Exodus: Empires at War: Book 2

by Doug Dandridge

  “Tactical,” shouted the Captain, feeling the rush of adrenaline hitting his system. “What is the status on the missiles?”

  “We have moved all that were capable of movement to the working launchers,” said the officer, a thin smile on his face. “That gives us fifty-three offensive weapons.”

  “Very well,” said the Captain, letting out a shallow breath.

  “Fire every missile at the enemy force,” he continued. “All beam weapons capable of firing target those vessels.”

  “That's only the B ring, sir,” said the tactical officer. “But they are at seventy percent.”

  “Very good,” replied Ngano, knowing that his ship could still sting in electromag. “Helm, full acceleration toward the enemy.”

  “Aye sir,” said the helmsman, his eyes wide, but his fingers moving as ordered over his board.

  “I am proud to have served with you,” said Ngano to his bridge crew. “You have made me proud. You have made the Empire proud.”

  The crew looked at their Captain, shoulders squaring as they nodded at his pronouncement.

  “And we are proud to have served with you Captain,” said the tactical officer, his face solemn. “Aboard the best ship in the fleet.”

  * * *

  “The ring is fully charged, chief,” said the tech manning the status board. “Power is flowing smoothly through the remaining emitters.”

  “Thanks spaceman,” replied Gorbachev, looking over her own status board. There was nothing they could do about the emitters that were not feeding into the ring. Nothing short of complete replacement would accomplish that. And that was unlikely to happen this side of hell.

  The board showed that the ring was releasing its energy in a single beam, sweeping it across the enemy formation. The ship shuddered once again from a near miss. Gorbachev cheered silently as the sensor returns indicated a hit to one of the enemy destroyers. And a secondary detonation on that vessel blew out most of its bow.

  “Do us proud, Lieutenant,” said the chief in a whisper as the ship shuddered once again. She could feel a tear rolling down her cheek, behind the faceplate, where she couldn't reach it. “Do us proud, my Emperor.”

  * * *

  They had hooked Sean into the battle cruiser’s systems as an observer as soon as he was aboard, at his insistence. The tank he was in was much the same as the one he had vacated on Sergiov. The AI of the computer was much the same as well. But he knew he was not on the battleship anymore. He could see the battleship on the sensors, absorbing punishment as it decelerated back towards the enemy ships.

  Sergiov took a major hit, spinning on its axis as she vented atmosphere and fluids. Pieces of ship flew off into space. The remaining laser ring fired, a sweep that scored a hit on one of the super destroyers that seemed to serve the enemy as scouts. The bow of the ship erupted into space as the beam superheated the matter of the vessel. Sean noted that the one working laser was the B ring, and he cheered on his old teammates as he thought about Gorbachev, who was most likely in control of the ring.

  Sergiov jumped from a pair of near misses, more of her hide vaporizing under the attention of some multigigaton warheads. The B ring went dark, and Sean hung his head, thinking about the people he had known that were most likely dead. A plasma torpedo, probably the last functioning weapon on the ship, fired a blast. The remaining enemy cruiser, closing on the battleship and hitting her with the cruiser's one remaining laser dome, caught the plasma blast full on. Superheated plasma cut through the hull, channeling into the corridors beyond, incinerating everything in its path. The cruiser blew into hundreds of large fragments, and innumerable small pieces. One of the spinning pieces hit the heavily damaged super destroyer, knocking it off course as it shattered the hull, sending more pieces of alien ship spinning off into the blackness.

  The human battleship absorbed a score of fragment hits, setting it on a permanent spin while opening most of the port side of the ship to space. Sergiov spun into the void, while the remaining super destroyer, generating no power of its own, continued on after the path of the battle cruiser, which was leaving it farther behind every second.

  It's over, thought Sean, bowing his head and saying a quick prayer for his dead comrades. Sergiov was a complete wreck. If anyone survived they had to be trapped deep in the ship. But the alien task force was wrecked as well, and the Jean de Arc had a clear path for the outer system.

