Steele's Demon Star

by Dietmar Wehr

  “Detecting gravity ripples, Admiral. They’re powering up their vanes,” said the Tactical Officer. Hara nodded. The five red icons were now pulling away quickly. Their effective acceleration increased by two orders of magnitude and was continuing to increase. She noticed that her HO was looking at her with a puzzled expression.

  “Won’t they drop back to sub-light as soon as possible, Admiral?” he asked.

  “If he’s smart, they will. I’m counting on it in fact. Sogard will try to arrange a rendezvous with the reinforcements who will keep their transponders off so as not to reveal their existence to us. He’ll be convinced that we won’t detect his transponder signals quickly enough to catch up to him before he can join forces with the reinforcements and if we didn’t have the new detection system, he’d be right. Since we do have it, we don’t need to rely on his transponder IDs to see where he is and where he’s going. As soon as the reinforcements start to maneuver to rendezvous with Sogard’s destroyers, we’ll intercept them and attack them from behind. With a little luck, we’ll be able to ambush the destroyer squadron too. Stand by for a new course change, Helm.”

  DeSoto shook his head in bewilderment. The tactical display was now showing two sets of transponder signals from Sogard’s destroyers. It wasn’t the how that was puzzling him. He understood that Sogard’s destroyers had gone super-luminal for the briefest possible length of time and had outrun their own transponder signals. TacComp was now picking up signals from both where they had been and where they were now. What was puzzling him was the why. By dropping back into normal space much closer but with the same velocity, Sogard had made it more difficult and time-consuming to bring the two groups together not to mention the fact that DeSoto now no longer had the option of ambushing Admiral Hara’s squadron as she trailed behind the destroyers.

  “Helm. Figure out the best way for both squadrons to link up then pass that data to the Com for transmission to Commodore Sogard’s flagship. As soon as you’ve done that, order the squadron to make the necessary vector changes.”

  With that order acknowledged and his squadron executing the calculated maneuver, DeSoto leaned back and turned his thinking to the problem of finding Admiral Hara’s force. He’d consult with the Commodore when both flagships were close enough to do so, but he suspected that the wormhole where the two sides had confronted each other would end up being the point of contention. If Sogard agreed with that assessment, then the only question was whether his combined force of cruisers and destroyers would be able to take control of that wormhole before Admiral Hara did. He looked forward to finding the answer to that question.

  Chapter Ten

  Vanquisher’s Bridge was deathly quiet now. The squadron was using the FTL vanes to multiple normal space velocity by a factor of eight, giving it a virtual velocity of 85% of light speed. Hara could have ordered her squadron to exceed the speed of light, but that would have generated gravity ripples powerful enough to be noticed by both Sogard’s destroyers and the reinforcement ships. By keeping virtual velocity below light speed, the approach to the reinforcement group could be kept stealthy even though it meant a longer transit. In order to keep her squadron together, each ship’s navigation computer had been programmed to control the sub-light maneuver, including all ships decelerating at the same time.

  “Twenty seconds to FTL power-down,” said Daniels in a low voice.

  Hara looked around to make sure that all the bridge personnel had their pressure suits on and helmets within reach. Vanquisher and the squadron were at Battle Stations.

  “FTL power-down in…three…two…one…now,” said Daniels.

  “Stay sharp, everybody,” said Hara. She held her breath while waiting for TacComp to update the tactical display and the ship’s targeting data. The display updated and changed the scale of the data being displayed. The seven reinforcement ships were now less than 50,000 kilometers ahead. At that range, her ships could almost aim their lasers visually, but Hara had elected to conduct this ambush with maximum precision. Her ships needed to inflict as much damage as quickly as possible to minimize the enemy’s return fire. Being this close was a two-edged sword. If it were easy for her ships to fire on the reinforcements, it would be just as easy for them to fire on her ships if she let them have the chance.

  “They’re not scanning to their rear, Admiral. All TacComps are tied into the net. Ready to engage on your command,” said Guderian.

  Hara looked down at the small, number two screen on her Command Station’s console. A flashing red virtual button with the word Execute inside was in the middle of the screen. She leaned forward and touched the red button with her finger. The ambush had been planned to the last detail. Each of her six ships was following behind one of the larger reinforcement ships. The battlecruiser Relentless was following the ship that was also closest to the destroyer that Sogard had sent back to Socorro. That destroyer would not be fired on immediately. Relentless would first concentrate on the larger ship in front of her. If the destroyer reacted quickly enough, she could fire on Relentless, but an HRCN battlecruiser’s armor was thick enough that it could tolerate destroyer laser attacks at least long enough to inflict damage on the larger and more dangerous opponent first.

  Within half a second of touching the Execute button, all six HRCN ships launched a total of 40 missiles at the six largest targets. At 500Gs acceleration, they would cover the 50,000-kilometer range in 144 seconds. During that time Hara’s ships would fire four more missile volleys. If her squadron could remain undetected that long, there was a good chance that return fire would be zero. The destroyer hadn’t been fired at, but she wasn’t worried about anything it might be able to do. At the first sign that the destroyer was reacting to the missile attack, Relentless would cripple it with laser fire from its ten laser turrets. She watched as the time to impact for the first volley timer counted down.

