Deathstalker 03 - Deathstalker War

were undone.
    "What do you want, Lionstone? I'm busy."
    "Don't you dare talk to us that way, Beckett! This is your Empress! We have new orders for you, effective immediately. Identify all planets where rebel forces have taken control and scorch them, one after the other. You are not empowered to accept surrenders. We want those planets dead and lifeless."
    Beckett stared impassively at her out of the screen. "And the billions of innocents who would die?"
    "Expendable. They should have fought harder against the rebels. Confirm our order, General."

    "I regret I am unable to do so, Your Majesty. Much as it pains me. What remains of the fleet is under constant Hadenman attack. Many of my ships have been destroyed or boarded. Those I have left are scattered too widely to be recalled.
    We don't have enough ships in any one place to attempt even a single scorching.
    We're having to fight with everything we've got just to survive. Empress, I would estimate more than 40 percent of your fleet has been destroyed, or is in enemy hands."
    Lionstone lost it completely, and shouted and screamed abuse at Beckett's unmoved image. She threatened him with everything from demotion to immediate arrest and execution if he wouldn't carry out her orders, and still he wouldn't answer her. Lionstone finally regained some self-control and stood panting before the viewscreen, her hands clenched into fists. Beckett waited patiently while she got her breath back. Lionstone fixed him with a cold glare.
    "Very well. Again, we are failed by those we are forced to trust. New orders.
    General. All starcruisers are to return immediately to protect the homeworld. No excuses, no exceptions. We require a shield of ships around Golgotha. No one is to pass. Whatever happens, the homeworld must not fall. Is that clear. General?"
    Beckett sighed deeply. "Lionstone, it's over. We're too far away. Even if we were to abandon the people we're protecting from the Hadenmen, by the time we'd fought our way past their ships, it would all be over on Golgotha, bar the shouting. All I can offer you are my best wishes, and my hopes for your personal safety. There's nothing I can do for you anymore. Good-bye, Lionstone."
    "Traitor!" screamed Lionstone, as his face disappeared from the viewscreen. She breathed heavily, her eyes wide and staring at some private inner image, and then she moved quickly among the floating screens, calling up Captains in her
    fleet personally. Many didn't answer, for one reason or another, and those who did couldn't help her. They had their own problems. She saved the E class ships, her pride and joy, for last, but only one answered. The Endurance.
    The bridge was in flames. Emergency sirens and warnings were sounding everywhere, overlapping each other. Crew members sat doggedly at their seats, manning the surviving stations with desperate concentration. Shouted orders and responses could barely be heard over the bedlam, but the screams were clear enough. Dead bodies scattered the bridge, some charred and blackened figures still sitting at their exploded stations. Smoke was building faster than the extractor fans could clear it. Wounded were sobbing and crying out, but no one had the time to tend them. Lionstone yelled for someone to report to her, and finally a disheveled minor officer lurched to a halt before the viewscreen. One of his sleeves was blackened and crisped from flames only recently beaten out, and the hair on one side of his head had been burned away. Half his face was roasted an angry red. He pulled himself to something like attention and saluted the screen. His eyes were wild and staring, like some creature confronted by a forest fire. Lionstone glared at him.
    "Who are you? Where's the Captain? What's happening on the Endurance!"
    "Navigation Officer Robert Campbell reporting, Your Majesty. The Captain's dead.
    We're under attack by three Hadenman ships. We're faster than they are, but they've got better weapons and shields. Our shields are failing. We've seriously disabled one of the Hadenman ships, but doing so drained our reserves almost to zero. Power levels all over the ship are dropping fast. But we won't give up, Your Majesty. We'll fight till they tear this ship apart around us. If nothing else, we'll buy you time."
    A massive explosion rocked the bridge. The hull had been breached. Air and smoke
    shrieked out the widening hole. People not strapped into seats clung to their workstations to avoid being dragged away.