“All right,” Sven said at last. “I’m with you, but on one condition.”
“Go ahead.”
“However we split our share at the end, I only want two things. First, I want that battle cruiser—the big one, Void Queen—and I want that captain. Vargus, that’s her name. Catarina Vargus.”
“She’s a starship captain. She’d make a bad slave. Nobody will pay you much for her. She won’t work.”
“I don’t care about any of that. I want her. One way or another, I’m going to make her pay for what she’s done.”
“In that case,” Olafsen said, happy to concede such a trivial matter, “take the woman. She’s yours.” He smiled. “Well, assuming you can beat her in the field of battle. Last time, after all, she bested you, not the other way around.”
Olafsen ended the call as his brother launched into a stream of invective against the female Albion captain. A few minutes later, the two fleets came together, both accelerating in turn as they merged forces. By the time Olafsen reached the bridge, status reports were coming from across the fleet.
Most of the star wolves had taken damage but could be patched up before the pending battle. Thirteen star wolves would be ready to fight. What’s more, the marauder captains and their crews of raiders were itching to fight.
Far from being dissuaded by their earlier encounters, the enemy resistance seemed to be raising bloodlust across the Scandian fleet. That lust for blood would soon be satisfied.
Chapter Nineteen
Eleven hours after the first battle for control of the asteroid cluster, and seven hours after McGowan’s return, Lieutenant Capp found herself on a transport barge, ready to descend to Fort Alliance to lead the ground defense.
Marines checked rifles and adjusted grenade belts all around her. They messed with helmets and stim packs, checked their hand computers while they fought with yawns. Poor bastards. Some of them had been in stasis for five, six months, only wakened occasionally to verify their vitals.
Then, twenty, thirty minutes ago, they were pulled from their chambers while sergeants yelled at them through the fog.
Here you are, kids, bend over while we give you an adrenaline shot to the ass. You’re going into combat, so wake up. No, you idiot! Don’t point the bloody gun at your face! Wake up! It’s time to die.
The barge shuddered as a clamp hit it. Another clamp connected on the other side. The schooners were bringing it down. Soon, Capp would be back on the surface, this time to fight.
“Listen up, the lot of you,” she said. “By the time we land, the enemy will be incoming. The first thing they’ll do is atomize this tin can, so I suggest you wake up before we land. Grab your gear, grab your buddy, and haul yourself into the airlock to be transferred onto the rail trucks. The trucks will haul your sorry hides to the tunnels. Keep your heads down if you want to live.”
“Sir, who are our enemies?” a man called from the other side of the room.
This brought murmurs from others. Some laughter, some jeering. Some shouts from marines saying they had the same question.
There were maybe two hundred in this lot, ready to join the several hundred already hunkered down on Fort Alliance, together with hundreds of civilian workers. And still it was only a small fraction of the people in Vargus’s fleet. Thousands of colonists, miners, dockworkers, and others remained in stasis. If they didn’t win this battle, most of those people would die in their sleep.
“Shut up, will you?” Capp said when the murmuring didn’t quiet on its own. “No, it ain’t the buzzards. You’ve all been briefed, weren’t any of you listening? Jeez. It’s the Scandians.” Blank looks at this. “You know, Vikings? Star wolves?”
Some of them got it, but not all. Capp was a former marine. Had she been such an idiot at one time? Worse, was she still such an idiot when she hadn’t been briefed?
“Most of you have been on ice since Albion, haven’t you? All right, then. Not that you need to know, but we’re out here on the frontier. Admiral Drake sent us to dig out a new base for forward operations. Got to supply and repair the fleet as it fights the buzzards. Problem is, the locals don’t like it much. They found out we’re here and have come to make some mischief, yeah? And their best fighters are coming down to say hello personally to all of you.”
“You mean down to the surface?” someone called.
“I swear, some of you blokes still ain’t awake. Yeah, that’s what I mean. Bunch of raiders. Anyone know what that means? No? Let me tell you about mech suits.”
