Valencia realized he’d been screaming the entire time he’d been pounding on the Woduur soldier’s face. He only stopped once it collapsed to the ground and stopped fighting back. Valencia snatched the long knife from the invader’s back and spun, looking for more targets. There were none.
“Um, Lieutenant, are you okay?” one of the survivors of the fight said.
Valencia’s vision started to swim, and he dropped the knife. He rushed to Cooper’s side. The life signs monitor showed he was still alive. He flipped Cooper’s faceplate open and saw the younger man’s face was fixed in a grimace of pain.
His eyes focused on Valencia’s face, visible behind his open visor. “Sarge, I didn’t get shot this time.” His eyes went glassy, and his life sign indicator winked out.
“Dammit.” Valencia clenched his fists in impotent rage.
“Sir, we have to move out.”
Valencia stopped himself from screaming at the woman and then gave himself a shake. “I know. Let’s move.”
The group headed out of the museum. Every few steps, Valencia turned his head and looked back at the building where Cooper saved his life. His teeth gritted in determination. There would be time to grieve later, but losing Cooper had shattered a part of him he knew would never heal.
As they walked, Valencia checked the data logger. More than a hundred Woduur had hit them in the museum. The patrol that picked them up must have called in for reinforcements. The remaining nine special forces Marines formed an escort all the way back to the breach.
As before, the trip took only moments. Like he was coming up from a depth far too deep underwater, Valencia felt like he was going to make it the closer he got.
Colonel Elgin took the tablet and passed it to a team of sailors who were waiting for it. They hurried to board a navy pinnace, which lifted off in a whoosh of displaced air.
Valencia addressed the colonel. “We lost so many, Colonel. My first command wasn’t exactly a resounding success.”
“I’m sure you did everything you could, Lieutenant. Get out of that armor and take a moment to collect yourself.”
As Valencia turned to walk away, he heard one of the special forces platoon saying, “I never saw anything like it. He literally hurled himself at the bastard and punched it to death. Damndest thing I ever saw.”
Chapter 33
Stokes watched the status display as it updated the Woduur’s progress. His preparations were well underway. Hundreds of mines were seeded throughout the system, and the entire stealth corvette fleet was ready to make runs into the Woduur formations to lay mines directly in their path.
Bendel said, “I have word from Lashmere. The surface team has recovered the origin tablet. Patho is headed to pick up the shuttle and ferry it to Oculus via a jump ring.”
“Very well. Put me through to Captain Hanlon.”
A moment later Halon’s face appeared on the main plot. “I’ve got the system at maximum output. Dawn tells me it can take several hours to saturate an area with the signal completely, sir. It should be able to slow the Woduur down at least.”
“I’m about to make your job easier, Captain. Gorgon is on the way with the origin tablet.
Hanlon broke into a smile. “We might have a fighting chance, sir.
“Get the system updated immediately. You cannot waste any time. There are ten ships inbound that will be here very soon. How effective can the neural wave transmitter be by that time?”
“One second, sir,” Hanlon said. She turned her attention aside to speak to Dawn. “Dawn isn’t hopeful, sir. The system might be effective just around the ship, but the longer we can hold them off, the better it will be.”
Stokes nodded and said, “I’ll give you all the time you need. The Woduur cannot be allowed to win here.”
Hanlon watched the approach of Gorgon with a sense of trepidation. There were so many unknowns. “Dawn, prepare to reconfigure the NEWT to maximize effectiveness against the Woduur.”
“I’m ready, Captain. All that’s needed is the programming interlock.” Dawn’s voice sounded reproachful. “Gorgon’s shuttle is on the way.”
Hanlon strode briskly from the command center. At least she had some crewmembers to assist her, now. “Keep an eye on things for a moment, Kiran. I’ll be right back.” She heard his acknowledgment as she stepped out of the room and headed to the command level boat bay. The walk took less than five minutes. When she approached, Gorgon’s shuttle was already in the docking cradle.
The airlock cycled, and Aden Patho stepped out. In his hands was a large case that could only hold the origin tablet. He smiled when he saw Hanlon. “Hi, Captain. It’s great to see you again, ma’am.”
