David reached for the helmet hung from the wall, clearing his throat, ‘Understood…thank you, please inform the captain I will be along shortly…’ Raising the head protection, he glanced back into the reflection, his eyes running along the red lining around the bubbled armoured resin, the red markings on the helmet sides as it tensed snugly and reassuringly around his skull.
The slender Trevakian officer turned abruptly as the reflective doors of the armoury swept open with a low hiss, nodding as several junior officers stepped into the room, their eyes widening at the flickering screen behind the female captain. Dugachard waved a hand, her expression solemn, ‘Gather round, we have some fragmented signal updates from earth, not many but intercepts from a destroyed Trevakian vessel and one that is waiting for us in orbit around an outer planet in that galaxy named Mars.’
The officers gathered in a group of fifteen around the captain, static surging across the display unit briefly before the picture cleared, a blue uniformed female intelligence officer staring into the lens, captain Dugachard continuing, ‘This officer is on a forward reconnaissance battle cruiser orbiting this Mars planet in the earth galaxy, we have lost two ships destroyed above planet earth and the Morgons are now attacking the human home planet in force.’ Her vision rested on David and a couple of other human commanders in seemingly brief sympathy before her eyes darkened, ‘We know they have two warships in orbit above earth, the enemy’s largest and most formidable class of ordinance, their weapon power alone more powerful than anything we possess.’ She turned and started to walk slowly to the side of the screen, ‘Our main objective is to neutralise these two warships before we provide additional firepower to the planet below…a challenging task to say the least.’ She nodded in understanding as a couple of the junior officers frowned in protest, raising a hand for them to remain silent, ‘We have eleven battle cruisers and five destroyers with a small number of support and attack vessels extracted from the 9th and 10th fleets along with this vessel and one to join us as we approach Mars.’
Turning, she faced the officers with unflinching determination, ‘You must understand that the destruction of these two enemy ships will eliminate enemy reinforcements and support to the planet’s surface. We will never get a better opportunity to inflict such a devastating defeat and severely weaken the Morgons, perhaps even contribute to turning the tide of the war…or at least buy us some time to consolidate and reinforce our positions across the fronts. The enemy are far from home and unable to reinforce as easily as they have in the past…fleet have advised us to neutralise the threat in this remote sector if not in support of our new allies.’
Dugachard indicated to the screen, ‘Intelligence officer Zettle will provide us with their current operational update from scanning and proposals to land our troops on earth.’ She turned to the screen, ‘Please proceed Zettle…’
The female intelligence officer stiffened to attention, static once more surging across the picture briefly, ‘Thank you Captain Dugachard…I will be as quick as I can be, I am not sure how quickly the Morgons will be able to intercept and jam this transmission.’ She smiled confidently, ‘But they will be unable to decipher it…we are using new scrambling software provided by the Fahimians.’
The ensign stiffened again, becoming more formal, ‘Our long range scans indicated that the Morgon warships have adopted opposing orbits above earth. We are the last remaining vessel from an earlier engagement and were sent here for reconnaissance, with both other Trevakian ships being completely destroyed…fortunately with the loss of few crew on one as they evacuated to the planet’s surface. Our thoughts lay with the fallen on the other vessel, bravely sacrificed to allow the others to escape’ The female glanced down at the screen before her, taking a deep breath, ‘Damage to the planet’s surface has been considerable…the western seaboard of the United States has been completely destroyed with the loss of extensive life and we are just receiving sensor readings that Moscow has been obliterated. We believe the Morgons are preparing their dropships and additional substantial forces in readiness for a full invasion.’
Hesitating as the junior officers shifted uncomfortably, several shaking their heads, the Trevakian intelligence ensign continued, ‘Fighting exists across the planet with human forces seemingly in retreat on most fronts. Enemy strength is unknown, but they seem to possess numerous armoured units and a heavy air presence, no doubt supplied and reinforced from the warships…in short, we destroy these two premier ships, then form a protective shield in high orbit to prevent any other vessels getting through. Then we eliminate the Morgon forces on the surface and assist with upgrading earth’s defensive and productive capability…allow them time to enter the war on an even footing.’
Captain Dugachard turned her head towards the screen, ‘Zettle, we have additional new weaponry that we are currently producing across our ships and will supply to earth. The schematics are also being delivered to the Trevakian High Command under escort…this and the ongoing battle on the surface will require us to land troops and escort this new technology to earth’s factories and governments…what are your suggestions ensign?’
The intelligence officer nodded, ‘We challenged the ship’s computers to configure all possible landing scenarios…the results are intriguing. With only two Morgon ships and their close proximity to earth, there are numerous small temporary ‘blind spots’ continually forming across the upper atmosphere that could provide access as the two vessels lose synchronisation for short periods. If any of their vessels join them from deep space or if the warships withdraw further, then they would be able to close these opportunities relatively quickly.’ The ensign glanced down once more nervously, ‘Entry into the atmosphere
