Smoke on the Wind

by Sean Benjamin

  Captain Bond talked from his operations station. “One of the three ship patrols that did raids for us as we crossed the border at the start of this mission was returning to Wanderlust. I redirected them to move toward us. From their current position, they might come across the Batsur group before they get to us.”

  Rafe said, “Tell them to hunt for the Batsur fleet since they are in a position to do so. We need number and types of enemy ships, but they are not to risk themselves to get the information. The most important thing is to get their exact location.”

  Bond acknowledged the orders and turned to his computer. Raferty moved to Levant. “We need to get the disabled ships sorted out. I want to ramp up our speed as soon as we can.”

  Levant responded, “Going to run for Wanderlust? If we can get to maximum speed, maybe, maybe, we can get to Wanderlust before the Batsur group can cut that path off. We don’t know anything for sure until we get the Batsur force’s exact location.”

  Hawkins nodded in agreement. “True enough. We really can’t go anywhere else. If we run away into open space, the OrCons might just hit Wanderlust, and we need that damn base. We get there and get resupplied. With the base defenses backing us, we could beat them there. In fact, I don’t even think they will fight. They are a long way from home and could easily be cut off. They could lose every ship.”

  Levant nodded and smiled. “That would be one hell of a victory.” He paused and said, “You could put out scouts in front of us and out to port. They would give us several hours warning if the Batsur force closes on us.”

  “Let’s do that. I’ll tell Captain Wilson to set it up.”

  Minutes later, ten Royal Navy destroyers and pirate corvettes broke ranks and sped out in front of the formation. They would set up to intercept the Batsur warships if the three-ship formation didn’t find them. The Zeke main body continued to pass disabled ships. Levant and Hawkins passed judgement on all of them. Hawkins was one off in his estimate. Five ships did enough to get their power plants capable of top speed. The other five were abandoned and set up for destruction. Escape pods were picked up seconds after launching. Shuttles loaded ordnance from the doomed ships for transport to other fleet units. As soon as escape pods were picked up, ships moved on, and the abandoned warships disappeared in a series of explosions. The action happened quickly. Everyone knew time was short, so people moved with a purpose.

  Soon enough, the Zeke fleet moved to maximum speed and aimed at Wanderlust. The four pirate freighters had been sent ahead of the fleet as the crippled ships were dealt with. The main fleet would maintain speed until they caught the freighters. They would then slow to the maximum speed of the missile boats. Admiral Dudnik’s fleet followed thirty minutes in trail while keeping the closing Batsur armada informed on the Zeke location and actions.

  Chapter 43

  Twenty-two hours passed with the Royal Navy fleet running for Wanderlust and Dudnik’s Orion group maintaining a thirty-minute trailing position. Modified general quarters was the order of the day. Watches were stood, crews slept, and meals were eaten. All the while, all ships were at combat readiness with all hatches closed unless someone was passing through them, and all crewmembers wore their combat equipment. Repairs were done as much as they could be while underway. Ordnance stored in spaces throughout each ship was put into magazines. Through it all, a whiff of anxiety was present. The Batsur threat had not been pinpointed yet, and a meeting engagement was always a possibility.

  Raferty was reading in his stateroom when Tactical buzzed him. He hit the comm switch on his desk, and she appeared floating over the desk.

  “One of our pickets found them,” she said without preamble. “They are far out to port on an intercept course. Twenty-eight ships with five battleships or battlecruisers. At current speeds, they will cut us off. We need to slow them down for an hour so we can pass in front of them while staying outside of missile range.”

  “Dispatch Admiral Barrett and his augments as a blocking force. Have all the scouts already out rally to him,” Rafe ordered. Barrett was getting thirty-four ships with five battlecruisers. The extra ships were there to ensure hits were made on the Batsur ships if they pressed the issue.

  “Already done,” Tactical replied.

  The battle staff had produced several plans for whatever contingency arose. One fit this particular set of circumstances. Barrett would gather in front of the oncoming Batsur detachment. His ships would block their flight path and use the same tactics that had been used in the border fight. They would sit on the edge of missile range, shoot, and then retreat as the Batsur ships came on. The OrCons couldn’t shoot as Barrett would constantly be backing out of range as the OrCons had to charge into the oncoming Zeke missiles in order to get through to the Zeke main body. If they were determined, the OrCons would get to the main body eventually but with few warships.

  It was assumed the trailing Orion warships would attack the Typhoon main body sometime during the evolution, and plans were made to accommodate them. Their forty-five ships would be up against the forty-five ships left of the Typhoon force. An even match, but Hawkins thought the four pirate freighters gave him an advantage. He didn’t have to win. He only had to fight to a standstill as he moved to Wanderlust and dragged the enemy deeper into Empire space.

