by PJ Strebor
“Sounds good, ” Moe said.
As the minutes counted down Nathan considered his options. He couldn’t employ his more lethal warheads and simply destroy the enemy ship. With the fragile Deception so close, the destruction of the enemy vessel would kill her as well. He had to break the connection.
Perhaps he could shake her free by hitting the enemy’s stern quarter with some low-yield nukes.
“Tactical, are you picking up weapons signatures?” Nathan asked.
“Negative, Captain,” Rudi replied.
Sensors said no weapons, Nathan’s back disagreed.
On Cimmeria the Bretish had made the mistake of thinking their adversaries were unarmed and it had cost them a terrible price in lost ships and dead crews. Nathan knew the freighter was dangerous. Her weapons could be hidden behind an energy dampening field as had been done in the past.
Nathan strapped in and checked his heading.
A minute later his comm beeped. “Captain.”
“Me again,” Moe said. “We’re on a secure channel. So what’s the other vessel?”
Nathan sighed. “I can’t tell you, Moe.”
“Jezzus Nate, you tell me everything. What’s going on?”
“The less you know the better off you’ll be. Trust me.”
“So, what’s the play?” Moe asked.
Nathan glanced at his busted hand. “I’m sitting this one out, so you tell me.”
“Hmm. I’d shoot a couple of nukes up her ass and see if it breaks, ah, the mystery boat loose.”
“Very well.”
“Well, we both couldn’t be wrong, could we?”
They chuckled in a subdued manner. Nathan sobered.
“Remember what I told you about Cimmeria? I’d bet a year’s pay that she’s armed.”
“Yeah, I figured as much,” Moe said. “I’ll keep my eyes open.” Even though they were on a secured channel she lowered her voice. “And you’ll let me know if there’s any surprises, right?”
“You bet.”
From the stern of the enemy vessel two landing boats moved toward the crippled spook boat.
The range finally closed.
“Committing,” Moe said.
A slight quiver from Adroit as two torpedoes flashed from her tubes. Nathan averted his gaze from his tactical hood as they both detonated under the freighter’s exposed engine nacelles. When his vision cleared the enemy had hauled over to port, with Deception still firmly in her grasp.
“Captain,” Moe said, “ineffective. Suggest I close with the enemy and attempt to hit the beam generator.”
Nathan smiled. “Very well.”
Moe changed heading bringing the boat around to position for the shot. She closed, until the emission point came into view. Nathan’s back flared.
“Moe evasive!”
Adroit corkscrewed to starboard and dropped toward the planet as multiple pulsar beams tore through the space she’d just vacated. More pulsar fire erupted from numerous gun ports along her lateral starboard side. Moe evaded them and took the boat out of range.
Nathan glared at his damaged hand. Fucker.
“Moe, take out the landing boats.”
“Aye Captain.”
It was a stopgap measure that would only buy them time.
The targeting scanner squealed as Moe locked onto the first LB. A torpedo struck out and then another. Fire from the enemy ship tried to knock them down without success. The landing boats could not withstand the detonation of even a mild type thirteen warhead and vaporized.
What could he do about the enemy warship? She wasn’t a combat vessel but a converted freighter. Although he’d never encountered a freighter bristling with so much weaponry. A thought occurred to him. Surely the Pruessens wouldn’t be testing another weapon aboard a headhunter vessel?
“So hotshot,” Moe said, “what now?”
“I’m wide open to suggestions.”
Silence.
He sat for a time staring at the beautiful orange world below him, working the problem. Moe’s piloting skill could be counted on. But they wouldn’t make it home with a damaged boat. Or one that had lost her stealth capability. As it stood, their chances were a fair bit less than the fifty-fifty he’d given to Doctor Jahn.
“We need to talk, Moe. Briefing room please.”
As he passed the auxiliary operations station he slowed. “Leah, take the helm.”
“Aye, aye, Captain,” she snapped.
