Raphael plotted the two paths. Rachel put her finger on a point on the display and said, “Give me a moment to get back in my seat. Inform the other ships we are jumping to this point at four G. We will go on your mark. Understand?”
“Aye, Ma’am”
Raphael informed the other ships of the plan and as soon as Rachel was securely in her seat, the squadron jumped to the point Rachel had picked.
A flight of what appeared to be a hundred drones flew silhouetted against the white glow of the Milky Way. A single full sized destroyer hid in the center of the drones. They were in ballistic flight silently advancing on the Planet Earth.
“How many of those do you think are nukes?” Wendy asked.
“All of them,” Faye Anne answered with a confidence that indicated she knew more than she was letting on.
“Lieutenant Rivera, since I jumped us short of our target let’s see if you can do better. Plot a short jump to a point directly on their flight path beyond their missile range.”
“Aye, Ma’am”
“Jump on your mark.”
The squadron dropped out of hyper space and spun to face the advancing drones.
“It’s the attack of the drones,” David quipped.
“That’s Episode Two,” Erika shot back.
“Come on you guys!” Rachel scolded. “Accelerate at one G to intercept!”
Suddenly the destroyer came alive. It launched a volley of four missiles.
Several of the navigators called, “Missiles incoming” simultaneously.
“How long to intercept?” Rachel asked.
“Twenty minutes.”
Rachel thought out loud. “If these were P I’s, twenty minutes would be plenty of time to get away, but, these ships can’t maneuver fast enough if those are heat seekers. We stand and fight. No running away for us.”
“Four more missiles launched. That’s eight.”
“All ships, prepare countermeasures in tube three for three minute delay and fire on my mark. Counting down. 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, Fire countermeasures,” Rachel commanded.
Sixteen small missiles leaped to meet the missiles fired from the destroyer.
“Four more missiles launched. That’s twelve.”
“Fire control, use thermal sensors only. No radar! Prepare lasers for missile defense. Wait until the missiles pass the countermeasures.”
“Four more missiles launched. That’s sixteen.”
Sixty-eight crew members in their positions on sixteen ships, each scanning their displays trying to control their fears, when Wendy, said, almost conversationally, “I don’t know how much you know about Rachel and me. We really resent being called war heroes or warrior princesses, but you must know we’ve been doing this kind of thing for a while. At the time of the battle for Homestead, I was fourteen years old and Rachel was sixteen. The battle at Eretz was less than four years later. All four of us were teenagers when we met the Swordsmen in combat. Our parents raised us to be pilots and warriors. It’s kind of like growing up in the circus, only more lethal.”
The line brought a few nervous chuckles.
“When our mother and I flew a P I ship in the battle at Homestead. It was just the two of us in that little ship. Rachel flew with our father in an identical ship. As we waited for the attack, our mother did the most amazing thing. She suggested we convene warrior school. For the last few hours before the battle, we discussed strategy and tactics. When the time came to engage the enemy, we were ready. In the few minutes we have left before the missiles engage the countermeasures, I think we should do the same thing. Therefore, I declare warrior school class open. We are nose on to the enemy. We have done this for several reasons. One is so we can give as many of our lasers as unobstructed a shot as we can against whatever gets through the countermeasures. Another is because our job here is to stop whatever this is that is headed in our direction, but there is yet another reason. If we alter our path, it means exposing the reactor radiators to the sensors in the missiles. The heat signature of a reactor radiator is unique. Heat seeking missiles are programmed to ignore everything else if they spot a reactor radiator. In fact, the Disruptor missile’s software is so intent on finding the radiators that if a sensor determines that the missile has passed one, it will turn itself around and hit the radiator from behind.”
The countermeasures detonated. Sixteen bright flashes lit up the darkness. Once they detonated, any thought of secrecy was shredded at the speed of light. The countermeasures functioned by making massive amounts of electronic noise on a wide range of frequencies to fool missiles into thinking they found their target and detonating on proximity. Three of the four missiles in the first volley were fooled and detonated. The fourth was not fooled and barreled straight through. The countermeasures created so much light that the lone missile was easy to see with the naked eye.
“Lasers, fire at will,” Rachel commanded. “Engineering, retract fiber links. Switch communication to visible laser.”
The combined force of lasers from sixteen light attack destroyers quickly incinerated the one missile that got through. None of the second wave passed through the rapidly expanding ball of debris. Only one of the missiles in the third wave was stopped. The three missiles that flew around the countermeasures were lasered out of existence. Two of the four in the last wave came through. They were dealt with in the same effective manner as the others.
“So, as I was saying,” Wendy calmly continued.
“Holy Shit!” Erika barked.
All of the fire control officers and the navigators made similar exclamations. The drones were powering up and starting their reactors. The sensors showed a much larger force of drones than had originally been suspected. The electronic noise emitted by the countermeasures had triggered their guidance systems earlier than had been planned. With their reactors running, they would be much easier for the heat seeking missiles to find and destroy.
“All ships. Fire control.” Rachel commanded, “Prepare to fire forward multiples. Set sensor sensitivity for heat only. Set minimum default detonation timers for ten minutes. Signal when you are ready.”
