Star Crusades

by Michael G. Thomas

  VALENTINE’S

  VENGEANCE

  By Michael G. Thomas

  Part of the STAR CRUSADES universe

  Copyright © 2021 Michael G. Thomas

  Published by Swordworks Books

  All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.

  MY NEWSLETTER

  If you’d like to receive my latest news, special offers and free books then please sign up for my newsletter. It’s a great way of keeping up to date with my latest projects, as well as getting samples and free books throughout the year. Click on the link and join up today. You can also visit my official website and Facebook page, links below:

  My official website:

  www.starcrusader.com

  My Facebook Page:

  www.facebook.com/starcrusader

  PROLOGUE

  Dragoon Class Frigate ‘ANS Coventry’, Epsilon Eridani

  20th May 2475, Nine months after the Siege of Mars

  Captain Nektaria Zacharias ran his fingers through his beard as he watched the distant stars. He was not there to enjoy the view, but to take part in a deadly game of cat and mouse. His eyes moved furtively as he looked for anomalies around the abandoned frontier world of Eridani Prime. The Alliance had never had much more than a modest colony out here, with small outposts on the other planets in the system. But since the conflict with the Ski’ligs, the area had been completely evacuated, save for several hunting packs like his. His orders were simple, to patrol and monitor the system, and engage any craft they encountered.

  “Captain. I’ve got strange readings directly ahead. Metal residue and…”

  “No.” That’s just the dust clouds and debris from the destroyed transport ship. Check again. The energy signature is from their weapon.”

  The officer moved his hands over the computer controls and then nodded.

  “Affirmative, Sir. The computer matches the scans to our database. The outer plating is showing signs of disruption.”

  Commander Campbell, a tall, clean-shaven man nodded to the Captain.

  “That makes sense. The Ski’lig weapon.”

  “That’s correct, Sir,” said Chief Engineer Thompson, “Their weapon drains power instantly. On the first encounter we believe it was able to neutralise a Morato Class heavy frigate in seconds. With main power gone, there would be no IS drive and no particle weapons.”

  “But our upgraded countermeasures should prove effective, shouldn’t they?”

  The Chief Engineer looked at the Commander for two full seconds before answering. It was as though he’d transformed into a computer rather than a person as he ran the calculations in his head.

  “Based on the data from our previous engagement, there is a strong chance of success.”

  “A chance?” asked the surprised Commander.

  “Yes. We have no idea what else these ships are capable of. If we come up against them, we’ll find out.”

  Captain Zacharias had already turned his attention away from the crew and was looking at the patterns in the blackness. There was something strange about this system, something he’d never really been able to put a finger on before. As an Alliance captain, he’d worked his way up from small customs vessels and customs patrol craft up to cutters and then to frigates. Over the years he’d seen the fiery world of Prometheus, the gleaming jewel of Terra Nova, and even the mysterious planets of the Helions. But never had he seen such strange readings in the coldness of space.

  They’re out there, I’m certain of it.

  “Switch to active scanners. I need to know where they are. We cannot enter the fight blind.”

  The tactical officer, a scarred veteran of the recent fighting gave him a curt nod.

  “Yes, Captain. Scanners are active. Cycling out to five hundred kilometres.”

  Captain Zacharias looked off to the right and noted the light glinting off the armour plates of the nearby frigates. The formation of ships moved silently through the blackness of space, with only a gentle puff from the main drives to even mark the fact that they were still accelerating. They were spaced at almost twenty kilometres apart, with the Captain’s ship Coventry in the lead, and Chester, Cairo, and Calgary following behind. Though small compared to the main ships of the line used in the fleet, the Dragoon Class was more than capable, especially when used as a group to maximise their firepower. And the Dragoons were certainly well armed. As well as their hulls fitted with guns and ordnance tubes they carried a substantial weapons bay that took up half of the lower hull. This bay carried multiple batteries of automatic cannons, each now tracking back and forth as they looked for their prey.

  “Where are you hiding?” Captain Zacharias said, “I know you’re out there.”

  The scanners sent out pulses from their narrow band radar as they tracked and interrogated any physical objects around the ships. It took time, but the system was fast and efficient, mainly designed to spot and track incoming warheads so that the larger vessels could more easily defend themselves. These systems were equally effective when used by a hunting pack like this one.

  “We’ve made contact!” said the tactical officer, “long-range sensors have picked up a low level electro-magnetic reading. We still can’t see anything.”

  He looked to the Captain and nodded.

  “It’s confirmed, we have a Ski’lig vessel approaching. It must have been using some type of stealth system to get so close.”

  “On screen.”

  The small triple bank of displays formed an artificial forward view of the ship, the central unit overlaying the imagery, so that it was partially transparent and didn’t completely block the view.

  “Yes,” said Captain Zacharias, “It’s one of their warships all right.”

