Dust Bunny (Rust Bucket Universe) Read online

  "Admiral! Incoming message from Opal, sir!"

  "Switch it to my headset, sergeant," Kyle ordered. "This is Admiral Kruler, Union of Planets Navy."

  "Admiral Ray, Opalian Navy. Do you wish any assistance in capturing the ship you are facing?"

  "What kind of assistance, Admiral Ray?"

  "We have coded devices in our ships that can be used to disable them. A necessary precaution, we believed, when we built them. Now it appears a wise one. We will gladly transmit the necessary codes to disable that ship for you."

  "Yes. Please do, Admiral Ray. Out of curiosity, how come you didn't offer any assistance before now?"

  "We only just finished inventorying our recovered ships and learned its true identity. It would have done no good to offer earlier since we were unable to back up our offer then. The warship will be disabled in thirty more seconds. Good luck to you, sir," Ray replied.

  "Thank you, Admiral Ray," Kyle said. "Captain! Hold your fire. The Opalian Navy is disabling that ship electronically for us. Regardless, approach it with caution. I want as many of its crew alive as possible."

  "Yes sir."

  ***

  Dave elatedly received the news from Kyle that the Opalian-made warship was being captured intact due to assistance from Opal's navy. For the next few minutes, Dave decided to concentrate his attention on the developments concerning the single warship that Admiral Kruler's force was capturing.

  ***

  As expected, the crew aboard the warship didn't want to surrender and tried to fight back. Naval personnel boarded the disabled warship with their stingers drawn and fought with the crew, discovering quickly that they were from Serapha. The Seraphans fought with their weapons set to killing levels. Union naval personnel didn't.

  Captain Smoog of the cruiser Falcon commanded, "Surrender or we'll use our weapons on kill settings! We can already see that you're from Serapha. You're not hiding or gaining anything by fighting to the death. All Falcon personnel, set your weapons on kill. Seraphan crewmen, you have thirty seconds to surrender. Your time starts now."

  Just as the thirty seconds reached their end, some of the Seraphan crew members moved out to surrender. Someone behind them fired at them, hitting some of them in the back. Again, the fighting errupted. Only this time, the crew members from the Falcon weren't at a disadvantage. It required only a few more lost Seraphan lives to convince the remaining crewmen to surrender. Only the bridge held out. That was taken by a fierce assault. Captain King was brought out on a stretcher, badly wounded, but expected to live.

  Within minutes, Admiral Kruler communicated with Admiral Oden. In turn, Admiral Oden wasted no time in notifying Congress of the proof the Navy now had. Congress sent its message to Serapha less than an hour later.

  ***

  The Seraphan council looked at the message and talked in hushed tones. Finally, the council leader held up his hands and got everyone's attention. "I take it then that we will issue an apology to the Union to shut them up. Then we'll go ahead with Project Hades since that's all we have left now. If you're in agreement, raise a hand."

  The council leader looked around and checked to see if they were all in agreement. Only one council member didn't vote. The council leader took no further notice of that council member. That particular council member's pacifism was expected. His was the only faith that contributed no warships, naval personnel, or supplies meant for the navy's use. Otherwise, the vote was as expected.

  "Sergeant-at-arms, send out instructions for Project Hades to be activated."

  ***

  Admiral Oden turned his attention back to the battles going on at Malak as soon as the rogue warship incident was over. It needed attention, he discovered. Even though the Navy knew of two hidden Malakin naval bases, there were still others not known about that were now being called into action to cover for the heavy losses the Malakin fleet was sustaining.

  Dave made his decision. He went over to the communications section and gave the operators instructions to send out. Minutes later, two squadrons scrambled to leave the outer planets and speed to Malak where they could join the fighting. Though Dave felt it wouldn't be enough, it would have to do for the time being. Admiral Oden had to be sure that he wasn't stripping away all the Union's defenses in order to maintain the attack.

