Shadow of the Blue Ring

by Jerome Kelly

  Chapter Fourteen

  The Ambush

  “NOW!”

  Daniels swung the Evening Star out of the way of a wave of Al’cari fire and maneuvered them into an attack position.

  “Lets do it just like we did on Sharstrom. Fire the shock cannons!”

  Taking aim against the damaged forward portion of the Al’cari ship, the Evening Star’s mighty shock cannons opened fire once more, striking in the same concentrated pattern, right where the shields were vulnerable. A second wave of fire from the Al’cari ship came at them, Daniels dodging out of the way once more but not before one of them made contact with the starboard side of the ship.

  “Shields are holding,” Ivanov quickly informed him, the Evening Star’s defensive capabilities now back up to a hundred percent after the previous battles.

  “Easy does it,” said James, “circle around the Al’cari ship then make for the centre of the formation, lets see if we can’t get them to follow us.”

  Just as James had ordered, Daniels sent them speeding past the Al’cari ship and looping around behind them, striking the rear of the ship with several torpedoes as the went. As planned, the Al’cari ship began to follow behind them, not wanting to let James and his crew make a fool of them. Daniels had to dodge another wave of fire from the Al’cari but it was becoming routine for him now and he sped away towards the centre of the maelstrom that the alliance fleet had set up. Predictably, the Al’cari followed with the Vulian fleet moving into position to spring the trap, just as planned, the rest of the alliance fleets in position to circle the enemy and complete the trap.

  “The enemy vessel is in position,” Juarez informed the Evening Star’s crew, “we’re ready to begin the first phase of the attack.”

  “all right, prepare the attack frigates for their strikes on the Al’cari ship,” James ordered, “we want no more than two groups in the kill zone at any one time and have each group retreat the moment they complete their hit. We need all ships out of range before the Al’cari have a chance to take them out and we need any damaged ships to break off and take cover among the circling cruisers.”

  “Sending in the first group now. Keep drawing the Al’cari’s fire.”

  Continuing to evade the Al’cari ship, the Evening Star made a sharp turn, prompting the Al’cari to follow them and turning them away from the approaching group of Voronian and Naisan attack frigates. The two groups opened fire on the Al’cari, hitting their shields with everything they could muster. While small and agile, they lacked the punch of the Evening Star and their weapons were not making any kind of an impact.

  “Minimal damage to the enemy vessel,” said Ivanov, “they’re not even taking any notice of the other ships.”

  “As long as we keep them focused on us, the others can attack safely make hit-and-run strikes,” said James, “prepare groups three and four for their attacking runs.”

  This time it was a fleet of Churian disruptors, fast and very agile ships with considerable firepower for their size, that made their move.

  “It’s not having any effect,” Kalmar observed as the Al’cari shields shrugged of the firepower of the Churian attack ships, “these ships just don’t have the same power as our shock cannons, they aren’t nearly effective enough.”

  “We’ll keep at it, we’ll wear them down soon enough. Groups five and six, make your runs.”

  The Suran and Andurian attack frigates made their moves now, closing in on the Al’cari ship from behind and letting loose their guns into it’s shields. The concentrated pattern of fire was striking the same position on the ship that each of the other groups had hit but the effect was just not making the required impact. Without warning, the Al’cari ship turned it’s attention and opened fire from it’s starboard side, directly at the attacking group of Andurian frigates that were now making a hurried exit from the killing ground. One of them took a hit but it’s shields just about withstood the hit, breaking off and heading back to the rest of the Andurian fleet for shelter.

  “Groups one and two, repeat your attacks,” James ordered, “well, it looks like the rest of the fleet has got their attention.”

  Just as planned, the Al’cari ship was now right at the centre of the maelstrom, groups of agile attack frigates on all sides, making hit-and-run attacks, expertly co-ordinated by Iyacs who was running the entire battle plan from Ivanov’s console. The Evening Star was now no longer their prime concern and Daniels was able to move them out of firing range and into the clear.

  “We’ve got them right where we want them,” said Ansare, “should we move the battlecruisers into a position to engage?”

  “No, not yet, it’s shields are still up,” said James, “we need a clear shot at the ship itself, we need to keep wearing it’s shields down. Daniels, move us into position to attack. Ivanov, get a lock and prepare the shock cannons and both forward torpedo launchers. Lets give the fleet a helping hand.”

  The nimble alliance frigates were continuing to do a good job of keeping the Al’cari ship occupied. A few of them had taken hits but each time they did, they retreated out of the central zone and returned to the fleet for cover. Joining the attack, the Evening Star’s shock cannons fired once more, striking the Al’cari ship right on the vulnerable spot. The shields did not break though. They had been weakened but they were not going to be penetrated so easily this time. Two more Naisan frigates had taken hits and been forced to make a break for cover among the rest of the fleet. The number of ships on the hit and run strikes was thinning out and the Al’cari ship was making space for itself in the centre of the maelstrom.

  “We need more firepower,” James finally agreed, the frigates struggling to cause any kind of major damage to the Al’cari shields, “as the next group makes it’s passing strike, move the Juyoan destroyer into position and tell it to open fire. That should soften them up a bit.”

