Center Worlds - Spark

Oxymax Nebula -32 BA

A week later, as Lya lay sedated in his quarters, Ryo and the rest of the TGX crew made a Vortex jump along with a full flight of battle-ready ships from Camelin space. The ships took up neospace corridors through the Oxymax Nebula and emerged in the bubble in the centre, then split off to take up positions from all known entry points for the previous attacks upon the planet. This time, they would be ready to defend Sinlo.

Lya came onto the bridge as the ships were veering off to take up their positions, and took the seat that Captain Kalen indicated. She quietly watched as the bridge crew went about their business, and watched as the Commander and Captain laid out a complex tactical plan on the charts to ensure every possible contingency was prepared for.

“Based upon Intel from the Clan, the next attack will occur anytime between now and the next fifty-six hours. We have N’Gouras spread around every neospace entry point, most of them in the cloud itself, with sensor suites primed, but no other power radiating. Hopefully, they will look like dust concentrations.” Kalen reported.

“Once we detect the ship, I want it positively identified, but no action against it. Let it deploy and then jump, then we will deal with the incoming.” Ryo said. Cato passed the message through the Camelin lines.

Kalen went over to the navigation station, where the two officers sat at the controls. One actually flew the gigantic starship by way of a steering column and control throttles, while the other watched the many screens and sensor panels that indicated control and orientation in all dimensions. “Hold our course steady. We want to be ready to shift into Neospace as soon as the other ship jumps so that we can get in front of the projectiles.” Kalen said, his hand resting on the back of the control couches both officers sat in.

“Same plan as before, Commander. We slide sideways towards Sinlo at speed?” One of the officers asked.

Ryo nodded. “It worked last time, no reason not to do it again. This time, we’ll have a lot more opportunity to eliminate the weapons without having to go nuclear though.”

He turned to Lya. “We’ve already sent word to the city. The shield is pumped to the maximum, and with our teams having worked on it, even if we do miss any, they will be deflected hundreds of kims from the capitol.”

She smiled a small smile at him and continued to sit, watching everything. Her hand unconsciously rubbed her swelling stomach where their unborn child was growing.

“We have contact, N’Goura eighteen reports ship dropping out ... of Vortex! Commander, it’s the TGX-9. We are reading Cobalt Weapons on board. It is deploying! The ship has returned to Vortex. We have a positive ID.” Tactical reported.

“They have a Vortex route through the nebula?” Kalen said. “How many projectiles, and what range?”

“Fourteen, Sir. They are eighty million kims distant. We can still catch them in plenty of time.” Tactical replied.

“Navigation, fire us up. Get us ahead of them and let’s plow the fields.” Ryo said, then grabbed hold of the main console as the ship rumbled to life and slewed around onto a new course.

“N’Gouras are pairing up and shifting into Neospace. They are taking up a tactical deployment one million kims from the planet. They will chase down any we miss.” Kalen reported as he watched the displays.

The ship dropped out of Neospace and pivoted around its flightpath, engines flaring as they shifted its mass against the direction of flight so the giant ship began to sideslip, keeping pace with the fourteen cobalt weapons now streaming towards the planet far below, but closing fast.

“Relativistic guns, 200,000 kims Open fire. Full Interdiction pattern, heavy radiation spread.” Ryo ordered as Kalen barked “Lances, interference blow, 100,000 kims, make it hot out there!”

Vibrations throughout the ship indicated the weapons had begun to fire, spreading a lethal fence of high energy cobalt particles as well as nearly nova heat in a plasma wave that would catch the projectiles as they streamed towards the planet.

“We have twelve, ten, six, three, zero projectiles remaining. All projectiles destroyed. Plasma shockwave is removing cobalt residue. We are In The Clear, Commander.” Tactical reported.

“Shift us around and get into a stable orbit. Let’s make sure the planet survived without damage.” Ryo said as the ship spun on its axis and began to maneuver into a proper orbital insertion.

Within a few minutes, the ship was in High Orbit, and the sensors were very active. Science reported back within a few more minutes: no damage, no impacts, and no effects. A cheer rose from the bridge crew as the reports came in, and Lya stood. “Thank you.” She said to Ryo. However, it was Sergeant Cato who replied for all of them. “Ma’am, we won’t let you die. Not like this. When you die, it should be in comfort, with people you love all around you. Not like this, alone, in war. We took an oath. You are under our protection and we will protect you.”

Ryo remained on board the TGX as Kalen went down with Lya to check on the status of the population.

He walked over to Cato. “Who is in command of the TGX-9, Sergeant?”

She pulled up the roster. “Commander Myo Michelab, Sir. Leader of Clan Michelab.”

Ryo tapped the top of her console, then turned and went back to the command console. He was forming a plan, but now was not the time to begin it.

A few hours later, Kalen called from the surface. “Commander, we need to clear the planet.”

“What has happened, Captain?” Ryo asked.

“The Cobalt radiation has seeped under the shield. The groundwater is almost totally contaminated. Soil levels have increased to more than 100 times background. The shield is stopping the atmospheric, but physical levels are increasing far beyond the ability of the biosphere to maintain. We’ve got to get everybody off. Leave a skeleton crew here in rad gear, and prepare to hit the entire planet with nano pods.” Kalen explained.

“It’s gotten that bad, Viktor?” Ryo said as he signaled for Cato to link up to the massive transport that stayed on the outside of the system for such a contingency.

“We’ll use all the N’Gouras as transports. I’m bringing in the carrier now. We’ll pull everybody off within the day.” Ryo said as he got Kalen’s confirmation and also began to see the reports. “Let’s get all of our people to safety, then we can look at cleansing Sinlo.”

By the end of the following day, The Transport was in low orbit and the N’Goura’s along with every shuttle on the TGX-2 were playing the role of ferry, transporting thousands of citizens up to the massive transport that was larger than the TGX, but not designed for battle.

Ryo had been planning this for months, as soon as they had returned to Clanworld Camelin, he had got the master architects to begin contraction on a new section of the city. Designed to look like Desinlo’s city, it was built twelve kims from the skyhook base, over an area that used to be a swamp but had been reclaimed and had been laid fallow for construction decas ago. Lya had no idea what had been going on as Ryo’s father’s chamber did not face that section of the city, and his consort did not do much journeying out during the months his father had slowly passed away. This was a surprise to her as much as to the dislocated population of the Clanworld.

Loaded up with every citizen from the broken Clanworld and their possessions, the transport slowly lumbered out of orbit, escorted by the TGX-2, and shifted into Neospace for the three-hour journey through the nebula. Once clear, the ship accelerated to full Neospace velocity and eighteen hours after that, began to decelerate into low orbit over Malis, the Camelin Clanworld, the TGX-2 keeping pace.

The air was different, the gravity was a bit heavier than Sinlo, and the sun shone with a more bluish light than home, but the planet was alive. As the travelers disembarked, to be welcomed by smiling Clan Camelin staff and escorted to their new homes, a feeling of joy replaced the sorrow and despondence that had fallen over the entire populace. Lya was amazed at what had been built and showered Ryo with affection for what he had done for her people. He gently corrected her, Our People.

Lya Desinlo began to truly call Clanworld Camelin home, and only left it two more times in her lifetime.