Creation's Guardian Ch. 13B

He wanted his first ship; the flagship of the Federation to be so imposing that it would instantly strike fear into the hearts of anyone that opposed him. Working together with Cailin, and Athena they came up with a design that met all of Bob's requirements. He called it a battle carrier, a deadly combination of a huge battleship and a fighter carrier.

Not only would she be the biggest starship ever created, measuring just over ten miles long and seven miles wide with thirty five decks; she would also be the fastest starship in existence. On her exterior upper and lower decks, she would carry six turrets fore and aft each with four independently targeted high powered triple beam lasers, and a hundred missile silos, each holding a warp capable, long range, target seeking missile with a special particle warhead that could turn anything they hit into dust. The next upper and lower deck contained end to end proton cannons while the next ones were filled stem to stern with Gatling lasers. When they were all firing, they created a wall of destruction that nothing could penetrate from two light years away from the main hull.

Deck four contained a combined bridge with firing and targeting controls, a combat information center, a science information station, communications, and helm and navigation controls along with engine and speed controls, and an engineering station. The rest of the deck was reserved for expanding the bridge along with a galley, a briefing room, and quarters for the command crew. There were several galleys on each deck for feeding everyone and most of the rest of the ship was taken up by the two thousand specially designed fighters that could provide close ground support for troops. As well as attacking other starships along with the quarters for pilots and maintenance crews. The only exception was deck thirty three where the engineers and engineering section itself was housed. There were four separate ION based power cores in the engineering section, one for general ship wide use, another for shields. A third power core exclusively for weapons and a fourth to power the massive engines. Each was fully capable of powering the entire ship by itself; but there was still a lot of untapped information out there in the time space channel, so Bob wanted all that extra power in case he decided to add additional weapons down the line. One thing he had done right after building his starship was to lock the T/S channels that contained all the ancient knowledge, so that only he and his trusted ladies had access to it.

On her stern were three massive Trans warp engines that could send her anywhere in the universe within minutes. She also had two warp engines for maneuvering near solar systems and two auxiliary engines for establishing orbit around a planet. Add to all that, the inertia dampers, and thousands of retro thrusters and she could pivot on her heel faster than a small scout ship without a single crew member noticing it. Even her sensor array was so sophisticated she could pick up and identify a single life form reading from over fifty light-years away. Once she was completed using wish magic, Bob placed her in high orbit around Neuveia and had Aphrodite christen her the N.F.S. Cassandra's Vengeance. Her final crew compliment would be just over thirty six thousand officers and crew members.

Bob had Cailin add another application form to the Neuveian government's website then had Stacy make an announcement and put out a Federation wide call for volunteers. Cailin quickly sorted through the more than ten million applications; separating them into three groups. The first group was the best and the brightest. They were composed mainly of personnel from the various space agencies that existed on old Earth before Bob made the changes. As soon as their applications were verified and confirmed they would be transported directly to their living quarters aboard the Cassandra's Vengeance. Once there, they would instantly know everything they needed to know about the ship and its operational capabilities.

The second group was notified that they had been selected to be trained as officers and crew members of additional ships yet to be built. If they accepted, they would have to report to a space academy in orbit around Cailin and operated by Atlantian personnel. The third group was told that all slots were filled and that they would be notified if an opening became available. That was just Cailin's way of politely rejecting them.

Within minutes of the last crew member boarding, Bob, Cassandra, Cailin, Kadir, Selena, and Asimah appeared on the bridge. They already knew all there was to know about the Cassandra's Vengeance. So everything went smoothly when he assigned them their duty station. He made Cassandra his executive officer. Kadir was at the science station. He put Cailin at weapons and tactical because she could directly interface with the entire ship and could instantly switch to any bridge function as needed. Selena and Asimah were at navigation and helm respectfully. They were only planning on a ten day shakedown cruise so Bob had no worries leaving Aphrodite in overall command of Neuveia with Athena as her exec. He looked over at Kadir. "Report Science Officer."

"All boards are green. We're good to go whenever you are, Master."

