Star Clusters: New Arrivals by Dalo Lorn Page B

they were waiting for... us? They’re moving towards us!” the tactical officer reported.
    The militia force launched a salvo of torpedoes at the Orion. “Damn it!” Jackson cursed under his breath as the torpedoes (those that had not been shot down, that is) impacted. “Lieutenant, target the lead ship’s weapons and fire. Do not destroy them; I want to know what’s going on here,” he ordered. Several of the Orion’s laser turrets turned to face the approaching ships and fired; the militia command ship’s shields were easily overpowered and the remaining laser bolts impacted the front armor of the ship, causing a series of secondary explosions which ultimately destroyed it. “What just happened?”
    “I’m not sure, sir - based on the schematics for that ship class, that shot should have knocked their main reactor offline.”
    “It worked, I’ll give you that - it just happened to take the rest of the ship along with it. What about the others?”
    “They’re still on an intercept course; they’ll be in firing range in fifteen seconds.”
    “Hail them. It’s time to end this.”
    “They’re not responding,” the comm officer said.
    “Fire a warning shot, then hail them again.” The Orion’s forward lasers fired into the midst of the attacking group, deliberately missing all of their ships and dispersing harmlessly on their way towards Menlon Four.
    The communications officer shook his head. “No response, sir.”
    “Enemy ships firing,” the tactical officer reported.
    “All ships,” Jackson commanded, “engage the enemy; shoot to disable.”
    The following battle was a brief one, as the militia forces were ill-equipped to face the Orion or the fleet accompanying it; however, there were no survivors despite Jackson’s orders. “So much for figuring out what’s going on… Helm, plot a course for Menlon Four.”
    “Sir,” the tactical officer said, “there’s a large fleet coming out of hyperspace behind us - US transponder codes.” Indeed, a considerable quantity of warships of all kinds had dropped out of hyperspace and was forming up around Jackson’s task force.
    “We’re being hailed.”
    “On screen.”
    The viewscreen displayed a Terran captain in his forties. The man was clearly disturbed by something, and the cause of his concern soon became apparent. “Rear Admiral Eugene Jackson, you are under arrest for falsifying orders to launch an attack on a member of the United Systems, performing said attack, deliberately and completely destroying ships belonging to three different interstellar governments and various other crimes. Stand down and prepare to be boarded; if you refuse to comply with these instructions, you will be fired upon,” he announced.
    Throughout the entire speech, the admiral stared at him in confusion and increasing surprise. When it was over, he slowly asked: “Have you lost every shred of sanity you ever had ?!”
    “I have my orders, Admiral, and unlike yours, they’re genuine.”
    “Well then, I suppose I’ll just have to ignore them and get out of here,” Jackson said.
    “If you’re going to jump to hyperspace, I should warn you that we have an experimental ship-based hyperspace disruptor. You aren’t going anywhere.”
    The admiral looked at his science officer, who simply nodded. He sighed. Fighting wasn’t going to do them any good, even if they managed to disable the disruptor and jump to hyperspace. “All ships, stand down.”
    “Sir?” the tactical officer said confusedly.
    “You heard me - lower our shields and power down our weapons. We surrender.”
    “I’m glad you’re being reasonable,” the captain said.
    “I just wish I could say the same...”
    The transmission ended as shuttles launched from the arresting fleet and proceeded to board Jackson’s ships.

Chapter 5
    Shattering
    “I think… Okay, try now!”
    Lanis started powering up the Ivory Eagle’s sublight engines. The port engine promptly threw up a bunch of