Steele's Demon Star

by Dietmar Wehr

  “It’s a whole new ballgame now, Mac. These aliens are dangerous fuckers, and the HRCN is going to have to adapt and fast. I have a feeling that you’ll be wearing the uniform again soon.”

  Steele told her what DeChastelain had said about maybe getting Steele a heavy cruiser command.

  “If the CSO says he’ll put in a good word for you then I think, under the circumstances given the new threat we now face, you’re probably safe in assuming that you’ll get your heavy cruiser at some point, Mac. I’ll be sorry to lose you as my mercenary captain.”

  Steele looked at her in surprise. “You mean you’re going to acquire another ship? I would have thought that fighting this new war and commanding a task force would have been enough excitement.”

  Hara laughed. “There’s no reason I can’t put my money to work and still command a task force is there? Finding another ship as capable as the K will be a challenge and I’ll have to wait until I get some leave which will be who knows when but the opportunity to get a good return on my capital is still there. The Navy is still going to need specialized ships to explore and expand the wormhole network, and they’re willing to pay for that service. It’s too bad you didn’t have time to fully survey the black hole system for more wormholes. At the very least, it would have given us a place to start looking for where these aliens are coming from.”

  Steele told her about the wormhole surveying being done by the six Bravo drones. “I kept one Bravo back in case the opportunity came up to use it to recall the other six. Did it survive the trip back?”

  “I don’t know. Checking the cargo hold wasn’t a high priority when the S&R teams went aboard. I’m going to check to see if it’s still possible to send a salvage team aboard her to see what kind of shape that Bravo is in.”

  Hara came back half an hour later to find Steele sitting on the edge of his bed looking bored. “Chivalrous is sending a shuttle to search the K’s cargo bay. If the Bravo looks like it’s still operable, they’ll bring it back. You look like you’d like to get out of here.”

  “That I would, Admiral. I’m waiting for the CMO to give me clearance to leave. I guess there’s no rush since I don’t have anywhere to go to. All my gear is still on the K.”

  “Don’t worry. Battlecruisers are big enough to find some temporary quarters for a visiting Captain. I’ll ask Captain Forstchen to let you tap into the ship’s stores for a change of clothes and replacement personal items. I hope you didn’t have anything valuable aboard the K though. I can’t justify risking the salvage team just to find your quarters and pack your things. The ship will soon be too close to the super-giant for that.”

  “No. Nothing that can’t be replaced. I hope they can recover the bravo. The sooner we send a drone back to send the recall signal, the better our chances of getting useful data back.”

  “I’ll find the CMO, and then you can join me for a light meal in the Officers’ Lounge. I’m sure there’ll be other officers there who would like to hear what happened to the K from her Captain.”

  It was three hours later when Hara had returned to her quarters to settle down for the night cycle that she received word the seventh Bravo drone had been found and recovered. It took 24 hours to inspect the drone for damage, program it for the flight, and then launch it. Because of the low entry velocity, it wouldn’t reach the other end of the wormhole for an additional 25 hours, and Steele found the wait onerous. Everyone was polite to him, but he had nothing to do except visiting his injured crew, and even they were beginning to get their fill of him hovering nearby. He didn’t expect any results after the 25-hour transit time because the six Bravo drones would need time to receive the light-speed signal plus more time to reach either the AG38 wormhole or the Midi wormhole, whichever one was closer. There was no way for Hara’s Task Force in AG38 to know how many drones were able to reach and pass through the Midi wormhole and then on to the AG47 system to signal the destroyers on patrol there. Two bravos did emerge from the wormhole, and their data showed a total of three new wormholes in addition to the ones that Diamond K had already found. Steele and Hara reviewed the data over lunch.

  “That makes seven so far, eight if you include the AG38 wormhole,” said Steele. “It’s unfortunate that the Bravo drone didn’t have the LR system to detect ships. We have no way of knowing how many alien ships, if any, were in that system over the last four days and an LR system-equipped drone might have been able to determine which wormhole they come out of.”

  “It’s a great idea, Mac. I’ll make sure the CSO hears about it.” She paused and stared off into infinity for a few seconds before returning her attention to the food. “Designing another drone is worthwhile, but I think we need to think about designing a new warship that’s more capable of operating around a black hole. Something that has significantly more acceleration so that it can handle emerging into that system with higher velocity and still be able to stay out of that gravity well. It should have a minimal radar cross section so that enemy missile terminal guidance radar will have a hard time finding it. It should have anti-missile lasers too.” She stopped when she saw Steele’s look of surprise.

  “Why anti-missile lasers? Wouldn’t the autocannon version we use now be good enough?”

  Hara shook her head. “I’m afraid not, Mac. We use autocannon for anti-missile defense now because our missiles have kinetic energy warheads composed of a depleted uranium or tungsten rod that would not be stopped by lasers whereas being hit by a cannon shell would shatter the KE warhead. But these aliens are using missiles with nuke warheads. And while a cannon shell will destroy a nuclear-armed warhead too, so will a hit from a laser and the laser is both faster and more accurate.”

