Ensign Stevens moved to the computer and navigation panels where he let out a little hoot.
Mike was walking around the bridge finding it a little larger than the Randori’s.
“What’s that about?”
“They didn’t wipe the computer’s core!” Barry said still excited as he bought up its files.
Lt. Collins smiled thinking the ship mistress or her second really screwed up.
“I wonder if Commander Bannon would like to take a look at those computer files?” he said with a laugh just as his wounded side sent out a stitch of pain.
He looked down and could see the blood stains on his combat armor around the emergency seal. There wasn’t an exit wound so the piece of shrapnel that hit him was still inside him. A combination of pain killers and Heal-X from his medical kit along with his own adrenaline had kept him going. Looking to his arm’s counter pad he saw that his kit had been keeping his pain levels manageable but now his medical unit was signaling that some of its drugs were critically low.
Walking carefully to the captain’s chair he sat down resisting the urge to put his hand to his wounded side or continue to walk around his new bridge.
The chair was comfortable and its arms had numerous functions, controls and read outs. It was truly a modern and high tech captain’s chair and he was impressed. Along the side of the chair was a sort of sheath that didn’t look like it was original to the chair. Mike had boarded and taken enough Karduan ships to know what it was for and he placed the white tritanium blade into its sheath.
“Sir?” Mister Jansen said from across the bridge.
“Yes?”
“There is a space radar unit but no maser system,” he said pointing to an empty space along the bridge’s outer control banks where the unit should have been.
Ensign Binkley spoke up at this moment.
“We never got the maser unit. Our planet’s system was overrun by the Blues and New Briton’s Government ordered our ships to surrender without firing a shot. We didn’t even have fighters onboard yet because they and the maser system hadn’t been delivered,” he explained looking a little embarrassed.
“And your crew became the slaves of the Karduans without a fight,” Thornton remarked as he turned from the helm to look at the younger man. “My former ship was the ISS Mammoth. She is a recovery ship and was caught in the same predicament. My captain and the three officers above me were all executed one by one until we behaved.”
Binkley had been mad and ashamed but now he found another officer who could relate.
“How did you escape?” he inquired wondering how he ended up free and back with Earth’s forces.
Thornton let out a laugh and nodded with his head towards Mike.
“Lt. Collins here and crewmen of the ISS Star Wolf sneaked on board and retook the ship,” he retold with a nod of respect to their captain.
The ensign looked to their young captain with even more admiration. He had been standing on this very bridge and was forced to watch the recent battle along with his angry Karduan captors.
“Mister Jansen, send word to the Raven that the Karduan files have not been wiped from our systems,” Mike ordered and added, “After that I want you and Mister Stevens to see if you can install that maser system we took from the Randori. Get Lt. Cappillo or Chief Bell to help if you need it.”
“Aye sir,” both men replied.
“So Ensign Binkley, what job did you have before your capture?” the young starship captain asked.
“We’ll sir, I was an assistant fire control officer and flight communications officer but the Blues used me to do whatever they wanted done as a sort of jack of all trades.”
“They did this of course after they had killed all of the officers above you?” Thornton asked believing that they had similar experiences at the hand of the Karduans.
“No sir, our full crew hadn’t been assigned to the ship when we were captured,” he answered “though the Blues did threaten to kill me or cut off various body parts countless times.”
Mike nodded having once been a prisoner for a short time he knew that being under another person’s control took willpower and sometimes guile just to survive. Both Lt. Thornton and Ensign Binkley had lived in that very real and deadly world and probably bore the psychological scars to prove it.
“Sir, Commander Bannon is sending one of his men over to download our computer’s systems and told us not to mess with it until they arrive,” Jansen reported.
“Acknowledge his message,” he replied activating the ship’s tactical screen and main viewer from his chair. He once more could see the star system around him with its various wreckage and ships. Shuttles were busy rescuing survivors and salvaging whatever they could. It would still take several more hours before they could leave.
“Sir, Lt. Grinder is signaling that his fighters are ready to land,” Jansen informed watching from his seat as Steven’s enter the room with a grav sled and one of the maser systems taken from the Randori.
“Mister Binkley, would you lend a hand and get on the fight comm. and coordinate with the flight boss for the landing of our fighters?” Mike requested turning his chair slightly to face him.
“Yes sir,” he replied quickly moving over to a second comm. station by the space radar system.
“Captain, Lt. Stanton is on the line,” Midshipmen Jansen reported.
“On screen,” he said.
A moment later the main viewer filled with the face of the young marine officer.
“Sir, we have one hundred and eighty-nine prisoners so far,” Stanton informed.
“Where are you putting them?” he asked wondering if they just locked them in a cargo hold.
“Well sir, it seems that the San Quintin’s D - deck was already made into a holding area for prisoners. So we put them in their own cells under armed guard.”
“Did you reprogram their security protocols?” Mike asked.
“Ensign Roberts is working on that right now,” he said looking a little unsure or it all.
