PAD 2022 Support Cruisers destroyed

We had 18 battle ships and 40 support cruisers on a routine patrol just outside the orbit of Neptune. We had been expecting a routine patrol and a hasty return to Mars base for a little R&R and a good Christmas celebration as it was that time of year back on Earth; an old tradition that some still clung to..

That had been the plan until 3 unknown ships appeared less that 2 million clicks from our formation. We started broadcasting on all available frequencies to these strange ships asking for their identities and and purpose of the visit.

Their answer was to target our support cruisers with energy beams and sub-light missiles which ended up destroying 19 of our ships in less time than it would take to strap into our combat station chairs. Our shields were up and at full power yet the beams and missiles had cut though the support cruiser's shields like they were naked with no shields at all..

"Target those three ships with our 500 megaton missiles; put 4 missiles on each of those ships!"

A moment later there was a slight vibration as all 12 missiles left the tubes of our battle ship. Our other 17 Battle ships had also fired their 500 megaton missiles as well. The three unknown ships were able to destroy many of our missiles with their particle beams yet almost 50% of the 216 our fleet had fired struck their targets.

If you have never seen a 500 megaton nuclear device go off in space it is something that there really are no words for ... now figure over 100 missiles impacting and exploding !

Or view screens had automatically dimmed to protect our computer stations and our eyes when the fleets 500 megaton missiles detonated. When the screens came back up to full view the three ships which had attacked us were nothing more than three fading decreasing balls of plasma and gas .

I made a frequency wide broadcast, " Merry Christmas M.F.s" which was maybe not in the spirit of Christmas joy but I really wanted to kill more of the bastards...... as you can imagine M.F. did not mean "my friend."

Each of our 19 ships which had been destroyed carried a crew of 70 dedicated personnel which had a passion for their jobs and the Space Fleet's mission. We were all passionate and dedicated to our jobs yet with the loss of the 19 support Cruisers (which had personnel I had known for years) there was a void and blackness in my very soul that wanted to burst forth in a rage I have never felt before.

This loss of our Cruisers left me with an inner hate that would not be quelled, come Christmas or Hell's high water.

There would be no reunion with families and no Merry Christmas for way to many of my Space Force friends and their families..

The End

This was the opening battle that came to be known as the "Forever War".

Thanks for your submission.

Good Luck in the Contest!
Johnny

a reply to: 727Sky

A Stella read. Oh, that many cruisers and battleships are employed on a routine patrol. What do the amassed fleets of spaceships resemble?

originally posted by: xpert11
a reply to: 727Sky

A Stella read. Oh, that many cruisers and battleships are employed on a routine patrol. What do the amassed fleets of spaceships resemble?

There were many mining operations both in the Kuiper belt and the asteroid belt . One of our mining operations on a dwarf planet located in the outer reaches of the Kuiper had been attacked by an unknown entity; everyone had been killed and the mining operation destroyed.The destruction of that mining colony was totally stupid as all it did was make the united governments of earth join together and redouble their efforts of mining and building bigger and better space fleets.

Earth's space force fleet presently had 9 carriers with a full compliment of fighters and bombers with construction on 3 more with a finish date sometime this year. 63 large heavily armed battle ships and 1400 additional Cruisers and Destroyers.

All the construction had been made possible because of our huge aggressive mining operations, the ambidextrous robots (ADRs) which built our fleets in orbits around the Earth, the Moon, and Mars and finally by a realization of Earth's population that they were not alone in this universe. All of this had been accomplished not because it was easy; but because if humans wanted to survive it was evidently necessary.

a reply to: 727Sky
" Merry Christmas M.F.s"

LMAO.

You had me at "M.F.s"

Love a good space epic!

Is this story filled with symbolism?

Goodness on the MF.

Ay, you could have made a much more simplified story for us to truly capture it at once.

Yet, this Cruiser truly need our Support.


Blessed be.