Gunboat

by James Evans

  He stood up and paced about the bridge, considering their options.

  “We need to leave before they manage to find a firing solution and we end up venting atmosphere. Discretion is the better part of valour and all that. Elson, deploy mines to cover our retreat. Robinson, get us back to Oldervik.”

  Elson blinked and looked at Parks.

  Cohen closed his eyes. “What is it, Midshipman?” he said, dreading the no doubt upsetting answer.

  “Sorry, sir, it’s just that Palmerston doesn’t have a minelayer or weaponised drones. We have basic chaff for missile defence. The old girl’s not supposed to do much but bombard static targets,” said Elson.

  “Buggery bollocks. Do we have anything defensive? Anything better than chaff,” Cohen asked. “Anyone? Any ideas at all? Fine. Robinson, let’s just about face and present our rump then, shall we?”

  “Er,” said Elson.

  “Bloody hell, Elson, if you have something to say just spit it out, man!”

  “We do have one thing. It’s not defensive, though.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “The rail cannon, sir. I have an idea I’m not sure you’ll like,” Elson said, looking quite apologetic. “We can shoot it at maximum power at one of the larger asteroids. If we pick the right one, it will give us time to escape the area and get back to Oldervik.”

  “There are thousands of the bloody things. How do we pick the one that the GKI ship is hiding behind?”

  “Oh no, sir, I didn’t mean that. We just pick the largest one that the rail cannon can shatter into a million pieces of shrapnel. It should obliterate any of the enemy drones within a sizeable radius.”

  Not a bad idea, thought Cohen, and definitely worth a try.

  “Do it. Straightaway, please. Parks, if this works, make sure you have a course solution for Robinson to get us out of here and back to Oldervik to retrieve our team as fast as possible. We aren’t staying here to be shot at a moment longer than necessary.”

  “I’ve identified a suitable target, sir, firing solution is confirmed, the asteroid is in the area where we lost track of the GKI ship, so it should have the desired effect. I have the railguns primed and ready in case we get lucky and reacquire their signal.”

  “Then have at it, Mr Elson.”

  “Launching projectile now, sir. T minus one minute to impact,”

  Cohen flicked a button and raised the loading bay. “Sub-Lieutenant Corn, get us reloaded as soon as possible, please. The rail cannon is our strongest weapon if the GKI ship is reacquired.”

  “Already reloading, sir. We’ll have her ready to shoot again in a moment.”

  “Elson, any targets?”

  “Scanning, sir, but I’m not finding anything.”

  “Damn and blast,” Cohen said. “Pick another target, Elson, and get the next round underway. Robinson, I want to be out of here before it strikes. If it’s close, they’ll have to move. If not, they might come after us. I want us underway before they can pursue.”

  “Roger that, Captain. Plotting firing solution on the next target now.”

  Cohen opened a comms channel to the Marines. “Captain Warden, are you ready for a pick-up anytime soon? We may not have time for prolonged goodbyes. Was your mission a success?”

  “Yes, Captain Cohen. We’re done here; the Valkyr are back in control of Oldervik. We can leave when you’re ready.”

  “Projectile launched, Captain.”

  “Midshipman Robinson, get us out of here,” Cohen ordered.

  Robinson nodded, and the ship turned.

  “Projectile impact, sir,” Elson said.

  “Show me,” Cohen said, and Elson sent the view of the second shattered asteroid to a viewscreen.

  “Sir, I think I’ve got a solid ping!” Parks cried out.

  “Firing, sir!” Elson confirmed.

  “They’re coming at us hard and fast, sir!” Parks added.

  “Robinson, you’d better be doing everything you can to get us out of here.”

  “Working on it, sir.”

  “They’re firing railguns, sir,” Shepherd said.

  “Don’t let them hit my ship, Robinson. I won’t hesitate to dock it from your wages.”

  “Doing my best, sir.”

  An asteroid ahead lit up with impacts from the GKI railguns, as Robinson dodged around it.

  “Elson, is the rail cannon primed?”

  “Yes, sir, but I don’t see why it matters, it only shoots forward.”

