Tukama stood silently watching his Chimera’s DEBi. The screen displayed the slow passing of a heavy Eurlian freighter aimed directly towards the Earth jump gate. The huge bulk of the freighter dwarfed his small gunboat, which for the last few months has been a front line patrol vessel at the gate.
Tukama ponder how much life had changed for him since learning of the true reason of his incarceration. His ship and crew was drafted into the Eurlian Military, regardless of his approval or those of his superior commander. The senior commander due to the situation, happen to be the trade minister with Tukama coming in a close second.
Captain Jord had a closed door presentation after the auditorium speech with all the detained ship captains. The presentation started with the typical security and non-disclosure clauses, followed by ten seconds footage from a Eurlian military drone.
The footage reveal nine seconds of the drone's flight with a multitude of other drones entering the Earth gate. The drone's transition through the gate was followed by one final frame that reached back to the Eurlian ship that fired the drone into the gate.
The frame was held on the viewing screen for what seemed like five minutes before someone in the back of the audience spoke out “What the Hell is That!”. The frame had in a small portion in the top right hand corner an image that looked like part of a ship and a red beam heading towards the drone. The ship did not look anything like a human designed vessel it was dark and very smooth and seemed to have a blue hue slightly ajar of the ship's outer hull. The smoothness of the hull is what drew Tukama eye, it look as it did not have any seams to this vessel. It was always hard to tell the size in space without a reference point. But some data was received with that frame to distinquish the vessel to be as large as a human heavy combat vessel.
Between that time and now Tukama had been guarding the gate around the clock with various other Eurlian and Earth combat vessels. Fortunately it had been quiet, and he could not help imagine what they are about to do now was poke a bear with a stick.
Eurlian HQ had decided to modify a heavy freighter to carry as much armour and sensors as that was possible to transit through the gate. The modifications needed some new engine technology to even move the freighter. The Eurlian HQ thought that sensor data was necessary to decide the fate of Earth and perhaps even the solar system. Sending in combat vessels against an unknown enemy with unknown capability was too risky an option. Since Earth Fleet had not been heard from it was assumed the most powerful fleet in the human race was destroyed or incapable of removing this enemy.
The second mission of this freighter laid in its hull, enough nuclear warheads to obliterate a small asteroid, or blow a huge chunk out of planet. If the freighter was disabled or stopped communicating the auto destruct would kick in and destroy anything close to the vessel. The explosion would create the thick armour to splinter and act like a huge railgun firing pieces in every direction.
The freighter was now closing in on the gate, Tukama turned to his communication officer and requested to tap into the video and thermal feeds of the freighter. He knew the collection of military vessels around the gate would be doing the same. The time had arrived.
There was a final part of the plan, if the gate was empty or the ship that was holding the gate destroyed, there would be a mass assault into the system. Thirty Five vessels from light gunboats such as himself to heavy destroyers and frigates would enter the Earth system and hopefully take back Earth. This made Tukama chest expand and fall in a heavy sigh, it was not something he was looking forward to, the whole plan seemed wrong.
The sensor officer had started counting down aloud the expected departure time of the freighter, until it disappeared off Chimera’s sensors. The freighter feed produced a multitude of explosions on exit, great chunks of metal was flushed into space. Sensor data was streaming back to the Eurlian fleet, there was not just one vessel pounding the freighter. There seemed to be a whole armada on Eurlia door step, small and large vessels each with the blue hue and distinct smoothness. The ships shapes reminded Tukama of tadpoles and seemed to shimmer as they moved in space.
The feed was now starting to get erratic as the ship armour had deteriorated, and hits were now destroying sensor and power core modules, until the feed was cut completely. Tukama knew the explosion must of taken effect, but what would be the outcome.
Several minutes passed as a scout ship readyed itself to fire a number of drones through the gate. Tukama had watched several Eurlian communications filter onto DEBi and the mood seemed very optmisitic, until the first of the unknown vessels enter Eurlian space.
Alarms and sensors went into overdrive within Chimera, the first alien vessel hovered no more then 100,000kms from Tukama and dwarfed even the largest human combat vessel. The poor scout ship powered it engines to avoid the behemoth and scoot under the ship, but it was too late and became a small splat on the aliens windshield.
The Eurlian fleet let fly with missiles, lasers and even small gauss projectiles each creating explosions against the blue hue surrounding the vessel with no obvious impact against the hull. Tukama yelled at to his weapons officer to aim his laser turrets at impact point created from the nuclear tipped missiles. The thought being it would allow penetration of what was obviously now a defensive shield.
The behemoth started to move, small glowing balls of light were released from the alien vessel, they were travelling fast and heading towards the heavier vessels of the Eurlian fleet. One moment a Eurlian destroyer stood proud and arrogant in appearance, after a blinding flash of light the hulk of the destroyer was split in two. Pieces of the destroyer floated in space with small fires lasting as long as material and oxygen permitted before fading from view.
After this demonstration the fleet split apart and was running for it life, no one had bother to inform the ship captains they had nowhere to run to, not against this superior foe.
Each of the Eurlian fleet was now being destroyed one by one by the glowing blobs fired from this relentless enemy. The smaller and faster vessels like his gunboat stood only a better chance as their superior speed had help manoeuvre out of harms way on a number of occasions, but eventually everyone lucky was going to run out.
Tukama made the only decision he could of make as an officer of the New Osakan Fleet. The kamikaze days of the past had grown out of fashion in Japanese society as the more westernise it had become. But honour and loss of face still dominated much of Japanese lifestyles and choices. Tukama choice was to either die with his back to the enemy or die looking his enemy in the eye. His course correction and adjustment gave everyone on the bridge knowledge to what was about to transire, and he proud to see not one of those eyes he met were in disagreement with his decision.
Lieutenant Kwan had moved slightly behind him to his right and stood steadfast looking into the screen, to which Tukama smiled. There was no famous last words to be said, or easing of the crew souls. Those that did not know down below would be better off, and would not have to face the last seconds of their life in deep contemplation, or calming of fears.
The hull of the alien ship now fast approach but to Tukama disappointment one of the balls of light was closing faster.
