Chess- A Short Story

Night fell on the town. The dual moons looked down on the countryside. As the Larger of the two moons set, the lights in the town slowly faded into the darkness. As the last of the townspeople were receding into sleep, the city erupted, and moments later the shockwave obliterated the town. “Fleet Command, this is Bombardment ship Rho-9, we have hit target with maximum yield. Proceeding to secondary target.”
“Rho-9 this is Fleet Command, Good job.”
The 1 Star Admiral commanded the huge Capital-Class Bombardment ship with flawless precision. He input the destination, and the ship began its journey to the location. He relaxed in his chair to watch the landscape go by, when his communicator buzzed. “All Bombardment ships, Cease fire! Enemy fleet inbound, redirect all fire at capital ships.” The ‘Urgent’ light flashed as the new coordinates were input into the computer. The Admiral watched with a strange sense of vertigo as the planet in front of him swung out of sight and the massive fleet came into view. The enemy ships were highlighted on the screen, and the admiral watched as several bombardment crafts locked on to various ships. The Admiral felt minimal acceleration when he punched the engines.The fleet had regrouped and was in attack position when the enemy fleet arrived. The Admiral grinned to himself. “Target locked?”
“Yes admiral!”
“Fire!”
The Rockets seemed to take forever to reach their target. At the moment of impact, the Ion Beam fired, blasting the weakened shields away. The ship tumbled towards the planet in a fiery mass. The other Bombardment craft fired at their respective targets. Several more crafts separated themselves from the fleet with critical hits and a few plunged towards their terrestrial demise. The firefight began.
The shield prevented most of the shots, but every now and then a shot would impact the hull and send echoes throughout the ship. The admiral hit ship after ship, and the fighters caught in the beam would burst like fireworks. The admiral began to have fun when his com buzzed again. “Cease fire! The Opposing admiral wants to surrender.” Cheers went up from the crew. A brief battle, but crippling for the opposition. The Opposing flagships faced each other, as the admiral presumed negotiations were underway. Then, all of a sudden, the enemy flagships engines flared to life, it seemed to erupt with fire. The Entire fleet lurched forward, as if their motions could stop the craft before it hit the flagship, but it collided in the largest explosion the Admiral had ever seen in his career. The fiery mass descended towards the planet until it impacted. The blast surely eliminated anything within many hundreds of kilometers. The admiral didn’t have time to think. He shouted into his com “Leave no survivors!” and the fleet fired everything they had at anything within reach.
A small battle group was dispatched to stop the retreat of the critically damaged ships, so that landing parties could capture the ships and the ships could be integrated into the fleet. The rest of the ships either exploded or fell to the planet below.
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After the battle, cleanup crews were clearing the wreckage from orbit, so that the invasion of Hrakkn could continue. The admiral proceeded to his secondary targets as the second in command 4 stars Admiral took charge and issued orders. The bombardment from that point on went smoothly. His Surveillance officers noted some troop movements on the ground and in the skies, but nothing that couldn’t be compensated for. The Admiral dispatched a minor bombardment on a troop column moving down a major highway.
“Admiral Cervidas, I would like to ask you a few questions concerning the mission.”
The Admiral felt the weight of age and the weariness of Post-Engagement Syndrome. “Look in your briefing,” The admiral’s eyes flickered towards the mans uniform. “Colonel.”
“I have sir, my questions are more technical.” This was the first time the Admiral noticed who the man actually was. Lieutenant Colonel Hadar Pontavus, leading one of the landing craft for the invasion. He’d asked many questions during the whole affair, and the Admiral suspected him of brown-nosing for a promotion.
“Well, what is it?”
“The landing will commence 14 hours after we eliminate all threats to the fleet, correct?”
“That is correct, AND in your briefing.”
“Yes, well, what will the nature of our landing be?”
“What do you mean? That wasn’t in your briefing?” he took the folder Pontavus was holding and flipped through it. “Damn those staffers. It will be by a standard landing craft, not by drop pods as originally planned. In fact, you should probably be going to the Flight Deck soon. How are your troops, by the way?”
“Pumped, sir.” He grinned. “You wouldn’t happen to have any environmental specifications of the Beachhead, would you?”
“Not off the top of my head. If you go ask one of my surveillance officers over there, they’ll be able to let you know.”
“Thank you, sir.” Pontavus saluted, then left.
The Admiral returned his attention to the display. Scenic! The star illuminated the fleet and Hrakkn with a purplish color, and the long shadows on the magnified screen painted a picture of victory for him.
His thoughts were interrupted by a small red flashing light and an alarm in his com unit- “Unidentified Craft locked on.” Surveillance had an immediate display- a missile had been fired. “Take care of it!” the admiral said. The laser defense system destroyed the missile before it had gone too far, and a small bombardment destroyed the base where the missile was launched. His nerves were slightly on edge. These people weren’t going out without some kind of fight.
An alarm sounded, and the Admiral clenched his fists. “Landing Party Alpha through Echo, report to Flight Deck 0046A, Foxtrot through Juliet…”
As the Marines received their commands; the admiral stared at the map. It was about to begin. He was going to make sure his crew made it back intact, and he was going to watch everything.
“Surveillance, get me Waypoint 00R9 on the main screen.” The beachhead appeared on the screen. “Is this feed live?” “Yes sir!”
“Show me the defenses.” After a brief hesitation, points appeared on the screen. He touched them, and read their information. “Military Presence?”
“Minimal. The planets defenses are spread pretty thin, they don’t know what to expect. They have slightly higher concentrations under our ships.”
“What about their air force?”
“They are on alert.”
“Take out what you can. I’ll suggest this to the other crews.”
“Fleet this is Bombardment ship Rho-9, try taking out their airbases to give our landing parties a bit of an easier go of it.”
“This is Rho-4, Roger that Rho-9; beginning attack.”
“Ditto, this is Rho-12”The various ships called in their attacks.The Admiral wondered why the ships don’t just eliminate the ground forces from space. Apparently there was a conference many hundreds of years ago, making it unethical. Too many civilian casualties. Oh well. His com buzzed with idle traffic. He drifted lazily off to sleep.