  “Robinson, give the engine everything she’s got and head for that asteroid there,” Cohen said, ringing one on the viewscreen. It was a massive spinning oblong several times larger than Palmerston, tumbling through space.

  “Sir?” Robinson asked, her question’s meaning clear despite the brevity.

  “Elson, fire when we’re as close to it as possible and, Robinson, when I say close, I want us to be able to put our hand out a window and stroke it as we pass, got it?”

  “Not really, sir.”

  “Corn, find some junk you can blow out of an airlock. Anything you have that will make it look like we’ve been hit.”

  “Roger that, Captain,” Corn replied.

  “What are you planning, sir?” Parks asked.

  “That GKI ship has, what, six railguns?”

  “Ten, sir,” Elson confirmed.

  “Right, ten railguns against our puny complement. With her astern of us, we’ll be ripped to pieces as soon as Robinson picks the wrong direction to jink the ship.”

  “What’s that got to do with shooting another asteroid, sir?” Parks asked.

  “We’re not shooting it to blow it up, we’re shooting it to make it look like we tried to use it for cover and Robinson fucked up. That and the rubbish Corn is throwing out, it’ll look a lot like we clipped the asteroid as we flew by and, Robinson, we’d better not clip it, you hear me?”

  “Yes, sir!”

  “Robinson, when you dodge past that asteroid, I want the ship to look like it’s tumbling after a collision, understand?”

  Robinson took a moment to reply. “You want to trick them to come in for the kill while we flip the ship over and line up for a shot of our own?”

  “Exactly. Get on with it, everyone,” said Cohen.

  There was a chorus of confirmations from around the small bridge.

  “You’d better all have adjusted your crash webbing properly – this is going to be rough,” Robinson warned.

  “Ready on your mark, Robinson,” Elson advised.

  “Brace for high-G manoeuvres,” Cohen broadcast throughout the ship.

  “Elson, fire on three… two… mark!” Robinson said.

  “Projectile away,” Elson confirmed.

  Cohen expected Robinson to do something dramatic, but she just tweaked her controls with the lightest of touches, sending Palmerston skipping over the asteroid. She used every trick she knew to reduce their velocity and send them tumbling at the same time, as if they’d hit the rock.

  Then the rail cannon round hit the asteroid and it splintered into half a dozen large chunks, as Palmerston pinwheeled over it, her crew pressed against their seats by the deceleration.

  “Elson, stand by,” Cohen shouted as he saw two crewmen in environment suits sail past the viewscreen as the ship rotated. He cursed.

  “Corn, are you hit down there?” he asked.

  “No sir, why?”

  “There’s bodies outside!”

  “You said to make it look realistic, sir! I thought a couple of spaced crewmen would be really convincing, so I got rid of Stent and Yards and killed two birds with one stone,” Corn replied.

  Parks sniggered, and Cohen would have bitten his head off, but he wasn’t the only one.

  “Their sacrifice will be noted in the action report,” Cohen replied.

  “Firing solution locked in, sir,” Elson confirmed, rather spoiling the moment.

  “Fire at will,” Cohen ordered with a wolfish grin.

  The G
KI ship closed in for the kill, unaware that Elson was caressing his trigger figure, waiting for the perfect moment. The bridge crew cheered as he showed them their mistake.

  Immediately, Robinson stopped their rolling, which was physically uncomfortable but allowed Elson to follow up with more sustained bursts of railgun strikes. Impacts blossomed across the hull of the GKI ship.

  “Enemy railguns damaged, sir,” Parks reported.

  “Let’s close in for the kill, Robinson – no straight lines, please, just in case,” Cohen said, leaning forward in his chair.

  “Aye aye, Captain!”

  “Shit, Captain, I think they’re trying to ram us!” Shepherd said.

  “Evasive manoeuvres!”

  Robinson didn’t really need telling. Elson tried another burst but missed. Palmerston went one way and the GKI ship went the other, passing straight over them, almost grazing Palmerston’s hull.

  Immediately Palmerston fought to turn, but the viewscreen shifted to show the GKI ship powering away from them at top speed. Then it vanished.

  “We got it!” Shepherd said.

