Empire's Son: An Epic Science Fiction Novel Series

Gayle squinted at a red oblong blip on the spectrum map of her view screen. It was the only way to see the enemy ship. Admiral Vang had sent all the data he had on the incoming threat, which was precious little. She shivered at the idea of facing a species that had come from beyond the border of the Empire. That fact too had been in the report to explain why they'd seen nothing like this before.

She remembered the stories that her mother had told her as a child. It had been of great races and empires beyond their own, many of which were hostile and had birth monsters that were living nightmares. It was why Ethia had closed its borders to the greater universe. To protect the citizens from the horrors that lurked in the vast emptiness between stars. The memory of those childhood tales now crawled across her skin like ice water.

"Pledge Tau-mine," Commander Felix said behind her. "Have the star fighters made the updates?"

"Yes, sir. They just reported that the recalibration has been completed." It hadn't taken long to pre-program the two squadrons of fighter's comm arrays to the frequency that Admiral Vang had suggested. Now they were waiting for the enemy to show. By its terminal readings, the alien ship would reach Sora X's orbit in eighteen minutes.

"Good," Felix nodded, his weathered face tight with concentration. "And what of the Wardens?"

Gayle eyed the screen that held the readout and controls for the six towers that were disguised to look like natural rock formations spaced out around the College. Besides the missile platforms seeded around the outer perimeter of the Sora system, which Saibawn was in charge of, and the two fighter squadrons always on standby for trouble, which she'd already activated, the Wardens were what made up the first line of defense for the Protectorate College. If trouble got by them, it would be up to the ground force to take out the threat.

Already Saibawn's missiles had not been effective against the ghost ship––the name the enemy vessel had been given for a lack of a better term. It was an accurate description of the invader, because the missiles had acted like the ship wasn't even there as they passed right through the vessel—a vessel that could not be seen with the naked eye. Only the unique energetic signature that Admiral Vang had provided could track the vessel with any consistency.

"Wardens are primed and ready," Gayle reported, her fingers dancing across the terminal. "Energy readings at full capacity, targeting systems calibrated to the ghost ship's signature. They'll engage the moment it crosses into optimal range."

Even though the Wardens were now calibrated to the signature, there was no way of knowing if they would actually make contact with the ship and how much damage it would do, but usually an encounter with the Wardens left attacking vessels powerless and drifting in space. With the ghost ship's ability to phase through matter, though, Gayle wondered if the energy bursts from the Wardens would just pass through like the missiles had.

"You've done well, Pledge," Felix said with a comment of praise that she had been told rarely came from the uptight Commander. She gave a small smile at that. If she was impressing Commander Felix, then maybe her time in the Orbital Station would be very short.

"We've taken every precaution we can. Now we wait," Felix continued.

Gayle frowned. She didn't enjoy waiting. She also didn't like sitting up here behind a terminal. Gayle would much rather be down on the planet with the Protectorate ground force and the prospect of engaging in a physical fight. That sort of battle she was better trained for.

The main terminal blinked as another notification appeared. Admiral Vang was requesting a direct line to Commander Felix. Gayle opened the channel, nodding to her superior.

"Commander," Vang's voice was terse, his image appearing on the central display. "Send your two squadrons to the position I'm sending you now. My squadrons will engage first, and yours will come in as needed."

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"Understood, and receiving your transmission now." Felix said as he nodded to Gayle.

She saw the communication, opened it, and relayed orders to the College's fighters. She noticed they would fly much lower in the atmosphere than the Legion's fighters would be. An interesting tactic, but not one she would question. Admiral Vang had been engaging this ghost ship more than they had.

"Relay our position to all pilots," Felix ordered. "I want them to maintain strict comm discipline during engagement."

On the orbital station's current trajectory, it would move to the far right of the planet by the time the battle began. They would not lose contact with their fighters or the ability to activate the Wardens, even when the station was on the far side of Sora X thanks comm units on the ground designed to counteract this problem, but they would not see the battle with their own eyes.

"Yes, sir," Gayle replied, transmitting the orders. She watched the tactical display as the Protectorate fighters moved into formation. The blip representing the ghost ship continued its approach, seemingly undeterred.

Seventeen minutes until contact.

Gayle watched the battle cruiser Fordex as it took a position in the planet's stratosphere. The two dreadnoughts and three frigates of the Zahnian small fleet took up positions higher in orbit, forming a protective arc above the College. Their hulls gleamed in the harsh sunlight of Sora's primary star. Tactical data streamed across Gayle's console, showing shield capacities, weapon readiness, and crew complement for each vessel.

"Fleet in defensive formation," Gayle reported. "All ships reporting weapons hot."

Felix nodded, his eyes never leaving the primary display. "And what of the Vanguard corvettes?"

The three smaller vessels had stayed behind when the battle cruiser Quortous had left with the Heir. It was deemed that the ships would remain on the far side of the planet during the battle as a precaution against the total loss of defensive capability.

"Corvettes Valiant, Vigilant, and Vehement are in position on the dark side of Sora X," Gayle confirmed. "Captain Renault of the Vigilant reports they're maintaining full stealth protocols, but are ready to engage on your or the Admiral's command."

Felix nodded grimly. "Let's hope it doesn't come to that."

The minutes ticked by with excruciating slowness. Gayle monitored the systems, occasionally adjusting parameters or responding to status updates from the fighter squadrons. Her training had prepared her for numerous types of engagements with combatants, but the tension of waiting for an unknown enemy with capabilities beyond their understanding set her nerves on edge.

Fifteen minutes until contact.

"Commander," she said suddenly, "I'm detecting an anomaly in the ghost ship's approach vector."

Felix stepped closer to her terminal. "Explain."

Gayle's fingers flew across the interface, expanding the tactical display. "The ship's trajectory has shifted two degrees. It's no longer on a direct approach to the College. New vector suggests it will pass within minimum safe distance of the Wardens' effective range."

A muscle twitched in Felix's jaw. "They've detected our defense grid."

"Impossible," Gayle said automatically, then caught herself. "Sir, the Wardens' emissions are completely masked by the natural geological formations. There's no way they could––"

"These aren't ordinary adversaries, Pledge," Felix interrupted. "Recalculate optimum firing solutions and relay to all defense stations."

Gayle complied, her mind racing. The ghost ship had somehow sensed their trap with no detectable scans. What else could it perceive?

After a few moments, the changes were made. "Wardens are recalibrated." She said, but she wondered how long that would last. If the enemy could detect the Wardens now and adjust, wouldn't they be able to do it again?

"Twelve minutes until contact," Gayle announced, monitoring the blip as it continued its approach. Something about the ghost ship's movements struck her as deliberate, almost calculating. She couldn't shake the feeling that they were being tested.

Felix paced behind her, hands clasped behind his back. "What's the status of the College's shield generator? Will they have the new one up in time?"

She'd received the latest update from Ground Command a few minutes ago. They were implementing attack procedures and stated that battle groups would be ready for ground engagement if their enemy broke through the blockade, but were not sure the shield would be back up in time.

"A tech crew is working as fast as they can, but it's still uncertain if the shield will be up before the enemy gets down there."

"If they get down there," Felix replied.

Gayle decided not to comment on that. They had certainly put together a good defense in a short period of time. If this were a normal adversary, then Felix had good reason to be optimistic, but this ship had demonstrated capabilities that made Gayle question whether their defenses would be sufficient. Something told her that the ghost ship was only testing their defenses, learning about them, before it made its real move.

Ten minutes until contact.