UNDER ATTACK / english version

A Science Fiction Story

© 2017

***

In the COC of the space cruiser 'Cogolin' the typical tension prevailed before a battle. Extremely focused, the commander looked at the tactical indicators of the main screen. A huge number of alien ships were displayed there.

You're right there, Ann thought grimly. This was clearly not a friendly neighborly visit. "You do not expect us to be destroyed without a fight, do you?"

The long waiting time had been an up and down of emotions. Three long years had been spent in uncertainty, after the message had arrived, this hateful oath to eradicate mankind from the face of the universe, without mercy and without any reason. Sender: unknown.

Ann had returned from a six-months expedition with her ship a few weeks later, and had found a completely changed Earth. After a period of consternation, disbelief, and fear, determination had already gained ground, and mankind had been preparing for the most important battle of its history.

Within the next years the small expeditionary fleet of the Earth had become a powerful Space Navy, and the Earth had been converted to a fortress. New weapon systems had been developed and deployed, and with the invention of the energy shield, a highly effective defensive system was now available. Ann had been thrilled when the generator had finally been installed and tested on her ship. The 'Cogolin' had long to wait for the conversion. The new ships of the Navy and the large bunkering facilities for the civilian population had been the first to be equipped.

Two weeks ago the enemy fleet had finally been detected, and just yesterday it had appeared in the solar system. "In our system," Ann corrected. "Not yours!" Immediately after the transition from hyperspace, the Armada had taken direct course towards Earth. There had been just enough time to test the planetary shield, which was supposed to protect the whole planet.

Only a handful of Navy ships were out in space. They ran under Emission Control (EmCon) and were therefore hardly traceable. Not even light was reflected from their black outer shells. They were on a reconnaissance mission and one of them had to execute an additional special order. All other units of the Navy were stationed on Earth to provide their immense energy reserves for the planetary shield and the defense weapons. Simulations had shown that this was urgently required for the planet´s survival.

"Status", Ann demanded.

"Our position is one light minute from Terra on the outer ecliptic. EmCon Status is Green. Acceleration is Zero. Speed is 0.3% c. Distance to enemy is ten light seconds. Approach vector is Zero. Enemy has just started a strong braking maneuver. Contact point in twelve minutes." The security officer snapped his report down.

Since the Armada´s arrival, all passive sensors of the 'Cogolin' have been directed at the enemy. Mankind knew almost nothing about their opponents; neither his tactics nor his weapon systems. Not a good starting point for a battle on life and death.

"Captain, we have been able to filter and analyze the internal data streams of the enemy fleet, and we have discovered something interesting. There are telemetry nodes". The voice of the analyst sounded excited.

Ann looked at him questioningly. She could not figure out what he meant.

"We think these are drones, Captain. It looks like the fleet is being controlled by a smaller group of command ships."

"Are you sure?"

"Not quite, Captain. But there is another indication for that. After the fleet´s transition, there have been several collisions with smaller asteroids, which is normal for such mass movements. But we could not observe gas losses from those ships we think are drones. On the other hand, there was a significant atmospheric loss on a command vessel, and we therefore assume that the command vessels are manned, the drones are not." He paused for a second.

"Captain, the signals are extremely weak and were difficult to filter out. We are the unit closest to the enemy and therefore lucky to having picked that up. However, it is unlikely anybody else could have made this observation."

"If we are right, those command ships should be our primary targets. We have clearly identified them. If we can eliminate them, it is very likely that the whole attack will collapse."

Ann nodded. It was an approved method to destroy the enemy's ability to command his forces; to cut the snake's head off.

"You will back up the data and analysis, and prepare the transmission to Terra.  We are still running under EmCon conditions, but after these are lifted, you must transmit them immediately, without waiting for further instructions! Did I make myself clear?" The man nodded and hurried back to his console.

"Control to Captain. The enemy fleet drops below Alpha radius. Speed is ​​0.2%c. Decreasing."

That was about 600 kilometers per second, Ann calculated. To attack the Earth they would have to slow down even further.

It was time to execute the special order. The admiralty had ordered a last attempt to avoid a war. There had been a great effort to formulate a reasonable peace message to the aliens. Reasonable at least from a human perspective.

