Rogue Clone

undoubtedly installed himself as Fleet Commander.

“Good going, Huang,” I laughed.

Looking at how the Earth Fleet had arrayed itself, I saw that the cruisers were stationed so far out that they would be easy targets for any ships that flanked the formation.

In the bottom corner of the display, the clock now counted forward. Six minutes had passed since the enemy ships broadcasted into Earth space. The Hinode ships spread their ranks and started forward.

One of the old cruisers, however, seemed to have stalled. It inched forward, limping behind the other Hinode ships in stuttering short bursts. This had to have been the 540th ship, the one that Halverson doubted would be in on the battle. I might have thought that it was the command ship, but I was on the command ship. I would have felt that kind of engine problem.

The Earth Fleet had twenty carriers with 1,400 fighters. Those fighters dashed forward and splashed across the front of the advancing Hinode formation, parting in every direction and breaking into its ranks. The visor lit up as thousands of short-range lasers and cannons opened fire, and still the Hinode ships advanced, closing in on Earth.

I zoomed in for a more detailed view. Now I could see both the cannon fire and the toll it took on the fighters. Laser fire appeared on my visor as hair-width lines that flared out of nowhere then disappeared without a trace. Looking into the battle was like staring into a dandelion, there were so many filaments. The U.A. fighter squadrons evaporated before my eyes. The bigger Hinode ships simply picked them off as they continued their advance.

But where was the Doctrinaire ? The battle had begun.

The front ranks of the Hinode and Earth Fleets were almost within range, and the barrage began. Missiles and long-range beams filled the air. I could not tell the difference between particle beams and lasers on this display. I knew that the U.A. ships had both particle beams and lasers, and that the particle beams were far more destructive.

Hinode ships had only lasers.

Perhaps the frigates were a sacrifice. The first Hinode ships blew them up quickly and brushed past their mangled hulls without incident. Next came the front ranks of destroyers and battleships. Running into this bedrock layer, the Hinode ships spread wide.

And then it happened. First the jagged shards of lightning appeared. I had never seen anything like the anomaly caused by the Doctrinaire . It was a huge shimmering bubble, as big as any two ships on the field. On my visor, it showed in translucent red.

This antique could not possibly show the bright intensity of the anomaly. On the battlefield, it would have looked silver and white. It would be the same color and intensity of the electricity that filled my head when I was being tortured, and I imagined it against the pure black background of space. Any pilot looking in that direction would have been blinded.

From that silver white bubble, the bow of the Doctinaire emerged. It was huge and fierce, like a fire demon emerging from a cocoon of flames. It was the embodiment of the entire galactic military —a beast that had won every war and nearly every battle for the last five hundred years.

Huang was a better tactician than I gave him credit for. The cruisers were off on the edges to make space. As the anomaly began, the U.A. battleships cleared out of the way and the Doctrinaire drifted into the void that they created.

Even before it had fully emerged from its anomaly, the Doctrinaire began to fire. Its massive cannons lashed out quickly, appearing to pluck Hinode ships out of space. I imagined the dzzzz sound as the new, special cannons fired their half-second bursts. In the vacuum of space, a Hinode battleship trying to fly over the front line of the U.A. formation exploded, jettisoning anything that was not fastened down. Then the fires within the ship consumed all of the oxygen around it and the ship imploded. The crumpled ship floated sideways as it drifted away from the battle.

More cannon fire followed. Another Hinode ship exploded and imploded, then drifted away. Then two cannons fired in different directions, and two more derelicts appeared. Every time the cannons from the Doctrinaire hit an enemy ship, the ship exploded, taking thousands of men with it.

Across the battlefield, the reaction was immediate. Hinode ships scattered. They broke out of their offensive position and shot off in weaving evasive threads. Several ships broadcasted away. Zoomed out far enough to see the entire battle, I could not make out details. I did not know how many ships fled from the scene. I just saw the anomalies. It looked like twenty or maybe thirty ships had fled.

From the corner of my eye, I noted the time. The battle had gone on for nine minutes and twelve seconds. The entire Hinode Fleet could broadcast to safety if it wanted. Because I took my eye off the battle for just a second to look at the clock, I almost missed the decisive blow.

I saw the flash and zoomed in immediately. I was just in time to see the last of the lightning as it danced like Saint Elmo’s Fire along the edges of the Doctrinaire . The great ship seemed to list, its bow dipping down and moving counter-clockwise as if preparing for some spiraling maneuver. Then the ship seemed to flinch. It grew brighter as light shined through its portals. Panels along its roof burst, unleashing folds of flame and vapor. Finally the Doctrinaire , the great ship, the leviathan, vanished in a glowing ball that hurled debris in every direction before collapsing on itself.

I pulled my face out of the visor. I needed a moment to understand what I had seen. When I looked back, I saw the wreckage of the Doctrinaire hanging silently in space. It looked like a giant bird lying with its wings spread. The ship was utterly dark now, with not so much as a spark flashing.

Only a handful of U.A. ships remained around the Doctrinaire . The destruction of the Doctrinaire brought even more ruin: every ship around it was smashed.

Now the Hinode Fleet regrouped. It had lost a few ships at the onset of the battle. After the Apocalypse of the Doctrinaire , the Hinode Fleet suddenly had a huge numerical advantage. Most of the Earth Fleet had been destroyed. Many of those U.A. ships that survived the destruction were so badly damaged that they could hardly defend themselves as the Hinode ships renewed their attack.

PART IV REDEMPTION

CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT

On board the Hinode flagship, sirens blared and people shouted. I heard the muffled sounds of celebration through the walls of the brig. They had destroyed the Unified Authority’s goliath ship, but they had not made the galaxy safe for themselves. U.A. ships still patrolled Perseus, Norma, Cygnus, and Scutum-Crux. They would certainly retaliate.

The door of the brig opened and in entered Yoshi Yamashiro. He looked dour as he approached. He came right to the door of my cell and spoke quietly. “The war is over, Harris.” He saw the antique “red world” sitting on my cot and asked, “Where did you get that display?”

“Halverson gave it to me,” I said. “How did they do it? How did they destroy the Doctrinaire ?”

Yamashiro smiled, but I saw no joy in that smile. It was the tired smile, the man who has heard a funny joke but lacks the strength to appreciate it. “We should discuss that later.”

“I’m not sure how much later I have,” I said.

Yamashiro passed a package wrapped in brown paper through the bars. The package was approximately the same size as a folded flag. It was not soft, but it was bendable.

“You will need to take care of the jailor yourself,” Yamashiro said. “We will be back in an hour.”

“Take care of Sam?” I asked. “How do you expect me to do that?”

“Let yourself out,” Yamashiro told me.

As he left the brig, I gave the door a tug. It slid open easily on its rollers. I caught it after less than an inch.