by Ryk Brown
“Beats the hell outta me!”
“They are decoys,” Jalea reported calmly. “Impossible to distinguish from the real ships.”
“And they’re working, Sir!” Jessica added. “If I’m reading this right, it looks like the decoys continued on course and the original ships veered away sharply! And the missiles are tracking the decoys! Damn! That was slick!” Jessica cheered, pounding the console with her hand. “Missile impacts! All four. And I’m pretty sure they only destroyed the decoys.”
Nathan was impressed by the ingenuity that the rebel pilots were displaying. And he couldn’t help but wonder if those decoys were one of the improvements that Jalea had eluded to earlier. “We’ll know in a moment,” he mumbled. Either the rebels were really good tacticians, or they had grossly underestimated their opponents. “Can those decoys maneuver?”
“Yes, nearly as well as the ships that launched them,” Jalea assured Nathan.
“The rebel ships, or decoys, I don’t know which yet, they’re turning to engage the Takaran ship,” Jessica continued. “The Takaran is opening up with her cannons. But it doesn’t seem to be slowing down the rebel ships.”
“I’m picking up new signatures from the rebels ships, Captain,” Ensign Yosef reported. “They’re enveloped in some kind of an energy barrier, EM mostly, but highly charged.”
“Some kind of shielding?” Nathan surmised. He looked at Jalea, who simply nodded, seemingly surprised that Nathan understood the concept so easily. The Aurora was designed to use shielding herself, but it was ablative in nature, designed only to reflect energy weapons away from them. They had nothing to stop solid projectiles from striking their hull. If these rebels did, then that was something that would be quite useful in the defense of Earth. And it made Nathan wonder what other technologies this region of space might hold that would be useful back home.
“Holy shit!” Jessica cried out, immediately turning red as she realized she had let the inappropriate expletive fly. “Sorry, Sir. But the rebels ships just unleashed a hellish barrage of something!”
“Cannon fire?” Nathan hadn’t noticed any cannons on the rebel ships.
“No Sir, too big for cannon launched projectiles. They’re like mini-missiles, or flechettes or something. Whatever they are, they’re pounding that Takaran ship!”
Nathan was standing now, as was Cameron. If two of the rebel ships could possibly take out a Takaran warship, then they might be able to escape without further damage. “Can they actually take him out?”
“I doubt it, Sir, they can’t possibly keep up this level of bombardment long enough.”
Nathan again looked at Jalea, who simply said, “They will not need to.”
“The second ship is changing course, Captain!” Ensign Yosef announced.
Nathan felt another surge of hope well up from inside him, despite his best efforts to keep his emotions under control and stay focused.
Jessica checked the second ship’s course, quickly plotting the ship’s probable destination. “She’s right. Looks like they’re taking the bait as well,” Jessica reported.
“Yes!” Nathan exclaimed excitedly, not caring if he did show emotion. “Time to intercept?”
“Five minutes,” Jessica reported instantly, having anticipated his request.
Nathan looked at Abigail, “Doctor?”
“I’ll be done with the transition plot in a few minutes,” she answered. She was not accustomed to performing such complex computations under pressure. The original jump plots had taken her nearly a week to complete and even longer to verify. And now she was having to do them in minutes-a task she would’ve considered impossible only a few days ago. She cursed to herself in her native tongue, as she waited for her algorithms to process, unable to continue with each step until the previous step had been completed. The computer systems used at this station were not designed for the kind of multi-spatial algorithms she was running.
“The rebel ships have begun alternating fire,” Jessica reported, sounding a bit surprised.
Nathan looked to Jalea for an explanation, which she offered without having to be asked. “They have expended their primary loads. They will have to reload often from this point forward,” she explained.
“How much longer can they keep this up?”
Before Jalea could answer, Jessica offered an update. “The first ship is withdrawing! She’s backing away!”
