Captain and Command

by Scott Bartlett

  Abruptly, every remaining Gok warship about-turned and headed for the system’s only darkgate.

  We’ve won.

  Chapter 4

  Grim Resolve

  “Coms, send all ships the order to pursue,” Husher barked when he saw the nineteen remaining Gok warships turning and flying for the darkgate.

  Many commanders would likely hesitate to leave the protection of the orbital defense platforms, especially considering the enemy force still outnumbered them nineteen to five, not counting starfighters.

  If it hadn’t been for the Pythons’ performance, Husher likely would have remained near the planet.

  But he’d seen the devastating effect the new model of fighter had had on the enemy. The Gok sensors were far from sophisticated enough to deal with the Python’s jamming capabilities—they couldn’t separate the signal from the noise; reality from illusion.

  If he led with his fighters and trailed with the five warships, pelting the Gok ships from a distance…

  If he did that, he could destroy them all.

  For a fleeting moment, he considered offering the enemy the opportunity to surrender.

  No. When an enemy came with overwhelming force and gave no sign they were interested in diplomacy—no sign they were interested in anything other than killing everything that lived in the system—that enemy deserved no quarter.

  A voice piped up from the back of his mind. The Pythons represent a devastating blow, from which the Gok will take at least a decade to recover. Peace will follow either way, but might not showing mercy serve to extend that peace?

  Husher shook his head. The Gok had joined the Ixa in their attempt to commit multi-species genocide. The vast majority of them refused to accept the virophage cure. Clearly, they liked the way they were. He would treat them just as they treated every other species in the galaxy.

  There will be consequences for this, the tiny voice put in, but Husher quashed it firmly.

  “Order Commander Fesky to harry the enemy warships, using the Pythons’ EW suite to spoof enemy radar and lidar. Tactical, be sure to broadcast firing solutions to the entire Air Group, and Coms, relay orders to the other ships’ Tactical officers to do the same.”

  “Aye, sir,” the Coms officer said, and Tactical echoed him.

  Husher watched with grim resolve as the cloud of Pythons—which would appear much more numerous to enemy sensors—overtook the Gok fleet, bombarding it with Sidewinders and kinetic impactors. Two Gok warships fell, followed by two more.

  Then the IGF warships began hammering at the enemy, the allied starfighters subtly shifting around the declared firing lanes before each blast.

  Like a pack of wolves harrying a herd of lame deer, they took down their prey, one by one. It was the work of less than an hour.

  In the end, Husher did let one warship escape: a frigate, the oldest and weakest ship the Gok had brought.

  After all, if today’s battle was to have maximum impact, then someone would have to live to tell the tale.

  Chapter 5

  A Step Forward

  Husher stood alone at a viewing window that stretched from floor to ceiling, his hands clasped behind his back. The window overlooked the main floor of this particular orbital production facility, which was almost completely automated.

  In the months that had followed the defense of the Arrowwood System, few had taken exception with Husher’s decision to completely obliterate the attacking Gok force. In fact, that decision was widely credited with ultimately ending the war and bringing peace much sooner than anyone had expected. The public hungered for peace, and so did the IU, so they commended Husher instead of condemning him.

  The Gok had also suffered devastating losses in the much-larger attack on the Caprice System, finally retreating with fewer than half the warships they’d arrived with.

  But the defeat in Arrowwood had been total, and the new starfighters’ capabilities had clearly spooked the Gok. Immediately after the battle, Husher had not only given his approval of the Pythons, but also his recommendation that they be produced en masse. Production had begun immediately.

  Unlike the IGF, the Gok had only recently achieved even rudimentary sensor fusion, and it would take years for them to develop their sensor tech enough to have a hope of contending with Pythons. Almost every Union analyst now projected long years of peace with the Gok.

  The hatch behind him opened, and he turned to see Fesky entering, wings tucked in to prevent them from battering the frame.

  “Captain,” she said. “You asked to speak with me?”

  “I did,” he said, turning back toward the laboring machines.

  His CAG joined him at the viewing window, joining him in gazing out at the production floor. This facility was mostly devoted to making the spherical fuselages that characterized starfighters, though other facilities would specialize in gyroscopes, sensors, weaponry, engines, and so on.

  “Quite a thing to behold,” the Winger murmured.

