Time Commander (The First Admiral Series)

by Benning, William J.

  Like a great torrent, they swept forward to hunt down the impudent Alliance Eagles amongst the warren of lanes and alleyways made up by Ganthoran warships. The Alliance Eagle attack wings, having broken down into the traditional ten fighter squadrons, met the great onrushing swarm of Ganthoran Axe-Blades head-on. As with most fighter-on-fighter conflicts, the first few moments were vitally important. Both the Alliance Eagles and Ganthoran Axe-Blades opened fire at frighteningly short range. The rapid-fire of the Alliance Eagles’ pulsar-cannon tore great gaps in the ranks of the onrushing Axe-Blades, whilst the Ganthorans also scored hundreds of devastating hits on the Eagles. Out in the depths of space, the battle that was about to rage around the hulls of the Ganthoran Cruisers and Destroyers began like a fireworks salute. As if hundreds of rockets had been fired into the night sky, the destruction of hundreds of Eagle fighters and thousands of Axe-Blades heralded the start of the battle.

  Like a myriad of tiny stars twinkling in the night sky, the initial contact of the fighter pilots was marked by thousands of deep red exploding death blooms in front of the Ganthoran Cruisers and “Six Cigar” Carriers. The Ganthoran Destroyers had been ordered to hold station and provide as much of an obstruction as possible for the Alliance pilots. The bigger and less manoeuvrable Destroyer would fare much better as a static weapons platform rather than as a large fighter craft.

  The Eagles and Axe-Blades, having survived the volleys of weapons fire from the initial impact, rapidly descended into the free-for-all dog fight.

  Aboard the Aquarius, Billy Caudwell could see on the three-dimensional War Table image that the fighter battle would rapidly degenerate into the thousands of small personal battles for survival. It would be everyone for themselves out there amongst the hulls of the Ganthoran warships.

  The individual Eagle pilots scattered in every conceivable direction from the initial contact point, to be rapidly pursued and hunted by several Ganthoran Axe-Blade fighters. Down every lane, channel and alleyway between Ganthoran warships, the Alliance Eagles raced away, followed by Ganthoran Axe-Blades.

  Like water flowing through a series of irrigation ditches, the battle between the fighters seemed to fill every available space in the front ranks of the Ganthoran formation. Alliance Eagles would dart and weave violently to avoid the weapons fire of both pursuing Axe-Blades and also the self-defence fire of the static Destroyers. It was a murderous path for the Alliance Eagles to follow. The support from their Star Cruisers was beyond them deep in the heart of the Ganthoran formation. The Star Destroyer could continue to terrorise the flanks of the Ganthoran formation, but that was of little use to the Eagles.

  Watching from the War Table aboard Aquarius, Billy Caudwell could see the running battles between the Eagles and the Axe-Blades. In his heart of hearts, he knew that there would only be one outcome for the massively-outnumbered Eagles. Whilst, in the darkened War Room, the Staff Officers no longer stamped in appreciation of Parbe’an’s skill and daring. The Eagle losses had been rapidly mounting during the hunt between the Ganthoran warships, and now there was no cause for celebration.

  “How long until we initiate Trion Drive?” Billy asked.

  “Another eight minutes, sir.”

  It was an answer Billy Caudwell did not want to hear. He wanted to be at the battle site giving support to the Eagle pilots who were currently fighting for their lives amidst the Ganthoran formations. Time and again, he watched some brave Eagle pilot being pursued through the twisting alleyways of the Ganthoran formation. As the pilots flew magnificently through the great metal jungle of Ganthoran warships, they would strafe the larger vessels, causing bursts of flame and metal to burst out from the hulls. They would engage the dozens of Axe-Blades pursuing them in the snarling, scratching, uneven fight. Sometimes, the Eagle would succeed in knocking down large numbers of the Ganthoran fighters, but eventually, the sheer weight of numbers would tell, and one of the Ganthorans would get a direct hit on the Eagle.

