Chapter 99. Bombardment of the Republic
However, the operation was a failure. They found nothing. Although Cindy didn't seem to be following them, the disaster was serious enough. They have lost their last hope of returning home.
A few hours after hearing from Frigg, they also received a radio distress call from the colony. Just a brief message requesting immediate assistance, indicating that the colony was under attack. No more was said.
Noah was immediately alert. Frigg's message appears to be true.
However, time passed too slowly for the captain. He knew that people were dying every minute. These include women and children.
Olert is right. Earth is just waiting for the Republic to leave the colony. To seek out Vulcan relics permanently, not just temporarily. Noah didn't want to believe it. Therefore, the sufferings of the colonists also fell on his shoulders. He blamed himself.
"How long?" he asked for the fourth or fifth time. His impatience certainly wasn't the best example, but that didn't matter to him right now.
"In fifteen minutes, we will enter the sensor range," Shu Ran replied immediately. Expecting the captain to ask again, she kept her eyes on the time display.
For Noah, time seemed like an eternity. Although he only asked the time once in these fifteen minutes, he could not hide his impatience. So he stood up and walked slowly through various posts. He starts with Jeffrey at the science console and ends up back there as well. However, he could not tell what he saw. His thoughts were not here at all. He then walked several times in front of the command chair and sat down again.
"We have entered the sensor range," Shu Ran finally freed him.
"Report the situation." Noah jumped up like a tightened bowstring.
Shu Ran retrieved some data and then said a little surprised: "The sensor did not detect anything special. There is no ship within the sensor range."
Noah stood behind her with a frown. What is going on here? "Can you connect to the colony?" he asked.
She tapped the console a few times and shook her head. "No, sir. No response."
Noah stared thoughtfully at the display, which still showed the speeding stars. "Okay," he finally nodded. "Continue to monitor the sensors. If any more ships show up, I don't want to be surprised. Mr. Murakami Io," he turned to the Andoro. "Activate the shields and go to red alert. We have to be ready for anything."
However, no vessel was found. They approached the colony without incident. There was no sign of an attack. If it hadn't been for the colony's urgent cry for help, Noah would have thought General Frigg was playing a trick on him.
"Captain," Jeffrey finally said. "We've now seen the planet. The sensor data is getting more and more detailed."
"Then what?" Noah asked when the Vulcan didn't continue speaking.
"General Frigg is obviously right. The colony has been attacked. Many settlements are in ruins. Sensors have detected multiple fires." Jeffrey reported calmly.
"Are there any signs of life?"
"We are still too far away for the sensors to detect this data until they are in orbit."
Noah was silent. If even half of Olert's fears come true, then they must prepare for the worst. If they assume half the civilian population dies, that should be the reality.
Wait again. Although it was only a few minutes, it was long enough for them.
Eventually, they entered planetary orbit. Jeffrey immediately began pointing his sensors at the colony. However, at this point everyone seems to be feeling that the computer is working slower than usual.
"The data confirmed the initial sensor readings," Jeffrey then said. "Ninety percent of the buildings have been destroyed or severely damaged. The colony's infrastructure has been so damaged that it almost doesn't exist anymore."
"Signs of life?" Noah interrupted impatiently.
"The sensors are not picking up signs of life," Jeffrey said quietly.
The captain stopped breathing. Others seem to be doing the same. No signs of life? Not at all? No one expected this. There should be at least some survivors. They can't all die. How could the Earth's leaders order such a large-scale massacre?
"Is there any shelter?" Noah didn't want to believe that everyone they had known in the past half year was dead. "Any areas our sensors can't penetrate?"
"No active energy fields were found. Natural barriers are usually found only after direct searches."
"Then start the search," Noah ordered and stood up. "In any case, we will go and see for ourselves. Mr. Murakami Io, come with your men. Dr. Celia will be waiting for us in the transport room." He glanced at his deputy.
"Caro, you are in charge."
He walked into the elevator with the Andorran man. The latter quickly notified the security department and asked them to immediately bring two members to the transport room, fully armed and ready. As he expected, the equipment was ready when the two entered. The security officer traveling with him was handed the equipment he had brought, specifically the phaser rifle. This is a reasonable precaution given the circumstances.
Eventually, Dr. Celia arrived. She was carrying a first aid kit and seemed to be in a hurry. "I'm sorry," she muttered. "I just didn't feel well."
Noah nodded. They then stepped onto the teleporter platform and seconds later emerged amidst the wreckage and rubble, facing the remains of the Senate Building. The four of them looked around in shock. All that remains of the once magnificent Senate building is a few ruins, while the rest has sunk into a pile of rubble.
In the main square, where thousands of people once stood together to greet the envoy, scattered debris was scattered around. In the center was a large crater like an open wound, apparently directly hit by a spacecraft.