Nathan jumped up from his seat, bounding the few steps to the tactical station to stand beside Jessica so that he could see the displays for himself. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust her interpretation of the data, he was just so excited at the idea of the rebels defeating one of the enemy ships that he had to see for himself.
“The rebels are staying with her!” Nathan exclaimed. He watched with Jessica as the rebel ships continued to pound their target, taking turns firing as the other reloaded their flechette pods.
“One minute until the second ship joins the battle,” Jessica said.
“Right.” Nathan stood up straight, taking his attention away from the tactical display and leaving it to Jessica. “Helm, prepare to get underway,” he announced as he returned to the command chair.
“Yes Sir,” Cameron acknowledged.
“Second Takaran ship has engaged the rebels,” Jessica reported. “The rebel ships are breaking off their flechette attack and are maneuvering wildly.”
With both the Takaran ships engaged by the rebel decoys, they finally had as much of a diversion as they were going to get. And while there was a remote chance that the rebels ship could beat one Takaran ship, it was doubtful they could defeat two of them. Nathan knew that despite the risk in revealing their location, this was their only chance at escape.
“Take us out, Cam,” Nathan ordered. “All available speed,” he added, knowing it would not be much.
Cameron tapped a few buttons on her console, “Mains coming online, thrust at ten percent.”
The Aurora began to slowly move forward, her two remaining rebel escorts keeping pace beside her. Inside, without the inertial dampeners operating at full efficiency, the crew could feel the ship begin to accelerate. The force was not enough to knock anyone off their feet, but enough to cause a slight misstep for anyone not expecting the sudden shifting of the decks beneath their feet as they walked.
For the last few hours, the bridge crew had been looking at the surface of the asteroid in front of them as it slowly rotated. Now, as they flew up and over the massive rock, light from the system’s red dwarf star spilled over its jagged horizon, lighting up the interior of the bridge with its reddish-amber glow. The rock quickly passed under them as they left it behind, the distant red star glowing in the distance. Cameron immediately dipped the nose of the Aurora down slightly and dove under the next asteroid in their path, rolling slightly to starboard as she did so in order to better hug the service of the massive rock as they passed under it. She knew that the closer she stayed to these rocks, the less chance the enemy had of detecting them. And she wanted to make sure that they did not show up on the enemy sensors until the last possible moment.
Although ten percent thrust was considered a slow speed, in a dense asteroid field it still required intense concentration. Cameron had piloted the ship through far more difficult simulations, but that had been with Nathan at her side offering constant navigational assistance. And as poor as she had always felt his navigational skills to be, at that moment, she wished he was there, just in case.
“That’s it, keep us tucked in close,” Nathan encouraged. She wondered if he could tell how tense she was at that moment.
“Those rebel ships are coming awfully close to us,” Cameron reported. Every time one of the rebels moved too close to the Aurora, a proximity warning light would flash on the helm display. She knew that the rebel pilots were not going to inadvertently smash into her, but it was distracting nonetheless.
“Don’t worry about, it, Cam. They’re just trying to maintain a single contact profile in
case we’re spotted.”
“I know, they’re just irritating me.”
“You’re doing great,” he reassured.
A few minutes and about a dozen dodged asteroids later, the Aurora exited the asteroid field into open space, headed on a course directly away from both the field and the conflict still raging between the Takaran ships and the rebels ships acting as decoys.
“We’re clear,” Cameron announced proudly, an obvious relief in her voice. After tapping a few buttons, she added, “Ten minutes to safe jump distance.”
“Captain!” Jessica yelled in shock, causing Nathan to spin around to face her. “One of the rebel ships was just blown apart! A single shot, right in her reactor!” Nathan’s heart fell as he looked at Jalea and Marak. Jalea showed no emotion, just the same cold, determined eyes. Marak was muttering some unintelligible commands into his communicator.
“The second rebel ship just changed course and is accelerating!” Jessica continued. “I think he means to ram them!”