  Tactical continued. “The three-ship raiding party has been routed to the action to support Barrett. They are only destroyers but anything helps. At Wanderlust, Barrett left behind two heavy cruisers in need of further repairs in addition to a light cruiser and destroyer. One of the heavy cruisers is coming this way with the destroyer. They will probably be late, but you never know.”

  Rafe nodded. “Not much left there. I hope the intel is right on OrCon activity in the local area.” Tactical nodded, and he asked, “Who found the Batsur boys?”

  “Little sister.” Tactical smiled as she used the Flot 1 nickname for Ringo in Renegade. Ringo patterned herself after Killian O’Hare so had earned the moniker years prior.

  Rafe matched her smile. “I might have known. Hopefully, she won’t start the fight before the others arrive.”

  “I’d say that was a fifty-fifty proposition. She dearly loves to shoot.” Tactical signed off, and Rafe decided there was nothing for him to do so went back to reading his book.

  Chapter 44

  Kit Kinkaid had Gawain repaired and ready for further battle. Number 1 hold was out of action. The explosion in the crew quarters below that huge compartment had buckled the hold’s deck and jammed the large hatch in the closed position. Only a visit to a shipyard would repair that damage. However, the other two holds were ready to support with full volleys of thirty rounds each.

  Grimes was standing next to her on the bridge having just reported the two compartments behind the bridge were all sealed off and would also need a shipyard’s attention. After the report, he did not depart but gave Kinkaid a side glance. “Any word on the Captain?”

  Kinkaid was surprised. Grimes had voiced opposition to going on this mission when he heard who was to command Gawain, and it was only his loyalty to Kinkaid that caused him to override his disdain for Maclyn Yardley and come on the mission. He was not the only member of Kinkaid’s crew that went through the same metamorphosis.

  Kinkaid spoke without looking away from her scan out the large porthole. “You really want to know or just faking concern?”

  Grimes wasn’t offended. He had been with Kinkaid for years and took her bluntness in stride. “Huh, some folks asking, that’s all.”

  Kit nodded. She was not surprised that Yardley had won over the crew. She had run a good ship the entire mission, and her personal actions in the border battle had cemented the crew’s rising opinion of their captain. “She is holding her own in the sickbay in Cockeyed Bob. As of yesterday, her chances were even. I’ll keep on it, I promise.”

  Grimes nodded and walked away as Kit smiled to herself.

  Chapter 45

  Admiral Barrett formed his battle line just outsi
de missile range of the oncoming Batsur ships. He wouldn’t fire until he was sure the enemy couldn’t back out of range of his volley. It cut down on his margin of separation from the OrCons, but he was confident he could remain out of range while retreating toward the main force. If the enemy pushed hard, they could get in range of the Typhoon force in just over one standard hour, but they would have to fight off his missile barrages for that hour. He would target a few ships at a time to ensure severe damage would be done. Of course, each ship lost would reduce the Orion defense which means more ships would be hit and the rate of destruction would increase. Barrett was concerned that a drawn-out fight would run his warships out of missiles but, as he sat back in his chair, he had to admit he felt pretty damn good about the upcoming fight. The three destroyers that had been raiding were now out on the enemy’s port side, just outside of missile range. They would also shoot in concert with him when the time came.

  Admiral Levant had the same good feeling. He had Typhoon and the four missile boats at the rear of the formation as they continued toward Wanderlust. He also had the same advantage that Barrett enjoyed. The enemy had to charge into his missiles while he was moving away from their missiles so would get free shots before the Orion ships would get close enough so Levant couldn’t retreat out of range. The advantage would not be as distinct as the slower speed of the freighters would mean the OrCons would get into range eventually. There was also the threat that the pursuing Orion warships would try to run around the flank. Going around Typhoon’s left flank was the obvious move so as to threaten Barrett. Levant would move to counter that, so he remained in front of the enemy. He may have to leave the freighters, but he knew he would still get first shots without taking any in return, and the freighters would continue toward Wanderlust.

  Both battles were set now, but the OrCons did no maneuvering. Dudnik’s warships continued to trail the main body while the Batsur force came to a stop on the edge of missile range in front of Barrett. All Zeke and pirate ships did a detailed search with sensors to ensure the OrCons were not waiting for more reinforcements. There was nothing within two hours of flight time. The Zeke main force continued on course and, ninety minutes later, passed behind Barrett’s ships as they headed toward Wanderlust. Barrett withdrew from in front of the Batsur flotilla and took up a position on the main body’s port side. The two Orion fleets followed and joined forces behind the Typhoon group causing Barrett to move in close on the port side. The two formations stayed within missile range but nobody made a move.

