over them. Maybe later, he thought.

  “Would you like a sedative?” Dr. Rivers asked. Jarrod Clauder shook his head slowly.

  “No…thank you. And…thank you for your honesty,” he answered. “Could I have some time alone, please?”

  Dr. Rivers nodded and stepped from the room. Jarrod placed his left forearm over his eyes and closed them tightly, as if to shut out the world. He lay still on the bed for several minutes, contemplating the loss of his friends, his ships, and soon…his life!

  A little while later, Jarrod heard a soft knock on the door to his Med-Center room. Dr. Rivers looked in and asked, “May I come back in?” Jarrod nodded and the doctor entered the room. “I’d like to examine you again then put you back into electro-sleep…”

  Jarrod shook his head violently and said, “No! I don’t want to sleep my days away if they’re going to be so few.”

  Dr. Rivers smiled at her patient and replied, “Jarrod, I only plan to have you under overnight to let you rest and build up your strength. In the long run, it may buy you more time. And you should know that we have made big strides in the treatment of radiation poisoning and cancers. With them, there’s a real chance that we can buy you more time…quality time. If you’ll let us try.”