  ***

  Admiral Kruler dispatched two destroyers to accompany the captured warship and its crew to a Union planet for internment. Then he followed up on the instructions sending his squadron closer to the outer planets to take the place of squadrons that were leaving to join in the battle at Malak.

  Chapter 16

  Two Seraphan warships approaching Opal instantly triggered the Opalian Navy into action. Other ships from Opal's surface scrambled, not knowing that they were saving their own lives by doing so. The portion of the Opal fleet on station immediately headed to intercept the two Seraphan warships that streaked at high speed for Opal. As soon as they were in range, they fired at the two Seraphan warships.

  Hardly any return fire came from the two warships at first. Then multiple launchings were observed from both Seraphan warships as close to a thousand missiles appeared from internal silos. The missiles headed for the surface of Opal and not as return fire at the fleet. A solemn voice was picked up broadcasting from one of the two Seraphan warships. "Opal, you choose to live without God in a state of pestilence and misery. So be it. Here is more pestilence and misery."

  The Opalian Navy was too far away to accurately fire on the multitude of small missiles launched at their planet. Still the Opalians tried even though there were too many to destroy.

  ***

  Communications from Opal ceased shortly after most of the bombarding missiles hit the surface or exploded in the atmosphere, releasing different cargoes of death upon the people of the planet. Some exploded in major cities releasing vast quantities of nerve toxins that brought misery and quick agonizingly painful deaths to those nearby. Others exploded in the atmosphere and released different biological weapons that would make the world uninhabitable for years, perhaps decades, without major restoration. Regardless, the biological weapons would have done their work within days and long before any restoration work could be done. Nor would it be done by any of the people of the planet. They would be long dead before any reclamation could be started.

  In exchange, the two Seraphan ships were finally at peace in space. Their crews were dead from multiple hits inflicted by an enraged Opalian Navy that no longer wanted any prisoners.

  One Opalian warship descended to the surface. Its protectively-suited crew conducted tests of the atmosphere. Those tests soon verified their suspicions about what was in the missiles and they soon communicated back the test results to the orbiting fleet. Then the Opalian warship launched from the surface within an hour of landing and rejoined the fleet that orbited their now known-to-be-dying world.

  Admiral Ray of the Opalian Navy opened a safe and pulled out some sealed orders. He looked through them and then opened one. He read it silently and finally set it down. He studied the serious faces on his officers for a moment to gauge how they would react. "Operation Thunderhead is now active. Notify the fleet to form up on my ship. We will move against Serapha immediately in retaliation for this holocaust."

  ***

  "Admiral Kruler! Wake up! Serapha has destroyed Opal!"

  Kyle struggled to wake himself up. He wasn't sure, but he thought the voice said that Serapha destroyed Opal. "What, sergeant? Say that again while I'm awake."

  "Sir, Serapha hit Opal with advanced nerve toxins and viral weapons. Opal's been wiped out!"

  "The whole planet and their fleet, too?"

  "Uh, no sir. Their fleet made it into space before the attack took place. They tried to stop the Seraphan warships from launching the attack, but they failed."

  Kyle exclaimed, "Good grief, so the Opalian Navy is still intact then! Heaven help Serapha now. There's no way to stop Opal from retaliating. Public opinion won't stop them
now, even if it was against them. I'm sure it won't be after today."

  "Yes, sir, they're on their way now to Opal."

  "Go ahead on to your duties, Sergeant. I'll be on the bridge shortly. Thank you." Kyle dressed and made his way to the bridge of the Falcon. Captain Smoog was already there.

  Smoog asked, "Are we going to interfere?"

  Kyle shook his head while saying, "Not unless the Opalian Navy intends to do more than attack Serapha. Get their admiral, Ray, I believe, on communications for me. I want to find out his intentions."

  Smoog replied, "Right sir. I've already got our communications working on that. I thought you might want to talk to them."

  "Admiral Ray, I just heard the news. I'm sorry for your loss, but I still have to ask what your intentions are," Kyle said.

