Jack walked onto the Bridge. Captain Clancy bellowing. “Captain Turner on the Bridge. I am First Officer today and don’t you ass holes forget that.”
Jack sat down in the Command Chair. “Zoote, I need the best pilot you can find me. NOW!”
Zoote appeared next to Jack. “Very well Captain Turner. She is on her way now.”
“Very well. Number One, as soon as the last DD has been dropped, get us out of here and the rails folded up for battle.”
Clancy started giving orders. “Helm, Quarter Impulse heading 160 Mk 40. Mr. Comings, you may fold cargo rails 3 and 6. Set General quarter’s condition 2. We will be going to condition 1 in 3 minutes. Let’s get buttoned up everyone.”
Cain appeared on the other side of the Command Chair from Zoote. “Captain Turner. I request permission to power up my Mechs to assist with damage control.”
Jack looked at the hologram and smiled. “Sure why not. We are going to need all the help we can get. My condolences on loosing so may Mechs on the station Cain.”
“Actually Captain we only lost 119 mechs. Most of the work was finished on the DD’s and I had already recalled the majority back into their storage containers aboard the Red Pepper.
The Lieutenant ran in and tapped the pilot on the shoulder and quickly took his place and started going over her check list as the pilot she relieved filled her in on the essentials.
Jack stared for a few seconds until the turnover was complete and then said. “You are my pilot?”
“That is what Zoote said. You objecting Captain?” Smiling at Jack. “Zoote said I am the most qualified Battleship Destroyer pilot in the Navy. Even better than you. And I finally figured out that she is right. You think too much cutting down your reaction times. Besides, I can see space almost as well as you and after 10 years I know all your battle plans and what you are thinking before your mouth moves so get over it.” She smiled over her shoulder at Jack then flopped her helmet up over her head as the announcement of the ship going to condition one blared across the speakers and the bridge started evacuating the air.
Jack’s helmet came up without him doing anything as he got used to the idea of her being his pilot but realized she probably was better than he was. If for no other reason than it had been quite a long time since he had spent much time in combat as a pilot and his hesitation not long before in the Transport Bomber as he got to thinking had almost cost him is life. Then the lost opportunities to save lives and shorten battles while he was busy piloting the Red Pepper 7 months before so he could have some fun was still haunting him. Yes the Lieutenant had become a damn good pilot and he was going to need every ounce of skill she had developed over the last 2 years since he had given her his DD’s in The Game. It was Time to kick ass.
“Commander Morgan, I want the DD’s with the boats and tugs in their boat bays for propulsion to head up the corridor with the life boats that do not have badly wounded on board. All lifeboats with wounded or Congressional crewmember are to dump them off at the habitat containers and then proceed up the Corridor themselves. The DD’s with big emergency generators can provide plasma and mass for the lifeboats that need it to continue. When the Transport Bombers arrive with the igniters for the DD’s, the rest can join the escort mission protecting the lifeboats until they can be picked up by a transport in the relief fleet. They can do nothing down here to help.” Jack turned to Clancy. “How many boats have you been able to get out the hatch for DD propulsion Number One?”
“We have cleaned out the storage deck and kicked an additional 33 out the hatch with the crews and emergency generators running for the DD’s themselves to finish unpacking and making them operational in their boat bays. That will give all the surviving DD’s at least one boat for propulsion and emergency generators allowing them to keep up with the lifeboats going up the corridor. The DD’s with the large generators to power their weapons will remain around the finger for defense from enemy fighters and as support basses to refuel our fighters.”
“Very well Number One. Lieutenant attack plan Delta 4. We have to side track those Battleships from the lifeboats headed this way until those damn Station Guns fire and hopefully, miss us.”