The 'Cogolin' was the only ship in the direct approach vector of the enemy, which was why this task fell to her. No one on board had real confidence, but it was worth an attempt.

"Well, then let's do it." Ann turned to the communications officer. "Activate the message buoy to transmit the peace message". The buoy drove about 10,000 kilometers behind the ship; a pure precaution not to reveal the ships position. An ultrasound, precisely aligned laser pulse activated it.

"The message is being sent," Com announced. "It will be there in 9 seconds." It was quiet in the command center and Ann noticed that she began to pat nervously on the armrest of her command chair.

Then the ECM loudspeakers quickened. "Jamming! Enemy increases energy level". The voice sounded excited. "Warning! Enemy is blocking all Com frequencies."

"They do not want to hear what we have to tell them, Captain," the First Officer guessed. Ann nodded. The aliens had not even listened to the peace offer. That was not a good sign.

"Alert! Enemy starting missiles". Several volleys broke out of the enemy formation and accelerated with strong values. "ETA in 23 seconds, two target vectors, the buoy and us. Captain, we are directly targeted!"

"Battle Stations!" shouted Ann and the First Officer pressed the alarm button.

"Converter to maximum, full speed, activate defense shield, evasive maneuver Bravo, decoy and counter-measures free, EmCon lifted, defense weapons free, lock state!" Ann barked her commands, ship and crew responded precisely. The hard training paid off.

"So much for our peace mission," commented the first officer and strapped himself tightly. The crew closed the space helmets to protect themselves against pressure loss. At the same time large parts of the ship were pumped empty to avoid damage caused by explosive decompressions.

"Enemy continues to block all frequencies. We cannot get through!" the radio operator said. "Try again," Ann ordered. "Burn us through this jamming! These data have to reach the Earth!"

The 'Cogolin' chased away with maximum acceleration. The remaining message buoy evaporated seconds later in an explosion. Then the first missiles reached the ship. The roaring sound of the converter, the shrieking and hammering of the defense weapons, and the flickering displays disappeared in her background with the first near-miss detonation. Ann jerked as she saw that the explosion produced intense laser flashes that just missed her ship. "Engine - more thrust", she shouted into the ComLink. With a noticeable leap, the 'Cogolin' accelerated far beyond safety limits. The pressure absorbers came to their performance limits. Automatically, the impact cage built up around Ann to protect her from any shocks.

"These are bomb-pumped lasers, Ma'am. The power is unbelievable. A double-hit could break our shield." Ann looked at him incredulously. The Earth did not have such warheads.

"Countermeasures efficiency at 60%". The operator´s voice sounded absolutely unmoved. Immediately after the attack, the ship had begun to eject decoys to direct the enemy missiles to false targets. It worked pretty well. "Not bad," commented Ann. In all simulations they had expected less success.

The attackers now faced heavy firing from all defense weapons of the 'Cogolin'. Satisfied Ann registered a number of hits. They were mostly achieved by the rear battery. A lanky young man who had come aboard just a few weeks ago was in command there. Despite his youth, he had turned out to be a virtuoso at the fire console. "Well done," she said aloud. The boy had reminded her of her own son. For a second she thought of her family, who had taken shelter in a bunkering facility near Canton.

"Incoming missiles are now ballistic," the operator said. "We are out of reach".

"Focus on active missiles, save ammo!" Ann knew to ignore ballistic missiles was no risk. They just flew straight after their burnout and the 'Cogolin' would not be put in danger by them.

She took advantage of the short break in battle for an overview. "Status," she demanded.

"Defense ammunition down on 40% and only five decoys left", the operator reported. "We still cannot transmit anything. Those bastards are pumping incredible energy into their jammers. All the other areas are green," he added.

They had survived the first short battle. Ship and crew had proved very well. But it had been close and the reserves would hardly be enough for a second round. "Keep us out of reach," she ordered the navigator. "And try to burn through these damn jammers".

Meanwhile the 'Cogolin' flew above the ecliptic towards Earth. At some point on this path, they would be able to overcome the jamming. While the enemy had to slow down further for his attack on Earth, the 'Cogolin' could fly further, coming closer to Earth with more distance to the enemy. This would work, if nothing ...