  Tactical Officer Tyllo James frowned as he absorbed the information his console was giving him. Had they just detected a gravity ripple? Its reading was so tenuous both in magnitude and duration that he wasn’t sure if it was real or just his imagination. If a ship had just finished an FTL approach, it might be close enough to detect by radar. The squadron was operating in stealth mode with no active radar scanning to avoid giving away their position, but James had a feeling that he should take some action.

  “Admiral, I’d like permission to begin active scanning behind us,” he said in a voice that was more tentative than he wanted. The Admiral turned to look at him.

  “You think something’s behind us?”

  “TacComp may have detected a gravity ripple. It’s so low that it could just be stellar background noise, but I’d like to be sure, sir.”

  DeSoto frowned. It was imperative that Admiral Hara not find out that his squadron had arrived until he was ready to pounce on her ships. The link up with the Commodore’s destroyers was still a good half hour away, and he was loath to violate his own order to operate as stealthily as possible. On the other hand, if there was something approaching from behind, there was only one thing that something could be, and that was Hara’s squadron. If he let her ships sneak up on his from behind…” He shuddered at the magnitude of the disaster that would be.

  “Get me Caliburn’s CO on a secure channel,” he said to Lieutenant Mitchell, the Com Officer.

  “Caliburn Actual on Tac1, Admiral.” DeSoto switched his station’s communications equipment to the correct channel.

  “Captain Molotov, I want Caliburn to drop behind the squadron to conduct a passive sensor sweep of our rear area. If you suspect that we’re being followed, you’re authorized to use your radar at the lowest power setting only. Is that clear, Captain?”

  “That’s clear, Admiral.”

  “Very good, Captain. Hopefully, you won’t find anything. DeSoto clear.”

  “That destroyer is dropping back, Admiral,” said Guderian to Hara.

  “Is she actively scanning,” said Hara quickly.

  “Neg
ative. No radar scanning.”

  Hara realized she was clenching her fists and willed them to relax. If whoever was in command of that squadron knew they were being followed, they’d begin radar scanning immediately. That the destroyer was not doing so suggested that her ships hadn’t been detected yet but the closer that destroyer got, the more likely it became that its passive sensors would notice her ships passing in front of background stars. She checked the countdown timer for the first missile volley. Fifty-five seconds left to impact.

  “Audio channel to the squadron,” she ordered.

  “Channel open, Admiral,” said Lieutenant Chen, the Com Officer. Hara was surprised how calm he sounded.

  “This is Hara. Relentless, if that destroyer begins radar scanning, take her out. All ships continue missile barrage as ordered. I’ll keep this channel open.”

  Molotov had shifted from his Command Station to the Tactical Station. He was aware that his proximity was making his TO nervous, but he didn’t care. He himself was nervous. He had this nagging feeling that the Admiral suspected the squadron was being followed and if that was true, he had better not screw up.

  “Any signs of a visual anomaly?” he asked.

  “No, sir.”

  Molotov shook his head. Why was he not reassured by that answer? “Initiate active scanning to the rear at the lowest possible power setting with just one pulse.”

  “Initiating active—CONTACT! SIX BOGEYS! RANGE FOUR-FIVE THOUSAND! MULTIPLE MISSILES INBOUND!”

  Molotov had been mentally prepared for just this kind of result and reacted immediately. “Alert the squad—” The rest of his sentence was cut off when a blinding spear of white-hot light pierced the Bridge and vaporized his head before burning its way deeper into the ship. The TO screamed in pain from the radiated heat as Molotov’s headless body fell on him, thereby preventing him from activating the emergency alert that would relay his radar data to the rest of the squadron.

  Forstchen held his breath as Relentless fired her ten lasers at the RSN destroyer. The tactical display was now indicating that the hapless target was venting atmosphere and had stopped decelerating.

  “No further radar emissions,” said Lieutenant Commander Howard Roark, the TO. “TacComp calculates eighty-nine percent probability that the target has been effectively crippled, Skipper.” Forstchen checked the missile impact countdown. Twenty-one seconds to go. The other six RSN ships were not reacting. It looked like Relentless had knocked the destroyer out of commission before she could sound the alarm.

  “Admiral! Contact with Caliburn just cut off in mid-sentence!” said Lieutenant Mitchell, the Com Officer.

  DeSoto felt a shiver go up his spine. He decided to go with his first impulse. “Commence active scanning behind us!”

  “MISSILES INBOUND!” screamed James two seconds later. DeSoto just had time to bring his clenched fist down on the armrest button that would send Stormbringer to Battle Stations when the ship jerked under him hard! It suddenly seemed as though everyone on the Flag Bridge was talking at the same time himself included. Even as he tried to gain control of the situation, a part of his awareness realized that if he somehow survived this battle and made it back to Socorro, his career in the King’s Navy would be finished. Because of that certainty, the prospect of an honorable death no longer seemed so terrible.

