Empire's Son: An Epic Science Fiction Novel Series

Gayle looked at her view screen with a slack jaw at the state of the College. Most of the sandstorm had passed, but there was a thick haze that encompassed the complex. It wasn't heavy enough to hide the results of the shield dome failing. The streets were barely visible under the thick coating of dust and sand piles. Debris littered the walkways, and several of the smaller buildings had partially collapsed. The once-pristine light tan buildings were now a dingy brownish-red, stained by the relentless assault of the storm.

She zoomed in on the dome maintenance plaza, her heart sinking as she saw the twisted remains of the shield generator. Its metallic arms lay broken and scattered across the small courtyard like fallen tree limbs after a hurricane. She could make out tiny figures moving about––likely those on standby for emergency responses beginning their assessment and what it was going to take to get a dome back around the College.

"How could that happen?" Gayle wondered out loud.

"It was a bomb. Some sort of explosive did that. The damage pattern makes that clear," the tense voice of Commander Felix said from behind.

Her eyes traveled back to the long blackened arms that used to be the outer casing of the generator, and she knew his assessment to be true, but she couldn't figure out the why of it. Who would do such a thing?

"There's been an incursion at the College." Felix answered her unasked question. There was also just a hint of excitement in his tone, like he was glad for something that demanded his attention other than the monotony of the College's air traffic control.

Gayle had to admit that she felt the same. She found herself fully awake and alert, which hadn't been the case since the first five minutes of her starting shift at the Orbital Station three days ago.

"Has the cloud cover dispersed enough to send a message planet side?" Felix asked.

She checked the weather telemetry, something she'd had a careful eye on since she'd noticed the flash of light that indicated that something at the College had exploded. She, Felix, and Saibawn had then spent the next half hour watching the screens for evidence of what had happened and attempting to speak to someone on the ground, even though they knew they couldn't get through because of the storm's interference.

"The storm is far enough away from the College now that we might get through," Gayle said.

"Good, then preceded Pledge."

She opened up the communication channel to the College to place a call, but before she even did, a beeping sound came from behind. She turned her head to see what it might be, but the Commander refocused her.

"That's Pledge Saibawn's business. Be about your own."

She nodded and hailed whoever was working the comms in the administration building. "This is Orbital Station to Ground Command. Please respond."

Gayle was surprised when her call was immediately answered. "Orbital, this is Ground. How does the storm look?"

She checked the telemetry yet again just to be sure her response was the most accurate. "The storm has moved approximately 50 kilometers to the southeast," Gayle reported, her eyes scanning the data. "Visibility is improving, but there's still a significant haze over the College. We've got a good view of the damage from up here."

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There was a pause on the other end before the voice replied, sounding strained. "Acknowledged, Orbital. We're dealing with multiple emergencies down here. The shield failure has left us vulnerable. We've got injuries, fatalities, and reports of intruders within the College grounds."

Gayle's heart raced at the grim update. She glanced at Commander Felix, who nodded for her to continue.

"Ground, we observed an explosion at the shield generator. Can you confirm the cause?"

Another pause. "That information is not to be shared outside of this channel, understood? We're still assessing the situation."

"Understood, Ground," Gayle responded, her voice steady despite the tension in the air. "What assistance can we provide––"

"Commander, I'm getting a priority one message from the Supreme Commander Vang," Saibawn said in an urgent tone.

It was enough to swing her head around to the other workstation. Commander Felix had already come up behind Saibawn in response to him. If they were getting a call from Admiral Vang, then that meant that the Sector Four relay was back up. So it seemed something was going right today, or maybe not, if they were getting a call from the Supreme Commander of the Zahnian Legion.

"––up here?" She turned back around to finish her conversation with Ground.

"We need you to continue monitoring from above. Report any unusual activity in the surrounding area or in orbit."

Gayle acknowledged the order, her mind racing with questions. She wanted to press for more information, but the tension in the ground controller's voice made it clear that now wasn't the time.

"Understood, Ground. We'll keep watch and report anything suspicious. Orbital out."

As she closed the channel, Gayle turned to see Commander Felix leaning over Saibawn's console, his face set in a grim mask as he listened to the message from Supreme Commander Vang. The atmosphere in the control room had shifted from excitement to a palpable sense of dread.

Moments later, Felix straightened up, his lips pressed into a line. "Keep a sharp eye on the perimeter defense and put a call to have our star fighters on standby. Hostile forces are en route to Sora X."

What? She blinked at the Commander, stunned. She couldn't remember when anyone had been stupid enough to take on the College, even if they were in the Outer Reach, but her training kicked in, and she pushed back her shock to focus on the problem.

Saibawn's station was the one that monitored the Sora system, so she knew that contacting the fighter squadrons was her responsibility. Gayle brought up the link for the small fighter bay attached to the orbital station. Her fingers flew over the controls as she sent out the alert for the pilots to report to their ships and prepare for possible engagement. As she worked, her mind raced with questions. What the heck was going on? First, there was some sort of ground assault, and now they were sending in hostile star ships?

"Commander, fighter squadrons Red and Blue are reporting in. They'll be ready for launch in ten minutes," Gayle announced, her voice steady despite the tension coiling in her stomach.

Felix nodded curtly. "Good work, Pledge. The Admiral has sent a specific signature to look for. Apparently, this isn't an enemy we have seen before. Saibawn sent the data to your console. Use it to scan for any approaching vessels. We need to identify these hostiles before they get too close."

Gayle swiveled her chair back to her own console, pulling up the long-range sensor data. Her eyes darted across the screen, searching for any anomalies. For several tense minutes, there was nothing out of the ordinary.

"Commander, I've got something," Saibawn said, his voice tight. "It's faint, but it matches the signature we were given."

Felix leaned over Saibawn's, studying the readout. "How many?"

"Just the one, sir, but it's big. At least as big as a battle cruiser, maybe more."

"Time to intercept?" Felix demanded.

"At the current speed, approximately fifty-six minutes until they reach Sora X's orbit."

Gayle's heart raced as she processed the information. A battle cruiser-sized vessel was approaching, and they had a little less than an hour to prepare. She glanced at the sensor readings on her own screen, confirming Saibawn's assessment.

"Pledge Tau-mine, notify Ground Command immediately," Felix ordered, his voice taut with urgency. "They need to know what's coming."

Gayle nodded, her fingers already moving to reopen the communication channel, and considered that just a little bit ago she was lamenting how bored she was. Gayle didn't think that would be the case for a while to come, as she connected with Ground Command to warn them of the danger that was approaching.