Ascendant

by Jack Campbell

  “I want it clearly understood that we’ll wait for you if you want to try to make the ship,” Derian insisted.

  “That is understood,” Mele said. “But I’d rather live a little longer than try that run for your ship, sir.”

  “Very well. We’ll be back for you, Captain Darcy. Us or Saber.”

  “Have fun attacking those enemy ships and give my best to Commander Geary.” Mele braced herself before calling her troops. “Shark is pulling out. It’s too dangerous for us to reach her. But that’s fine. We’re safe here. We’ll wait until they come back.”

  Private Yoshida backed her up quickly. “All we have to do is sit and wait? I can do that, Captain.”

  “We’ll be okay,” Lieutenant Freeman agreed.

  A few moments later Mele felt the dock trembling again, this time hard enough to shake her a bit. She looked over at the stars and saw the dark bulk of Shark eclipsing them as the destroyer moved away from the dock.

  She gazed at the sight, smiling, never having realized how beautiful and graceful a warship could look as it moved. Mele called her surviving defenders again. “Congratulations, you apes. The space squids got their ride going, and we gave them the time they needed.”

  “So we wait now?” one of the militia called back, his voice too exhausted to carry emotion. “We’re not giving up, are we?”

  “Why the hell would we give up? We just won. Is there anybody left who can set me up to broadcast to the enemy troops?”

  “Seamus,” Lieutenant Freeman called. “You still with us? You do it.”

  It only took a few seconds before Mele’s comm light glowed green. “Hey,” she called. “Invading troops. This is Captain Mele Darcy, Glenlyon Marines, to the invading force aboard this facility. Are you ready to surrender?”

  The reply that came was almost strangled by frustration. “You’re the one who needs to surrender! Now! You’re trapped! If you want any mercy, you’ll surrender now!”

  Mele heard someone laughing and realized she was the one doing it. “You got it wrong. You got it all wrong. We’re not trapped. You are. Think about it. We’ve got two warships out there now. You’ve got one half-broke warship that’s almost out of fuel. Your warbirds have been cut to pieces during the fighting in atmosphere and up here. What do you think is going to happen to the ships you came here on? And to any one of your shuttles that try to fly from this point on?

  “It’s simple,” Mele continued. “You, and your entire invasion force on the planet, are about to be cut off. You can keep fighting until your ammo and power and rations give out, after which you’ll get to find out what the people of Kosatka are going to do to the people like you who trashed their planet, or you can surrender now to me, a representative of Glenlyon. I might not be as unhappy as the people of Kosatka are. No promises, though, and the longer you wait, the unhappier I’ll get.”

  “Damn you!”

  “Let me know when you get to yes,” Mele said. “You are the enemy commander, right?”

  This time the voice sounded beaten. “Lieutenant Ostis. Senior surviving officer. You killed Captain Bostick when you destroyed our heavy weapon.”

  That explained the lack of enemy activity since then. Not only massively tired and suffering from terrible losses, but they’d lost their commander again, leaving leadership to a worn-out lieutenant who might have as little combat experience as the militia lieutenants Mele had worked with. “All right. You know the situation. I have no interest in wasting more lives, mine or yours. Sit there as long as you want and think about it. I’ll wait for your surrender. As long as you refrain from attacking again, I won’t attack you. But if you come after us one more time, we’re going to hit back at you until every one of you is dead. Darcy, out.”

  Suddenly dizzy, Mele grabbed at the loading gear in front of her to keep her balance. “Shark, can you still hear me?”

  “We hear you,” Commander Derian replied. “You’re one hell of a soldier, Captain Darcy.”

  “With all due respect, sir, I’m a Marine.”

  “Right. Sorry. You’ll want to know about your people. We’ve got a Corporal Giddings aboard. I’m told he’s stable.”

  “Thank you, sir. That’s good news.”

  “Who’s the surviving senior militia officer there?”

  “Lieutenant Freeman, sir. He’s hurt but still combat capable.”

