{"id":2486,"date":"2018-07-14T19:03:47","date_gmt":"2018-07-15T00:03:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ajscifistories.com\/?p=2486"},"modified":"2018-07-28T09:15:29","modified_gmt":"2018-07-28T14:15:29","slug":"master-of-violence-part-23","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/ajscifistories.com\/?p=2486","title":{"rendered":"Master of Violence – Part 23"},"content":{"rendered":"

Master of Violence<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n

by AJ Marks<\/span><\/p>\n

Part 23<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Mark rushed to the bridge of the Enterprise as the alarm sounded.\u00a0 Reaching the bridge he noticed the usual activity going on and caught conversations going on.<\/p>\n

\u201cContact, four incoming O\u2019krad warships.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cEnhancing emitters are turned off.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSituation?\u201d Mark ordered reaching the center of the bridge even as the battle scanner came to life showing him the position of all ships and the incoming warships.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have four O\u2019krad warships incoming.\u00a0 They appear to be coming in as they did last time.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAll right, have the fleet move out, inform all commands of the ships, and get me the Pak,\u201d Mark said having to wait only a few moments before the Leceaubia alien, Korr, appeared on the screen.\u00a0 It had taken Mark a few times to get over the pink hair the alien had which seemed to clash with the red skin and orange eyes.<\/p>\n

\u201cAdmiral Mark,\u201d Korr said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI take it you know about the incoming O\u2019krad ships?\u201d Mark said.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, they appeared on our scanners a few seconds ago,\u201d Korr replied.<\/p>\n

\u201cI need the Pak to defend the civilian ships for now, we\u2019re headed to engage their warships, Mark said, he had some reservations about how well the \u2018rebellion\u2019 ships operated after hearing they didn\u2019t kill.<\/p>\n

\u201cVery well,\u201d Korr said.<\/p>\n

Mark watched, and used what he had learned from the rebellion to close the distance on the O\u2019krad ships and held back launching the fighters.\u00a0 To his surprise it appeared the O\u2019krad warships seemed to be ignoring, or couldn\u2019t see, the Enterprise and her escorts. They had gone through several tests with the rebellion\u2019s scanners to get an idea of how close they might be able to get before they were detected.<\/p>\n

\u201cAlmost in weapons range.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mark turned to Hans who stood nearby waiting for the orders, while giving out maneuvering instructions.<\/p>\n

\u201cTry and keep us outside detection range,\u201d Mark said.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo problem,\u201d Hans said, giving another order to turn slightly.<\/p>\n

Mark looked on at the scanners seeing that the enemy warships had moved slightly to head towards the rebellion\u2019s warship as if they never noticed the Enterprise.\u00a0 Well, that would change shortly in his mind.<\/p>\n

\u201cOpen fire!\u201d he ordered.\u00a0 \u201cLaunch fighters.\u201d<\/p>\n

The orders were relayed to the right stations as everyone went to work now.\u00a0 He listened in as reports came in on damage to the enemy ships.<\/p>\n

Once more watching the scanners he noticed the O\u2019krad ships appeared confused as there was no coordinated effort to strike back.\u00a0 He realized he needed to strike hard, and fast, as it was something they were probably not used to dealing with.\u00a0 He had spent some time going over reports of battles between the rebellion and the O\u2019krad and it almost seemed childish in nature.<\/p>\n

The rebellion not doing anything special to attack, and took efforts to not really harm the enemy ships.\u00a0 Mark understood Earth\u2019s defense force would not take the same actions, they were out to destroy the enemy.<\/p>\n

He watched as the Enterprise and the fleet maneuvered to maintain their stealth advantage.\u00a0 Even as he looked on the fighters rushed to engage quickly engaging the enemy as well, making strafing runs on the enemy ships.\u00a0 He thought about the upcoming bombers which were in production and hoped they might help in battles.<\/p>\n

So far the battle lined up as he had planned and with the intel from the rebellion they used that bit of information about the stealth technology to hopefully improve their attack.\u00a0 From what Mark noticed he thought the O\u2019krad ships had yet to detect the Enterprise of the destroyers.\u00a0 It gave them a tremendous advantage, and explained the previous battle and why they attacked the station and not the Enterprise right away.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have four Fres cruisers incoming.\u201d<\/p>\n

