Prelude to War (Athena Lee Chronicles Book 9)

by T S Paul

  Lawrence explained the attack from his point of view and what he did to try to save his men.

  “Where is the terrorist you captured?”

  “He’s in the freezer over there.” He pointed to the bulging door on the opposite wall. “I think he’s dead. His bomb went off.”

  Dunn nodded his head and called it in. Dragging Sanders with him, he first verified everyone was dead. That was two more accounted for. They needed to get down to the command center. Dunn told the petty officer to stay with him until he could be checked out. The two continued his mission.

  Chapter 17

  “Admiral Kane, Commander Woody reports that he found enough raw materials to complete the repairs.”

  “Wonderful! Tell him to get it done as soon as possible. What is the status of our scouts? Any trace of those modified freighters?”

  “No, Ma’am. That worries me. If they were pirates we are sitting ducks here.”

  “Roger if there are pirates that would attack a fleet of this size out here we might as well give up now. They probably saw our ships and ran scared. What worries me is where they ran to? Give Commander Woody whatever support you can. We need to get this ship moving.”

  “Yes, Admiral.”

  “One more thing, Roger. How is Captain Langston? I haven’t had time to visit him in the sick bay.”

  The XO took a deep breath. “The docs say that he will not regain consciousness, Ma’am. That stroke was just too much for him.”

  That was one thing she regretted. John had been a good captain of her flagship for years. Jump technology had improved over the years since exploration. But if you developed a heart condition or similar ailment, the act of jumping could be fatal.

  “Roger I am giving you a battlefield promotion to Captain. Assume John's position, please.”

  “Thank you Admiral. I won’t disappoint you.” He saluted and left the room.

  Emily stood staring at the vid screen projection of the asteroid belt. Another good man gone.

  ~~~

  “Captain we are approaching the asteroid field.” Captain Gorshin looked up from his console. Like elsewhere in any Navy the paperwork was never ending. One of the Captain’s that he served under used to say that the world ended in 2016. We were still getting caught up on the paperwork.

  “Thank you, Ensign Tremblay.”

  Checking his console the captain looked at the ship's position. Marius took his suggestion and brought the ship in parallel to the position marked by the anti-piracy patrol. Those two ships he ordered back to New Texas. If this was an attack they would be more effective defending the planet, then getting blown away out here. He stood and left his office and the dreaded paperwork behind.

  “Captain on the bridge!” Captain Gorshin waved them down. No need for honorifics in a battle zone.

  “Report.”

  “Sir, we have entered the edge of the asteroid field. Sensors is picking up manufactured metallic traces ahead. Nothing is registering on our scanners.”

  Smart. Very smart. Captain Gorshin thought to himself. “Marius it’s an old trick from the first Interstellar war. The sensors we use don’t read specific forms of radiation. They are blind to it. This belt must have an old Polonium mine somewhere.”

  “Polonium, Sir? That is one I have never heard of.”

  “I would be surprised if you did Commander. It is a trick from the first Interstellar war. Polonium is an extremely rare radioactive isotope that until it was found out here could only be made by chemically treating uranium. One of its few properties is that it reduces the static electricity of anything which it is applied to. That somehow affects the way our sensors read other objects. There is a scientific explanation for it but it is beyond me. I do know that it needs to be reapplied every few years to be effective. Someone reads their history. That tells me there must be at least one ship ahead.”

  The Captain turned to Lieutenant Sprong. “Sound battle stations!”

  Turning back to the XO, the captain gave him some advice. “Marius, have communications scan every frequency in the book, even the pre-space ones. Someone is out there.”

  Who are you and why are you here? That is the question that Frank kept coming back to. New Texas was not all that exciting. Their main export was cows, not something a pirate would want. What else is here?

  “Contact! Sir we have fighter contact in sector seven! Looks like two groups of five Mark six Imperial fighters.”

  Mark six’s? “Start scanning at extreme ranges! We have to know what is ahead of us!”

  “Captain, sensors are reading ships in sector six. It looks like they are at the old mine there.”

  “How many ships are registering Lieutenant Behm?”

  “Sir, the sensors say it’s over thirty! Two carriers, three cruisers, at least half a dozen destroyers and several other ships.”

  “Lieutenant Behm, bring the ship to a stop! All stop!” Frank looked at the XO. “Marius, with me. Keep the ship at full stop until we return.”

  ~~~

  “Ma’am, they stopped and are just sitting there.”

  “Lieutenant Harper, did the Alamance get a read on what ship or class it is?”

  “They said it was a heavy cruiser. One of the older classes, possibly from the second Interstellar war, but they are not sure. The Polonium radiation make it hard to be accurate.”

  Admiral Emily Kane nodded. “Understood. What information do we have of what war ships New Texas has in its fleet?”

  “Its fleet, Ma’am? All it has is the anti-piracy vessels.”