Nathan continued watching Jalea, but there was no change in her demeanor. Marak however had begun muttering some sort of chant, over and over, in a rhythmic fashion, as if he were praying. “He’s making a suicide run,” Nathan realized.
Both ships are targeting him! They’re firing! The rebel ship is breaking apart! I’m not sure if he’s going to…”
The bridge filled with a bright white flash of light reflecting off the forward sections of the ship that were visible through the main view screen. It only lasted a moment, but it was sudden and blinding during its brief presence.
“I’m reading a nuclear detonation!” Jessica announced. “At least ten megatons!”
“Why would they fire a nuke?” Nathan asked, baffled at what had just happened.
“I don’t think the Takarans fired it, sir,” Jessica warned.
All the pieces fell into place in Nathan’s mind. He turned back to Jalea, who stood unwavering, unaffected. “Do your ships carry nuclear weapons?”
Jalea looked at Nathan for a moment, contemplating her response before she spoke. She could no longer hide this fact from them. Our ships do not carry nuclear weapons, Captain. They are nuclear weapons.”
Nathan stared at Jalea again. “You mean to tell me, that all your ships are basically nuclear missiles? Even the one still in our hangar deck?”
“Yes. But it is only used as a last resort. And it has proven effective on several occasions.”
“It makes sense, Sir,” Jessica told him.
“Are you kidding? How in the…”
“…No seriously,” Jessica tried to explain. “I mean, when all else fails, use yourself as a nuclear torpedo. At least you won’t miss.”
“What is the disposition of the Takaran ships?” Jalea asked indignantly.
Jessica looked at her tactical display. “I’m only picking up one ship, Sir. And it’s sustained quite a bit of damage as well.”
“Is it still a threat?”
“I’m not sure. We’re way out of her range at the moment, but if her main propulsion is still operable, she might still be able to catch us before we jump.”
“They will not be able to prevent our departure,” Jalea insisted.
Nathan turned halfway back toward Jalea and Marak. “You know, I’ve got half a mind to shoot the both of you once we get out of this mess!” he stated angrily, turning to completely face them. “You both knew damned well that this was the way it was going to play out from the beginning, didn’t you?”
“New contact! Off our port beam!” Ensign Yosef interrupted. “Just dropped out of FTL! Transferring track to tactical!”
Jessica began analyzing the new contact as Nathan turned back around to look for himself. “Crap,” Jessica swore. “It’s another Takaran warship,” she announced, her optimism falling along with everyone else in the room. “And it’s bigger than the last two.”
“How long until they can…”
Nathan didn’t have a chance to finish his question. “…We’ll be inside their weapons range in two minutes,” Jessica said.
“Time to safe jump?”
“Eight minutes,” Cameron answered. A split second later Marak spoke through his communicator, and the two remaining rebel ships that had been flying alongside the Aurora suddenly pulled ahead of them and angled to port on an intercept course with the third Takaran warship.
“You know, you could at least act like it was difficult to send your people off to die,” Nathan remarked, obvious anger in his voice. As expected, there was no response.
Nathan felt emotionally and physically exhausted. They had all been working for nearly eighteen hours now, and during that time his emotions had bounced from one end of the spectrum and back again at least a half dozen times. But he knew that he couldn’t give up now. He couldn’t ever give up. The stakes were just too damned high.
“Helm, turn us into the new target. Let’s bring our tubes to bear and give the enemy as little a silhouette as possible,” Nathan ordered.
“Coming to port, ten degrees and down slightly,” Cameron announced as she changed course. “Same speed, Captain?”
“Same speed,” he confirmed. “Jess, make sure all the rail guns are ready to fire as well. The only chance we’ve got is to blast our way through.”
“Yes Sir.”
Moments later, the rebel ships got close enough to launch their long range missiles at the third Takaran warship.
“Rebels ships are launching missiles,” Jessica announced. “Enemy is spinning up her point-defense screen. “Eight rebel missiles are on their way,” Jessica reported. “Impact in thirty seconds.”