That was something else they had learned from the rebellion, the type of ships the enemy had along with a few names.\u00a0 The O\u2019krad had attacked once more with cruisers, they did have a battlecruiser type of ship like the Enterprise but it was rarely seen.\u00a0 Mark had a feeling they didn\u2019t have many, as intel agreed.<\/p>\n

The battle lined up as he hoped as every ship went for the kill.\u00a0 He noticed damage to one of the ships, and the fact they were again slow to adapt to the tactics making him wonder if the O\u2019krad were unused to such resistance from their targets.\u00a0 He knew they would learn that humanity wasn\u2019t a race that would roll over and allow them to conquer them without bloodshed.<\/p>\n

*****<\/p>\n

Toncor walked along with Belru catching up with things.\u00a0 He learned that the resistance had lost several ships in defense of his homeworld, to the point where the resistance was in danger of ceasing to exist at all.\u00a0 They had about a dozen warships now, but the humans had even less.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, this human race, what do you think of them?\u201d Belru asked.\u00a0 \u201cThey have been hungry for knowledge about the Dark Race.\u201d<\/p>\n

Toncor gave it some thought and what he had learned about the humans before responding.<\/p>\n

\u201cI recall something one said to me not long ago, and have seen it with one of their ancient philosophers,\u201d Toncor said.\u00a0 \u201cSomething about knowing the enemy to know yourself.\u201d<\/p>\n

He watched Belru think about that before replying as well.<\/p>\n

\u201cDoesn\u2019t make much sense to me,\u201d he finally said.\u00a0 \u201cWhy would anyone want to know about the Dark Race?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI think its to know how they will act to certain actions,\u201d Toncor said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey are a race who conqueror others,\u201d Belru said.\u00a0 \u201cWhat else is there to know?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe O\u2019krad are like that, but why?\u00a0 It\u2019s something I\u2019ve always asked and wondered even more lately after being with the humans.\u00a0 Why are they conquering everyone?\u201d Toncor asked<\/p>\n

\u201cThat I don\u2019t have the answer to.\u00a0 The humans have asked me that question as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThey are very different than any other race I\u2019ve come across yet,\u201d Toncor said.\u00a0 \u201cNot that I\u2019ve come across many, but they are different in their attitudes.\u00a0 They are willing to fight, and it made me wonder why we are not?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy?\u00a0 Killing is something which is against the very nature of the universe,\u201d Belru said.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, according to what we know,\u201d Toncor said knowing he was wading into strange and untested arguments.\u00a0 \u201cBut look at their planet, death is at the very fabric of their being.\u00a0 Everything is revolved around it to an extent.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDeath is natural, we all will experience it,\u201d Belru said.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2018m not sure where you\u2019re going with this Tonor.\u00a0 You go down a dangerous path.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPerhaps,\u201d Toncor said.\u00a0 \u201cBut the humans have an honor about them, also very much a part of who they are, and something they all take seriously.\u201d<\/p>\n

Toncor would have said more but a lot of activity got his attention as they stopped to look around.\u00a0 He noticed Jeff making his way toward them.<\/p>\n

\u201cIs there a problem Senator?\u201d Toncor asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re under attack again, four O\u2019krad ships were spotted,\u201d Jeff said to him.<\/p>\n

Toncor looked over at Belru who seemed to think about this.<\/p>\n

\u201cFour, it\u2019s a bigger force,\u201d Belru replied.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, but not much, we should win this battle as well,\u201d Jeff said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy are you so confident?\u201d Belru asked confusion in his voice that Toncor heard.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve determined a lot more about their capabilities and really, if it had been us we would have sent a force twice the size of the first fleet,\u201d Jeff replied back.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s almost as if they didn\u2019t learn from the first attack.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThey are a dangerous group,\u201d Belru said.\u00a0 \u201cThey won\u2019t hesitate to kill you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, we know,\u201d Jeff replied.\u00a0 \u201cWe won\u2019t give them that opportunity if possible.\u201d<\/p>\n

Toncor looked on at the two pondering the words Jeff spoke about not giving them an opportunity.\u00a0 It was exactly what the rebellion had done, given them opportunity after opportunity to kill them without fighting back at all.<\/p>\n