  Chapter 20

  Most wars start with a bloody nose. Yours or theirs, someone starts out being hurt. That doesn’t mean you lost, only that they have now got your attention.

  Admiral Jo En Walenstein at the commencement of the First Elysium War.

  “I don't like the looks of this, Captain,” said Commander Xavier Jackson over the com link.

  Jean de Arc was continuing out system at maximum emergency boost, crew still in the tanks. The enemy had two task groups coming after them. One consisted of three cruisers and a pair of super destroyers, while the other only had two cruisers, but had four of the super destroyers as consorts. Both were more than enough to destroy the Jean de Arc in an open battle. The battle cruiser was staying away from both of the groups, using her acceleration advantage to best effect. But she would not be able to decelerate to go through hyper at the limit. She would have to plow on into interstellar in normal space, hoping she could shake off pursuit.

  Now she was picking up the emissions from ahead as other enemy ships vectored onto intercept courses. They couldn't tell how many or what type yet. But anything that got in the battle cruiser's way could cripple her before she left the system.

  “Anything we can call on for help,” said the Captain, studying the system schematic in her mind. “Some of the ships based here were out on patrol when the enemy struck. Isn't that correct, your Majesty?”

  “That is correct,” said the Emperor, his mind's voice low. “There was at least a battleship division, and some three cruiser squadrons on patrol. We were expecting them back any day.”

  The poor kid is still in shock, thought Mei Lei as she pondered what he said. Soon will come the survivor's guilt, then the depression. He needs to be active in this thing if he's to heal.

  “Those ships could have met with this enemy and been destroyed,” said the tactical officer. “Or they could come in on the other side of the system, doing us no good at all.”

  “I don't see where we have much choice in our vector,” said Mei Lei to the others. “It's the only one that avoids our pursuit. We need to keep going on this vector until we figure out what lies ahead of us.”

  “That is a wise choice, ma'am,” said Jackson.

  “Your Majesty?”

  “I leave the decision in your hands, Captain,” said Sean, giving a mental nod. “Now I need to think about other things.”

  I hope those other things aren't how useless you feel right now, you Majesty, thought the Captain, giving him a mental smile.

  “So now we wait,” said the tactical officer.

  “So now we wait,” agreed the Captain.

  * * *

  “Transmission from a courier, Admiral,” came the call over the net.

  “What's the message,” said the Grand Fleet Admiral Duke Taelis Mgonda, looking up from his desk while a holo formed in the air above the heavy furniture, showing the face of a young Lieutenant, a busy claim center behind him. “Is it from Massadara?”

  “No sir,” said the com officer. “This one is from Klassandra System. Pretty much the same as the last six couriers sir.”

  “Another massive attack out of nowhere by forces unknown,” said the Admiral, remembering those last six ships and their frightening news.

  “Yes sir,” agreed the junior officer, nodding his head. “With vids of the Ca’cadasan ships.”

  “And still nothing from Massadara,” growled the Admiral, slamming his hand on his desk. “Still nothing about the safety of the...”

  Admiral Mgonda shut his mouth quickly, earning a curious look from the Lieutenant.
It was still not common knowledge out here that Prince the Lieutenant Sean Ogden Lee Romanov was now the Emperor of the Empire of New Terra. And that his life was at risk, if not already ended.

  “Send the message up the hyperlink net,” he ordered the officer. The Lieutenant nodded and cut the connection.

  The Admiral ordered another link with a thought. A handsome woman, her ebony face shining, appeared on the holo.

  “Sir,” said the woman, snapping to attention. Mgonda could see the busy flag bridge behind the woman, the command staff of a squadron preparing for deployment.

  “Are you ready to go, Mara?” he asked, nodding his head at the busy bridge.

  “Ready, willing and able,” said Mara Montgomery, giving her superior a tight smile. “You give the word and we'll go and get the Imperial butt out of the crack it’s in.”

  “You always were a sacrilegious bitch, Mara,” said the Grand Fleet Admiral with a laugh. “I wish I had more to send with you, but yours are the only Hyper VII ships I could gather on time.”

