"Shots away," Barrett said. "Analyzing data now." The Blue Jacket's navigation radar was tracking the rounds to verify that they were fired at the expected speed and course.
"Engineering," Jackson said as he held the intercom switch down. "How did it look down there?"
"Gun number two is pulling a bit more current that it should be, but it's still within acceptable limits," Singh said. "We can make some adjustments and fire another test round—"
"Negative," Jackson interrupted. "Button everything back up. I want that new power cable secured. It doesn't have to be pretty, but it has to stay put. Weld the brackets to the damn deck if you have to. We're reloading the dorsal turret and going hunting."
"Sir," Davis said. "The Murmansk has just gone to full power and turned onto a direct intercept course."
"I guess they saw our test shots," Jackson said.
"At least they'll be in com range sooner," Celesta offered.
"I can't wait," Jackson said with resignation.
****
"Captain Agapov, it's a pleasure to talk to you," Jackson said. "Thank you for agreeing to this video communication." Jackson was sitting at his desk and looking at a man who appeared to be in his late fifties and was almost a caricature of what people thought of when they heard the name Warsaw Alliance, even down to the thick, well-manicured beard (something that was completely against Fleet regulations.) He had to wait for a few minutes for the signal to reach the Murmansk and then another few for the response to come back.
"Captain Wolfe," Agapov said, his Slavic accent quite thick. "We have much to talk about. Let us set aside the fact that you have appeared in the system unannounced and unscheduled, apparently to savagely attack one of our moons, and discuss the standing order from CENTCOM to apprehend you on sight. In fact, I shouldn't even be talking to you. My orders state the only command personnel on the Blue Jacket I should be talking to is a Commander Wright."
"I suspected as much," Jackson said when it was clear the other captain had finished speaking. "I'm guessing your orders come directly from an Admiral Winters. There are obviously some issues with CENTCOM I need to have straightened out, but none of that matters right now. I have strong reason to suspect that a powerful alien ship is in this system as we speak and has definite hostile intentions. We've been fighting it since we discovered its trail of destruction beginning in the Asianic Union. I would respectfully suggest that you return to orbit over Nuovo Patria and stand ready to fend off any attack on that planet."
"Yes ... the communication from CENTCOM indicated that you may have suffered a break from reality," Agapov said slowly. "Trust me when I say that the only surprising thing to arrive in this system in the last week has been you. Please make this easy on all of us, Captain, and heave to. We will allow you to depart your ship on your own when we dock and the Blue Jacket can be brought into orbit with Commander Wright on the bridge. Otherwise, we will be forced to apprehend you and risk the lives of both our crews."
"You're as stubborn and short-sighted as I'd feared you would be, Captain," Jackson said pleasantly. "As you are no doubt aware, your ship cannot run down a Raptor-class destroyer. Given the circumstances, I cannot allow you to board this ship and will make sure you never come close enough to try. For your own safety, and that of your crew, I repeat my suggestion that you return to Nuovo Patria until we subdue the enemy or are destroyed ourselves."
"You arrogant, crazy bastard!" Agapov said, his face turning an even brighter red than it had been with his ruddy complexion. "I will not be talked down to by some Black Fleet swine—" The video cut off abruptly, leaving only a few seconds of static before the terminal automatically closed the screen. Jackson frowned, unsure as to what that meant. As he was about to call to see if their equipment had failed he felt the harsh rumble of the Blue Jacket's main engines coming to full power.
"CAPTAIN TO THE BRIDGE!!"
Jackson sprinted from his office, dreading what he would find when he got back to the bridge.
"It came out of nowhere!" Celesta said as he ran onto the bridge like a wild man. "It took out the Murmansk in one shot!"
"Range!" Jackson said as he took his recently vacated seat.
"Five hundred and eighty-six thousand kilometers," Barrett said. "It's coming about onto an intercept course and is accelerating at one hundred and fifty G's."
"OPS! Were you able to see how much of the damage we inflicted is still there?" Jackson asked.
