by Tori Harris
“And I assume that’s intentional. You can’t blame them for trying, of course, but let’s not make things quite that easy for them. Just give us slow rotations about our vertical or lateral axes to keep our path clear. Any questions?”
“No, sir. Repositioning now.”
“Slow and easy, Ensign. They almost certainly know what we’re up to, so we need not make it look like we’re about to do something unexpected. Oh, and one more thing, we tend to make emergency C-Jumps in emergency situations, so, in spite of Fleet’s insistence on proper terminology, I might just say ‘jump.’ Make sense?”
“We’ll be out of here before you can even get to the ‘uh,’ Captain,” he chuckled.
“Alright, XO, here’s what I’m thinking,” Prescott said, shifting his attention to Commander Reynolds in the command chair to his right. “I’d really like to give those additional fighters time to arrive on station before the shooting starts again. Do you agree?”
“If we have a choice, absolutely, sir,” she replied.
“Well, if we start to reposition Theseus without some sort of nonthreatening pretext for doing so, it will probably be seen as either provocative, or in the very least an indication that we are expecting more trouble. Our fighters, on the other hand, have remained fairly active since the shooting stopped. I’m thinking we might just get away with allowing each flight of twelve to get themselves into position for a quick strike, if necessary, without drawing too much attention to what they’re doing. I’d also like to slave six of our Hunters to each flight of Reapers. That will give each flight a total of eighteen spacecraft — and an additional forty-eight missiles to fire.”
“Hmm … I doubt the Resistance ships will appreciate seeing our fighters setting up for another attack run either. That still seems pretty provocative to me. Don’t you think they will respond?” she asked.
“They might … and they could well see it as an aggressive move, but I’m sure everyone on both sides realizes that at some point, this conflict has to come to some kind of a conclusion. We either agree to break contact while remaining under a flag of truce, or we reengage. Admiral Patterson obviously believes that Captain Yagani intends the latter. And if he really is expecting more Resistance ships to arrive, delay works in their favor, not ours.”
“And what about Commander Takkar and the Hadeon? You saw his reaction to Admiral Naftur. Do you really believe he will fire on us at the risk of killing a man he clearly idolizes?” Reynolds asked, directing this question to both Prescott and Ambassador Turlaka.
“There is no question that he would feel conflicted in doing so,” Turlaka answered, “but if he truly believes that his duty to protect both Graca and the Sajeth Collective lies with the Resistance …”
“Sir, I have Captain Zhukov and Commander Waffer — audio only,” Dubashi interrupted. With the two pilots wearing heavily instrumented helmets and lying in utter darkness within the armored fuselages of their Reaper aerospace superiority fighters, there was little point in a vidcon feed.
Prescott simply nodded at Dubashi, followed shortly thereafter by the familiar chime indicating that an active comm channel had been established.
“Good evening, gentlemen. Thank you very much for your help so far. That was some nice shooting. I assume you saw the Flash message from Admiral Patterson?”
“Thank you, Captain Prescott, and a good evening to you as well,” Zhukov replied. “Yes, we did. We were discussing very nearly the same thing right before we received the admiral’s message. We took a look at Commander Reynolds analysis of the Resistance ships’ aft shield vulnerability. From what we have seen thus far, Bravo 1 seems to have a significantly smaller gap between her shields and engine nozzles than the cruisers do. I am afraid she is going to be a tough nut to crack. Commander Waffer’s flight is repositioning now to get a better view of her drive section.”
“Well, that’s not good news, but also not unexpected. We noted that Admiral Naftur’s ship, the Gresav, has a smaller gap as well. So it seems like this is a vulnerability they have been working hard to overcome in their newer ship designs. In any event, the admiral’s orders are straightforward. If hostilities resume, we are to capture or destroy the Baldev. Given what we know at the moment, I believe our strategy should be to finish off the cruisers first, starting with Charlie 2. It remains to be seen whether the two newer cruisers, Charlie 3 and 4, will reenter the fight, so do not fire on either of them until I designate them as hostiles. If that happens, we will target Charlie 4 first, then Charlie 3 before finally going after the Baldev herself. Based on Commander Takkar’s interaction with Admiral Naftur, I think there may still be a chance that the Hadeon will leave the area entirely. Either way, I want all three of those cruisers out of the fight as quickly as possible. So if you see me designate one as a hostile, don’t hesitate to hit them hard and fast.”
