by Alex Kings
*
Hayes sat cross-legged in the middle of his little ship, a pencil clutched between his jaws. A tablet was propped up in front of him. Other gadgets, some connected to the ship's comms, were arrayed around him. A ceramic pistol lay by his side.
Over the past few days he'd been back and forth between Tethya and here, asking discreet questions, hacking Alliance systems, and hiding in the metaphorical shadows caused by the fleet's confusion. A lack of space in Tethya City had given him a perfect excuse to bunk in this ship.
The red-headed pilot last seen rescuing Emily and her carer was easy enough to find. The same man had been called in for a mission over Iona. Hayes had noted his return and tracked his movements.
Then, there was the comms traffic. Hayes knew he wouldn't hear anything direct. So instead he looked for dead space. The unusually inconspicuous. The odd little holes in comms chatter, the ships that seemed unusually silent or were rarely mentioned. The ships that never seemed to be sent on missions.
Cross-referencing the two, he had finally found his best shot. A little frigate. It had been in orbit over Tethya since it arrived. No one seemed to be talking about it over normal channels. And the pilot had been there twice.
“Gotcha,” he murmured. He picked up his pistol, checked it, and hid it in his jacket. He called up a small recording on his tablet and played a fraction of it.
Millicent appeared on the screen, saying, “Emily, it's me. It's okay. I –”
Satisfied, Hayes closed the recording there, contracted the tablet, and put it in his pocket. Standing, he dusted himself off.
Now came the hard part.
He had to sneak aboard that frigate and get Emily out of there without being noticed.
Running the plan through his mind, he stood up and headed into the passenger compartment. At the very rear of the shuttle, directly in front of the broad airlock, half the seats had been pulled out. In their place, a tiny stealth shuttle crouched by the doors. Angular and narrow, it could only hold two people.
He knew he'd have to take the carer, Anne, with them, or Emily would kick up a fuss. Emily could go on her lap.
He slid open the door and settled in the tiny chair behind the console. With a gesture, the console lit up. He began to fire up the reactor.
The comms chimed. Right now he was plugged into the liner's systems, and had access to its sensors and communications. The message was being broadcast to all ships. He opened it.
“All noncombatant ships,” came Admiral Chang's voice. “Please prepare to jump. We have detected a fleet of Ancient ships en route to Tethya. You are advised to head to Ghroga. The Varanids have agreed to provide shelter to all vessels. Thank you. Chang out.”
“You're not making this easy, boss,” murmured Hayes. He continued the startup and looked at his target on the sensors.
As he was watching it, the frigate jumped away. It must have already completed an emergency jump calculation. Hayes glared at the screen.
“Not easy at all,” he muttered.
Chapter 53: Immature Battleships
The sky was filled with Tethyan ships. The closest were giant elongated globes. They receded until the most distant were like brilliant blue stars. From the planet below, more ships emerged from the water.
The Tethyans were even pulling out immature battleships before they were fully grown. The smallest of these were only a little bigger than the Dauntless. Still, they joined the fleet and prepared for battle.
The blocky, colourful Varanid dreadnoughts and cruisers orbited in formation, surveying the system.
The human fleet spread out across the system. They were numerous, but they'd faced the Ancients before. Their commanders weren't confident about winning the battle.
IL was three hours away.
Aboard a coral-like space station in low orbit, Yilva and Vyren greeted a group of Petaurs and Tethyans. They chattered among themselves, passing tablets back and forth.
After a moment, Yilva came scampering back over to Hanson. “We are as ready as we will ever be,” she said.
“I know time is short, but have you had any luck with the Afanc data?” Hanson asked.
Yilva shook her head. “I have given it to the group. Some of them will look through it. But we will have to rely on the original plan.” She frowned. “I do not know how effective it will be.”
“We don't need to destroy the Ancient ships. Just hold them off,” Hanson reminded her. “So what do you need?”
“A transmitter. More powerful than the Dauntless has.”