  One Eagle pilot had been especially successful, and had brought down a Ganthoran Cruiser. The pilot had been pursued by over twenty Axe-Blades through the alleyways of Ganthoran warships. With amazing courage and skill, the Eagle pilot had strafed a group of Axe-Blades who were pursuing another Eagle. His burst of pulsar-cannon fire had dispatched three Ganthoran fighters from the group, giving his comrade a few moments of breathing space. Then, with breathtaking audacity the pilot had set his own course for a Ganthoran Cruiser. With waves of Screaming Death snapping at his heels, and over twenty Axe Blades trying to destroy him, the brave Eagle pilot strafed the side of the Cruiser, and overflew the massive beast.

  Having over flown the Cruiser, the Eagle pilot swerved around to attack the Cruiser from the front.

  Running the gauntlet of weapons fire from the Cruiser, several surrounding Destroyers and the pursuing posse of Axe-Blades, the Eagle pilot sent a huge burst of rapid-fire pulsar-bolts, from all six of his cannon into the front of the Cruiser. Whether by accident or design, the Eagle pilot managed to hit the open-mouth vent at the front of the massive Cruiser. The pulsar-bolts had then raked through the fragile and vulnerable fans that generated the electro-magnetic drive of the Cruiser. The direct hits on the fans quickly de-stabilised the entire drive system. Compartment by compartment, the Cruiser began to disintegrate and explode. Flying down the length of the stricken Cruiser, the pilot managed to keep his Eagle just ahead of the exploding compartments as they detonated. The pursuing Axe-Blades, however, were not as fortunate, or skilful, as the gallant Alliance pilot. Most of them were caught in the explosions of the dying Cruiser.

  With a great triumphant victory roll, the Alliance Eagle emerged from the devastating run over the hull of the Cruiser just moments before the warship erupted in one last, huge destructive convulsion. Ganthoran and Alliance vessels in the vicinity were either destroyed or scattered like a child’s toys in the face of the avalanche of debris. With that act of unimaginable bravery and ambition, the Eagle pilot vanished back into the melee of battle. The battle computers would have recorded the pilot’s exploits and, if he survived, he would be decorated for bravery.

  However, the astonishing courage of the Eagle pilot was simply a morale-boosting and amusing distraction for First Admiral Billy Caudwell. As the brave Eagle pilot disappeared back into the fray to join his hard-pressed comrades, Billy noticed a further tactical development in the three-dimensional image of the War Table.

  Whilst the Eagle pilots were being hunted down through the Ganthoran formation, the Ganthoran General was starting to deploy his forces after the initial shock of the Alliance attack. The General had lost patience with the annoying Eagle fighters snapping at his formation from within. He had come to conquer the surrounding Star Systems, not get embroiled and tied up in a minor skirmish with a few thousand impudent single-seat fighters.

  For the Ganthoran General, it was time to move on from this distraction to the main purpose of the invasion. The Ganthoran Cruisers, Destroyers and Axe-Blades had been mauled by the Alliance Eagles, but they could afford that level of losses. The Ganthoran military had no qualms about sacrificing large numbers of personnel to achieve a particular objective. It was now time for the Ganthoran General to cut his losses in Cruisers and Destroyers. There was enough wreckage and debris to provide the remaining Axe-Blades with a happy hunting ground to finish off the Alliance fighters. It was now time to start dealing with the formation of larger Alliance warships that stood between them and the Tergus Star System.

  On the War Table image, Billy Caudwell could see the deployment taking shape. The Destroyers and Cruisers to the rear of the Ganthoran formation moved forward. They circled past the continuing fight with the Alliance Eagles and began to take up station to the front of the formation. Meanwhile, the Cruisers and Destroyers that had originally been stationed directly in front of the “Six-Cigar” Carriers began to withdraw to form a defensive screen around the Carriers.

  The Cruisers and Destroyers forming the backdrop to the fighter-on-
fighter battle were also being withdrawn. The Eagles and Axe-Blades would be settling their differences in the great jungle of debris and disabled Ganthoran warships. Like a single-cell organism under the scrutinising lens of the microscope, the Ganthoran formation split smoothly and neatly, not into two parts as Billy Caudwell had hoped, but three.

  “How long until Trion Drive?” Billy asked.

  “Four minutes, sir.”