“And what about the ‘grav beam’ that Admiral Naftur mentioned?” Reynolds asked.
“I’m not sure there is much we can do to address it since we have no idea what the weapon even does,” Prescott replied. “We could speculate that it induces some kind of sheer forces when it comes into contact with a ship’s hull, but that’s just a guess. We also have no idea of the weapon’s range or its effectiveness against our shields. So, for now at least, I’m going to say that we should keep it in mind, but we can’t plan for something we know nothing about.”
“Captain,” Lieutenant Commander Schmidt announced from the Tactical 1 console, “all three cruisers just changed course, sir. Charlie 2 and 3 appear to be taking up flanking positions, and Charlie 4 has turned back in this direction and is accelerating.”
“Have they concluded their rescue operation?”
“Looks like it, sir. They had several shuttles ferrying survivors and equipment back and forth. All of them have now returned to either Charlie 2 or Charlie 3.”
“Understood. Go ahead and slave the AIs from six of our Hunters to Captain Zhukov and Commander Waffer’s fighters. Let me know immediately if anything else changes.”
“Aye, sir.”
Outside, two groups of six RPSVs disappeared in small flashes of grayish-white light, immediately reappearing in extended formation with each flight of twelve F-373 fighters. On the right side of Theseus’ view screen, the tactical plot momentarily displayed all twelve Hunters as if they were operating in autonomous attack mode. Seconds later, the text block accompanying their icons merged with that of the Reapers as the two lead pilots’ neural interfaces seamlessly took command of the additional spacecraft.
“Alright, Badger 1 and Badger 2 Flights,” Prescott continued, “you two have the Hunters. Once you are in position, I’m going to hail the Baldev and let Captain Yagani know that I am willing to accept either his cooperation or his surrender.”
“That wasn’t at all what I was expecting you to say,” Reynolds said with a nervous smile.
“Good. Hopefully Captain Yagani will have the same reaction. If he’s hoping for reinforcements, there’s no question that he will be less confident prior to their arrival — particularly after we just bested four of their cruisers. If they do open fire first, expect Theseus to C-Jump away and reposition for an attack on Charlie 2. If you find yourselves under heavy fire, I suggest you do the same. We may well be outgunned here, but if we use a combination of tactical C-Jumps and our shields to their full advantage, we should be able to wear them down and gain the upper hand. Does anyone have any questions?”
“I do not think so, Captain,” Zhukov responded. “Please give us a couple of minutes to reposition. If you like, our AIs can relay the most critical of our tactical comm calls during the battle. This will allow you to hear when we arrive at designated locations, fire weapons, etcetera.”
“Perfect, please set that up for us. Good hunting, Badger flights. Prescott out.”
Suddenly feeling a little claustrophobic at being strapped in his command chair, Prescott released his restraints and stood. “Ambassador Turlaka, this young
man will see you back to the medical bay,” he said, turning to gesture towards the Marine sentry near the aft bridge entrance. “There are adjacent sleeping quarters available for medical staff that utilize the same environmental systems as the operating room, so you can rest without the need for restraints. I’m sure you will also want to keep close tabs on Admiral Naftur.”
Nenir opened her mouth as if she were about to protest being dismissed in this manner, but the look on Prescott’s face made it clear that his words, while phrased as a courteous invitation, were intended to ensure that she would not be present on the bridge to witness another battle with warships from her own world. “Thank you, Captain Prescott,” she replied graciously as she rose from her chair. “I really could use some rest at this point.” Without further comment, she headed in the direction of the Marine sentry and quickly left the bridge.
Reynolds glanced at her captain under raised eyebrows and simply nodded.
“I’m afraid this time we may not have the option of showing the restraint we displayed during the first engagement,” he said by way of reply.
