Carl said, “I’ll take FNS Forseti for this, Commodore. Captain Tobin was part of Cambridge’s rescue organization before joining the Federation Navy, he’ll offer valuable insights.”
Devlaran replied, “Excellent, inform me if you need extra help.”
After Carl signed off from Commodore Devlaran, he contacted FNS Forseti.
When Roger Tobin came on the Comms, Carl said, “Roger, we have a rescue mission. In case you haven’t noticed, FNS Theseus is in trouble. Nobody can raise her on Comms, but that could be a fault, or she might have taken damage. Commodore Devlaran tells me their Scans showed multiple explosions near Theseus’ last known position and now she’s leaking air. You’re the man with rescue experience, what should we do?”
Roger’s mind raced through the problem.
Tobin said, “First, Carl, we must find FNS Theseus’ precise location, we can decide our next steps afterward. I suggest we move closer to her position and see what we find. We need more information before we try planning a recovery strategy.”
Carl replied, “Okay Roger, we’ll stay in clear Space until we understand what we’re facing. Move closer, we’ll plan our next steps when we know more.”
Thor and Forseti moved into place to check the conditions around FNS Theseus. The Patrol-Boats could only use passive Sensors for this task because of the risks posed by Mines so the search took longer than they’d hoped. Seven hours later, Forseti had mapped the environment around Theseus as she floated dead among a drift of Mines. The Patrol-Boats moved apart to build a three-dimensional picture of the situation. FNS Theseus had stopped, but Mines surrounded her leaving no safe way to rescue survivors.
Roger Tobin called Carl Fraser and said, “We must neutralize those Mines around Theseus, Carl. Our problem is, they’re too near Theseus for us to stand off and shoot them. I hate to say this, but we must draw them away before destroying them.”
“I’m not sure that’s what I want to hear. What do you suggest?”
“Give the Mines something else to go after Carl. If you study the damage to Theseus, the Mines hit her from every direction at the same time. If we remove mines from a large volume of Space around this one clump, I’ll see if I can make the Mines come after Forseti. Thor’s job will be to shoot them as they attack. It’ll be like peeling an onion. We’ll strip those Mines away one layer at a time until we have enough room near FNS Theseus to mount a rescue.”
“Okay, Roger. Thor is sending a pattern to Forseti, we’ll follow that and work our way closer to Theseus. I’ll ask for another Cobra to help so we can finish faster.”
The Cobras moved apart and destroyed or disabled the Mines surrounding FNS Theseus. The Patrol-Boats followed a spiral pattern that didn’t cover the same volume of Space more than twice. Soon, another two Cobras arrived to help, speeding up the clearance work. The Sensors on several Mines near FNS Theseus detected the Patrol-Boats on the periphery, and Mines drifted toward the passing Cobras. The numbers had thinned by then, so the Cobra Point-Defense handled the attacking Mines without incident.
Mine clearance operations continued for hours until they had a conical volume of clear Space around FNS Theseus’ wreckage. When Roger Tobin judged it safe enough, he told Carl Fraser. The two Captains vied for the job to drag Theseus away from the remaining Mines. Carl won the argument, and FNS Thor eased in behind the stricken Patrol-Boat. Four of Thor’s Troopers exited to carry a cable across to Theseus where they attached it to a lug on the hull. With that job completed, two Troopers made their way inside Theseus while the others returned to FNS Thor. With everyone inside a ship, Thor took up the slack on the tow cable and reversed out, dragging FNS Theseus with her.
FNS Theseus’ rescue took over fifteen hours, including the time required to drag the ship to a safer location. Thor and Forseti needed many more hours to save the trapped survivors and recover the bodies.
Hangelore
When FNS Disna was close enough for real-time Comms, Colin sent his battle plan to Captain Koral, asking for feedback. Koral worked his way through the data trying to understand the Commodores intentions. He realized the idea was elegant in its simplicity. FNS Disna dealt with two of the Destroyers. How they dealt with the Destroyers depended on the Pirate reaction when FNS Harmon and FNS Disna reached them.
