Star League - The Last Zomban

SL-TLZ Chapter 11 Unification

The Akron battleship shoots another volley of deadly energy into the Wasteland before moving off to join the other near the helpless ship. As soon as it retracts the guns and turns away, thirty small targets fly out of the asteroids from above and swarm all over it.

The Valdan ships resemble small elongated triangles with a flat bottom and pointed top, a pointed nose that cones out to house the single Valtech engine. Far superior to any engine produced, the Valdan's take pride in knowing they have the fastest engines in use today. Many call them vane.

Putting all vanity aside, they get to prove themselves today. The six man crafts streak across the battleship from different angles, firing lasers onto shields they cannot penetrate. The Akron's shoot back but the Valdans are too fast to hit. The pilots get cocky and Gal Mar, admiral of the fleet, puts them back in line before they get killed.

They attack the second ship in the same manor but the captain of that ship is experienced and orders the gunners to shoot one second before the Valdan's are in sight. The ship is clipped in the wing and crashes on the shields just before the bat wings.

The Valdan's lose three more ships before Gal Mar orders them to pull back. He feels that all their efforts are a waste of time and one thing said about them is true. Valdans hate wasting time. If not for the fact that they will all lose their lives, Gal Mar would not even be here. But, he will do his part. He will commit his forces to draw the enemy’s fire. The rest of them better get here soon to do theirs.

They regroup and return to strafe the enemy’s shields, weaving in and out of heavy laser fire. They do their job at keeping the Akron's eyes above their ship while the combined fleets move in from below. Four multilayered Akledian box ships fly bottom to bottom in the first wave and four Felline ships make up the second wave.

From a new vantage point at the bottom of the Great Open, the Watcher coordinates the attack. Jolan would rather lead the attack himself but his entire fleet says he was too important to risk losing. This is one battle where he should not lead by example. He shrugs and moves to the planning table and points out the dome they must take out.

The Valdan’s are doing remarkable work topside. He only hopes that they are distracted enough for them to get in at least one salvo of missiles. "Move in. I hope the Magorr are on time."

****
The first wave moves in from below, their noses pointed right at the Akron’s keel. As one, each ship launches five pairs of missiles into the shield surrounding bottom dome. Forty missiles detonate on the shield, none get through.

Before they realize they are under attack, the second wave flies in. The Felline launch missiles as the Akron’s line up their bottom gun turrets. Forty more missiles strike the shield and ten make it inside. The dome explodes sending flames into and along the inside of the shield until the shield finally drops. The Akron battleship is now vulnerable. The rest of the Alliance fleet moves in for the kill.

****
Simultaneously, the combined fleet of the Magorr and the Tiarran attack the other ship with deadly results. With the Valdan’s attacking them topside, the captain must have suspected an attack from below and reacted accordingly. Malak has his own gut feeling that this is a bad idea and sends the Tiarran in first. They are blown to bits.

“I knew it!” he growls and orders all Magorr ships to remain invisible and orders the second wave of bubble ships into action. The good natured Tiarran almost refuse but move in firing all weapons into the shields.

Jolan calls him. “What are you doing?”

“I’m Improvising! This captain is a warrior!”

“I hope you know what you’re doing.”

“Not really.”

"Shields are down! Repeat, shields are down!"

"Group one, move in." Jolan says over the air.

Malak sneers and rocks his head disrespectfully on his neck. Tiarran vessels launch missiles and break away fast. Magorr ships decloak and launch their own missiles to match. They have to drop their invisibility shield and reveal their location so he orders them mere feet away from the shield and just far enough away not to be hit by friendly fire. Missiles launch and detonate on the shields. Nothing happens. Gun turrets train on his ships and three are destroyed before his eyes. The fourth is damaged and speeds off, displaying sporadic engine emissions.

How can it be that not one of eighty missiles gets through the shields? This ship is an exact replica of the other one and they managed to drop the shields with just missiles. Is it possible that it has a different shield generator? He thinks it through as he prepares for another strike.

Unseen by his eyes until the last seconds, the damaged ship changes course and returns to the bat ship. It slams into the top dome and breaks up on the shields, the forward section crushes inward on itself while the rear section forces its way between the overlapped shields and crashes into the dome. Its forward momentum forces it right through to the bottom dome. The resulting explosion blows the Akron ship in two.

