Sarah first engaged the Pasteur’s intruder suppression gas. She flooded the entire ship except the Medical Bay. At the same time, she sealed the Med Bay doors so no one could get in or out. She also isolated Med Bay’s computer terminals from the main and backup servers. If there were any Galorans in Med Bay they were completely cut off.
Next she released the exterior plasma emitters. Rapidly the gases expanded outward. At the last second Battle Commander Maloney ionized the plasma. The whole area for half a light year became luminescent. Within the field of charged particles there were eight blank spaces.”
Sarah reacted instantly. “Paxton, replace the Annihilators in the forward tubes with smart torpedoes and fire when ready. Blanket that area. Tactical, target as many of those dark areas with our forward PPCs and fire. Cox, plot a course straight down the centre of those shapes and engage at warp fourteen.
“Torpedoes away, Battle Commander,” Paxton reported. Almost immediately explosions could be seen in the plasma field. Four or five destroyers appeared as if by magic. They had sustained significant damage.
As the Victory entered the cloud perimeter Sarah ordered the port and starboard tubes to begin firing with warheads set to proximity detonation. Three more ships appeared, super ships, what the Galorans called “Axia-class.” They, too, had sustained heavy damage. Victory’s tubes, already loaded with smart torpedoes, launched again. More explosions were seen as, still-cloaked, Axia-class vessels ran into the dispersed charges.
“Tactical, bring PPCs to bear on those explosions and fire. Four more Axia-class ships de-cloaked with moderate to heavy damage. All the Galoran ships were visible, or at least those that the charged plasma cloud had revealed. Most, too heavily damaged, were retreating. For a moment it looked like the battle was over until the Tactical station reported that a handful of smart charges were set off at the outer perimeter of the battle zone.
“More Axia-class ships,” Sarah concluded as Hines turned towards her. “Latimer, signal the Exeter. Tell them to blanket the area with smart torpedoes as soon as they drop out of hyperspace.”
The ensign had just completed the order when the first shots from the attacking ships hit the Victory. Sarah ordered Paxton to fire another volley of Annihilators set for proximity detonation. Two damaged Axia ships appeared, they were in retreat as the Exeter dropped into normal space.
As ordered, Exeter blanketed the area with smart torpedoes and jumped out again. As Sarah expected, smaller concentrations of the smart charges was not strong enough to penetrate the limited shields of the cloaked Axia ships, but a saturation level of smart charges was enough to force the Galorans to de-cloak in order to bring their shields to full power and, at the same time, maintain the charge on their energy weapons.
Victory took significant damage from the first attack of the Axia warships. She still had half of her torpedo tubes port, starboard, fore and aft, and enough of the heavy Annihilators for one last run at the Galoran raiders. Sarah ordered Cox to reduce speed to feign damage.
As Victory broke off from the battle zone the Galorans pursued her, Sarah had Cox slow down, as if the engines were failing. At the last second, she ordered Victory to come about and charge down the centre of the attacking ships. For the most part the tactic worked.
Only one Galoran ship was able to pull back at the last second and escape Victory’s last offensive. As she fired her last Annihilator the enemy vessel began an attack run. With her battle shields down to forty percent, Sarah wasn’t sure they could stand another assault from the Galoran super ship.
“Cox, turn us toward her. Tactical fire all forward PPCs.” Cox did as he was ordered, but the tactical station only got one shot off from the PPCs. As they tried to maintain fire the emitters failed under the load.
The Galoran ship must have sensed their problem as the Axia ship held her fire until she was at minimum range. Just as the Galoran was about to open fire, the Exeter dropped out of hyperspace once more. This time she was firing Annihilators from all tubes. The Galoran ship was utterly destroyed. The Victory’s bridge crew allowed themselves the luxury of one rousing cheer before getting down to business once more.
Sarah issued her last commands. “All stations report status to the exo. All damage control teams report repair estimates to exo by 1800 hours. Latimer, send to Captain of the Exeter – ‘Thanks for saving the day.’” She then stepped out of the captain’s chair.”
