by Doug Farren
Instead of exploding, a powerful gravitational field formed in the battleship’s path distorting space and interfering with the ship’s intricate stardrive fields. Unable to compensate, the battleship dropped out of stardrive and appeared in normal space. The shocked Chroniech Captain barked orders, a weapon locked on, and the offending missile was blown out of space with a single shot.
The Vaen Runach, however, had been waiting for just this moment. The pilot pushed the ship’s drive to the limit and before the battleship could reset its own drive system the interceptor was upon them. The tactic the Rouldian’s were about to use was something no other race would even consider.
One of the concerns of every pilot of any faster than light ship was the intrinsic velocity retained by their ship. This intrinsic velocity could easily be understood if one assumed that people could teleport from place to place. If a person traveling on a train moving at high speed teleported themselves to the station they would suddenly find themselves flying through the air at a considerable velocity the moment they arrived. The person's position in space may have changed but his velocity would be that of the train. This same sort of velocity is retained while inside the influence of a stardrive field and suddenly reappears the moment the field is dropped.
Mishpa class interceptors were capable of measuring their own intrinsic velocity with micrometric precision. Combined with the most accurate navigational system known to the Alliance this allowed the crew of the Vaen Runach to perform one of the most dangerous maneuvers possible and one that only a Mishpa class interceptor could safely execute.
The ship’s navigational computer plotted a course that had to be followed with near perfect accuracy. The interceptor flashed up to the battleship at a speed of 4,683c, dropped out of stardrive a scant ten kilometers from the enemy ship, then shot off into space in the direction their intrinsic velocity dictated.
If the Vaen Runach had deviated from its course by even a hair’s breath or dropped out of stardrive a nanosecond sooner or later their intrinsic velocity could have caused them to collide with the battleship at tremendous speed. The collision would certainly have destroyed the Rouldian ship and quite possibly the battleship as well.
“Gravity generator at full power!” the weapons station grunted the moment they had dropped out of stardrive. It was difficult for him to talk since the ship was applying maximum thrust to match velocities with the battleship. The interceptor’s internal acceleration compensators could nullify a force of nearly 300 gravities. The pilot, however, wanted to match intrinsics as quickly as possible and had overloaded the compensators, subjecting the crew to a force of fifteen gravities. Rouldians, however, were a stout race and could continue to function under such a crushing force.
Unable to engage his stardrive, the Chroniech Captain had no choice but to deal with the bothersome little ship. A single beam of coherent energy erupted from one of the battleship’s energy weapons. Both Captains expressed surprise as the weapon struck and failed to penetrate the interceptor’s shield. The Chroniech Captain was shocked that such a tiny ship could deflect the power of his weapons. Captain Msul’s reaction was a bit more concerned.
“Shield at 93 percent!” the weapons station warned.
Captain Msul uttered a blistering Rouldian curse then fired off a series of commands. “Roll the ship and execute evasive maneuver delta. Lockout the reactor and shield trips. Drop all remaining mines and transmit the entrapment code.”
As his crew turned to obey his orders Captain Msul worriedly stared at the tactical display. The Alliance battle group that had been assigned to destroy this particular Chroniech ship was still eleven minutes away. A second interceptor, the Shqall va (Hell’s breath), would arrive in less than two minutes but, like his own ship, it carried no heavy offensive weapons.
The Vaen Runach began to rapidly rotate. This would help distribute the energy that leaked through the shield across as much surface area of the ship’s armored hull as possible. The pilot, having finally matched velocity with the battleship, began moving them closer. He also started putting the interceptor through a series of violent maneuvers.
A battleship’s primary weapons were designed for long-range use. The weapons themselves were physically large and were incapable of tracking a close, fast moving target. Captain Msul’s strategy was to bring their ship close enough to the battleship to render its main guns ineffective. The risk was that the closer they got, the more energy those weapons could deliver. They were also lucky in that the Chroniech had chosen not to employ their heaviest weapon against them. Had they done so, the interceptor would be an expanding cloud of debris.
“The Chroniech have lost weapons lock,” the relieved weapons station reported. “Sporadic impacts are all they are capable of.”
The Chroniech Captain was becoming angry at the impudent little ship that refused to leave him alone. It was clear that it was trying to delay him long enough for the incoming battle group to arrive. He ordered all weapon systems to engage. He also gave orders as to how to deal with the second such ship the moment it was within range.
As the Captain finished giving his orders, the face of the tactical officer appeared on his command screen. “What is it?” the Captain demanded, his anger spilling over toward the crew.
“We have detected fifteen small objects surrounding our ship,” the tactical officer replied ignoring the Captain’s anger. “The objects are heavily shielded against detection and are difficult to target. They appear to be gravity generators similar to the one that forced us out of stardrive.”
“Do your job and destroy them,” the Captain lashed out. “Do not bother me with such trivial matters.”
The tactical officer tipped his head down a fraction of an inch and replied, “I am merely keeping you informed of the ship’s tactical situation Captain. There is one more matter you should be made aware of.”
The Captain visibly brought his anger under control. He had no reason to be angry at his crew. “Continue,” he said in a much calmer tone.