  "Admiral Kruler, our intentions are nothing less than the complete destruction of Serapha. We don't turn the other cheek like their 'good book' says. After that my fleet will leave and search out a new planet to settle on where we'll try to begin anew. Is that basically what you want to know?" he asked.

  "Mostly," Kyle replied. "I take it then that you have no intentions of attacking the Union in any manner then and will not object to Union warships observing your actions?"

  "Be my guest, Admiral Kruler, so long as your ships do not interfere with our revenge you are more than welcome to observe. We will, in all likelihood, make a stopover at one of your worlds to close up some of our accounts and purchase supplies to build our new world. Then we'll load up what freighters of ours we can still locate and leave peaceably. Is that acceptable?" Admiral Ray answered.

  "Very acceptable, Admiral," Kyle replied, "Captain Smoog, change course for Serapha. Make sure that we give the Opalian Navy plenty of room. We're merely going along to observe."

  ***

  Two days later, warships from the Union of Planets arrived in two locations. In the one near Malak, they went headlong and directly into battle. At the second near Serapha, they took up a position that was out of the way to observe a different battle.

  Admiral Oden watched the relayed images of the two battles. He paid little attention to the battle between Serapha and Opal at first. He already knew the outcome of that battle. He was right.

  The almost twenty warships from Serapha barely lasted ten minutes against the Opalian Navy. Opal hit hard and fast in a dense formation that permitted them to concentrate their firepower on the enemy fleet. Then one warship from Opal went in close and launched a single missile at the now defenseless world of Serapha. The missile entered the atmosphere of the lush world, popped a parachute, and drifted down slowly to land in one of Serapha's oceans. Then the missile activated once more after shedding its parachute at the surface. It dove underwater out of sight and sensing range. The next thing to happen was startling, even to Admiral Oden. It caused him to return all his attention back to that now finished battle.

  "This is Admiral Ray of the Opalian Navy to the people of Serapha. We have just launched a Thunderhead-armed missile into the bowels of your planet. You have less than one hour to say your prayers before you discover personally whether there is or isn't a god. The Thunderhead warhead will destroy your planet. It will detonate within the planet's magma setting off a shock wave that will shatter the mantle and release thousands upon thousands of volcanoes upon you at the surface. There will be no place left on Serapha where anyone can run for safety from either the quakes or the volcanoes."

  "Eliminating such monsters as yourselves who dare rain disease down and wage chemical warfare upon an entire unarmed civilian populace is the least we can do for the other people in the universe. We do this both in the memory of our own deceased families and so that no others ever have to face such evil as you represent and suffer similarly. We regret only having to destroy what is one of the most beautiful planets we know of. However, we know that if we do not stop you, other worlds will surely suffer later as ours did. It is better that one beautiful world be lost to protect countless others that your intolerant attitudes would surely later destroy."

  Then the Opalian Navy moved away from Serapha into surrounding positions almost as far out as the Union warships observing the action. In the hour that it took, there were numerous broadcasts of belief and disbelief from Serapha. Similarly, there were cries for mercy and epithets. One freighter launched from the planet's surface during that time. An Opalian warship left the Opalian formation, quickly moved in on the freighter, and destroyed it before it could make good its escape.

  Finally, the hour ended. Serapha suddenly shattered in a wavelike motion that could be seen moving around the globe at tremendous speed. Molten rock showered from cracks all over the surface of that world as it went through massive earthquakes and volcanic action that were sure to wipe out almost everything on Serapha. Communication transmissions from Serapha's surface ceased within only a few minutes after the detonation.

  ***

  Admiral Oden calmly looked at the relayed image briefly before he went over to the communications section. He immediately called Admirals Ray and Kruler. After speaking with them, he communicated with Admiral of the Navy Reason. Then Admiral Oden waited for a reply while Admiral Reason went to Congress with a proposal.

  ***

  The reply from Admiral Reason didn't take as long as Admiral Oden thought it might take. Nor did he have to notify Admirals Ray and Kruler. Admiral of the Navy Reason notified them as well.