The Red Pepper quickly gained speed as it shot around the corner of the knuckle into the finger and then out into the open and headed straight for the Battleships. The Enemy Battleships were tightly grouped together in a nice double V formation with 4 prongs instead of 2 making a sweep across the area in front of the entrance, taking out the lifeboats scattered around them using their small 5 inch guns to kill lifeboats at short range as they drifted. In no hurry to turn toward the finger as they stayed half way between the Station and the Maze. Still taking out mostly their own boats trying to head back to the Station. The last thing they wanted was to even get close to the Maze that would allow them to take out the life boats escaping into the cloud, let alone enter where they could easily be trapped. Their broadsides to the Red Pepper at the moment with their big 24 inch guns pointed forward leaving the Red Pepper with plenty of time to cross the distance before they could rotate their main weapons toward the rapidly approaching ship. Hundreds of small slow lifeboats scattering out ahead of them not able to out run the hug ships, still dying.
“Weapons target plan Zebra 1 on the left flank. The 16/8’s and 5/3’s on their 24 inch turrets. The 3/2’s and 40/20mm’s on their 5 inch turrets or engine exhaust nozzles if you have a clear shot up their ass. The God guns will take out the Command Decks and Bridge. Torpedoes and antiship missiles, target the exhaust nozzles of the engines.Leave the torpedoes and their antiship missilesto our point defense missiles. No one is to target the fusion cores at this time. Let’s see if we can end this without killing anymore friendly crews than we have to.”
Jack grimaced at the orders he had just given knowing in his head he was being stupid but he simply could not force himself to kill any more innocent crews. The fact that they were out number 14 to 1 and the last thing he needed to be doing was worrying about saving the lives of crewmen that may not even be friendly to the Republic was buried as far as he could bury it.
Jack Glanced again at the Station with its guns pointed toward the top instead of out toward the Red Pepper attacking the squadron. They had plenty of time.
Though the Red Pepper only had 12, 16/8inch guns. The ex-slaves had added crystal linings reducing the diameter of each of the gun’s bores from 16 inches to 8 inches, greatly increasing the heat and penetration of the beams with the power they originally had. With new more powerful generators to increase the Gun Capacitors’ regenerating charge speed, they could fire several shots a second from each gun. The Congressional Communist 24 inch guns were able to fire only 1 shot every 15 to 30 seconds depending on the power reaching them which seemed to vary on every ship. The Red Peppers smaller guns having the same treatment quadrupling their power and rates of fire as well. Making the 5 inch guns able to penetrate as far as the original 16 inch guns before being upgraded. Allowing them to take out the 24 inch heavily armored turrets of the Congressional Battleships while firing like machine guns.
The Red Pepper’s 6 twin gunned, 16/8 inch turrets and 12 twin gunned, 5/3inch turrets that were able to fire forward (another 6, 5/3’s could fire directly aft). Pummeled the 4 ships on the left flank. The 4 God guns sending their beams completely through the command decks and the Command and Flag bridges and out the other side of the two Battleships farthest on the flank even though their beams had been fanned out to a width of over 30 feet when they hit. All of the security police birthed around the Officer decks to keep them safe from the riff raff drafted crew were killed as well as the expanding vaporized metal and still pressurized decks exploded out with the shock waves shattering everything and everyone across those decks. The armored decks above and below limiting the damage to only the Command decks.
Jack watched in disbelief as a pair of 30 foot holes were opened up completely through the 2 Battleships targeted by the God Guns showing parts of the station th
rough one of them. As the Red Pepper raced past the stern of the 4 ships they had targeted, the Lieutenant quickly turned the ship 180 degrees around to point at the ships they had just passed Jack tapped the two ships the God beams had hit as dead. The Red Peppers guns and torpedo’s switch to the next two ships on the flank as the Battletransport again pointed at the targeted ships. The big guns had stayed frozen facing forward not trying to track the target as the Lieutenant turned to face the enemy with the Red Pepper now going backwards. The 16/8 inch guns now started firing at the backside of the Battleships not having to waste time trying to bring their weapons back onto the target.
The Red Pepper quickly slowed as the God Guns fired again destroying two more Battleship Command decks and Jack tapped the two ships declaring them dead.
“Captain.” The First Officer said in a whisper as he leaned over. “Those ships still have operational guns on them.”
