Battle For The Blue Planet Chapter 1: The Brave Souls

Stations across the border regions were rapidly going dark, seeming to vanish silently into the void they guarded. The elder Dlamisans among the military command staff understood the writing on the wall. The Zenti were coming back and this time they were playing for keeps.

Heeding the warning of the old admirals and generals, the fleets of the Dlamisan-Human Republic were dispatched to try to contain the Zenti before they could flood into the industrial core of the Republic and cause untold mayhem.

The Zenti however had no intention of facing down the combined might of the Republic and had instead hatched a plan to crush the republic before the fighting even began. They didn’t plan to crack the forge worlds of Alpha Centauri to cripple our industry, nor did they plan to decapitate the military by attacking the dockyards of Dlamisas. The Zenti planned to rip out the very heart of the Republic. The Zenti were coming for Earth.

All that stood in their way was one captain and her crew, intent on sacrificing everything to protect a tiny pea, pretty and blue, drifting through the void. This is the story of Bonnie Red and the crew of the Red Spark.

In orbit around the Earth laid a retrofitted cargo ship, The Red Spark, captained by The Pirate Queen herself, Bonnie Red. Up on the bridge, celebrations were being had after a successful cargo run. Something that had been happening less and less often as Zenti raiders drifted closer to republic space.

Bonnie Red herself was overseeing the unpacking of the celebratory beverages when her sensor officer let out a shocked bark drawing the attention of the entire bridge. Within a second the officer had regained her composure and began calling out contacts in Enkanti.

“Zenti drive signatures have entered the system! Several dozen vessels of all sizes Captain. I’m seeing seven capital class signatures, six of them look to be carriers that are offloading their escorts now,” The sensor officer barked.

Silence reigned on the bridge as the information sunk in. Zenti hadn’t ever been seen this far out of their home territory. Earth was supposed to be safe from their raids. This was a massive raiding party the likes of which hadn’t been seen in centuries.

“The seventh signature Jess, what is it?” Bonnie growled out.

Jess turned her seat, despair evident in her eyes, “It’s an Exterminator class Captain, they’re here for Earth.”

The entire bridge crew froze in shock. An Exterminator class vessel hadn’t been seen for nearly a millennia. Not since the most brutal days of the last Zenti war had one roamed the galaxy. Never once had an Exterminator been denied their prize, each ship of the class left a trail of burnt worlds wherever they went. Only once all the Exterminators were destroyed did the Zenti retreat back into their own borders. Though damage they wrought could never be undone and Dlamisan society hadn’t truly begun to heal until they met the humans. This was no raiding party, this was a first strike at the heart of the Republic.

Bonnie Red broke the silence and ordered the sounding of general quarters, sending all members of the vessel scrambling to their battle stations. As the crew scramble Bonnie ordered her comms officer, a yellow Dlamisa by the name of Sunny, to open a line to Earth's defense command which was accepted near instantly.

“Commander, are you seeing what I be seeing here?” Bonnie asked, not sure she believed her own senses anymore.

“We’re organizing a response. All civilian craft need to evacuate immediately. The Home Fleet have responded and are on their way,” The Commander replied, sounding like a machine stuck on a loop.

Bonnie shook her head, “There be Zenti out here. Too many to count and sure as hell too many for ye to fight alone. How far out is the fleet?

“They’re 4 hours out and hauling as quick as they can. You need to evacuate. We will hold until they arrive,” The Commander spoke with confidence his body did not show.

“No, we won’t be doing that, will we everybody?” Bonnie spoke as the bridge crew howled in agreement, “What can ye scramble to help us slow the bastards down?”

“We’ve got the local patrol craft and a 3 interceptor class destroyers on route from the edge of the system, but they won’t be here for another hour. Until then you’re on your own. I must coordinate the evacuation. Do what you can, you won’t be forgotten,” The officer stated before cutting the channel.

Bonnie Red sat shocked in the captain's chair as reality landed on the crew of the Red Spark like a ton of bricks. This would be their last stand. They were the only thing standing between Earth and annihilation.

