by D. J. Holmes
The shockwave of the explosion rippled through Endeavour’s superstructure. It reached the bridge only two seconds after James had been thrown about by the first explosion. The multiple sources of force pushing on the bridge momentarily overpowered the inertial dampeners. James felt an overwhelming force rip his left arm off his command chair. It was forced up into the air and back behind his shoulder before he knew what was happening. As it twisted more than his body would allow, James felt more than heard the loud pop his shoulder and elbow made together. A searing pain shot through his arm and a grunt almost escaped his lips, but before it did, the power that had wrenched his hand moved up through his shoulder and thrust his head back into its restraints with a thud. The pain in his shoulder disappeared as everything went black.
*
“Captain, Captain?” Mallory shouted from his command chair.
When James didn’t respond Mallory opened a COM channel to Endeavour’s sick bay. “Doctor Anderson, we need you on the bridge right away. The Captain is injured.”
“I’m on my way,” Anderson said.
Concerned about his Captain, Mallory took a second to check the read out of his vital signs from his command chair. With a sigh of relief, Mallory saw that James didn’t appear to have suffered any life-threatening injuries. He is out of the fight though, Mallory thought. It’s time to step up.
Opening a COM channel to Second Lieutenant Julius he asked, “How bad is it?”
“We took a direct hit to our nose section,” Julius said. “We have lost communication with both forward missile tubes. I have three crew members confirmed killed, another twenty have suffered various injuries.”
“And our stealth capabilities?” Mallory asked.
“I don’t know yet, if we took a serious hit I’m sure we will be leaking electromagnetic radiation all over the show,” Julius said.
“Ok,” Mallory acknowledged. “Your priority is to reestablish communication with the forward missile tubes. Then send repair teams to get emergency armor sections put in place. We need to disappear as soon as possible.”
“Yes Sir,” Julius said.
The initial plan had been to reenter stealth as soon as Endeavour had fired her two missile salvos. The warships that were escorting the convoy were already out of missile range and it would take them almost an hour to brake and turn to pursue Endeavour. By then James had hoped to have disappeared and be well on the way back to the shift passage to Independence.
“Do we have any visuals from our remaining drone?” Mallory asked.
“They’re coming up on the main holo display,” Sub Lieutenant Malik said.
In silence the bridge crew watched the two missiles home in on Endeavour. The first one appeared to do little damage. Mallory visibly flinched when the second missile hit. For a fraction of a second it appeared as if nothing had happened and then an explosion burst out of Endeavour’s nose section. When the fireball subsided Endeavour was completely missing one of her forward missile tubes and over twenty meters of her port side nose section was open to space.
“That’s it,” Malik said. “The drone was destroyed before it could record anymore.”
“That will do,” Mallory said. “There is no way we can repair that damage in the next hour or two. We are not going to be stealthy enough to cut through the Indian patrols and back towards the Independence shift passage. We need a new plan. Show me the system again.”
On the main holo display the plot of the system returned. All but two of the Indian destroyers that were with the convoy were braking hard and turning around in preparation for an acceleration burn after Endeavour. Across the rest of the system it looked like every patrol ship was likewise coming full steam towards them.
“It looks like we have kicked the hornet’s nest this time,” Becket said.
Mallory didn’t respond. He was too busy studying the plot of the system. “Take us on this course,” he said a minute later to Sub Lieutenant Jennings as he sent her a new flight path.
“This is the only direction that we can go where we will be able to keep our damaged section facing away from the Indian ships. It will take us further away from the Independence shift passage but we have no other choice. Make us as stealthy as you can Lieutenant Becket.”
“Aye Sir,” Becket said.
*
Twenty minutes later James’ eyes shot open. Before he became aware of anything around him the shooting pain in his shoulder grabbed his attention. An involuntary grunt of pain burst from his lips.
“Hold on Captain,” Doctor Anderson said. “I have a hypospray for the pain.”
James felt something pressed into his neck. After a weird tingling sensation pushed into him, the pain subsided.
“You couldn’t have given him that before you woke him up?” Mallory said as he looked on.
“No,” Anderson said tartly. “I had to make sure he would come round first. As I already told you, I should be doing this in my sickbay.”
“There is no time for that,” Mallory said. “We need him awake now.”
“Thank you doc,” James said. “It’s ok Mallory, the pain cleared my head. What is our situation?”
Doctor Anderson answered before Mallory could. “You have dislocated your shoulder and torn your bicep tendon. I can put your shoulder in here but I will need to take you to sick bay to take care of your tendon.”
“I appreciate your work doctor, but I meant with my ship,” James said, motioning for Mallory to answer.