"The computer is cleaning up the images we were able to collect, but at this range it won't be much," Davis said.
"That's an odd way to word it," Celesta said, leaning in. "Do you really think they were able to effect repairs from such heavy damage this quickly?"
"This ship doesn't repair itself in the conventional sense," Jackson said quietly. "It heals itself ... and quickly. The outer hull appears to be organic."
"Why wasn't I aware of this, Captain?" Celesta nearly hissed.
"An oversight on my part. I kept it to myself to prevent a widespread panic before we knew what we were actually dealing with and then forgot to brief you once I'd had time," Jackson said, realizing he'd made a mistake in not bringing his XO into the loop right away.
"I see," she said icily.
"I apologize, Commander," he said quietly but forcefully. "It was a simple mistake that ultimately doesn't mean anything in our current situation. Get over it. We've got a bit of crisis going on right now and I need you focused."
"Of course, sir," she said, still obviously not happy but conceding that the conversation was quite low in priority at that moment.
"Tactical, can you get a firing solution with the sensors we have left?" Jackson asked.
"Negative, Captain," Barrett said. "I can track its progress, but I can't resolve it enough to allow the computer to begin running pinpoint firing solutions."
"So ... we have to let it get closer and hope that we can get a good lock and fire before it hits us with another of those plasma bursts," Jackson said, rising to pace along the bridge.
"Target has slowed its acceleration," Davis said. "It's now approximately two hundred thousand kilometers astern and has matched its velocity to ours."
"This is an interesting development," Celesta said. "It's changing tactics on us. Why?"
"I suspect it knows how badly we're damaged," Jackson said. "I also think it wants to take the Blue Jacket intact. If it has been watching us since we entered the system, it probably figured out we're no longer able to leave. It may be trying to just run us down until we run out of propellant."
"What is our propellant status, Lieutenant?" Celesta asked Lieutenant Davis.
"Less than twenty percent remaining," Davis said. "We've been expending it at over four hundred times our usual burn rate due to so much time at full power. We also lost a considerable amount when engine four was destroyed."
"Understood," Jackson said. "We won't need much. This will be over quickly. Coms! Send a flash message to Nuovo Patria to prepare for a possible attack and to launch com drones to CENTCOM informing them of the threat and the loss of the Murmansk."
"We're being jammed, sir," Lieutenant Keller said apologetically. "I've been trying to raise someone on the planet since the enemy reappeared. It's a barrage jam on all frequencies so strong we've had to attenuate our receivers to prevent damage."
"It's adapted again," Celesta said. "Just like the new tactic of pacing us."
"Yes, but it doesn't learn very quickly," Jackson said. "A high-power barrage jam is a crude method to suppress a radio signal. Its very existence lets you know you're being jammed. Maybe the operators on Nuovo Patria will be smart enough to know what that means and send a drone anyway. Coms ... a little more forthcoming with developing information pertaining to our current engagement, if you please."
"Yes, sir. Sorry, sir."
"Helm, adjust our current course to maintain this heliocentric arc," Jackson ordered. "I don't want to lead it down into the system if it's content to follow along
out here. We'll adjust when it does, but we won't allow it to push us into a rash decision."
"Helm answering to new heading now, sir."
They led the enemy on a circuit around the system for over ten hours at a leisurely pace with no change. Jackson had even ordered a few velocity changes to try and force a reaction, but the enemy would simply accelerate or decelerate with them. All the while the barrage jamming was in place so they couldn't even receive an automated signal from the planet or the com drone platform.
He knew that the enemy was likely building a profile that would help predict human behavior based on the interactions they'd had so far. Unfortunately that meant the aliens knew far more about humans than the crew of the Blue Jacket knew about them. The crew had taken to calling the ship "it" and referring to it as a singular entity because it was so unnerving to face a silent enemy that seemed to be only motivated by killing as many humans as it could. The fact that there could be a full crew on the behemoth chasing them was somehow more terrifying than thinking of the ship as a singular, unstoppable titan.