  After that, not far from the shattered remains of Serapha, a trade took place in space between the two admirals. Eight new cruisers carrying equally new fighters soon arrived from the nearest Union world and were turned over to Admiral Ray. In return, Admiral Ray turned over several missiles armed with the Thunderhead warhead and the specifications for how to build more to Admiral Kruler.

  The two forces then departed along their own destinies with well wishes for each other. Admiral Kruler sent two cruisers carrying the precious new weapons at top speed toward Beulah.

  ***

  The ongoing battle in space near the Malakin worlds raged on. The two squadrons reinforcing the Union forces made a significant difference in the odds. Still, Oden could see that more squadrons would be needed. Dave realized that with Opal and Serapha out of the equation, he could afford to send more. Dave issued more orders for squadrons to either scramble and depart for Malak or prepare to receive the new weapons and then depart for the battle.

  ***

  "Attention all hands. Our squadron is going to participate in the battle at Malak. We are to make ready to take on board some new weapons given to us by Opal. Once those arrive, we will depart at full FTL speed, even though we're not in clear space. All ships will launch after loading and be prepared to travel at full speed once the squadron is in formation. To clear up any misunderstandings, that means we will be travelling with all compartments sealed, as if in battle, and with personnel present in the alternate bridge of each ship. Keep as many of your personnel away from the outer compartments as possible. Ship captains are to inquire immediately on any questions they might have about our mission. Commodore Sorenson, out."

  ***

  Congress, aware that the trade with the Opalian Navy went smoothly and that they now had some of the Thunderhead missiles, communicated with Malak in a simple communique: "The Union of Planets demands the immediate surrender of Malak and its empire along with the immediate suspension of hostilities toward all Union forces. The Malakin Empire has one Malakin day to consider its response to this offer."

  The communique was repeated hourly for an entire day in Malakin time measurement. Only the amount of time left to consider the demand changed as the hours ticked off.

  The Malakin Empire didn't use the entire day to consider its options. Before half the time expired, they rejected the offer flatly.

  ***

  The warheads arrived at Beulah. Quickly, it was discovered that there were critical differences in size between missiles the Union used as opposed to what Opal used. Engineers fr
om the shipyards worked immediately to modify several warships of Commodore Sorenson's squadron. It meant another day's delay in the squadron's departure. The delay also meant that some additional ships in that squadron would be going with it since their repairs would be finished by then.

  ***

  "Admiral Wund, this is Dave. We're experiencing a delay in getting the new weapon to you. Have you spotted a suitable military target for its use?"

  "Yes, Admiral Oden. I have two very suitable hardened military targets in mind. One is definitely a storage and repair facility. The fighting around it is very heavy. The Malakins are attempting to keep the area about it free and clear. We are doing our best to prevent them from using it. Every manned ship of theirs that we keep out of it is another ship that can't come out for lack of a trained crew. Even without the Thunderheads, we can beat them though not for several more months. Morale remains fine among our personnel. Many of them are working long hours until they are finally sent back to the support area. All of our personnel seem to know what's at stake. At least, I can report there are very few robot warships left to fight, though they are easier to destroy. I could use additional personnel to man some of our ships more fully. Admiral Heavywolf's group has taken a pounding a couple of times, but they fought gamely until some of our heavier armed warships broke free and relieved the pressure off them. Likely, Derek wishes he had a few more support ships and personnel to replace his losses. Admiral Dickson's marines are doing a fine job on the surface of five of the Malakin planets. They're barely making headway on two. Those two must be the ones that produce the robot soldiers. Had we known, it might have been wise to double the marines sent to those two planets."

  "Okay Benz. I'll consider releasing some green troops to join in there. Also, we'll release some more support ships and whatever I can scrape together in extra personnel to fill in our losses there. It looks like we'll be able to spare them now because of the developments concerning Serapha. In the meantime, I'll scramble another squadron to get to you while we complete the necessary modifications to some ships for installing the Thunderheads."