  Right on cue, the large silver Juyoan battlecruiser, the most powerful ship in the fleet, moved it’s massive array of broadside guns into range and opened fire while the Al’cari were distracted by a group of Voronian frigates. With the Evening Star on one side and the Juyoans on the other, the enemy were now caught in a deadly cross-fire and the force of the attack was finally weakening the Al’cari shields. The Al’cari responded by turning in the direction of the Juyoans to counter attack but as they did, two Suran dreadnoughts moved into range from the opposite side of the maelstrom and opened fire from behind the Al’cari. No matter which direction the Al’cari ship turned, it was always exposing itself to an attack from every angle. Against everyone’s expectations, the formation was working perfectly. Iyacs had not let them down with it’s expert planning of the attack.

  “Their shields are down to thirteen percent,” admiral Valentina informed them over the open comm system, “captain Tavarez, are you ready to close the trap?”

  “Yes sir, we’ll move the fleet in now,” said James, “Iyacs, activate the second phase of the attack.”

  “Relaying information to the fleet now,” said Iyacs, “be warned though, tightening the formation will bring many more ships into the Al’cari’s firing range and increases the risk of casualties.”

  “I’ll handle it,” said James, “we just need the extra firepower to break through their defences now that we’ve worn them down a bit. Can we move into a position to join the attack.”

  “Not yet sir,” said Ivanov, “shock cannon power is down to thirty percent, we need to give them time to recharge. We’ll have to move with the rest of the battlecruisers and stick to our conventional weapons for now.”

  “Very well, fall in with the inner circle of the maelstrom formation, prepare to engage with the rest of the fleet as soon as the Al’cari ship’s shields are down.”

  The last of the undamaged Churian, Naisan and Voronian attack frigates continued to make their runs against the Al’cari ship, hitting it with their full forward
firepower and then retreating out of range. Just as two more had taken damage and had to run for cover to, a torpedo from a Naisan flyer his a weak point in their shields and it impacted into the armoured surface of the Al’cari ship in a ball of fire.

  “Their shields are failing!” Raviano said over the open comm to the entire fleet, “I don’t believe it, Tavarez’s plan worked after all. All ships, prepare to fire on the enemy vessel.”

  One by one, each ship brought it’s weapons to bear on the Al’cari ship. The Churian star-forts and the Tolian battlecruisers were the first to move in, their shields shrugging off the first hits the Al’cari landed on them, returning the full force of their broadside firepower. The impacts struck the Al’cari ship along it’s port side, blasting into it’s armour and leaving large breaches in the outer defences. The alliance ships quickly moved back into the formation to avoid any further damage, allowing the Suran and Voronian ships to make their moves from the opposite side of the field, this time launching the full force of their broadside guns into the Al’cari ship’s starboard side before themselves moving back into formation.

  “Move us into position with the Andurian and Naisan fleets, prepare to join the attack,” James ordered, “we’ll go in from behind, take out it’s engines.”

  Aligning itself alongside three Andurian capitol ships, the Evening Star lent it’s firepower to the battle once more. Iyacs highlighted the weaknesses in the armour around the Al’cari ship’s propulsion systems, giving Ivanov a clear target to hit. Andurian and Naisan capitol ships were renowned for having considerable forward firepower and the combined force of their attack, alongside the Evening Star, broke through their enemy’s rear defences and tore through the engines. The Al’cari had been turning to try and counter the attack and cover it’s weaknesses but the bulky cruiser’s one achilles heel was it’s slow turning speed and it could not cover it’s weakness fast enough. It’s engines were powerless and they were dead in space.

  “The enemy ship has been crippled,” Raviano announced to the fleet, “all ships, move in and finish them off.”

  The Al’cari ship still had enough power to launch several more waves of fire but with the fresh alliance ships taking the lead with each new wave of the attack, they did not have enough to break through their shields and as such, were not able to inflict any damage. With the enemy unable to hurt them, every alliance ship moved into range, firing everything they had into the Al’cari ship. The continuing waves of fire smashed into it’s hull, taking out it’s guns and melting through it’s armour. James watched as the fleet tore it’s way into the Al’cari’s defences and after a minute or two of sustained fire, the ship broke apart in a massive ball of fire. The alliance fleet broke off, not wanting to be caught near the explosion or hit by any scattered debris. The infamous maelstrom-helix formation had worked for them almost flawlessly, bringing down an immensely powerful enemy without the loss of a single ship. It was almost too easy a victory against such a powerful enemy.

  “I expected more,” said Kalmar, who also seemed bothered by the ease of their victory, “a single Al’cari ship has decimated our fleets in the past. Even with a well executed plan, I thought there would be casualties, and quite a few of them.”

  “It doesn’t matter, we took down one of their ships, the alliance fleet worked as a perfect unit,” said James, “if anything, we’ve made a statement to the Al’cari that they are vulnerable, despite their power. Marek, everything Ok over there?”

  “Everyone is fine over here, captain Tavarez,” said Juarez, “I have to admit, I am damn impressed at the way you pulled that off. Using a teenager’s strategy game and an old Jaiytid AI from an abandoned facility to take down a thing like that? I think this is one for the record book. Maybe we’ll call it the Tavarez maneuver in a few years time. It was a wonderful example of what a great captain you’re becoming.”