Bob tapped a button on his seat armrest. "Okay people. We'll be leaving orbit in a minute or so for what should be a routine ten day shakedown cruise. You all know your jobs. Monitor your stations, and do a level three diagnostic on all fighter craft. Then do a full preflight check on each as well. If anyone notices anything that seems out of specs anywhere, notify the bridge immediately." He turned to Asimah. "Take us out, auxiliary power only. Selena let me know when we've cleared Nueveia's gravity well."

A short time later Selena said, "We'll be clearing the gravity well in ninety seconds, Master."

"Okay hold position here." He looked over at Kadir. "Damn that's way too long. We won't be able to respond quickly enough in a real emergency. Can we place the transwarp beacons in high orbit around each planets moon instead?"

"We could but there'd be some minor turbulence when we popped out. It would last about ten seconds" Kadir replied.

Cailin spoke. "Not necessarily, Kadir. If we increased the inertia dampening field by five percent just before we dropped out of transwarp all we'd feel would be a two percent drop in gravity for those ten seconds. Maybe even less if we automated it to return to normal."

Kadir giggled. "You should've asked Cailin, Master. She's a hell of a lot better at that stuff than I am. But she's absolutely right."

"Okay, Kadir, place all the beacons in high orbits. Cailin, automate the whole process so that it can be done by a touch of a button at your console. Selena, plot a course for the Naru asteroid belt. Asimah, run us at warp nine point nine for the first hour, then drop us down to cruising speed of warp six the rest of the way."

They were four days into their shakedown cruise. It was mid afternoon shipboard time. Everything was working exactly as expected. Suddenly Cailin spun in her seat. "Master, I'm receiving a distress call. It's from Rhea! Neuveia is under aerial bombardment from more than a dozen starships. Tranquility city is gone and so are its suburbs. They're hitting the temples now. Aphrodite has double shields up outside your castle and Rhea has the same inside."

"Helm, one hundred eighty degrees about, engage transwarp for Neuveia now!" Three seconds later they were over Nueveia's moon. Bob hit his intercom. "Launch all fighters this is not a drill! Cailin open fire as soon as you acquire targets"

Instantly Cailin's eyes appeared unfocused as she interfaced with the ship's fire control and targeting systems. Because Cassandra's Vengeance was so close to the enemy starships Cailin was able to include the proton cannons and Gatling lasers to her heavy triple beam laser barrages. She knew they were way to close for the missiles to be of any use so she simply ignored them. Her only problem was avoiding the thousands of heavy fighters that Bob had ordered launched.

The enemy starships were being hit with so much firepower between all the fighters and the shipboard weapons that within minutes the only operational starship left in orbit around Neuveia was Cassandra's Vengeance. All that remained of the enemy fleet were lifeless wrecks that were nearly pounded into rubble.

"Aphrodite, is everyone down there all right down there?"

Everyone here at the castle is okay, Master. Right now we're in the middle of a major battle though. At least one of those ships carried drop ships. We're surrounded by about five thousand of whatever the fuck they are. They can't bust through our shields. But that doesn't stop them from trying."

"Kadir locate the three highest ranking shitheads. Disarm them and toss them in our brig. Selena, as soon as Kadir has the three prisoners, kill every last one of those motherfuckers still on the ground!" Ten seconds later both Kadir and Selena said, "it's done, Master."

"Aphrodite, you should be in the clear now. Selena ended all those assholes for you. All of you can drop your shields now and go back to taking care of our children. I'll be there in a little while. I have to check on Tranquility and see how bad things there are."

"I'm so sorry, Master. Everything happened so fast. They came out of nowhere and just started bombarding everything without any warning at all. We barely had time to get our shields up before they started hitting us. I wanted to send the Titanides to help protect Tranquility, but Rhea said it was already too late and that we'd need both sets of shields to protect the babies. She was right; they hit us with hundreds of missiles. When that didn't break our shields; they sent the drop ships with thousands of troops. Thank you for getting here so fast. Our shields were holding but it was only a matter of time before we got too exhausted to keep up with the level of energy we were burning." Aphrodite gagged then continued, "wow! I thought these fuckers really smelled bad when they were alive. But now that they're all dead the stink is horrible! I've got to get inside before I vomit all over the place!"