  Doing the math in his head, Billy worked out: four minutes to Trion Drive, then a further two minutes to regroup First Fleet, then, perhaps, another three minutes to reach Third Fleet’s position and another four or five minutes to launch Eagles and mass them for an attack. All told, Billy estimated that it would be around another fifteen minutes until First Fleet was able to make any significant impact on the battle unfolding on his War Table before him. Fifteen minutes was a long time for Third Fleet’s surviving Eagles to hold out in the cramped passageways between the towering Ganthoran warship hulls.

  Every minute that those Eagles could buy would keep the Ganthorans away from the vulnerable larger ships of Third Fleet’s defensive formation. Slowly, the Ganthoran formation seemed to be dividing into three distinct parts. On the War Table’s three-dimensional image, a large group of Cruisers and Destroyers were gathering in front of the Ganthoran position to make an attack on Third Fleet. Admiral Parbe’an would, no doubt, also be monitoring this particular development closely. In the ruined centre of the Ganthoran formation, the Alliance Eagles were fighting the desperate battle for survival against the hordes of Axe-Blade fighters.

  However, it was the developments around the Ganthoran “Six-Cigar” Carriers that drew Billy Caudwell’s attention next. Having split up the large vessels in the invasion force, the Ganthoran General was now pulling back Axe-Blade fighters to form part of the defensive screen around his Carriers. Having damaged or destroyed almost a quarter of the attacking Eagle force, the Ganthoran General seemed confident enough to consider that the main threat from the Alliance Eagles had been contained. For the loss of over one thousand Eagle fighters, the Ganthorans had lost ten times that number of Axe-Blades.

  This new development presented Billy with a whole new set of circumstances. The Ganthoran General was completely unaware that another Alliance Fleet was less than thirty minutes away from joining the battle against him. With the Alliance Eagles apparently contained and with a large force developing to his front to attack the rest of Third Fleet, he was feeling confident enough to leave his Carriers slightly more vulnerable. Looking at the defensive screen around the “Six-Cigar” Carriers, Billy could see five Cruisers, a dozen Destroyers, and around two thousand Axe-Blades. It was still an impressive defensive screen, but Billy Caudwell was sure that they could not fend off a large force of Alliance Eagles.

  In his mind, Billy Caudwell began to work out the permutations for a full-scale Eagle attack on the Ganthoran Carriers. There were still, however, too many variables for him to consider at such an early moment in the battle; however,the germ of an idea was already forming in his mind.

  On the three-dimensional War Table image, Billy could see over two hundred Cruisers and five hundred Destroyers forming up. More importantly, Billy also saw the twenty-five thousand Axe-Blades that the Ganthoran General was about to commit against the Third Fleet formation.

  Working on the correct assumption that Admiral Parbe’an had committed all of his single-seat fighters to the first attack, the Ganthoran General was using one of the fundamental maxims of aerial warfare. The Ganthoran General was following the universal maxim, that if you have a fixed defensive position to attack that does not have fighter cover, then you deploy your own fighters to soften up the defences. When the defences are sufficiently weakened, you send in the heavy bombers to finish it off. Admiral Parbe’an was well aware of that particular maxim, and had deployed full Force Shielding all along his front.

  Watching both the War Table image and the Timekeeper numerals at the side of it, Billy Caudwell was aware that it was just over two minutes until the Alliance First Fleet would be able to use the Trion Drive to reach Third Fleet. Already in the Engine Rooms of the First Fleet’s warships, the huge amount of power required to initiate Trion Drive was being drawn from the Proto-Star reactors. In a few minutes, the Trion Drives would be generating the massively energy-expensive Trion Fields that would blanket the entire warship. With the correct Trion frequency generated, the ship would slide effortlessly into the Trionic Web. Less than a heartbeat later, it would emerge just as smoothly and effortlessly at the new location.

  For that split second, when the Aquarius was in the Trionic Web, Billy knew that he would lose the image on his War Table. Already, he could hear the soft, steady drone of the Star Cruisers’ engines increasing in pitch and volume to indicate that the energy build up for the Trionic Web was taking place. At one minute before the Trion Drives were engaged, Billy took one last look at the three-dimensional War Table image. The huge demand for power from the Trion Drive required that non-essential systems were to be shut down for the energy-hungry mechanism.