“Badger 1 ready … Badger 2 ready,” came the terse, tactical comm calls from the two flights of fighters over the bridge speakers.
“Captain,” Lieutenant Dubashi reported, turning to look at Prescott with an impish grin, “Badger 1 and Badger 2 Flights report that they are in position.”
“I heard. Thank you, Lieutenant,” he smiled. “As long as the AI is relaying their tactical comm, you need not repeat their calls unless you think we missed something important. Please go ahead and hail the Baldev.”
“Aye, sir, hailing.”
After a short delay, Captain Ditanu Yagani appeared in the center of the bridge view screen.
“Hello, Captain Prescott,” he said, wearing a confident smile. “Commander Takkar of the Hadeon speaks highly of you, so I am pleased to have the opportunity to meet you myself.”
“Thank you, Captain Yagani. I’m sure his enthusiasm has more to do with his conversation with Admiral Naftur. I regret that our two surgeons have since insisted that he return to the medical bay to rest, but I am confident he will want to speak with you as soon as he is able to do so.”
“I had the honor of meeting the esteemed admiral once before, but I doubt he would remember me. In any event, I am sure you have contacted me at this time so that we can arrange a peaceful and mutually beneficial end to this confrontation. Let me say from the outset that I appreciate the fact that you showed remarkable restraint in dealing with Commander Takkar and in allowing our rescue teams to evacuate the damaged cruiser Babayev. At this point, however, I hope you will agree that the Baldev’s arrival has shifted the balance of power in our favor. Accordingly, I would like to propose a simple end to hostilities at this point. You have my word of honor that you and your crew will be treated with the utmost respect and provided with the same accommodations as our own personnel. Come, Captain Prescott, we have both been busily positioning our forces in preparation for further combat, but there is no need for any additional bloodshed on either side.”
Prescott breathed in deeply and commanded himself to respond with as calm a demeanor as possible. “Look,” he began in an almost sympathetic tone, “I have only recently had the opportunity to get acquainted with your species, and I don’t mind telling you that I already consider the first two Wek that I met to be good friends. I’m confident Admiral Naftur will tell you the same — as evidenced by the fact that he very nearly sacrificed his own life to save one of our officers. I believe the reason our people seem to have a natural affinity for each other is very simple — we have a lot in common and share many of the same values. And since I know that to be true, I don’t believe for one second that you would ever see surrender as a viable option if our roles were reversed. We are here defending our homeworld, Ditanu, so you know that I must decline your offer. Having said that, Admiral Naftur will also tell you, as he told Commander Takkar earlier, that we are not your enemy. I agree wholeheartedly that additional bloodshed is unnecessary. Let us both stand down here and now, prevent the Resistance attack on Earth, and then address the Pelaran threat together.”
Yagani stared at Prescott for a long moment, appearing to be giving serious consideration to his proposal. Ultimately, his face seemed to cloud as if he had encountered some unassailable obstacle that prevented further progress along this line of thought.
“Under different circumstances, I might well be inclined to agree with your proposal, Captain, but today my duty obliges me to take a different path. Know that I take no pleasure in this course of action, but I must insist that you surrender your vessel or be destroyed. Since we were operating under a flag of truce, I will allow you a period of two minutes to reposition your vessel or to withdraw completely if that is your choice.”
“I am saddened to hear it, Captain. We are acting in self-defense, so a withdrawal is not an option for us. If, at any point during our engagement, you reconsider and decide that you would like to either surrender or cooperate, my offer will remain open.”
“As will mine, sir. Yagani out.”
“Tactical, range to the Baldev, please,” Prescott said. With the decision made, his voice had taken on a much harder edge than during his conversation with Captain Yagani.
“Just over three hundred thousand kilometers, sir,” Lieutenant Lau responded.
“Helm, you have two minutes to double that distance and put us in a position to either C-Jump clear or attack Charlie 2. Sublight engines only, please.”
“Aye, sir.”