Mike knew Bill Roberts from Harper’s Academy. He had been part of Commander Hutton’s crew on the Cody. This made him think of his crew problems and how he could man both ships. The Randori and the Cody had both taken heavy casualties during the battle. Mike had lost half of his original crew as well as Specialist Rita Rojas and two of his rescued marines. The Cody had lost thirteen crew members and had her captain’s legs blown off. It was a hell of victory with both ships so badly damaged that they were permanently out of action.
“Get me a list of able bodied crew members as well as wounded, missing and dead. For now, I’m leaving your marines and your tanks on the San Quintin. Your marines are to take care of security and if we need to we can pull the same trick with your tanks if the San Quintin gets in trouble.”
“Aye sir, we’ve checked the other cargo holds on the other decks and they have missile stores, repair parts, replacement turrets and food supplies.”
Mike nodded across the vid link. “That sounds right for a squadron resupply vessel. Get me an inventory when you can.”
“Yes sir,” he replied looking like something was bothering him.
“Go ahead Frank, ask your question,” Collins said with a smile as he tried to mask a wince of pain from his side.
“Ensign Roberts says that he can pilot this ship as well as Ensign Haus who was the third shift’s helmsman of the Randori. Our problem is that we don’t seem to have anyone over the rank of ensign or 2nd lieutenant?” the marine officer revealed.
“Right, I’ll get someone over there as soon as I can,” Mike said knowing that they should have at least an O-2 in charge.
He still had his fighter pilots as well as his bridge staff and Lt. Cappillo to draw from. Before he started moving people around he needed to get both ships’ damages assessed, recovery operations completed and available crew reported in.
“Yes sir,” he said, “Oh and Chief Bell said that he can get the fusion drives repaired in four
hours.”
“That’s some good news. Keep me informed, out here,” Mike said encouragingly.
Lt. Collins leaned back holding his side as he watched his bridge crew move about the command center - working at their stations or helping to install the maser unit. Ship information, inventory lists, engine status were being updated across his command link. Recovery operations were ongoing and he let out a tired sign as he plowed through all of the raw data.
Four and a half hours later found Lt. Collins still sitting in his new captain’s chair. Recovery operation were almost completed. They had collected escape pods and rounded up prisoners from off the ships that still had life signs onboard.
Random flight’s eight remaining fighters had already transferred from the San Quintin to the Nathaniel Green. They had lost four LN-28 Wasps but only two pilots were killed as the other two Wasp fighter pilots had managed to eject and wait out the battle in their poly carbon cockpits. Two Karduan SF-18 were recovered intact as their pilots had ejected before they could be shot down by pursing Wasp fighters.
The damaged remains of both LN-28 and KSF-18s were collected and brought or towed to the Green Machine. When they had time they’d tear them apart and try to rebuild as many fighters as they could or at least salvage usable parts. Luckily, the SF-18 and its knock off KSF-18 were completely built with modular units and these could be easily swapped out as long as they had intact frames.
The San Quintin’s in-systems drives were restored thanks to Chief Bell. Though Lt. Cappillo was not to be outdone by his own CPO and with the help of Chief Fraser, the Nathaniel Green’s Bender drives and torpedo tubes were once more made functional.
Cmdr. Bannon had aided them at every turn helping with recovery and repair operations. He sent over men, repair droids and materials to both ships as needed. It seemed like a welcome change of attitude to Mike’s bridge crew who had been very critical of the navy intelligence captain’s priorities. Bannon had also sent an officer and technician over to work on the computer and downloaded the Karduan intelligence.
Lt. Collins had left them to their work mostly because he had Ensign Stevens had already copied the files and sent them to the San Quintin. He trusted the commander and the crew of the Raven but they were NIA. Just because they were on the same side didn’t mean that they would share any intelligence with them. Mike needed to make sure that their Task Force, the 12th Defense Fleet and the Wolf Squadron also had any useful intelligence that they gathered.
“Mike, we are good to go,” Cappillo reported having supervised the repairs to the ship as well as the salvaging of the any viable fighters.
“Good job, we’re still waiting for the all clear from the Raven and San Quintin,” he informed wondering what was the hold up.
He had sent Lt. Thornton over to take command of the Karduan freighter an hour ago. The helmsman wanted to stay on the carrier but Mike pointed out that he needed an experienced officer that he could rely on to take command. He was also a O-3 full lieutenant and it made sense to send him.
“Contact the San Quintin and get their status report,” he ordered hoping he hadn’t made a mistake sending Thornton.
“Aye sir,” Jansen said hearing the anxiety in his captain’s voice.
They all had been at it for hours and everyone was exhausted. The communication’s officer knew that their commander wanted to get clear of the system as soon as possible as well as trying to find out what had happened to the Star Wolf. These were two goals that most of their crews shared.
“Barry, activate the program on the Randori,” Mike said having prepared the ship before he left.
Its auto pilot sequence had been damaged but he was able to set a fixed course for his old ship. Firing what was left of the maneuver drives the express freighter headed out of the system on a path that would put it into deep space. The engines would eventually shut down and the ship would continue on inertia powering down all of its systems but a few. The enemy wouldn't get the Q-ship and maybe someday they could salvage her. Mike had even set up a little surprise before he left. He just hoped it would work and the ship could get clear of the gravity well and the battle site. Surprisingly, the Raven hadn’t questioned him in fact he hadn’t heard from Cmdr. Bannon since his men retrieved the files from the carrier and then wiped the files from his computer. Like he thought earlier - the spy guys don’t share well.