“Well as you can see we are still alive Sir,” Mallory said. “Though we have taken a serious hit to our nose section. We have lost all eight crew members from forward missile tube one, that entire section has been destroyed. There have been another six deaths and more than forty injuries have been reported. The rest of us are safe for now,” Mallory continued as he gestured towards the holo plot. “We are heading towards the edge of the system. Though not towards any of the shift passages. Every ship in the system is steaming for our last known location. I have put us in stealth and turned our damaged sections away from the Indian ships. Hopefully they won’t pick up any stray electromagnetic radiation.”
“Good work,” James said as he took in the holo plot. “You acted fast. I guess we have no choice but to run to safety. Once we repair some of our damage we may be able to work our way back round to the Independence shift passage.”
“What about your arm?” Doctor Anderson asked.
“You can pop my shoulder back in,” James said. “I will come see you later for the rest. It sounds like you have a lot more people to tend to.”
“That I do,” Anderson said. Without further warning she grabbed James’ arm and lifted it, twisting at the same time. Despite the hypospray she had given him, James let out another grunt when his shoulder popped back into place.
“Open a COM channel to the ship,” James said to Sub Lieutenant King once he was able to talk over the pain.
“It’s open Sir,” she replied a few seconds later.
“Crew of Endeavour. I want to thank you. You all fought well. We paid a heavy price today, I know. And we are not yet out of danger. But we destroyed two Indian troop ships. That is nearly ten thousand soldiers Major Johnston and the people of Haven won’t have to contend with. Let that be how we remember those who died today.”
With a nod James signaled for King to cut the transmission. “Now,” James said. “It’s time to figure out a way to get home.”
*
Six days later, James gingerly prodded his left arm with his right hand. Doctor Anderson had put his entire arm in a cast. She said it would take another week for his tendon to fully heal after the treatment she had given it. He was once again sitting in his command chair surveying the plot of the Haven system. Since the battle with the convoy, Endeavour’s crew had been working around the clock to repair as much of the damage as they could. Forward missile tube one was a write off, but all the sections that had been opened to space had now been closed.
; For the six days they had been in the Haven system since the battle James had followed Mallory’s plan. After reaching the edge of the system they had slowed Endeavour and turned her towards the Independence shift passage. Instead of heading back into the inner system however, they had angled her up and above the systems’ ecliptic. Then, instead of angling back down they had pushed on towards the shift passage, flying through the dark matter clouds that surrounded the Haven system.
Just moments before Endeavour had finally broken out of the dark matter clouds and into the Independence shift passage. They were almost a light day up the shift passage from the edge of Haven’s mass shadow and the patrolling Indian ships. No one would know where they had gone.
“Engage the shift engine,” James said.
“Aye Sir,” Jennings said.
With a swipe of her hand, a blinding flash announced Endeavour’s disappearance from the Haven system.
Chapter 22 – A Not So Warm Welcome
Some argue that the British-Indian war began with the ambush of an Indian convoy. I believe it began with a court martial.
-Excerpt from Empire Rising, 3002 AD
1st June 2467 AD, HMS Vulcan.
“Come in,” First Space Lord Admiral Somerville said as the door to his office slid open to admit his nephew.
James stepped through the office doors, glad to see his uncle. It had been a long stressful journey back from Haven. It had taken five days to sneak through the Independence system as the Indians had increased their patrols there. It had been a nerve wracking experience as at any moment the patrolling ships could have picked up a trace of electromagnetic radiation from Endeavour’s damage.
To make matters worse, his crew had been working around the clock to repair Endeavour enough so that she could travel through the Gift. Even with their repairs he hadn’t been entirely sure that his ship would hold together. To finally be back in the Sol system and in orbit around Earth was a huge relief.
“I have read your report of course,” Somerville said as James sat down. “It has already been passed to the other Admirals and Admiral Cunningham and his officers are using it to tweak their invasion plans. But I would like to hear things in your own words.”
“Certainly uncle,” James said a little taken aback. Normally his uncle was a lot less formal when they met alone. Endeavour had docked with HMS Vulcan just a couple of hours ago. After such a long and difficult voyage, he was expecting a warmer welcome. “Where should I start?” he asked after a moment’s hesitation.
“Start with Independence, walk me through your decision to attack the cruiser in orbit there,” Somerville said.
Taking a deep breath, James dived into retelling the situation. For the next two hours his uncle went over his actions again and again, paying specific attention to his decision to attack the Indian convoy.
When he was done, his uncle sat back in his chair, “Reckless,” he said. “After everything you have been through, I thought you would have known better by now.”
“Reckless?” James repeated, shocked. “What do you mean? I thought I did exactly what you would have done in the same situation.”
