Space Knights: The Arrival by Gregory Samuelson (buy e reader .TXT) 📕

of weapons were prevalent in different styles on all of the worlds in this section of the Andromeda galaxy due to an ancient treaty that permanently banned all projectile and energy weapons. There were the exceptions of arrows fired from any form of bow or crossbow. With the development of naval ships and then the advance of armed space ships, these vessels were allowed to fire arrows with a vast variety of explosive arrowheads.

It was the intention of the treaty to slow down wars between races. In order to kill your opponent you must face him one on one and look him in the eye. It was considered un-chivalrous and undignified to just stand back with a projectile or energy weapon and shoot your opponent. Thus every race sought out better metals to forge ever stronger armor and weapons for the battlefield. The Sphinx were dismayed that, with military advancements in armor and stronger and sharper weapons, and eventually in their space battleships, the Olorians continued to thwart them. The Olorians’ close allies the Griffins aided the Olorians in this conflict. Now, with the development of the solar bomb, the Sphinx thought they had the upper hand and could conquer the entire galaxy.

“Thank you Sax,” the captain said before turning to his gunnery officer. “Valondox is Melthor in your sights?” he casually asked. He was arrayed in his golden armor. His ornate trapezoidal helmet was beside him on his throne like captain’s chair in the cockpit of the four hundred foot long space battleship. A thick mane of brown hair framed the captain’s clean-shaven face. He stared through the forward viewscreen at the dead planet that had been selected to be the test target for the solar bomb.

“All is ready sir. The planet is in my sights. Just give the word, captain,” said Valondox the gunner.

“And just think captain,” said Sax as he eyed the giant planet seven times the size of their home world, “when the bomb explodes, it will blast apart the planet and we’ll be able to easily mine the planet’s massive quarvalian and telvian deposits. They are a third of the planet’s core along with topaz, quartz, yorian, granite, and iron. When the quarvalian and telvian are forged together they will make the best armor and weapons for our war efforts against the Olorians and Griffins.”

“Yes,” said the captain as he relaxed and smiled at the glory that would be his for fulfilling their goal. “It was unfortunate that four crew members lost their lives three months ago on the plant Xet. The lutroneum we found there will make history for our war efforts. The scientists on our ship discovered its explosive nature and were able to develop it into the solar bomb. The glory of this experiment will be ours and ours alone. We will get the credit for discovering the lutroneum and putting it at the heart of the solar bomb and we alone will get the honor of testing the bomb that will lead us to ultimate victory over the Olorians and Griffins. It will be too bad for that expedition of Olorians on Melthor.” A sadistic grin flashed on his face as he thought of eliminating part of his enemies, a bonus to successfully completing the experiment.

Valondox couldn’t help but add, “And think that when our mission is complete, a fleet of these Arrow Battleships will be built. All of them armed with solar bomb arrows. But is it wise that we have all of the plans for this ship and the solar bomb. There are no other copies. Shouldn’t we send backup copies to home base?”

“There is no danger,” Sax responded, “This ship is absolutely secure. Our lead scientific officer has advised the captain and me about the solar bomb’s power. He has worked out the safety distance for us to be when the arrow is launched. We will be completely safe when the bomb explodes. There is no danger.” His confidence was so strong that it reassured the cockpit crew.

“But,” said Valandox cautiously, “What about the planet’s heavy and dense core? Isn’t it still possible that the blast could rebound back at us?”

The captain frowned at Valandox’s doubt. Valondox was usually a good soldier; never questioning orders, yet this experiment seemed to have him on edge. “The science officer has reassured me that the bomb will detonate exactly as planned and open up the planet like a smashed melon. If there is some blast rebound, it will only come back a quarter of the distance back to the ship.”

Valondox turned back to the screen and tried to relax his nerves. His uneasiness remained in the forefront of his mind. He didn’t have the scientific knowledge to back his thoughts up; something just wasn’t right.

The ship they were on was equipped with a huge one hundred foot long compound crossbow with great power wenches at the ends of the bow that would launch the one hundred foot long arrow armed with the solar bomb in its arrowhead. The huge bow’s cable bowstring had been drawn back and the arrow loaded and ready to launch.

The bomb’s hyper-reactive core was safe and stable for the moment, but once it was launched a small digital distance reader would measure the distance to its target and down to the activation point. As the arrow reached the activation point, a small electrical signal would start the reaction process that would ultimately lead to the bomb’s explosive climax.

“Fire!” commanded the captain. Valondox’s arm stretched out his claw like a hand and grabbed the golden firing lever. Still feeling an unreasoned dread Valondox pulled the lever and felt the ship shudder and shake.

The great turbo wenches at the ends of the bow spun the cable that propelled the arrow with the solar bomb. The arrow sped off the huge crossbow and raced toward its target while everyone on the ship watched and waited to see what would happen.

In just a few minutes the arrow covered the great distance