Chapter 11: The Battle Continues

I opened my eyes to find I was at the edge of the clearing. The obelisk was a short distance away, and Cathy stood beside me.

“Crap!” I said.

“What??” asked Cathy.

I held up my hand to get her to wait a moment, while I mentally focused on becoming hidden again. I didn’t want them to hear our conversation.

Once I was sure, I lowered my hand and spoke.

“I figured out how to call the enemy. They know we’re here and they’re coming for us,” I said.

“What do we do now?”

I smiled.

“We wait. Saria wants us to lure them here. If we use the obelisk to transport to another star system, the enemy won’t come here,” I said.

“But if we stay they might catch us.”

“Yes, they might. This is the fun, dangerous part. We’re the bait in Saria’s trap.”

“So we stay here, unless the trap fails?”

“Yes. We might as well check out the obelisk while we wait,” I said.

I wandered towards the obelisk and pulled out the small device Ship had prepared for me.

“What’s that?” asked Cathy. She followed me towards the obelisk.

“It’s a guide to the obelisks. I don’t know how accurate the guide is, since the obelisks are ancient, but it saved Laine and me. We navigated back to civilization.”

“Oh.”

“Please don’t touch the obelisk! That’s how you trigger it. It could transport us to a world without a breathable atmosphere.” I said.

She stopped and took a step away from the obelisk.

“I’ll see where this one connects to, so we’re prepared to leave in a hurry. Please keep an eye out for an enemy shuttle,” I said.

I used the device to scan the symbols on the obelisk.

In the main bridge, Saria stood facing the tactical display. Ship cleared the planet, and they had a visual of the enemy vessel.

“Ship, can you identify that vessel?” asked Jem.

“The design and insignia suggest it’s a Gober military vessel,” replied Ship.

“That answers a lot. We’ve had trouble with them before,” said Jem.

“What kind of trouble?” asked Saria.

“That happened before you joined us. The Gober Empress abducted Brian. We rescued him. Ever since, they’ve been pursuing us,” said Jem.

“I see,” said Saria.

“We avoid Gobers as a matter of procedure, but now they’re more aggressive,” said Jem.

Saria nodded. Laine pointed at the display.

“Lieutenant, they’re headed for the planet,” said Laine.

“Brian succeeded, they’ve taken the bait!” said Saria.

“We still represent a threat, so proceed with caution,” said Jem.

“Ship, take us on a course to bring us behind them. Prepare to deploy EAM and data port probes,” said Saria.

“Confirmed,” replied Ship.

“You plan to take them alive, Lieutenant?” asked Jem.

“Yes, Commodore. This is the last vessel. We must learn more about their mission,” said Saria.

“Carry on,” said Jem.

Aboard the lead Gober class vessel, the captain watched the tactical display.

“Captain, we’re approaching the fourth planet,” said the lieutenant.

“Assume standard orbit. Our psychic says our target is on the planet’s surface.”

“Yes, sir!” replied the lieutenant. He punched directions into a console. Their vessel proceeded on its course.

“Captain, I see no sign of the Baglogi vessel,” said the lieutenant.

“It’s possible one of our sister vessels already destroyed it, this’ll be easy now,” said the captain.

The lieutenant activated their energy shield as a precaution. His life was forfeit if he let an enemy score a hit. Scanners were on maximum, searching for the Baglogi vessel.

“Finally, we’ve got him...” said the captain.

The Gober captain activated the ship-wide communication.

“Away team, assemble in the shuttle bay. Set weapons on stun, ready to deploy to the planet’s surface,” he said.

The image of the Gober vessel got larger on the tactical display as Ship closed in on its prey.

“Attention, we are directly behind the Gober vessel,” said Ship.

“As soon as we’re in range, deploy EAM and data port probes,” ordered Saria.

“Note I have limited supply of EAM, enough for one attempt,” said Ship.

“Understood. We need to punch through their shields for the data port probes.”

“Confirmed,” replied Ship.

A few minutes later, Ship spoke again.

“Attention, deploying EAM and data port probes,” said Ship.

“Change course NOW, evasive action!” ordered Saria.

“Confirmed,” replied Ship.

A moment later, there was a flash as the EAM impacted the enemy shields.

“Did the data port probes get through their shields?” asked Saria.

“I’m unable to reach them through their shields,” replied Ship.

Suddenly, the enemy fired a blast from somewhere behind them. If Saria hadn’t ordered a course change, it would have hit.

“Ship, continue to take evasive action. Get more distance from the Gober vessel,” ordered Jem.

“Confirmed,” replied Ship.

“Look!” said Laine.

On the tactical display, the Gober vessel was changing course.

