“Is there enough power to target and launch ballistic weapons?”
“No, sir, we’ve got nothing. The life support will shut off in seconds.”
It was a worrying few moments. In his mind, Blake told himself there was no need for concern – with the Neutraliser’s suppression aura gone, the Gallenium engines would kick in soon and begin powering the rest of the warship again. In reality, those seconds passed slowly, whilst the pursuing Vraxar ships raked the heavy cruiser with particle beams.
“Here we go,” said Quinn. “The engines are straight up to sixty percent. Now eighty.”
The Abyss responded reluctantly to the controls at first. Then, the power climbed further and it regained some of the agility Blake was accustomed to.
“Find me those Vraxar and destroy them!” he shouted.
For once, there was some good news.
“There’s only one enemy cruiser in the vicinity,” said Pointer. “The other must have gone to lightspeed. No…wait…the Ghasts have destroyed it.”
“Where’s the other one?”
“Here.”
The second Vraxar cruiser came onto the screen. It doggedly pursued the ES Abyss, its armour a ragged mess of missile craters and thousands of dents from the Sciontrar’s Vule cannons. Greasy smoke poured away from its hull and it was a miracle it was still functioning.
“It’s got no shields left,” said Quinn.
“Why haven’t they gone to lightspeed?” asked Cruz in wonder.
“To give us one last chance to destroy them,” said Blake. “Where are our weapons?”
“On it,” said Hawkins. “They’re just warming up. Firing Lambdas.”
The motivations of the Vraxar were an enigma to Blake. There was no reason for them to continue this battle, yet here they were, plugging away without hope of a kill, let alone ensuring an overall victory, and at the same time ensuring their own destruction.
A swarm of missiles fired from the ES Abyss as well as the two Ghast warships, converged upon the smaller Vraxar cruiser. It was already badly damaged and there was no way it could survive against the hundreds of missiles which thundered into its hull. The resulting explosions ripped it into many pieces, many of which melted or were turned into flaming comets which dropped towards Dranmir.
There wasn’t time for Blake to congratulate his crew, nor to ask where the fourth Vraxar ship was, before he received a comms request.
“I’ve got Tarjos Nil-Tras, sir,” said Cruz.
Blake nodded to indicate he was ready.
“What do you think of that, Captain Blake?” said the Ghast. “A victory against our common enemy!”
“We only got three out of four, Tarjos – have you managed to keep track of the fourth vessel?”
“Our battle took us away from it. Perhaps it escaped into lightspeed.”
“We didn’t detect a fission signature,” said Blake, unable to hide his disappointment. “The battle isn’t over until they are all dead.”
“Yes – we will seek this fourth Vraxar warship and send it to the same place as its fellows.”
“My comms team are searching.” He turned to face Pointer and Cruz for confirmation. They each nodded to indicate they were indeed looking for the missing Vraxar spaceship.
“Ours also. We should increase our distance from Dranmir. It is interfering with our comms and our sensors.”
“I would prefer to stay at this altitude, since it is where we saw them last.”
“Very well, we will search amongst the interference. I must warn you it will take some time for our shields to recharge.”
The Ghast’s words reminded Blake of the weapon he’d witnessed them use against the Neutraliser. “What did you fire against the enemy?”
“It is a recent addition to a select few warships in our fleet,” said Nil-Tras. “It is an incendiary designed specifically to burn away an energy shield. I am giving you no secret when I tell you it has an extensive charge time and it also sucks an immense amount of power from our Obsidiar cores.”
“Why don’t your engines shut down?” asked Blake. “When our Obsidiar runs dry, we lose everything.”
The Ghast sounded puzzled. “You don’t equip your ships with two Obsidiar cores?”
The Ghasts were allies, yet Blake felt like he needed to paper over this obvious deficiency in the Space Corps fleet by giving a partial response. “This heavy cruiser has only one.”
Nil-Tras didn’t laugh, nor did he sound triumphant. “It is a failing in your design and one which you must overcome quickly.”