The problem was that the enemy's new tactics seemed to show they were at least somewhat aware to how humans reacted to prolonged stress. The slow speed chase was fraying nerves, causing lapses in concentration, and making them more prone to rash action. Jackson had caught himself more than once on the verge of ordering the Blue Jacket to spin and perform an emergency deceleration to see if he could get the other ship within range of the mag-cannons. Rationally he knew there was no way the ship could perform the maneuver without the alien matching them and having enough time to hit them with another of those devastating plasma bursts. But that didn't stop Jackson from considering the order just to get the waiting over, even if it resulted in the destruction of the ship.
"Sir, we need to start swapping out the crew for rest periods," Celesta said, her eyes bloodshot and her face drawn.
"I know," Jackson said. "Try and work it out. They'll have to make do with short naps ... I can't afford to have people in their quarters asleep if this thing makes a run at us."
"I'll try and—"
"Enemy ship is decelerating!" Davis called out far more loudly than necessary.
"Just decelerating or changing course?" Jackson asked, moving over to look at the plots the computer was generating from their meager sensor data.
"Just decelerating," she said. "Correction! It's turning into the system and accelerating towards Nuovo Patria."
"Son of a bitch," Jackson said. "This was their game. Wear us out and then make a mad dash towards the planet in a maneuver that we can't duplicate. Nav! Plot me a course in, maximum performance on three engines. Helm! Come onto new course when you get it and accelerate ... ahead full."
The Blue Jacket shook and rumbled as the engines were once again asked to provide maximum thrust. Jackson noted that the tone and vibrations were becoming more pronounced and more harsh as the mission wore on. He wondered how much the ship had left to give. The fact she was now steaming full bore towards yet another engagement with the alien ship was a testament to her designers, who could have never imagined what their brainchild would be subjected to when they drew her up fifty years prior.
"How long?" he asked.
"Nine hours and forty minutes," the specialist at Nav reported. "I can't do much better, Captain. We're carrying a lot of velocity in a very wide orbit. I'm trying to conserve as much speed as I can while turning as tight as she'll let me."
"Understood, Specialist," Jackson said, frustrated at the disparity between the aliens' reactionless drive and what it could do while they were slaves to Newtonian physics. "OPS, work with Tactical and try to keep a solid track on the enemy. It may be trying to lose us in the system."
"So much for resting the crew," Celesta said as Jackson sat down.
"I'll have Commander Owens issue stims if this looks like it's going to keep dragging on," Jackson said. "It's not my first choice to have my crew jacked up on drugs, but there are three people just here on the bridge I simply can't be without. I'm sure it's the same story in the other departments."
"I'll go down to Medical now and give Doctor Owens a heads up," she said, rising from her seat. "It wouldn't hurt to take a walk through the other sections while I'm down there to get a feel for how the rest of the crew is doing."
"Outstanding idea, Commander," Jackson said. "Thank you."
****
Celesta rode a lift down from the superstructure to deck nine, jogging down the port service tube, heading aft towards Sick Bay. She was becoming increasingly worried about the stress being piled onto Captain Wolfe. He'd assumed the full weight of recent events onto his shoulders, taking the deaths at the hands of the marauding aliens as his personal responsibility. She was worried it was going to lead to lapses in judgment on his part.
So far, the man she'd been serving with was nothing like what was described to her by Admiral Winters when she'd first arrived on Jericho Station. She assumed that she'd be meeting a buffoon of an officer who would be able to teach her little. Winters had even hinted that Wolfe was such a liability that she might be forced to take command of the Blue Jacket. The admiral had even gone so far as to say that he was respected so little by his crew that they probably wouldn't even question her. The message she'd received when they arrived at Podere confirmed that she'd been played. Celesta wasn't sure she liked what it said about her that she'd been handpicked for the task of undermining Captain Wolfe's authority.