Jack Smiled. “Yes they do, don’t they. Don’t you think that they need something to defend themselves with?”
“But we are the enemy attacking that they will defend against.”
“Eeaa. We will see about that. Weapons, target 16/8’s on the Command decks only and bypass the God Gun’s next targets. Torpedoes and ship missiles on the engines of the ships on the right flank.” Jack glanced again at the Station and its big guns that were still pointed up and away from the battle going on around the squadron. Surprised. “Someone keep an eye on the Station’s big guns and tell me when they start moving.”
The God guns fired again and the Command decks on two more Battleships acquired huge holes through them as the next ships in the flank started getting streams of 16/8 shots going into the Command decks from the side. Jack could not tell if the shots were going through into the core or not but figured they would find out shortly one way or another.
Jack looked back at the first two Battleships that had lost their Command decks and several engines as they started veering off course away from the Squadron. As the rest of the squadron turned their 5 inch guns from shooting lifeboats to shooting at the Red Pepper. Their marksmanship taking hundreds of shots to kill one lifeboat was no better with the Red Pepper as the beams started streaking past missing the big ship. The Big 24 inch guns on most of the Battleships slowly turning toward the Red Pepper’s new location. The 6 ships the God Guns had destroyed the Command decks on the exception as all 6 ships with one to three of their engines taken out by hits on the engine nozzle coils, started falling behind and turning away from the squadron at random angles depending on which engines had been knocked out but definitely out of control.
Jack watched the 16/8’s tearing into the next ship’s command deck from the side as the Red Pepper came to a stop and headed back toward the squadron. Jack’s smile turned sour as he watched a dozen torpedoes pop out of each of the remaining 7 ships. Only slightly relieved that the ship they were tearing up the Command deck of had not launched as well. Though that still left 108 torpedo’s to take care of.
The 7 ships started turning as one toward the Red pepper making it easier for them to train their big guns on the ship starting to close on them again.
“Three/two’s and 40/20’s, Point defense. Attack Plan G. Weapons prepare to fire all short range antiship missiles at their engines on my command. Gunners do not fire on the Command decks unless you have a broadside target secondary targets are weapons. We really don’t want to kill hundreds of Draftee slaves going through their birthing decks.” Again dread crossed his mind at the possible cost those orders could have for the Red Pepper but he felt he had no other choice. Besides the Red Pepper had yet to be seriously damaged in all the Battles with the God ships so how could these row boats do any better.”
The Red pepper continued to pick up speed toward the squadron as the 16/8’s continued to pore fire into target 5’s Command decks as large gaps started opening up deep inside. “Can anyone tell me if we have penetrated the Command Core yet?”
“I am detecting plasma out the back side of the hull Captain.” Said a sensor operator. “But it could be from beams bypassing the core.”
“Well, target 5 has not changed course with the others and has stopped firing its weapons. Weapons, shift to secondary targets on the turning ships.”
Jack watched as the Battleship squadron’s guns approached alignment with them just seconds from firing. As Jack stared down the Barrels of 500 guns and smiled. “Now Lieutenant.” He said comely knowing he did not have to emphasize the order.
The Red Pepper accelerating at quarter power toward the enemy suddenly leaped forward and to the side away from the line of fire as some 500 guns fired sending streaks past the Battletransport.
As soon the beams shot passed the Red Pepper missing them by a thousand feet, the Lieutenant dove back toward the Squadron still at full power with the throttles shoved up against the stops the Gee meter climbing into the thousands.
“Weapons. Protocol Fox Five, short range antiship missiles, countermeasures, decoys on my command. Point defenses take out their stern point defenses as we pass and any of their antimissile missiles when launched.”
The ship quickly closed the distance with thousands of 5 inch beams storming past the ship that looked better than a coliseum holiday spectacle.
“Their 5 inch guns are starting to hit our hull but are being reflected with no damage reported so far Captain.”