“How many missiles do they carry?” Nathan asked Jalea.
“Four each.”
“They just fired their whole load,” he told Jessica.
“Takaran ship is firing missiles, but only two.”
“They’re either more conservative or they have better missiles,” Nathan decided.
“Rebels are launching decoys again,” Jessica announced. “We have got to get us some of those,” she whispered. “Rebel missiles have reached the enemy perimeter.” Jessica paused a moment before continuing. “Only two missiles made it through, impact in five seconds.”
Nathan watched the tactical display as the two lines representing the paths of the rebel missiles eventually connected to the symbol representing the Takaran warship.
“Impact.” Jessica checked her readouts on the enemy ship. “Only minor damage.”
A small orange and yellow fireball erupted on the main view screen. “One rebel ship has been destroyed. The other one is still advancing and is firing her flechettes.”
“Do you think our torpedoes will work any better?”
“Sure, if they get through. But that bastard’s got great point-defense systems.”
“Get firing solutions for all four torpedoes, Jess.”
“Yes Sir. Suggest we fire them consecutively, sir.” Jessica could see by the confused look on Nathan’s face that he didn’t know what she was talking about. “If we fire them all at once, they have to spread out to avoid knocking each other off course. That means they all hit the same point-defense flak wall at the same time. If we fire consecutively, with each one following the one in front of them, they all go through the same hole. If the first torpedo gets nailed, it’s blast will make a whole in the flak field for the next one to get through. Theoretically, that is. I mean, I’ve never actually done it before,” Jessica admitted sheepishly.
“Sounds good to me,” Nathan agreed.
“They’re firing missiles again,” Jessica added.
“Are we in weapons range yet?”
“Yes, wait…” Jessica double-checked her readouts before continuing. “Inbound ordnance! That last missile launch was at us! Tracking four!”
“I thought we weren’t in range yet?” Nathan snapped.
“Guess I was wrong?” Jessica admitted. “Not like I’ve seen a whole lot of Takaran warships before. Impact in t
wo minutes.”
“Launch torpedoes!” Nathan ordered. “Then bring the turrets online, point-defense mode!”
“Firing one!” Jessica announced. Everyone watched as the first torpedo appeared on the left side of the forward view screen as it streaked past, turning to port as it departed.
“Firing two!” The second torpedo streaked across from the right side.
“Firing three!”
Marak leaned in closely to Jalea, giving her hand a squeeze as he whispered something in her ear. For the briefest of moments, the cold, pragmatic look in her eyes softened, turning sad. She turned and looked at him, respectfully, as he let go of her hand, after which he turned and left the bridge.
“Firing four!” They watched as the last torpedo streaked away. “Rail guns coming online, point-defense mode, firing all turrets.”
On the outside of the Aurora, in eight different locations along the upper side of the ship, doors slid open and rail-gun turrets popped up into view. Once fully deployed, the turrets once again raised their barrels and pivoted until they were pointed in the proper direction and began rapid-firing the special point-defense rounds. The turrets danced back and forth, as they attempted to fill in the gaps in the defensive field of flak left by the turrets that had either been damaged, or had not yet been installed.
“Point-defense perimeter established!” Jessica announced. “Torpedo one is, shot down. Torpedo two, also shot down.”
Nathan could feel his hope fade with each torpedo that was intercepted and destroyed before reaching its target.
“Torpedo three…damn!”
Nathan closed his eyes as he waited for the report on their last torpedo.
“Torpedo four…has made it through! Impact in five!” Jessica exclaimed. Suddenly, a warning indicator flashed on her tactical threat display. “Oh shit…Brace for impact!”
Jessica had been paying such close attention to their own torpedoes, she had failed to notice that one of the enemy missiles had made it past their own point-defense field. The missile streaked past the forward section of the ship, striking the upper portion of the main drive section just above the starboard torpedo tubes.
