THE DILUSPHERES HAVE POSITIONED THEMSELVES OUT OF SIGHT FROM THE EARTH, READY FOR 'OPERATION RAPACIOUS'. COMMANDER SAVRETH AND HIS TEAM OF ECOBEARS HAVE TO ACT QUICKLY IF THEY ARE TO STOP DILUS STEALING PRECIOUS CARGO AND, BY DOING SO, CREATING DEVASTATION TO PLANET EARTH'S HARDWOOD FORESTS. ILLUSTRATED.
Chapter Six
THE BATTLE TO SAVE EARTH
The fleet of destroyers positioned themselves around planet Earth. Kracov, Commander-in-chief of the destroyers, had completed his job of locating any possible resistance from its air forces and nuclear defence systems.
He was laughing to himself as he turned to Lang, his second-in -command, and said:
"Huh! We could fly all the way around this planet in the time it would take their intelligence to press the button and for their nuclear weapon to rise thirty metres off the surface." Kracov's second-in -command joined in the laughter.
"How punitive," he added.
"Kracov," it was Dilus.
"Yes, sir," said Kracov, clearing his throat to readdress his outburst.
"Are we ready for Operation Rapacious?" asked Dilus.
"Yes, sir," answered Kracov.
"The operation will commence three minutes from now," said Dilus.
The Diluspheres had positioned themselves behind the moon, out of sight from planet Earth. Kracov watched his monitor closely, then gave the command to move in a single line formation. One by one the Diluspheres appeared from the dark side of the moon, until there was one long row, a thousand strong, heading directly towards the Earth.
"On my command," began Dilus to his following cargo fleet, "split formation and head towards your designated location. Reap us the best," he added coldly.
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The Echameleon was now zooming towards the Earth.
"Commander," said Mudsey, "we have a visual on the Diluspheres."
"Where are his destroyers?" asked Savreth.
"They appear to be monitoring the Earth," replied Mudsey.
"Of course," said Savreth, "they will be monitoring the Earth's defence systems. That's good; they're not expecting us."
....................................
Dilus was now shouting the final seconds of the countdown:
"Three.. Two.. One.. ATTACK!" On the word 'attack' the Diluspheres began accelerating towards the Earth's surface.
....................................
"They're moving in!" shouted Mudsey.
"Pumps - lock onto the Diluspheres' enery pulses and prepare the Laser Cannon."
"Commander, we won't have enough time to destroy them all; the Cannon will need more time to recharge to full capacity."
"Then use some of the energy from the ship's fuel chambers."
"Sir, if I do that it will interfere with the anti-matter continuum processors."
"Do it!" shouted Savreth, "Then fire immediately. Are the diluspheres in range?"
"Yes, but they're splitting formation," said Mudsey.
"All systems ready!" shouted Pumps.
"Then fire! Fire!" yelled Savreth. As the Diluspheres split up, one at the rear was first to be struck by the blast of the Laser Cannon. Within seconds it had de-atomized. Boom! - then the next. Within ten seconds, over five hundred had been destroyed.
"Re-energising," shouted Pumps.
"Come on, hurry!" said Savreth.
......................................
"What the devil's happening?" shouted Dilus into his
intercom. "Kracov - what's happening?" Kracov had no time to think; he looked flustered as he checked everything. He could not find any attack coming from planet Earth.
"Damn!" shouted Dilus as he suddenly realised where the attack must be coming from.
"Get five destroyers out here behind us: that's where the attack is coming from!"
"Yes, sir!" With that the destroyers were heading back out into space.
.......................................
"Incoming enemy destroyers," said Mudsey.
"Laser Cannon ready!" shouted Pumps.
"FIRE!" yelled Savreth. BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
"Three out of five destroyers hit," said Mudsey, "the other two have split formation."
"Track them both and activate the Echameleon's defence screen."
"Sir, that will draw more energy from the continuum fuel chambers."
"We have no choice; we can't risk been hit at this stage."
"Incoming destroyers firing at us,sir."
"Eliminate the destroyers, and then fire immediately on the Diluspheres. Dilus' destroyers are no match for the Echameleon." BOOM! BOOM! - The last two destroyers were atomized.