  “I’ve got it,” said Steele with a grin. “An armored missile boat designed from the ground up to be autonomous. The wedge shape that missile boats typically have is useful in an atmosphere, but it also scatters radar waves very well. Instead of the spinal laser that has to be aimed by maneuvering the boat itself, it’ll have two turreted lasers, one on each side. And instead of carrying missiles externally, as they do now, it’ll have an internal missile bay that’s big enough to carry a drone if needed. By eliminating the crew compartment and life support, there should be room for the LR system and a bigger power plant that would give it more acceleration.”

  Hara was skeptical, and her expression showed it. “Do you really think you’d be able to squeeze all of that into a missile boat hull?”

  Steele thought for a moment and shook his head. “No, not in our current missile boat hull. This will have to be bigger, but it will still be a hell of a lot smaller than a destroyer. One twentieth as big at a rough guess.”

  “Which means it’ll have to be carried by a large ship for FTL trips,” said Hara. “Something as big as the K.”

  “Even bigger than that, I think. The K had enough cargo space to carry ten missile boats, but it didn’t have the means to work on them when they weren’t being used. That’s why my boats never fired missiles. It was too difficult moving missiles around the cargo bay manually in a vacuum. And if they were damaged, they couldn’t be repaired on board the K. I’m thinking that a dedicated hull capable of not only storing but also maintaining and arming at least twenty missile boats would pack a hell of a punch. That carrier should be heavily armored too with lots of its own anti-missile defenses.”

  “No one could ever accuse you of not thinking big,” said Hara. “A hull like that would take months, maybe even a year to build. I’m not sure we can wait that long, Mac.”

  “The armored missile boats could be available a lot sooner, and if they’re designed so that they can attach magnetically to a cruiser’s hull as the current version can, then they can be brought to AG38 or Midi that way. It’s not an ideal solution, but it should work.”

  “Yes…I think you’re right about that,” said Hara slowly. “Until we’re ready to take the offensive, these armored missile boats can be used to defend our side of the black hole wormholes here and
in Midi. Then when we have at least one of those mammoth carriers, we can push into the black hole system and take control of it away from the aliens. That will create a choke point between them and us. I like it, Mac. Write up a report for me, and I’ll include it with my next dispatch to DeChastelain.”

  Anything Steele was about to say was interrupted by a call from the Flag Bridge.

  “Hara here. What is it?”

  “Unknown vessel has just gone sub-light. Its incoming trajectory is consistent with an approach from Socorro, Admiral.”

  Hara gave Steele a thoughtful look before answering. “Just one ship?”

  “Just one, Admiral.”

  “I’ll be on the Flag Bridge momentarily. The Task Force is to remain in stealth mode at Condition Three for the time being. Hara out. Common, Mac. I want you on the Flag Bridge with me this time.”

  As Steele stood beside Hara looking down into the holographic display, he couldn’t help feeling like a poor cousin when he compared Relentless’ huge display to his ship’s much smaller 2D screen. The yellow icon representing the new arrival was decelerating but not changing trajectory.

  “How long until we receive any EM transmissions from that ship?” asked Hara.

  “The earliest would be another three point four minutes, Admiral,” said Roark. Steele and Hara said nothing as they waited. As soon as the time was up, the display pinged a status change, the icon turned red, and the sidebar data showed the ship’s ID.

  “RSN Dagger, a Stiletto-class destroyer,” said Hara. “Can’t say I’m surprised to see an RSN ship. I am surprised it took King Pierre so long to send one. Dagger is here to find out why none of the twelve battlecruisers sent here have reported back. That captain must be wondering what in the hell happened here. There was no sign of any battlecruiser or any ship at all for that matter since the Task Force is doing its best to be a hole in space. My guess is that captain will continue squawking its ID until the signal reaches all the way across the system and then enough time for any reply to reach him. When the silence becomes deafening, he’ll realize that there are no RSN battlecruisers here and he’ll head back to report that to his King.”

  “So, you’re not going to contact that captain and explain about the alien threat?” asked Steele.

  Hara looked at him and shook her head. “Revealing the existence of the alien threat is a strategic decision that I’m not authorized to make, Mac. If I could contact that ship without also revealing that we have a new detection system, I’d inform that captain about the fate of their battlecruisers. But keeping the LR system a secret unless I have a good reason not to, takes precedence over any purely humanitarian concerns.”

  Steele understood the reasoning behind her decision. If the Kingdom of Socorro eventually became an ally of the Hereditary Republic of Caledonia, then revealing military secrets like the LR system could be justified. But as long as the RSN continued to operate as if a state of war existed between the two star nations, it was only prudent to hang on to any military advantage the HRCN had.