Looking at the boundless ruins, twisted steel beams and several half-collapsed houses, the flames everywhere were still shining. A thick black smoke rose behind the city in the distance. The airport is in that direction. It was likely that the energy reserves that had been hit were now completely burned out. There was a burnt smell in the air. Covered in ruins and ashes, it was as if they were trying to bury the tragedy.
"Oh my God," Celia said, looking at the destruction.
Others also looked horrified. Although they anticipated the devastation, the scale exceeded their expectations. How could the Earth's leaders order such a large-scale massacre?
Noah coughed as he tried to calm down. "We split up and search the area. Maybe we can still find survivors. But be careful, there may be debris falling. Don't take unnecessary risks."
They slowly dispersed. This gives everyone something to do and a little distraction. They moved carefully through the ruins. Strangely, they found very few bodies. And most of them were crushed to death by debris from collapsed buildings. It is impossible to estimate how many colonists were buried under the rubble.
The searchers were further depressed by the tragic sight of the once vibrant colony. With every step they took, their hope of finding survivors diminished. They used triangulation devices to carefully scan the ruins, looking for signs of life. But there is no change in the indication on the display. After nearly an hour of frustrating searching.
Eventually, Noah decided to end the search. This doesn't make sense. No one survived the massacre. Noah was so shocked and saddened that he didn't even have time to feel angry at the perpetrator. The attackers did not even spare women and children. They have never experienced such an event.
Once again they stood before the ruins of the Senate, feeling utterly helpless. How should they respond to such behavior? Revenge on Earth? It's theoretically possible, but they can't guarantee they'll survive. Although they were technologically more advanced, the enemy was superior in numbers. And the Republic also suffered heavy losses during its adventure with Cindy. What is certain is that many more innocent lives will be lost. It makes more sense to avoid conflict with Earth and continue to search for a way home. This way they can also prevent these events from happening. However, this contradicts Noah's sense of justice. Because after the timeline is changed, these perpetrators will no longer exist. They won't even notice what happened. At this moment, what he wanted most was to have these people punished.
When his officers gathered again he looked at them quizzically, but received only a shake of the head in reply. No one found any survivors. He didn't expect any other outcome.
"Okay. Let's go back to the ship," he said dejectedly. There was nothing left for them to do here.
As they prepared to teleport, Celia and the security officer lowered their eyes, no longer looking at the ruins. Only Murakami Io turned his attention to the wreckage again. Just when Noah was about to issue the transmission command, Murakami Io called out: "Captain, look this way."
Noah looked at the Andorran man's outstretched arm in surprise. Then he saw a man standing in the street among the ruins. His dark hair was messy and dusty, and his clothes were gray. Green blood streamed from his temples. He walked toward them with heavy steps.
"Doctor," Noah called gently.
The man slowly came to his senses. "Captain," he said with difficulty.
Celia scans him in passing and sticks a syringe to his neck, but tells Noah by shaking her head that there's nothing more she can do for him.
They carefully helped the man sit down. He couldn't stand at all.
"Flolt, what happened here?" Noah asked.
"The attack happened without warning," the Martian croaked. "They attacked from space and destroyed the settlement. They bombed every building. Many residents died in their homes. The survivors fled the settlement. But then they sent ground troops. They mercilessly killed the survivors Gather them together and kill them all outside the city. Slaughtered like cattle. They show no mercy even to the smallest children," Flort said with difficulty.
"They're right, Captain. A timeline like this cannot be allowed to exist. Make sure nothing like this ever happens here. And tell Jeffrey that he's right too. The only way to stop this is to control all emotions. Only logic can do that. The Martians seem to have realized this. I hope humans can learn it too."
Flort began to cough, and then a stream of green blood came out of his mouth.
"We'll take you to our ship," Noah said. There was no way he wanted to leave the dying Martian here.
"No," Flort retorted firmly, more strongly than one might think. "I don't belong on your ship, just like you don't belong here. Please let me stay here. This colony became our home after we were rescued. I will die here. But there is one underneath my lab Vault. Scanners can't find it. You'll find some data there that will help you correct the timeline."
Noah looked at him in surprise. "You found a way?"
Flort said with a wry smile. "It was found not long after you arrived. But it was really not easy to keep it secret from you. You have a really good science officer. But I can't give you the data. Flora objected, and I can even understand. We can't Allow all these people to cease to exist. But that doesn't matter now."
Noah didn't know what to say. Typically, he ordered him to hand over everything. But Flort was dying, and such an approach was obviously inappropriate. He nodded and asked Murakami Io to get the data.
"Please forgive me," Flort whispered at last. Then his body went limp. Noah knew what this meant. He carefully placed him on the ground. If Flort is right, and if they can use his data to correct the timeline, he will have a long life ahead of him. Their sleeper ship will return to Mars, where he can continue his life. Noah is determined to find out the truth.
