Hazilsor burst into the Command-Center and barked, “Report.”
“I have the Scan Logs, Sir. Your Commanders are coming now, they’ll arrive within minutes.”
“Good. Show me these Scan Logs.”
The Pirate examined Shizu’s Scans until his Commanders arrived.
He said, “We’ll move to the conference room next door. The Federation has reached the Gateway. They’re looking for a fight so we’ll plan a suitable response.”
The group moved to the meeting and the last one inside closed and locked the door before they replayed the Scan Logs. They considered the first ship into the Gateway System curious. It appeared larger than the others and faster too. They thought the speed reminiscent of the monstrous little vessels in Cambridge. Whatever it was, Suhmarlin didn’t appreciate what he saw. This spelled trouble for his domain.
Hazilsor said, “What is that thing? We’ve never seen one of those.”
One of his Lieutenants replied, “We’ve heard rumors that the humans were working on something new, maybe they built this. Details are scarce. We don’t have the intelligence to tell us how well that ship is armed.”
“Perhaps, we shall see. Can this thing survive Jump-Exit? Can we knock it out before it damages our defenses?”
“Unknown, Sir. We’ve no record of that ship in action. If any of our people met her, they didn’t survive.”
“You’re right. I’ve got a bad feeling. Load everything we can onto the available ships. Reserve two ships to take the people we need and set demolition charges on our facilities. Those captured Destroyers, are they spaceworthy yet?”
“We need another week to have them ready for a fight, but we can take them with us and continue repairs along the way.”
“Find crews for them and launch them toward our escape route. We’ll meet at Vatana Base. Load plenty of trading goods so we can pay our way until we find somewhere else to settle. Now, let’s focus on holding this System. I want a plan in three hours, dust off our contingency plans and decide if any of those will work. Maybe you can use them to plan a response.”
Hazilsor had just finished speaking when the Comms-Unit buzzed. Hazilsor was furious for a moment but remembered the Ops Center never interrupted a meeting unless they had something important to say. He punched the button with a finger to accept the call.
Suhmarlin said, “Report.”
A shaking voice said, “Several ships came through the Jump-Point and exploded. The explosions destroyed many of the Mines and Missile Platforms near the exit lanes.”
“How many ships?”
“We think three or four. Our analysts are checking now Sir.”
“Keep me informed.”
Hazilsor sat in his seat with a heavy thud as the blood drained from his face. This couldn’t be happening to him.
FNS Harmon
While the Battle-Station Scan-Techs tried to find FNS Harmon, she was nearby, at least in stellar terms. Unknown to them, she stopped further away than they thought, twenty light minutes. The Cobras undocked and moved away from FNS Harmon as they prepared to Micro-Jump back near the Battle-Stations. On the hanger deck, both Venom Squadrons prepared to fight. Venoms aren’t Jump capable, they’re too small, so they launched soon after FNS Harmon arrived near the Battle-Stations. For this action, they fitted the Venoms out as mobile Missile Platforms, and the plan required them to attack one Battle-Station while FNS Harmon dealt with the other.
Before FNS Harmon arrived in Hangelore, Commodore Gordon spent as much time as he could spare with the Venom crews including the teams who kept them serviceable. Colin didn’t understand these little ships much, so he had to rely on briefings his new Air-Wing provided to decide how to use them. The primary concern for Commodore Gordon was that they had to rely on the Air-Wing’s opinion of their abilities. Colin had concerns they wanted to prove themselves, so he gathered the flight crews together for one last chat.
Colin said, “Gentlemen, Ladies, we are going into an unknown situation soon. I want your Venoms to take part in the action.” A murmur passed through the crowd as people heard the Commodore’s words. Gordon continued, “I don’t know what you can do so I’m relying on your opinions for guidance. We will launch both Squadrons, and you will move into position ready to attack one Battle-Station while FNS Harmon attacks the other. Wait until I give you the go-ahead before you press your attack. When you’ve used your ordnance, head for the rendezvous. We’ll replenish you as fast as we can. Once again, don’t take unnecessary risks. You are a valuable resource, and the Federation needs the ability you’ve developed.”