"Don't worry, Sweet Cheeks. I realize that you did what you had to do to protect our children. I'm grateful that it worked and I'm very proud of all of you for a job well done. I'll have that mess cleaned up for you. I don't want our babies getting sick from that stink. It's all over now, so just relax and see to the twins. I'll be with you as soon as I can."

"Kadir clean up the mess around our castle. Aphrodite says the smell is making her sick. Cailin, bring Tranquility up on the forward viewscreen then scan for any life signs." One look at the devastation was more than enough to tell Bob that Cailin's scan was useless. Where Tranquility and its suburb once stood proudly; there was nothing but rubble in its place. Still he hoped there might be a few survivors.

Cailin swiveled in her seat with tears streaming down her cheeks. "I'm so sorry, Master. I've scanned the whole planet just to be sure. But the only lifesigns are inside our castle. Everyone else is gone."

Bob felt a surge of rage as his worst fears were confirmed. He felt Cassandra's reassuring hand on his shoulder as he struggled to contain it. "It's okay to be angry, My Love. I'm pissed too. But we're at war with an unknown enemy now. So I really need you to keep it under control."

Bob took a few deep breaths forcing himself to bury his rage down deep. He knew Cassandra was right. He had to focus on the here and now. There would be plenty of time for rage and grief later. He gave Cassandra a soft kiss. "Thank you, Sweetie. You're right; this isn't the time to let my emotions get the best of me. Cailin, recall all our fighters. Have them refueled, rearmed, and ready to go at a moment's notice. Let me know when they're all aboard."

A few minutes later Cailin reported, "All fighters have returned home, Master. No reported losses, damage, or injuries."

"That's good news, Cailin, thank you." Bob tapped his intercom button. "Attention all decks. We are now at DEFCON ONE. An unknown enemy has perpetrated a vicious and unprovoked attack on Tranquility and its suburbs. It's my sad duty to report that there are no survivors. For those of you that had family or friends there; let me assure you; I share your grief. I've lost family, friends, and even unborn children in this despicable and unwarranted attack. I promise you that the enemy will not remain unknown for very long. I also promise the retribution will be swift and furious. Each one of you will become an essential part of our vengeance. There will be no mercy, or quarter given."

Cassandra knelt in front of Bob taking his hands in hers and locking her tear filled eyes with his. "I hesitate to tell you this, Master. But you need to know. Amanda was holding a special council meeting on inter-planetary security when the presidential mansion was hit. ALL of the Atlantians were present for it. I'm so sorry, Master. They're gone; all of them."

Bob choked back a sob as he answered. "It's okay, Sweetie I pretty much figured that. I was the one who okayed the meeting in the first place. I was an idiot. I violated my own security protocols by letting them all meet in the same place at the same time. It was more like a family get together to celebrate the launch of our first starship than an actual planning meeting. But they hadn't had time to enjoy each other's company in months. I didn't see any harm in letting them blow off some steam for a change."

Cassandra squeezed Bob's hands as she shook her head. "It's not your fault, Master. There's no way you could've known. They were all sisters under the skin. They loved each other, and they needed time together once in a while. You saw that, and recognized it for what it was. You were only giving them what they really needed. I know it turned out badly, but you aren't the one to blame for that. Put the blame where it belongs: On the assholes behind the planetary bombardment of a city full of helpless civilians."

"My head says you're right, but my heart says I should've done better, Sweetie." Bob pulled Cassandra to her feet as he stood "Enough of this self-doubt and loathing. I'm not accomplishing anything sitting here second guessing myself, Time to head for the brig and find out what I can from those three shitheads before I kill them and dispose of their bodies."

Just as Bob was getting ready to head for the brig, Cailin said, "Master, Lyssa is hailing you on secured channel seven."

Bob sat and replied, "Open the channel and put her on the forward viewscreen, Cailin."

As soon as she appeared on screen Lyssa said, "Bob, thank heavens! Lain picked up Rhea's distress call about twenty minutes ago. Then there was some wild chatter that sounded like it was coming from fighters. We heard Cailin recalling them a few minutes ago. Is everything all right? I have three regiments of Royal Marines and a full brigade of Atlantian Special Forces on transports ready to go if you need them."

