Triumph & Defeat (Shaitan Wars Book 4) Read online

  The seventh Shaitans warship’s efforts of trying to evade the incoming MKK-1 missile bore fruits somewhat, in that it wasn’t turned into a molten slag, but had many gaping holes on the impact side of the ship. It was dead in space as far as could be made out. The eighth Shaitan warship escaped unscathed. The MKK-1 missile targeting it tried valiantly and exploded in the last few milliseconds in the hope of being able to make some of its peripheral sand cloud reach its target, but was completely unsuccessful.

  “Woot! We made it! We are through, and not a scratch! And look at those Shaitan bastards! Look at their ships! They are on fire!” Lt. Berdei let out a whoop of joy in the bridge, venting some of the tension that the entire crew felt for the last hour. Just as there were celebratory noises starting to be made on the bridge of USC Ubuntu, the communications officer shouted out. “Sir we have lost all communications with the Sacramento! They are not transmitting any signal at all!”

  Lt. Berdei who had been tracking the camera of the Shaitan warship targets on his console immediately switched to the camera which each of the human ships had pointed at each other as part of the mutual observation protocol. He put the pictures of the camera on the main screen of the bridge. The camera, which by default was in the infrared spectrum showed an image of the Sacramento glowing brightly in the false colors of the infrared camera. The Sacramento had been hit!

  The Sacramento had been hit by only a few grains of sand but human ships did not have as thick an armored skin as the Shaitan warships. The impacted face of the ship had molten and the molten metal had run deeper into the interior of the ship, singeing everything that it came in contact with. The Sacramento started cooling down in the cold of space as rapidly as its hull had started heating due to the sand impact. Within a few minutes it had cooled down enough for the IR images to stop glowing and give a proper outline of what was left of the ship.

  The front half of the ship was almost gone and open to space, while the rear half of the ship looked eerily intact. The dead ship had started tumbling gently. There was no radio or laser transmission coming out of the Sacramento. No one from the Sacramento was replying to the urgent hails of the communications officer of the Ubuntu. The feeling of triumph was gone from the bridge of the Ubuntu and a pall of gloom set in its place. No one spoke on the bridge.

  After about five minutes, when it seemed obvious that no one was going to reply from the Sacramento, the communications officer gave up. Capt. Lowe decided to step in and say something to boost the morale of the crew not just on the bridge but on the entire ship. They still had to run the gauntlet of the Shaitan warship that was waiting for them further ahead on their path. They would meet up with that ship in about two hours’ time, and the crew needed to be sharp for that encounter.

  When the Ubuntu and the Sacramento had made a 90⁰ turn in different directions and split up. The two Shaitan warships waiting beyond Dante on their path had split up as well, one Shaitan warship tracking each of the human ships. The job of the Shaitan warship that had been tracking the Sacramento was over, done for them by the missiles that had been lying in wait. It was still hanging around in the general vicinity where the Sacramento’s carcass would pass, probably to get a closer inspection at the damage done and to ensure that the Sacramento was really dead. The job of the other Shaitan warship tracking the Ubuntu was not done yet, and Capt. Lowe was sure that it was getting battle ready at that moment.

  The Master of that Shaitan warship would have seen the tricks that had been employed by the humans, which had destroyed seven of their warships, while evading the ambush from the missiles by using sand missiles to kill the enemy’s sand missiles. Capt. Lowe was sure that the Master of that Shaitan warship would be ready for such tricks. The humans would not be able to fool them twice with the same trick. Humans would either have to think of new tricks, or face the enemy toe to toe.

  As Capt. Lowe was about to speak something inspirational to get the crew out of their blues, Lt. Berdei shouted, “Sir, you need to see this… on the main screen!”

  Capt. Lowe checked the display, which had the feed of the main telescope on it. It was pointed at the dead hull of the Sacramento, but not exactly at the ship itself but something floating right next to it. Something very small compared to the size of the ship.

  “What is that lieutenant? Some poor soul from the Sacramento?” Capt. Lowe asked in disbelief.