Nathan wagged his finger at her and took a deep breath.
Moe retrieved and stepped into the briefing room. Grace joined them. They removed their helmets.
“If you don’t mind, Captain?” Grace asked.
“You’re right where you should be, D-O, at my right hand. But in this case I need to talk to Moe alone. Pilot stuff.”
Grace eyed them both with suspicion. “Very well.” She took her leave.
***
They would attack the enemy warship. They meaning both Moe and Nathan. Together they’d devised short hand communications. P for port, S for starboard, D for drop, C for climb, O for a dorsal rotation. Nathan would detect danger and advise Moe. She’d avoid the danger, drive the boat and rake the enemy vessel from bow to stern. First deplete her defensive weaponry then hit the beam emitter. It all sounded good in theory but practice time would have to be made on the job. Every minute they remained above Saint Joan decreased their chances of escape.
With the game plan set in their minds Nathan and Moe stepped onto the bridge. Moe to the combat sphere Nathan to the helm. They would take a lateral approach to the problem.
After years of steady practice, Nathan slipped quickly into his focused meditative state. He saw the target, felt the danger it posed, readied himself for battle.
“I’m in place, secure channel,” Moe reported.
“Right, like we discussed. Commit.”
Adroit came about, bow onto the enemy. Dangerous but necessary. Her forward defenses would be intimidating. Moe closed and when she got into range two torpedoes erupted from the enemy’s bow tubes.
Here we go. Nathan saw only the torpedoes.
“D five, S three.” His back ached intensely as the weapons closed. He’d bet money they were pulsar heads. “U one.” It felt right. “Fire.”
Pulsar fire struck out from Adroit and a second later the enemy torpedo blew apart.
“S eleven, D two.” Almost there. “A wee nudge to port. Fire.”
The second torpedo died as Adroit continued to close the range.
Nathan heard the squeal of the targeting scanner as it locked onto the bow weapons array.
“Permission to fire,” Moe said.
“Wait.”
“It’s not a plains buffalo, you know.”
“Same principle. D five.” Within pulsar range. His back flared. “O,” he snapped. The full axial rotation of the dorsal narrowed the target for the enemy gunners. Enemy pulsars struck out, passing either side of the boat.
“Fire.”
Four mark thirteens and two pulsar heads raced toward the enemy, as her defensive weapons intensified. One torpedo was destroyed just short of the target. The other five plowed into her defenses. Specifically around her sensor cluster. His back pain lessened. She must be blind.
“Cut her up,” Nathan said.
With her shields either down or in flux, Moe raked her weapons array. One weapon after another fell silent. Damn, she’s good.
Adroit closed the range, giving her port lateral batteries the same treatment. More by good luck, Moe hit the beam generator. Deception broke free. It would take time for her to restore power but her stern thrusters got her moving.
“WEO – Captain.”
“Applebee,” replied the weapons engineering officer.
“Type forty pulsar heads in all tubes, thank you, Roma.”
“Aye, aye, Captain.” Nathan could hear the grin in her tone.
Deception was still too close to the headhunter.
“Captain,” Moe said, “recommend I drag the mystery ship out of the battle zone.”
“Go.”
Moe positioned Adroit ahead of the spook boat, locked on a tractor and dragged her clear of the enemy warship. Out of range of enemy weapons she disengaged the tractor and brought Adroit about. The enemy ship had come about, attempting to flee.
“Will you look at that,” Moe said. “Trying to outrun a monitor.”
“Just kill her, will you?”
“Certainly, Stanley.”
She knew what to do from here on, so Nathan sat back. Moe dodged the freighter’s stern pulsar fire with ease before taking them out. Adroit’s pulsars knocked out her engines and tore holes in her shields before a single high yield pulsar head ripped into her engineering section. Moe turned the boat sharply away as the enemy ship exploded.
Moe retrieved and relieved him of the helm station.
“Damn, you’re good,” Nathan said.
