Captain Yng ordered general quarters when an hour separated the baseship from the approaching fleet of prime ships. Everyone on the ship, including the bridge, donned space suits in case damage opened the ship to space. Yng approached the six prime ships with his shields full-up. Grayson had ordered him to limit damage to the prime ships as much as possible, though Yng personally believed Grayson’s hope was misplaced. As the opposing forces neared, the prime ships split up in an encapsulating maneuver, and Yng saw Grayson’s hopes sink further.
For Grayson, the clock began ticking on the worst time of his life. Never in his wildest imaginings had he envisioned fighting his own men and women. And his agreement to allow families aboard his fighting ships came back to haunt him. His baseship held some 75,000 people, many of them families with children. The prime ships carried some 5,000 people each, including a significant number of family members.
He shook his head to clear thoughts that were rapidly spiraling into hopelessness. Future generations demanded that he not waver in his commitment to take out the Overmind. If that meant losing every ship and person under his command, he would pay the cost. He informed Yng that they were not fighting their own people, they were fighting the Overmind. The gloves were off: Yng was to use deadly force against any ship that fired on the baseship.
Grayson’s normal duty station during fleet battles was in the Tactical Operations Center (TOC), but since he only had the one baseship and its fighters to command, he elected to stay on the bridge.
Even when brightly lit as it was now, the forward half of the bridge was a dark and normally calm place. Grayson and Yng sat in elevated seats at the rear of the massive screen that formed the tip of the starboard, center pontoon. Space invaded their senses just as it did on fighters. Just forward of them, four tactical officers sat in a curved row behind the pilots, their jobs to operate the StarDrive, control shields, and command gunners who were located in a separate compartment aft of the bridge. Two pilots sat side-by-side in the most forward position on the bridge, tucked in front of the curved row of tactical officers. All of them were far enough back from the nose of the screen that they could see the full tactical situation as it developed.
Aft of Grayson and Yng, sitting not out in space but in seats with workstations that actually attached to solid structure, engineers and department heads occupied a much larger area.
Though a busy place at times, voices tended to be muted on the bridge even when in the midst of a fight.
When fighters began streaming from the prime ships and splitting up, a tight smile formed on Grayson’s face. The Overmind was indeed controlling the crews of the prime ships. Individual fighters held very little threat to the baseship. Had they approached in organized flights, as they would have if his experienced captains were in charge, it would have been a different matter.
Grayson exchanged a knowing, albeit grim, look with Yng. “Let’s stick to the plan,” Grayson said. “Keep our fighters aboard as long as possible. We’ll just waste them if we send them out now.”
“Aye, sir,” Yng replied.
Lasers on the prime ships were essentially equal in power to the lasers on the baseship, and the number of lasers between opposing sides was essentially equal as well. Two prime ships were the first to open fire, their target the bridge of the baseship. The shields deflected the lasers, and Yng jumped directly between the two prime ships. Multiple lasers from both sides of the baseship opened up.
Space between the three ships lit up with a continuous onslaught of dangerous particle beams, but shields deflected the energy. Two more prime ships closed on Yng, again concentrating their fire on the area of the bridge. He jumped again and gained a brief respite.
He leaned toward Grayson and spoke calmly. “I guess we know their strategy. You might want to think about moving.”
Grayson nodded with pursed lips. “You’re their target.”
“No. I’m its target,” Yng replied.
Grayson stepped down from his elevated seat. “I’ll take Angie with me. If you can spare a gunnery officer or two, I’ll take them as well. I can pull a few pilots and gunners from the fighters without weakening them.”
“Very well. I’ll have them report to the auxiliary bridge in the TOC.”
Grayson nodded with pursed lips. “Good luck, my friend.”
Yng went back to fighting while Grayson and Angie retreated to the backup controls in the Tactical Operations Center. By the time they got there, his staff had all the screens active, and several pilots had filtered in. Over the next 20 minutes, some 15 gunners joined them, all of them from fighter crews. Clearly, Yng felt he needed to keep his own people, all of whom were more experienced with operating the baseship’s batteries of guns, on the bridge. Several gunners from the fighters, however, reported that they had completed tours on the baseship. He set them to bringing the others up to speed.