Malak sits in shock for a moment and shakes it off. "The shields are down! Swarm!" He growls very loud. The Akron ship suddenly explodes with a bright flash. When he opens his eyes, both pieces are gone. Malak feels cheated.

Ships appear from nearly every space between every rock and swarm all over the remaining helpless bat ship. They are surprized to learn that underneath the shields, these are just ships made of metal and metal bends and breaks, gun turrets twist and explode, starports melt. Then finally both ships explode.

Relief floods through the unified fleet. There is still one ship left, sitting in the apex of the gate…

****
The Scowl sways as it lifts off under the strain of iron core rocks magnetically attached to the hull. A buzzer sounds a warning that the ship is off balance. Jal agrees and compensates for the extra weight.

Free of the asteroid, he turns toward the red cloud and the trouble he knows will be on the other side. Hopefully they can pass through seen only as a jagged rock. He has pulled off this camouflage trick twice before. The memory of the last time from his smuggling days brings an instant smile to his face. He was hiding from his brother…

The third battleship is parked just outside the event horizon either to block the exit or to keep it open so they can get back. He moves the ship closer. So far there is no movement. He feels confident although prematurely.

A flash of light in the distance draws his attention. It nearly scares him to death. It takes him a few moments to realize there is no movement from the battleship above him. No. What he sees is the Alliance engaged in battle with the other two ships. He wishes his father luck and prays that this ship is too busy watching the fight. He opens the forward scoop and noses the drone forward. He calculates the math in his head and lines it up on sight by turning his ship. There are large explosions ahead. Please don’t move this ship. He flips two safety switches to arm the warhead. It’s all in the timing. He presses the red launch button. The rocket ignites in a stream of smoke and flies straight through the target. It gets between the shield layers, blows through the dome and out the other side. That’s for you Vicky! Jal doesn’t wait for the flames clear. This ship is not meant for battle. Single shot gun ports open up below the ship. Jal changes the polarity of the hull and lets the rocks fall into enemy fire.

He quickly veers to the left and runs for the cover of the asteroids, and directly into the path of the Varu.

Johnny giggles at the shooting star and brings it to their attention. Jal goes on the defensive. There can’t be a shooting star in an asteroid field. It must be a superheated piece of debris from the battle heading right for them. What else can go wrong today? Jal can do nothing but prepare for collision. To his surprise, it passes through the forward star port instead of shattering it and flies right into his forehead. His head snaps back and he stares open mouthed at the ceiling.

The boys are scared. James tries to keep it together and figure out what to do while Johnny screams that the Magorr shot Daddy! He becomes very anxious and frantically looks for the Magorr who killed their mother. He can't see him but he’s hiding behind one of the corners.
Jal’s body goes stiff and he stares out the view screen with a blank stare. James perks up. “Are you ok?” he asks on the verge of tears. Johnny stops crying.

His monotone voice is but a whisper. “Jesta needs help.” He runs his fingers along the console and sets new coordinates.

“Uncle Jesta is out here?” James asks, looking for his body floating in space.

Jal doesn’t answer. The Varu leaves his head, looks at James and flies into Johnny. The boy's face goes blank and then he laughs as if being tickled. The Varu leaves him happy and returns to help Jal as he turns the Scowl back into the ‘open.’

****
Zetan is alone; his men are dead yet he still moves with grace that is superior to the Akledian, who hides behind the navigation table. He inches his way forward with his gun in hand, broken plastic crunches under every footstep. He cannot mask his approach so he doesn’t try. It doesn’t matter. The Akledian is no match for him.

The report from an explosion stops him in his tracks. It is too large to be the pesky little ships. Another explosion sounds in the distance shortly after. He lifts his gun arm to check a small device attached around his wrist. His mood turns even darker. Where there is one dot there should be three.

Two of his battleships are destroyed! How can these primitive beings defeat ships of our magnitude? How could they get through the shields? His blood pressure sings and his anger flares. It's time to finish off this human!

Zetan rounds the table and aims his pistol. Instead of the Akledian, the Psyen sits with his back to the copilot's chair, with the baby resting in the crook of his left arm. In his right hand is a ball of blue magic. Before he can react, Zetan is consumed in the magic and his body frozen in place. He shakes it off and tightens the grip on his pistol. The Varu appear around the Chosen One and the Psyen who holds him. With the deaths of his soldiers still fresh in his mind, Zetan lets his pistol drop from his hand.

