The Black Sheep (A Learning Experience Book 3)

by Christopher Nuttall

  And they don’t have anything to attack or defend here, he thought. They can just jump into FTL and run if the battle goes against them.

  He passed command to Lieutenant Fraser, then headed to his tiny cabin for a shower and a rest. Nothing had changed by the time he awoke, although long-range sensors reported two more squadrons of enemy battleships entering the system. He took another shower, feeling grimy after sleeping in his shipsuit, then walked back onto the bridge. Lieutenant Octavo joined him a moment later, looking disgustingly rested. Thomas had no idea how he did it.

  And the Captain probably mastered the same trick years ago, he thought. It wouldn't be easy to return to being a mere ensign again, not when he’d held command of a courier boat and then a patrol boat. I don’t know how she does it.

  “Sir,” Lieutenant Octavo said, once the enemy newcomers had arrived. “They’re altering their formation. I think they’re readying themselves to depart.”

  Thomas studied the display, then nodded in agreement. The Druavrok ships didn't have the practiced skill of a human fleet, or the endless perfection of a Tokomak formation, but there was no mistaking their intentions. They were definitely preparing to move. He checked the star chart, hastily calculating possible vectors. They might be intending to simply change course once they were out of detection range - a trick the Solar Union had used a hundred times - but assuming they wanted a least-time course there were still seven possible targets, including both Amstar and Martina.

  “Keep us well clear,” he ordered, as the enemy completed their formation. It looked as though ‘hurry up and wait’ was part of their lexicon too. “Give me a tracking coordinate as soon as we have one.”

  “It won’t be reliable, sir,” Lieutenant Octavo said. “They could change course ...”

  “I know,” Thomas said. “Just give me what you have ...”

  He broke off as the enemy dropped into FTL, moving in a surprisingly tight formation. They must have learned it from the Tokomak, he considered, as the computers hastily updated their predictions. There could be no mistake. The Druavroks were heading directly for Martina, loaded for bear.

  “Martina, sir,” Lieutenant Octavo said. “They’ll be entering the system within fourteen days.”

  Unless they change course, Thomas thought. But Martina made sense. Destroying the naval base would be annoying; occupying the gravity points would cut Captain Stuart off from Sol once and for all. They must know where we come from.

  “Set course for Amstar,” he ordered. The Grand Fleet had to be alerted. If the timing worked out, they might just reach Martina in time to trap the Druavroks against the planet. “Power up the drive and jump us into FTL as soon as possible.”

  “Aye, sir,” Lieutenant Octavo said.

  Thomas let out a long breath. Two hundred battleships was hardly a small force, but the Druavroks had had to call in ships from all over the sector to assemble it. If intelligence was correct, they were scraping the barrel for reinforcements ...

  ... And if that’s true, he told himself, the next battle might be the last.

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  The President of the United States, who assumed the position after the coup, has formally rejected the call for a new Constitutional Convention and full and free elections. In a speech before a very tame Congress, the President decried the neo-fascist state government of Texas and insisted that the federal government would take all necessary steps to bring the Texans to heel.

  -Solar News Network, Year 54

  “That’s clever of them,” Captain Ryman observed. “Sending that fleet to Martina forces our hand. We have to go to Martina ...”

  Hoshiko shook her head, watching the recordings for the fifth time. If she’d needed proof that the Druavroks were far from idiots - even if they were aliens - it was right in front of her, surrounded by glowing icons. The Druavroks might not be able to beat the Grand Fleet, but luring it into a deep-space engagement would give them their best chance at victory. Or, if she was wrong and they had no intention of offering battle, they’d detect the Grand Fleet hurrying towards Martina and beat a hasty retreat. There was no time to beat them to the system or do something clever to mask her approach.

  “We’re not going to Martina,” she said, firmly. “That would be playing right into their hands.”

  She leaned forward, studying the holograms of her commanding officers. Two of them had voted against her, at the Captain’s Board, and one had abstained ... she wondered, absently, just who had cast the dissenting votes, then shrugged, dismissing the thought. It would all come out, she was sure, when Fleet Command held its inevitable inquiry into the whole affair. Until then, she had to assume they would follow her into the gates of hell, if necessary.

  “They have drawn down the forces besieging a dozen worlds to put that fleet together,” she said, nodding towards the intelligence reports. Tracking individual starships was tricky, but her intelligence analysts were very motivated. “And they have pulled reinforcements from their original cluster. They wouldn't have done that if they thought the reward wasn't worth the effort.”

  “Occupying Martina will give them control of the gravity points,” Captain Ryman pointed out. “They’ll cut you off from Sol.”

  “And allow them to destroy the base,” Captain Macpherson added. “Losing the base and our trained personnel will be costly. The fabbers alone ...”