He became to wonder if the rebellions philosophies actually limited how much they would actually fight the O\u2019krad.\u00a0 They were really fighting without doing anything with the thought the passive resistance would win the O\u2019krad over.\u00a0 But if the O\u2019krad had any history like the humans those ideals were doomed to failure.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow does the defense go?\u201d Toncor asked Jeff.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo far, from reports the O\u2019krad ships are being beaten, the last report indicated one enemy ship destroyed,\u201d Jeff replied.\u00a0 \u201cI was on my way to see what other news I could learn.\u201d<\/p>\n

Toncor looked at the two and then followed Jeff to see what was going on as well.\u00a0 They arrived at one of the briefing room and he noticed a lot of people moving around and a scanner in the middle of the room.\u00a0 He made sure to remain out of everyone\u2019s way and merely observed what was going on along with Belru standing next to him.<\/p>\n

\u201cVery interesting,\u201d Belru finally said after a few moments of observing.\u00a0 \u201cThey are most efficient.\u201d<\/p>\n

Toncor had to agree.\u00a0 They moved around giving out information without crowding each other allowing anyone watching to gain the information needed.\u00a0 Tonor realized it was a room for the senators, or other political officials to keep up with what was going on as no actual orders were being given.<\/p>\n

He turned his attention to the scanners, seeing the movement of the enemy fleet.\u00a0 There appeared to be little coordination with the ships, as one appeared to be turning around, while the other two were moving away from each other.<\/p>\n

\u201cLooks like they are splitting up,\u201d Jeff said.<\/p>\n

\u201cSplitting up?\u201d Belru asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cTrying to gain more information about what is going on,\u201d Jeff replied.\u00a0 \u201cOr they are just confused, sometimes it hard to tell.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cEverything we\u2019ve learned is the Dark Race does things with a purpose,\u201d Belru replied back.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut what happens when they are confused by something?\u201d Jeff replied back.\u00a0 \u201cHow do they handle confusion in battle?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cConfusion in battle?\u201d Belru asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, there is an old saying, no battle plan survives the first engagement,\u201d Jeff stated as Toncor watched the exchange while watching the O\u2019krad ships and the human ship closing in for the kill.\u00a0 It seemed strange but once the ships split the humans became more aggressive.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re ships seem more aggressive?\u201d Toncor finally asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cAh, they were stronger together, apart they are easier targets,\u201d Jeff replied.<\/p>\n

Another human approached and spoke to Jeff.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow are things going?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cGood Greg, looks like we\u2019ll beat this attack off as well,\u201d Jeff replied.<\/p>\n

They continued to watch the battle for a bit longer until another O\u2019krad ship was destroyed and the remaining two, one which was already retreating, ran for escape the battle.<\/p>\n

\u201cLooks like we\u2019ve bloodied their nose twice,\u201d Greg said.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, but we can expect a larger attack force next time,\u201d Jeff said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m beginning to wonder about that, if their empire is so big, do they really have a large military, or is it stretched across the cosmos,\u201d Greg said.<\/p>\n

The question caught Toncor off guard as well as he considered that question.\u00a0 Surely the O\u2019krad had a huge empire, and if they really did, they should have a military which was very large.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut having a large military means its stretched across the universe and they are unable to bring the full weight of it to bear against us,\u201d Jeff replied back.\u00a0 \u201cIntelligence is already working to see if they can figure out how large their military is.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve calculated their fleet to number at least a hundred warships,\u201d Belru stated speaking up.\u00a0 Greg seemed to not understand and Toncor realized he didn\u2019t have a translator on.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt least a hundred, that\u2019s not good news,\u201d Jeff said.\u00a0 \u201cThey could easily overwhelm our defenses.\u201d<\/p>\n

Toncor watched as Jeff seemed to think about that for several seconds.\u00a0 \u201cBut if they are spread out across the galaxy, and unable to concentrate their forces, it\u2019s an advantage for us.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWill we have time to gather our forces?\u201d Greg said.<\/p>\n

Toncor considered it all wondering what might happen next.<\/p>\n

End part 23<\/p>\n

Continued in part 24<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Master of Violence by AJ Marks Part 23 Mark rushed to the bridge of the Enterprise as the alarm sounded.\u00a0 Reaching the bridge he noticed the usual activity going on and caught conversations going on. \u201cContact, four incoming O\u2019krad warships.\u201d \u201cEnhancing emitters are turned off.\u201d \u201cSituation?\u201d Mark ordered reaching the center of the bridge even […]
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