Sixteen icons lit up on her display.
“On my mark, all ships fire multiples. 3, 2, 1, Mark! Fire Multiples!”
The recoil from firing the missile was incredible. The ships shuddered as the missiles blasted from their tubes.
“All ships shut down engines. Rudder amidships, using steering jets only, spread the formation to pass around the drones. Relative to my ship and direction of travel, Red will go up. Blue will go left. Green will go right. White will go down. Maintain flight formations. Rotate to keep your nose facing the drones. Use your lasers on whatever survives the multiples. We will pass around the drones and regroup to attack from behind. We will communicate on tactical frequency five when we regroup. If you get a good shot at the destroyer, put a missile into it.”
The missiles destroyed about a quarter of the drones. The enemy destroyer found that its defensive shield of drones prevented it from using any of its defenses against the attackers. The shield of drones melted away under the assault of the light destroyers’ lasers. Almost as if they planned it that way, all sixteen ships simultaneously fired a single missile at the destroyer. It disappeared in a flash of nuclear fury taking some of the drones with it. When the light destroyers regrouped, a third of the original force of drones remained.
“Rotate to face the direction of travel,” Rachel commanded once communication was restored. Radio silence was now a moot point. Rachel suspected that the flashes from the battle would be visible to the naked eye as far away as Earth.
“Arm rear tube multiples. On my mark, fire rear tube multiples into the formation. Set sensors for reactor radiator temperature only. Set default timers for twenty minutes. Counting down, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, Mark! Fire multiples!”
The multiple warhead missiles blasted out of their tubes, shaking the ships they left behind.
“Execute outwa
rd U turn. Concentrate lasers on whatever is left. Be careful to avoid debris.”
Fewer than a dozen of the drones escaped beyond where the destroyers could chase them. Rachel hoped that the pickets who formed the second line of defense inside the line her squadron was guarding would catch them before they could do any harm. With their reactors running, they should not be too hard for the observation satellites to spot and the pickets to intercept.
Rachel regrouped her squadron a safe distance away from the site of the battle. She hoped it was far enough away that none of the debris from the destroyed drones would impact any of their ships. All of the ships had suffered some damage to their shields from the debris and a few had taken short laser strikes from the destroyer. Most had lost a sensor or two, but none had suffered serious damage and none of the crews had been injured.
“Well, kids,” Wendy said. “Wasn’t that fun?”
Her remark was greeted by a chorus of groans.
Wendy continued, “Our enemy based his plans on there being a hole in our defenses where we’re sitting. He thought he was going to face a squadron of inexperienced crews who would be easily overcome. What have we learned in that last little endeavor? We have learned that we were able to use the element of surprise to our advantage against an opposing force. There may have been more of them, but they were not really able to defend themselves very well. I think we can assume that another wave of something will pass this way soon. What do you think, Rachel?”
“I agree and I think that this next wave will be better able to defend itself. We have expended very little of our munitions in that skirmish. We will see what happens from here. Our surprise is gone. Our biggest problem will be that whoever is following the drones knows that they are facing a force to be reckoned with.”
“Yeah,” Faye Anne teased. “Who’s that?”
“Us!” Rachel shot back.
“Just checking!”
Bound by the physics of the speed of light and the inverse square law, the energy and light waves from the skirmish dispersed across the Central System. When Avi’s fire control officer heard Avi gasp she said, in her British accent, “Isn’t that where your girls are, mum?”
“Yes, I’m afraid so.”
“Mum, those are your girls and if they are anything like their mum, they’ll be just fine. Mark my words. They’ll kick some arse, they will.”
“I hope so.”
Greg saw the flashes and stopped speaking in mid sentence. His voice choked with fear.
Greg’s navigator said, “They’ll be fine. They’re smart, and they have new weapons. At some point you have to trust them to take care of themselves.”
“I don’t have to like it.”
“No, you don’t. We have incoming!”
Greg turned his attention to the formation of frigates headed in his direction.
Commodore Steve Reece watched the battle Rachel and company waged from the flight deck of the picket mother ship. “All pilots, to your ships!” he commanded. “Battle stations. All personnel to battle stations. This is not a drill. This is not a drill.” The klaxon sounded throughout the ship.
The pickets departed the mother ship in four waves headed in the direction of the oncoming drones. As Rachel suspected, they had little trouble detecting and destroying the drones. None of the drones survived past the line of pickets.
The squadron of light destroyers watched as the picket mopped up the remains of the drones and turned their attention to whatever would follow.
“Let’s use tactic number 48,” Rachel said.
“Are we spreading the ships out or doubling them up?” Wendy asked.
“Double up. I always thought that the ships in the diamond were vulnerable to flankers.”
“I wondered about that the last time we ran it,” David added. “Do you want flankers in pairs?”
“Yes, I think our number 3 each flight should make up the visible part of the diamond. Number 4 will hide behind them at a ninety degree angle looking away from the center of the diamond. Numbers one and two will hide behind number 4 to attack from the flanks. With any kind of luck our opponents will only see four ships and get over confident. If they attack head on, we can catch them in the cross fire.”
