by Tori Harris
During his efforts to match the BD cruiser’s movements, Ensign Fisher had been “hand flying” the ship. In this configuration, Theseus’ AI, while never completely relinquishing control to its helmsman, took slightly longer to augment Human control inputs or, when necessary, to override potentially dangerous commands. With the destroyer operating in such close proximity to its target, the loss of the Keturah’s main engines, followed immediately by her application of full reverse thrust, created a situation that was not anticipated — either by Theseus’ young helmsman or her AI.
“Holy shit!” Fisher swore as he instantly reacted to force his ship’s bow below the Keturah’s heavily damaged drive section.
“Seven more missiles destroyed!” Lieutenant Lee shouted. “Two remaining —”
“All hands brace for contact!” Prescott interrupted — immediately repeated by the AI throughout the ship.
Nimble though she was for a warship of nearly five hundred thousand metric tons, Theseus’ Cannae thrusters pushed her massive bulk downward at an agonizingly slow pace as the ship closed the remaining distance to the rapidly decelerating Keturah. Once the gap between the two warships had narrowed to only fourteen hundred meters, the destroyer’s gravitic shields began interacting with the hull of the cruiser in exactly the same manner that it normally handled incoming kinetic energy rounds or missiles. While incapable of preventing a collision between the two vessels, the field strength at the point of closest approach quickly increased until reaching the maximum power handling capabilities of the system’s gravitic emitters. As Theseus’ AI violently shifted the grav fields to induce destructive shear forces all along the Keturah’s hull, the most significant result was the utter destruction of nearly all devices protruding above the surface — most notably shield and beam emitter emplacements — immediately collapsing what remained of the cruiser’s aft shields. When physical contact finally did occur between the two ships, the impact itself was brief but still quite violent. The top of Theseus’ hull just forward of amidships struck a glancing blow against the outermost ventral surface of the Keturah’s drive section, crushing the cruiser’s two remaining sublight engine nozzles. Surprisingly, other than carving an impressively long but somewhat superficial gouge out of her dorsal surface’s armor plating, the destroyer managed to escape the encounter with no additional damage.
Just as the two ships began to ease slowly apart, the two remaining anti-ship missiles fired by the Baldev reached the point where they began interacting with Theseus’ aft gravitic shields. The body of the first missile was instantly distorted beyond recognition, resulting in a violent explosion of the weapon’s propellant and oxidizer mixture so energetic that its warhead never received an instruction to detonate from the onboard processor. The second and final missile approached Theseus’ stern with a slightly upward trajectory relative to the ship’s longitudinal axis. As was the AI’s preference, gravitic distortions were placed along the missile’s flight path such that its trajectory was altered ever so slightly upward. Unable to react quickly enough to the unintended change of direction, the missile’s warhead was ordered to detonate in a last ditch attempt to inflict as much damage as possible to its target. Faithfully executing its final instruction, the warhead exploded in a massive nuclear fireball … twenty-three milliseconds after penetrating the Keturah’s drive section.
“Nuclear detonation close aboard, Captain!” Lieutenant Lau reported. “They hit Charlie 4! No additional inbound ordinance at this time.”
“Helm, get us away from that ship!” Prescott ordered. “Her reactors could go at any moment.”
“Aye, Captain,” Fisher replied, still generally amazed that they were still alive.
Designed to focus its powerful shaped charge of nuclear fire in a relatively small area, the anti-ship missile’s explosive power was insufficient to destroy a ship as large as the BD cruiser outright. Instead, the detonation occurred just as the warhead entered the ship’s engineering section, gutting the most critical of the warship’s internal spaces while exposing much of the rest to lethal radiation levels. The Keturah’s massive, forward-facing sublight engines immediately ceased operation, as did all of her key systems with the exception of emergency life support in the areas not already exposed to the hard vacuum of space.
SCS Gunov, Location Crossbow
(5.93x1011 km from Location Dagger)
Although Commodore Sarafi’s Resistance forces had been under standing orders to execute regular changes in speed and direction in an effort to avoid a “Before Light Arrival” attack from the Guardian spacecraft, the tactic proved completely ineffective against the Terrans and their hyperdrive-equipped missiles. Ironically, it had been Commodore Sarafi who provided the time needed for the Human warship, TFS Karna, to survey his entire assembly area with her passive sensor suite — supplying her powerful AI with all the data it needed to predict the locations of every Resistance vessel to within a few centimeters at the time of the attack. Sarafi’s order for evasive action, while faithfully executed, was far too late to save the bulk of his task force.