  The front of the ship was quite narrow, with coloured ribs running down the sides of its hull. Long veins like masts reached out from the sides and pulled forward into fine tapered points like those of a bat’s wings. Hanging from these sections were translucent sails of blue and green matter that picked out light from the distant star and amplified it tenfold. An array of small spikes, antenna, and a myriad of other features covered the hull, giving it a completely different looked to the rigged and utilitarian design of the Alliance.

  “Frigate Class,” said the tactical officer, “It’s powering up its weapons.”

  Captain Zacharias looked back at the Chief Engineer.

  “This had better work.”

  He moved his fingers from his beard and reached for the intercom.

  “All ships target the Ski’lig vessel. I want it damaged, not destroyed. Let it return fire. We need to test our defences.”

  “Captain?” Commander Campbell asked, “Is that wise? We have the chance to open this fight with…”

  “There’s more to this fight than victory. The next stage of this conflict will be the arrival of our armada. We need information before that happens. How can we expect…”

  A beam of light pulsed from the alien vessel and slammed into the bow of ANS Coventry. The forward view vanished for a moment, to be
replaced by static. A strange hum filled the ship, and several of the crew must have thought it was all over for them.

  “Dammit. That was a heavy hit,” said Captain Zacharias, “Tell me we’re still afloat!”

  It was a strange term to use in space, but even today much of the old ocean-going nomenclature remained in the Alliance Fleet. The display flickered, and then the view returned to a cheer from the officers on the bridge.

  “Report,” said the Captain.

  “Polarised dampening field is at seventy percent and holding,” said the Chief with a shrug, “It looks like it’s working, Captain.”

  “Excellent. I never doubted it,” he said with a smile, “Our turn.”

  “Locking onto ship,” said the tactical officer, “They have some form of dissipation technology. It’s making an electronic lock difficult.”

  “Can you do it?” Commander Campbell asked.

  “Sure, I’m just going to need to link the radar scans and visual tracking for a lock…”

  He tapped the unit once more, nodding to himself as the targeting markers from each of the three figures showed they were locked and ready. Captain Zacharias looked at the locks with great interest before looking to his XO.

  “These ships carry the firepower of a light cruiser, perhaps bigger. And their ECM suites are impressive. But we have the advantage of numbers and something old, primitive, and ever effective.”

  “Gunnery?”

  “Exactly, Commander. If you cannot successfully lock and track a target, then simply throw as much lead at it as you can.”

  He pointed directly ahead and nodded.

  “Missiles first, fire!”

  Each ship carried a pair of ordnance tubes, much like those fitted to the larger Liberty Class destroyers, and capable of unleashing a variety of weapons from air defence missiles through to anti-ship torpedoes. Coventry fired first and sent a pair of anti-ship missiles directly towards the enemy ship. A moment later the other three ships did the same, so that eight of the high-speed missiles were now heading for the enemy craft.

  “They’re firing,” said the XO as dozens of flashes surrounded the rear part of the main fuselage.

  “Enlarge that,” said Captain Zacharias.

  The forward view flickered and was then replaced by a grainy image of the alien vessel, with its petal like wings swept out forward, and a ring of what looked like thrusters firing continuously.

  “That’s new. What are they?”

  “Some kind of kinetic weapon system,” said the tactical officer, “High rate of fire, and it’s shredding our warheads.”

  One by one the missiles blew apart, leaving just one to explode against the starboard hull in a flash of starlight.

  “Energy pulse detected,” said the Chief Engineer, “They’re going to fire their weapons again.”

  “Here we go,” said the Captain.

  Each of them watched, but this time a thin beam extended from the tendrils at the bow of the ship, striking the bow of ANS Cairo. It struck the armour and then flashed white as it drew a line along the hull.

  “I can’t believe it. That looks like a cutting laser.”

  “You’re not far off, Commander,” said Chief Engineer Thompson, “The effect on the armour is little different to a plasma cutter.”

  Captain Zacharias leaned forward and watched as the beam punched into the plates of the frigate and then continued to move as if it was trying to cut open a bulkhead.

  “A beam cutter of some kind,” he said, shaking his head, “Very well. That’s enough. Now the gloves come off.”

  He pulled the intercom to his lips.

  “I give full authorisation to engage with all weapons. I repeat, weapons free! Bring that ship down!”

  The guns on each ship opened fire, pelting the ship with gunfire. Combined with the batteries fitted to their mission bays, they were able to put down a considerable corridor of fire against the alien ship, with their medium calibre artillery sending a mixture of armour-piercing and explosive shells. Its defensive weapons fired again, but it could do little against such an onslaught.

  “Cairo, follow us to their starboard flank. Chester and Calgary hold back and engaged at medium range.”

  “Split their fire,” said Commander Campbell.

  “Exactly,” agreed the Captain, “Let’s use our greatest asset right now.”