  “No sir. I don’t think so. We should not be able to see a human from this far. It is something bigger. I think I know what it is. It is the low intensity radio signal from that device that got me to point the main telescope in the Sacramento’s direction. I think it is an MKK-1 missile sir! It is broadcasting a “pick-me-up” signal.” Lt. Berdei answered.

  Human missiles were designed to be retrieved from space. There were various modes of communications possible with any missile to order it to return back to a specified co-ordinate, where the mothership could pick it up. Else if a ship could not locate the exact location of a missile in an area where it knew missiles had been left, then the mothership could broadcast a radio hail. If the radio hail had the right security codes, then the missiles would transmit back a “pick-me-up” signal back to the mothership, enabling it to locate the missile.

  If the mothership had the right codes, then it could order the missiles to return back to the ship or program a new destination for the missiles to hit. Even if one human ship had released the missiles, another human ship could take control of those missiles as long as they had the right codes. The mystery in this case was who released the MKK-1 missile when all the systems on the Sacramento looked dead. Even more mystifying was, who switched on the missile and put it on the “pick-me-up” mode.

  The captain and the XO of every ship of the fleet had the common codes to munitions of all the ships in the fleet. Capt. Lowe quickly input his code and Lt. Berdei took control of the MKK-1 missile. “Check the log of the MKK lieutenant.” Capt. Lowe ordered.

  Once Lt. Berdei opened the log, it became clear who had released the missile:

  6 confirmed survivors at the backup bridge and stowage section. Few more survivors possible in the rear section. Do not attempt rescue before we cross the Tangoes waiting for us. Deal with the Tangoes first. Use this MKK and avenge the Sacramento. One more MKK on its way – XO of the Sacramento.

  The crew and the captain read the note, looked at each other, and each could see the look of determination on the other’s face. They would avenge the Sacramento, even if it was the last thing they did.

  “Lieutenant, let me know when the other MKK is set loose in space. Let them float next to the Sacramento for the time being. I will give you programming instructions for those MKK-1s shortly. Keep your eyes on the MKKs that we just released and let me know if there is any change in status.” Capt. Lowe instructed Lt. Berdei. Captain Lowe was referring to the absolutely last three MKK-1 missiles that the Ubuntu had in its armory, which had been released almost immediately after the ship had safely evaded the sand cloud as per their original plan.

  The plan was simple, the MKK-1 would accelerate straight ahead towards the waiting Shaitan warship, while the Ubuntu would again turn its nose towards Earth and start decelerating at full throttle, trying to put as much distance as possible in the next two hours between itself and those MKK-1 missiles. The MKK-1 would try to reach the Shaitan warship and destroy it early enough so that the sand cloud of those MKK-1s do not destroy the Ubuntu itself. If the Shaitan warship released its own missiles, they would have to be in the same path as the MKK-1 missiles, because the Ubuntu was in that path from which the Shaitan missiles could not deviate.

  The MKK-1s would try to destroy those Shaitan missiles on their way by detonating one at a time. The MKK-1s had been released in a staggered manner about ten light seconds apart. Hopefully it would be enough distance for the later MKK-1s not to be destroyed by the sand cloud of the earlier MKK-1. If the Shaitan warship released two bunches of missiles, then the first two MKK-1s would try to des
troy them while the last MKK-1 would target the Shaitan warship itself. If the Shaitan warship released three bunches, then the MKK-1s would try to destroy all bunches of missiles, but the Shaitan warship will go unmolested, but by the same token the Ubuntu would also be able to get away. If the Shaitan warship released four bunches of missiles, then the Ubuntu was doomed.

  “Sir! The Tango has launched its missile, sir!” Lt. Berdei said excitedly.

  “Which Tango? Tango-2 which is shadowing us or Tango-1 that was shadowing the Sacramento?” Capt. Lowe asked for confirmation.

  “Tango-2, sir. Tango-1 has drifted too far for its missiles to reach our path in time, sir.” Lt. Berdei replied, then he quickly added. “The missile is taking a strange path sir. It is going away from our path, slightly above the plane of this system.”

