Maxima Ch. 02

Tom emptied the contents of his glass, as he savored the burning sensation he felt in his throat after swallowing the drink. He contemplated on how life was going to be in the coming weeks. He knew that he needed to clear his thoughts on all that happened during the fight. He recalled on how he was saved by vice admiral Zara's battleship...

"Sir, the admiral has entered hyper-warp and they are on their out of the system, plotting course for exiting the system." Informed his navigator Paul. Suddenly there was a loud creek from below the bridge.

"What the hell happened?" asked Tom already fearing for the worst.

"Sir the shields are down and we have taken a small amount of damage at the bottom decks." Replied his chief engineer Tanya.

"Exiting the engagement sir" replied Paul as he attempted to evade incoming fire from the bixan. Although his attempts were considered great in naval standards, he couldn't be able to escape all of the barrages and they began hitting home causing considerable damage to his ship the Hercules, a heavy classed cruiser. As he saw how his escorts were being obliterated, he knew this was the end.

"Don't pull out of the fight Paul, just do your best to hold them until the end. We can't allow them to chase the admiral's fleet." Tom asked his navigator. He knew that he couldn't order them to throw their lives away but he could ask them to. "Ladies and gentlemen, it's time to make our last stand here!" Tom intoned as the lights were cutoff and the emergency generator came to life to power the bridge with its crimson red lights. "What's the status of the ship?" asked Tom as he cringed as the alarms on the bridge began to ring. "Can you also silent this alarms Tanya?"

"Already on it sir, and hopefully it can remain like that for a little while," she replied as silence returned to the bridge, apart from the beeping sounds coming from Tanya's console.

"Sir, the Hamack has been destroyed, we are on our own against their 9 heavy cruisers. What should we do?" asked a worried Paul.

"Keep them at arm's length, we need to buy more time." Tom replied as he tried to steady himself from falling after another explosion rocked the Hercules.

"Negative sir" she answered while still clicking on her monitor. "Three of our star port engines have been destroyed or damaged and we've got only one semi-functional engine. We are sitting ducks out here" she finished.

SHIT! What am I going to do, Tom thought to himself as he turned to face Tanya. As he watched her trying to keep the ship's systems online, a crazy thought manifested its self to him. He knew that the plan wouldn't save them but it will cause considerable damage and chaos to his enemies.

"Tanya I want you to power off all of our weapons and start channeling more power to the fusion reactor and try to hail them." He was quite amazed when she didn't object to his crazy idea, possibly she knew that there was any chance of them coming out alive from this. After powering off the weapons, the bixan halted their attack and began preparing for boarding action.

"Sir" Paul called on to him excitedly, "back up is on the way!"

"When will they get here?" asked Tom as he stood and prepared to communicate with the opposing forces leader.

"Approximately a minute, give or take. All you need is to stall for a little while before the calvary arrives." Paul answered as he kept an eye on the system map while making evasive maneuvers.

Easier said than done, Tom thought to himself. "Ohh Tanya, can you hold for a while on the fusion bomb we might be able to get away from this alive. Put me through so we may chat with the bixan."

She nodded in compliance as she initiated the final part of his command. "You are through." She informed him. All that he needed to do was to stall them for a few seconds until help arrived. He watched as his monitor change from the Confederation's golden eagle was replaced by a hideous creatures face. How can they stand being so ugly?, he thought to himself. The bixan commander's eyes bore into him and he congratulated himself from not flinching.

"I am Lord Gruhmba , Terran cruiser prepare to be boarded or be destroyed!" intoned the bixan commander. So much for buying time Tom mused.

"I hope that you will treat us with a bit of dignity" Tom tried to negotiate.

"Your accommodations shall be decided by the emperor" scoffed Lord Gruhmba. Tom felt a slight vibration as the two vessel joined at the airlocks.

"OPEN UP YOUR AIRLOCK OR I WILL KILL YOU ALL" roared Lord Gruhmba displaying his razor like teeth for the delay. Tom took a glance at Paul who was counting down the arrival of the backup.

5, 4, 3, 2, 1 ...

A couple of things happened simultaneously, their was a small explosion at the airlocks which killed the bixan soldiers who were about to board his ship, there was a bright blue glow as a battleship appeared from hyper-warp and began its assault on the clustered bixan cruisers. Tanya activated all weapons while also powering up the shields which had generated a little bit. Paul performed a perfect dive, which brought his ship's flank with the underbelly of the Graphtar which was unshielded and open to attacks.

Tom smirked at the bewildered bixan Lord, "Sorry I couldn't join you for lunch, but I've a gift for you, light them up lieutenant!". Immediately the Hercules opened up fire at point blank range with its full broadside at the unshielded target causing great damage. Before the bixan could be able to react, his bridge was casted into darkness and an artillery round found its way to the reactor which caused a massive explosion destroying the ship completely.

The shock wave was enough to cause power shortages at the Hercules and it was casted into darkness after being caught in the shockwave...

Tom was pulled from his thoughts by his XO commander Jason White as he joined him at his booth. "No need to drink yourself to death man, you are 34 and that means you are still young could join a private security agency or you could retire for you are rich." Advised Jason as he placed his order with the waitress.

"What are you talking about?" asked Tom as he tried to figure out what his best friend was saying.

"Tom, I was recently promoted to be the captain of the Hercules to replace you" confirmed Jason. Tom just stood up and approached Jason who also stood with uncertainty. Before Jason could even protest Tom engulfed him in a man hug and whispered his congratulations.

To say that Jason was stunned would have been an understatement, he had been expecting to be lashed out at by him. As they retook their seats, Tom leaned towards Jason and with a conspiratorial voice whispered, "Don't feel bad for me mate, I too was promoted to the rank of rear admiral yesterday."

Jason reacted by placing his hand on Tom's forehead and feeling for any signs of a fever

That might have infected his friend. "What are you doing?" Tom asked as he smacked Jason's hand away from his face which earned him a giggle from the waitress.

"Checking if you are OK because that is impossible. To be a member of the Admiralty family you need to be over the age of 40 years and be married." Replied Jason as he drank from his glass. Tom smirked as he opened his breast pocket and removed his new insignia and placed it in front of Jason who almost became pale. He quickly swallowed his drink and stood up and saluted respectively. Tom just laughed at the reaction that he got from him.

"No need to salute me when we are just the two of us Jason, you know how I am and just take a seat ." Instructed Tom as he calmed him down.

As they were continuing to talk, they heard a quick rise in noise levels and turned to see what was going on. As the image of the fleet admiral was shown as he stood on the podium . Tom dragged the image of the fleet admiral from the huge screen and placed it on a nearby window.

"Loyal citizens of the Terran confederation," began the fleet admiral. "from yesterday at 1700 earth hours, we entered into war with the bixan empire who launched an unprovoked attack at one of our border forces and wiped all of it leaving behind only a single vessel. All merchant and tourist vessels have been banned from accessing the area that consists of the border which will be heavily patrolled by the military. We don't want any civilians to be seen any where near this area because of a possible invasion. Anyone who tries to pass shall be responsible for their own safety. We shall update you on any further details that may arise, fleet admiral Stones over and out."