Karen thought furiously, the options running through her mind, the pros and cons of each fighting for attention.
Adam was torn. He had rarely witnessed his mother so tightly wound up before, so he knew something bad must have happened. His attempts to coach a response from Vimes had met with silence and it was as if he never existed. “Coward,” he said to his silent companion and, for an instant, felt rather than heard the soft whisper of a reply in his head. “I know what’s coming, boy.” Before he could say anything, Karen spoke to him first.
“Do you want me to come with you, Adam?” she asked softly, not really knowing if she wanted to hear the answer.
Adam nodded, then turned away from Karen and looked at his mother for an instant before turning back. “Yes, I do. I very much want you to come with me, Karen,” he replied, extending his hand across the table towards her, palm upwards. Karen took hold and gave it a squeeze, then also looked at his mother.
“I’ve made my decision. I’m coming with you both,” Karen said out loud, a little surprised with herself. “I’ve nothing here apart from my aunt and uncle and they are half expecting me to emigrate anyway.”
Christine looked at Karen closely, at the same time silently asking Adam if he was sure.
“Yes, mother, I am sure. It may sound silly, but there’s something about her that talks to my soul. Yes, I’m sure.”
Christine took in the tableau around the table; Crown Prince, Empress and a Doctor from Earth, and for an instant, was reminded of a decision she also had to make so many years before.
“So that’s settled. As we are all sitting down around the table and it’s a good a place as any to tell the story, I’ll begin...”
Scene 5, Risks are sometimes worth taking
Admiral Len Ferris watched closely from the comfort of his command chair, as his cloaked forward drones observed the ships of the false Emperor and their attempts to repair their fatally damaged task force. The drones showed them readying themselves for the upcoming battle with his forces, relaying their images and data to the command stations around him and the holographic image which everyone on the Bridge could see.
As his superior force closed on its prey, for almost two days he had watched as what remained of the opposing force closed ranks and began to strip the damaged hulks of their ships for smart-metal and supplies, repairing their armour and stocks of armament in the process. He knew the efforts were in vain, as his science officers had confirmed the Jump Point had definitely been destabilised for at least another twenty-four hours and his far superior force would begin firing on them in a few minutes. He smiled, recalling the fear in his officer's eyes when he pointed out what would happen to them if their calculations proved incorrect and his prey escaped. Although harmless in itself, by destabilising the Jump Point, the new weapon had trapped the enemy in this system, unable to Jump away to safety, obtain reinforcements for even let others know what had happened to them. Ferris had been surprised by Admiral Frith’s decision not to take the flagship and try to flee within the system and buy herself more recovery time, abandoning the more severely damaged ships to their fate, but he appreciated her bravery in wishing to end it quickly by staying and fighting.
Ultimately, whether she and the false Emperor decided to stay and fight or flee around the system, the outcome would be the same, albeit perhaps delaying the inevitable for a few days. With battle now only moments away, Ferris took the time to savour this moment, something he had dreamed of for many, many years. Only a ship’s Captain at the time of the original Succession War, Ferris recalled the humiliation he had felt when the Grand Fleet, of which he had been a proud part, was routed by the forces of Duke Gallagher and the imposter, Alexander. That final battle, in the Kiyami system, had seen his hopes for quick advancement and a place in the new order, shattered.
He and a mixed bag of survivors had spent almost ten years jumping between known systems in foreign space, raiding ships and planets, all the time trying to keep one step ahead of the local military. Bitterly, he remembered how close he had come to joining one of the many rival human empires that continually fought each other and sought access to get past Empire space. There had even been a time when he’d considered ending it all, but his fierce sense of pride wouldn’t let him admit final defeat. Finally, just as even he was ready to accept the inevitable, he was contacted by Duke Frederick and told the news. A new, larger fleet was being secretly rebuilt, and at least a quarter of the Sectors had agreed to join in an uprising against the imposter when the time was right.
That had been sixty years ago, and during the intervening years, Ferris had clawed his way to the top of Frederick’s command structure, using all of his native guile and intelligence to do so. He’d lost count of the enemies he had made and careers he’d had to ruin during his climb to command the entire fleet, but it had been worth it, especially now when success was so close. Despite the many years that had since passed, just thinking about those days in the wilderness was guaranteed to sour his mood, even on a day such as this. He sought to control himself, thinking instead of the honours he would receive when the Jump Point stabilised and he returned triumphantly with the news of the false Emperor’s death or, better still, capture. Realistically, even he had to admit the chances of capturing Alexander alive were slim, for although he was an imposter to the throne, there was no doubt the man had courage.
Ferris puffed out his chest and stood up, looking around the command deck for any signs of inattention. His officers, used to the scrutiny, continued to go about their business, intent on making an impression and looking good.
“Ah, yes,” Ferris thought to himself, “Life is good, especially at times like this.”