  “Ha, it was nothing, I was just doing what I had to do,” James laughed, “it’s not over yet though, there will be more of them out there. We’ll have to do this all over again in a few hours time if we come across another one of their ships.”

  “We’ll be ready, don’t you worry,” said Juarez, “we’ll give the fleets some time to recharge and then we’ll move on to the next location. You take some time to congratulate yourselves on a fantastic victory. Juarez out.”

  The channel to the admirals and the rest of the fleet was closed, leaving James and his crew to their own device. Despite all the compliments, James had to admit that Kalmar was right, it shouldn’t have been so easy.

  “I know that look, James, “said Ansare, “you think there is something amiss here? Right?”

  “That thing could have ripped through one side of the maelstrom if it had really wanted to,” said James, “they hardly put up any kind of a fight. I want to know why.”

  “I believe I may have an answer to that question,” said Iyacs, “out of curiosity, I did a scan of the wreckage of the Al’cari vessel. I noticed that there was no organic matter present within the wreck.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “It means that there were no sentient beings on board. This ship was unmanned, likely controlled by a source somewhere nearby.”

  “A decoy!” Kalmar exclaimed, “but what for? I’ve never seen this tactic used by the Al’cari before… unless… they are using our own tactics against us. When my people engage the Al’cari, we often send in a cloaked scout or an unmanned ship to get an idea of what we are up against. At the same time we would often position a fleet nearby, hidden somewhere they could not detect us. As soon as we had an idea of what we were up against… we would strike…”

  “Open the channel to admirals! Tell them to get the fleet out of here! NOW!” James quickly ordered. It all made sense now, the Al’cari had thrown away their damaged ship in a scouting maneuver to assess the alliance fleets. James had wrongly assumed it to be a lone vessel out for revenge and looking to reclaim the Shadow Bringer but he now realised his mistake. Now that the enemy knew what they were up against, they would be ready to move in for the kill. Right on cue, all the ship’s warning alarms went off.

  “Captain, I can’t get a signal to the Vizastador,” said Elena, “something is jamming their communications. I can’t reach Raviano, Kyrakian or Valentina either.”

  “Then fire all of our warning flares! Do something!” James shot back, “I can’t believe I didn’t see this coming! I was a fool!”

  Even if the Al’cari jamming technology didn’t work on some of the Evening Star’s highly advanced systems, the rest of the fleet was not so well off. The enemy’s advanced jamming technology was rendering them blind to everything going on around them and blind to the imminent counter-attack.

  “How many ships lieutenant?”

  “Sensors show four Al’cari battlecruisers on their way to our location now,” said Ivanov, “they were hidden in the atmosphere of one of the system’s moons this whole time, their signal must have been masked by the moon’s magnetic field.”

  James’s moment of glory had done nothing more than serve his enemy with everything they needed to know about the fleet’s capability. Their overwhelming success in the previous encounter was about to become their downfall. With communications down throughout the fleet, they were sitting ducks. Even with the Evening Star’s warning flares, the rest of the fleet would still not be fully aware of what was coming their way.

  “Come on, why aren’t they moving!” James cried, “Iyacs, can you get any kind of message to the fleet to let them know what’s coming?”

  “I can attempt to open a link with the internal communication systems of each ship in the fleet but it will take a few moments,” Iyacs replied, “what message would you like me to relay to the rest of the fleet.”

  “Just tell them to get the hell out of here!” James said aggressively, the seconds counting down until the Al’cari arrived on the scene. The out
lines of their ships were now visible in the distance and they were closing fast. It was an anxious few moments as the fleet seemed in total disarray, confused and not knowing where to go or what to do.

  “They’re coming up right behind the Vulian fleet!” Kalmar exclaimed, “they’re going to get decimated, you need to warn them now!”

  “No, let the Vulians die!” Saavoy contested, “focus on getting the alliance fleets out of here safely, we don’t have time to save them too. And after what they did to us, why should we?”

  “No, it doesn’t matter what they did to us right now,” James shot back at him, “in this moment, they are on our side, we need to get everyone out of here, regardless of who they are. Iyacs, I don’t care how you do it, just get the message out there to retreat.”

  “I am attempting to relay this information through the computer cores of one hundred and thirty nine ships simultaneously while breaking through the interference of Al’cari jamming technology. I am tasked to capacity right now, I need a moment.”

  “We don’t have a moment Iyacs, the Al’cari are almost on us,” James snapped, “Ivanov, how long until they’re in range?”

  “Ninety seconds, sir,” said Ivanov, “I don’t think we can clear them out in time, their sensors are blind to everything around them. Unless they actually see the incoming Al’cari ships, they wont know what’s going on or why we launched the flares.”

  Any second now, the Al’cari would rip through the Vulian fleet and after that, into the alliance fleets. The casualties would be catastrophic. There was only one thing to do.

  “Helmsman, set a collision course with the lead Al’cari ship!” James ordered, “we need to distract them long enough to alert the alliance fleets to the danger.”