“We have detected several small drive wakes indicating the presence of more of these devices. They have taken up station outside our weapons range in a pattern that will allow them to possibly interfere with our stardrive as soon as it is able to be reengaged.”
“We will deal with those devices later,” the Captain replied. His focus now was on the annoying little ship that refused to be destroyed. “These pitiful creatures think they can stop a Chroniech battleship. Our weapons will crush them. Destroy that ship then we will worry about the other issues.”
The battleship powered up its close-in weapons. Seconds later the Vaen Runach was in serious trouble. “Shield at max!” the tactical station announced. “We are losing armor.”
Captain Msul’s mind was racing. If he stayed this close to the battleship his ship would soon be destroyed. But, if he attempted to disengage, the much larger weapons would be able to target him as he tried to run away. Either way their ship was doomed. As he tried to consider his options he glanced at the tactical display and everything seemed to switch to slow motion.
The Shqall va dropped out of stardrive 53 kilometers from the battleship – the closest it could get with the Vaen Runach’s gravity generator in operation. Captain Msul knew the instant the numbers appeared on the tactical display what the Shqall va’s Captain had done.
The moment the interceptor reappeared in normal space the intrinsic velocity it had possessed prior to entering stardrive asserted itself. In this instance, that velocity caused the Shqall va to madly dash directly toward the Chroniech warship at a relative speed of over 8,500 meters per second. This already enormous speed climbed even higher as the Shqall va applied a thrust of 326 gravities – the limit of their sublight propulsion system.
The Chroniech, however, had been tracking the Shqall va and less than a second after it dropped into normal space three beams from the battleship’s main guns blasted into action. The interceptor’s shield flared in polytechnic colo
r as it tried, and failed, to deflect the terrific forces arrayed against it. Ultra-resilient armor boiled away exposing the ship’s softer frame members to the ravening energy beams. Structural supports, walls, floors, equipment, and crew all vaporized as the beams chewed a path of destruction completely through the ship.
Eight seconds after dropping out of stardrive what was left of the interceptor impacted the battleship’s shield and came to an instant and cataclysmic halt. The impact alone generated the equivalent of over 82 kilotons of destruction. Although the Chroniech shield could have deflected that amount of energy had it been in the form of a nuclear explosion such was not the case.
The momentum of the collision was transmitted through the battleship’s shield to the shield generator. Even though that generator was mounted on enormous shock absorbers, no amount of bracing could have withstood the force of 9,500 tons of material traveling at 8.5 kilometers per second. The generator tore itself free of the mounts with such incredible violence that it smashed its way through two bulkheads before coming to a stop.
The entire 243 kiloton mass of the battleship shook. The Chroniech Captain uttered a blistering oath and demanded an explanation. The tactical officer took a moment to scan the computer screens before him then replied, “A small ship exited stardrive and impacted our shield at extremely high velocity. The main shield generator has been destroyed. The primary deuterium fuel tank has been ruptured and we have sustained minor damage to the stardrive power feeds. We have structural damage across several decks and frames. A good portion of main engineering has been destroyed.”
For several seconds the Captain was unable to speak. He turned his head and stared at the tactical display. What the other ship had done was, as far he was concerned, virtually impossible. The enemy ship had, against all odds, managed to drop out of stardrive at the precise location and orientation necessary to allow its intrinsic velocity to put it on a collision course with his ship.
Without another word he turned to his console and issued orders. “Concentrate on getting the stardrive repaired. Bring the secondary shield generator on line. Charge the soliton guns and prepare to target additional enemy vessels.”
On the bridge of the Vaen Runach, Captain Msul bowed his head in respect. The Shqall va’s Captain had apparently noted the desperate situation they were in and had decided to turn his ship into a very potent weapon. With the battleship’s shield down Msul saw an avenue of escape.
“Helm, move us… ” Before he could complete the command the battleship’s shield reappeared. Surprised, the only thing he managed to say was, “What?”
The weapons operator worked his touch-screen for a few seconds then reported, “The shield signature has changed Captain. The shield geometry indicates it is originating from a different area of the ship. I believe it may be equipped with at least two shield generators.”
“Two generators?” Captain Msul spat out disbelievingly. “I’ve got to give them credit for ingenuity, that’s a brilliant idea!”
A screen on the weapon’s console sprang to life with warnings. The weapons operator glanced at it then reported, “Picking up four points of intense energy concentration. Appears to be some type of new weapon being charged.”
The Captain glanced at his tactical display and said, “Coms, warn the battle group. See if you can link to their battlenet.”
The crew of the Vaen Runach never did figure out how they managed to escape death but somehow they eluded most of the Chroniech’s desperate attempts to blast them out of space. The Chroniech Captain eventually lost interest in Msul’s ship when the Omel battle group made its appearance. Two dreadnoughts, five battleships, five destroyers, and ten cruisers dropped out of stardrive 140,000 kilometers from the battleship. After some brief maneuvering the Alliance fleet approached the Chroniech ship.
“All ships ready to fire at your mark,” the communications operator on the lead Omel dreadnought reported.