The ship stopped rattling. He looked through his display, and saw a huge craft, facing theirs. “Ceasefire!” he yelled into this com. “Hrakkn Flagship, are you prepared to negotiate?” no response. “Hrakkn flagship, are you prepared to negotiate? Do you copy?” no response. He saw the engines flare to life, and the ship rushed towards the screen. The feed went dead when the craft shook dramatically. Then he was engulfed in flames. He was ejected from the craft, and as he flew out of the fiery command center, he held his breath, watching his comrades falling. This was the end. As he slowly faded out of consciousness, The admiral woke up.

He was sweating. The scenic beachhead and been turned into a battlefield. He turned to his Surveillance team. “How long was I asleep?”
“I don’t know, sir. An hour maybe?”
“how’s the battle going?”
“We’re winning” The admiral smiled. Good to hear.
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The party was long, and annoying. The Admiral had to leave. He went to the observation deck to look at the newly conquered Hrakkn. The smallest moon, Daenyr was full and close to the horizon. He took his drink and swirled it around, but couldn’t bring himself to drink. He had a piercing headache that commanded his thoughts. His unsettling dream, the annoying Lieutenant colonel that didn’t come back, the loss of the flagship. It all bothered him. Something was about to change. And he had to give a speech praising his men? He laughed. Ridiculous. Its not over. Its not over, he told himself. He made up his mind to posthumously promote Pontavus. He wasn’t sure why. He was told he was an amazing combat soldier. He heard footsteps behind him.
“Escaping the party, Admiral?”
“Yes...”
“Me too.” The guest extended a hand. “Captain Andrei Petrokov, a pleasure.”
“Likewise.” said the admiral.
“The Fleet has conquered yet another planet. And Admiral Cervidas has again fired the first shots. How does that make you feel?”
“Its just a job, Captain. One day, you will reach that point. I don’t care about doing things first, or doing it fast. All I care about is that it gets done, and with minimal casualties.”
“But this isn’t just a job, Admiral. You had to have considered at one point that you are on the living edge of the Empire. You fire the shots that change the maps.”
“That had occurred to me, but look out there. The planet is the same. The moons, just the same. The flag that flies over it is all that has changed. The people now get to read something different in the news. Trust me, the planet is far from taken. It takes months to settle down. I doubt they will be instantly pacified by a new force that swept aside their defenses. These people are desperate.”
The captain considered this carefully. “Desperate?”
“Yes, desperate. Tell me Captain, are you familiar with the game of chess?”
“I am, yes.”
“When the game is nearing the end, in my experience at least, the defeated faction realizes that the end is near, and they strike out with such vicious desperation that it can take many turns before the King is finally captured. Often times it can change the tide of the war. Valuable pieces are sacrificed in the name of a dwindling cause.” The captain looked thoughtful. The Admiral turned to him, glass in hand. “They sacrificed their flagship. They knew when they sent their fleet the game was up. They just went out in a blaze of glory. The men on that ship will go down in history; the men on ours will be forgotten. Yes captain, they know the end is near. What more will be sacrificed? Will it result in a stalemate? Frankly captain, I’m afraid for the Empire.”
The captain looked shaken. “Admiral…could you possibly be wrong? I mean…war is war, nothing is certain.”
“Some things are more certain than we would all like to think.” The admiral set his glass on a counter, and walked out of the observation deck. As he walked into his chambers, he felt the blasts rock the ship. He grinned as he was engulfed in flames.



Sorry if the spacing and things seem a bit weird, it didn't keep everything when i copied it over. lemme know what you thought!