In a spectacle that eclipsed even the most ambitious science fiction movies ever produced by Hollywood, two hundred and fifty-nine HB-7c missiles transitioned from hyperspace inside the shields protecting their targets’ vulnerable drive sections — each one traveling at precisely the same speed as before its initial transition. An infinitesimal period of time later, all two hundred and fifty-nine — over ninety-five percent of the anti-ship missiles launched by the Human destroyers — found their marks. Most of the weapons simply exploded on impact, completely destroying all eight of the huge thrust chambers making up the externally visible portion of the cruisers’ sublight engines and wreaking catastrophic damage to their power generation and engineering spaces. It was the remaining one-third of the missiles, however, that caused by far the greatest damage. The warheads themselves were designed to act much like the kinetic energy penetrator rounds fired by Human railgun turrets. Their shape, composition, and tremendous speed now worked in concert to punch directly through to their targets’ “soft” internal spaces before detonating their compact antimatter warheads. In all but three cases, the series of internal explosions within what were essentially enormous pressure vessels resulted in complete structural failure — often accompanied by the spectacular visual effect of blast fronts passing through the warship’s hull to exit on the opposing side. The most dramatic effects, however, occurred in those ships whose emergency containment systems failed to prevent the large quantities of antimatter housed within their reactors from coming into contact with regular matter. Within the hearts of each of these warships, large-scale atomic-level annihilation events created spectacular flashes of light in the visible spectrum as the once-powerful vessels were blown apart from the inside at relativistic speeds.
Of the fifteen Shopak-class cruisers targeted, all but two were destroyed outright. Both of these were left helplessly adrift — without power and in need of immediate assistance to prevent the loss of all hands. The two Keturah-class battlespace defense cruisers fared slightly better, due in large part to improvements in their outer armor. Like the other two surviving cruisers, one of these was heavily damaged and adrift with only emergency power available. This left only one of the seventeen vessels attacked by the Human destroyers still in the fight. Purely by coincidence, she had been in the process of coming about — with her captain having ordered an increase in power and a turn to starboard — just as the attack began. Although she had still taken three hits, they had been glancing, off-axis blows that, while still doing minor damage to her drive section, had not penetrated the ship’s hull.
The devastation was on a scale never before experienced by Sajeth Collective forces … even during the protracted period of interstellar warfare that ultimately led to the formation of their alliance.
“Silence on the bridge!” Sarafi bellowed, the savage tone of his voice leaving little doubt of what would happen to the next member of the crew who dared to
speak out of turn. “Clearly, the Terrans’ first attack was highly effective — much more so than any of us had expected. But now I need each of you focused and executing your duties flawlessly. Do so, and we may yet prevail. Fail, and we will be lucky to survive, even with the advantages afforded us by the Gunov. Am I making myself clear?” There were muted grunts and growls of approval around the bridge in response.
Now, at last they have a real enemy and a reason to fight, he though grimly. “XO, hold your status report for a moment. Tactical, have the Terran vessels returned?”
“No, Commodore, not yet.”
“At least one of them will do so in order to assess the results of their initial attack. Comm, notify all ships that they are to hold their fire until they hear otherwise from the Flag. Tell the Rusalov-class battleships to stand by to launch all available fighters and prepare for a focused kinetics cannonade. For the remainder of this battle, the Gunov’s fire control AI will be designating targets and controlling their main guns. Also let them know that the Humans have hyperdrive-capable missiles accurate enough to transition inside our shields. The Rusalovs should activate their aft shield augmenters. All other ships should execute random evasive maneuvers per Annex-Three of the TACPLAN.”
“Aye, sir.”
“Now … I need a quick summary of our task force status, please,” he said, drawing in a deep breath and closing his eyes to clear his mind.
After a brief pause, Sarafi’s new XO, a steady, formidable Wek female called Ragini Freyda, spoke up. “Sir, based on the information we have thus far, thirteen of our Shopak-class cruisers have been completely destroyed. The two remaining standard cruisers are heavily damaged and requesting our immediate assistance.”
“That will, regretfully, have to wait for the time being. And what of our Keturah-class BD cruisers?”
“One of them is also requesting our aid. The other is reporting minor damage to her propulsion section, but she is still underway, able to maneuver, and her BD system is still operational.”
“Inform the captain of the remaining operational cruiser that he is to feign heavy damage. Make it look as if his ship is adrift without steerage way. I also want him to lower his shields and reduce his power output to the minimum required to operate the BD system. Tell him that I expect the Terran ships will launch a large number of the scout vessels we encountered at the original rally point as soon as they transition back into the area. From what we have seen, the scouts are not equipped with shields and are incapable of rapid hyperspace transitions. If that happens, he is to take control of all remaining energy weapons as well as the Carrada Area Denial System to execute his attack. He may only get one chance, so tell him I fully expect his ship to eliminate the enemy scout vessels completely, if possible. The Rusalovs are to delay launching their own fighters until after the BD cruiser has completed its attack, then scramble them as quickly as possible. Once on station, the fighters are to clean up any remaining enemy scout vessels and then assist in our larger attack on the Terran destroyers. Understood?”
“Yes, sir,” his XO responded, entering the necessary information at her Command workstation to relay Sarafi’s orders while wondering at the commodore’s newly found prescience. While not a bad officer per se compared to some she had had the misfortune of serving under, Sarafi had never struck her as particularly imaginative in his thinking. “Transmitting now.”
“Instruct the other two Gresav-class ships to form up with us. We will operate in support of each other and concentrate our firepower while directing that of the battleships.”
“Aye, sir.”
Sarafi sat back in his command chair momentarily while considering what else he might do to improve his odds against the Terran ships. How many more of my decisions this day will result in such an appalling loss of life? he asked himself. And how many of my own people am I willing to sacrifice for the sake of this mission?