  “Yes, it will,” Hoshiko agreed, cutting him off. “But Martina isn't the production capital of the sector, while holding the gravity points is a long-term issue. They will drag far more races and trade associations into the war if they try to block the gravity points. And, as for cutting our links to Sol, it still takes a year to get a message to Sol and back. We are on our own.”

  She took a breath. “There are two options here,” she warned. “The first is that they are trying to tempt us into a battle on terms favourable to them. They have identified a target they think we must defend, something they took from the Tokomak playbook, and launched a massive force at it. If we engage them, we do so at a gross disadvantage, despite our advanced technology.

  “The second is that they are planning to alter course - that they have already altered course - and head to another target. The Grand Fleet would be running around like a headless chicken while the bastards attack their true target - and, after what happened to Palsies, we cannot assume they intend to land ground troops.”

  She shuddered. The Galactics had grown used to horror, after the Tokomak-enforced peace had started to fall apart, but the near-complete genocide on Palsies had shocked the Grand Alliance. It had taken a great deal of careful diplomacy to talk the council out of ordering an immediate retaliatory strike against a Druavrok world, using stealthed missiles on ballistic trajectories to deliver a few tons of antimatter to the planet’s surface. The entire population would have died, either within seconds of the blast or in the weeks to come as their world was rendered uninhabitable.

  And if they scorch Martina clean of life, she thought grimly, it will be impossible to keep the council from ordering the destruction of every enemy world.

  It was technically possible, she knew. The Tokomak had enforced high standards purely because rendering a world uninhabitable was easy. Hell, she was marginally surprised the Grand Alliance’s members hadn't started retaliating in kind long before she’d become involved in the war, although it hadn't been easy for the different races to see that they had a common foe. She had no intention of committing genocide, but she had no idea what she’d do if the council ordered her to do it. If she resigned, the Grand Alliance would either fall apart or go ahead without Solarian involvement.

  “But Captain,” Captain Ryman said. “We cannot leave Martina to her fate!”

  “The planet already has formidable defences - and those defences have a commander who knows how to use them,” Hoshiko said. “However, the enemy has given us a window of opportunity I intend to exploit. The Grand Fleet is going to head to Druavrok Prime,”
/>
  She smiled, inwardly, at their astonished reactions. Druavrok Prime was the enemy homeworld - its true name was unpronounceable - and heavily defended, the sole Druavrok world to have heavy fixed defences. They’d preferred to spend their resources on building up their fleet instead, she knew; their lack of attention to their rear was going to cost them dearly, if the war lasted long enough. But now, she had an opportunity to give them a beating they would never forget, a beating that might win the war in one fell swoop.

  “We know how the Tokomak beat them,” she added. “They attacked their homeworld and smacked them around, casually, until the Druavroks surrendered. Since then, the Druavroks were loyal servants; they never revolted, even when the Tokomak grip on the sector weakened badly. We need to crush them ourselves, crush them as badly as they were crushed by the Tokomak. It’s the only way to win.”

  She allowed her smile to show on her face. “And even if they don’t surrender, they have half of their industry orbiting the planet. We can take it out and cripple their ability to support their fleets, then hit two of their other worlds in quick succession. Their aggression is one thing, but without their industry they won’t have the weapons or ships to be more than a minor nuisance. Their fleet will wither on the vine without regular supplies from home.”

  “They presumably have war stocks,” Captain Mathewson commented. “They won’t collapse into powerlessness at once.”

  “But those war stocks will run out,” Hoshiko countered. “They’ll run short of missiles very quickly, Captain, while we harass them across the sector. Their power will be broken once and for all if they refuse to surrender.”

  Captain Ryman scowled. “The council will want a say in the surrender terms,” he said. “And ...”

  “We have to beat them first,” Captain Macpherson snapped. “Captain ... this plan is dangerous, very dangerous.”

  “I’m aware of that,” Hoshiko said. Leaving Commander Wilde and his crews to face the enemy alone was risky. If the naval base were to be destroyed, regardless of what happened to the planet itself, she’d be in trouble when she returned home. Her family’s enemies would claim she’d sent Commander Wilde to his death as a form of petty revenge. “But we don’t have a choice.”

  She took a breath. “This is it,” she insisted. “This is the chance we need to win the war in one fell swoop. I have no intention of missing this opportunity.”

  “But Martina will be left exposed,” Captain Macpherson said.

  “The risk has to be taken,” Hoshiko said. She was surprised at his attitude. Had he planned to vote against her, only to be foiled when she’d put him in charge of the meeting? But there was no point in worrying about it now. “We’ll send courier boats to Martina and every nearby system, warning them of the offensive and asking them to send warships - if they can spare them - to aid in the defence. If my calculations are accurate, we should be able to get some warning out before the fleet enters detection range.”

  “Barely,” Captain Macpherson said.

  “Commander Wilde will have at least three hours of warning before the enemy fleet arrives,” Hoshiko said. Martina’s sensor network might be based on Tokomak technology, but it was as elaborate as any other she’d seen in the sector. “He will have time to mount a defence.”