  Hawkins sat at his ops station and reviewed the situation. The two ships coming from Wanderlust were routed out to the starboard side to extend sensor coverage while the three raiding destroyers were put out on the port side.

  Levant walked over and leaned in to speak in a low volume. “I think they ran the numbers in a variety of scenarios and didn’t like what they saw.”

  Hawkins agreed. “No matter how many of us they get, we get all of them eventually. Their damaged ships would have to be left behind. Survivors would be racing to the border with our warships chasing them. None of them would get home. Their only hope is to run us out of missiles, and they don’t know how many missiles we have left. That’s a helluva bet to make when you are deep in enemy space.” He paused and added. “With all their Rurik warships destroyed along with a slice of Batsur’s fleet, there would be a giant hole in the middle of their defenses covering their home system. I think Admiral Wu would find ships from somewhere to send into that gap.”

  Levant smiled. “He would build them himself, if necessary.”

  Hawkins smiled in return. “Yep, he would.” He gestured to his floating tac screens. “I don’t see an OrCon secret plan in operation here, so we will continue heading for home. The only thing that stops me from forcing a fight is the lack of ordnance.” He added in an optimistic voice, “I hope this is the end of this campaign.” Levant nodded in agreement.

  ~ ~ ~

  Admiral Dudnik sat back in his seat in disgust. He reread the text. It hadn’t changed since the first three times he read it. He was not totally surprised. Seventh Fleet headquarters on Batsur had been following the developments via message traffic and ships’ data streams. With the destruction of Sixth Fleet headquarters on Rurik, Seventh Fleet extended its responsibility to cover Sixth Fleet’s AOR. Commander, Seventh Fleet, had given a warning in earlier message traffic that he was concerned about the developing tactical situation and following it with great interest. Dudnik knew that was bureaucratic double talk for he was giving himself final authority for future operations. That commanding admiral knew he couldn’t run operations minute by minute due to the lag time in communications. That meant taking over the operation would be limited to making the big decisions before they needed to be made as the time lag had to be accounted for. Dudnik was the senior admiral on scene, but that meant nothing now. He had just been made into a mouthpiece for issuing another person’s orders to his operational units.

  Now the order from Seventh Fleet had come in. All Orion warships were being recalled to the border. Dudnik understood the reasoning. He understood that there was an excellent chance not one Orion ship would get home if there was a battle here and now. If his command was destroyed, he knew the Sixth Fleet sector would be open all the way to the home system. He knew the Zekes had more ships in front of him and the only advantage that he had was the enemy had to be low on munitions. He saw all the disadvantages to accepting battle here and so did Seventh Fleet. He understood the recall order. Hell, part of him agreed with it. However, it was not the part of him that had been good friends with Admiral Dabria Kasyanov. It was not the part of him that wanted revenge for the ass kicking that had been put on his navy. But they were deep in Empire territory with no support coming any time soon. The only thing that made Dudnik sure that no Royal Navy ships were closing off the escape route behind him was that all the Royal Navy ships in the entire area were in front of him now.

  He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. He talked quickly over his command net to get it over with. “We have been ordered to return to the border and establish ourselves there to repel any enemy thrust into Orion space. Formation is Fleet Omega 2. I want pickets all around and far out. Let’s go.”

  The Orion formation turned and aimed for the border. They organized their formation on the run. The maneuver was viewed with amazement from every Zeke bridge. Nobody said a word over the command net for twenty seconds. Finally, a voice muttered, “Damn.” It was Jack Wilson.

  “Right there with you, buddy.” Killian O’Hare quickly added. Laughter of relief came from several stations.

  Hawkins waited for the laughter to subside than spoke over his net. “Fifth Squadron, follow our departing guests at a thirty-minute interval. Do not engage in combat. Report every fifteen minutes.” The orders were acknowledged and the eight ships of Fifth Squadron detached from the formation and took up a holding pattern as the remainder of the formation continued toward Wanderlust.

  Hawkins looked over at his sister. She was smiling at him. He nodded to her. “You had a hell of a plan,” he said softly.

  “You did a hell of an execution,” she answered. They continued smiling at each other. Like any plan, a million things could have gone wrong, but none did. Hawkins was always slightly surprised when things went really well, and he was absolutely amazed right now. The siblings turned back to the job at hand. Rafe suddenly thought of Skyler Mallory. He stopped smiling, but he was still satisfied with the results. He thought she would approve wholeheartedly. He hoped she knew.

  Hawkins added one final comment directed at Tactical. “I’ll need a list of pirate casualties.”

  His sister nodded. She knew he kept a meticulous roster of those who paid the ultimate price for Pirate Flotilla One. She also knew that was the definitive record and not available anywhere else. They owed it to those who had gone before to ensure their names were written down somewhere and would be remembered.