Colin examined the flight crews, seeing the resolution in their eyes. The Venom crews had determined they would strike the Pirates and exact a terrible price for the attack on Cambridge. Cory Bernard was a junior Pilot in the Deaths Heads. He joined the Navy straight out of school and showed an aptitude for flying which led to his acceptance into this elite group of men and women. Like the rest, Cory wanted to contribute. He’d received word that two of his cousins were missing after the attack on Cambridge. Cory hoped to find them still alive, but their disappearance left him with a fire in his belly, he wanted revenge.
Meanwhile, the Cobras Micro-Jumped back near the Battle-Stations. On emergence, they made a single attack pass at the Stations to garner the defender’s attention. They fired two full spreads of Missiles each. The Battle-Station’s Point-Defense was dense enough to take sixty percent of the Missiles and Rail-Gun rounds out, but enough made it through to stress the Shields. After the Cobras launched everything they needed to, they peeled off to leave plenty of clearance, so the Battle-Stations had to work harder to target them. FNS Harmon waited long enough for the Cobras to get the Battle-Stations focused on them then Micro-Jumped into position. When she reappeared in Real-Space, both Venom Squadrons launched and moved into place ready for the attack. This first attack was crucial, it would be the only time the Destroyer surprised a Battle-Station.
Nobody on the Battle-Stations found the Venoms either during or after the attack craft launched. They didn’t know to look, and the stealthy design made the Venoms hard to detect. Colin had briefed Dimitri on the tactics and weapons to use against the Battle-Stations, so he was redundant at this point. The Captain’s job was to fight his ship, and he didn’t need a bored Commodore interfering. Instead, Colin took the broader view and monitored things farther afield. If the Pirates sent a large force to defend the Jump-Point, he needed to know before they arrived. He needed to keep an eye on the other ships in this small Task-Force. They had only one job, to kick the door in and allow the rest of the Fleet to join them here in Hangelore.
Once they launched the Venoms into Space, Dimitri made his own low-speed attack run on one Battle-Station. FNS Harmon fired three full spreads of Missiles then pumped out Rail-Gun rounds as fast as they reloaded. Harmon’s Lasers lashed the target and stressed the Shields while the slower ordnance crossed the distance between the Destroyer and the Station. This focused the Pirate’s attention on FNS Harmon and away from the Venoms until the attack ships were ready. A useful side effect was the impact the attack had on the Battle-Station’s Shields. These Battle-Stations suffered several disadvantages. First, they’d aimed their weapons to stop vessels coming in from the Jump-Point. A second drawback was that they had little ability to maneuver, only possessing Station-Keeping thrusters.
The Battle-Stations took over a minute to re-orient their offensive armament to target FNS Harmon. By then, she was ready and Micro-Jumped to another vector, so the Station armament needed to re-orient again. Meanwhile, FNS Harmon’s ordnance arrived on target. The Battle-Stations Point-Defense had thinned it somewhat, but enough shots made it through to further stress the Shields. Soon, FNS Harmon would be ready to deliver the coup de grâce to her target. The big Destroyer Micro-Jumped again but realized one of their risks when she reappeared at their destination. Within seconds after Jump emergence, a stray Rail-Gun round penetrated the Point-Defense and smashed into FNS Har
mon’s Hull.
The damage wasn’t severe enough to stop FNS Harmon’s attack. The impact wrecked one Laser turret, and several Point-Defense turrets sustained damage. Dimitri lined his ship up, to bring the ion beam weapon to bear on the Battle-Station. The Captain waited until the next round of ordnance stressed the Battle-Station’s Shields. He’d calculated the time for the beam to cross the gap between FNS Harmon and the Battle-Station and at the best time, the ion beam weapon fired. It lanced out, bridging the gap between the Destroyer and Battle-Station at just under the speed of light. The Station’s Shields held for three seconds against the onslaught, glowing as they tried to dissipate the enormous energies the beam imparted. If FNS Harmon hadn’t stressed those Shields with her other weapons, they might have lasted longer, but they collapsed soon after the ion beam hit. The beam drilled through the Station’s armored Hull vaporizing everyone unlucky enough to be in its path. When the beam breached the Station’s Hull, the compartments it passed through decompressed killing more people. Somewhere along its way, the beam severed two of the three Primary Power-Busses. The Station wasn’t able to continue fighting with only the one bus, it needed two to run life support and fire weapons. The Shields collapsed too, so with so many systems failing, the Station Commander surrendered to save as many of his crew as possible.