“A Tethyan battleship? We'll fly alongside them, and send the signal to them to transmit.”
“That should work.”
Hanson turned to Vyren. “Can you contact the Tethyan authorities and get us a ship?”
“Of course,” said Vyren.
“Is anyone else here capable of sending a noise signal?” Hanson asked Yilva.
Yilva considered. “Possibly. They learn fast.”
“We've got four Ancient ships to deal with. I want four task groups, including you.”
“I … think I can do that,” said Yilva.
While she spoke to the Petaurs, organising them into three groups, Vyren spoke with the Tethyans, keeping them updated. Hanson called Admiral Chang, checking their battle strategy.
Through the broad sapphiroid window, he could see more ships leaving Tethya. They were civilian craft, not battleships. Spherical, covered with coral-like growths, they gathered into groups, then jumped away.
The Tethyans were evacuating.
They were scared. For over a thousand years, they had been untouchable. Now all that had changed.
It was impossible to move the entire population, so they were moving the most vulnerable and the most important, as chosen by a selection method they kept to themselves.
Hanson finished his call with Chang, and Vyren returned to him.
“The battleship Stars Reflected in Midnight Dew will accompany the Dauntless and relay Yilva's signal,” he reported. “Three other battleships are ready to take on Petaur task groups.”
“Good work,” said Hanson.
Yilva returned next. “We are ready,” she said.
*
“Let's recap,” came Chang's voice across the human fleet. “The Tethyan Battleships are the heavy hitters. Monopole cannons are the only weapon that has any effect on the Ancient ships. We have thirty Battleships for each Ancient ship. If they synchronise their firing, they may be able to inflict significant damage.”
Simultaneously, the Varanid commander made a similar speech to his own vessels: “That leaves us and the humans to go after the lesser ships. Further, we must protect the Dauntless.”
The Tethyan Admirals spoke in unison to their crews: “The key to the battle is the noise signal, which will be transmitted by the Dauntless and relayed by the Stars Reflected in Midnight Dew. Three other Battleships will do the same. If they disrupt IL's control of the Ancient ships, we will have an opportunity to damage or destroy them without them being able to fire back.”
Aboard the Dauntless, Hanson and Lanik stood in the CIC, listening alongside the rest of the crew as Chang finished his speech.
The Dominion fleet should arrive any minute now.
Outside, the Midnight Dew floated beside the Dauntless, dwarfing it.
Hanson tapped a control, opening up a direct link to the lab. “Are you ready?” he asked.
“Absolutely!” said Yilva.
“Yes, Captain,” said Vyren.
Hanson nodded and checked over the command console once more.
Dunn's console chimed. “We have a jump-in,” he said.
Chapter 54: Defenders
“Two Ancient ships, and fifteen dreadnoughts, coming from starward,” Dunn reported.
“Any sign of the others?” Hanson asked.
“No, sir.”
“Very well. Move to intercept this one. Miller, tell the other task group to go after the second.”
The
Dauntless and the Midnight Dew flew towards the oncoming fleet. Around them, two immense groups of Battleships followed the same target. Swarms of smaller ships swarmed between them.
The two Ancient ships swung to aim their weapons. They fired simultaneously. Ripples of space hurtled away from them.
The Battleships danced and dived and returned fire. Thirty silvery beams converged on a single point. A white flame of plasma erupted from the surface, shearing off one of the Ancient ship's spikes.
A ripple of space hit a Battleship, tearing open a hole and sending cracks radiating across its hull. Superheated steam billowed out.
The two lesser fleets engaged: human vessels against human and Varanid vessels. The space between them lit up with a hundred points of light as kinetic shells were intercepted by lasers. Nuclear missiles flared into momentary brilliance.
The hull of a Varanid cruiser tore open under the onslaught.
The Dauntless was like a toy beside the Midnight Dew and the Ancient ship: An immense, smooth, crystal blue ovoid on one side, and a black, ragged crown of thorns on the other.