In a display intended to give the much less maneuverable Resistance warships pause, Ensign Fisher increased Theseus’ engines to maximum power — heading initially in the direction of the Baldev before gracefully rolling the ship inverted relative to her former flight path and executing a tight Split S turn to head in the opposite direction. Throughout the maneuver, her remaining twelve Hunter RPSVs maintained perfect formation in two groups posted slightly below and to either side of her flight path. The ship accelerated steadily away from the enemy vessels until reaching nearly five percent the speed of light, then reversed thrust — her massive sublight engines providing a smooth deceleration to arrive at her chosen destination well before Captain Yagani’s two-minute warning had expired. The impressive demonstration of the destroyer’s power sent the clearest possible message to the enemy vessels — the Terrans came prepared to fight.
Chapter 3
TFS Philippine Sea, Earth Orbit
(Primary Flight Control)
“Attention on the hangar deck, this is the Air Boss. Stand by for a twenty-four-spacecraft launch event. This will be a rapid-turn, simultaneous launch utilizing all eight elevators — one F-373 per elevator, eight ships per cycle, and three launch cycles. Spacecraft-handling officers report readiness and expect a green deck in zero three minutes.”
As remarkable as it seemed for a single carrier to be performing at a reasonable level of efficiency during only her second day in space, flight operations were progressing without a hitch on both of TFC’s most recently launched Jutland-class carriers. So far at least, there had been no serious equipment failures, and it also appeared that neither the Philippine Sea nor the Ushant suffered from the same installation problem that had rendered the lead carrier’s two largest spacecraft elevators inoperative.
With the first cycle of the launch event now imminent, automated warning announcements from Philippine Sea’s AI echoed throughout the hangar deck: “Attention … launch event commencing. Clear elevators one through four and elevators five through eight for immediate departure. Lift operation in six zero seconds.” On the floor of the hangar deck, eight “bear” spacecraft directors stood poised next to their respective elevator platforms with one arm in the air to indicate that their area was clear and safe for lift operation. On each elevator, the pilots of the first eight Reapers (closely monitored by their onboard AIs, of course) quickly ran through their final pre-launch checklists — ensuring that
their reactors, engines, weapons, and flight systems were fully online and prepared for combat. All twenty-four of the fighters departing from the Philippine Sea had been configured for a heavy anti-ship strike. Accordingly, every weapons station on the spacecraft capable of mounting a missile had been utilized. In addition to their dorsal and ventral railgun turrets, each fighter carried a payload of six HB-7c missiles within their internal weapons bays and another eight on pylons beneath their wings.
“Attention, launch event initiated. Lift operation in five … four … three … two … one … mark,” the ship’s AI announced. “Stand by for launch cycle two, commencing in three zero seconds.”
All eight of the carrier’s flight elevators rose simultaneously until each platform’s surface was flush with the flight deck. Less than two seconds later, after a final confirmation check of each fighter’s primary systems, the carrier’s AI granted autonomous control to each individual spacecraft. Each Reaper’s onboard AI then took an additional few seconds to run their own final set of pre-launch systems checks before signaling their pilots that they were cleared for launch. Scanning the area around their fighters with synthetically enhanced vision, each pilot then released the clamps holding them in place. On a final signal from their flight lead, all eight spacecraft rose simultaneously from the flight deck before rotating in place and heading off to a nearby assembly area to await the remaining members of their squadron.
Ninety-four thousand kilometers away, on the opposite side of the planet, an identical scene played out above the flight deck of the carrier Ushant. Less than ten minutes after the launch event began, a total of forty-eight F-373 Reaper aerospace superiority fighters synchronized their departure vectors and made final preparations for their C-Jump to Location Dagger.
TFS Navajo, Earth-Sun Lagrange Point 2
(Combat Information Center - 1.5x106 km from Earth)
“All forty-eight fighters are formed up and ready for C-Jump on your mark, Admiral,” Captain Davis reported. “Once they arrive, the squadron from the Philippine Sea will merge with Badger 1 Flight under Captain Zhukov. The ones from the Ushant will become part of Badger 2 Flight under Commander Waffer.”