  “Hell, Admiral,” she said with a gesture toward her bridge holo. “We have two squadrons of battle cruisers, two squadrons of light cruisers and two and a half squadrons of destroyers. If we can't perform a rescue with that, then it'll take a battle fleet to do the job.”

  Mgonda thought there was a big disparity between eight small capital ships, two dozen cruisers and thirty four destroyers and a full battle fleet. But he had picked Montgomery not just because the battle cruiser squadrons were part of her organic scouting force. He had picked her because she was an audacious and cocky bitch, like many officers in the scout force. If she couldn't do it, there was no Hyper VII force capable in the sector that could.

  “You have the word, Admiral,” said the sector commander. “And may God go with you.”

  “I will take the Goddess with me instead,” said Mara Montgomery, a devout Wiccan.

  “I will still ask the blessing of the Pope and all the saints upon you,” said Mgonda with a laugh.

  “I'll take it. We'll break orbit in five minutes. You should hear from us in nine days, eleven at most. Montgomery out.”

  Well, thought the Grand Fleet Admiral, looking at the dispatch he was working at on the flat comp, I've set in motion all that I can do right now. Until the rest of the battle fleet gathers.

  Ignoring the dispatch for a moment and summoning another holo, the Admiral looked over the map of the sector, with the scattered icons of his assets. Some were sure to be gone, destroyed by this invading enemy. Others would take weeks to contact. All that had been contacted were on their way to rally points. And hopefully there would be something coming up from the core systems in the near future.

  * * *

  “Missiles firing,” said the tactical officer.

  Captain Dame Mei Lei sat in her command chair, battle armored with helmet nearby. The Jean de Arc bucked slightly as she released a spread of missiles from the starboard tubes. The port threat had been taken care of by the remnants of the fighter force that had originally struck the enemy fleet. They had continued on, accelerating away from the action. Two hundred fighters had swarmed over the enemy force, taking out the three cruisers and the super destroyer pair of that force.

  The battle cruiser was now firing on the other force, which was more distant than was thought at first. They had fired as well, and the battle cruiser's fighters were forming a screen between their mother ship and the enemy, waiting for the incoming missiles.

  “Missile ETA in fifteen minutes,” said the tactical officer, his voice cracking with tension.

  We’ve all been under too much tension for far too long, she thought, watching the holo display.

  “I wonder why they haven't thrown their fighters at us,” said Commander Jackson from CIC.

  “We don't know enough about the capabilities of those platforms,” said the tactical officer. “They may be too short ranged to be employed against us.”

  “Ours could chase us three times around the system,” said Jackson. “I wouldn't assume theirs were any less capable.”

  “Maybe they just didn't think of it,” said Sean, his voice flat.

  “What did you say, your Majesty?” asked the Captain, wondering if he was being sarcastic.

  “What if they didn't think of it,” said Sean, his voice coming alive. “What if they don't think as well as we do? After all, we are the most powerful race in this region of space, able to out think most of the dozens of other sentients in this region. Maybe we are smarter on the average than the Ca’cadasans. Maybe we are better at strategy and tactics than they are.”

  “They are more advanced than we are, your Majesty,” said the tactical officer.

  “By what,” said Sean. “Maybe a couple of decades. Maybe less. I can tell you that some of the advanced tech I have seen from these demons from our past is similar to what we have on the drawing boards right now. Hell, some of it is in predeployment trials right now.”

  “And they were thousands of years ahead of us, thousands of years ago,” said the Captain, nodding her head. “And that time includes a thousand years in transit, without a lot of advancement going on. Now they are only decades ahead of us, if that.”

  “They are too big,” said Sean, smiling into the link. “They have rolled over everyone they have ever come in contact with. There was no pressure to advance, while we were involved in the fight of our lives against other powers that were more or less technologically equal to us. In some cases superior. And we continued to advance so we could continue to win.”