  “The Master of Tango-2 is forcing us to make a choice. He can see that there are three staggered MKK-1s heading ahead of us to clear the path for us. He is forcing the MKK-1s to make a choice. The Shaitan missile is going above the path of the MKK-1 and is threatening to bypass them, and then dip back to attack the Ubuntu. We have to now choose. The MKK-1s can either track and stop that missile, or stay its course and try attacking Tango-2. In a way the Master of Tango-2 is also testing our intent. Lieutenant, let the leading MKK-1 track that missile and stop it. Let us see what the next move of the Master would be.” Capt. Lowe ordered his weapons officer.

  A minute later another shout was heard in the bridge of the Ubuntu. “Sir, Tango-2 has launched another missile! This one is going below the plane.”

  “We know this game lieutenant. Who emerges the winner may boil down to who has more of these sand missiles. Right now the Master perhaps does not know that we have no more of the MKK-1s, so let us play along. Instruct the second MKK-1 to track the second Shaitan missile.” Capt. Lowe replied.

  A minute later, the third missile was launched by Tango-2. This one went 90⁰ in direction to the previous two missiles. Lt. Berdei expected Capt. Lowe to order him to track the third missile with the last MKK-1 on the path. Instead Capt. Lowe said, “Launch a standard issue nuclear missile, program it to go at 43% thrust and let that missile track the third Shaitan missile.”

  Everyone on the bridge was taken aback by surprise. Lt. Berdei could not help saying, “but sir, a nuke has no hope of hitting that missile at this speed!”

  Capt. Lowe smiled and said, “You know that lieutenant, but the Master of Tango-2 does not know that the missile we launched is a nuke and not a sand missile. All he would see is the thruster signature of missile, which is accelerating at the same rate as our MKK-1 missiles. He would have to assume that it is another of our MKK-1 missile. He would also assume that the last MKK-1 would not deviate from its path; that this missile has the name of Tango-2 written on it. We are playing a game of chicken lieutenant. Just hope that the Master of Tango-2 blinks first, because I have a bad feeling about this. The Shaitans never do anything in odd numbers and they usually do everything in powers of two. If they have released three missiles, then it is very unlikely that they have only three. More likely they have four or eight or sixteen.”

  A minute later Lt. Berdei called out again to his captain. “Sir, looks like the Master has blinked. He has opened up his emergency thrusters and is making a run for it by moving out of our path, but not before releasing a fourth missile, which is moving positioning at 90⁰ to the rest of the missiles. Now we have a diamond shaped formation of missiles around our path sir.”

  “Keep up the deception. Let the last MKK-1 track Tango-2 and you launch another nuke with the same 43% thrust to track the fourth Shaitan missile.” Capt. Lowe ordered and then quickly connected to Elvis.

  “Sir, looks like our worst fear has come true. We don’t have enough MKKs to stop all their missiles.” Capt. Lowe said morosely. He hadn’t let his emotions show to his crew, but he could be free with his superior officer.

  “Assuming all the missiles launched by Tango-2 are sand missiles. Remember, you are not the only one who can play the deception game. The Master of Tango-2 has an equal prerogative to do the same.” Elvis said with a resigned smile.

  “If that is so, which are the fake ones and which are real, sir?” Capt. Lowe asked.

  “We are playing Russian roulette out here, Ronnie. I don’t have any more answers than you.” Elvis replied.

  “Sir, what are your orders then, sir? Do we stop tracking Tango-2 with the last MKK-1 and use it to stop one of the missiles and somehow try to evade the fourth one? I am not sure how much better chance it would give us at survival, but it would let Tango-2 go scot free.” Capt. Lowe asked Elvis.

  “I no longer have a fleet to command, and this is not a flag decision. It is a decision of the survival of your ship. It is the right and the responsibility of the captain and only the captain to make such a decision. I trust your judgment, you are capable and it is an honor to have served with you. I no longer have an order or even a word of advice to give you, but I would remind you of the words of wisdom that James had said; about why we are here and the risks we signed up for. Use that as your guiding principle, and I am sure you will do alright.” Elvis replied.