  The heavy armour-piercing slugs thumped into the alien ship, and to the Captain’s delight, it turned, extending its wings as it struggled to accelerate away. Shots from the ships crashed into its armour, and some even tore away part of a wing, slowing its escape.

  “They’re trying to flee,” said the tactical officer.

  ANS Cairo rolled to starboard as gunfire raked its hull, and then it returned fire with a mighty salvo from its combined array of weapons. At the same time both tubes launched torpedoes at close-range. They crashed into the stern of the Ski’lig attack ship, blasting off chunks of hull.

  “Hit them again,” said Commander Campbell.

  Coventry joined in, sending two warheads into the same area and obliterated the main drive system of the ship.

  “Now take out their secondary engines,” said the Captain, “Hammer them hard, but do not destroy them.”

  The alien vessel had taken heavy damage, but now that it could escape it seemed to change tactics entirely. It spun around and began attacking each of them in turn. Cutting beams would hit one ship, and then salvos of armour-piercing spikes crashed into the next. It took a full ten minutes of gunfire until finally the shredded and partially burning wreckage stopped attacking and slowly drifted away.

  “They don’t go easily, do they?” Captain Zacharias said.

  He then looked to his XO. “We need prisoners.”

  “Prisoners?”

  “Yes. If we are to reconquer this region and take the fight to them, we will need more intelligence. Who knows what secrets the inside of that ship holds?”

  “Yes, Captain.”

  The four ships manoeuvred around the wreckage, with Coventry taking up a close position near the hull. The other three moved away to form a cordon to protect their flagship while the boarding action was undertaken. It took time to line up, but after a few minutes the two ships were just a hundred metres apart.

  “Boarding parties are ready,” said Commander Campbell.

  “Good. Send them in.”

  Both watched as the small external airlock doors opened up, and out moved two small groups of marines. There were eight of them, all dressed in PDS armour, and with their weapons attached to mounts on their sides. Thrusters on their suits helped moved them through the debris between the ships.

  “Captain,” said the tactical officer, “New contact. It’s…massive. I don’t know how it go so close without our scanners picking it up.”

  The view shifted to show a ship bigger than anything Captain Zacharias had seen before. It dwarfed their frigate, making them look little different to a fighter alongside a battleship. The ship was so close and so vast he could only make out part of it from where they were.

  “Mother of God,” he said, crossing himself, “It’s bigger than a battleship.”

  “It looks like gun ports are opening. Dozens of them.”

  Captain Zacharias turned to the others.

  “All hands, brace for impact! Tactical, prepare to return fire.”

  Gunfire tore down from the ship as hundreds of armour-piercing projectiles crashed into the four Alliance ships. Chester took so much fire it disappeared under the massed bombardment. Cairo was next, but Captain Zacharias refused to wait to be attacked.

  “All power to engines. Get us out of here.”

  “Captain!” Commander Campbell yelled, “What about our marines?”

  The ship rolled to the left and began moving away. Gunfire raked the rear hull, with dozens of projectiles embedded into the armour plates.

  “They’re already dead, Commander. And if we do not escape, we will join them.”
<
br />   The sound of the screaming marines drowned out the gunfire for a second, until the Commander gave the signal to switch it off. Captain Zacharias look back at the monstrous alien vessel as Chester and Cairo were picked apart by the gunfire.

  “Where to?” asked the helmsman.

  “Back to the Rift. We have to warn Command. Epsilon Eridani is going to be more difficult to retaken than we thought.”

  ANS Calgary was a few kilometres off their starboard flank and accelerated away while still firing at the alien ship. Gunfire hammered into its hull, and massive chunks of its outer plating tore away. Then the crew gasped as pulses of lights crashed into her hull, followed by a series of powerful explosions. Commander Campbell looked to the Captain and shook his head.

  “We cannot outrun that thing. What can we do?”

  “There’s only one thing we can do,” said the Captain.

  He licked his lips and then straightened his uniform.

  “Stand down weapons immediately. Stop firing!”

  “Captain!” said a stunned Commander, “You will surrender?”

  The Captain did not look amused as he sat back down.

  “Turn us around. We’re not running from this thing anymore.”

  “Turn?”

  Captain Zacharias shook his head.

  “No, wait. Cut the engines…and thrusters. Give the impression we’ve been knocked out and disabled in battle. Take the main powerplant offline.”

  The helmsman responded instantly. One moment the ship was tearing away from the massive alien ship, and then next it began to drift. Venting gas from breaches along the portside pushed the ship into a slow spin, while trails of gas, dust, and debris spilled out behind.

  “Record everything you can and transmit it directly to the Rift relay beacon. Maybe some good will come of this. Command must learn of what happened here today.”

  “And what then?”

  “I want all power cut through the ship. Let her go cold.”

  “They won’t fall for that,” said the XO, “Look, they’re coming in right behind us.”