“They’re going after the bridge,” Grayson said, briefing everyone in the TOC. “If it falls, control will revert to us. You’re not feeling the compulsion yet, but if we take over, you will. It’s bad. Admiral Tolland will have the con. She’ll rotate you through your positions to provide relief periods, but I have to warn you—the compulsion seems to be gaining power as we get closer to the planet.”
He and Angie could do nothing but observe for the present. Both of them studied Yng’s tactics. Because they had the benefit of observation rather than direct action, they were able to offer him suggestions occasionally.
The bridge and its vicinity were clearly the primary objective of the prime ships, but all areas of the baseship came under attack. Hours later, the ship shook from a massive attack against a port pontoon that actually holed the ship.
Yng’s aggressive response forced the prime ships to move back and regroup. When they returned, they attacked from all directions. Gunnery officers stayed busy assigning targets, but the prime ships’ tactics actually benefited Yng. Because they were attacking from all directions, the shields surrounding his ship could share the load, and all his weapons could come into play. He ordered his gunnery officers to fire as many weapons as possible on just one prime ship, then he jumped closer. A bright flare exploded from the center of their target, meaning the prime ship had been holed. It pulled back, and Yng selected another target for his gunners. He continued jumping the baseship within the umbrella of prime ships, a ballet his gunners had practiced many times. They managed to keep multiple guns on specific targets, severely damaging another prime ship, then another.
Unfortunately, he could not directly attack the bridges of the prime ships as the Overmind was attacking him. Those bridges were located in the very center of the prime ships, as was the main drive.
Yng’s baseship did not escape unscathed. Multiple compartments were holed. The battle raged for hours without let-up or quarter. As the battle neared the planet, every ship had multiple holes. None of them could enter the atmosphere.
Suddenly, the prime ships regrouped and converged on the baseship as a single unit. The whole baseship shook hard as the bridge vanished in a huge explosion. It took Grayson a while to comprehend what had happened. While the ship floundered, it took more massive hits. Wherever possible, air-tight doors slammed shut, but the ship was severely wounded.
Angie stayed calm and went heads-down with the controls on her armrests, transferring control from the dead bridge to the TOC. As soon as the pilots reported functioning controls, she commanded a series of multiple jumps. While the pilots stayed busy with jumps, she reconfigured the numerous guns on the baseship, slaving whole batteries to the limited number of gunners in the TOC. As soon as a battery came on line, the gunner fired at will, knowing the ship’s very life was at stake. With multiple guns hitting them, the prime ships pulled back to re-group, offering Grayson a brief respite.
Grayson called to Angie, “I’m launching the fighters.”
“It’s too soon, Harold. We’re still an hour from orbit,” she reminded him.
“I know.
I have a plan. I’ll brief the crews and get them started, then I’ll brief you.”
Cass and his crews were awake and fresh. So, too, were the rest of Grayson’s fighters, almost 100 of them in total. Grayson briefed the 70 crews he would command, then he briefed Cass separately. Soon, 70 fighters began streaming from launch tubes on both sides of the baseship. Cass’ command, consisting of 5 primary fighters and 25 support fighters, waited inside the baseship, positioned for instant launch from launch tubes on both sides.
* * * * *
Cass had a single objective: to place as many fighters as possible around the large spire and destroy it. He briefed his crews to anticipate rotating every member of the crew through pilot and gunner positions. When they launched, they would launch into the middle of a firestorm.
Aboard his own fighter, Cass assigned Arlynn as his first pilot in the rotation. She occupied the single forward seat of their fighter. Her job was to maneuver her ship in any manner necessary to avoid enemy lasers, but always in the direction of their target coordinates.
Cass sat in the seat behind and to her left. He would keep the big picture in mind, feed Arlynn the courses she needed, and he would back-up Ollie on the guns.