  Hara started to turn away. “Well, I don—” The two-tone signal of a major status change cut her off. A red icon with the number two inside it appeared at the wormhole leading to the black hole.

  “TacComp has designated those bogeys as Sierra2 and classified them as hostile. The LR system data is an exact match with the data Captain Steele’s ship collected on the alien vessel in the black hole system, Admiral.”

  “What are you going to do now, Admiral?” asked Steele.

  Hara continued to look at the display as she replied. “At the moment, I’m just going to watch, Mac. We’ve been wondering if the aliens have a system like our LR detection gear. Now we’ll find out. If those two ships can see us sitting here, I’d expect them to retreat into the wormhole. But if they go after that RSN ship, Sierra1, then that tells me they can’t detect us. Dagger’s ID signal hasn’t reached those ships yet.” She turned to the Fleet Com Officer. “Tight beam only. Inform the rest of the Task Force to maintain the status quo.”

  Steele realized that he was breathing hard with a rapid heartbeat and forced himself to breath more slowly. The two alien ships were also decelerating after their high-velocity transit of the wormhole but had not yet begun to maneuver.

  “Can we intercept Sierra2 before they re-enter the wormhole, FHO?” asked Hara.

  “Not if they turn around as soon as they can, Admiral.”

  “Commander, I want to see Sierra1’s ID signal wave,” said Hara to Roark. An expanding white circle appeared with the RSN ship in the center. The circle had already passed the Task Force and was rapidly approaching the two alien ships. When it reached them, Steele heard Hara speaking in almost a whisper.

  “Come on, come on. Go after that ship.”

  Steele nodded. The only way the Task Force could intercept the two alien ships was if they moved far enough away from the wormhole by going after Dagger. Destroying them here in this system would make the alien homeworld think twice before sending more ships through that wormhole. As Steele watched, Sierra2’s icon suddenly changed direction and began to accelerate.

  “Sierra2 is going after Sierra1,” announced Roark.

  “We’ve got them,” whispered Hara. “Plot an intercept vector for the Task Force on Sierra2, Commander,” she said in a normal voice. A dotted green line appeared and crossed the dotted red line of the alien ships’ projected path.

  “Orders for the Task Force,” said Hara. She waited until the Fleet Com Officer nodded to her. “This is the Admiral. The Task Force will accelerate at maximum to intercept the enemy ships. The FHO will coordinate the maneuver. Hara out.”

  Steele checked the sidebar data for Sierra2 and noticed something. “Sierra2’s acceleration is two hundred eighty-two Gees, Admiral.”

  Hara looked to check for herself. “Damn. That means they can outrun us if they detect us early enough.” She looked at Steele. “We’re definitely going to have to build something faster. Even if we have the advantage of the LR system, we’re going to find it hard to force them to fight against superior odds if they can accelerate faster.”

  Steele nodded his acknowledgment but said nothing. The interception was going to take almost two hours to complete given the distances involved, and he did not want to stand here for that entire length of time. The Admiral didn’t have to. She had a comfortable chair to sit in that had a good view of the display if she wanted to use it, but there were no spare seats for someone like Steele.

  “If you’ll excuse me, Admiral, I’m going back to the lounge for another coffee, but I’ll be back in plenty of time to catch the action.”

  When he came back 90 minutes later, he was surprised to see her standing at the railing in the same spot as if she had stayed there the whole time and he wondered if maybe she had. The situation on the display, though was quite different.

  “They detected us somehow thirteen minutes ago,” said Hara. “That’s quite obvious from the direction they took when they suddenly veered off. It seems they have something that has more range than radar but not as sensitive as our system. If they try to get back to the wormhole, we’ll catch them first. They may be closer to it than we are, but their acceleration has them moving away from it while our trajectory isn’t.”

  “But they don’t seem to be trying to get back to it or am I missing something?” asked Steele.

  “No, you’re not missing anything, Mac, and you’re right. They don’t seem to be trying to get back to the wormhole. I’d be surprised if they did try. Their version of TacComp has got to have told them that our vector gives us the advantage regardless of their superior acceleration. My guess is they’re going to use FTL to escape to another system altogether, maybe another super-giant with a wormhole they’ve already mapped and can use to get home. If that’s their plan, then we can’t prevent them from getting away.”

  Steele thought for a moment before turning to Hara. “But if we can pinpoint their FTL vector, we can follow them to that syste
m and maybe collect useful intel. If that system has a wormhole connection to the black hole system, that could potentially be very valuable.”

  Hara considered that for a few seconds, then reluctantly shook her head. “I can’t follow them with the whole Task Force and leave AG38 completely undefended, and I won’t risk sending one ship to follow two of their ships.”

  “Then send three. Send the three heavies. One of them is carrying the two recalled bravos we recovered. They can be used to explore any wormholes in that target system while the cruisers stay out at the system edge under stealth. That will still leave you with four battlecruisers, Admiral.”

  After another pause, Hara nodded. “Yes. It’s worth trying.”