by D. J. Holmes
“Commander,” Sub Lieutenant Fisher said from her position manning the sensors console. “Two ships have just lit off their drives and are coming out of orbit from Excalibur.”
“Acknowledged Lieutenant,” James replied. “Navigation, plot us a course out of the system that will line us up for a jump to V17.”
It took just over two hours for the message James had been expecting to reach Drake from Valkyrie. Admiral Jensen had sent a video message and so James put it on the main holo-display.
“Commander, we now have enough ships back in fighting trim to allow me to spare you. We need to know what the Chinese are up to. I want you to jump into V17 but don’t enter the mass shadow. Watch for as long as you need but once you have a good idea of their strength and intentions, head straight back. And again pass on my thanks to your crew.”
When James had first spoken to the Rear Admiral after the battle she had looked tired and haggard. Now she seemed back to her calm and controlled self. That was reassuring.
“Navigation,” James ordered, “Bring us onto our new vector, it’s time to return to the lion’s den.”
*
Hours later, Rear Admiral Jensen watched Drake disappear from the system. She had been desperate to send someone to poke their nose into V17 but she hadn’t had enough ships to properly protect her fleet. Already she had sent one badly damaged destroyer back to Cambridge with news of the battle and a request for immediate aid. The Chinese light cruiser that had been damaged and then surrendered was almost ready to be sent home as well.
Currently, she only had Valkyrie and six other cruisers under her command. She had lost almost a third of her force when the two Chinese battleships had tried to force their way into the system. If Commodore Williams’ task force was added to the equation the proportion lost approached half of the ships she had entered the Void with. Those losses had been taking their toll on her. They were all men and women who she had spent the last year commanding. Now they were simply gone. Thankfully, she had more than enough responsibilities to keep her busy and stop her mind dwelling on the losses for too long.
The last two days had been nerve wracking, to say the least. She had feared the Chinese would either come back in strength to finish the task or send their smaller ships to coast into Excalibur. The Chinese still had more than enough firepower to destroy her fleet if they came against her with everything they had. On the other hand, a small ship could enter the system under stealth and possibly get close enough to launch a spread of missiles. With so many damaged ships she hadn’t been able to properly cover all the approaches.
Her only source of hope had been the damage she had managed to deal to the two battleships. Valkyrie had scored some direct hits with her plasma cannons and a review of the battle had shown that some missiles had scored proximity hits as well. Both battleships were a long way from being inoperable. They had show that with their last salvo at Wolfe’s task force. However, Jensen hoped she had done enough damage that the Chinese Admiral wouldn’t want to risk them again until they were fully repaired.
A week before the battle she had received an update from the Admiralty. Vice Admiral Cunningham was only weeks away from being ready to leave Cook and make for the Void. It had taken the message three weeks to reach her. Cunningham should be on his way by now. All she had to do was hold on.
*
7th March 2465 AD, HMS Drake, edge of the Excalibur system
“Communications, send the report to Valkyrie,” James ordered once the sensors had updated to show that everything was as expected around Excalibur.
Drake had just jumped into the system after spending four days patrolling V17. They had not managed to locate all the Chinese ships they were expecting to be there after the battle. James guessed some were lying in stealth within the system. However, they had identified the two battleships. They were both in low orbit around the habitable planet in the system. James had sent in a number of recon drones to try and get a look at what they were up to. Three of the four had been spotted and destroyed by the picket ships. The fourth had managed to beam back some visuals before it too had been destroyed. It seemed that both battleships were docked with the repair station the Chinese had under construction. The drone hadn’t been able to get a good look at the damage they had sustained but the fact they were both docked at the station spoke for itself. It gave the British a good bit of breathing space. As long as both ships were receiving repairs they couldn’t be mounting any offensives.
As his report was beamed into the system, James kept Drake just beyond the mass shadow. He expected to be ordered right back to V17 and so didn’t want to waste any time heading into the system. That said, it would still take over fourteen hours for his report to reach Valkyrie and a response to be sent out to the edge of the system.
Once the report was sent, James headed back to his quarters to change out of his uniform. He had ordered the cook to prepare a meal for all his senior officers. Everyone had been on edge for the last few weeks. The stress of constant patrol duty had only been heightened since the battle of Excalibur. Everyone on board had now seen real action. No one was particularly keen to have to go through it again.
He had planned this meal to help everyone unwind and relax. Only Sub Lieutenant Hanson wouldn’t be there as he was on watch. The officer’s mess had been the only room large enough for everyone to fit in and so he was getting a rare opportunity to come into the world of his subordinates. Andrea, his friend and accountant, had sent on board a case of expensive French wine from the Bordeaux region when they had their short stay on Earth. It had been a celebration for his estate finally turning a profit.