On FNS Harmon, Colin observed the Station’s weapons stop firing and soon after, Escape-Pods ejected. The Pod occupants could wait until someone rescued them. The ion beam only fired for four seconds and needed ten minutes to cool before they shot it again, so FNS Harmon turned to move away from the neutralized target. There was no hurry.
Elsewhere on FNS Harmon, rescue and damage control efforts continued. The damage wasn’t classified as critical, but three of FNS Harmon’s crew died, and others took injuries by the Rail-Gun hit.
Hangelore Jump-Point
Near the second Station, Commander Calvin Thompson checked everyone’s position. The attack run they planned would only work if they followed the plan to the letter. As Cal checked his instruments, his Weapons Officer, Christa Pickard let out an exclamation, “Whoa, FNS Harmon is bad-ass. She has an ion beam weapon and just knocked that other Battle-Station out with one shot. Hey Cal, you didn’t tell me she could do that.”
Cal drawled, “Yea right, Chris, as if I’d know about Harmon’s armament.”
“You didn’t?”
“Nope.”
“I thought we’re here to protect her. My mistake. That bad girl don’t need our protection.”
“Chris, Commodore Gordon told me we’re on FNS Harmon to help develop the doctrine for a Naval Air-Wing. He said FNS Harmon is the first of several new ship classes under development right now. Cambridge is working on something even bigger than our Destroyer.”
Just then, a message arrived from Commodore Gordon telling them to hold while FNS Harmon repositioned. Cal passed the wait order on and settled to learn what Commodore Gordon had in mind. FNS Harmon gave the Venoms plenty of room as she traveled to a spot allowing her to see the Reapers and Deaths Heads make their attack run. They sat outside weapons range right then, so the Venoms had to wait and watch until Gordon decided what he wanted them to do. The Venom pilots found the wait frustrating but had no choice. They didn’t know the Commodore was trying to improve their odds of survival by preparing a simultaneous attack with FNS Harmon. Nor did they hear him working to convince the people on board the Battle-Station to surrender.
On the Battle-Station, they stared in disbelief as this single ship tore through the other Station as if her Shields were confetti. The Escape-Pods ejected, and they waited to see if the Destroyer picked up the survivors. She didn’t. Instead, she moved off in their direction. She did nothing to attack the Pods either, perhaps they planned to rescue the occupants later.
Sithu Harsen sweated. He’d thought these Battle-Stations invincible, but this Federation ship proved this assumption wrong. If the Federation possessed more, the Peschal Alliance was a historical footnote.
The Comms Officer paled as he said, “Sir, we have a signal coming from that Federation ship. Do I accept it?”
“Yes, let’s hear what they want.”
A hard-looking man, wearing a Federation Commodore’s uniform appeared on the screen. The man’s expression had no give whatsoever. The man didn’t name himself, he didn’t need to, everyone in the Alliance recognized Colin Gordon.
Gordon said, “You have a choice. I’m giving you ten minutes. I will allow you to surrender the Station by taking to your Escape-Pods. If I see no Pods in ten minutes, we’ll destroy the Station. Once we begin our attack, we won’t stop until your Station is confetti. This isn’t a negotiation, these are my terms.”
The Comms link closed, and the Control-Center crew waited in silence, eyes turned in Harsen’s direction. Sithu Harsen wasn’t the bravest person, but he considered himself pragmatic. He couldn’t surrender the Station unless his people were willing.
He said, “You heard, what shall we do, surrender, or fight?”
The CCC crew stared back at him with blank looks on their faces, unable to decide. They saw the way this ship handled the other Battle-Station. Nobody wanted to die that way, but Suhmarlin Hazilsor terrified everyone. If he thought they gave in without a fight, their deaths would be long and painful. The minutes ticked by while they tried to decide. One person broke and bolted for the exit, gathering others as he ran to the Escape-Pods. As the crewman ran, Sithu Harsen saw the others flinch as they stopped themselves from following and understood what they wanted.