......................................
"Dilus," called Kracov still monitoring the situation, "we've located the attacker - an Echameleon. It's already vaporized five of my destroyers. That leaves five destroyers protecting the fleet. We'd need fifty or more destroyers to get even close to firing on the Echameleon.
"Send in another three destroyers," said Dilus.
"But, sir.."
"Kracov," Dilus cut him off sharply, "you and Commander Lang wait for me at the far side of the Earth - Operation Rapacious has now commenced."
"Yes, sir" replied an unhappy Kracov.
.......................................
Meanwhile the Echameleon had locked on and was firing at the other Diluspheres that were heading towards the Earth.
"Commander Savreth, we have destroyed another three hundred Diluspheres, but now we need all our power to destroy the rest before they enter the Earth's ionosphere," said Pumps, the ship's engineer. "We will need the power being used by the defence screen."
"Quickly! Down the defence screen," said Savreth.
"Laser Cannon back up to full power, sir."
"Take them out - NOW!" shouted Savreth, "We're running out of time!"
"Laser Cannon fully energised and firing...another hundred destroyed, sir. That means only one hundred left." Then, suddenly the Echameleon began shuddering violently, with sparks flying around the flight deck. Faz dived to the floor for cover.
"What the..." began Savreth.
"Incoming destroyers, sir, two from behind." Then BAM!! The Echameleon shuddered again.
"Damn," screeched Commander Savreth. "Power shields back on!"
"But, sir," began Pumps, "the other hundred Diluspheres..."
"Shields up; we need to take out the destroyers first."
"Yes, sir. Sir - the other hundred Diluspheres have just entered the Earth's ionosphere."
................................
"The Echameleon has stopped firing at the Diluspheres," said Kracov.
"Ah, of course - they won't risk firing now that we are in this planet's ionosphere. The Echameleon's powerful Laser Cannon would cause irreparable damage to the Earth's atmosphere. How many Diluspheres do we have left?" asked Dilus."
"One hundred, sir" answered Kracov.
'Better to make do with just one lamb if not the full herd,' Dilus thought to himself.
"Okay, those of you who are still with me let's do our work. Then report at the meeting point later," shouted Dilus through his intercom.
"What of the other bears positioned around the planet, waiting for the missing Diluspheres?" asked Kracov.
"Do you want to go and collect them all, Kracov?"
"Er..no, sir."
"Okay, go wait at the far side of the planet - the rest of us will be there in a few minutes." said Dilus. He then instructed: "Down carrier one," and with that the Diluspheres began scraping through their designated forests. 'Like slicing through cheese,' thought Dilus.
...............................
"The shields are up, sir" said Mudsey, "Incoming fire now ineffective."
"Pumkinn - get me a damage report. Turn this ship around, Mudsey, and let's get those damn destroyers!" shouted Savreth.
"They're trying to zig-zag away, sir."
"Lock on and eliminate," ordered Savreth.
"Yes, sir!" BOOM! BOOM! "Destroyers eliminated," said Mudsey.
"Okay, where are the rest of the destroyers?" asked Savreth. Mudsey scanned in and around the Earth.
"I, I can't find them, sir."
..................................
"Well done, bears," said Dilus, "The Echameleon won't locate us here, at the far side of the sun, until we move. So let's make it brisk. Set you co-ordinates for Binary Pulsar. From there we will redirect, unchecked, to the "i-bay" auctions."
..................................
"Commander, we have movement, behind the star; they appear to be heading towards the Galaxy centre."
"Hmm," thought Savreth out loud, "they must be heading for a pulsar. They'll be harder to detect there because of the pulsonic energy interference. Let's see what damage has been done down there on Earth, and what we can do to restore any mass devastation. After that we'll see if we can catch up with and destroy the rest of the Diluspheres."
"Sir," said Pumps, "here's the damage report. The firing has hit around the hull of the continuum chambers. There's no way we can use the A.E.M.A until this is repaired." Savreth thought for a moment and then said:
"Okay - we'll have to let the other Diluspheres go. It looks like we're going to be spending more time around Earth than I had anticipated.
