Chapter 11: To Be Or Not To Be

Captain S117 stood with his hands behind his back and tried to look calm. Not an easy thing when his ship was on a collision course with Warlord Keng flagship and his battle group. Inside adrenaline raced through his blood and his pulse pounded.

He had to at least appear in control for his crew. He was asking a lot from them.......probably everything in fact.

The flagship was three times as massive as the Longsword. She bristled with pulse laser turrets, insect like antennae, and missile pods. The flagship and the Egaran fleet moved toward the Longsword. They slowly drifted in system toward Padeen.

Their sides faced the C709 Longsword and the Singularity Cannon had now fired at him but missed.

- "Detecting high levels of radiation" One of his ships officers said. "They're getting ready to fire their Cannons, Captain"

- "Course correction, sir?" His navigation's officer asked. His fingers tapped in a new heading to hyper the ship out of the system.

- "Stay on course" It took Captain S117 concentration to say that.

His Navigation's Officer turned and started to speak but Captain S117 didn't have time to address his concerns.

- " Gunner" Captain S117 said. " Arm a Fusion Torpedo. Remove all safety locks."

- "Torpedo armed, sir" The gunner face was a mask of grim determination.

- "Set the Torpedo to remote destruction and set the course for mark one eight zero. Full burn for twelve seconds."

- "Aye, sir" he said, tapped in the parameters, and locked them into the system. "Torpedo ready, sir."

- "Sir, that course fires the torpedo directly away from our enemies."

- "I am aware of that, sit down and await for further orders." The Gunner sat. He rubbed his temple with a trembling hand, His other hand balled into a fist.

Captain S117 linked it the NAV-system and set a countdown timer on his data pad. Twenty-nine seconds. "on my mark, Gunner, launch that torpedo....and not a moment before."

- "Aye, sir." His hand hovered the control panel. "SuperHeavy Laser is still hot, Captain" he reminded him.

- "Divert the energy keeping the gun at full charge and route them to the engines." Captain S117 ordered.

- "Diverting energy now, engines now operating at one hundred fifty per cent of rated output. Red line in two minutes."

- "Contact! Contact!" the navigation officer shouted. "Enemy pulse torpedoes fired, sir!"

Lighting erupted from the Egaran battle group and it looked as it could burn space itself. The torpedoes were on a direct course for the Longsword.

- "Course correction, sir?" NAV officer asked.

- "Negative, continue on this heading. Arm all Torpedoes and rotate launch arcs one eight zero degrees."

S117 found himself strangely calm, this would either work or it would not. The odds were long, but he was confident that his actions were the only option to survive this encounter.

- "Collision with torpedoes in nineteen seconds, sir" The officer said.

- "Sir! This is suicide! Our armour can't withstand....."

S117 cut him off - "Mister, man your station or I will have you removed from the ship"

- "Collision in seven seconds"

- Soldier, transfer emergency thrusters controls to my station"

- "Yes...yes, sir"

Captain S117 consulted the countdown timer on his data pad. " Officer, fire the torpedo"

- "Torpedo away, sir"

Captain S117 waited a heartbeat then hit the emergency thrusters to port. A bang resonated through the ship's hull.

The twin torpedoes streaked along their trajectories for a moment, then lazily arced, continuing their pursuit of the Longsword.

Captain S117 marvelled at the Egarans ability to direct those torpedoes from such a great distance. " Good" Captain S117 muttered to himself. "Chase us all the way to hell, you bastards."

- "Track them" he ordered his officer.

- "Aye, sir" he said. "Torpedoes increasing velocity now. They will intercept in 43 seconds."

The view screen flashed, the image changed to show the two Egaran battle cruisers turning to face the incoming Longsword head-on. Blue lights flickered along their hulls-pulse lasers charging.

Captain S117 turned the camera angle and saw the flagship and the other battle cruiser were still heading toward Padeen. He read their position off his data pad and quickly performed the necessary calculations.

- "Course correction, come about to heading zero, zero, four point two five. Declination zero, zero, zero point one eight."

The view screen turned and centred on the enormous Egaran Battle Cruiser.

- "Collision course, impact in eight seconds"

- "Stand by for new course correction: declination minus zero, zero, zero point one zero."

- "Aye, sir" the NAV officer said "Course online. Awaiting your order, sir"

- "Collision with enemy ship in five seconds"

The Battle cruiser grew in the view screen: laser turrets and launch bays, bulbous alien protrusions and flickering blue lights.