  She looked at Captain Macpherson. “Ready the fleet for departure,” she said, firmly. “Recall all the crews on shore leave; inform them that we will be departing within four hours - sooner, if we can complete our preparations. I also want the fleet train to accompany us; we’ll designate an RV point somewhere near Druavrok Prime so we can reload our missile tubes, if necessary. If the enemy refuses to surrender, we’ll take the offensive right into their rear and start smashing their industrial nodes, one by one.”

  “Understood,” Captain Macpherson said. He might have his doubts, but he knew his duty - and, presumably, that she wouldn't hesitate to relieve him of command if he tried any form of passive resistance. “I’ll see to it at once.”

  Hoshiko nodded. “Captain Ryman, inform the council that we’re going to be taking advantage of this opportunity,” she added. “And that this could be the final mission of the war.”

  “Of course, Captain,” Captain Ryman said. “Although, if you don’t mind, I won’t make too many promises. We need to crush the bastards first.”

  “True,” Hoshiko agreed. She smiled as she looked from face to face. “We’ve come a long way since we first heard of the attempted genocide. Now, if everything works as planned, we have a chance to end the threat once and for all - and, in doing so, prove to the galaxy that humans are worthy allies. Dismissed!”

  She rose as the holograms blinked out of existence, then made her way to her cabin. The steward was already waiting, holding a mug of coffee in one hand. Hoshiko nodded her thanks, took the mug and sat down on the sofa, keying her console to replay the sensor logs from Rustbucket once again. Ensign Howard had done a very good job.

  And even if we’re wrong about their destination, we still have a chance to stab a knife into their heart, she thought, as she clicked through to the star chart. If worst comes to worst, we can beat a retreat from their homeworld, laying down covering fire as we go.

  She pushed the morbid thought aside as she tapped the console again. “Record,” she ordered, curtly. “Commander Wilde. Sensor records from Rustbucket - details attached - have confirmed that the vast majority of the enemy’s remaining mobile firepower is heading in your direction. Unless the enemy change course while in transit, they will reach your command in ten days. You must prepare at once for a major offensive.

  “This opens an opportunity for the remainder of the fleet,” she added, after a moment. For a moment, she found herself lost for words. What did one say to an officer one was abandoning to face a terrifyingly powerful threat? “The Grand Fleet will not be heading for Martina, but for Druavrok Prime. This may be our one chance to win the war outright.”

  She took a breath. “You are authorised to do whatever you feel is necessary to protect your command and defend Martina,” she concluded. There was no point in trying to micromanage, not at such a distance. “I have sent messages to nearby star systems requesting support for your command, but I have no idea what you’ll receive - if anything.

  “For what it’s worth, I’m sorry for leaving you in such an exposed position. I had no idea the enemy would gamble everything on a single attack aimed at you. Good luck.”

  It felt pathetic, somehow. She knew the risks - they all knew the risks - and yet she might have sent him to his death. Her grandfather would have known what to say, she was sure, but she didn't have the slightest idea what she could say to soften the blow. She’d chosen to risk leaving him to face the oncoming storm alone, while taking the fleet to strike a mortal blow at the enemy. Cold logic told her she should take advantage of the opportunity, that smashing the Druavroks was worth the loss of Martina, but she liked Commander Wilde.

  “Send the message,” she ordered. There would be time to make it up to him later, after the war was over. No doubt there would be plenty of time while Fleet Command argued over what should be done. “And attach copies of all the sensor records too.”

  ***

  “I thought you’d be in Marine Country,” Max said, as Hilde joined him in the observation blister. “Don’t you have things to do?”

  “There’s very little for us to do now,” Hilde said. The hatch closed beside her with an audible hiss, then locked. “The major intends to have us exercising constantly once we’re on the move, but until then all we can really do is stay out of the way.”

  “Like me,” Max said. The fleet was preparing to depart and he’d been told, in no uncertain terms, to keep his head down. Going to the observation blister had been a gamble, but he’d been going crazy in his cabin. “Don’t they have a use for you?”

  “Not at the moment,” Hilde said. She smiled, rather dryly. “There’s a joke in the corps, Max, about what happens to us marines when we’re
not needed. They put us in a stasis box, with a big sign telling people to break the glass in case of emergency. Right now, some of us would probably be better in stasis.”

  Max lifted an eyebrow. “I thought you would be spearheading an attack on the alien world ...?”

  “Apparently not,” Hilde said. “If the Druavroks refuse to surrender, the Captain intends to smash their defences, spaceports and suchlike from orbit, then withdraw from the system. It doesn't call for anything from us.”

  “Oh,” Max said. “Does that bother you?”

  “I understand the practicalities,” Hilde said. “But, at the same time, landing on an alien world ... it would be one hell of a challenge.”