“It would be a useful update,” Blake admitted. “Have your comms teams had luck finding the fourth spaceship while we have been talking?”
“Not as yet. We have some predictions based on its last known trajectory. I will have them sent across to your ship. The enemy has definitely not overtaken us, so I suggest we double-back and begin the search. There is a large area to cover.”
It was a great understatement. Dranmir wasn’t especially large as far as suns went – compared to Cheops-A it was tiny. Nevertheless, every second of every day for billions of years it had generated more power than any living species could even dream about. Searching for a single object in orbit was a potentially monumental task.
In this case, Blake knew they had something to go on. They had a sighting of their target, along with a possible vector. It limited the search area, without giving him either confidence or scepticism about the final outcome.
“The Sciontrar has provided details of the course they believe we should follow,” said Cruz.
“How does it look?”
“It looks good.”
“Very well, send it to my console.”
The navigational system populated with the new details. It showed a yellow graphic representing Dranmir, overlaid with a line to indicate the most efficient course as plotted by the Sciontrar’s computers. There was other information such as places where the sun’s corona reached higher temperatures, as well as possible other trajectories to explore. So far, the Ghasts were proving to be worthwhile companions on the mission and Blake made a mental note that he would carry this message back to his superiors.
“Have you provided an update to New Earth Central Command?” he asked.
“Yes, sir,” said Pointer. “You’re aware we’re on the backups, so the news is going to take while to reach them. They can’t contact us quickly either.”
The three warships adopted the same formation as previously, which was a line with the Sciontrar central and the others ten thousand kilometres away from its flanks. The Oblivion battleship and the Space Corps heavy cruiser activated their stealth modules.
“Perhaps the Kalon-T7 should drop back,” said Blake. “I’d prefer to surprise the enemy and that won’t happen with the Cadaveron flying in full sight.”
“Should I pass on your recommendation to Tarjos Nil-Tras?” asked Pointer.
“Please do. If the Kalon-T7 keeps us in sensor sight, they will be able to do a short lightspeed transit to catch up if necessary.”
The Ghasts were either remarkably amenable, or they possessed Blake’s combat sense.
“The Kalon-T7 will drop back and follow at a distance of half a million klicks.”
“That should be enough.”
With the arrangements in place the hunt resumed, though Blake wasn’t able to shake off a sense of apprehension which persisted even after the victory over the Neutraliser.
Chapter Nineteen
“The Ghasts think the missing spaceship went lower towards Dranmir,” said Blake, studying the projections sent over from the Sciontrar.
“That tallies with our findings,” said Pointer.
“I’m worried,” said Blake. “I know the Vraxar don’t follow human logic, but this situation seems more unusual than normal.”
“In what way?” asked Hawkins.
“I don’t know,” he admitted. “Is there any chance the final ship could have failed to spot our destruction of the
other three?”
“Maybe,” said Pointer. “At the start of the engagement it was a long distance back and our own sensors aren’t working too well this close to Dranmir.”
“They would have received a comms signal, surely?” said Cruz. “It’s not like we blew up the Neutraliser in half a second. They had plenty of time to speak to each other.”
“I agree,” said Blake. “The fact that this fourth ship didn’t come to assist suggests to me that it’s not intended for combat, which is why it hasn’t shown up yet. Lieutenant Hawkins, you mentioned the possibility it has the ES Determinant in its hold.”
“It’s one potential way of carrying a wrecked destroyer from one ship to another. If this Ix-Gorghal is fifty thousand metres long, it could likely fit a Neutraliser in its hold anyway, if it was designed to do so.”
“We’re speculating,” said Blake. “I’m trying to gain some insight into why the fourth ship didn’t join in the fight.”
“It seems obvious enough to me,” said Quinn. “If it was heading away from the Neutraliser, it was in the process of going somewhere else. If it was a non-combat ship, it was likely carrying something.”
“With only one destination for it to carry this something,” said Blake.