Harmon and Disna Micro-Jumped from near the Jump-Point to a point 250,000 kilometres in front of their quarry. FNS Harmon launched her Venoms. After the Venoms were well away from FNS Harmon, Dimitri Micro-Jumped his Destroyer in closer to test the resolve of the Pirate ships. The Pirates didn’t fire so Colin tried ordering them to surrender. Colin’s opposition ignored the order and kept moving toward their destination.
Colin sat in FNS Harmon’s CCC, wondering how to garner a response. He didn’t want to shoot at them; that risked killing innocent people. The Commodore contacted Dimitri and suggested firing the beam across the Pirate’s bow. Maybe if they believed he was shooting at them, they might respond. Dimitri ordered the shot but with no response. Colin’s expected the Peschal Alliance to take an aggressive stance, but these ran.
Again, Colin transmitted a surrender demand, but the other ships maintained a stubborn silence and continued moving to the Jump-Point. Whatever else happened, Colin intended to stop them escaping, he would fry them first. Next, Colin ordered the Venoms to buzz the Alliance vessels. Colin watched the little Attack-Craft fly past, so close, they skimmed over the Shields. Again, the Alliance ships kept on without responding.
Colin looked at his team and asked, “Ideas?”
Dave said, “Sir if those are Kislaran Destroyers the Pirates captured, their weapons may not work yet. Even their Shields aren’t at full strength. When FNS Harmon’s beam touched the front of the lead ship’s Shields, they collapsed. Unless they’re doing something odd, a few, well-placed Laser shots will collapse their protection. The Troopers can go knock on their front door.”
Colin considered his pet Pirate for a few minutes. Colin couldn’t fault Dave’s logic. If this were anyone else, anyone other than an ex-Pirate, the question wouldn’t surface.
Gordon said, “Hmmm, okay, we’ll send the Troopers to the last ship in the line and see if we elicit a response then.”
The last ship was a battered Destroyer. In Colin’s opinion, it posed an exciting challenge. Colin ordered the Troopers into action and two Assault Shuttles launched from FNS Harmon, heading for the targeted ship. Meanwhile, FNS Harmon fired her main Lasers in a pattern intended to overload the Shields and cause them to collapse while not risking too much damage.
Trooper Harry Elsworth complained to his friend Jerry Singer all the way to their target vessel.
Harry asked, “Why are we here trying to board an enemy Destroyer? This Shuttle has no Shields. The Commodore must hate us to send us on this suicide mission.”
Jerry replied, “I doubt Commodore Gordon hates us, Harry, he has fought with Troopers in the past, and we’ve even saved his life. Why does he hate us?”
“I don’t know, maybe he believes we’re stinking up that nice clean new Destroyer he’s using to swan around the place.”
Jerry chuckled and said, “Shut up Harry, concentrate on the job. Stop complaining, your life isn’t so tough, but your complaints are distracting.”
Harry retorted, “I’m thinking, that’s why I’m complaining. FNS Harmon is a big, powerful Destroyer. She can blow these Pirates to atoms and go home? Why must we risk our lives?”
This elicited a round of jeers and cat-calls from the other Troopers in the compartment.
Travis King said, “You are so full of it Harry. Why don’t you shut up and let us get ready without listening to your bleating?”
Sergeant Smith had listened to the banter but stayed out of it at first. After this last comment concluded, it was time to stop the banter. He said, “Quiet, Commodore Gordon has his reasons for doing this. Remember, if we die, so does everyone on that Pirate Destroyer.”
The Troopers quietened then, nobody wanted the
Sergeant on their case.
Meanwhile, the Venoms continued harassing the five Pirate vessels while FNS Disna closed the distance. Captain Koral sent his Assault-Shuttles out from the side facing away from the enemy Destroyers. With the Shuttles launched, he approached the Pirates broadside and copied Commodore Gordon’s tactic to collapse the Shields on each target. While FNS Disna kept the Pirates preoccupied, the Shuttles raced in and latched onto the Destroyer’s Hulls. Kislaran Troopers erupted from the Shuttles and made their way to three nearby Air-Locks ready for the assault. In both cases, the Kislarans planned to take their Queens property back from the thieves who’d stolen it.
Hangelore Jump-Point
Out near the Jump-Point from FD-892S, Commodore Devlaran checked his resources. By then, he had enough warships to send two Squadrons after the Pirate ships that ran from them.