“They’re coming after us now,” said Saria.

“But we’re cloaked...” said Laine.

“Crap!” said Jem.

Aboard the lead Gober class vessel, red lights lit up on all the consoles. Klaxons sounded.

“Captain, something just hit our rear shields!” said the lieutenant.

“What happened??”

“It’s like the attack on the Iscun, sir!” replied the lieutenant.

“Get those shields back up! Prepare to return fire!”

The lieutenant struggled with his console.

Meanwhile, the captain called his psychic agent.

“Yuhi, we just got attacked by that Baglogi vessel. It’s somewhere nearby. Find me their coordinates, now!”

“Yes, sir!” replied Yuhi.

Within a minute, she located the Baglogi vessel directly behind them. She sent the coordinates to the lieutenant.

“Fire!” yelled the captain.

The lieutenant targeted and fired on the coordinates.

“Missed, sir!” he replied.

“Pursuit course, now! We can’t afford to have them at our back,” ordered the captain.

New coordinates arrived on his console, and he entered a pursuit course.

“Pursuit course entered, sir!” he said.

“And keep firing on them,” said the captain.

“Yes, sir! Weapons are firing now,” replied the lieutenant.

On their tactical screens, they couldn’t detect the Baglogi vessel. It had to be cloaked, a technology they didn’t have. Fortunately, a cloaked vessel was no match for a psychic.

The captain called his psychic agent.

“Yuhi, you’re sure the target is on the planet’s surface?” he asked.

“Yes, sir!” replied Yuhi. It was a while since last contact, but she didn’t share that with her captain.

“He’s going nowhere. We’ll take out their vessel first,” he said.

“Yes, sir!” replied Yuhi. She focused on the Baglogi vessel, or rather, the occupants. It wasn’t too far away.

Updated location data arrived at the lieutenant’s console, and he adjusted his course and opened fire again.

“Ship, if a data port probe made it through their shields, how long would it take?” asked Saria.

“Unknown. The data port probe connects to an external port and attempts to hack the vessel’s systems,” replied Ship.

“We must evade the enemy to give them a chance,” said Saria.

“Confirmed,” said Ship.

A moment later, the enemy fired another blast from its energy weapon.

“That was close!” said Laine.

“That psychic is good at tracking us. I wonder how we can stop it?” said Saria aloud.

“They must have locked on to one of us,” said Jem.

“Could we try what Brian did? Could we imagine being hidden?” asked Laine.

“We’re changing course again,” said Ship.

They each imagined themselves hidden from psychic detection.

A moment later, another blast barely missed.

“It’s not working. That was too close!” said Laine.

“Ship, how far away is our nearest defensive probe?” asked Saria.

“A little over forty minutes away,” replied Ship.

Saria sighed.

“I have another idea, but you won’t like it,” she said.

“What’s your idea, Lieutenant?” asked Jem.

“If we’re unconscious, they might not track us.”

Jem grinned.

“You’re right, I don’t like it.”

“Please lay on the floor,” said Saria.

Jem and Laine lay down on the floor. Saria drew her stun gun and set it on a low setting. She stunned Jem, and then Laine.

“Ship, make another random course change. Tell me if the enemy changes course to match ours,” she said.

“Confirmed. Now changing course,” said Ship.

A moment later, the enemy fired another blast.

“Lieutenant, they’re still tracking us,” said Ship.

“Crap! Once I’m unconscious, keep making random course changes,” ordered Saria.

“Confirmed,” replied Ship.

Saria sat on the floor and pointed the stun gun at herself and fired.

Yuhi sat in her meditation chamber, tracking the Baglogi vessel. She had a clear connection with a female bridge officer.

As quickly as the Baglogi vessel moved, she worked out their location and entered the coordinates.

She saw through the eyes of the female bridge officer. It was a little disorienting. She watched a viewing screen that showed the Gober vessel.

So far, they’d missed the Baglogi vessel with their energy weapon. Without a weapons lock, they had to target the vessel manually. Plus, the Baglogi vessel was twisting and turning.

Suddenly, she lost her connection to the female. This was impossible, at least it used to be. These beings could hide from her somehow.

Yuhi panicked as she searched for a connection. A moment later, she found it. They’d moved again. She sent new coordinates.

Then, just as she felt they were closing in, she lost the connection again!

Yuhi searched, and this time she didn’t find another connection. She searched and searched again. This was bad.

She extended her consciousness, searching for them. She found one on the planet’s surface. It wasn’t the target, but another female. As she looked through her eyes, she found the target, wearing a space suit.

The captain called her on the communicator.

“Yuhi, we’re waiting for more coordinates,” he said.