“You’re a captain now, Captain. Call me Linis.”
Patho looked surprisingly abashed at the observation. “Ah, well, how about I just call you ma’am?”
Hanlon laughed. “Come on. We need to get the NEWT programmed immediately.” The pair hurried back to the command center. Patho slid the ancient artifact from the case and turned it, so it was right side up with the signal clearly visible. “Is this the correct orientation?”
Dawn responded. “That is the correct way. Lay the interlock in the slot.”
Patho complied, laying the tablet gently into the indentation. It fit perfectly.
“Now, press the large button,” Dawn instructed.
Patho looked at Hanlon, who nodded. “Have at it, Aden.”
Patho pushed the button, and Dawn said, “Programming interface now active. Updating NEWT parameters for maximum effectiveness against Woduur invaders. Estimated time to programming completion: thirty seconds.”
“How long until the signal reaches maximum effectiveness?” Hanlon asked.
“Estimate one hour, fifty minutes,” Dawn replied.
Hanlon turned to Patho. “Okay, Aden. Now you know how long we have to hold out. By the time that signal generator reaches max power, the Woduur shouldn’t be able to stay in the system.”
“I’ll tell the admiral,” Patho said before hurrying out of the command center.
Hanlon turned her attention to the large central plot. With the Woduur forces still roughly an hour away and the system at roughly fifty percent by then, Hanlon felt there was a reasonable chance of success, despite the size of the force coming towards them. “Dawn, when will the Woduur be affected by the NEWT signal?”
“The effects are immediate. The rate of effect is linear as the signal saturates the surrounding area. A volume roughly twice that of the space inside the cometary shield of this system will be affected. It will be very challenging for the Woduur once the NEWT is operating at full effectiveness.”
Hanlon said, “Mister Watkins, send a message to the admiral with this information. He’ll want to know the Woduur are going to have a headache when they get here.
“Aye, ma’am.”
Stokes was ready to start putting his plans into motion. “Put me through to the Ulef Leader.”
A few seconds later, Tolon appeared on the screen. “Admiral Stokes, it is a fortunate event that we may communicate. Of what assistance can I be?”
Stokes said, “Leader, I am asking if you plan to resist the Woduur when they arrive in the system or if you merely plan to begin occupation of a moon around Oculus.”
“Admiral, we have been pondering that very point here. My people are of a divided mind here as to what is more appropriate. I am attempting to reach consensus among them. The inclination is to fight, as the Ulef people have suffered many wrongs at the hands of the Woduur. The risk is that many Ulef may die. I am counterbalancing this with the fact that without New Dawn, all Ulef will become slaves or dead.”
Stokes nodded. “Let me know when your people decide, Leader. We could certainly use the help. How many ring ships are you tracking?”
“We’ve detected ten less than an hour from this system. There may be other ships inbound, but we aren’t detecting them at this time.”
“Thank you, Leader. Contact me
once your people decide if you’re going to help defend Lashmere or not.”
“I will, Admiral,” Tolon said.
Stokes turned his attention to Woodard. “What’s the status of our mine production?”
“We’ve nearly exhausted the available resources. We have just over eleven hundred mines spread out over the Woduur approach corridor.”
“Good. Put me through to Captain Patho.”
A moment later, Patho responded. “What can I do for you, sir?”
“I want you to take note of the locations of all mines and use them to make as many mining runs on the approaching Woduur ring ships as possible. Don’t directly attack them, use your stealth to maximize their effectiveness.”
“Yes, sir,” Patho said.
Before Stokes could continue, Bendel interrupted him. “Sir, the formation of Woduur ships has arrived.”
Stokes shifted in his command chair. “Sound battle stations fleet wide. I want the fleet divided up into six cruiser divisions. Victorious will take the extra two destroyers as escort. Detail all formations to stay far enough apart that no two of them can be affected by a single shot from the Woduur weapon.”
“Aye, sir,” Bendel replied and began tapping out orders into his console.