"Warning! Enemy shortens distance! We'll be back in range, Captain." Ann looked at the display and her eyes hardened. A formation of enemy ships had changed the course vectors and accelerated with insane high values ​​directly towards them.

"They really want to know it, don´t they?" she growled. The 'Cogolin' did not have enough capability. There would be no escape. Soon there would be a second round.

"Try to get through to Terra by any means." The Com-Officer shook his head. "No chance, Captain."

Tactics interrupted. "Alert! Enemy starting missiles! Three volleys, arriving in 15, 23 and 30 seconds". Ann looked at her First Officer. "That's going to be damned close, Ma'am," the man said with a pale face. They all knew it. Steel rain was coming and out here was no place to duck and cover.

"It's not over yet". She replied resolutely. But then the attack came over them like the Last Judgment. A series of explosions hit the shield and faded, but the kinetic energy alone was strong enough to hurl the ship far from its course. Ann clung to her armrests with all her strength … and then all the luck of the 'Cogolin' was over.

No one saw the double hit. From one moment to the other, the stern of the ship, as far as the COC, turned into a screeching chaos of light, blood and blackness. Through a meter-wide crack one could see the stars. In seconds, the ship had been turned into a wreck; the largest part of the crew fallen. And still more missiles were coming in. Ann's fist hit the emergency button. "Abandon ship!" Then the emergency system took over and hurled her and her seat through the escape tunnel to a rescue capsule. She felt a sharp blow…

***

Slowly the warning lights and alarm messages penetrated her consciousness. Everything felt wrong. When she was about to get up, a painful glare shrank through her back. She cried in pain. The med unit of her suit immediately gave her several injections. Ann cursed heavily as she was surprised by the painful punctures, but seconds later she felt better.

I had probably stepped away for a moment, she thought as she tried to remember the last few seconds. There were only short impressions; the torn COC, the wreck of her ship, when the escape capsule had been catapulted out, the terrible explosion that finally evaporated the 'Cogolin'.

She tried to pull herself up. I lost my ship and my crew, she thought bitterly. She did not know if there were any other survivors. Rescue capsules were excellently camouflaged, so as not to be shot down by the enemy. They could only be found if the beacon signal was activated.

The fierce blow during the evacuation occurred to her again. Her injuries were also unusual. Something had gone wrong. She called the basic checklist and started to go through it.

The pressure absorbers have failed. Strange. These units were integrated into the shell and very robust. She activated the outer cameras. That did not look good. The capsule must have had a massive collision. Then she was frightened. It hit her like a blow. The absorbers were her slightest problem. All the transmitters were gone.

No one will ever be able to find me. The thought shot through her mind with cold clarity. Fear rose in her. When she realized that, she took a few deep breaths and tried to force herself down. Just do not panic, she told herself.

"Never let yourself be dominated by the circumstances! First analyze, then decide, then act," the Admiral had declared during the command training. In the comfortably equipped classroom of the academy this had sounded pretty reasonable. But now everything was different. Now, in a tiny, broken capsule, she drifted alone and lost all the way through space.

***

In the HQ of the Space Navy, the Admiral was standing on the gallery. He was the resting pole in the hall filled with hectic activity.

His adjutant approached. "Sir, we have visually evaluated the explosions that led to the destruction of the 'Cogolin'; all other scans were blocked by the enemy jammers. Even communications with the Moon base is only possible by strong Com-Laser. During the battle, this will also fail. "

The admiral nodded. "As expected. What do we know about the enemy's weapons?" The officer explained everything and presented the conclusions of the staff. Even assuming that the planetary shield could stand the attack, there would be great devastation on the planet.

The admiral picked up all the information and thought about it. "All staff members in the meeting room in five minutes," he ordered. Before the adjutant could leave, the Admiral stopped him. "Is there more information about the 'Cogolin'?" he wanted to know.

"The ship was a complete loss, Sir. The chances for survivors are minimal." He hesitated for a moment. "I'm very sorry, Sir. I know you and the commander were old friends."

The admiral shook his head. "We were not friends," he corrected, "we are friends"! The adjutant went away. For a moment the admiral thought of his old friend Ann. The idea that she should be gone forever felt quite wrong. Then he turned back to the big screens. The battle would soon begin.