  “Have him . . .” Derian paused. “Have him put together a consolidated casualty report when he can and any supply requirements you have. The militia took some heavy losses, didn’t they?”

  “Yes. They did good, Commander. They did real good,” Mele said.

  “Thank you. Do you have any messages for Commander Geary?”

  Mele gazed upward at the stars. “Tell him we got the job done here. Finishing the rest of it is up to him.”

  CHAPTER 13

  “Forward shields are at eighty percent, Captain. That’s the best they’ll be able to do until we can conduct major repairs. Amidships shields are at full.”

  Rob Geary nodded, his eyes on the display before his command seat on the bridge of Saber. “I’m seeing pulse particle beam projectors two and three online again as well as grapeshot launcher two.”

  “Yes, sir. Estimated time to repair grapeshot launcher one is another thirty minutes.”

  “Shark is under way,” Lieutenant Cameron added.

  “So I see.” Rob called Shark, seeing the image of Commander Derian appear. Derian looked happier than Rob had seen him so far, but his words and movements still reflected accumulated tension wrapped tight inside him. “How are my Marines, Commander?” Rob asked.

  Derian shook his head. “Still on the facility. I asked them to withdraw to my ship, but your Captain Darcy said it would be too risky, that she and the surviving militia were better off remaining in place until we could come back for them.”

  Rob tried not to let his disappointment and unhappiness at that news show. “That was Captain Darcy’s judgment?”

  “Yes, Commander,” Derian said, looking as if waiting for a broadside from Rob. “I told her I’d wait. She said she’d lose too many people trying to reach my ship.”

  “Okay,” Rob finally said, knowing it would be unfair to blame Derian for Mele’s decision. “She’s better at that particular problem than you and I are. Is Shark ready to hit that invasion fleet?”

  “Shark is proceeding on a vector to do just that. I understand that you’re concerned about attack runs through their formation? Because of the possibility of more surprises? I’ve had more time than I wanted to have to think about how to handle that,” Derian said. “I recommend we approach slowly and take out the ships one by one from outside the formation. We’ll work our way in like cracking open a nut. If that damaged destroyer of theirs stays in close to the passenger ship, we’ll be able to eventually hit him together. If he decides to come out and fight, we can both hit him then.”

  Rob thought about the idea and didn’t find any reason to object. “I concur. Saber will accompany Shark to hit the first two freighters.”

  They came in slowly, maintaining their own orbit of the planet below, closing on the invasion fleet. Rob wondered what sort of debates were raging among the captains of those ships. The freighters had no chance of outrunning the two destroyers. They were sitting ducks, and even if they scattered could be run down by the two warships before any could reach a jump point out of Kosatka Star System. The passenger ship could accelerate better than the freighters but would still be easy pickings once the outer “shell” of freighters in the formation had been peeled away. The obstacles posed by the freighters were, in fact, the primary protection the passenger ship had left. The enemy destroyer had rebuilt most of its shields, but there were no signs its thruster damage had been repaired, and it still had less than half its own weapons in working condition. Saber was battered as well, but when it came t
o shields and weaponry, Shark was at maximum strength. The next encounter with the enemy destroyer wouldn’t be a long fight.

  Derian took the initiative in calling for surrender. “Hostile shipping in orbit around this planet, you are to immediately surrender or face destruction. Each ship must drop its shields, its commanding officer must transmit his or her surrender, and all weapons must be powered down. Once you’ve surrendered you’ll be directed to new orbital positions.”

  No answer. Rob took Saber toward one freighter while Shark targeted another.

  This wasn’t combat. It was more like target practice, Rob thought, as Saber’s weapons began hitting the freighter.

  The freighter broke formation, its main propulsion pushing it away, thrusters firing to direct it down toward the planet.

  “What’s he trying?” Rob asked his bridge crew.

  “Maybe trying to get far enough into atmosphere that we can’t risk chasing him at high velocity?” Lieutenant Cameron suggested.