He watched as his First and Second Officers walked towards him, datapads in hand. As they approached he studied them closely, instinctively looking for any signs of weakness or fear that he could exploit. Commanders Andrew Middleton and Wendy Letley stopped at the foot of the raised dais on which his chair was positioned. He let them wait, knowing it would make them feel both uncomfortable and slightly off balance. This subtle game demonstrated he was in command and the raised dais reinforced his position. Leaving them waiting, Ferris interrogated the ship’s AI for a status report. His flagship, INS Frederick, was a new, state of the art, ship of the line, built less than twenty years previously and fitted with the latest armament and shielding. It was modelled on the false Emperor’s own flagship, Dauntless, but slightly longer and wider across the beam. In addition, it boasted a new variant of smart-metal armour, made from partially collapsed material. Finally, over-sized total conversion engines and numerous redundancies meant it was more than a match for the weakened Dauntless, making it the most powerful ship in human space.
“All systems are at one hundred percent efficiency, Admiral. Linkages to the rest of the fleet are secure and hardened against jamming. All ships reported ready and in position for firing command. Power reserves are at two hundred percent and climbing.”
Ferris didn’t bother responding to the AI and he motioned to his waiting Commanders. Seeing his signal, they quickly approached, their postures slightly submissive as they neared.
“Report,” he said, tersely, a little annoyed that they didn’t just send him the information via implant or the ship’s AI, however, he knew they wanted the chance to impress him personally so he had graciously allowed them the chance to briefly vie for his attention and the possibility of gaining his approval. He enjoyed watching them try to impress him by outdoing the other, for their competing kept them from becoming any kind of threat to his position.
He listened to the reports, cross-checking their veracity against the AI’s database of information. The fools didn’t seem to realise he’d already read the information they were presenting, having used the AI to download and precis it for him from the data pads they had compiled it on before they’d even arrived at his dais.
When they’d finished he kept them waiting, then waved a dismissal without sa
ying a word when he saw Admiral Frith finally make her move. Ferris instructed the AI to zoom the holographic display to within a dozen miles of Dauntless and her rag-tag escorts, displaying their relative positions. Frith had moved the remaining battleships directly between Dauntless and his fleet, with the two carriers, one severely damaged and barely able to respond, taking positions above and below her. The lack of fighter cover came as no surprise, for he had watched Frith’s unorthodox use of them during the last battle. Finally in position, the enemy formed a tight cluster, no more than a few hundred yards separating them from each other, uncomfortably close for a normal battle situation.
“But this isn’t normal,” he told himself, “Frith is obviously hoping the intensely overlapping shields will provide them with a few extra moments, but it just gives me an easier target.” He paused for a moment, “I hope that evil witch doesn’t have any more surprises,” he thought, grudgingly. The one thing he couldn’t understand was why she hadn’t already begun firing at them. To let them get this close was most unorthodox. “Perhaps she is looking to conserve her remaining ammunition,” he reasoned.
On the screen in front of him, Ferris reviewed the disposition of his fleet for the last time. Consisting of two new carriers, twenty first-class and ten second-class battleships, with sixty Interdiction Frigates covering them, it would have been more than a match for even Alexander’s original, undamaged task force. Each battleship had a minimum of two Interdiction Frigates protecting them from missile and fighter attack, with the two carriers boasting five apiece.
Satisfied everything was in place, a now smiling Ferris took a deep breath and gave the order to fire.
Emperor Alexander was standing next to Admiral Frith, together observing the enemy’s final movements, who were approaching a distance of one hundred miles and decelerating to match their relative speed before firing. Between the two of them, they had done everything they could to make Alexander’s plan a reality. At first, Frith had been uncertain about it, especially as nothing like this had ever been attempted before, but when she’d run the calculations and disposition of the ships through Dauntless’s AI it had confirmed their validity. Satisfied, but still with misgivings, she had put them into effect. In the short time they had before the enemy reached them, Dauntless had been the main beneficiary from the salvaged material and she was now bulked out larger than before due to the increased thickness of her armour.
Alexander gestured towards what was obviously the enemy flagship, hidden safely towards the back of the fleet. “Look at the size of that beast, Janice,” he remarked, zooming in their display for a closer look. “Looks a lot like Dauntless, doesn’t she?”
“I’ve heard it say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, Sire, but I doubt she is as well captained and crewed,” she responded with a tight smile, her comments as much for her Bridge officers as for him. Frith checked the active sensor data, wondering why they hadn’t been fired on yet.
“Does the enemy have another new weapon I don’t know about?” Frith thought to herself.
“Her hull looks to be a new type of armour, probably partially collapsed material of some kind. It’s a shame we won’t be able to collect some samples for analysis,” she mused.
Alexander nodded in agreement. “What’s keeping them from fi…here it comes,” he exclaimed, as the display “tank” in front of them began registering the bright flashes of multiple weapons fire from the enemy.
“Eighteen point one-two seconds before missile and railgun shells hit us,” the AI responded calmly, “All ships reporting shields and point defences at maximum capability, Admiral, returning fire as agreed,” and with that everyone could feel the deck vibrate as the main batteries of railguns opened up, followed by the main particle weapons. The remaining ships of her task force joined in at the same instant, adding their own fire to the furious hail of metal and energy now passing between the ships. Such was the intensity of fire, several opposing rail gun slugs actually hit each other, fusing together into miniature suns that flared briefly as their kinetic energies dissipated into the ether.