Ollie sat behind and to the right of Arlynn. He was the main gunner. The three of them were perched out in the invisible nose of the ship, which at present looked down a dark, endless tube lit by lights that would blur into long, perfectly straight lines during launch.
Greg and Emily sat across from each other, she at the communications station and he at the engineering station. Their only significant duty was to wait until Cass called them to fly the fighter.
Chapter Forty
Grayson’s 70 fighters left the baseship and formed into flights of six. Their principal targets were diversionary—Grayson hoped they would draw off the prime ships’ surviving fighters, then attack the prime ships. Before long though, some of his own fighters began turning back and attacking him. Grayson had further proof that the Overmind was not an experienced tactician. Sending fighters to attack baseships on a one-on-one ratio was a waste—they could not hurt the baseship. The Overmind would have been more successful if the fighters had banded together and come at the baseship in strength.
Never forgetting his own single-minded purpose here—to ensure that Cass got through to the spire—Grayson smiled a tight smile, then ordered Angie to have his fighters form into the snowflake attack formation.
Startled and alarmed at the impossibility Grayson was suggesting, Angie objected. “Harold, we’re too close to the primary to jump.”
“I know. Does the Overmind? Execute your orders.”
Only 28 of his fighters responded. The rest were either fighting for their lives or they had gone over to the Overmind. His fighters coalesced into a rough array of four flat plates, two in front of and two behind the baseship. Grayson could not wait for the formation to perfect its positioning. He ordered his ships to begin synchronizing their clocks.
As soon as the clocks began talking to each other, the prime ships and their fighter escorts, recognizing the danger, scattered. Like a starburst, they fled, putting as much distance between themselves and Grayson as they could. It was as if instincts within the prime ships’ crewmembers overrode the Overmind’s control.
Grayson waited for the gap between his ship and the prime ships to widen, then he ordered Cass and the rest of his fighters to launch. Fifteen fighters launched from each side of the baseship and formed into a cone, with the tip of that cone pointed toward the planet. Cass and his five cloaked fighters formed up inside the cone that spearheaded Grayson’s real attack on the Overmind.
No sane pilot would risk approaching Grayson’s snowflake, but clearly, the Overmind did not mind sacrificing the prime ships if it meant its own survival. It managed to override basic instincts of the crewmembers on the prime ships, but it took a little time. When the prime ships and their fighter escorts came about and turned to intercept Cass’ fighter group, they were out of position and would not be able to intercept before reaching atmosphere. Grayson ordered his ships to follow Cass and provide a rear guard for as long as possible, even though all of them were too damaged to enter atmosphere.
Admiral Douglas, at Grayson’s insistence still holding off from the battle, called Grayson. “Let me provide cover for Cass.”
Grayson bit his lip. “Where are you?”
“I’m cloaked, so you can’t see me through your shields, but I’m nearby.”
Grayson considered, then shook his head with a frown. “You saw what happened to my fighters. Half of them turned against me right after launch. I can’t let your fleet do that to Cass. Follow him down, but at a distance that you can’t interfere.”
“Understood. You’re in a bad way. Let me send my prime ships to reinforce you.”
Grayson again bit his lip. Those prime ships might go over to the Overmind, making his situation worse, but Douglas was right—he was hurting badly.
“This is all about fighting the Overmind. Are your men strong enough?”
“Everyone in command personally attacked and destroyed spires on the Oortman world. I’m not saying we’re as strong as Cass, but we’re as strong as I can make us.”
“Very well. Send them. Have them choose their initial targets while cloaked. They can check in with me for assignment after they’ve engaged.”
“Very well, sir.”
* * * * *
Aboard Cass’ ship, the persuasion turned to a strong compulsion as his force headed away from the baseship. His cone of 30 fighters began fragmenting as ten of them turned on their neighbors. Cass, after brief consideration, suspected that they were not likely at peak performance, but because of the compulsion, his own ships were not either. With 20 of his ships engaged against each other, his tiny fleet of 30 had almost instantly been reduced to 10, his core wing of 5 cloaked ships and 5 more uncloaked ships providing primary protection. He ordered all of his ships to cloak.