  Capt. Lowe nodded and went into deep thought for a few moments. Then he looked up and with a renewed determination and said out loudly. “Helmsman, stop our deceleration immediately. Lt. Berdei, stop the acceleration of the first two MKK-1 missiles towards their targets as well. We will not increase any more distance between us and those MKK-1 missiles. If necessary, we will go closer to those MKK-1 missiles to force those four Shaitan missiles to come closer together in order to be able to target us. We will force those four Shaitan missiles to come so close that we can target them with the first two MKK-1 missiles.

  “Lt. Berdei, also make sure that the last MKK-1 missile actively tracks Tango-2. This is what we are here for, to kill Shaitan warships. That is our primary purpose. Do not let Tango-2 escape unscathed. If we are to die here, we will make sure that they pay the price… and once you are finished with those calculations Lt. Berdei, here is what I want you to program on those two MKK-1 missiles floating near the Sacramento.” Capt. Lowe gave the needed instructions to his weapons officer and then sank back into his chair. He was amazed at how relaxed he had become in the last few minutes, after he had decided his course of action.

  Since the Sacramento was dead, it had not decelerated and hence reached the point of crossing with the two Tangoes waiting for them earlier. The fact that the Sacramento was so apparently dead, actually saved the lives of the few surviving crew members, because Tango-1 made no attempt at wasting precious munition on a ship that was clearly dead. The Master of Tango-1 had been instructed by the Warmaster to closely record the kind of damage the newly developed sand missiles of the Shaitans caused on the Ka-Baal ships. So Tango-1 had positioned itself just a few kilometers from where the dead hull of the Sacramento would pass it by. The two MKK-1 missile floating near the Sacramento needed just 170 seconds of full thrust to cross those few kilometers at full thrust to reach Tango-1. The Master of Tango-1 hardly got enough time realize what had happened; that two missiles had come alive from an apparently dead ship and hit his ship to oblivion.

  The XO of the Sacramento had been able to get a few of the sensors on his backup bridge working on emergency backup power which would last a few hours. It would be enough for all the survivors to last till they were rescued by the Ubuntu, if that ship made it past Tango-2. He watched with satisfaction as he saw on those backup sensors the glowing image of Tango-1 as it melted into slag. His ship and his crew were avenged. The joy was multiplied further when his scope detected the glowing image of Tango-2 as it similarly turned into slag.

  It was the picture of the third ship that turned into slag, which broke their heart: it was the Ubuntu. Bravely, as it may have fought, the Ubuntu could not destroy all the four Shaitan sand missiles and evade the sand cloud. If ploughed straight into a thick cloud of sand and died a dramatic death. The surviving crew members of
the Sacramento were envious of the dead on the Ubuntu, for they had died quickly; a luxury that the surviving crew members of the Sacramento would not have they would die a slow asphyxiating death, suffering for hours.

  Only after the first Heretic invasion on Dante, when the records of the first battle of Beta Shaitan were captured, would the humans come to know why the Warmaster was willing to risk so many Shaitan warships to destroy just two human ships. All the ships deployed on patrol to stop the human ships were the ones which had been part of the Hadean fleet, but had been damaged to some extent. Most of them were repaired and capable of only local patrol, not for deep space travel. So those ships would not be used for an invasion of Earth in any case. To that extent the Warmaster was not risking his invasion force.

  The sacrifice of the Ubuntu and the Sacramento in destroying nine Shaitan warships was not completely in vain because a decade later in the second battle of Beta Shaitan, there would be nine less Shaitan warships for the humans to fight, which certainly saved human lives. At the high cost of sacrifice of the two ships, humans purchased the knowledge about the way the Shaitans had started adapting and learning from human tactics. The disaster ensured that humans did not repeat a high speed attack again on any of the Shaitan systems.

  The Ubuntu and the Sacramento had been unlucky because the Shaitan lighthouse detection system had been operational for just a few months prior to their arrival into the beta Shaitan system, and the first lot sand missiles that had been constructed on one of the moons of Beta Shaitan had been delivered just three weeks prior to their arrival. That was the reason there had been so few of those missiles available to the Shaitans.

  Chapter XXX

  The Heretics