  Elson shook his head. “No, Shepherd. She went into hyperspace.”

  Shepherd said something unseemly.

  “Oldervik – now, Robinson. I want us out of here and back to Child of Starlight as soon as possible.”

  “Aye aye, Captain!” Robinson confirmed.

  Palmerston swung around and shot towards the asteroid miners, but Cohen couldn’t shake a nagging doubt that the escaped GKI ship hadn’t gone far.

  24

  “Coming out of hyperspace in three, two, one,” said Midshipman Robinson at the helm. The main display flicked from a simple status report and a countdown timer to show instead the real view of space ahead.

  “Child of Starlight is dead ahead, sir,” said Robinson with satisfaction.

  “One hundred thousand kilometres, a flight time of a little over three hours, sir,” said Parks.

  “Good,” said Cohen, nodding with satisfaction. The mission had been challenging, but the voyage back to Folkvangr, Child of Starlight’s home system, had gone as well as could be hoped. “I will leave this with you, Corn,” he said, standing up.

  “Thank you, sir. We should be able to take it from here.”

  Cohen settled into the small command suite behind the bridge and opened a comms channel to Ascendant. Lieutenant White took the call.

  “Welcome back, sir,” he said. “Good to see you’re still in one piece.”

  “A walk in the park, Lieutenant, a walk in the park. And how is Ascendant?”

  “Coming along, sir. The forward weapons arrays are operational, as are the engines. Mantle’s team have been working around the clock. The hyperspace drive is in good shape but not yet working, and obviously the wormhole communicator is still offline.”

  “The Valkyr are still delivering supplies?”

  “Like clockwork,” said White. Then he grinned. “It’s almost as if they wanted to get rid of us.”

  “Yes, well. As soon as Ascendant is ready to fly, they’ll get their wish. We can’t waste any more time out here on the edge of nothing doing minor good deeds.”

  “Couldn’t agree more, sir. And as for flying, we’re actually off Child of Starlight and tracking alongside under our own steam. I wouldn’t want to push her too hard, but Ascendant hasn’t broken apart yet. In fact, you took so long that we were going to come looking for you as soon as the hyperspace engine was in working order. So you’ve saved us a trip.”

  “The day hasn’t been a complete waste, then,” muttered Cohen. “I need to speak to Haukland. We’ll be with you in a few hours.”

  “Acknowledged, Ascendant out.”

  Cohen gathered his thoughts then opened a channel to Haukland, who answered almost immediately.

  “Commander Cohen,” she said. “You have news?”

  “Yes, Prime Minister. I am pleased to report that the hostages have been rescued and are now safely aboard Palmerston.” He watched as her eyes flicked offscreen, checking the translation. “We will arrive at Child of Starlight in around three hours.”

  “Good,” said Haukland, nodding. “A navigation path has been prepared for you, please follow it.”

  “As you wish. Cohen out.” He cut the channel and sat back for a moment. From here, everything should be simple. It was merely a matter of completing the repairs to Ascendant’s hyperspace engine, verifying her readiness for space flight and making a decision to leave for home.

  “What could possibly go wrong?” Cohen muttered to himself.

  Then a warning klaxon sounded and, just like that, everything went wrong.

  “What’s going on, Corn?” said Cohen as he strode back onto the bridge and took his seat.

  “The GKI battlecruiser, sir,” said Corn, turning in her seat. “It followed us through hyperspace and now she’s on a path to intercept us well before we reach Child of Starlight.”

  Cohen frowned as he peered at the main display, which showed a schematic diagram of their flight path and the route that the battlecruiser was taking.

  “How did they follow us?” he said to himself. Then he shook his head. It didn’t really matter how. The problem was why.

  “Child of Starlight is the nearest logical destination, given the hostages’ origin, sir,” said Corn, which at least explained the ‘how’.

  “That we know of, at least,” agreed Cohen. “Take us to Action Stations, Ms Elson, and let’s get our guests safely stowed away.”

  “Aye, sir,” said Midshipman Elson, triggering the warning klaxon.

  “This is the captain,” said Cohen, triggering the ship-wide announcement system. “Prepare for evasive manoeuvres.” He clicked off the channel and turned his attention to the main display.