“We're nearly in range,” reported Dunn.
Hanson opened the channel to Yilva. “Get ready,” he said.
Ahead of them, a shot from the Ancient weapon carved out a great divot in a Battleship hull. A Varanid cruiser under heavy fire from a Dominion ship was surrounded by a shell of orange and gold explosions. An Alliance dreadnought came to its aid, strafing the attackers.
Hanson watched the command console. The signal went green. “Now!” he told Yilva.
In the lab, Yilva's fingers became a blur above the console as she read the data and transmitted a noise code.
“Track its movements,” Hanson ordered Dunn. “Tell me if there's any change.”
“Yes, sir.”
A cluster of monopole cannons met on the Ancient ship's hull, shearing off another spike, which tumbled towards them.
“Fermi,” said Hanson.
“I see it, sir.”
The Dauntless dodged to the side as the spike, three times as big as they were, flew past. It left behind a tail of diffuse plasma and glowing superheated dust.
“Dunn?” asked Hanson.
“No change in the Ancient ship's behaviour,” said Dunn.
“Yilva, it's not working.”
“Oh, crumbs,” Yilva said. “I will try remodulating!”
“How long will take?”
“A minute or so,”
“Alright, get to it.”
Two more Battleships took killing shots and exploded, fragments of their hull flying apart like broken eggshells amid clouds of building vapour.
Several Dominion dreadnoughts broke free of their current engagements and headed for the Dauntless.
“Suppressive fire,” ordered Hanson.
Space around them became a sudden light show. Booms echoed through the bulkheads and the CIC shook as a few kinetic shells got through.
“Monopole cannon,” said Hanson. “Take out the lead ship.”
The Dauntless swung about-face and fired. A silvery beam pierced the first ship's nose, which blossomed into fire a moment later. The Midnight Dew fired, destroying another attacker.
“I am ready, Captain,” said Yilva.
“You'll have to wait a moment,” said Hanson. He turned to Dunn. “Third ship, fire!”
Another dreadnought exploded. The final one pulled back, decided to try its luck elsewhere.
“The Ancient ship is aiming at us,” called Dunn.
“Evasive manoeuvres. Take us in range again!” said Hanson.
The Dauntless swung on a wide arc towards the Ancient ship, keeping out the path of its weapon.
The Ancient ship fired.
The shot grazed the Midnight Dew. A section of its crystal blue hull running from nose to tail shattered outwards.
Hanson hit the comms. “Dauntless Actual to Midnight Dew. Are you okay?”
The resonant bass of an Admiral's voice replied, “We can continue.”
“We're in range,” said Dunn.
“Do it,” Hanson ordered Yilva.
All around them, there was carnage. The remains of ships with their noses or tails sheared away, still active ships bearing giant glowing wounds, fragments of debris, pieces of engines or gently curved shards of Battleship hull. There was more wreckage than intact ships.
But above it all, the four Ancient ships were still active, still carving through the defenders. They had taken some damage, with glowing canyons cut into their hulls and some of their spikes sheared off. But even so they dominated the battle. According to the count on the command console, they'd already destroyed a dozen Battleships and damaged many more.
“Sir,” said Dunn. “There.”
The Ancient ship they were trailing had just fired, killing a battleship. Now it swung to face another – and didn't fire. It seemed to tumble aimlessly for a moment. It quivered, as if unsure what to do.
Hanson stared, smiling, as a fleet of Battleship converged on the Ancient ship, firing in unison, again and again, tearing into its hull. He called Yilva. “It's working.”
The Ancient ship woke suddenly and turned to face its attackers. Firing into their midst unexpectedly, it crippled two.
“Keep out its way!” shouted Hanson. He called Yilva again. “We've lost it.”
“I know!” cried Yilva. “We had it there for a second. I'm trying again!”
“Keep close,” Hanson told Fermi.