In spite of the urgency of the current situation, another part of his mind strayed to the notion of how much better off his homeworld might be at the moment if they were allied with these Terrans rather than with the Damarans and their ilk. Their strategy thus far had been brazen — almost elegant in its simplicity — and yet there was certainly no arguing with the results they had achieved. Even after having suffered such grievous losses, however, Sarafi had confidence that he would regain the upper hand and exact a heavy toll against the Human ships. Nevertheless, he was forced to concede that Naftur might have been right about them all along. When required, they fought like a cornered Zakula, while at the same time being capable of offering compassion and mercy to a vanquished enemy. There were contradictions here — a great many of them in fact — and Sarafi once again promised himself that he would spend more time thinking through them for himself when time, circumstance, and duty allowed.
“Contact,” the tactical officer announced. “Same range as before, sir … just over six hundred thousand kilometers. The AI indicates that it is the same vessel that hailed us before, the Karna.”
“And she is hailing us again,” the comm officer announced.
“These Humans talk nearly as much as the damned Damarans,” Sarafi snarled, temporarily overcoming the rather bleak mood on the Gunov’s bridge and drawing a few muffled sounds of amusement in response. “We will indulge them once more to give our comrades a few additional moments to prepare, then we shall allow our weapons to speak on our behalf.” This time, there were more raucous sounds of approval from the bridge crew in response to their commodore’s defiant tone. He smiled with more enthusiasm than he felt at the moment, then allowed the room to settle before continuing. “Put the Terran captain back on the screen, please.”
Once again, Captain Abrams appeared on the forward display screen, this time wearing a decidedly somber expression considering the success of the Humans’ first attack.
“Hello again, Captain. I presume you are calling to offer us the opportunity to surrender?”
“Yes, I am, sir. I also want to assure you unequivocally that the destruction of your vessels that has occurred thus far need not lead to a wider conflict. We will make no apologies for defending our homeworld, but we also have no interest in seeing additional bloodshed on either side. I urge you to stand down and allow us to assist you with rescue operations. Once they have been concluded, we will provide whatever additional aid you require before escorting your remaining forces out of the area.”
Sarafi stared broodingly at the Human captain for a moment, unsure what to make of his seemingly sincere offer. “I am afraid my response is unchanged, Captain Abrams. I, too, am here to defend my homeworld, as well as the six others that are part of our alliance. I must also caution you of the dangers associated with becoming overconfident in ships and their weapon systems to such an extent that you underestimate your opponent’s leadership. Now that I have seen your ‘trick,’” Sarafi paused, staring at Abrams through narrowed eyes, “I can assure you that it will no longer avail you. So, once again, I am obligated to extend you the same offer … which you will, of course, decline. Let us put a stop to all of this unnecessary chatter and settle this like warriors, rather than bootlicking diplomats.”
“As you wish,” the scowling Human captain responded curtly. “Abrams out.”
“Sir,” the tactical officer reported, “our other two destroyers have formed up to port and starboard and slightly aft of our current position. Also, the Terran vessel has transitioned to hyperspace again.”
“Understood. Comm, warn the other two destroyers that we are getting underway and that they should expect repeated Annex-Three type maneuvers. Helm, in thirty seconds, begin a smooth acceleration to our best maneuvering speed. Make your first relative bearing three five zero, up forty-five on the bow. Once you see that our sister ships are maintaining their positions, begin your evasive maneuver series. Inform me immediately if they are unable to stay in formation.”
“Aye, sir.”
“Commodore, during the first Terran attack,
all seventeen of their ships were coplanar,” Freyda observed.
“They were indeed. As were ours, for the most part,” Sarafi responded, pleased that his young protégé had noticed not only the manner in which their enemies had executed their attack, but also his response to it. “I am uncertain that we can depend on their doing the same thing again, but they are new at this game, are they not?”
“That is certainly our assumption, yes, sir,” she replied, smiling conspiratorially.
“With any luck, however, the success of their first attack may encourage them to make somewhat more of a bold stroke when they return. Everything I have seen so far leads me to believe that their hyperdrive missiles require stationary, or at least predictable, targets. I just explicitly told them, as if they did not already know, that we will not fall prey to another of their hyperdrive missile attacks. I am sure Captain Abrams and his ship’s AI also noted several of the changes we have already put into motion to prevent them from using that particular type of attack again.”
“So you believe they might reenter the battle using a similar formation, but attack in a different manner?” she asked.
“I think they will have little choice but to close with our vessels and fight it out. Executing what amounts to a sneak attack using their missiles is one thing, but attacking a group of warships that are completely out of their class is quite another. So, I intend to put the three vessels we have remaining that are most nearly their match at the center of the battlespace … and above the plane of their previous attack. That will also place us almost directly over our surviving BD cruiser and very nearly equidistant from all six of our Rusalov battleships around the perimeter.”
“There are no warships in our inventory whose shields can withstand an attack from three Gresav-class destroyers simultaneously,” Freyda observed, proudly “not even the new Baldevs.”
“If our computer models are to be believed, that is certainly true,” Sarafi smiled.