“There it is!” said Pointer. “Two hundred thousand klicks in front and half a million klicks closer towards Dranmir. From its shape, it’s definitely a cargo vessel rather than a warship.”
The Vraxar ship appeared on Blake’s tactical display. The image wasn’t perfect, but it was sufficient for him to make out the vessel’s outline and enough for him to agree with Pointer’s assessment that it wasn’t intended to take a significant part in hostilities. One feature stood out more than any other. “It’s stationary,” he said.
“A sitting duck,” said Hawkins.
“I don’t like it.”
“We’re running cloaked, so they don’t know we’re here.”
“There’s nothing else on the scans, sir.”
“Look again. You keep telling me there’s a lot of interference, I don’t want you to miss something important. Check with the Ghasts – this could be a rendezvous point and we may have a huge Vraxar warship inbound.”
“The Ghasts are raring to go, sir. They see nothing untoward.”
Even so, Blake was gripped by a deep unease. “This feels wrong,” he said. “If Dranmir is a Vraxar rendezvous point, why didn’t the four ships simply stick together?”
“They didn’t know we were here, nor had any reason to expect us come,” said Hawkins.
“What if they detected us at the same time as we found them?”
“A remote chance,” said Pointer.
“A chance nonetheless. And since the Abyss and the Sciontrar were running with their stealth modules, the Vraxar would have seen only the Kalon-T7.”
“And the Kalon-T7 would not have attacked a Neutraliser alone, but it might have attacked a lone ship,” said Quinn.
“Which makes the vessel sitting out there…” continued Hawkins.
“Bait,” said Blake. “That spaceship there is a juicy piece of bait.”
Hawkins went through it again, as if trying to slot everything into place in her mind. “So they didn’t realise we had three ships and they separated in the hope of luring us into combat, which has come back to bite them because we attacked elsewhere and they lost a Neutraliser.”
“While the fourth ship is still here, waiting to see what we’ll do,” said Blake. “Their plan is blown, yet they don’t know how to adapt.”
“There’s nothing at all on the scans, sir,” Cruz said again. Her face was screwed up in concentration and her hands never stopped moving over her console.
“I recommend we approach with extreme caution,” said Hawkins. “On second thoughts, I recommend we get the hell out of here.”
“We can’t, Lieutenant. We were sent to find information about a Vraxar capital ship and so far, we only have guesswork and supposition.”
“If it’s a trap, it seems unwise for us to stroll into it.”
Blake made up his mind. “Message the Ghasts. Tell them we believe this is a trap and that we are going to commence bombardment of the enemy ship from a distance.”
“Tarjos Nil-Tras responds with his agreement. If the enemy ship powers up its deep fission drive he says the Sciontrar and Kalon-T7 will activate an SRT and will destroy the Vraxar from close range.”
“Fine. Ask him how his energy shield is recharging.”
“They’re at fifty percent.”
“About the same as us. We will commence firing in twenty seconds.”
“Tarjos Nil-Tras acknowledges.”
Blake gave out his last-minute instructions. “Hold cores #7 and #8 in case we need a short-range transit. Fire our Lambdas in staggered waves of two hundred, along with Shatterer and Shimmer full launches on the first wave.”
“Nukes, sir?”
“They’re too slow from this range.”
“Ready whenever you are.”
“Fire.”
The ES Abyss unleashed a barrage of missiles from tubes positioned beneath armoured hatches in its hull. The Shimmers were the fastest and they flew ahead of the others.
“Two minutes until Shimmer impact,” said Hawkins. “Another fifteen seconds for the Shatterers and fifteen more on top of that for the Lambdas.”
The Sciontrar was rather less subtle and it fired more than a thousand missiles in a tightly-packed cluster.
“If they all hit, there’s surely enough to take out a cargo ship’s energy shield,” said Blake.
“Firing second wave,” said Hawkins.
“Keep watching for inbound fission signatures, Lieutenant Quinn.”
“I am, sir.”
“And make sure they aren’t preparing to go to lightspeed.”