  “Weapons ready, sir,” said Elson.

  “Crew and passengers are locked down, sir,” said Sub Lieutenant Corn, who had been monitoring the internal feeds.

  Cohen was silent for a moment, thinking. Then he nodded to himself. “Right. A little burst of speed, please, Ms Robinson, just to get things started.”

  “Aye, sir. Thirty second burn at one hundred per cent, starting in three, two, one–” Midshipman Robinson punched the button when her countdown reached zero.

  Palmerston’s engines fired, pushing crew and passengers alike into their chairs.

  “We can’t outrun them, sir,” said Corn as the burn came to an end. The main display changed to show Palmerston’s revised flight time, but the enemy ship was already adjusting.

  “Cruiser is firing her main engines,” reported Elson. “Looks like she’s still aiming to intercept us before we reach Starlight.”

  Cohen nodded, not taking his eyes from the display, a faint grin on his face as he ran through the plan that was forming in his mind.

  “It’s not about getting away from the hunter, Sub Lieutenant, it’s about enticing them in, leading them on so they think they’re winning.”

  “Sir?” said Corn, frowning. “They are winning. They’re bigger, faster, better armed and they have more armour.”

  “And yet, even now, they rush forward to meet the inevitable. Let’s see if we can hurry them up a little more. Another thirty seconds on the main engines, please, Ms Robinson.”

  “Aye, sir,” said Robinson.

  “And let’s open a channel to Ascendant, Mr Curtis.”

  “Aye, sir,” said Curtis. “Channel open.”

  “What ho, Ascendant!” said Cohen, his tone almost playful. “Are you ready to party?”

  At the side of the main display, Mr White appeared, sitting in the command chair on Ascendant’s bridge.

  “The shakedown has found a number of problems, sir, if I’m honest. Mantle and her team are racing around fixing them at the moment, and she’s looking as grim as she ever looks when things aren’t going well,” said White. Then he leaned forward a little. “Between you and me, I think she’s enjoying herself.”

  “That’s excellent news, Mr White,
but I’m rather hoping you can help us with another problem. We seem to have picked up a most unwelcome admirer, and we need a little help discouraging them.”

  “Ah,” said White, his tone turning serious. “We do have some operational issues that might make combat somewhat dicey.”

  Cohen shook his head. “This should be easy. No strenuous manoeuvres, I just need you at the right point in space at the right time. Let me send you the flight plans.” He flicked at his slate, sending a package of information to Ascendant.

  “Understood, sir,” said White a few moments later, grinning as he reviewed the plans. “We should reach the intercept point just in time.”

  “Make sure you do,” warned Cohen, “or this will be the briefest of brief encounters.”

  “Aye, sir. Ascendant out.”

  On the main display, a new line appeared to represent Ascendant as she moved out from the shadow of Child of Starlight and headed towards the intercept point.

  “Another sixty seconds on the main engines, please,” said Cohen. “Let’s see how fast this thing can go.”

  “Aye, sir,” said Robinson, although her tone was sceptical.

  “Is this wise, sir?” asked Corn quietly, her tone suggesting that she thought it really very unwise indeed. “Palmerston’s not built for high speed, she doesn’t have the shielding. If we hit anything bigger than a grain of sand, we risk taking damage.”

  “If we’re caught out here by that cruiser, we’ll be hit by things a whole lot more dangerous than sand, Corn,” replied Cohen.

  Corn subsided back into her chair, but it was clear she wasn’t at all happy.

  “What’s the smallest mass you can deliver with any degree of accuracy through your main cannon?” asked Cohen.

  “Smallest? There isn’t a minimum, so any correctly manufactured projectile would work. But the cannon is really only effective when used with high mass projectiles.”

  Cohen pulled the test projectile from his pocket and stared at it thoughtfully.

  “How quickly can you make, say, a few hundred of these?” he asked, holding up the small ceramic ball.

  “The test projectiles?” asked Corn, frowning in surprise. “They take about ten seconds each, sir, so in an hour you could have over three hundred. But they’re far too small to do any damage even if they didn’t burn up in the atmosphere.”