#
Catarina took McGowan’s call in the war room so she wouldn’t have to face him in front of the other crew members. She braced herself for more conflict.
He appeared on the viewscreen above the table, the first time she’d seen him live since he’d flown off nearly a week earlier. Subsequent events had vindicated her opinion. His charge at Moloch had been a disaster, one that nearly led to the destruction of both of their forces. She hadn’t expected contrition on his face, but if anything, his expression was haughtier than ever. What was this man’s problem?
Catarina’s first inclination was to deliver a caustic takedown. But she could either fight for the high ground, or concede a few points and hope to patch things up, and by so doing, survive the pending battle. Only his face and shoulders showed, but it seemed as though he was in his own war room, alone. That would make it easier for him to compromise instead of retrenching.
“I’m glad you survived,” she said. “Clever the way you slipped out of that ambush.”
“Yes, well. I did what was necessary.”
An ambush you stepped into like an idiot. She only just stopped herself from blurting it aloud.
Instead, she said, “The Scandians are strong. Their ships are powerful, and the marauder captains clever. If not for your timely warning, I’d have been beaten. No way I could have turned aside eight star wolves if you hadn’t pointed out their lack of discipline.”
“I was fortunate to notice it.”
Was that a hint, a bare shade of modesty in his voice? She could only hope so. To ask McGowan to acknowledge her own clever maneuver in luring Longshanks’s ships into the minefield and then driving him back was obviously too much.
“I sent Lieutenant Capp to Fort Alliance to lead the ground defense,” she said.
He looked surprised. “Capp? Whatever for?”
“These raiders are irregular forces. Capp has plenty of experience in that kind of fight.”
“I wouldn’t think your first mate would be the best person for the job.”
“Capp is a former marine. Plus she knows the excavations beneath the fort—she led the initial expedition. She’s the one who discovered the alien tunnels.”
McGowan grunted. He was silent for a moment, and Catarina waited.
“I’ve got my ships in position to shield the inner flank of the asteroid cluster,” he said at last. “I’m scanning for any last-minute surprises and laying more mines. I wish I had time to replenish ordnance from your armories. But by my estimate”—he glanced to the side—“we have thirty-eight minutes before the enemy is within missile range. Nothing to be done now but fight it out with what I have.”
“Speaking of time,” Catarina said, “we need to discuss a few things.” She kept her tone neutral, even gentle. “Ideally, you would take control of the defenses. Those are the admiral’s wishes. I am under your command when we’re in battle, you are under mine otherwise.” She held up her hand when he started to argue. “Please, let me finish. I’m not accusing you of anything.”
“I didn’t say you were. Whatever happened earlier, whether that was a combat situation or not, you were within your rights to offer an opinion. This, however, is clearly a battle situation. Therefore, I will take command.”
“Would you at least let me make my case?”
“No, you may not,” he said. “I have years of experience in fleet operations. I am a graduate of the Academy. I trained under McCreery, one of the finest comma
nders to ever wear the red and black. I have fought sixteen naval engagements against Hroom, humans, pirates, and now, Scandians.”
And I’ve fought fifty, you arrogant bastard.
“Whatever skirmishing you may have engaged in during your dubious career on the frontier,” he continued, dismissing her unspoken objection, “you have never commanded naval vessels in combat.”
“I just did!”
“Fine, you have one battle under your belt. Two if we count the little skirmish when you entered the system.”
“Unbelievable,” she muttered.
“We have multiple resources, and they must be given proper weight in each and every situation. What’s more, I take my duties seriously. Admiral Drake gave clear orders, and I will follow them, by God. They were very specific on what I should do in a situation such as this. So no, Captain Vargus, you will not take command of this battle.”
It was the first time she could remember him acknowledging her rank, calling her “Captain,” and not dismissing her as “Vargus,” as if she were a common enlisted fellow. Still, his arrogance had reasserted itself. She didn’t give a damn about Drake’s orders; they didn’t match the current situation. This was now a fortress, and she was its commanding officer. She couldn’t simply surrender control to McGowan because he claimed it as his birthright.