The squadron moved to positions and settled in to wait. They could see flashes and the sensors detected battles at several points across the system. Faye Anne broke the awed silence.
“Whoever this is, it’s not the Swordsmen. I don’t know who it is, but there are too many unmanned ships. It’s not their style. Everything they do has crew and all male crew at that.”
“I was kind of looking forward to kicking some Swordsman ass again,” Wendy joked.
“Not this time,” Faye Anne said. “We’re kicking ass. It’s just not Swordsman ass. You know, I was reviewing the data on the drones. There’s almost no metal in them. They appear to be made of glass. Glass and ceramic.”
“Are you thinking what I think you’re thinking?” Rachel asked incredulously.
“Third Force,” Faye Anne replied calmly.
“Incoming!” Several crew members called simultaneously.
All eyes focused on the displays. Still an hour away from missile range, the formation appeared to be composed of larger ships than before which lead them to believe that these ships had crews. The ships seemed to be larger than P I’s, but smaller than the light destroyers. The formation was headed directly at them. As the formation drew closer, they could see thirty ships in the formation.
“You know,” David said. “When I was a kid I was always told to pick on somebody my own size, until I realized beating the stuffing out of kids bigger than me was more fun! I gotta tell you, though this being the little guy stuff is getting old. At least it’s only two to one.”
“Okay, gang, we know the plan. Their goal is to get past us. Our goal is to stop them. If they can get by without attacking they will. If we miss a few and they slide by, we know the pickets are there to back us up. I would like to let them get into laser range before we fire. Diamond leads, prepare countermeasures for five minute run before detonating. They will be your first defense against missiles. Fire Control and Engineering, verify your pressure seals. Flight decks, put on your helmets. Pressurize your suits. Drop flight deck cabin pressure to one fourth atmosphere. If we get a hull failure due to a laser strike, I don’t want any of you streaming out into space. Stand by.”
“Hey, Rachel!” Faye Anne called. “Look at the formation. Do you recognize it?”
“No.”
“World War Two B-17 bombers!”
“Okay?”
“The B-17 was notoriously weak defending its aft flanks. If you attacked it head on or anywhere forward of the wing, it was well able to defend itself. The formation was designed to allow the ships to cover each other. The only problem was that the last guy at the bottom was still vulnerable to attack from behind and underneath.”
“I guess I’m having a slow day.”
Several crew members chuckled. Rachel had not acted like she was having a slow day.
Faye Anne huffed at her. “When we attack, we come in from the flanks, we don’t attack from the direct sides as the plan states, we attack from behind and below!”
“I’m game,” Wendy offered.
“Me too,” David chimed in.
“Targeting radar!”
“Standby to fire countermeasures!” Rachel waited a full minute. “Fire countermeasures.”
Four missiles headed in the direction of the approaching formation. The countermeasures were designed not only to fool missiles, but targeting radar and throw enough reflective material around that laser targeting was less accurate.
“Diamond ships, stand by to fire multiples. Diamond wings, prepare to fire countermeasures. All ships, arm offensive missiles.”
The formation passed through the countermeasures without firing. Everyone wondered what they were waiting for. They were well within laser range to the point where the destroyer crews c
ould see the approaching craft visually. Long seconds passed as the formation approached. At point blank range, the formation fired. Each ship fired two missiles. Sixty missiles were targeted at four ships. Rachel’s plan had failed and now her squadron was in extreme danger.
“Fire multiples! All ships reposition for missile defense! Fight leaders take independent command!”
The multiples were away and the four ships of the front line fought valiantly, but within a space of five minutes all the ships of the front line were gone. Rachel watched in horror as the consequences of her miscalculation unfolded in front of her. Missile after missile pounded the ships of the front line. Each hit sent a shudder through the rest of the crews. The remaining ships desperately tried to move to protect their comrades, but to no avail. The designers who had labored on the light attack destroyers had done their work well. Each of the ships in the front line absorbed a half dozen or more missile hits before succumbing. One after another they disintegrated in the white fury of a nuclear detonation.
Marines talk about not leaving dead behind, but in this battle, there would be no bodies to retrieve. Given the battle’s current state, it was possible that there would be no one left to tell the story.
For their parts, the fire control officers in each of the remaining ships trained as many of their lasers as could be brought to bear on the missiles, but it was not enough to save the four ships that made up the diamond front line. As much in anger as anything else, the remaining ships bore down on the advancing formation. The multiples had reduced the attacking force by a third and the second volley of multiples from the flankers further reduced the formation. After the second round of multiples, the formation was too dispersed for the multiples to work and the destroyers were so close that using them could make them vulnerable to “friendly fire” accidents. The next hour turned into a brutal free-for-all as the destroyers pursued the lighter ships that had challenged them.
Of the group, Erika turned out to be the most aggressively effective at intercepting both the missiles and the enemy spacecraft. She intercepted a few dozen missiles and destroyed three ships. When the battle was over, everyone in the group had at least one kill. They had used a tremendous amount of their munitions, but the enemy had been stopped.
Solomon Family Warriors II Page 59