  “No, it must have more ships! If you ran a colony all alone out here wouldn’t you have some sort of insurance? Find it!”

  “Captain Moore, bring the fleet to battle stations and if possible launch our fighters.”

  ~~~

  “Captain Gorshin there is simply too much radiation to get an accurate read on those ships. I can say with certainty that they are both carriers, but not which ones. I can say that they all are Imperial designs.” Frank thanked Lieutenant Baal and dismissed him. It was that damned radiations fault. The enemy commander was smart to use it. He sighed. That fleet over there was way too big for a single heavy cruiser to take on. Even this one. The James Cook had been upgraded by the best, but that many ships would pulverize it. He had to know if New Texas was in danger. He had no choice.

  “Lieutenant Behm, very slowly head us in the direction of the enemy fleet. Notify me when we reach communications range with them. Prepare a navigational jump back to New Texas to be used in an emergency.”

  Turning toward his XO he said. “Marius, prepare a drone and launch it toward New Texas. Notify them of the situation and give them all the intel we have. If we don’t survive this maybe the drone will.”

  “Take us in.”

  ~~~

  “Ma’am, the cruiser is moving toward us again.”

  “How fast are they going?”

  “About one half impulse speed, Ma’am. They are really creeping in.”

  “We outnumber them thirty-to-one. I would be creeping in too. Notify me when they reach communication range.”

  “Lieutenant Harper, does the Alamance have a read on that ship yet?”

  “No, Ma’am. Too much radiation.” The Admiral shook her head. It was a good trick, but it did have its drawbacks.

  ~~~

  Unknown to either Admiral Kane or Captain Gorshin, twenty of the Empire’s best ships jumped into a location thirty parsecs from both of them. They immediately went into stealth mode.

  “Sir, Admiral Kane’s fleet is in sight!”

  Jeremiah 117 smiled. His task force was made up of the newest and fastest ships the Imperial shipyards could build. His Fleet had only one purpose, catch and kill deserters and traitors. He made a mental note to reward the spies on New Texas right before he shot them. “Sound battlestations! Target her flagship and charge!”

  “Sir, what about the heavy cruiser she is about to engage?”

  He checked h
is scans. Whoever was in charge of that ship was a bloody fool! “Ignore it! We need to take her out!”

  Sirens and flashing lights began to sound as crewmen ran for their stations. The new Earth Empire was going to war!

  Chapter 18

  Admiral Kane’s fleet saw the attackers first.

  “Admiral Kane! A large fleet of ships just uncloaked astern of us! Sensors say they are Imperial ships!”

  “Damn it! Tell Captain Wimberger to turn the Manxman around and launch all her fighters. Send the cruisers Warspite and Lepanto to assist her. Inform Commander Downs on the Slava to take his squadron of destroyers and support the Manxman.”

  “Admiral, that is over half the fleet! Are you sure?”

  CRACK!

  The sound of her slap echoed across the bridge. Captain Moore held his hand to his face in shock!

  “Never question my orders again! Go! Do what I said!” The Admiral’s face was bright red as she sat in the chair reserved for the XO.

  “We don’t have time to wait for that ship. Communications, order our fighters to buzz that ship! They are ordered to only fire if fired upon first!”

  She stared at the ship plot, her mind working a mile a minute.

  ~~~

  Captain Frank Gorshin stared at his ship plot in horror as the new fleet appeared. “Captain a new fleet of ships just dropped out of cloak!”

  He was torn. Thirty ships was a lot to handle alone, twice as many was suicide!

  “Lieutenant Behm, bring us about and put us on course to New Texas at top speed!”

  “Sir, the first fleet just split and are engaging the new fleet.”

  “Do we have a read on the new fleet? Ship types and IFF?”

  “Yes Sir, Imperial ships, sir. Three heavy cruisers, six destroyers, and a Carrier. The Carrier is the Courageous! Sir, they have to be Cabal. The Courageous is part of the Empire home fleet.”

  “Damn. Who are these people then?”

  “Sir, we have incoming! Ten enemy fighters inbound at maximum speed!”

  “Put this ship wide! Do not fire unless fired upon first! That is a direct order! I will space anyone who disobeys my order. Understood?”

  The ten fighters buzzed the James Cook from bow to stern. They looped around and returned to the first group’s remaining carrier.

  ~~~

  “Admiral Kane, the fighters are returning!” Good she thought.

  “Intel say the heavy cruiser is the James Cook, Hong Kong registry! They didn’t fire on the fighters.”

  She let out a sigh of relief. Captain Gorshin wouldn’t fire without just cause. “Captain Moore, send a message to the James Cook informing them of who we are and ask Captain Gorshin if he wants a piece of the Cabal. Navigation, prepare to come about. Send orders to the remainder of the fleet. Come about and set course for the Cabal fleet. It’s time for some revenge!”

  Her engines were only half fixed, so the Vindex was extremely sluggish. The ship came about and followed the Manxman into battle.