***

The enemy fleet had taken position around the Earth and started their bombardment. They had completely ignored the Moon. Violent detonations bounced against the planet's shield. The attackers were testing its capacity.

Ann had a wide view over the Earth - Moon system, which laid directly on her course. The first explosions had deeply frightened her. They had been gigantic; much larger calibers than those that had finished her ship. She had experienced the terrible kinetic forces on board the 'Cogolin'. There would be heavy earthquakes, tsunamis and volcanic eruptions on Earth.

In the meantime, she had realized that the lost beacons had not aggravated the situation. Even if she could have shouted out her position and her S.O.S on all frequencies, it would have simply disappeared in the jamming and the energetic chaos of the battle.

Deep resignation had captured her. She had lost her ship and crew, and now the fate of the Earth, of her family, and of her friends was at stake. And then there was a gnawing sense of guilt.

The longer she thought about it, the worse she felt. The reconnaissance results had not reached the Earth, data that could now save her home world. But she had been completely focused on the response of the aliens to the peace offer. At the same time, she had missed the time slot in which the transfer would have been possible. The margin between the activation of the buoy and the onset of the enemy´s jamming would have been long enough. But she had not even thought about it, and then that chance had been lost. She had committed a bad mistake and the Earth would have to pay for it now.

She was watching the explosions on the screen. Behind those Earth was hardly visible. Meanwhile the defense forces were fighting back with all they had. A murderous firestorm raged among the attackers. If the Earth only knew that they would have to attack only a few ships to stop this madness, Ann thought with a touch of despair.

For the first time in her life, she felt completely helpless, not knowing what to do next. The fate of the Earth hung by the thread, and all she could do was to watch. She turned to the vector projection. The course would bring her a few thousand kilometers close to the Moon´s surface. But there was nothing to change this with the drive of the capsule; it was only designed for short maneuvers. She leaned back in her seat and closed her eyes. Checkmate, she thought. There were no more options. This had never appeared on the academy´s agenda.

When she opened her eyes again, she looked at the half-finished checklist…

***

The Moon facilities were under EmCon and had so far escaped the enemy´s attention. They all lay deep under the surface and were thus camouflaged in a natural way. There had been plans to install a protective shield for the Moon as well, but the preparation time had not been long enough. The Moon was also out of reach of the Earth's defense weapons and therefore on its own. Camouflage and cover were the only options.

After all, the armed forces had begun to deploy modern stealth weapon systems. Due to the low gravity and the lack of atmosphere, the Moon was an ideal place for such weapons. They were accelerated by shielded catapults, flew in passive mode and were activated only for the final approach. But then they crashed on their targets extremely quickly and with devastating precision. During the trial phase, the commanders of the target ships had been angered. They could not see them coming and did not have any time to react. They therefore only spoke of the NIBs, the "nasty insidious bastards". The abbreviation had quickly prevailed. Unfortunately, only a fraction of the required systems were available to fight the enemy´s fleet. So far they had been held back.

Meanwhile, however, the siege of the Earth had entered a new stage. The situation had deteriorated dramatically. The protective shield around the Earth still held and the heavy energy weapons of the planet´s defense were still fighting the attackers, but the batteries already had to cut down their fire to reinforce the protective shield with more energy. The enemy had quickly recognized this weakness and had started an intense point attack. Time was running out. The Moon would soon have to throw its weapons into the balance.

What would happen if the screen fell was quite clear to the observers. The planet would be completely destroyed; probably even break apart. Mankind would be lost. And then the attackers would turn around and attack the Moon and all the other facilities in the solar system. Nothing would be spared.

"What do you think of it," the Commander of the Moon asked his staff and pointed out to the priority message. The head of the Intel Service raised his hand. "Sir, we do not know if these conclusions are correct, and if not, it might be that thousands of kamikaze ships will suddenly attack Earth." He shook his head briefly. "On the other hand, the situation is almost desperate. We will have to use our own weapon systems very soon to support the Earth, and we will be defenseless when we are empty."

"Your recommendation, then?" demanded the General.

"I would suggest attacking the marked ships and simultaneously destroying them, and we should use any remaining systems for self-defense. We cannot do anything more. Except praying."

"Are there other suggestions?" The general asked in the round. There were not. "Prepare the launch," he commanded.