McGowan stared at her across the viewscreen, as if waiting for and expecting her to fly into a fury. She forced herself to remain calm.
“I have strong opinions on the subject,” she said, as slowly and deliberately as she could manage, “but if I refuse to fight under your command, we will lose any advantage we might otherwise enjoy.”
“You are exactly right. That is the enemy’s weakness. Lack of discipline. We cannot make it our own.” He paused. “Then you will concede the point?”
“Yes, sir.” The words tasted like dust in her mouth.
“Good.” A nod. “In that case, please offer me your proposal. What would be your order of battle?”
“You mean you want me to . . .?”
“That’s right. Tell me what you would do to win this fight. I never said I wouldn’t take your thoughts under advisement.”
“Okay,” Catarina said. “I’m sharing a chart. Look.”
She tapped her screen to bring up the asteroid cluster and the various ships in, near, or approaching it. The main asteroid was a hive of activity, but that was mostly barges and poorly armed schooners frantically dropping men and supplies, as well as taking cover. None of those ships could take a hit, and their best bet was to hunker down in craters or behind hills and hope the enemy didn’t take potshots as they flew past.
McGowan’s three ships—Peerless, the missile frigate, and the war junk—hovered near Ravelin. Void Queen, Pussycat, Orient Tiger, and several smaller frigates and armed schooners stayed on the opposite side of the cluster. Beyond that, the Olafsen brothers had joined forces in a fleet of thirteen star wolves, and were charging straight at the asteroid cluster. The final force of enemy ships, this one nine ships, was about eight hours out.
“The Olafsen brothers don’t want to share their victory,” she said. “That’s the only reason I can see why they wouldn’t wait for the rest of the star wolves to arrive.”
“I hope you’re right.”
“I’d better be right or we’re dead. The point is, we don’t want them to reconsider. If they do, if they wait and we have to fight twenty-two star wolves instead of thirteen. . . well, I don’t like our odds. They’re chancy enough as it is.” Catarina tapped the screen, and the various pieces of the asteroid cluster moved in orbit around each other. “Here’s how things will look in eight hours. Ravelin will be on the outer rim, facing the incoming enemy. Fort Alliance’s main crater will be aimed in the same direction. If we can survive the initial onslaught, we’ll have all our batteries pointed in the right direction to drive off the newcomers.”
“But for now, we’re poorly positioned,” McGowan pointed out. “Ravelin might land a few blows, but Fort Alliance can’t even hit the wolves as they approach.” He made his own manipulation to the map and sent it across to her screen. “Look, it’s facing the opposite direction from the enemy.”
“That fits my plan perfectly,” she said. “My proposal, that is. We don’t want to hit the enemy too hard at first.”
“You must be mad, Vargus. How many chances do you think we’ll get?”
“Please hear me out. Keep your ships tight against Ravelin. We’ll fire a few guns, but otherwise let them run past the outer fortification. I’ll make a halfhearted attempt to defend Fort Alliance, then make way as if trying to protect the fleet instead.”
“I see,” McGowan said. “You want them to land their raiders. Are our marines capable of fighting them off?”
“Doubtful. Not if the mech suits are as powerful as people say. The only thing that will save us is the extensive tunnel network. The enemy won’t expect that. They’ll fight their way deeper and deeper, and our people will keep falling back. We’ll defend the command center and the weapon systems, but give way everywhere else.”
“The missile batteries are all at the surface, or just below it,” he said. “The enemy would be idiots to go after our men when they can concentrate on taking out the fort’s guns instead.”
“Not idiots,” Catarina said. “The word you’re looking for is greedy. They’ve seen us land goods, they want to get their hands on them. Trust me, I know pirates. These men are paid in shares of the plunder. The individual unit commanders will keep hunting and hunting, not realizing that we’ve stashed the goods deep underground.