The human fleet settled into their formations to meet the encroaching invaders. The ten Woduur vessels organized themselves into a loose line approaching Lashmere widely separated.
Stokes watched as the massive ships moved into the effective range of the fleet’s railguns. “All ships, open fire.” The ripping sound of the railgun filled the air. Stokes watched, unsure if the enemy even understood that they were being attacked. A ripple of hits along the formation suddenly appeared along the Woduur formation. Two of the ships exploded, and three more broke into large fragments.
The remaining five ships accelerated in-system towards Stokes’ formation. “Order cruiser groups two, three and four to spool up their point to point drives and come in behind the Woduur formation. I want to try to catch them in a crossfire.”
“Aye, sir,” Bendel said.
A moment later, three of the cruiser groups hopped to the far side of the Woduur ships. Two of the ring ships reversed their direction and streaked into point blank range using their FTL systems. The first shot from the Woduur weapon didn’t seem to have any effect on the human ships. One of the rings exploded from concentrated railgun fire. The second attack by the Woduur weapon caused two of the destroyers to break up, and the cruiser seemed to have lost a part of its outer hull.
“Focus all of our fire on the last two rings. I want you to try to bracket their movements so we increase the chances of hitting them,” Stokes ordered.
Lokin, the tactical officer, said, “I’m starting to get some usable suggestions from the tac computer. I’m going to run the firing program fifty-fifty and see how effective it is.”
“Very well. Don’t take your hand off the wheel until we know the computer is accurately predicting the Woduur movements.”
Lokin nodded and started jabbing at his console rapidly. The railgun started firing as fast as it was able. Roughly six shots per minute. “I think the fire will get more accurate as we get closer to them, sir,” Lokin said.
“Keep at it, Mister Lokin,” Stokes said. A few seconds later, one of the ring ships attacking the cruiser formation exploded, followed almost immediately by the other. Only a single ring ship remained, and Stokes’ formation was firing on it as fast as they could.
“Looks like Mister Patho got some mines on one of those rings, sir,” Bendel said.
“We lost two destroyers, and the cruiser Apollo is damaged to the point it’s no longer combat effective,” Stokes said.
“Yes, sir. We’re down to five cruiser formations.”
“Have Apollo’s remaining destroyers join Victorious. Apollo can pick up any survivors and then move into Lashmere orbit to begin repairs. Where is the Ulef fleet?”
Bendel tapped at his console. “They’re settling into orbit around Oculus. They’re covering New Dawn, but they’re not making any move to attack.”
“Well, so far we don’t actually seem to need them. How far to that last ring?”
“Looks like it’s maneuvering rapidly to avoid our kinetic shots. It’s also trying to open range and get to the edge of the system.”
“Sir, I have a message from Captain Charis. He says there are at least eighty more Woduur ring ships at the edge of his detection range. Estimated time to arrival sixty or seventy minutes. He should have a better estimate of their numbers as they get closer.”
“Eighty?” Stokes' heart thudded in his chest. So many would be impossible for his small force to contain. “Any word from Hanlon?”
Woodard shook her head. “Nothing yet, sir. The last ring ship is out past the edge of the system. What are we going to do?”
“We’re going to defend Lashmere, Lieutenant,” Stokes said.
Stokes hated waiting for the enemy to arrive. The approaching Woduur were nearly upon them. They had moved a little slower than anticipated. He had the fleet strategically placed to defend Lashmere. New Dawn was orbiting Oculus, the gas giant on the far side of the system. The planet’s massive gravity well should shield the irreplaceable ship from the approaching Woduur. At that point, it was anyone’s guess how they would react once they got in range of New Dawn’s signal.
“Contact, sir,” Lokin said. The plot bloomed with nearly a hundred ships at the edge of the Lashmere system. “They’re accelerating hard, sir. It looks like they’re trying to get in range as fast as possible.”
“Very well. Signal Gorgon to get mines on the approaching ships as quickly as he can.”
“Aye, sir.”