  Husher nodded. “The robots are working hard, all right. They’ll need to, if they’re to meet the demand posed by eight capital starships.”

  Fesky glanced at him askance. “Capital starships? The city ships, you mean?”

  “That’s right.”

  “I thought you opposed their construction. You sound…happy.”

  “Not happy, per se. Optimistic, or at least moreso than I’ve been.” He gave a sigh. “I’ve decided to support the capital starship concept, and I think if we push hard enough, we should be able to sway the public. Once that happens, Galactic Congress and Senate will follow suit.”

  “What changed your mind?”

  “Well, I’ve come to realize just how hungry the public is for peace. When this war with the Gok flared up, just two years after the Second Galactic War had ended…it’s made people so sick of conflict, Fesky. Sick of living in fear. I’d say that I can’t blame them, except that abandoning fear doesn’t do anything about the legitimate reasons for being afraid.” He shook his head. “The AIs that created the Ixa will be back. I spoke to Baxa before he died—I heard the conviction in his voice, and I know he was telling the truth about that. But it doesn’t matter. There’s no way I’m going to sell the public on the idea that war will come again sooner or later, even if it happens to be true. So I need to lend my support to a solution that acknowledges the current political reality.

  “Keyes’s sacrifice at the end of the war with the Ixa, while legend, can’t change what people think. Your reputation or mine—our skill, our accomplishments—they alone don’t come close to convincing the public of what’s necessary. So we have to work with their yearning for peace. I think the capital starship proposal does that. Eight nigh-invincible ships, roaming the galaxy, enforcing peace…it’s a decent compromise. Yes, both the politicians and the public want assurances that their captains won’t seek out conflict needlessly. They see the cities as a way to ensure that, and also as a way to stimulate the economy and improve interspecies relations. Fine. If it gets us ships more powerful than any the galaxy has seen, then fine. I’ll support it.”

  “Do you really think the ships will be invincible?” Fesky said.

  “I said nigh-invincible, and anyway, that’s not my wording. No, I don’t think they’ll be invincible, and anyone who believes they will be is likely in for a rude awakening once the AIs return. But they’ll be something, Fesky. They’ll represent a step forward. Given what’s coming, I think we sorely need that…don’t you?”

  The Winger nodded. “I do. Is this why you called me here?”

  “Partly. But there’s another reason. I’m told that, if the capital starships gain approval, I’ll likely be given command of one, in recognition of my service during the last two major wars. But whether they follow through on that or not, I want you to be my XO either way, Fesky.”

  Her head twitched toward him, and her stiffening feathers spoke of shock. “What about Commander Nelson?”

  That made him laugh. “Pleas
e. I’d resign before I allowed him to continue serving on my ship. He’s already been relegated to a desk job with the Fleet.”

  “Who would be CAG, then?”

  “Who would you recommend?”

  Clacking her beak softly, Fesky said, “Perry, maybe. Or Ayam.”

  “We’ll find someone—I’m confident whoever you recommend will be more than suitable. But I need you by my side, Fesky. I need someone who understands the threats that face us. And I need a friend. I can’t be surrounded by people, even capable officers, who don’t understand the situation at hand. We were always strongest when we worked with each other.”

  “I understand.”

  “But do you accept? If you don’t, they’ll likely give you command of your own vessel, after your performance in this engagement. I know what I’m asking you to sacrifice.”

  “I accept, Captain.”

  With that, fingers grasped talons, and they shook.

  Within two days, Husher sat aboard an interstellar passenger shuttle, his long deployment finally at an end. He’d already written to his wife, Sera, about the date he expected to get back. She’d replied, informing him she had a charity event that night, but that she would leave their daughter, Iris, with a sitter.

  The prospect of holding his daughter again had made him restless ever since receiving the message. At last, the shuttle disembarked, detaching itself from the orbital shipbuilding facility and rocketing toward the system darkgate. The days it would take to reach home stretched out before him like an eternity.

  Hours later, Husher left Arrowwood, his work here finished.

  Thank you for reading!

  Book 2 of Ixan Legacy is available now. It’s titled Pride of the Fleet, and you can click here to get it.

  Want to start Captain Husher’s story from the very beginning? Click here to check out Supercarrier, Book 1 of the Ixan Prophecies Trilogy.