“Comms, open the ship channels to the crew. Full access, let them call home one last time,” Bonnie said before activating the P.A. system and announcing, “I have opened the ship comms system to all of you. Go to the nearest device hooked into the ship’s AI and send a message to your friends and family,” She paused, shakily taking a breath before continuing, “We are all that stands between earth and an Exterminator. You’ve all heard the stories of what they can do. We cannot allow that to happen to our home. We shall not allow those… things to take our friends and family away from us! Today I ask of you all one final favor. Do not go out quietly into the night! **Rage with me against the dying of the light, and if we be doomed to die… THEN LET THE LAST THING THEY FEEL BE THE RED SPARK’S MIGHT.**”

As the howling died down Bonnie sat back and looked out the viewport. Watching as the mass of dots in the distance grew steadily larger.

“Comms estimate how long until we are within range of their jammers,” Bonnie asked.

“10 minutes give or take Captain,” Sunny replied.

“All of you go make your calls. We haven’t got long,” Bonnie reminded the bridge crew as she pulled out her personal data pad.

She stared down at the contact picture for a moment. On the data pad, there were four smiling Dlamisans eating ice cream, two pups, and their parents. Of the little ones, one was a boy with a tri-corner hat on his head, just like his mother. The other was a girl wearing one of her father’s old ties loosely around her neck. Each pup had cones nearly as big as their heads and were staring at them in wonder while their parents had their mouths open wide, tongues rolling out in obvious amusement. That picture had been taken only a week ago as Bonnie and Bailey celebrated the tenth birthday of their twins.

As she reached to press the call button, Jess spoke up, “Captain we have an incoming transmission. The Zenti are hailing us.”

Closing the data pad Bonnie looked up. “Put it through. I want to see who exactly we’re dealing with here.”

A Zenti filled the view screen as Jess obeyed instantly. His uniform was mottled green and showed the stripes of a high-ranking officer. His face was grizzled and aged, but Bonnie recognized it immediately. Standing in front of her was the carrier captain she had fought decades ago. But now, instead of seeing a young bold captain, Bonnie Red looked into the eyes of a hardened Admiral. An Admiral who now commanded the single most terrifying ship in the galaxy. An admiral who wanted a word with her.

“Hello old friend,” The speakers ground out in a poor imitation of Enkanti. “It’s been many years since our last meeting no? I was wondering if I’d ever see you again. Rather unfortunate of you to end up here of all places.”

“I can say that I never quite felt the same way and this *place* is my home. I recommend you leave it while you still can,” Bonnie growled back hackles raised.

The Zenti seemed to shake in his chair and the translator huffed, showing his amusement. “I am the reason your friends are chasing shadows and your *home* is undefended. This is my plan and I came here to see it through personally. You will not stand in the way of that, not alone. That’s why I have an offer for you.”

Bonnie nearly rejected it outright before realizing that the longer he talked, the closer rescue came, so she replied. “I’m listening Zenti. What do you have to make me turn on my home?”

The Zenti became still and serious, “I offer you nothing, but your life and the lives of your crew. It would be a shame to waste such brave souls of a lost cause such as this. Turn tail and run, so that your crew may live to see a star rise in the sky of a different planet.”

Bonnie opened up the P.A. system to the crew and announced the Zenti’s offer, “There be an offer on the table mateys. They offer us our own lives in exchange for our home, for our family, for everything we love. They offer us our lives as if they already own them! I say no, if they desire my family’s lives then they shall have to take mine first. Right here and right now!”

A chorus of howls rang through the ship, which was picked up by the call as the Zenti Admiral flinched at the ferocity behind the howl before stamping a leg in anger and making a last statement before closing the communique, “If you wish for death then so be it. It will not come swiftly.”

As the Zenti disappeared Sunny called out that they had a minute before communications went dark with Earth and Jess followed that weapons would be in range in five. Bonnie pulled out her datapad and sent out a brief message to Bailey. “I love you all. I don’t think I’m coming back. I’m sorry.”

As the message was sent and received, she saw Bailey begin typing a reply before the signal suddenly shut off as the Zenti jammers cut off all communications the Red Spark had with the greater galaxy. Within the next few seconds, Jess started to call out target locks, and just as suddenly as the Zenti had arrived, the battle began.