“Battle Commander standing down, Captain. I return command to you, sir,” she said.
“Thank you Battle Commander, you are relieved.” The formalities out of the way Captain Hines added, “Well done Lieutenant-Commander!”
Sarah was surprised, “Sir? The Victory is badly damaged, and if not for the Exeter’s timely arrival…”
Hines held up his hand to end Sarah’s self-recriminations. “First off, Lieutenant-Commander, battle damage is what it is. You know as well as I do that when you go up against superior numbers you will take many hits. You may have noticed that we are still in one piece – more or less. The more critical damage will be repaired as we continue to Corps Base 16. Once we get there, Command will assess the damage and decide if the Victory will undergo refit.” Again, Sarah was taken aback.
The captain continued his very public assessment. “We assumed a particular scenario going in. Had that been the case, then your initial plan would have kept that damage to a minimum. As it was, your quick thinking prevented us from flying into a very deadly trap. I shudder to think what would have happened if you hadn’t pulled that play with ionized plasma out of your bag of tricks.”
“Sir,” Sarah countered, “If it wasn’t for Exeter we would be in Galoran hands…”
“Yes,” the captain interrupted her, “and whose idea was it to keep the Exeter in reserve for just such an eventuality?”
At that point Ensign Latimer broke in. “Reply from Captain of the Exeter, “‘Glad to be of assistance. It was an honour to fight alongside you, Battle Commander!’”
The captain turned to Latimer, “Thank the Captain of the Exeter again, for me. Inform him of the possibility of, hopefully still sleeping, Galorans aboard the Pasteur, and ask him to take over with her transport to Corps Base 16.”
“Captain,” Sarah interjected, “may I suggest that we lend Exeter some of our marines as backup to her troops? It is hard to say what they might find when they board the Pasteur.”
“Good thinking, Maloney. Latimer, make it so.” The captain ordered. Then turning again to Sarah he continued, “See, that’s what I’m talking about. That was an excellent recommendation.
“Your performance was outstanding. I could almost say that I owe you my ship. After the fact, everything you did was so logical, but if I am honest with myself, I am not sure that I would have seen what you saw, or did what you did. I am going to hate to lose you, but after I do what I am about to do I can just see Command transferring you off the Victory, especially if they decide not to refit her.”
“About that, Captain,” Sarah cut in, “Victory is a great ship, why would they not refit her?”
“She is a fine ship, Lieutenant-Commander,” Hines agreed, “but she’s almost thirty years old and only a Jump-two vessel. Command may choose to decommission her and name a new Jump-three ship after her.
“And now, before you interrupt me again, Lieutenant-Commander – and that’s the last time I will call you that – for superior service to this ship, her captain and her crew, I hereby promote you to the rank of full Commander, with all the duties and privileges of that rank. All assembled, hip hip…”
The bridge crew responded with a rousing “Hurrah!” The captain repeated the cheer twice more to the resounding response from the bridge crew.
“Now, Commander, report to quartermaster before she gets too busy with the repairs, and then take over from Commander Grifn coordinating damage control.”
Sarah snapped to attention smartly, “Aye, Sir!” She then relaxed, smiled at the captain adding, “Thank yo
u, Captain.”
Captain Hines leaned in close once more and quietly said, “The gratitude is mine,” and glancing around the bridge, “…and ours. Dismissed, Commander.”
Captain Hines’ prediction was correct. After three days at Corps Base 16 Terran Command decided that the damage that the Victory sustained was sufficient to warrant decommissioning her in favour of a newer vessel. Accordingly, the crew was reassigned.
Captain Hines was promoted to Vice-Admiral and reassigned to the Stellar Corps’ Terran. Commander Grifn was given command of the LSS Intrepid, a new smaller, leaner and more powerful Jump-two class ship. Most of the crew went with him. Many were anxious to serve on a brand new ship, even if it was only Jump-two. Sarah was transferred to the LSS Pegasus, another Jump-three ship, though significantly newer than the old Victory.