His small formation continued toward the planet. His greatest concern—other than fighting off the compulsion—was that he maintain enough distance between himself and the attacking armada of prime ships chasing him from behind.
Grayson tucked the baseship tight behind Cass. One of its lasers reached out and started picking off the fighters that had turned on Cass, allowing several of his escorts to rejoin his protection wing. Lasers reached out from the prime ships chasing him, but they were not effective at their maximum range. When three more perfectly healthy prime ships from Douglas’ fleet suddenly materialized outside the prime ship formation chasing Grayson, the damaged prime ships under the control of the Overmind turned away in self-defense. The attack against Grayson fell apart.
* * * * *
Arlynn, spearheading the flight of cloaked fighters, kept her display in the normal mode since she was not yet under attack. She had half an hour before reaching atmosphere, but she would have to begin slowing several minutes before then.
Flying the ship quickly became an issue. She felt strongly that what she was doing was wrong.
“Do you feel it?” she called to the rest of the crew.
Everyone responded in the affirmative, but Cass, after studying Arlynn, called to her. “It’s always worst for the pilot. Let me know when you need a break.” Arlynn’s jaw was set in determination as she continued diving toward the planet.
Cass needed to see behind his ship to analyze threats. “Activating the Tactical Mode,” he called to Arlynn. To his amazement, the remnants of his small force were actually out ahead of most of the pursuers. Several fighters from the prime ships were closer than the rest, but they were falling behind as Grayson picked them off. Cass lowered his shield all the way to get a clear picture and saw that his attack force was down to 14.
The planet was swelling in his view. Cass knew that when they slowed to enter atmosphere on the far side of the planet where the large spire was located, the trailing fighters would close the gap separating them. He needed t
o eliminate that threat in order to concentrate on what was ahead. He agonized briefly, knowing he might be sending men and women to their deaths, then he called Captain Jensen who was the wing commander. After brief discussion, four of his fighters uncloaked and dropped back to engage anyone who came within firing range.
The cone reached its approach window and began slowing. Unknown to Cass and the others aboard the attack force, the moment the capital ships pulled up to avoid entering atmosphere, they were no longer of use to the Overmind. As if a curtain had been lifted, the horrible compulsion stopped for them. Crewmembers on the bridges of the prime ships, knowing they had forced battle on their own forces, looked at each other in horror. Messages began flying between them and Grayson.
Aboard Cass’ fighter, Arlynn suddenly cried out. Her body spasmed, then curled into a fetal position. She rolled out of the seat to lie curled on the deck, gasping.
Greg rushed to her side and knelt down. Her eyes were squeezed shut in agony. After a brief perusal, he pulled her flight suit from her shoulder and stared in horror. The burns she had suffered during her escape from the Harbok base on Earth had returned. He believed it was a fair assumption that the burns extended down to her boots, just as they had on Earth. He leaned in and kissed her on the forehead, then stood up.
Cass called to him, speaking through gritted teeth. “I transferred control to myself. The moment I did, the compulsion became severe. I had no idea what she was going through.”
Greg looked slightly lost for a moment, then he pulled himself together. “Do we have a cold sleep injector? She’s suffering from bad burns.”
“Yes. Several. They’re in the medical kit. You know where it is.” He paused for a moment, then said through gritted teeth, “She doesn’t need to go that deep. Use a sleep disk instead.”
Greg retrieved the medical kit and attached a sleep disk to Arlynn’s wrist. When he was done, he left the kit out, suspecting that others might need it before this was over. He stood up from her and faced his friends and crew mates. Standing in the front of the bridge but appearing as if he were standing out in space, he spoke to everyone. “The Overmind is a lot stronger than we suspected. It looks like it pulled the single worst injury of Arlynn’s life from her memories, then recreated it in her body. She’s suffering from burns along the whole side of her body.”
Genesis Page 41
