Kale was pushed backward into the wall. He slumped to the floor in pain. He wasn’t even trying to shield himself from his younger brother’s righteous fury.
“Tiet, he is still your brother, all that you have left of your family!” Wynn pleaded.
Tiet shook free of Wynn’s grip on his arm. “Stay out of it, Wynn,” he said, glaring at the man.
Tiet looked back toward Kale, still groaning on the floor trying to breathe. Something snapped in his expression as he looked at his brother bent to his will, on the ground in pain. He released him from the attack and backed away with a bewildered look on his face.
Tiet turned away to walk out, looking disturbed. He extended his good hand behind him and caught his blade as it leaped from the ground, flying across the room after him. The door closed behind him.
Kale began to recover himself. Wynn did not help him up. Instead he stepped back outside the cell and scanned the lock to reactivate the cell’s energy field.
“Watch him,” he said to the guards, who were stunned by the event.
He looked back to see Kale climbing back to the small bed against the cell wall. There wasn’t time to worry about the pain either of the brothers might be feeling. The Baruk were still on their way.
ARMADA
Ranul rushed into the lift heading for the bridge of the Vorn cruiser, Esyia. The Baruk were headed into the sector where the Vorn cruiser was patrolling. The sensor probes, which had been stationed along the way, were being destroyed systematically as the Baruk journeyed toward Castai-Rex. With at least fifty large warships, they were flaunting their power and moving quickly.
The level indicator increased in number as the lift carried Ranul toward the bridge where he could analyze the latest data. There were only two Vorn battle cruisers assigned to each sector from among the twenty-three that had been confiscated on Castai-Ori and left on Rex after the departure of the remaining Vorn military during the battle of Baeth Periege. The Onicule was traveling with them nearby.
All the Vorn battle cruisers were heavily armed and highly maneuverable. But with the greater number of Baruk vessels approaching, many of the people serving aboard the cruisers were expecting to fight a losing battle. Still, morale among the crews remained strong. If they were going to lose, then they would take as many of the Baruk with them as possible.
Suddenly the whole ship reeled. Ranul was tossed into the ceiling of the lift then down to the floor hard. The lights flickered then faded as low intensity emergency lighting came on. It felt like an impact to the ship’s hull, but he couldn’t tell. The lift continued its climb and soon arrived at the bridge.
When the doors opened up, Ranul could see the bridge crew locked into their chairs prepared for battle. On the display, they were tracking several objects heading in their direction. Estall was barking out orders to the crew from the command chair.
“Estall, what’s happening?”
“The Baruk have launched some sort of projectiles from outside the sector. The shields are having difficulty with them. They’re not strong enough to repel these things. Some sort of super dense alloy.”
“The shields would have to deconstruct and disperse the matter-very difficult with objects of the density you’re talking about.” Ranul jumped to a science station and began to look over the data. An alarm sounded on the bridge.
“Incoming!”
“It’s another one of those projectiles,” said Estall. “Ranul, what do you have!?”
“It’s some kind of tritarium variant-super density. In a normal molecular arrangement it would be one thousand times the current size.”
“Evasive!” Estall ordered.
“It’s tracking with us!” said one of the science officers.
“I’m having trouble with the helm, sir. It’s like we’re being pulled into it.”
“It’s exerting a localized gravitational pull on the ship-gets stronger as it approaches!” Ranul shouted from his station. “Wait, wait! It’s tracking on the Onicule now!”
“She’s going to take a hit!”
The projectile shifted the flight path of the Onicule as it approached, pulling the Vorn cruiser into its path at the last moment. The shields on the ship activated as the object passed into field, trying to vaporize it. The field sheered away half of the object’s mass, but the remainder passed through the shield, crashing into the hull of the Onicule.
“She’s hit!” Estall shouted.
“Analyzing,” said one of the science officers. “The Onicule took a hit just behind mid-ship, several decks destroyed, they’re sealing them off. It’s not a fatal blow.”
Ranul continued to monitor the ship. “Wait! Something is happening! That thing is like a gravity bomb,” he mumbled as he turned to Estall.
On the main view screen the Onicule was beginning to implode.
“Ranul, what’s happening to them?”
“The localized gravitational field around the object is pulling the ships structure inward upon it.”
They all watched helplessly as the Onicule caved in upon the gravity bomb. Gases escaped in flame.
“Sir, we’re being hailed by the other fleet ships,” said the communications officer. “They’re all on a rendezvous course to this sector.”
“Estall, the Baruk formation of ships is entering the sector now,” Ranul said. “They’re splitting up, spreading out against us. Another gravity bomb is locked on approach!”
“Evasive maneuvers!” Estall demanded.
“I’m trying to recalibrate our shields to repel the object rather than vaporize it,” said Ranul.
“Twenty seconds to impact!” shouted another science officer.
“Hurry, Ranul,” Estall said as he watched the incoming object on the view screen.
“I think I’ve got it.”
The gravity bomb slammed into the shields of the Esyia and sent the ship reeling off of its flight path. The bridge crew would have been tossed about the chamber had they not been strapped into their flight chairs.
“How bad are we?” Estall asked over the groaning of the engines.
“The object did not penetrate!” shouted Ranul. “It pushed us away though. The impact still damaged our hull by causing a reverberation in the shield.”
“How bad are we?”
“The hull is intact.”
“Are the Baruk within range yet?”
“Just now,” said the weapons officer.
“Lock and fire the molecular dispersion cannon on the nearest ship.”
The large weapon swiveled upon its mount located on the topside of the Esyia, aiming off into the black of space toward the Baruk, still out of visual range. The weapons officer locked onto the nearest Baruk warship and fired. The beam from the Castillian and Vorn engineered weapon flashed out into the darkness.
The Baruk warship, Kosinok, veered away from the formation of cruisers toward its designated heading. A beam of energy flashed ahead then hit the ship, strafing across its hull surface, vaporizing everything it touched.
“Direct hit!” shouted the weapons officer.
“They’re raising their shields!” said Ranul from his station.
“Fire again,” Estall commanded.
Once again, the weapon adjusted slightly to reacquire the same target on its trajectory. Once locked, it fired again into the blackness of space. The beam hit the Kosinok square on, but its shields responded in kind.
“Their shields are drained significantly, but it didn’t go through,” said Ranul.
“The rest of the fleet is heading for the Baruk formation,” said the other science officer.
“Take us in with them, shields at full power, all weapons systems at the ready. Garret, fire at will as we