Thunder rattled the CIC. “Multiple dreadnoughts closing in on us,” Dunn reported.
They must know what we're up to, thought Hanson. “Suppressive fire,” he ordered. Then, to the comms, “Yilva?”
“I'm trying!” she said.
Two dreadnoughts fell victim to the monopole cannon, but the others kept coming. Booms echoed through the CIC. The lights flickered.
“We've lost both port engines. All laser turrets destroyed,” reported Lanik. He shouted orders into his comms, sending out repair teams and pulling crew away from high-risk areas.
“One of the other transmitter Battleships has been destroyed,” said Miller.
Another Ancient ship flew towards them. It fired.
The Midnight Dew took the blow head on. Its nose crumpled, glowing red.
The Ancient ship they were trailing fired a moment later.
The Midnight Dew exploded as the ripple of space tore through it.
Lanik looked at Hanson, steadying himself on the Command console as the CIC rocked. “We can't keep this up,” he said.
He was right. Miller reported an order from Chang. “The Tethyans have ordered a retreat.”
Hanson sighed. “Get us out of the battle zone and prepare for emergency jump,” he said.
At that moment, something seemed to kick the CIC. Hard. Everything lurched. The crash left Hanson's ears ringing. The command console went dead.
“Report!” he shouted.
“Nuke at short range,” said Dunn. “It would right by our starboard hull when our shields went down.”
The CIC rattled again.
“All sublight engines offline.”
“Monopole cannon isn't responding.”
“Reactors losing power.”
Hanson looked around. “Abandon ship,” he said.
Miller went to her console. Fortunately the internal comms were still working – just about. “All hands, abandon ship. Repeat, abandon ship.”
The attacks from outside continued. The sound of groaning and shrieking metal echoed through the bulkheads as Hanson saw the crew out of the CIC.
With just him and Lanik left, standing at the door, he put his hand to the bulkhead. “Sorry, old girl,” he said. “I was starting to think you could stand up to anything.”
The corridors were plunged into intermittent darkness as the relentless pounding of the ship continued.
Hanson held back, helping the crew into the escape pods. Something else slammed into the Dauntless, causing an ear-splitting sq
ueal.
At last the corridor was empty. Hanson joined Lanik and the others in the escape pod and hit the release.
Gravity vanished as they were jettisoned away from the ship. Through the tiny porthole, Hanson could see the Dauntless retreating from them. Her back was broken, twisted into an unnatural impact. Half her hull had been torn away and was glowing white hot.
In the background, other ships continued to be shot down even as they tried to retreat and jump away. Some were too distant to see details and appeared only as stars that flared momentarily against the background of space, then guttered and died.
A ripple of space hit the Dauntless, tearing her apart.
Hanson sat back and stared at the opposite wall. The battle progressed around them.
After a few moments, the comms chimed. A transmission was coming through.
“Prepare for jump,” a synthesised Tethyan voice told them.
A moment later, a wormhole inflated in front of them, expanding until it was kilometres across. It hurtled forward, taking the escape pods alongside the Tethyan ship generating it.
Chapter 55: Dawn
Ten hours later, ships began to jump in over Ghroga. Tethyan battleships bearing great blackened scars on their hulls arrived alongside battered human and Varanid dreadnoughts.
When Hanson arrived, the Varanid authorities and Tethyan Admirals were already organising things. In his air-bubble quarters aboard the Battleship that had rescued him, he looked through the three lists of ships. There were the Confirmed Survivors. Then the Confirmed Destroyed – his gaze lingered briefly on the Dauntless among them. Then, the biggest list of all, Status Unknown, which comprised well over half the fleet.
Then, the lists of combatants. Here, the list of missing people was even greater.
Even so, stragglers were still coming in. It would be a few hours before they'd have a proper idea of who made it out.
The Tethyan battleship hadn't managed to pick up all the escape pods. He didn't know what had happened to half his crew. Agatha and Srak were still missing.