Before she assumed her new post, however, Sarah had to return to Earth Command for a lengthy de-briefing on the Pasteur mission. For reasons that no one could understand, apart from the standard report and interview, she was essentially put through the wringer about each part of her strategy.
The sessions lasted for three days, following which Sarah was informed that she was being awarded a further commendation, over and above the one given by the captain for the execution of her strategy. She was also given a week’s liberty so, of course, she went home.
Sarah had been home for about three days when the summons came; orders to report to Terran Command’s New York headquarters. As ordered, she presented herself at the office of Admiral Henderson Porter at 0900 hours the next morning. The admiral wasted no time on pleasantries.
“Sorry to intrude on your liberty Commander Maloney,” he began. “Undoubtedly you have been informed of your new assignment?” When Sarah confirmed this, he continued. “Then you know that you are to report to the LSS Pegasus as her new executive officer. Your new captain will be Captain George Willoughby. Willoughby is a good man; no nonsense and straight up. At least that is how he appears to anyone reading his record of service. We in the Admiralty, however, have questions.”
“Sir?” was all Sarah said in response.
“Don’t get me wrong, Commander, Captain Willoughby has done exceptional service for the Stellar Corps. He has been decorated and commended many times.” Admiral paused for a moment. “It’s just that he never did that well at the Academy. No one ever expected him to make captain. That alone might be ascribed to natural talent, but it is equally possible that he has had help to excel.” He paused again.
“How can I put this? His rise to command was very smooth. It is almost as if the assignments he was given were designed to allow him to succeed. I am sure that you remember Commander Dekert?”
“He is not easy to forget,” Sarah said.
“His path to success was very similar, and as far as we can be sure, Dekert was an agent of The Bureau. Even though The Bureau was outlawed, and officially closed, more than fifty years ago, we are quite certain that it’s still active, still recruiting in the shadows. We fear that The Bureau has its tentacles reaching into all parts of the Corps perhaps even as far up as the Admiralty.”
“Admiral, with respect, is this just a heads-up or do you have orders for me?” Sarah asked directly.
“Not orders, exactly,” he answered. “We simply need you to be aware of your surroundings. You need to be alert to what’s going on around you. If Willoughby is Bureau, then he will have you in his cross hairs. The Bureau won’t have forgotten Dekert so soon. It’s known for its long memory, and for having a passion for revenge.
“But there is more… We suspect that Willoughby may be a part of The Bureau’s financing arm. Since they were outlawed The Bureau needs to find other ways to finance their activities. For example, the League has established certain laws with respect to refugees escaping from the Galoran Empire’s colony systems.
“The League of Systems has determined that we cannot assist ships fleeing the Empire so long as they are on the Galoran side of the frontier. If, however, a ship should make it into League space, Corps vessels are ordered to offer them assistance and protection from pursuing Galoran warships.
“As you can guess, the Empire is not so pleased with the League’s position. The Galorans will pay significant bounties for any ships that are either turned back, or disabled before they can cross. They pay a lesser bounty if the fleeing ship is destroyed, as an example to others who would try to run.
“Needless to say there are a number of private ships that are willing to risk patrolling the frontier in order to intercept these refugees and turn them back and collect the bounty. If caught these captains will lose their ship, and the command crew can be sent to a rehab colony, but those who do it usually believe the “reward” makes the risk worth it.
“Since the law went into effect we have heard rumours that a few Corps ships have been collecting the bounties. As we can’t find any evidence of this in the personal finances of any of the captains suspected of doing it. We can only assume that the money is being used to finance The Bureau’s activities.
“We suspect that Willoughby may be one of those helping to keep The Bureau in business. If that is so, it means that his bridge crew may be also be Bureau agents, or are in some way being coerced into cooperating; the latter being the more likely. Either way, if you witness such behaviour you will have no choice but to arrest Captain Willoughby and take command of the Pegasus.”