- "Hold this course and sound collision alarm"

The view screen snapped on and off and showed black space-then the flash of faint white hull of the Egaran ship.

The Longsword screeched and shuddered as she gazed the prow of an Egaran ship. Silver shields flickered on screen filled with static.

- "Course correction now!" Captain S117 shouted.

- "Aye, sir!"

There was a brief burn from the thrusters and the Longsword nudged down slightly.

- "Hull breach! Sealing pressure doors."

- "Fire all Torpedoes!" Captain S117 yelled

- "Torpedoes away"

S117 watched as the first of the torpedoes that had been trailing the Longsword impacted on the prow of the Egaran battle cruiser. The ship shields flared, flickered....and vanished. The second torpedo hit a moment later. The hull of the Egaran ship blazed and then turned red-hot, melted and boiled. Secondary explosions burst through the hull. The Torpedoes streaked toward the wounded ship, tiny trails of exhaust stretching from the Longsword to the target. They slammed into the gaping wounds in the hull and detonated. Fire and debris burst from the battle cruiser.

The Longsword was abruptly quiet. No rumble of her engines. And no one said anything until one of the officers stood and said " Sir, that was the most brilliant manoeuvre I have ever seen."

- "This isn't over yet. Stay sharp"

- "Ready the SuperHeavy Laser and the Distortion cannon"

S117 watched while Warlord Kengs flagship slightly moved away from the planet and from the battle.

The two remaining battle cruisers started to intercept the Longsword, however there was something near them that was too small to see on the view screen: the torpedo specially armed with nuclear items. S117 had launched that torpedo in the opposite direction-but its reverse thrust had not completely overcome their tremendous forward velocity.

The torpedoes now drifted closer to the battle cruisers.....who had fixed their attention solidly to the Longsword.

S117 tapped his data pad and sent the signal to detonate the torpedo.

There was a flash of white, a crackle of lightning, and the Egaran ships vanished as a cloud of destruction enveloped them. Both Egaran ships, however, were still intact. Their shields went dead.

- "Fire!!!"

The fire rounds tore thought the enemy ships exploding through the chucks of hull and armour, tearing the Egaran ships apart.

S117 looked at the flagship, it stood right next to him.

- "You and me S117, now !! Warlord Kheng shouted

- "I only see me Kheng!!" S117 replied with a smile.

Suddenly a flash of light appeared making all within it's radius blind, after a few minutes S117 opened his eyes.

- "What!!?? YOU?? What is going on?? Why are you doing !!!!"

- "Me? Nothing special, have you been brainwashed before" said Witchfinder with a big smile on his face.

A few days later S117 woke up, we was in a starbase, he could tell that looking at the door logos, the base was named Iluminati, he didn't remember anything, what was he doing there, he didn't even remember his name.

The door opened and a man entered.

"S117, Witchfinder wants to talk to you please follow me."

"Who is S117?"

"Why....you of course" the man answered.

S117 followed the man, used about 5 elevators in that starbase, but finally the man stopped and said:

"It's here, he's waiting for you"

"Who is waiting for me?"

"Witchfinder of course" the man answered.

"Who is Witchfinder and why can't I remember anything?" S117 asked.

"He'll answer all your questions and by the way, my name is Walt"

S117 entered the large room, it was so big that a G-66 could fit in it, at the other end of the room there was a big chair looked like it was made for a king. S117 headed to the middle of the room still waiting for someone to appear but still no one came, he went near the king chair, he touched it and suddenly a guy appeared sitting on it.

"Hide and Seek, such a funny game isn't it, unfortunately it was a game made by those Terrans" said Witchfinder.

"Who are you? Who am I ?" asked S117

"I know you must have a lot of questions and I'm going to answer them, first things first, you are S117 the King of the Dagons" said Witchfinder with a big smile.

"Some days ago the Terrans and the Federation attacked us, you took your Dagon fleet and fought against them and you won, but unfortunately one of the Terrans shot you and your ship, you fell and your head took a beating, that's why you don't remember anything" - said Witchfinder.

"So, you are saying I'm King of Dagons and that we are all at war with the Terrans?"- S117 asked

"That is correct, the Invaders and the Egarans will give you all the support you need, the Slah'ke is currently fighting and our inside race is getting ready, your ship is in the bay repaired and upgraded with the best technology, lead your fleet into battle" - said Witchfinder

"The Terrans shall be destroyed" -said S117

S117 left the room, Walt was waiting for him, he took him to the launch bay and S117 launched the Longsword.