  “That’s his only chance,” Chief Quinton agreed. “Make it a little difficult for us to chase him in the hopes we’ll pick another target.”

  “He’s getting down into atmosphere, and his main propulsion is still firing,” Cameron said, puzzled. “Captain, he’s exceeding safe speed.”

  “We must have hit his controls,” Ensign Reichert suggested. “He can’t stop accelerating, and he’s too far into atmosphere to climb out in time.”

  The freighter’s hull was already glowing as air friction created more and more heat. The ship’s vector altered, the freighter sliding sideways as some of its thrusters failed and others kept firing, dipping deeper into atmosphere.

  “Do you think they’re already dead?” Cameron suggested.

  The freighter traced a flaming path through the sky of the planet, pieces breaking free as parts of the structure failed, the death of the freighter and its crew making an oddly beautiful spectacle.

  “That’s one,” Rob said, not feeling any particular joy, just satisfaction that any supplies left on that freighter wouldn’t go to help the invasion force on the surface. “Let’s get another.”

  “Shark’s target is showing power core fluctuations,” Chief Quinton reported. “Estimate overload or shutdown within the next few seconds.”

  The freighter being pummeled by Shark exploded moments later, the shock wave from its death rattling the remainder of the invasion fleet.

  An urgent alert appeared on Rob’s display. “The enemy destroyer is coming around,” Lieutenant Cameron said. “His movements confirm he still has serious thruster damage. His main propulsion is lighting off . . . system is analyzing vector . . . Captain, he’s running for the jump point for Kappa.”

  Was the enemy commander fleeing, abandoning the ships he was supposed to protect? Or had he been ordered to save his destroyer since it had no chance of survival otherwise? “Lieutenant Cameron—,” Rob began.

  “Captain,” Chief Quinton interrupted, “we’re low on fuel cells. If we try to chase that ship, we’ll run dry by the time we catch him.”

  “He’s lower on fuel than we are,” Rob argued, frustrated.

  “Yes, sir, but he just has to stay ahead of us. We’d have to accelerate long enough to catch him. Sir, we can’t do it.”

  “Damn!” Rob hit his comm control with far more force than necessary. “Shark, Saber is too low on fuel to pursue and catch the enemy warship. Request you take him.”

  Derian shook his head, looking as unhappy as Rob. “We’ve only been able to do basic safety checks on our propulsion repairs. Ramping up to full power quickly on my main propulsion would be dangerous. Maintaining full power might be disastrous. I can’t risk it.”

  “We have to let him go?”

  “I’m afraid so. Hopefully, his masters will give him a warm welcome when he returns with news of this disaster he didn’t prevent,” Derian said.

  Another alert sounded as the enemy destroyer kept accelerating away.

  “Captain, shuttles are launching from the passenger ship,” Reichert said. “Five . . . six total. And the surviving warbird is coming out, too.”

  Commander Derian had his eyes on his own display as he spoke to Rob. “Saber, you’re in the best position to take those shuttles. If you would do me the favor of shooting them down, Shark will take care of that warbird for you.”

  “Agreed,” Rob said.

  Saber accelerated down toward the planet, angling under the survivors of the invasion fleet, as the shuttles dove down into atmosphere at the highest speed they could risk, the single remaining enemy warbird coming at Saber. “Don’t engage him when he goes past,” Rob said, knowing that a single aerospace craft couldn’t knock down his ship’s shields on a single pass even when those shields were weakened. And with Shark coming in fast, that warbird would only get a single pass at Saber. “All weapons concentrate on those shuttles.”

  “Maybe they were hoping we’d chase that destroyer so they’d be able to get safely down to the surface,” Cameron suggested in a low voice, as depressed as the others at having to let the enemy warship escape.

  “Maybe,” Rob agreed.

  “Or,” Chief Quinton said, “maybe the real high brass transferred to that destroyer while it’s been tucked in near that passenger ship, and they’re sending their staffs down to get shot at to divert us from chasing the warship so the big bosses can get away.”