  Hara tried to filter out the cheering from her Bridge personnel as the tactical display began to show the results of the first missile volley impact. The activation of their radar just seconds before impact had caused her heart rate to spike before she realized their anti-missile defense systems wouldn’t have time to track and fire on any of the first wave missiles. But the battle wasn’t over. It was unlikely that any of the RSN heavy cruisers were so badly damaged that they couldn’t fire back, but they would have to change their orientation to do so since their overall wedge-shaped hulls blocked their lasers’ field of fire to the rear and their missile tubes were all facing forward. Rotating hulls of that size via thrusters would take almost a minute. Two more missile volleys would strike during that period. What her squadron’s TOs now had to do was try to pinpoint the exact locations of the enemy’s laser turrets and knock them out of commission with lasers as soon as a clear line of sight became available and before the RSN lasers could fire back.

  The next 60 seconds were a whirlwind of laser fire, counter-fire, and missile strikes. The RSN cruisers did manage to get a few laser shots off. Valiant, Daedalus, and Steadfast suffered minor damage. By the time the third missile volley hit, all six RSN cruisers had managed to rotate at least 90 degrees, and many of the third volley missiles hit their targets broadside with deep penetrations into crew areas and critical systems.

  Hara wondered if she would have made the same tactical decision to rotate hulls to fire back as fast as possible or use EG drives to veer off to evade further missile strikes. Her missiles had terminal guidance radars of their own that would have detected any attempt at evasion and compensated for it, but some of the third volley missiles might have ended up missing. It was difficult for her to criticize her opposite number’s choice because of the need to make a decision within seconds with limited information on the enemy’s strength and capabilities.

  By the time her fourth missile volley hit, all enemy cruisers seemed to be unable to maneuver or fire. The fourth strike had probably been unnecessary, but there was no way to know that ahead of time. Hara turned her attention to Sogard’s five destroyers. They had obviously gotten some kind of warning that an ambush was in progress because their transponders had all been turned off and the ships were veering away from the crippled cruisers and destroyer.

  He thinks without transponders we won’t be able to track and intercept him. Well, Commodore Sogard, you’re about to find out how wrong you are. The channel to her squadron was still open.

  “This is Hara. We’re going to make sure that none of Commodore Sogard’s destroyers gets home. Vanquisher’s helm and tactical officers will coordinate a squadron interception approach that makes sure we keep a velocity advantage. Sooner or later Sogard will turn his squadron on to an FTL trajectory, and when he does, I want us to be able to get within firing range before he can go super-luminal. When those destroyers are knocked out, I’ll send a couple of ships back to rescue any RSN survivors. Stand by for new helm orders. Hara clear.”

  Sogard was sweating profusely. He wished it was safe for him to take his pressure suit off, but until his squadron went FTL, he wasn’t about to risk being without it if that witch managed another ambush out of nowhere. How she has managed to track DeSoto’s force was a mystery without an answer.

  “How much longer until we can engage the vanes, Sara?”

  “Ninety-five seconds, Commodore,” said the tense-looking Helm Officer.

  Sogard took a deep breath to slow his pounding heart, but it didn’t seem to work. Each of his destroyers had orders to engage FTL vanes as soon as possible and to proceed to Socorro independently as keeping a formation intact now was pointless.

  “TARGETING RADARS!” yelled Abernathy. “LASERS ARE TRACKING!”

  Sogard had just enough time to see six red icons appear at impossibly close range off his formation’s right flank before damage alarms sounded and the lights flickered. Excalibur had been hit by lasers. A cascade of red damage lights flooded over the systems status board. He looked at Abernathy, who was frantically manipulating his tactical console.

  “I’VE LOST POWER TO LASERS, COMMODORE!”

  “Main power is down! We’re on backup power now!” said, Lieutenant Commander Frasetti, the Engineering Officer.

  “EG drive is offline!” said Lamonis.

  “Did anybody get away?” asked Sogard.

  “Negative, Commodore. We’re all still here,” replied Lamonis.

  “Incoming comlaser transmission, Commodore. I think it’s from Admiral Hara,” said Polydores.

  “Let’s see it, Emanuel,” said Sogard in a resigned tone. He had a hunch he knew what was
coming. Hara’s image appeared on the main display and Sogard was struck by the fact that her exotically beautiful, oriental face showed no sign of smugness or arrogance. If he had to pick a word that described her expression, he would have called it serene.

  “Admiral Hara. I’m guessing that you’re about to demand the surrender of my squadron. Am I right?” He saw her nod.

  “You should have left this system when you had the chance, Commodore,” she said in a casual tone. “Your actions have effectively renewed the war between your King and my Republic, and your Navy has already suffered a heavy loss because of them. If you surrender now, we’ll assist your surviving personnel in maintaining your life support until transport arrives to carry you and your people back to Caledonia as prisoners of war. I want your answer now, Commodore.”