  Looking at the image, Billy recognised that the fate of the battle was very much still in the balance. The Ganthorans had contained the first Eagle attack, and were still trying to hunt down and destroy the Alliance single seat fighters with their own Axe-Blade fighters. Over half of the original contingent of Eagles had now perished in the running battles between the looming and oppressive shattered hulks of the Ganthoran warships. Despite the losses, the Eagles were still fighting. The Ganthoran losses had been appalling; almost thirty thousand of their Axe-Blades had been crippled or destroyed.

  In containing the fighter-on-fighter battle, the Ganthorans had, in Billy’s eyes, weakened the defensive perimeter around their Carriers. A more vulnerable Carrier formation was exactly what Billy Caudwell wanted, but he needed the Ganthorans to keep their Carriers vulnerable long enough for the Alliance to deal with them. For that, Third Fleet had to hold out as long as possible. With a large Ganthoran formation about to attack the main body of Third Fleet, the odds of that eventuality were starting to lengthen considerably. It was a large Ganthoran attack formation, and, to the untrained eye, the attackers should be able to sweep forward and brush the impudent defensive line away with considerable ease. Admiral Parbe’an would, no doubt, have other plans in mind for this large scale attack.

  Billy Caudwell had promised Admiral Parbe’an that First Fleet would move to support Third Fleet. True to his word, he was moving First Fleet to the battle area. But the doubt still gnawed at Billy’s mind as he stared at the War Table image.

  Was it going to be in time?

  Chapter 5: The Caudwell Home, Planet Earth

  The dark coloured car drew up smartly at the front door of the Caudwell house.

  “There you go, sir,” the driver said.

  Having opened the door for his fare, the driver sprang with the same agility to open the boot at the rear of the cab an extract the heavy suitcase. Setting the heavy brown leather suitcase on the doorstep, he claimed his fare of over three pounds. The traveller handed over a nice crisp new ten pound note, thanked him for his help, and told him to keep the change. With a broad beaming smile, the driver thanked the traveller, clambered back into his cab and drove off as quickly as he decently could. With almost seven pounds as a tip in his pocket, he wanted to be away from here before the traveller changed his mind.

  And, as the cab drove off down the winding driveway, John Caudwell stood on the doorstep of his home. He was glad that the trip to London was over, and that his business successfully concluded. It was a large house, set within three acres of its own grounds. To the front of the house was a large ornamental garden, complete with a fish pond and fountain. On either side of the house, large paddocks stood witness to the stables that had long since been torn down to build the extension to the rear of the house. He wasn’t particularly fond of the house, and with the money in his new bank account, he would be purchasing something bigger and more
in keeping with his wealth and new business needs. If Elizabeth wanted to keep this place as a second home, or for her writing, then she was entirely welcome to it. John had plans, and he was going to need a much bigger property for his new workshops alone.

  Looking at the stone façade of the building, it reminded John more of a fortress than a home. With grey stone walls over a metre thick, it kept the heat inside in the winter, but became a sauna in the summer. The four large double-glazed windows on the first floor would not help matters, either.

  Opening the door slowly and gently, John announced his arrival to anyone who was home. That, he expected, would be Elizabeth. Billy was still at that hideously expensive private school up in the Highlands toughening up. Having announced his arrival, John lugged the heavy suitcase over the threshold of the door and retrieved the two boxed gifts he had brought from London. Hearing no response to his original announcement, he set the gifts on the reception table to the right of the door, and pushed the door closed with his foot.

  With a contract worth over fourteen million pounds in his pocket, John wanted to celebrate. Normally he would have phoned ahead from Carlisle; the last station he changed trains at, but today he had such good news that he wanted to surprise Elizabeth. He wanted to see her eyes widen and her face light up with delight when she read the financial settlement clauses of the contract. He wanted to hear her squeals of delight; to see her long, fiery-red hair catching the light like finely-spun gold, bouncing as she danced for joy around the living room. He wanted to hear her inane, pointless babble of what she would do with their newly-earned wealth. Most of all, he wanted to hold her in his arms, and tell her that the hard times that they had struggled through in the past were now over. They were a dim and distant memory, because now they had more money than they could ever dream of.