“We’re a hell of a double act,” Moe said around a smile. “Are we going to tractor the mystery boat all the way home?”
“No. Just through the minefield.”
“What minefield?”
CHAPTER 24
With Deception under tow, Nathan piloted both vessels through the mine field. Moe and Nathan had become a good team. Just like when they’d been kids. Finally he was close enough to make contact with the spook boat. Spotiswood answered. Nathan cut to the chase.
“How soon till you restore shields, Commander?” From the briefing room, Nathan spoke on a secure channel to Deception’s Captain.
“About thirty minutes.” A short pause. “You need to get back aboard.”
“I have a duty to this boat and its crew.”
“As soon as I have my buffers fully restored I’m going to make a run for the frontier. I want you with us.”
“That would be a mistake,” Nathan said.
“Why? It’s the most direct route and it’s not as if they know we’re here.”
As succinctly as he could, Nathan explained about his encounter with Captain Reinhardt and what he had to do to protect the operative’s anonymity.
Spotiswood didn’t reply for nearly a minute. “What are you going to do?”
“Head west.”
“West?”
“They won’t be expecting us to do that,” Nathan said. “It might give us an edge.”
“Hmm, west, aye?” the Commander said. “Then what?”
“I was thinking of running the shoals.”
“The Poseidon Shoals?”
“Yep,” Nathan said. “They shouldn’t be expecting that either.”
Another lengthy pause. “It’s a fair plan. So, we just tag along with you?”
“Think of Adroit as your escort.”
“Right. I’ll let you know when we’re ready to go. What are you doing now?”
“Preparing to kill some of my crew.”
***
Nathan hyperventilated, filling his bloodstream with an abundance of oxygen. When the isolation tank hatch opened, the freezing airless environment of space would hit him like a stun blast. He checked the seat harness. Don’t hold your breath or you’ll rupture organs. Breath out slowly. Ten seconds, you only have to last ten seconds.
The last time he had been exposed to vacuum he’d been a lowly acting ensign on the monitor Truculent. Back then the pressure had been far more intense than now.
Through the clear composite window, Moe and the others waited. Like him they wore V suits, helmets off. Moe, he felt sure, would continue to fret. He took one last breath and nodded to Doctor Jahn.
The hatch snapped open and the bitter cold clawed at his eyes. He breathed out slowly between pursed lips while blinking his eyelids to prevent them from freezing.
His lungs had almost deflated when the hatch closed and air flooded into the tank. He removed his right glove and placed his hand into the sleeve. The seals cut off the blood flow. Jahn took a blood sample and examined it.
“Call clear, Captain,” the doctor said over the speaker.
Moe held up her right thumb. Because of his immunity to the plague it was all for show. Nathan donned his helmet and gloves to give the impression of avoiding being contaminated by the crew. Moe was next. She’d be fine.
Nathan left the isolation tank, arriving at the bridge a minute later.
Ensign Perrie hovered over the tactical display.
“I’ll take over, Leah,” Nathan said.
“Yes, sir.”
Her anticipation clearly showed on her face. He placed a big brotherly hand gently on her shoulder.
“Just remember your training and you’ll be fine,” Nathan said. “And what don’t you do no matter what?”
“I won’t hold my breath, Captain.”
“Good. Off you go.”
He had no doubt that the young officer had kept a close watch on the surrounding space but ran a search pattern anyway. Not surprisingly, clear space greeted him.
***
“If I had access to proper medical facilities I could have saved Heng.” Doctor Jahn shook his head. “Same with Cosperica. She’ll be dead by morning. Too much damage to her lungs and organs. She held her breath.”
“She was young,” Grace said, “she panicked.”
“It’s a tough thing,” Moe said. “But on the big scale, two out of eighty-four are pretty good odds.”
“Unless you’re one of the two.” Nathan knew she was right. They could have lost more. Still, as Captain, the two deaths were on him.
