Excerpt: Black Hole

Control level Beta: VSS Aquila, Warbird class starship.

The darkened bridge reflected the mood of the young man at the controls. Captain Jonathon Amgathe, a tall, wiry man, quite young in appearance. His eyes, normally so bright and clear that they had become his defining feature, were clouded and dark and his shining auburn hair had become lank, falling limply across his forehead.
The young man’s forehead was creased with worry. He brushed a hand across his face and brought his tired eyes to focus on the computer screen in front of him. He scanned through the information, growling in frustration at what he saw,
‘God-dammit! When will the council understand that we can't win this war. Vari isn't strong enough’
He thumped his fist down, narrowly missing the crucial shield controls
‘This will be the last war the people of Vari will ever fight’ he snarled, staring out at the other ships hovering above the planet, like predators waiting to devour their prey.
He pressed a com button and a face appeared.
‘This is Captain Jonathon Amgathe, is the fleet ready to start the attack?’ The face on the screen gave a curt nod and the intercom crackled as the voice filtered through. Jonathon immediately straightened and remained in his professional stance as his father, the General, appeared. The war had affected the General almost as bad as it had affected his son. He stood, still tall, with an air of pride about him as he spoke.
‘This is General Pieter Amgathe. Captain, lead your forces around to the starboard flank of the Valtohran fleet, use your cloaking devices. I will take my forces around to intercept and engage the enemy, this will leave them with nowhere to go, that is, if the plan went smoothly?’
Jon could hear the thinly veiled threat in his father’s voice. The General smiled grimly ‘their transport engines have been disabled I trust?’
‘Yes Sir’
The General gave a tight nod,
‘Well then. Good luck Captain’
The transmission ended and Jonathon sighed.
‘Good luck... father’ he ran a hand through his hair, pressing another button that would give the signal for the fleet to activate Plan Epsilon.