“Sir, the Randori is on her way,” Ensign Stevens announced to the small bridge staff.
“Captain, message from the San Quintin,” the middy reported.
“On screen,” Mike said.
Instead of seeing Lt. Thornton sitting in the captain’s seat he saw a familiar face in the chair and on the screen.
“Mike, I’m taking command of the San Quintin and I’m sending Mister Thornton back to you,” Commander Alfred Hutton said from the captain’s chair. He was propped up in the chair and it was clear for all to see that both of his legs were gone though he had a blanket thrown over his lap.
“Sir, you should be in sickbay,” Collins said wondering if he could declare the senior officer unfit for duty.
“I’m fine except for the legs,” he said and added, “The Heal-X has already closed my wounds and my medical kit is monitoring my pain levels with mild pain relievers.”
“But sir,” Mike started to protest.
“No buts Mister Collins, I outrank you and you are short handed,” he said sternly and then lowered his tone. “Mike, I’m fine and I can do this or I wouldn’t even try.”
He nodded across the screen to his old instructor.
“Yes sir, but keep Lt. Thornton as your XO. You’ll find him to be a reliable and excellent officer.”
“Sounds good, are we ready to head back and look for the Wolf?” He asked knowing that they could be walking right into another fight.
“As soon as Commander Bannon give us the go ahead,” Collins remarked wondering if they would have to go it alone and without the stealth cruiser.
“Well, at least if we do enter into another mess they will think we are Karduan ships until the shooting starts,” Hutton commented thinking like the young ship’s captain, that not only were they probably going into another battle but that they may not have the light cruiser with them. That was all depending on the Raven’s captain.
“Sir, I’m reading something at the gravity well,” Jim Byrd reported from the maser station. He had rejoined them a couple hours ago after recuperating from his wound with a shot of Heal-X Three and a little rest. When he showed up he had immediately jumped in and helped them with the instillation and testing of the maser system. His friend Chac-Ras had also joined them after interviewing the other Blue males that had wanted to join their cause. The Blue specialist was now manning the space radar system and sensor station.
The battle site was close to the mouth of the gravity well and any new arrivals would be right on top of them.
“Load torpedoes and prepare all turrets to fire at the entry point,” Mike ordered “Alert fighters to prepare to launch.”
Since the Green Machine’s last two upgrades she not only had better fusion and bender drives but she also had torpedoes tubes, two light cruiser size particle turrets and a half dozen fusion turrets add to her armaments. She now had much more fire power than a heavy frigate and if she had a spinal mount she’d would have been an equal to the Randori.
Her greatest strength was in her complement of fighters. Unfortunately, she no longer carried twenty-eight fighters but was down to just ten. They had eight LN-28 Wasps and two fully functional KSF-18. Ensigns Pendleton and Rebb had both volunteered to fly the Karduan knock offs. They had been checked out on the Confederation versions back when they served under Mike on the ISS Mammoth and were the best qualified to fly them.
“Sir, the Raven has activated her stealth plating and has disappeared,” Chac-Ras called out.
“Reading three destroyer or larger size ships coming through the well,” Specialist Byrd reported from the maser station.
“No one fires until my command,” Collins ordered. If they could bluff their way past them they would but the last thing that he wanted was a firefight with three ships of that size.
“Here they come,” Ensign Binkley remarked from the fire control station.
A moment later two heavy cruisers and an armored cruiser appeared out of the gravity well. All three Confederation ships looked very familiar.
“I’m reading their transponder signals, identifying them as …” Ensign Stevens started to report but was cut off by his young captain.
“The ISS Agamemnon, ISS Beowulf, and the Papal Cruiser LeBlanc,” Mike said with a smile as his crew all cheered.
Chapter Ten
“Open a channel to the Agamemnon,” Lt. Collins commanded after the cheering had calmed down.
Commander Richards and the bridge of the command heavy cruiser now appeared on the main viewer.
“Mike, what the hell happened to your ship and where did you get that escort carrier?” Mark Richards asked of his onetime ship mate.
“It is long story sir,” he replied in truth and then asked his own question. “What happened to the Star Wolf?”
“She is fine and under repair,” he stated and explained further, “she had to abort her bend and ended up facing a half dozen ships including a battle destroyer. Captain Hope defeated them all except for one old escort destroyer that managed to escape. The Wolf took some damage during the fight and couldn’t bend out. She had also captured a standard destroyer that only had moderate damage and sent her back to Blue Rock to get help.”
“Well, if you are looking for that escort destroyer it is tumbling off your port side with its engines blown off and a gapping hole in its side,” Mike said with pride.
“It looks like you had quite a time of it as well,” the Commander commented getting the readout of the system and the various enemy ships destroyed and captured.
“Like I said sir, it is a long story,” he repeated wincing instead of smiling.
Wolf's Run: The Chase of War (Star Wolf Sqaudron Book 2) Page 35