“Weapons, you may fire as soon as all ships are within range,” the Captain ordered. “Do you have an analysis of those energy surges yet?”
“Acknowledged,” came the instant reply. “Distance to target 128,000 kilometers. The energy surges appear to be some sort of soliton-based weapon being charged. The Chroniech may have copied our sledgehammers.”
At a distance of 120 thousand kilometers the Chroniech battleship opened fire. Four dazzlingly bright spheres of raw power erupted from the ship and screamed through space at nearly a quarter light speed, each one targeting a different ship. One of these spheres struck the shield of an Omel dreadnought and, for an instant, seemed to stick to the shield’s immaterial surface like a pimple on a teenager’s face.
Overloaded at the point of impact, the shield failed locally and a blast of uncontrollable energy streamed through the breach. Armor literally exploded off the side of the dreadnought throwing white-hot glowing debris in all directions. Liquefied and gasified armor blasted its way into the ship’s interior creating a momentary inferno hotter than the surface of star. The superheated air created a pressure wave that buckled bulkheads and blew hatches off their hinges. The destructive effects of the blast dissipated as it worked its way further into the ship.
Although the dreadnought was not destroyed, it had been seriously damaged. A hole large enough to fly a shuttle through had been blasted into the side of the ship. The engineering and stardrive had been spared but a good portion of the ship had been rendered lifeless. The other three targets were less fortunate. Two destroyers and a heavy cruiser had been reduced to useless and mostly lifeless wrecks.
Before the stunned Commander could determine the extent of the damage wrought by the Chroniech’s first attack, four beams of death reached out and touched the shield of another Alliance battleship. Even though they were at the limits of their range, the four beams still delivered enough power to burn through the defender’s shield. Armor glowed, melted, then puffed out into space.
The Chroniech weapons were not only powerful, but accurate as well. The weapons burned an unerringly direct path into and then through the ship’s shield generator. Once the shield was down, the unimpeded weapons quickly rendered the battleship useless.
As the Chroniech turned their weapons on another target the remaining Alliance ships responded in unison. Dozens of sledgehammers and beams converged on the enemy ship. The Chroniech’s shield was unable to withstand the incredible amount of energy pouring into it. Several beams and nearly a dozen sledgehammers blew past the shield and impacted against the ship’s hull. Overwhelmed by superior numbers and firepower the Chroniech battleship ended its existence in a brilliant fusion explosion when an Omel missile detonated upon impact.
Moments before the battle had begun, Captain Msul had ordered his ship to retreat at maximum acceleration. Although the crew had survived, the Vaen Runach had taken a severe pounding. Huge holes had appeared in the once smooth armor and most of the ship was without air. Their task completed, the Alliance fleet stood down from battle stations, reported their success, and waited for further orders.
In the Rin’Bak’s fleet operations center Fleet Commander Chomach watched the progress of battle to eliminate the Chroniech ships that had infiltrated Alliance space. Over the course of the next hour and a half eleven Chroniech warships ranging from light cruisers to battleships were intercepted and destroyed. Each time a battle group engaged a Chroniech ship, Chomach’s fear of the future increased. When it was finally over, Chomach tallied the numbers and composed a very bleak report which was quickly transmitted to headquarters.
Even though each Chroniech ship had been assaulted with an undeniably superior force, the enemy had shown their strength. Thirty-six Alliance spacecraft had been damaged beyond repair and now floated alone and lifeless in deep space. Another six ships, four of them dreadnoughts, would require several weeks in a shipyard to repair the damage that had been done.
It was blatantly obvious that the Chroniech had significantly improved both their offensive and defensi
ve capabilities. And, if the Kyrra report of the Chroniech building a massive invasion fleet was correct, there would be a large number of these advanced ships for the Alliance to deal with. If the Chroniech ever managed to breach the Kyrra barrier and mount an all out attack the Alliance would be doomed.
An Act of Mercy
Three days had passed since the Komodo Dragon entered Chroniech space. Burning a hole through the aether at 11,121 times the velocity of light the Dragon had been steadily closing on their final destination which Stricklen had been shocked to learn was located not too far from the center of Chroniech controlled space.
Several times along the way they had made small course corrections to avoid contact with Chroniech ships and to keep their distance from the known deep space monitor stations which might be able to track their position. The location of hundreds of these stations had been part of the stellar cartography data provided by the Kyrra. Due to the fact that the stations were cloaked, the list was by no means complete.
Ken was sitting in the Captain’s command chair discussing the situation with Doug. The day before, Ken had asked permission to take part in the routine watch rotation. After discussing the issue with Councilor Warden and Commodore Scarboro, Captain Sheppard had granted permission. Ken had visited the councilor several times since their first encounter and his emotional stability had been steadily improving.
Elizabeth had actually suggested to Ken during their last session that he become part of the bridge rotation. This would give him a more defined purpose and keep his mind occupied on matters other than the death of his wife. The longer he could keep from dwelling on his loss the less painful the memory would become over time. He had just relieved Captain Sheppard so she could get some dinner and was still settling into the watch.