..................................
The text, photographs and illustrations for ECOBEARS are the copyright material and property of David Sterricker, Gareth Rivett and Yvonne Wright. No part may be reproduced without our permission. Contact us via email for permission details. ECOBEARS is a registered TRADEMARK. All rights reserved.
THE BATTLE TO SAVE EARTH
The fleet of destroyers positioned themselves around planet Earth. Kracov, Commander-in-chief of the destroyers, had completed his job of locating any possible resistance from its air forces and nuclear defence systems.
He was laughing to himself as he turned to Lang, his second-in -command, and said:
"Huh! We could fly all the way around this planet in the time it would take their intelligence to press the button and for their nuclear weapon to rise thirty metres off the surface." Kracov's second-in -command joined in the laughter.
"How punitive," he added.
"Kracov," it was Dilus.
"Yes, sir," said Kracov, clearing his throat to readdress his outburst.
"Are we ready for Operation Rapacious?" asked Dilus.
"Yes, sir," answered Kracov.
"The operation will commence three minutes from now," said Dilus.
The Diluspheres had positioned themselves behind the moon, out of sight from planet Earth. Kracov watched his monitor closely, then gave the command to move in a single line formation. One by one the Diluspheres appeared from the dark side of the moon, until there was one long row, a thousand strong, heading directly towards the Earth.
"On my command," began Dilus to his following cargo fleet, "split formation and head towards your designated location. Reap us the best," he added coldly.
The Echameleon was now zooming towards the Earth.
"Commander," said Mudsey, "we have a visual on the Diluspheres."
"Where are his destroyers?" asked Savreth.
"They appear to be monitoring the Earth," replied Mudsey.
"Of course," said Savreth, "they will be monitoring the Earth's defence systems. That's good; they're not expecting us."
....................................
Dilus was now shouting the final seconds of the countdown:
"Three.. Two.. One.. ATTACK!" On the word 'attack' the Diluspheres began accelerating towards the Earth's surface.
....................................
"They're moving in!" shouted Mudsey.
"Pumps - lock onto the Diluspheres' enery pulses and prepare the Laser Cannon."
"Commander, we won't have enough time to destroy them all; the Cannon will need more time to recharge to full capacity."
"Then use some of the energy from the ship's fuel chambers."
"Sir, if I do that it will interfere with the anti-matter continuum processors."
"Do it!" shouted Savreth, "Then fire immediately. Are the diluspheres in range?"
"Yes, but they're splitting formation," said Mudsey.
"All systems ready!" shouted Pumps.
"Then fire! Fire!" yelled Savreth. As the Diluspheres split up, one at the rear was first to be struck by the blast of the Laser Cannon. Within seconds it had de-atomized. Boom! - then the next. Within ten seconds, over five hundred had been destroyed.
"Re-energising," shouted Pumps.
"Come on, hurry!" said Savreth.
......................................
"What the devil's happening?" shouted Dilus into his
intercom. "Kracov - what's happening?" Kracov had no time to think; he looked flustered as he checked everything. He could not find any attack coming from planet Earth.
"Damn!" shouted Dilus as he suddenly realised where the attack must be coming from.
"Get five destroyers out here behind us: that's where the attack is coming from!"
"Yes, sir!" With that the destroyers were heading back out into space.
.......................................
"Incoming enemy destroyers," said Mudsey.
"Laser Cannon ready!" shouted Pumps.
"FIRE!" yelled Savreth. BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
"Three out of five destroyers hit," said Mudsey, "the other two have split formation."
"Track them both and activate the Echameleon's defence screen."
"Sir, that will draw more energy from the continuum fuel chambers."
"We have no choice; we can't risk been hit at this stage."
"Incoming destroyers firing at us,sir."
"Eliminate the destroyers, and then fire immediately on the Diluspheres. Dilus' destroyers are no match for the Echameleon." BOOM! BOOM! - The last two destroyers were atomized.
......................................
"Dilus," called Kracov still monitoring the situation, "we've located the attacker - an Echameleon. It's already vaporized five of my destroyers. That leaves five destroyers protecting the fleet. We'd need fifty or more destroyers to get even close to firing on the Echameleon.