As soon as the ships cleared the cometary shield, they jumped back to FTL. Explosions marked their approach as ships in the formation struck asteroids on their mad dash across the inner system. Their approach was blocked by the gas giant. New Dawn was on the far side, surrounded by the Ulef fleets.
“Sir, they’re headed straight towards New Dawn,” Bendel exclaimed.
Stokes felt his stomach drop. He should have anticipated the Woduur attacking New Dawn, rather than Lashmere. “All ships plot tactical jumps to orbit around Oculus. We have to defend the New Dawn at all costs.”
“It’s going to take us several minutes to make the transit. All jump engines are already powered up. Sir, if we arrive in range of their weapons with the accumulators discharged, we won’t have any defense.”
“We have no choice. New Dawn must be protected at all costs. Set our orientation so we come out ready to fire our railguns. Send that to all ships. I want each ship to target an individual Woduur ring. With luck, we can disable a lot of them. We’ll come in behind their formation. I’m hoping the Woduur only have a forward facing weapon.”
“Aye, sir,” Bendel said. Victorious surged through its jump ring moments later.
The arrival was rough. A damage alarm shrieked, and Stokes watched in horror as two of his destroyer escorts were vaporized. “Evasive to port, Mister Bendel,” Stokes ordered through clenched teeth.
Victorious slewed to the left and began to open range before the nearby Woduur could fire on them. The sound of the rapid fire from the railgun filled the bridge. Stokes glanced at the remaining formations. Two of the cruiser groups were either disabled or destroyed. Two destroyers focused on a Woduur ship and blew it apart as they poured on every scrap of acceleration they could muster to get away from Woduur weapons. Stokes watched, willing them to go faster.
Lokin said, “Sir, I have an observation about the Woduur weapon.”
“Other than the fact that it’s not fixed in the forward arc?”
“Yes, sir. Their refire rate seems pretty low. I suspect the area around a ship that’s fired is safe for at least three minutes. I don’t think they’ll fire on their own ships, even to destroy one of ours.” His words were punctuated by a shot from the railgun. The Woduur ship just in front of them was ripped into d
ozens of pieces, three of which detonated.
Stokes looked over the tactical situation. Twenty Woduur ships had been destroyed as his fleet arrived. Poor performance compared to what he’d wanted. “Order all ships to continue firing. We have to cut their numbers down quickly. If they get to New Dawn, we’re finished.”
The Woduur ships had come out of their FTL transit across the system on the near side of Oculus. New Dawn was on the far side. It was the only move the Woduur had, because with their FTL system, they could not fly through the gas giant. They were orbiting Oculus as quickly as they were able. There were still more than fifty Woduur ships approaching the New Dawn.
A few seconds later, mines started to detonate throughout the Woduur formation. Not all of the ships hit were destroyed, but nearly every ship took some damage from the mining run. The Woduur weapons flashed and several distortions on the tactical sensors indicated the destruction of some of the attacking stealth corvettes.
“How long until the Woduur have New Dawn in range?”
“Near on fifteen minutes, sir,” Bendel said. “I’ve noticed, their movements seem to be getting… sluggish.”
“Sluggish?”
“Yes, sir. Look, they know how we’re hitting them, now, but their reaction times are much longer. They’re slow to dodge our projectiles. I bet they’re being affected by the NEWT already.”
“I’ve been firming up my firing profile, sir,” Lokin said. “With the remaining twenty-two combat effective ships we have in pursuit, we can intercept a fair bit of their fleet, but they’ll still get in range of New Dawn. Unless the Ulef get involved, that is.”
Stokes returned his attention to the tactical plot. The Ulef armada hung like a massive cloud just south and east of the New Dawn’s orbit. From their position, they could easily intercept the Woduur. The question was, would they?
“Keep attacking them. The more we bring down, the better.”
“Sir, I think they’re at their max acceleration, but we’re able to match them.”
“They have a lot of mass to move around. Hopefully, they’ll decide they’re taking too many casualties to continue.” Stokes watched the situation for a moment before saying, “Dammit, why won’t the Ulef get involved. If they don’t intercede soon, the New Dawn will come under attack.”
The Battle for Lashmere Page 28