Ordinarily, the crew of a RSN spaceship was not allowed to consume alcohol. The regulations did however, stipulate that in special circumstances the Commander or Captain had the authority to wave the rule. James had decided that now was a good time. With Drake sitting on the edge of the system powered down, and in stealth, they would be all but undetectable unless a ship came out of shift space right on top of them. Realistically, this was the only chance they were going to get to enjoy a period of relative safety. James wanted to make the best if it.
Satisfied that he was dressed suitably, he made his way to officer country. Along with Second Lieutenant Gupta and his Sub Lieutenants, the ship’s pursuer, who oversaw the stores of Drake, the chief engineer and the RSN marine Lieutenant all shared the officer’s section. Tradition meant that every British ship still carried a small compliment of marines. Drake had only ten, yet they had come in handy in their mission to capture the Chinese destroyer.
As he entered the dining area he saw that everyone was already there. Walking over, he took his seat at the head of the table. “Welcome everyone, or should I say thank you for welcoming me into your home,” James began with a smile. “This is probably going to be the only chance we get to relax and unwind over the next few weeks so I want you all to enjoy yourselves. Don’t think of us as commander and subordinates, we’re all equals at the table tonight, so relax. Of course,” he continued as he winked at Sub Lieutenant Becket. “Those who are on duty in a few hours should remember to take some detoxing stimulants after they have enjoyed tonight’s lovely wine.”
As James sat, a number of crew who had been drafted in by the cook to help serve the food, appeared and began to distribute the first course. It was a blend of a traditional British vegetable soup with a popular recipe from Britannia, which mainly used native plants.
For the first few minutes everyone ate in silence. Just as James was about to give up on seeing his officers open up, Gupta broke the silence and came to his rescue. “Fisher, I hear you and Becket had a bit of fun earlier today, care to retell the story for the rest of us?”
Fisher had to set her spoonful of soup down as she tried to hold back a giggle. In contrast Becket looked up from her soup aghast.
Before either got a chance to reply, James mouthed a thank you to Gupta. Becket then began to tell the story but Fisher quickly sh
ushed her. “I think the story should come from me – I got the best view after all.” Before Becket could protest Fisher launched into her account of the story. “Chief Harkin had sent us both down to check on the power relays around number two reactor. Becket had been boasting that she had read of an engineer who could check a power relay simply by touch. She had claimed he was able to judge the power levels going through it, just from the static it gave off.
“When we got there, she insisted I put my plasma spanner away and allow her to check the relays by hand. What she hadn’t realized was that they had been fluctuating quite badly. As soon as she touched the second one, her hair shot up and she began to jerk and jolt like crazy. Even when she managed to take her hand away from the relay, the current still jumped out and kept the connection. She had to take four or five steps away from the relay to break the connection. And all the time she was still jerking and shaking! The engineering crew had a right laugh. Every time they see her now they break into a jerking robot dance! In fact, I got a message from one of them, they managed to get the security holo-recording.”
Fisher reached over to an input terminal on the table and after a few clicks had turned on the holo display in the room. Becket tried to grab her hands away but O’Rourke grabbed Becket in a bear hug, holding her off. Moments later a recording of the entire ordeal began to play out in front of the officers. Becket hung her head in embarrassment all the way through the recording.
As the laughs died down, James showed his approval. “Well I think we know who the prize for Drake’s best dancer goes to! Though the award for most promising engineer may have to go elsewhere.”
Everyone knew that next to the Chief Engineer Becket was the most knowledgeable when it came to Drake’s impulse or shift space engines. James hoped this incident would keep her from getting too big headed.
He sat back as the conversations began to flow. Fisher was continuing to mock Becket and she even got up to give everyone a rendition of the jerking dance. Thirlwall was telling the pursuer all about her childhood on Thames, one of Britain’s newest colonies. The conversation eventually turned to the war and both O’Rourke and Graham were prodding Gupta about her views.
“Come on sir, do you really think the Chinese will keep coming at us? We gave them a real licking. The terms of the UN agreement are very generous for them. They get to keep the planet they have now and no more blood has to be spilled.”
“That’s all perfectly true of course,” she replied. “But if you know your history you will know that the human race rarely gives away anything it thinks is theirs. The Chinese did discover the Void first. They obviously think they own all of it. Their actions at Damang and here at Excalibur show that they are more than willing to shed blood to keep what is theirs. We have hurt them, but they still outnumber us, and they have many more ships they can send into the Void.
On a slightly more fearful note Becket asked, “Do you think they will be back soon then sir?
“You have all seen the take we got from V17. Their battleships are under repair so I don’t think they’ll be here in the next few hours. But yes, they’ll be back.”
“What about you Commander, when do you think they will be back?” Fisher asked. James was pleased that she was obviously overcoming some of her shyness around him. As he paused before answering, every other conversation ceased. All eyes turned to him.
