The Trivaxian’s on their ships didn’t even have the chance to realize that their ships had just drawn first blood when the invader missiles reached them. Trivaxian ships had no point defense and missiles flew effortlessly towards them. The missiles were programed to attack the closest ships and as the Trivaxian ships shot around the moon going outside of the range of the invading fleet, they struck. Five ships disappeared in a blinding flash of white fire that lasted a mere moment, eight hundred lives gone in an instant, as fifty missiles struck each ship. Then the remaining two hundred and fifty missiles sped towards new targets of opportunity. Four more ships ended as the remaining missiles slammed into their hulls.
Out of twelve Trivaxian ships only three remained, and soon enough their course led them back behind the moon, and out of the invaders sight.
Quvor regained consciousness slowly, his mind fuzzy and every part of his body hurting. Finally he came around far enough to look at his monitor. He knew one thing, he was alive. The question was whether their attack was successful. He knew that it was unlikely that they managed to inflict much if any damaged to the invaders, but he couldn’t help but hope.
He looked at the monitor and felt a moment of elation as he saw his computer report that they had destroyed one of the invading ships. But then he saw the state of his own ships. He had lost nine ships, traded the lives of their crews for one enemy ship. And it didn’t even matter, the invader fleet was so big that one less ship meant nothing for them.
His goal was to try and stall them, but he doubted that he even achieved that much. He knew that now he had no chance of beating the invaders to Trivax, his world will be undefended. Not that his ships could contribute much.
A flash of red and a warning sound drew Quvor’s eyes back to the monitor. Ten invader ships were speeding toward his remaining ships.
Ten hours later Quvor’s remaining ships were still alive. Not because of any brilliant tactic on his part, no, they lived only because the invaders wanted them to. The ten ships had been pursuing them at the same pace that Quvor’s ships were running, slowly herding them back towards Trivax. The ten ships could have blown them to bits at any moment, and Quvor wondered if they felt some kind of perverse satisfaction watching his ships try to run away while there was no chance of them succeeding. The only reason Quvor didn’t order a suicide run on the ten ships was because he knew that help was coming, he only hoped that it came before the invaders grew bored of playing games with him.
The rest of the invader ships were now in high Trivax orbit, their bigger ships were moving around the planet destroying satellites and stations, and bombarding the ground, while the some of their mid and smaller sized ships were entering the atmosphere on their way to the ground.
Every minute that passed, thousands of his people were dying on Quvor’s home world, and there was nothing that he could do to help them.
Trans-lane to Trivax system – Empire Exploration Ship Monarch
Johanna glanced at the counter on the big holo in the middle of her ships Command Center. Ten more minutes until her fleet arrives in Trivax system. She felt nauseated, she was taking her ships to battle for the first time since the battle with the Ra’a’zani. The nausea was only worse because she was unaware of the events in Trivaxians system since the moment her fleet entered trans-space. There was no way for her fleet to communicate with anyone outside of it. Each time the counter ticked off one more minute, she felt a stab through her stomach. She wasn’t sure if she could do this, last time she lost so many people under her command and watched the majority of the human race die on Earth. And now once more she was responsible for the wellbeing of a world. She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. What she felt wasn’t important at all, the Trivaxians were. They needed her, and she would not fail them.
Finally the counter reached zero, and her Navigation Handler announced. “Exiting the trans-lane now!”
The moment her fleet exited the vortex from trans-space, her ships computers pinged the monitoring drone in the system, with it sending them all the sensory data. Then as per Johanna’s prior instruction all their sensors went active, painting a real time state of the system on her holo. Johanna cringed as she saw the fleet sixty one of the alien ships already in orbit of Trivax, with five ships down on the planet. Ten ships were still at Rofvax the fifth planet of the system, while another ten were pursuing three Trivaxian ships.
Immediately she saw that they were just playing with them, they were moving far slower than what they were capable of. Johanna’s fleet was at the incoming trans-station that was in the planets current orbits located between Trivax and Rofvax, closer to Trivax. Johanna swiped her hand across her command board, sending already formulated orders to her ships. She had several sets of orders prepared depending on the situation in the system.
As soon as her orders were received and acknowledged, she gave the order to her Communications Handler to send out a wideband message prepared for the invaders, and her fleet split off. The dreadnought Salahuddin alongside two light cruisers Kiriev and Seta, one heavy cruiser – Jun, and the battleship Oures set a course towards Rofvax. The rest quickly accelerated to full speed towards the Trivax, their course leading them straight at the ten ships pursuing the surviving Trivaxian ships.
“We are detecting more ships Commander!” An officer at the scanning station yelled out. Quvor swiveled in his chair and turned towards her.
“Show me!”
The monitors on his chair suddenly showed new ships, speeding towards him at unimaginable speeds. Quvor gasped when his computers calculated the numbers, the ships would reach Trivax in a fraction of time it took the invaders. Help has arrived.
“Commander we are receiving a wideband communication in the open from the new ships!”
“For us?”
“I don’t think so Commander, they are broadcasting it in both our protocols and their own.”
Quvor nervously crossed his lower arms at his stomach, the invaders already had Trivaxian protocols, and could most likely understand the language.
“Play it.” Quvor said.
“Attention invading ships, this system is under the protection of the Empire. Disengage your warships, power down your weapons and drives, and surrender. You have my word that you will be treated fairly, refuse and you will die. Fleet Commander Johanna Stern of the Empire, end.”
Quvor’s ears twitched, he could feel the rage in that voice, and he had no doubt that she meant every word. But his ship had detected only forty two ships, against twice as many. He wasn’t sure if they could win. But then again if their speed was any indication of the level of technology that the Empire possessed, the invaders’ numbers might not be an advantage at all.
Only twenty five of the ships speeding towards Trivax were warships, the rest were support ships for the fleet, but that meant nothing. The invaders didn’t respond, but the ten ships that had pursued the Trivaxian ships had fallen back and turned back towards Trivax. Johanna waited until those ten ships were well inside her ships range, and then when the invaders still refused to respond, she decided to make a demonstration. The leading ships of her formation were her ten frigates, ships that weren’t really designed for warfare, they were explorers.