When Murakami came back, he was proudly holding a memory chip. This is their pass home.
In the dark, the officers on duty kept sneaking glances at Jeffrey. The Martian is analyzing the data they brought back from the colony. If Flort's information is correct, this will be their chance to return home. The opportunity came so suddenly that hopes thought to have been lost reappeared. Everyone is very curious. Only Jeffrey showed no sense of data, as usual. And there are no intermediate reports. Jeffrey only gave information when he was convinced. Even Noah was affected by the nerves. He stood behind Jeffrey, trying not to be too obvious about peeking at the data.
In fact, this is a bit naive. They've been here for half a year and now a few more minutes won't be a big deal. However, they couldn't control their emotions. Human impatience is too strong. They lack the discipline of the Martians.
Finally, Jeffrey looked away from the data, turned around, and walked toward the captain slowly, as if on purpose. Although almost impossible, he seemed to enjoy the impatience of his human companions. As if he wanted to remind humans of their flaws and his superiority. It just seems arrogant and arrogant to do so. These are qualities that Martians no longer have.
"Floort unexpectedly drew a lot of conclusions from our sensor data," he details. "Combined with the data collected by his sleeper spacecraft on its return to Mars, he was able to accurately identify the radiation remnants. They may not have made sense to him, but we could attribute them to Cindy weapons. High-density time now Particles also make sense in weapons. They are used to time travel while directing the weapon's energy toward a target."
"Yes, we have thought so for a long time. Where is the data?" Noah interrupted impatiently. "Can we use them to correct the timeline?"
"Floort could determine the energy value and the angle of incidence of the energy rays from his data. Based on these data, he formulated a plan that would intercept the energy rays. He also made detailed calculations of the necessary time travel. So the answer Yes: Yes, we can use them to restore the timeline."
People on the bridge cheered. It was their first good news in weeks. Now there is hope for returning home.
Noah also needs some time to process it all. He just stood there, grinning from ear to ear, enjoying the confidence he felt again.
"Okay," he finally said. "What should we do next, Mr. Jeffrey?"
"We have prepared all the required materials. Now we must return to Mars and then travel through approximately two thousand years." Jeffrey replied.
Noah turned to Nilf. "You heard me. Set course for Mars. Speed Wa
p3. "
But before Nilf could confirm the order, the siren suddenly sounded. The red light flashes, signaling the highest alert status.
"Captain, 130 ships have just entered Wa
p speed. ” Ingmar reported excitedly.
"Cindy?" Noah guessed immediately.
"No, Earth ships. All ships are similar to the familiar NX-class ships, but with some changes." He sounded confused.
"Show them on the screen." Noah ordered. He wondered what he was facing.
The screen can barely fit all the ships, the fleet is just too huge. Unlike the Earth ships encountered before, they are not painted in bright gray, but in black. So dark that it is almost invisible in the dark universe. Only their position lights and the area blocking the stars show their position.
Before Noah could ask his science officer for details, a voice came over the speakers on the bridge. "Captain Noah, hand over your ship or you will be wiped out."
Noah looked around at Jeffrey. It's incredible. They were so close to their goal and now this happens.
"The ships appear to be equipped with some kind of damping field. Our sensors can only partially penetrate. But their weapons appear to be more advanced than previous Earth ships," Jeffrey reported.
"Are they a threat to us?" Noah didn't want to fight. There have been enough casualties lately. And he wants to go to Mars and finally fix everything.
"A single ship may not be able to do it. But facing the entire fleet, we can't hold on for long." A disappointing answer came. "I don't suggest that we fight for the road of freedom." Jeffrey seemed to have guessed the captain's thoughts.
Noah couldn't believe it. Fate seemed to be playing a trick on them. I finally found a way home, but was blocked from doing so. They are trapped. They were unable to escape as the ship was severely damaged. And they can't survive a fight. It's really maddening.
Then, Noah had an idea. "How fast can we time travel?" he asked Jeffrey.
"I also need to make some modifications to our deflectors. Then we'll be fine."
"how much time is required?"
Jeffrey seemed to understand the captain's intentions, for his right eyebrow rose. "Ten minutes. I think your plan is risky, but it might work."
"It's the only possibility. Just do it."
"Mr. Ingmar, call..." Suddenly, the spacecraft vibrated. The Earth Fleet opened fire. Several torpedoes hit the shield.
"Looks like we don't have ten minutes left," Noah shouted. Then he turned to Murakami Io. "fight back!"
Several photon torpedoes left the Republic and hit the enemy ship. They suffered heavy damage, but numerical superiority gave the Republic no chance.
"Port shield failed," Ingmar reported.