Sarah was taken aback by Admiral Porter’s statement. “Is that an order, Sir? Forgive me for saying so Admiral, but it sounds like a lot more than just a heads-up.”
“It’s a necessity,” Porter answered. “If he is breaking the law and consorting with our enemy, then he is unfit for command. He must be removed. I am counting on you, Maloney, to do the right thing; should it be necessary.”
“I always do the right thing, Admiral,” Sarah responded. She was somewhat miffed that Porter should suggest anything otherwise.
“That’s all I ask, Commander; dismissed.”
Sarah left the Admiral’s office feeling very uneasy. There was something gnawing in the pit of her stomach. It just didn’t feel right. Then, to her great delight she ran into Thomas Grissom. She was about to address him as “Commander” when she noticed the new insignia on his collar.
“Congratulations, Captain,” Sarah said enthusiastically.
“You, too, Commander,” he replied warmly. “What brings you to Terran Command in the middle of your liberty?”
“I just had the strangest meeting with Admiral Porter. He said that it was just to give me a heads-up about Captain Willoughby, but it just doesn’t feel right.”
“Have you time for a coffee, Commander?” Grissom asked. “Maybe you’d like to share it with me?”
Sarah agreed, and the pair headed for a café not far from the base. During the short walk Sarah and Grissom exchanged pleasantries and various bits of information of a more personal nature.
“By the way,” Grissom told Sarah, “you will have an old friend joining you on board the Pegasus. Your former student, Peter Preston, now Ensign Peter Preston, completed his Officer Candidate training with flying colours and has been assigned to the Pegasus as a Tactical/Security officer.”
When Sarah gave the captain a quizzical look he continued. “Ever since you took the initiative with Mr. Preston back at the Academy I have kept an eye on him. Your faith in him, and his talents, is well founded. I agree with your belief that he’ll make a fine officer, and I was sure that you would appreciate having an old friend along as you begin your first stint as exo on the Pegasus.”
After they were seated in the café with their coffees steaming before them, Grissom turned serious. “So, Maloney, tell me about this meeting with Admiral Porter.”
Sarah looked about to see if anyone was showing any interest in their conversation. When she was certain that there were no prying eyes, she told Grissom everything that Admiral Porter had said to her. When she finished Thom Grissom sat silently, mulling over what
he had just heard.
When he finally spoke up, he was guarded in his response. “On the surface it sounds like a friendly heads-up, just as he said, but the nature of it, and why he’d make a special effort to call you in doesn’t make sense. Have you ever had any dealings with him before?”
Sarah shook her head.
“Then why call you? What could he be driving at?”
“What I am curious about is the fact that he kept insisting that he isn’t giving me any orders, yet he insists that if I observe the kind of behaviour that he outlined I was to act immediately. It just doesn’t feel right.”
“Your gut?” Grissom asked.
“My gut,” Sarah agreed.
“Then trust your gut, and watch your six,” Grissom told her. “Sarah, you’re too valuable to the Corps to get caught up in a Bureau revenge scheme. Be careful, please!”
“I promise, Captain,” Sarah said solemnly, then changed the subject, “So, tell me, does a new assignment go with the captain’s bars?”
“Yep! I’m being assigned to the Lunar Design and Assembly Station. I’ll miss the Academy, but it hasn’t been the same since you left anyway, and now that your protégé has graduated too, a new challenge is looking good.”
Sarah and Grissom chatted over their coffees for another half hour before Sarah left to meet her mother for a little shopping. As they parted she still felt uneasy about her meeting with Admiral Porter, but her chat with Grissom had helped her put it all into perspective. A few days later she boarded the transport to Corps Base 6 to rendezvous with the Pegasus.
If Porter had made her uneasy about Captain Willoughby, the captain did his best to make her feel welcome on her arrival aboard the Pegasus. He personally showed her to her quarters.
Chronicles of the Stellar Corps: Sassy Page 15