  “And we learned from those who had ruled this space before us,” said Jackson. “We picked up their tricks, and tech from our friends.”

  “They are still really big,” said the tactical officer. “Even if we catch up with them. I think it was Stalin who said quantity has a quality all its own.”

  “You know your history, Lt. Commander,” said the Emperor, his eyes glowing. “It will be a fight. But we may have the advantage in smarts. As long as we keep those dumb asses in Parliament out of the way.”

  He's coming back to us, thought the Captain, a smile breaking out on her face. He can see hope in the future, and that is lifting him up.

  “We have translation ahead,” called out the tactical officer. “Something big.”

  The Captain's eyes narrowed. Of course there was so much going on in the near hyperspace to this system that they were having trouble tracking individual ships. But it couldn't be coincidence that the ship was coming in right here, right now. And they were so close to the hyper limit themselves.

  “Can you tell whose it is?” she asked the tactical officer, feeling her chest tighten.

  “It could be one of our super battleships from the size of it,” said Jackson hopefully. “Or it could be...”

  “One of theirs,” said the tactical officer. “Thirty light seconds ahead on our present bearing.”

  * * *

  “We have them,” called out the tactical officer, as the Captain looked up from his command throne.

  “Yes, we have,” said the Captain, his teeth showing in a predatory smile. “The Admiral will reward us well for this accomplishment. Prepare to destroy them.”

  “All forward weapons to bear, my Lord,” said the tactical officer.

  “Fire,” said the Captain, and the Ca’cadasan battleship bucked from the release of missiles.

  * * *

  “We have incoming missiles, ma'am,” said the tactical officer, looking back at her from his station.

  Armored as are we all, thought Mei Lei, looking at the display where missiles had sprung into existence on the holo. Lot of good it will do us when those missiles hit.

  Already the Jean de Arc was launching a full spread of defensive missiles. But they would not be enough against the volleys that beast ahead of them could put out.

  Traveling at point six c, the battle cruiser would hit the first missiles in thirty-five seconds, and be past the battleship in fifty. Then it would be t
he enemy missiles trying to catch them from the stern, which would be a losing proposition for the missiles. But the battleship would still be able to hit them with lasers well after they cleared it.

  The Jean de Arc bucked as she went into evasive maneuvering, all of her electromagnetic shield power shifted to the front. Fighters accelerated ahead and interposed themselves between their mother ship and the enemy. And they would hit the first spread of missiles before they even had the next volley on their sensors.

  “All forward tubes fire,” ordered the Captain, praying for a lucky hit. “Keep firing until the magazines are empty or the tubes melt.”

  * * *

  “What in the hell is that?” asked Commander Bryce Suttler, sitting up in his chair. Seastag had been waiting in stealth on the edge of the system, hoping that some prey would come along. The Imperial battle cruiser was heading their way, and Suttler had intended on helping them out, and maybe bagging some of their pursuit in the process. But he hadn't expected this.

  “It's one of their battleships, sir,” called out the tactical officer. “I don't think they know we're here.”

  The readouts showed the battleship to be less than one hundred thousand kilometers away, much closer than a light second. His ship was at extreme risk, but they weren't paying him to play it safe when his sovereign was in danger.

  “All weapons ready to go?” asked Suttler, knowing the answer before he asked.

  “Aye, sir,” said tactical, giving his commander a quick smile.

  “Helm, line us up,” ordered Suttler, and the helmsman gently nudged the ship to point at the enemy. “Fire.”

  Seastag released all her tubes at the same instant that she fired her forward facing lasers and particle beams. The triple array of terrawatt lasers took less than point three three seconds to strike the enemy vessel. The battleship's electromag shields were augmented to the front, weakened to the sides and stern, in anticipation of a slugging match with another capital ship. And the knowledge that nothing threatened her from any other angle. The lasers penetrated the attenuated shields and burned into the hull, vaporizing alloy and composites as they swept across the ship. One second into strike and they shifted frequency, before the skin of the enemy ship could react and configure to reflect them away.