“Gupta is right, she has clearly thought things through. We all know the Chinese have been lagging behind us when it comes to the expansion race. Their population just hasn’t had the same drive to get out into space. That has hurt the speed at which their government can ramp up their economic and industrial growth on new colonies. Added to that is the fact none of their colonies have been class I or II habitable planets. Cook is a paradise compared to Wi Liang or Parcal and Britannia makes everything they have pale into insignificance. Two of the planets in the Void, Camelot and V34 are both Class II and Excalibur isn’t too far behind. Yet they have been awarded neither by the UN. Think about things from the Politburo’s point of view. They see us as their enemies. We’ve been slowly pulling ahead of them. If we get Excalibur and Camelot, we will only get stronger. Their only advantage over us is the size of their military and we are working hard to come to parity with them in that department. As Gupta said, they have already shown their ability to shed blood. I see no reason for the Politburo to stop now. If they give up, they are basically accepting that they are second best. I don’t think that’s even a possibility in the Chinese mindset.
“I have grown up all my life around people who thought they were at the pinnacle of power. I used to think that too before I was assigned to Drake. I know what it’s like to fall from grace. The Politburo won’t back down. Not when the alternative is a slow fading into insignificance. My father faced the same choice when his first business venture failed. Rather than admit defeat he covered it up and tried to fix the problem by firing good money after bad. I have seen how that worked out but I’m not sure the Politburo can see the folly of a long protracted war.”
“Is that why you were sent to Drake, because of your father? I thought it was because of the Princess?” O’Rourke asked.
This time every eye turned to O’Rourke. He was the youngest person around the table and he seemed to shrink back from all the attention. Gupta began to change the subject but James waved her to stop.
Sighing he said, “I suppose you have all seen the news reports from when we left Earth. Well, as you can imagine things are complicated. As you know the nobility protects its image with a vengeance, the King more than anyone. Christine and I hope to have a future together, the King thinks otherwise. That’s really all I’m going to say on the matter.”
As James went back to his meal everyone followed suit. Slowly the whispered conversations grew back into a noisy ruckus as the wine continued to have its effect. As desert came out and everyone’s attention was elsewhere Gupta leaned over to her Commander. “I think your idea has worked well sir. Everyone seems to be enjoying themselves. I’m sure you and Christine will be able to work things out in the future.”
“Thank you Lieutenant,” James whispered back. “Christine shares your enthusiasm, I just hope you are both right.”
As the conversations continued to flow, James sat back in his chair and relaxed each of his muscles in turn. He was happy not to be drawn into any more conversations. Instead he enjoyed watching each of his subordinates unwind and show a side of themselves that they usually kept hidden from their Commander.
*
Fourteen hours after the message from Drake had been sent into the Excalibur system, James was back on the bridge awaiting the reply from Valkyrie. Sure enough, a message came back from Rear Admiral Jensen almost exactly when he was expecting it. Drake was to head back to V17 and watch the Chinese fleet. She was to stay there until she had something important to report or she was relieved.
After reading through the order twice, James looked over to Sub Lieutenant Hanson, who was manning the navigation console. “Are the coordinates locked into the jump drive?”
“Yes sir, everything is ready.”
“Ok engage the engines, take us to V17.
Chapter 15 – Superiors
The command structure of the Empire’s navy was taken from the British Royal Space Navy, which in turn was taken from the Royal Navy before it. The Royal Navy had the longest and most prestigious history of any of the navies that combined to form the Empire and so assuming its command structure was the obvious choice.
-Excerpt from Empire’s Rising, 3002 AD
15th March 2465 AD, HMS Drake, edge of the Excalibur system
Once Drake dropped out of shift space James watched the holo displays update themselves. They had spent the last week doing what Drake had been designed for. After arriving at V17 they had spent a day slowly coasting up to the shift limit. There, Drake had silently watched the Chinese fleet as it began to reassemble itself. One of the battleships had finished its repai
r work and, with a number of the cruisers, was drilling battle formations. After collecting lots of data on their drills, James had jumped Drake to the other side of the system and repeated the process.
Finally, once he had been satisfied that they had managed to identify most of the Chinese ships patrolling the system, he had taken Drake on two passes into the system. Neither entered the inner system as it was too heavily patrolled, however, he still managed to get a reasonably good look at the Chinese fleet. All in all he felt he had a very accurate picture of the Chinese ships present at V17.
Things had gotten a little hairy when another British scout ship had jumped into the system. One of the Chinese picket ships had picked it up and given chase. A number of other Chinese ships also joined the chase and the ensuing commotion had almost led to Drake being discovered as well. Thankfully, some quick thinking had kept them out of detection range.
After the second pass through the system he had decided to return to Excalibur. The second battleship was still undergoing repairs but the rest of the Chinese fleet looked like it was battle ready. The ships the Chinese Admiral had under his command were more than capable of blowing Rear Admiral’s Jensen’s fleet into space dust, even without the second battleship. As they looked about ready to make a move, James had decided he better get back to Excalibur. He didn’t know how much information the other scout had managed to get.