“Meanwhile,” Catarina continued, “we swing our ships toward the asteroid the moment the enemy starts landing units. Our fleet will pin the enemy ships against the asteroid and hold them in place while the ground batteries smash them apart. The Scandians can either fight their way into open space, where they have an advantage, or stay close to protect and retrieve their mech units.”
“And what do you think will happen?”
She shook her head. “Hard to say. But I guess they take a pounding for a while, then give up the fight.” She brought up the screen again. “By the time these last nine ships arrive, we’ll have our guns perfectly positioned to hold them off.”
“If they’re still active. If we’re still alive ourselves.”
“Right. And even then, I’m not so confident,” she admitted. “Nine more star wolves, plus the remnants of whatever the Olafsen brothers still command. Likely to be a significant force.”
“Against our remnants,” McGowan said. “We could still lose. This is all you’ve got?”
“Our advantage is lack of discipline in the enemy forces—I’m trying to put it to use. I haven’t studied at your war colleges, but I think it’s our best bet. The only other possibility would be to abandon Fort Alliance and the supplies and people we’ve landed on the surface and run for our lives. We’d lose everything and everyone we’ve put down, but we might save the fleet.”
“No, Vargus. The ships are valuable, but we need that base more. It would take months, maybe longer, to rebuild our forces. Not to mention gather the naval resources to take and hold what we’d already failed to accomplish the first time. More time lost, and time is a luxury we don’t enjoy. It’s why Drake made you an offer against my very strongly worded advice.”
“So you don’t like my plan,” she said, discouraged. “Do you have something better?”
“My plan was to fight every step of the way until our backs were against the wall. Not to throw open the door and invite the enemy in.” He hesitated. “Admittedly, that plan has its own weaknesses.”
McGowan crossed his arms and looked thoughtful.
“I don’t know if my idea is any good,” Catarina conceded. “The Scandians might be more cautious this time. They might hold discipline when the mech units land. Or the strategy might work and the enemy will be too strong anyway.”
“Yet I still think it beats my idea. Okay,
Captain Vargus. I will take command during the battle, but we will follow your strategy. Thank you for your input. Stand by for further orders.”
And with that, he cut the link and left her staring, surprised and hardly believing that he’d conceded.
#
The transport kept shuddering after it settled into the crater, and Capp figured the engines had malfunctioned. Instead of cutting out, they were sputtering, moving the barge about. Nothing coming over the com, anyway, to tell her otherwise.
She got into the airlock and transferred to the rail truck. It was already sliding across the crater floor when marines flipped the blinds on the windows. Dust and debris hung in the air outside. A blinding flash of light, and the railcar shook. A plume of debris launched into the air.
“Bugger me,” one of the men said. “We’re under attack.”
The sky overhead filled with flashing lights. A dark shape flickered across the stars, then was gone. Only the plumes of dust lifting high from the asteroid’s slight gravity and the shuddering rail truck gave sign of the bombardment.
The truck had accelerated rapidly on its electrified rails, and was soon approaching the looming crater wall that Capp had leaped above a few days earlier. A pair of thick doors slid open, and the truck passed through a series of airlocks. Capp stumbled out with the others, and the truck reversed itself on the track to fetch the last load of marines.
Inside, marines in pressure suits hunkered behind bunkers made of spongy blocks of stone. They carried helmets, ready to pop them on should there be a sudden loss of atmosphere. Workers in power suits hefted more blocks to form a barricade in front of a side tunnel, leaving a slender opening to allow men and women to pass single file.
The wall would provide feeble protection, Capp thought. If the raiders penetrated this far, they would tear those barricades apart. The enemy came with mech suits of their own, only theirs were armored and armed.
Capp reached for her hand computer and typed in a few commands. “Follow that tunnel,” she told the men who’d arrived with her. “I’m sending you all schematics of the lower reaches. If the civvies did their jobs, you’ll find supply dumps at every defensible spot. Those are marked with blue stars on your maps. Keep going until you find an unfortified position, then drop a platoon.”
Queen of the Void (The Void Queen Trilogy Book 1) Page 19
