CHAPTER 5: THE SURRENDER
The Red Destiny came to a full stop a mere 100 meters away from Mudd’s flagship. Her escorts held rear positions at a stand-off distance of approximately one kilometer.
"Asymptote in one hour and ten minutes", Fae added.
“Our pomp and circumstance seems acceptable to them...” Alexander commented.
“kill him now?”, Fae asked like it was nothing.
“We shouldn’t need to kill anyone. Just talk.” Alexander almost laughed.
They waited.
The size disparity between The Red Destiny and Mudd’s flagship was great; It betrayed the stark difference in the men’s command styles. Mudd led his fleet from a giant flagship that when in battle lingered behind several protective phalanxes. Although Mudd’s ship adopted a protected position when danger was afoot it did not do so due to any lack of prowess. His ship featured a powerful deflective shield, an assortment of point defense energy weapons, a main hangar that could launch a small squadron of warbots and most importantly a devastatingly powerful main cannon. Although his ship avoided direct action Mudd would usually engage enemy remnants once the outcome was imminently favorable. He would finish his opponents in dramatic flare with his ship's awesome main cannon.
By contrast Alexander’s ship was a large fighter style. Its role was to penetrate the front line and directly engage the enemy. Alexander led from the front which inspired great loyalty amongst the Ronins.
Between The Red Destiny and Mudd’s flagship a giant holographic projection flickered to life. It was a ten-story direct feed of Mudd’s head and shoulders… Mudd was being simultaneously broadcast to the Arks and both fleets–the entire human race was to be witness to this historic transfer of power.
Mudd’s hologram spoke: “Eight years and seven months ago the Zell descended upon the human race--A ruthless and unprovoked enemy.”
“Our sovereignties marshaled their respective fleets to counter the Zell. The men and women who served were brave and capable–but each fleet faced a larger and unified enemy. The scattered and uncoordinated response led to unimaginable losses in the early years of conflict–including the complete obliteration of four planetary mega civilizations reducing the total human population by two thirds.”
“The soldiers nobly persevered in pursuit of the impossible task asked of them. They endured losses that they should not have–not because of any flaw in their character–but because the various command structures lacked a coordinated strategy.”
“Two years into the conflict the Alliance fleet was formed from the governments of the three Arks and the human race began to beat back the Zell. The key to victory became apparent: ‘Unification.’”
“The Alliance has held off the Zell for the last six years–but we can do better–because the human effort is still not completely unified!”
“Military remnants of the now gone planets survived and remained committed to the cause against the Zell. These remnants coalesced into what is now known as the Ronin fleet. They avenged their lost homeworlds ferociously inflicting great damage to our Zell enemies. The Ronins will forever hold a place of honor in our species history.”
“But today marks a change for the Ronins and the Alliance. Because despite the greatness of both fleets they can be even better! And we know this from the lesson from our past: ‘Unification is Victory.’”
“Through Unification, we will do more than hold the Zell at bay. We will defeat them! From our victory a long-lasting age of peace and rebuilding will commence.”
“I am not the only one that believes in the power of Unification. For the last six months we have been in negotiations with the leader of the Ronin fleet: Alexander Holmes. His exploits are famous and no reminding of them is necessary. Alexander is in agreement that unification is prerequisite to victory. He is wise enough to know that personal glory must not supersede the greater good.”
“The Alliance is ready to accept you!” The hatch for the main hangar opened right below the bridge portion of Mudd’s ship. A welcoming beam of warm light emanated from the hangar and shone upon The Red Destiny. It looked like a magical tunnel that existed to kindly guide The Red Destiny to its inevitable future.
“Now, I have spoken the words of unification. But I am not alone, for Alexander himself shares our vision of a unified effort. And now I will turn the proceedings over to Alexander so we may hear directly about the future of the Ronins and the Alliance and in fact the future of the entire human race!”
Over the feeds waves of applause and cheering filled the background audio.
From The Red Destiny a holo projector emitted a representation of Alexander. His projection was just his regular size and comprised his entire body in a standing posture.
The crowd noise settled down and converted to anticipatory listening.