Already, the shields of the screening battleships were starting to redden as they began absorbing the furious energy of the enemies weapons fire. A few seconds later, railgun slugs began to hit, several penetrating through the battleship’s reinforced shielding to strike their armoured hulls. Despite the slugs being slowed by their passage through the shields, they still struck the armour at several thousand miles an hour, the impact rocking and vibrating the battleships like hammers on an anvil. For the moment, enemy fire was directed at the battleships and carriers rather than at Dauntless, but this respite wouldn’t last long since her powerful main batteries were already pounding the lead elements of the enemy and she would soon begin penetrating their shields and wreck havoc on the unprotected hulls.
“Intra-missile communication jamming remains effective, Admiral,” reported one of the Weapons Officers, confirming their suspicion that the enemy wouldn’t have been able to reconfigure their missiles in time after the last battle. “Ours are getting through to them, however.”
Frith nodded in thanks, grateful that their jamming hadn’t been countermanded, watching her stock of missiles reduce as they threw everything they had at the enemy. For this phase of the plan to work, they had to rattle the enemy commander, whoever he or she was.
“Switch missile targeting to the enemy flagship as planned,” she instructed her Weapons Officers.
“Switching now, Admiral,” came the immediate response and Frith watched, as in the tank, missiles altered course towards the enemy flagship. She knew the majority were unlikely to make the journey through the screening Interdiction Frigates, but it might rattle the enemy into directing fire away from her remaining ships and onto Dauntless.
The plan worked, for within minutes the stream of fire directed towards Dauntless markedly increased. The unequal contest between the two sides continued, and both Frith and Alexander watched as the shields on their few ships began to radiate from a dull red, through green and into violet, with flashes of intense brightness where part of a shield would overload for an instant and a missile or slug forced its way through. Closely overlapped as their screens were, Frith’s ships were able to provide a measure of support to each other, taking up the strain when a nearby screen briefly overloaded, but increasingly they were all beginning to show signs of distress. Despite this extra support, the already crippled carrier, INS Glorious, signalled its shields were about to fail, so Frith instructed it to drop down behind Dauntless to see if they could recover, buying them more time.
Alexander could sense the end was near. He had sadly seen enough battles to know when to fold and this was one of those times. He looked across to his Admiral. She was standing by her console, gripping it tightly, staring intently into the tank.
Alexander smiled inwardly. “Perhaps the old war-horse doesn’t want to go out sitting down,” he thought. He examined his own feelings, pleased that, at the end, the prospect of death held little fear for him. “I’ve had a good life, perhaps better than most.”
He spoke aloud to Frith, who turned to look at him.
“Time to launch the message buoys, Janice?” he asked, receiving a brief nod in response. At that, a thought to the AI triggered the release of dozens of hardened buoys, which accelerated away from Dauntless at high-G, passing rapidly from the scene of battle and dispersing widely into free space. Cloaked, they contained individual AI’s sufficiently intelligent to assess the outcome and Jump back to friendly space once the disrupted Jump Point stabilised, bringing news of what had happened here to the Empire and Christine.
Dauntless continued to direct its main batteries at the enemies lead ships and flagship. With two of the enemy already little more than dissipating balls of gas, Frith counted the cost. INS Glorious was as good as gone, the AI confirming her shields were terminally damaged and the shields of the remaining battleships were radiating far into the ultraviolet, unable to
absorb any more energies from the attack. Shield failure would result in the valiant ship’s hulls being exposed to the full fury of the attack. Even hull metal couldn’t last long in those circumstances and it would only take a few, well-placed slugs or missiles for them to be punctured, at which point they would shortly cease to exist.
Admiral Ferris watched the one-sided battle, his heart starting to race as he could feel his moment was near.
“Not long now,” he thought to himself as sensors picked up the release of message buoys before they cloaked and vanished, making him now totally confident of success. He could see the damaged carrier had hidden behind the relative safety of the flagship but it was of no importance to him, so he gave new firing instructions to his Weapons Officers for them to concentrate everything on Dauntless. He had been disconcerted when Frith had targeted his ship with missiles, for she must have known few would reach him, but for a moment was worried they might be a new weapon of some kind. He wasn’t going to take any chances, so had instructed the Interdiction Frigates to take them out, even at the expense of providing cover for the other ships, so that none could reach him or his flagship. The first wave of missiles destroyed, with just the loss of two of his leading battleships, he ordered that Dauntless become the priority target.
Suddenly, one of the defending battleships shields catastrophically failed, and he could clearly see impact points blossoming all along her hull, stitching their way until they reached the main engines, at which point all the Bridge viewscreens momentarily overloaded as the battleship’s engines detonated in an enormous explosion, followed by the other closely packed ships as they were caught and destroyed in the total conversion shock wave which caused their own engines to react with the wave and detonate.
Imperium: Revelation: Book Two in the Imperium Trilogy Page 4