Harsen said, “I suspect word will spread fast now. We’ll have rioting if we don’t evacuate the Station. Panic will take hold, and many will try to escape while others try to stop them. Does anyone object to abandoning the Station?”
He looked from one person to the next, but none returned his stare or looked him in the eye. Harsen nodded to himself and said, “Sound the alert to abandon the Station. We can’t win this, not against that beast out there, and this Station isn’t worth dying for today.”
The Comms Officer selected the correct broadcast signal, and alarms sounded throughout the Station. People, who moments before, worked hard at their jobs, preparing for battle, turned and ran for the nearest Escape-Pods. Even security personnel abandoned their posts. Most of the crucial people saw the other Battle-Station’s demise on their monitors and accepted that this one couldn’t survive. Only fear of Suhmarlin Hazilsor kept them at their jobs this long.
On FNS Harmon, Colin eyed the Sensors as time ticked away. He intended to carry out his threat to destroy the Station when the time expired regardless of what the Pirates did. Colin considered it too dangerous to leave the thing intact. Escape-Pods ejected, first one then more so Colin gave them a few minutes grace to allow the Pods to reach a safe distance from the target. When the time elapsed, he sent a message to the Venoms to begin their attack run. Anyone who didn’t take an Escape-Pod would die, but that didn’t concern Colin.
Cal scrutinized the evacuation happening on the Sensor displays and thought, ‘Damn, we don’t get to attack.’ He was wrong, just as the thought ran through his mind, the order arrived for them to begin their attack run. The Venoms raced in and fired every Missile they had at the Station while FNS Harmon sat on the sidelines, scrutinizing their performance. After they shot their ordnance, they looped up above the Station then peeled over toward the Destroyer to land and rearm ready for the next mission. The Missiles streaked in and one after another, impacted the undefended Station, tearing it to shreds until something critical caused an explosion that only left small pieces of debris. Harmon moved in and destroyed everything heading toward the Escape-Pods. The Fleet would pick those up when it arrived.
FNS Theseus
Sam Harland, Captain of FNS Theseus, was on edge. This Mine-Field’s density was crazy. When a Mine exploded, it often set off at least one other. This made their job easier but more dangerous. They risked setting off a chain reaction where one Mine set of another wh
ich set off more.
Theseus said, “FNS Harmon has destroyed both Battle-Stations, Captain. It is time to Jump back to FD-892S and bring the balance of the Fleet so Commodore Gordon can secure Hangelore.”
“We have to reach the Jump-Point first Theseus. This Mine-Field is ridiculous. I’m glad we sent the Fire-Ships in first. The Kislaran Fleet never stood a chance of bulling their way through these defenses. The only reason we’re having any success is that we’re attacking it from another direction.”
“We will be there in thirty-six minutes at our current rate of advance Captain. Our efforts have thinned the Mines along a narrow corridor, but we need to expand this for the Fleet’s safety.”
“The others have several hours after we leave to work on Mine clearance, they can do that task while they wait. Fleet units can expand it further as they arrive and traverse the path we’ve cleared.”
“I suggest you ask Commodore Xion and Commodore Devlaran to send the remaining Cobras through first. They can help expand the corridor before the bulk of the Fleet arrives.”
“I’ll do that Theseus. Did you nag Commodore Gordon when he was your Captain?”
Theseus paused for a second with the Captain’s last remark then replied, “No, I did not nag Captain Gordon, and I’m not nagging you now. I’m making sure you understand what we must do.”
Outside, the Point-Defense increased to a crescendo as Theseus reached a heavier than usual concentration of Mines. Shield strength dropped as they set off a chain reaction within the Mine concentration, and debris from the explosions showered FNS Theseus.
Theseus said, “Captain, Shield strength is at forty percent. I recommend we stop while they regenerate.”
“Okay Theseus, we’ll stop until the Shields are back to full strength. Ask the other Cobras to work with us for now and expand the cleared area here while we wait. If their Shields need time to recover, they should wait with us.”
Star Strike: Book 3 of the Star Man Series Page 37