Devlaran contacted Commodore Xion and asked, “Take two Squadrons of ships and chase those eighteen Pirates?”
“Hanar, I’d love to catch them. I doubt we will, not before they escape. We haven’t had time to recharge our Jump systems yet. We can’t Micro-Jump out and block their escape. It’s a pity we don’t have more ships like FNS Harmon.”
“Tuva, you’ll get no argument from me about that Destroyer. Harmon’s a game changer.”
Devlaran noticed that even while he was speaking to Xion, ships moved into a loose square, ready to pursue the fleeing Pirates. Hanar found himself impressed with this Fleet, they might not manage the perfect formations that Home Fleet was renowned for, but they made a fierce and deadly foe. Devlaran recognized the Squadron’s spread formation should maximize their options if they came under attack.
“Hanar, we’ll leave soon, I need to bring everyone to a point where they can take position once we’re underway.”
“Tuva, your people impress me. Reserve Fleet knows what you’re thinking.”
Tuva Xion laughed and replied, “Maybe they do Hanar, but remember, they’ve seen plenty of action over the last few years. These people either perform or die. Thank the deity that few died.”
The Squadrons moved away in pursuit of the Pirates as they took up the positions within the formation. Devlaran considered their performance impressive. The whole job of bringing them together and starting the pursuit took less than fifteen minutes. Hanar made a mental note to seek advice from Tuva Xion to help turn Home Fleet into a fighting force of this caliber. Perhaps Commodore Gordon might help too, he’d seen more action than any other Officer in the Federation. He’d been central to removing more Pirates from Federation Space than anyone else. With a mental shrug, Devlaran turned his mind to other concerns.
A few ships remained in FD-892S, including the Fleet Train. The Task-Force needed these in Hangelore. Hanar’s other problem was to recover FNS Theseus and rescue the survivors. Almost as important, they needed to either vaporize the stricken Patrol-Boat or prepare her for transport to Cambridge. Even stripping every removable piece of hardware, left too much, classified material for someone to analyze. FNS Theseus was Commodore Gordon’s first Command, Devlaran doubted the man would scrap her without a fight.
When Deason’s Pride Down-Jumped, the picket Devlaran had stationed there, sent navigation instructions to the Freighter. Those instructions allowed it to work its way past the Mines and into free Space.
Meanwhile, Thor towed FNS Theseus out of the Mine-Field. Rescue efforts began, and several injured people were on their way to a working Medical Bay on a Cobra. The rescuers loaded the ones they assessed as critical into Stasis Pods, doctors on FNS Harmon would treat them later. The secondary Control-Center was still out of reach though. Troopers had trouble sealing the spaces near the entrance so they could take a vacuum suit to the people inside the compartment.
Hangelore
One of FNS Harmon’s Assault-Shuttles reached the Destroyer, and its load of Troopers disembarked, ready to mount their attack. They divided into two teams to find a suitable entry point. The Troopers found a hull plate backed by a small compartment. Most Troopers moved to set up a perimeter. Travis King made his way to it and used an instrument to check the chambers behind the outer hull-plates. While he did that, others set up the foundation for a temporary Air-Lock by bonding a band of hull material around the area of interest.
Meanwhile, King found the limits of the compartment they planned to enter and laid a bead of breaching material in a circle on the hull-plates. This stuff won’t explode, it burns white hot to melt through the plates. He finished that task while the rest of the breaching team carried the pre-assembled temporary Air-Lock to Travis. When they arrived, they attached it to the supporting band they’d connected to the hull. They made these preparations because entering through one of the existing Air-Locks might prove deadly. Just punching a hole through the outer hull would cause rapid decompression and slow progress to the Bridge and Engineering. By entering this way, the ship’s occupants wouldn’t know the precise point of entry at first.