"Send in another three destroyers," said Dilus.
"But, sir.."
"Kracov," Dilus cut him off sharply, "you and Commander Lang wait for me at the far side of the Earth - Operation Rapacious has now commenced."
"Yes, sir" replied an unhappy Kracov.
.......................................
Meanwhile the Echameleon had locked on and was firing at the other Diluspheres that were heading towards the Earth.
"Commander Savreth, we have destroyed another three hundred Diluspheres, but now we need all our power to destroy the rest before they enter the Earth's ionosphere," said Pumps, the ship's engineer. "We will need the power being used by the defence screen."
"Quickly! Down the defence screen," said Savreth.
"Laser Cannon back up to full power, sir."
"Take them out - NOW!" shouted Savreth, "We're running out of time!"
"Laser Cannon fully energised and firing...another hundred destroyed, sir. That means only one hundred left." Then, suddenly the Echameleon began shuddering violently, with sparks flying around the flight deck. Faz dived to the floor for cover.
"What the..." began Savreth.
"Incoming destroyers, sir, two from behind." Then BAM!! The Echameleon shuddered again.
"Damn," screeched Commander Savreth. "Power shields back on!"
"But, sir," began Pumps, "the other hundred Diluspheres..."
"Shields up; we need to take out the destroyers first."
"Yes, sir. Sir - the other hundred Diluspheres have just entered the Earth's ionosphere."
................................
"The Echameleon has stopped firing at the Diluspheres," said Kracov.
"Ah, of course - they won't risk firing now that we are in this planet's ionosphere. The Echameleon's powerful Laser Cannon would cause irreparable damage to the Earth's atmosphere. How many Diluspheres do we have left?" asked Dilus."
"One hundred, sir" answered Kracov.
'Better to make do with just one lamb if not the full herd,' Dilus thought to himself.
"Okay, those of you who are still with me let's do our work. Then report at the meeting point later," shouted Dilus through his intercom.
"What of the other bears positioned around the planet, waiting for the missing Diluspheres?" asked Kracov.
"Do you want to go and collect them all, Kracov?"
"Er..no, sir."
"Okay, go wait at the far side of the planet - the rest of us will be there in a few minutes." said Dilus. He then instructed: "Down carrier one," and with that the Diluspheres began scraping through their designated forests. 'Like slicing through cheese,' thought Dilus.
...............................
"The shields are up, sir" said Mudsey, "Incoming fire now ineffective."
"Pumkinn - get me a damage report. Turn this ship around, Mudsey, and let's get those damn destroyers!" shouted Savreth.
"They're trying to zig-zag away, sir."
"Lock on and eliminate," ordered Savreth.
"Yes, sir!" BOOM! BOOM! "Destroyers eliminated," said Mudsey.
"Okay, where are the rest of the destroyers?" asked Savreth. Mudsey scanned in and around the Earth.
"I, I can't find them, sir."
..................................
"Well done, bears," said Dilus, "The Echameleon won't locate us here, at the far side of the sun, until we move. So let's make it brisk. Set you co-ordinates for Binary Pulsar. From there we will redirect, unchecked, to the "i-bay" auctions."
..................................
"Commander, we have movement, behind the star; they appear to be heading towards the Galaxy centre."
"Hmm," thought Savreth out loud, "they must be heading for a pulsar. They'll be harder to detect there because of the pulsonic energy interference. Let's see what damage has been done down there on Earth, and what we can do to restore any mass devastation. After that we'll see if we can catch up with and destroy the rest of the Diluspheres."
"Sir," said Pumps, "here's the damage report. The firing has hit around the hull of the continuum chambers. There's no way we can use the A.E.M.A until this is repaired." Savreth thought for a moment and then said:
"Okay - we'll have to let the other Diluspheres go. It looks like we're going to be spending more time around Earth than I had anticipated.
..................................
The text, photographs and illustrations for ECOBEARS are the copyright material and property of David Sterricker, Gareth Rivett and Yvonne Wright. No part may be reproduced without our permission. Contact us via email for permission details. ECOBEARS is a registered TRADEMARK. All rights reserved.