No sooner than the pistol hits the deck, Jesta dives into his back and knocks him off his feet. The momentum of the tackle drives the soldier into the space left of Onna's seat. “You were saying something about a mighty empire? You're two ships down and one to go."

Zetan pushes himself up on his feet so fast that Jesta knows he is in trouble. He feels a painful elbow delivered into his abdomen that knocks the air from his lungs. He falls on his back. Pieces of broken plastic dig into his skin. He is dazed and suddenly afraid. This man is much stronger than he looks.

Descending quickly on his opponent, Zetan grabs him by the collar and pants and picks him up over his head with ease. Jesta gets a nauseous feeling in the pit of his stomach from being lifted. The murderous look in Zetan's eyes makes him pause for thought; fear threatens to consume him. Zetan means to throw him so he grabs a hold of his arms.

"One ship is all I need."

****
James points out an object spinning slowly out of control. Jal’s eyes fall on the cylindrical ship and it leaves him breathless. This ship is absolutely beautiful! When the left side spins into view, he sees a small black shuttle attached to it and he feels very uneasy. It reminds him of a leech sucking the life out of a host and from what he’s seen so far, he’s not wrong at all. These vicious beings are already aboard and so is his brother. Why is he not surprised? He works the controls to match the speed and pitch of the spinning ship. That leech has got to go. He pitches the keel slightly and descends on the shuttle.

****
The strike to the ship is loud and hard. Metal tears and a sudden force of rushing wind moves through the ship. "I think you just lost your shuttle." Zetan shows a moment’s fear as the turbulent force knocks him off balance.  Jesta shifts his weight and brings him down to the deck. He tries to stomp on Zetan’s groin but the soldier quickly pushes himself away.

Zetan kicks Jesta’s legs out from under him; Jesta falls sideways into the largest console in the center-rear of the bridge. He feels his ribs crack. He tries to steady himself but his elbow smashes down on a row of smooth yellow buttons. Part of this console is a planner table; Etched into it is a large circle and etched in the center of that is a smaller circle that suddenly illuminates a yellow light. A beam of light streaks up to another circle on the ceiling above it. The beam unfolds into a three dimensional image.

Jesta covers his ribs with his hand and sinks into a nearby chair where he studies the hologram of what he believes to be directly outside the ship. What he sees shocks and moves him near tears. The Scowl is trying to dock in the same port where the shuttle was ripped from and he can’t lock on to what is left of the docking ring. He can feel his opponent approach from behind. Broken bones or not, he can’t quit now or he will die. But how can he keep fighting him? He won’t stay down!

When he sees movement in his peripheral vision, Jesta pushes himself off the console. He ignores the pain in his ribs and lifts his leg as high as he can while the chair spins around. He lands his foot solidly across the left side of his head and neck with a loud whack! Zetan staggers. Gotcha! Quick on his feet, Jesta takes the advantage, locks both hands together and slams him in the exact same spot. Zetan falls flat on his back.

As predicted, Zetan rolls over and attempts to get up. Jesta rolls his eyes and kicks him hard in the lower back; the force sends him head first into a narrow access panel. He drops on his back with all his weight. The move should have snapped his neck but Zetan doesn’t even choke. At the last second, Zetan managed to get his hands underneath him enough to save his life. Out of desperation, he pushes himself free. Jesta rolls his eyes. I can’t believe this! He quickly locks his arm around the soldier’s neck and pulls back. Zetan grabs his hand and squeezes a nerve. Jesta screams in unbelievable pain until he has no choice but to release his grip. The pain lessens; Jesta knees him in the spine again and again until he releases his hand from the vise tight grip. 

Both tiring men get clumsily to their feet. Zetan snatches a sharp piece of metal from the deck, spins and slices across his midsection. Jesta is thankful he saw it coming in time to jump back. The blade slices only through his shirt and scratches his skin. He quickly grabs his arm while still in motion and smashes against the nearest console. Zetan holds his grip on the shard. Jesta grabs his arms and tries to wrestle him to the deck but Zetan is in better condition and Jesta struggles. He keeps close to his body so he can't raise a leg and kick him.

Zetan gains the upper hand and slowly pushes him back into the holographic table in the center of the room. Holding the shard at bay, Jesta’s arm is trembling, his strength is weakening. If he makes it through this alive, he makes a promise to himself to go back into training.