“I am, sir.”
There was a tiniest hitch in Quinn’s voice when he said these last words and it was enough to make Blake turn. “What is it?”
“The Vraxar ship isn’t preparing for lightspeed. The readings from its hull don’t look right, though.”
“Tell me what you mean.”
“It’s like there’s something muffling its output.”
“Is Dranmir causing it?”
“No, sir. The output from the sun is distinct.”
“Do I need to be concerned? Ignore that question – I am concerned.”
“It’s as if I’m reading the hull output from the enemy vessel through a filter.”
Blake’s heart gave a single, heavy thump against the inside of his ribcage. “Like there’s something in the way?”
“I’m not sure,” said Quinn. Then, “Yes, there’s something in the way.”
“The sensors are clean,” said Pointer, shaking her head in slowly-dawning realisation that her readings might be wrong.
“I don’t care. Alert the Ghasts and tell them an unknown vessel is between us and that cargo ship!”
“Should I activate an SRT?” asked Quinn.
Blake was momentarily unsure what to do for the best. If they exited the Dranmir system now, they would have learned nothing at all about Ix-Gorghal, assuming that was what awaited them. On the other hand, it didn’t seem likely the Vraxar would go to the trouble of setting a trap without having a way of destroying anything which stumbled into it.
In spite of his apparent reputation as a risk-taker, Blake cared deeply about his ship and his crew.
“Advise the Ghasts we’re leaving. If they agree, activate the SRT,” he ordered.
“I’m speaking to them now,” said Cruz.
“Our Shimmer missiles have detonated early,” said Hawkins. “Whatever it is they’ve hit, it’s not that cargo carrier.”
“I got a reading at the time of impact,” said Quinn. “There was a surge of power about five thousand klicks in front of the Vraxar ship.”
“What sort of reading?” asked Blake urgently.
“An energy shield, sir. It is my belief there is a c
loaked ship between us and the cargo carrier.”
“The Ghasts do not want to leave,” said Cruz.
“In that case, tell them Ix-Gorghal is here and to prepare for an engagement.”
“Two waves of Shatterers have exploded against the unknown vessel,” said Hawkins.
Blake took the controls of the ES Abyss and hauled the ship onto a new heading. The stealth modules were still active, but launching missiles gave the enemy a head start when it came to pinpointing the heavy cruiser’s location.
“The Ghasts are splitting off to our right,” said Pointer.
Hawkins had her face glued to the weapons console. “Twelve hundred conventional missiles have exploded near to the visible ship. They have not made contact.”
“Look!” said Cruz.
The forward sensor feed showed the extensive combined blast from twelve hundred plasma warheads. Roiling flame smeared thousands of metres in all directions. Blake immediately saw the problem – given the size of the blast, he’d expect to see the shape of a sphere defined by the plasma spill. There was no visible curve, like the missiles had struck a vertical wall that reached a huge distance upwards.
“Oh shit,” said Quinn.
The man didn’t swear often and it was concerning when he did.
“Speak up!” demanded Blake.
“There’s been a surge of something coming from near to the Vraxar cargo ship. Whatever it is, it took a big step towards us.”
“We have to leave,” said Hawkins.
The Ghast captain, having previously thought otherwise, had evidently changed his mind. “Tarjos Nil-Tras recommends immediate withdrawal,” said Cruz.
“Activate the SRT!” said Blake. “Take us anywhere.”
“Activating. The Ghasts are doing likewise.”
Blake unconsciously shifted his stance in preparation for the shift into lightspeed. The expected transition didn’t happen.
“What’s the matter?”
“The core must have burned out,” said Quinn, his voice higher-pitched with the stress.
“Cores #7 and #8 are fully functional,” said Ensign Bailey.
“Something must be wrong! Activating core #8.”
Core #8 also failed to send the ES Abyss to lightspeed. Quinn thumped his seat in frustration.
God Ship (Obsidiar Fleet Book 3) Page 17