“That’s how you came to your decision?” Admiral Somerville said, clearly disappointed.
“Yes, you go straight for the enemy and bring them to battle,” James said earnestly. “Isn’t that what you have been teaching me all these years? Isn’t that the motto of all the heroes in those books you have had me read?” he continued, his voice rising as the frustration of the last several weeks came boiling up. “Isn’t that what you did? How you got to be where you are now?”
“I am where I am now boy,” Somerville said, allowing his voice to rise to the level of his nephew’s. “And don’t you forget who you are talking to. I gave you those books to give you a love for the British navy, a love for our tradition. Not to turn you into a thoughtless, headstrong Captain who doesn’t know how to put anyone else above his own quest for victory.
“Your past actions in the Void war and with the Vestarians and the Kulreans have shown that you excel in combat situations. Hell, you even managed to run rings around an entire Indian fleet. But did you even once stop and think about the bigger picture? About our invasion fleet sitting here in the Sol system waiting for your intel. What would have happened if Endeavour had been destroyed by that convoy’s escorts? You were outnumbered more than three to one. You had no business attacking that convoy.”
“But I did it to help Major Johnston,” James pleaded. “And the people of Haven, it wasn’t just about me.” Even as he spoke he heard a little voice in the back of his head. Yes, it was. You knew you could beat them. You are the hero of the Void War.
Shaking off the voice, James pressed on, “I did it to save lives. I stopped ten thousand more soldiers landing on Haven. Who knows how many people would have been killed.”
“It’s not just about the lives,” Somerville cut in. “This fight is about the future of our Kingdom. About the future of our people, our way of life. Major Johnston is expendable. Hell, even you are expendable. If we lose our fleet, we lose everything. You were tasked with getting intel about the Indian fleet dispositions. Instead you attack a cruiser in orbit over an occupied world.”
“But,” James tried to say.
“I don’t want to hear it,” Somerville said over him. “You may think you have your reasons, but they were foolish. Right now, some Indian Admiral is looking over everything you did. Don’t you think they will wonder why you struck at Independence first? Don’t you think they will wonder if there is another route to our space via Independence? The invasion plan is counting on the fleet’s advance on Haven being unopposed. You could have thrown all that into jeopardy.
“And yet that is beside the point. What would have happened if your ship had been destroyed? Let me tell you,” Somerville said before James could open his mouth to answer.
“Admiral Rooke would have advanced into Indian space assuming that the main Indian fleet was still at Haven. Your scouting has identified that the majority of their fleet has left Haven. When Rooke would have been expecting limited resistance, he could have been ambushed. Outnumbered, we could have lost almost half of our operational battlecruisers. Just what do you think that would mean for our future? Aren’t the Argentinians and others just waiting for a chance to take our colonies from us? Did you think about that?”
James was reeling from his uncle’s words and didn’t know if he was supposed to answer.
“Well did you?” Somerville pressed.
“I thought about the importance of our intel,” James insisted. “But I didn’t think about what impact I could have down the line,” he conceded. “I thought it was my duty to protect Haven and Major Johnston.”
“And in doing so, you put not just their future, but the future of Rooke’s fleet and our Kingdom in jeopardy. You see, reckless,” Somerville said. He stared at his nephew until James was forced to lower his eyes.
“You have shown yourself to be a fine combat officer,” Somerville continued when he felt his nephew had been sufficiently chastised. “But a great naval officer is more than someone who can charge head first at the enemy. A great naval officer knows what he needs to do to defeat his enemy. Not just how to destroy a couple of ships.”
“I see,” James said, trying to listen to his uncle’s point fairly.
“I don’t think you do,” Somerville said. “But you will. Here, take these,” he continued, passing a datafile over to James.
“What are they?” James asked.
“You look up to the late Admiral Jensen and I so much, I thought you should have a look at these. Maybe they will give you some perspective.”
“Thank you Sir,” James said.
“Now,” Somerville said, lightening his tone. “Let’s get you up to speed on what is happening around here. No doubt some of the other Admirals and politicians will want you to brief them on what you saw at Haven.”
“Yes Sir,” James said, happy for the su
bject to be changed. For another forty-five minutes he listened to his uncle outline all that had happened on Earth in his absence. Finally, after his uncle instructed him to keep his crew busy on Endeavour to keep anyone from revealing the Gift the Indians, James stood to take his leave.
“Think on what I said,” Admiral Somerville said. “I have been lenient on you in the past. From here on in, your career will advance based on your merits. If you can’t show the strategic awareness of when to run, then you may stay the Captain of an exploration cruiser for the rest of your career.”