The Red Pepper passed the squadron. The Lieutenant slamming power back to off and starting her turn around before they had reached the squadron. The ship whipping around as she turned and then slamming the throttles all the way forward again to full power as they faced backwards. The Gee meter rapidly climbing into the thousands slowing them up as Jack said. “Missiles, protocol Fox five. Fire!”
A hundred and twenty missiles popped out of their launchers on the ships Cooling/Landing fins and raced away from the ship at angles to avoid the mass of gun fire directed at the stern of the remaining ships in the squadron. A hundred point defense missiles already leaping from the bow ahead of them. Every gun 5/3inch and smaller firing at the sterns of the remaining Battleships with their sterns turned toward the Red Pepper. Though with the ship’s fire divided between 7 Battleships, the beams hitting the sterns was not that devastating. But all Jack needed was for them to buy enough time and clearance for the short range missiles to hit their engine nozzles knocking them out without penetrating and doing as much damage as even the 5/3 inch guns would do let alone the big 16/8’s. He was hopping the crews could take command and then leave in life boats once the Command decks were knocked out.
The First Officer Captain Clancy turned to Jack and whispered. “What the hell are you doing? From the stern, we could have used the 5/3’s to destroy the engine easily while the damn 16/8’s would have gutted the damn ships half way up their fucking hulls before they could turn away.”
“Yes that is just the fact Clancy. The majority of those crews are loyal Republic citizens that want nothing to do with the damn Communists running the Government. I am not going to slaughter any more of them than I have to and we don’t have to.” Jack pointed over his shoulder. “Those 6 other ships are already headed for the cloud with, I am willing to bet, are just the same loyal Republic crews trying to get away and defect just like the thousands that are in those lifeboats headed the same way. We are going to give them the chance they deserve and damaging these engines so we can repair them after we destroy their Command decks taking out the Officers that are enslaving them is all part of that.”
Turning to the Lieutenant at the Helm. “Attack plan Bravo 2 Lieutenant.” Jack said before the missiles had even hit. Though only by a few seconds.
The stern of all the Battleships erupted within a second of each other as multiple attack missiles hit.
“Captain, all targeted main drive engines have been knocked out.”
The Red Pepper slid around to the side of the line of Battleships and again the 16/8’s started flashing into the side of another ship’s Comman
d decks as the ships and their big guns turned towards the Red Pepper. The God Guns fired a second later using their wide beams designed to take out groups of fighters at long range and punched holes into 4 other Battleship’s Command decks and bridges before they could turn their broadsides away. The weapons officer taking it upon himself to spread the big gun fire out across 4 ships instead of only two as two guns per target had been over kill.
Again Jack waited for the remaining ships with maneuvering thrusters left and still under Command to turn toward him before giving the order to move again. The Red Pepper streaked to the side of the Battleships and once broadside to them the ship started to turn bow toward them but suddenly some 45, 24 inch guns fired from the ship the 16/8’s had targeted and taken out the Command decks minutes before and Jack had presumed to be safe with its bow now pointed directly at the Red Pepper. At point blank range most of the 45, 24 inch beams lanced into the sides of the Red Pepper as she rapidly turned. Most of the beams glancing off the crystal enhanced side armor. But several made solid hits penetrating deep into the Red Peppers lightly armored hull along the sides.
Panic raced around the bridge as the Lieutenant continued to turn toward the squadron.
Jack started to scream for the Lieutenant to get them out of there but remembering the battle they had been threw 7 months before when he panicked and ran when they did not need to when they could have finished off a ship that cost lives later. Jack got stubborn. The damn ship had ambushed them but it could not fire for another 20 seconds at least maybe 40. “Weapons target the 24inch guns on that ship with the 5/3’s. Fire the God Guns and the 16/8 at original scheduled targets on the other ships as we bear.” Jack could hear damage control reports starting to come in as he glanced at the damage control screen across the back of the Bridge. One of the engines was down with red all over it while the amidships had several deep red streaks through it. Other than the engine no real damage had been done to the ship except cargo.
Battleship Destroyer 2 (Battleship Destoryer) Page 123