  That, Rob thought, sounded entirely too plausible.

  Saber rocked twice as the warbird tore past, firing.

  As the trailing shuttle came into maximum range, Saber’s working grapeshot launcher fired.

  The warbird tried to whip around for another pass at Saber but went into an uncontrolled spin as a shot from Shark took out the thrusters on one side. The pilot ejected as the warbird spun away, beginning to break up under the stress of the uncontrolled maneuver.

  The trailing shuttle exploded as some of Saber’s grapeshot tore into it.

  Saber grazed the upper atmosphere of the planet, her particle beams shooting downward at the five remaining shuttles as they dove for the surface. The particle beams moved at nearly the speed of light, but in atmosphere the shuttles had to limit their velocity to avoid suffering the same fate as the freighter that had burned up. “Not quite sitting ducks,” Ensign Reichert said, her focus on her display. “But close. Engaging farthest shuttle first.”

  Saber fired, spearing the shuttle leading the others down. Something critical hit, the shuttle’s descent changed from a controlled series of evasive maneuvers during its dive to an erratic spin as it fell.

  The pulse particle beams kept firing, occasionally missing as an evading shuttle made a lucky jog at just the right moment but taking out the second shuttle in line, then the third . . .

  “Pulse particle beam projector beam two is overheating,” Lieutenant Cameron warned. “Projector three is hot and heading for overheat.”

  “Got it,” Reichert said, her gaze locked on her display.

  A fourth shuttle twisted suddenly in flight and began falling.

  “One to go,” Rob said. “Can you nail it, Ensign Reichert?”

  Instead of answering him, she fired again.

  The last shuttle began a death spiral toward the planet below it.

  Ensign Reichert sat back, grinning, a slight sheen of sweat on her face. “Nailed it, Captain.”

  “Well done,” Rob said. His gaze went back to his display, where Saber’s visual sensors had zoomed in to show the falling shuttles.

  They impacted the surface in a ragged series of crashes that left an irregular new constellation of craters in the plains outside the Kosatkan city of Ani.

  “Thank you, Saber,” Commander Derian said as he called in again. “That was probably the invasion force’s high command fleeing for safety before we took out their flagship.”

  “One o
f my people suggested that the overall commanders of the operation may have fled on the destroyer and deliberately sacrificed the command staff to save themselves,” Rob said.

  Derian frowned. “I’ve met people who would do that. Maybe when we recover that warbird pilot they can sing a tune about that for us.”

  Only one more freighter died under fire from the destroyers before the others began surrendering, which seemed to confirm that whatever authority had held them in thrall had either fled or died.

  “We’ve got a call from the passenger ship,” Rob’s comm watch announced.

  The captain of the passenger ship didn’t look military. He looked like a civilian who was extremely unhappy to be in the middle of a war. Rob wondered under what conditions that captain and his crew had been hired. “The last of the joint Apulu/Turan command staff have left this ship. I surrender it. Do not fire on us. Please. We’ll comply with your demands.”

  “They’re surrendering to us,” Lieutenant Cameron pointed out. “Not to Shark.”

  “They probably expect Shark to be a lot angrier with them,” Rob said. “We’ll work out who gets what prizes later. For now, keep an eye on that enemy destroyer. I want to know if he turns.”

  “Sir, he can’t,” Chief Quinton said. “If he tries to alter vector that much, tries to slow down to come back at us, he’ll be out of power in no time.”

  “Keep an eye on him anyway,” Rob said, unable to believe that as far as the situation in space was concerned the fight was over. “Captain Darcy, this is Saber. How’s your situation?”

  Mele sounded as exhausted as he’d ever heard her, but under that Rob could sense that she’d still fight if pushed. “We could use some beer. And we’re a little low on ammo and other supplies. But there’s no beer at all.”

  “I’ll see what we can do about that,” Rob said. “Kosatka should have some surviving shuttles hidden on the surface. They can bring up fresh troops to relieve you.”