When everyone around him was falling apart, Captain Wolfe seemed to be able to hold his fear in check and think rationally. The fact they were still flying, let alone delivering such a beating when so severely outmatched, was a testament to his ability to adapt to the situation. She'd like to think she would have been so cool if she had been sitting in the seat, but she couldn't be absolutely certain. Either way it would be over sooner than later. With the warp drive completely inoperable they were left with only two options: win, or lose.
"Commander Wright," Doctor Owens greeted her as she walked into Sick Bay. "Are you feeling unwell?"
"As unwell as anyone right now," she said. She'd meant it as a joke, but the chief medical officer just nodded with an understanding frown.
"Anyway ... I'm here at the behest of the captain. He wants to know if there is a low-grade stimulant that you can issue to the crew that will stave off the symptoms of fatigue for the next day, at least."
Owens' frown deepened. "I'm not necessarily in favor of distributing drugs like this to the crew," he said. "If certain members wanted to come in and—"
"Doctor," Celesta said forcefully, "the ship will soon be engaging the enemy, likely for the final time. We can't afford to rotate key personnel out to rest them, and the other departments are just as shorthanded as the bridge crew is. I'm coming to you in good faith that you'll understand the unique situation we find ourselves in."
He seemed to think on that for a moment. "I detect an implicit threat in that," Owens finally said. "If I refuse he'll relieve me of duty and find someone willing to distribute the stim packs." He waved off Celesta as she tried to protest.
"He has his job to do and I have mine," he said. "I wouldn't be much of a physician if I did not at least voice my concerns and he wouldn't be much of a captain if he didn't utilize everything at his disposal. I do, however, understand the situation. I will have my staff begin packaging the stims into two different strengths. I'll be counting on the department heads and supervisors to provide the correct one to the crew. Will that satisfy Captain Wolfe's requirements?"
"It will," Celesta said. "Thank you, Doctor."
"I'm in this fight as much as anyone else on this ship," Owens said with a shrug. "If you'll wait for a few moments I'll give you the required dosages for the bridge crew."
****
Jackson tried to keep from drumming his fingers on his armrest and bouncing his leg as the stims Commander Wright had brought up from Sick Bay began to take effect. The drugs had dried his mouth out and hurt h
is stomach, but the fog that had settled on his mind had lifted and he felt like he was again able to think clearly and quickly. He noticed the rest of the crew experiencing varying degrees of the same effects.
"Com frequency jamming has stopped," Lieutenant Keller reported. "However, there is no response from the drone platform. I'm getting signals from the planet but I'm having trouble cleaning the data up."
"It just took out the platform so there's no need to continue suppressing all communications," Jackson said. "Try and get a boosted signal to Nuovo Patria on the emergency band. Just tell them an attack is imminent and if they have anything that can take out landing craft or fight the enemy on the ground now is the time to drag it out. Just repeat that message as we fly down the well towards them."
The Blue Jacket was now flying away from the planet as it gained velocity and prepared for a series of gravity-assisted turns that would bring them back on course for Nuovo Patria. While counterintuitive to be running in the opposite direction at full power, the amount of energy needed to stop the ship, come onto the new course, and then try and accelerate back towards the enemy would do nothing but waste time and propellant, both a real concern when facing an enemy that didn't need to play by those same rules.
To compound the problem, the jump point from which they entered the system was at thirty-seven degrees inclination from the ecliptic plane. This meant not only were they needing an assist to pull them back towards the inner system, they needed to majorly correct their course on another axis and try to maintain their velocity through the maneuver.
"We've been captured by the seventh planet," Lieutenant Davis said. "Helm, the countdown for our next course change is being sent to your station now."
"Confirmed," the helmsman said. "Reducing power and preparing to come about onto new course."
"Helm, you're clear to execute course change orders from OPS and Nav until we're making our final approach to Nuovo Patria," Jackson said. "Don't waste any time waiting for me to confirm what they're telling you."
Black Fleet Trilogy 1: Warship Page 21
