“Oh, yes, of course!” Gehenna set down the plate in front of Khoth.
Khoth hadn’t even noticed the second plate. He had no appetite, but knew that food intake was necessary for peak performance so he would not refuse the meal. He was shocked though to look down and see a traditional Thaf’ell meal called dar’lac. Greens, sweet tubers and strips of protein seasoned with spices and oils. There was a cup of beh, which humanity would classify as a creamy soup. The familiar smells of his homeworld’s food reached his nostrils and his chest clenched. His Xi shivered and his Xa shook.
“Khoth, you okay?” Jace asked, but then shook his head. “Of course you’re not. That was really stupid of me to ask. I mean--”
“This is the only dish my mother makes,” Khoth explained, understanding his reaction to the simple, but nutritious food. “She has rarely had time to prepare a meal for me, but she said she could make this kind in her sleep. I have not had it in some time.”
Sympathy flashed in Jace’s eyes. “The Osiris shouldn’t have done that.”
“I am glad it did. I wish to remember my mother from better times,” Khoth answered.
“You’re not going to have to remember her. You’re going to be talking to her in about two minutes. Ah! Okay, the ships have surrounded us,” Jace said. “Not just the Paladin-class either. Oh boy, the five Sabers are down here. She’s giving it a very good go.”
Khoth forgot the food again. The hologram showed his mother still in her command chair, but also a view of the outside of the Osiris. The sun gleamed off the Altaeth ship’s hull. It was more beautiful in sunlight than in the dark with all of its lights on. Or perhaps it was simply a different type of beauty. As Jace had said, the Paladin-class ships--two dozen in all--surrounded the Osiris. They looked like dust motes in comparison to the Osiris. Even the Saber-class were dwarfed by the ship. Then the light show began as all of the ships began to swarm the Osiris, shooting at key spots in the hull where they knew that, traditionally, Colossus-class ships contained cannons and the batteries for their shields. Bursts of light bloomed all over the Osiris as laser blasts impacted the shields. But Khoth did not hear any sound of the bombardment inside. There were no shrieks of warning alarms of shield impairment either.
Another hologram had appeared that showed a schematic of the Osiris and her shields. There were percentages shown over sections of the ships that received blasts. Jace took another bite of burger and chewed thoughtfully as he watched the percentages dip slightly before refreshing to 100%. Khoth’s eyes widened as he realized that the Osiris was absorbing the energy of the blasts to restore the shields.
“The Osiris isn’t at full power, but it’s holding its own,” Jace said as he dunked another french fry into the ketchup.
“It is doing more than that. They are not making a dent!” Gehenna cheered.
“What about missiles? The Saber-class are capable of firing a variety of tactical ballistic missiles with different warheads,” Khoth began to lecture as if Jace was a new recruit.
“Right. Heat seeking, electro-magnetic, and a form of… huh, a sort of proton weapon and others,” Jace listed off.
“Yes, of course, you would know this,” Khoth said absently.
He watched as one of the Saber-class ships sent two proton missiles directly at one of the hangar bay doors of the Osiris. Both impacted with a staggeringly bright explosion. Khoth shielded his eyes with one arm. He expected to feel a shudder and hear the impact of those weapons, but the Osiris remained silent except for the click of Gehenna’s metal heels on the floor. For a moment, Khoth wondered if they were really being attacked at all or if this was some kind of elaborate simulation. But he knew that this was happening, even if he wished that it was not. The light cleared and there appeared to be no change.
His gaze swung back to the schematic of the Osiris. The shields over the hangar bay were down to 75%, but they rose again as more laser blasts repowered them.
“Will that happen with Khul tech?” Khoth asked.
“No, it has a different… signature,” Jace said. “Same reason why Altaeth tech works against the Khul’s so well.”
“I see,” Khoth said.
A wave of unreality washed over him. It was absurd to be having lunch while his mother attempted a coup of sorts. And yet, there was no danger. That’s why Jace wasn’t afraid and could eat french fries and his burger with ease. He was completely calm.
Far more Thaf’ell than myself, Khoth realized with dark amusement.
“I think this light show has gone on enough. They’re getting edgy,” Jace said as the blasts had become more frantic somehow to his own eyes.
“What are you going to do?” Khoth asked.
Unlike the Osiris, Khoth knew that the vessels could be harmed by “friendly fire”. Would Jace simply have the Osiris use its weapons to destroy some of the ships or disable them at least?
“We’re just going to flip the switch and take over control,” Jace said, leaning back in his chair, chewing speculatively.
All of the laser fire stopped. It didn’t trickle off, but simply stopped. The ships, too, were suddenly all stationary. The skies of Sunrise were amazingly clear once more as all the spaceships once more hovered where they were.
Khoth’s eyes immediately went to the hologram of his mother. She was leaning forward in her hair. Fingernails and knuckles white with strain as she literally clutched the arms of her chair. Her eyes were huge and unblinking as she, too, watched a monitor of her ships falling still and silent.
“What is the status, Commander Nav’ud?” she snapped.
A whip-thin looking Thaf’ell appeared by her side. Commander Beni Nav’ud had been in charge of the Ashaton for over twenty grand cycles. He was his mother’s closest confidant in the fleet. His expression was studiously neutral, but there were lines around his eyes that showed the strain he was under.
“Our pilots report that they have no control over their ships, High Councillor Voor,” Nav’ud’s voice was crisp.