Only a few minutes later, nearly two hundred NIBs were thrown from their catapults into space, according to an exactly calculated fire plan, and approached their goals.

All eyes were directed at the tactical displays in the Command Center. "Time to the active phase is 10 seconds," the Fire Control Officer reported. So far the enemy had not noticed the approach. Even here, the fiendish weapons were not visible on the screen. The tension in the room was rising.

"Active phase starts now". Immediately the blue markings of the missiles appeared on the screen. They emerged close to their targets and hurled at them with an irrational acceleration.

Short cheers lifted when the hits were made, but only a blink of an eye later the Earth disappeared behind a huge explosion cloud. The enemy had fired a terrible salvo on the planet. There was deadly silence in the Command Center. Where the blue home planet should be seen, there were gigantic, red-hot fire blasts hanging in space. Terrible moments passed, full of tension, hope, and growing despair, people were staring at the big screen.

And then it happened. Nobody would ever forget it. It was one of those few moments when history gets divided into 'before' and 'after'.

From the fierce winds of the last explosions, the Earth pushed out with a bright luminous shield. Never before she has looked more beautiful than at that moment.

Ann had left the Earth-Moon system. The attack on the Earth had ceased. Full of tension and impatience, she had stared at the screen, hoping and pleading. The last wave of aggression had looked horrific. Tears of relief flooded her eyes when the Earth was coming out of the glowing cloud. It had been a heartbreaking moment. Mankind, her family, just everything she loved, had survived.

Also the jamming had ceased. She could not transmit but at least listen to the radio. Only about two thousand ships of the enemy fleet still existed. The enemy had taken a terrible blow. More than half of his armada had been extinguished during the battle. The rest of it had now turned away from Earth and taken course out of the system.

Of course, one would follow the enemy. The attack squadrons of the space fleet had already received their starting permit. "Let the enemy taste his own drugs" the President of the Council had demanded. "We must eliminate this threat once and for ever, so therefore we will bring the war to the enemy with all the power we have."

Ann would not be part of this and was deeply disappointed. The idea of ​​avenging her ship and crew felt extremely tempting. But she knew that there would be no happy ending for her. In a few minutes, energy and oxygen of the capsule would be exhausted. That had been her contribution to victory.

At first, there were only flashes of insight, when she had discovered that the Com-Laser of the capsule was still online. She would pass close enough to the Moon to get in range. However, this would be good for nothing, because Com-lasers needed a beacon for synchronization and she did not have any. The chances that someone would randomly look into the right direction and discover the signal was astronomically low. This looked like a dead end, didn´t it?

Then she realized what she had to do and did not hesitate for a second. Immediately when she came closest to the Moon, she discharged her supply of fuel and oxygen and ignited it with a short thrust of the control nozzles. With her 200 kilometers per second, she had drawn a blazing fire trail across the Moon. She no longer needed anyone to look randomly into her direction. She wrote her position with some thousand-kilometer-long letters into the sky.

The moments that followed felt like an eternity. But then it had worked. A lunar Com-Laser synchronized, and finally she had been able to send her message. Just some seconds later she had been out of reach.

She felt endless relief. Looks like I've finally made it, she thought in a glimmer of pride. The admiral would congratulate her, she was sure.

Ann knew her time was running out, but that was no longer important. She used the last minutes to record messages to her family; also to her mother, with whom she had struggled during the last visit. She smiled as she thought of it. The reason had been so ridiculous.

The last message was for her old friend, the admiral.

"Sir, I hope that you will receive this message someday. I want you to know, that I considered it an honor to serve under your command, and more importantly, that you have always been a good friend to me. Please forgive my mistake concerning the data transmission, but I think I could fix that. Goodbye, Sir, and please knock the stuffing out of these damn aliens!"

She paused. Never give up, never surrender; that was the admiral´s motto she remembered.

"There's something else, Sir. You've always claimed that nothing is impossible. Well then, Sir. I'll rely on you! Prove it to me!"

She gave a final order into the med unit of her suit. This time she took the injection without complaint. Surprisingly, she felt soothing warmth when the suit put her into hibernation.

*** THE END ***

V.4.0  /  english  /  June 8^th, 2017