“Thank you doctor,” Nathan said by way of dismissal.
“Mind if I take a look at your hand?”
Nathan held up his left arm and the doctor ran his scanner over it. “That’s coming along nicely. Very nicely. Do you heal quickly, Captain?”
“Yep,” Moe answered for him. “Even as a kid he recovered from injuries that would have anyone else in bed for a month.”
“Then keep doing whatever you’re doing.” Jahn left.
“So, what’s the plan?” Moe asked.
“Dec, the mystery ship should have her buffers charged by now so we’ll head roughly north-west.”
“North-west?” Grace said.
“Yep,” Moe said. “We get into the shipping lanes for Midway. A lot of traffic to help cover our tracks. I suppose you’re going to make a run for the shoals?”
“You bet. And as you know, only headhunters and lunatics run the Poseidon Shoals.”
“You’re taking us through there?” Grace asked.
“Relax Grace,” Moe said. “You have not one but two command pilots on the crew roster. What could possibly go wrong.”
CHAPTER 25
Date: 25th July, 326 ASC
Position: Saint Joan orbit.
Status: Freighter Cormorant, engaged in rescue operations.
Although Cormorant had arrived on time, Captain Reinhardt’s mood remained dark. Nearly a day trapped aboard the claustrophobic landing boat had used up what little patience he had.
“You’ve scanned our boats,” he repeated to the freighter Captain, “have you detected even the slightest reading of plague contamination?”
“No, Captain Reinhardt, not a trace. But I would like to await orders from Midway, sir.”
“You know what I do for a living, right Captain?”
Over his comm he heard the civvy gulp. “Yes sir, you’re sector chief for the intelligence service, sir.”
“Very well then. Under that authority I order you to open your boat bay hatch and let us board.”
“Respectfully, sir, you’ll have to take responsibility for that. Ah, sir.”
“I just did. Now open the fucking hatch.”
After boarding Cormorant, Reinhardt marched directly to the comm room. The communications officer turned as he entered. His mouth opened in protest.
“Get
out,” Reinhardt said. The tech froze, noted his insignia, then left.
Finally alone, he reported on the disaster to headquarters on Midway. It would take weeks to receive a reply but he’d done his duty. In this sector of the Empire, four complete battleship task forces were engaged in naval exercises along the frontier. That was a turn of luck.
Switching to military frequency he sent a broad band transmission to all Pruessen naval units in the sector. After sending verification of his status he took a breath and began.
“To all warships. Be aware. There are two enemy vessels in our space. One is an Athenian monitor the other is of unknown designation. They are not to be destroyed unless absolutely necessary. Capture intact if possible. However, they must not be allowed to escape. Cover all routes leading south.” He was about to sign off when he remembered the final formality. “Long live the Emperor.” It irked him to have to send the comm. At no better than light speed the message would take weeks to get to Midway. Bloody stupid regulations.
He keyed his comm. “Captain, this is Reinhardt.”
“Yes, sir,” the freighter captain said.
“How many courier boats does your ship carry?”
“Four sir.”
“I’m requisitioning them,” Reinhardt said. “Have them ready to go in twenty minutes.”
“Yes, sir.”
He cut the connection. Good dog.
Sitting back he rubbed his face. “I’ll send two couriers to locate and inform the southern fleets to set a search grid,” he mused aloud. “One will go to Midway and rally forces. The last one will seek out the fifteenth and twenty-fourth fleets patrolling the Oberon Cluster. The battlegroup has E boats. I like stealth boats for this mission. Once they arrive I will personally track down Hans.” He went to work creating four sets of orders that the couriers would hand to the fleet commanders. Under his considerable authority no one would be foolish enough to refuse. He stood and tried to stretch the kicks out of his back. “I need a hot shower. And an E boat squadron would be nice too. Yes, I’d love to be the one to catch up with Hans. Or whatever the fucker’s name is.”
CHAPTER 26
