Maybe-Johnson Bridge

Posted JAN 2010 NEW!

Admiral Cook held to his command chair as the explosion nearly threw him to the deck.

‘Put some distance between us!’ he hollered to his navigation officer. ‘She can’t take the stress!’

His Bridge was a mess. Four fires had erupted from the data consoles, and the bulkheads were beginning to crack from the concussive force of the Hiver missiles.

For seven hours he’d unloaded bombardments of well coordinated attacks while out-flanking the enemy. He’d destroyed nine of their ships. –But the cost was high. Six of his battleships were now hulks of wreckage floating in orbit around the planet. He could see the life-blood leak from them as they sparked and fumed small clouds of combustible material into cold space. Dozens of corpses floated in silence. –Frozen in grotesque shapes from the unforgiving coldness. The sight of his men dying weighed heavy on him. Only his anger and hatred for the Hiver’s kept him battling on.

The Hiver’s no longer sought to get past them. The moment they divided their forces, the remaining ships attacked with everything at their disposal.

His Wing of Attack Pods fought bravely. Only the combined efforts of their attack patterns could get enough ordinance through their shields to make any difference. Twice his battered squadrons rotated through the hangars to resupply and refuel. Five Pods and fifty crewmen were lost when a Hiver missile struck the open hangar door with unbelievable luck. The explosion destroyed the Pods immediately with the pilots still inside. The secondary explosions ripped through the pressure walls killing every crewman dutifully waiting for the Hangar to pressurize. Thankfully the emergency blast walls protected the interior of the ship.

He quickly scanned his Bridge. His crew looked fatigued. But he was proud of them. They fought with a tenacity any Commander would be proud of. They all knew what was at stake. This was the line. This battle determined humanity’s future and he was not going to let them down.

He rubbed the rough bristles on his chin. It was time to change tactics.

‘All ships, this is Admiral Cook. Lay in a course for the moon at maximum thrust. Keep a wary eye on our guests. I want to keep some distance between us, but I also want them to follow. We won’t survive another nine hours, so we’re going to use the moon to shield our ships and at the same time push ourselves closer within firing range of the surface-to-air cannons. Recall all you Attack Pods. Have them refuel and rearm in the Hangars as we adjust our line. Moon base has no defenses so we’ll set an orbit that keeps them out of range of the Hivers ships. –Admiral Cook, out.’

He watched the entire Wing break off their attack patterns and head for the ships. Over half were missing. He counted forty on his comm screen.

So many dead, he thought. The best and the brightest Earth Fleet had to offer. –Giving everything to protect their home. He felt guilty for being alive. He knew his thoughts were irrational. This was the nature of war. Casualties were measured in numbers and then weighed to see if the battle was cost effective. It was a necessary calculation as men, supplies, and equipment determined the outcome of battles.

It didn’t make it any easier.

‘Admiral, we have an urgent call from Captain Wilkes!’ his comm officer bellowed.

‘Patch it.’

‘We’ll slow down for you. What-

‘No Sir. We both know without the moon as a shield what’s left our ships won’t survive.’

‘Sir,’ his navigational officer interjected, ‘they’re slowing down and powering down their ship. The Hiver’s will be on them in seconds.’

Admiral Cook wanted to scream in frustration, but knew above all else, he had to remain strong for his men. They depended on his level calmness.

‘We’ll buy you some time, Admiral,’ Captain Wilkes continued. His visual link wavered and went to static. The Hivers were already attacking like vicious dogs. ‘Overload- our engi- take wit-

The comms channel went dead. The communications officer silently switched to aft view. All seven ships were unleashing on them. Small fires erupted from her hull. –Then a blinding explosion as the ship tore itself to shreds. A Hiver ship that was too close exploded with it. Typically cheers would follow the destruction of an enemy ship, but this time there was only silence.

Sir,’ his tactical officer said softly, ‘that was an internal explosion. They blew up the ship.’

‘I know. –I know.’