  ~~~

  Captain Gorshin breathed a loud sigh of relief that the ships he was stalking were not going to attack him, but the new fleet scared him. Those were front line up-to-date vessels out there. His ship and what was currently in orbit around New Texas wouldn’t stand a chance against them. He considered Admiral Kane’s offer. His orders from Major Lee contained a lot of give. His primary duty was to aid NT in the defense of their world. The ship officer training was a secondary order. He reread his orders again. He could only fire if fired upon first. Nothing in his orders said anything about traveling with possible NT allies. As far as he knew Admiral Kane could be in contact with New Texas. Screw it. As his father would have said, “Get some!”

  “Battle stations! Lieutenant Behm, bring the ship around and make for the Imperial fleet. Orders remain the same. Fire only if fired upon first.”

  Alarms sounded across the ship as crewman scrambled to emergency stations. The James Cook was going to war!

  “Lieutenant Sprong, send to the Vindex, tell Admiral Kane we would love to join her in this little excursion of hers.”

  ~~~

  Captain Amy Wimberger had a serious bone to pick with the Cabal. Her parents were members of the Imperial Senate. The last report she had from them was they were hold up in their offices. They sent messages that negotiations were under way and everything would be settled soon. Her surprise and horror of seeing their executions broadcast live over the vid seared her pain into something she could use in battle. The Cabal would pay.

  “Captain, the Admiral says kick their ass! She and the rest of the fleet are on our six and will engage soon.” The Captain nodded as she plotted the attack. She was sending in the fighters first to draw their fire. The destroyers would shield the fleet as her cruisers closed to firing range and began pounding the enemy. She needed to be careful. Every ship over there was a new model. Her cruisers were designed with defense in mind. They could take a hit but only the Destroyers had any real firepower. This battle would be very tricky to fight.

  “XO, deploy the fleet! Sound battle stations!”

  The lead elements of the Cabal fleet were the destroyers. The new destroyers had one weakness, the stern engine ports. Current battle theory was to present the bow toward the enemy, protecting the stern. This was a major reversal of tactics. The former Imperial War college was a political power unto its own. The change in tactics would have represented a major shift inside the Navy. That was all gone now. The new classes of ships were all that remained of them. Amy wondered if anyone over there was aware of the weakness or the new battle tactics? There might be an advantage there.

  “Send the fighters!” She issued their orders herself. They were to draw fire and if possible attack the Courageous. Unlike the other ships it was an older model Carrier. While her ship was even older it had more armor amidships. “Tell the destroyers to launch torpedoes and target the cruisers.”

  Amy followed the attack on her plot. Her ship’s ten fighters swooped in and began to do as ordered, they drew the Cabal ships fire away from her destroyers allowing them to fire their torpedo loads. The Courageous was at the center of the enemy formation. Just as her fighters began their turn toward home the enemy launched fighters of their own.

  “Strike leader I have bogies on my six!”

  “Alpha three, break formation and swing wide I will try and shake them loose from you!” Alpha three, dove toward one of the enemy destroyers trying to shake the much faster enemy fighters. Alpha one, this force’s strike leader, circled around and came up behind the enemy fighter. He fired just as Alpha three lost the battle and was destroyed.

  “Damn it! Die!” The enemy fighter disintegrated into a ball of burning plasma. Noting the weakness, Alpha one broadcast it to the remaining ships. “All ships break and head back to the carrier. These new fighters have a serious weakness, low structural integrity! They may be fast but they can’t take a hit! One hit and they explode.”

  Firing at long distance whenever possible the Manxman’s fighters returned with only two casualties. The torpedo strike had mixed results. Only one of the cruisers took a hit. The others used their superior fire-control systems to shoot down the torpedoes. One destroyer got confused and targeted one of the enemy destroyers. It exploded and split in two. Checking her plot she only had one choice. The Cabal ships were equipped with more powerful laser and grazer weapons. The only real way to defeat them was to close and strike with point blank fire. Amy sent her conclusions to the Admiral.

  “Message from the Manxman, Admiral.”

  “Put it up on the screen!” Admiral Kane watched the vid from Captain Wimberger, her protégé. This could mean the death of them all but she was correct in her strategy.

  “Communications, order Commander Winkler’s frigate force and Captain Bosley’s patrol craft to attempt flanking maneuvers. If it gets too hot, they are to minimize their casualties and bug out toward New Texas. Tell them to try to draw fire and if humanly possible take o
ut the supply ships in the rear.” She checked her plot one more time. “Send orders to the Jules Ferry. Tell them to stick with us, we are going to form up with the Manxman and her cruisers. Those new ships over there don’t have sidewalls. Several good hits and they are toast!”