Alexander’s hologram spoke: "Thank You, Mudd for your tribute. I simply can't conclude this ceremony without saying a few words."
“And I always speak from the heart be it to a respected rival or the lowest of scum.”
"Your sacrifice to yourself has earned you a special place in the pantheon of dereliction. Your incompetence is responsible for many great defeats. There are many who have lost their lives because of you and many who will unwittingly lose their lives if you are allowed to continue.
"You have chosen to abandon your duty as a soldier to the very end and usurp power risking the welfare of humanity and all that 'represents the best of our people'. I refuse to salute you, knowing that even as you fade away, your legacy of cowardice will be an unwelcome black mark on the men and women you betrayed for … well… I don’t know of any good that you have done."
"But I am not all hostility and barbs towards you, my most unworthy rival. I thought it only kind of me to attend this surrender as promised. And now we are here."
"I accept YOUR surrender."
Mudd’s holographic face remained stunned for a moment, then his face seemed to suddenly swell with blood. Mudd rapidly burst out a series of fragmented responses: "What!? What is the meaning of this! You were supposed to… This is an outrage! How DARE you!"
Mudd gathered himself a little and then countered with his first coherent argument: "I am the supreme commander of all military and by democratic decree your fleet is now under my control! This is treason! And you have NO standing to make ANY demands of me!" He had regained coherency but his delivery was rife with agitation making him seem like a man that was about to lose control.
"You have already lost." Alexander said calmly and then switched off his hologram. As soon as Alexander delivered this verdict Mudd’s hollow projection jolted in surprise, he turned 180 degrees to see the source of a commotion. The hologram degraded showing signs of rapid signal decay and then it fizzled out.
"Power has quadrupled since disembarkation. Asymptote in one hour." Fae-Dra updated Alexander.
“Excellent! Tracking perfectly!” Alexander said.
The entire human race entered an uneasy wait. Every living soul felt a growing tension as they waited for the situation to progress. Well, every human besides Alexander who was passing the time by reviewing the current Zell and Human formations.
The Alliance front consisted of hundreds of thousands of phalanxes each composed of many thousands of warbots arranged in an elongated hexagonal shape many layers deep. Directly in front of the phalanx a similarly shaped directed hexagonal dampening energy shield protected the phalanx, and in some cases spears, lances or cannons protruded from the front line ships beyond the shield to provide some offensive capability.
Behind the front line tens of thousands of military attack vessels eagerly awaited to fulfill their various roles in battle and behind the attack ships twice as many support vessels lingered.
The power output of The Red Destiny’s reactor doubled again.
The Zell's approach to warfare differed in many ways. Instead of warbots the Zell had the Rabble–which was their lowest ranking warrior caste–quite easy to kill but absolutely overwhelming in numbers. The Zell threat on the other side of the Rift of Ilus was at least 100 times larger than the entire human fleets combined.
The rabble formed the front line which was one chaotic undulating plane many thousands of kilometers in size. Sections of the front would shrink or swell to strengthen defense where needed. The rabble front also generated a protection barrier– in this case it was a green Zell cloud. The cloud was constantly fed exotic energies which made it look as if it hosted many thunderstorms. The cloud provided three defenses: first the gas slowed any object attempting to pass through it–not because of friction but with a property shift that decreased the object’s velocity–in many cases objects would come to a complete stop and be stuck in the cloud. Secondly bolts of energy that resembled lightning randomly streaked in every direction and would cause damage to any object inside the cloud. Lastly the cloud would dissipate energy blasts making a main cannon attack ineffective. The cloud varied in thickness in exact proportion to the bulges and divots of the rabble’s front line.
Both Zell and Human phalanxes were practically impossible to break head on, which made tactics necessary in the form of circumventing, outflanking or sapping. Trying to stop an approaching phalanx with anything but another phalanx was tantamount to a human trying to stop a giant rolling boulder with his bare hands.
Alexander’s console indicated that Slyther was requesting a communication channel, and he accepted the request. A holo of Slyther appeared above his console. “Secured” he said and his characteristic sinister smile began to grow. “Well done.” said Alexander as he simultaneously terminated the call in an effort to avoid seeing Slyther’s creepy smile grow to completion.