On the vessel’s Bridge, the Captain struggled to understand what the Federation was doing. His Sensors picked up approaching Shuttles, but he only had a vague idea where they landed on the hull. Communications from the other ships in this convoy suggested they had similar attacks underway. His ship was on her own. The vessel possessed several, Air-Locks in that area, but the Pirates were ill-equipped to fend off a determined foe. The crews for the three Destroyers comprised whoever Hazilsor’s managers scraped together from around the Station. A few could fight, but they held few weapons. The leaders chose them to do the many jobs any vessel needed to have finished. The Captain sighed and ordered his few spare crew members to set an ambush on the Air-Locks nearest the Federation forces. Perhaps he might delay them long enough to Jump.
Outside, the Troopers finished setting up the portable Air-Lock, and four, including Travis King, entered. Their job was to breach the hull and secure the inside compartment long enough for more Troopers to reinforce them. Their armor should protect them from the heat given off after the charges ignited.
With everyone ready, Travis ignited the breaching cord. It flared into a brilliant white, and the Troopers masks blanked to protect their eyes. When the flare died away, two Troopers lifted the hull section away and placed it to one side. The edges still glowed red hot, but the surrounding hull drew the heat away. While they cut through the hull, the next four Troopers filed into the outer chamber and repressurized ready to enter the ship.
Travis and his companions dropped through the hole and into the compartment. Once inside they moved to the hatch and checked whether someone had locked it. Without surveillance, the Troopers didn’t know what lay outside the bay. Travis opened the hatch a crack and put a whisker probe through the tiny gap. The passageway looked empty in both directions but ran twenty metres before they found any cover. This part of the operation was difficult. Travis believed the ship too quiet. He expected more activity if the Pirates had a full crew. Another Trooper tapped him on the shoulder and pointed to Kislaran script on a crate resting in one corner. This vessel might have been Kislaran.
The next group of four Troopers entered the compartment crowding the available space. Nobody else would fit until several Troopers moved into the passageway. Travis sighed and took one more look at his optical feed. The passage remained empty in both directions. Travis opened the hatch, and the first four Troopers ran into the passage, two facing in each direction, and then advanced with caution toward the ends. Four more followed on their heels and deployed small drones to scout ahead. Another four Troopers entered the room and followed the others into the body of the Destroyer.
On the Bridge, the creature manning the internal security console let out a curse. The Captain asked, “What is it, Sythil, report?”
“The Federation Troopers are inside the ship Captain. One group is moving to take our defenders in the rear, the others are coming this way.”
“Hell, how are they on my ship?”
“They came from an outer compartment. The Tr
oopers must’ve come through the hull, Sir.”
“Warn the people at the Air-Lock, they can surprise these Federation scum.”
A drone moved its lazy way around the corner and spied a group of armed Pirates milling around near an Air-Lock. It appeared they were in the middle of changing focus from the Air-Lock to the ship’s interior.
Travis said, ”Damn, they know we’re coming. Okay, people, we’re expected. Do not let them kill you, if you do, I’ll murder you.”
The Troopers around Travis chuckled at the nonsensical nature of these words. The Troopers moved forward to the corner, ready to assault the waiting Pirates. Harry Elsworth set his weapon to launch grenades and slid into position. When everyone was prepared, Harry fired three, aimed to bounce off the wall and into the enemy group before they detonated. He followed the grenades around the corner.
The problem was, he was too fast and ran into the blasts. Shrapnel from the explosions crashed into his armor. Several pieces penetrated the armor and killed him. The other Troopers ran around the corner and fired into the surviving Pirates.
The team who made their way to the Bridge, had fewer problems until they found a small group of Pirates near the Bridge entrance. They heard explosions coming from behind and hoped their own side detonated those. Sergeant Smith saw Harry Elsworth’s bio-indicator turn red and groaned, as annoying as the man was, he’d been a good soldier. Drones preceding the Troopers spied the waiting Pirate troops. The Federation Troopers stopped to prepare for their assault. This vessel followed the standard Destroyer design, so several of the Troopers checked the maps on their Heads-Up Displays.
A fire-team moved to a parallel passage and found the right compartment. They placed charges on the bulkhead next to the waiting Pirates then stepped back to a safer place. When ready, they fired the explosives, blowing a large piece of the wall onto the Pirates. The Troopers rushed the Pirate position from two directions, and the fight was over in minutes. Soon after, the Bridge fell, and the Federation Troopers took control of the ship.
Star Strike: Book 3 of the Star Man Series Page 40