"No, everything's not okay, Lyssa. In fact it's all one big fucking mess." Bob explained almost everything that happened leaving out the part his ship played then said, "I don't know who, or what I'm up against, Lyssa. But when I find them, I'm gonna tear them apart. Having ground troops on hand damn sure couldn't hurt. Also, if you have any capital ships you can spare; I'd appreciate them as well. Especially if they're equipped with all the new tech I gave you."

"Okay, Bob, Jacobia needs some combat experience so I'm gonna put her in command of my fleet with my sister Sue as her exec. They'll be bringing twenty three heavy battle cruisers along with four heavy transports loaded with troops eager for action. I'll need about ten minutes to get things organized then I'll start sending them through the portal."

"Thanks, Lyssa, I really appreciate all your help. One thing though, tell your captains that when they spot a huge behemoth sitting over Neuveia, not to panic. It's just me."

Lyssa's eyes widened with surprise. "I knew you had space capable fighters. That was obvious from the chatter. But I didn't think any of your cadets had graduated from our joint academy yet. When the hell did you get a starship, and how in heaven's name are you crewing it?"

"She's christened N.F.S Cassandra's Vengeance. I started building her about a week ago though she's only been fully operational for the last four days. Her crew consists of just over thirty six thousand of the best minds in the federation. They've all been specially trained for specific areas of operation aboard ship."

"A starship that requires a crew that big must be huge! You've got my curiosity piqued, the hell with sending Sue with Jacobia. Sue can stay and act as regent. I have GOT to see this for myself! We'll be there shortly, Bob."

Cassandra laughed after Bob had Cailin close the channel. "You are such a big tease, Master. You knew Lyssa would just have to see your ship for herself. That's why you waited until the last minute to tell her about it."

"Okay, you caught me," Bob chuckled then continued, "Lyssa and Jacobia are two very beautiful and sexy women. Just because I can't fuck them doesn't mean I don't enjoy their company. Besides you could use the extra help cheering me up right about now," he smiled grimly.

A few minutes later, the space between Neuveia and her moon got a little crowded as battle cruisers and transports from Lyssa's fleet came popping through the portal one after another. Cailin grinned and said, Lyssa's hailing you again, Master." Cailin didn't even wait for Bob to respond, she just opened the channel.

Lyssa laughed. "Good heavens, Bob! When you build a starship, you don't fuck around. That thing's as big as a small city!"

Bob chuckled softly. "Yeah I guess she is. Why don't you and Jacobia transport over. You can join us for dinner and I'll let you in on her specs. Besides we have a few things to discuss that I don't wanna talk about even on a secured channel."

Bob had just stood when Lyssa and Jacobia appeared on the bridge. Lyssa gave Bob a hug and a soft kiss on the lips surprising the hell out of him. She stepped back taking his hands in hers and giving them a squeeze as she locked eyes with him. "I saw what they did to Tranquility. I wish my fleet had been here to stop them. You have my heartfelt condolences on your losses."

Before Bob could respond Jacobia kissed his cheek: "That goes for me too Bob, We'll help you in any way we can. Anything you need, just ask."

"Thanks you two. The truth is just the two of you being here is a big help. Seeing you both again makes me happy that you're my friends. I've actually missed you more than I'd be willing to admit," he chuckled. He pointed to a couple of chairs and said, "Have a seat. I have no clue why any of this happened yet. But after Cailin and my fighters wiped out their fleet I had Kadir snatch a few prisoners before Selena offed the rest. The three prisoners are in the brig. I was just going to interrogate them when I got your first hail."

"Let them stew awhile, Bob. You know as well as I that the longer you let them sit; the more nervous and worried they'll be. I'd like to help with the interrogations if you'll let me. I have my own reasons for being a little more than pissed off at them. There were over a thousand of my own people visiting Neuveia; not including the ambassador and her staff. There's a shit ton of wrecks floating around out there. Just how many enemy starships did you take on anyway?"