by Dave Bara
“We’ve always been playing their game, Historian. You know that,” I said. I couldn’t read his thoughts by the look on his face, but if I were guessing, I’d say he was irritated by my reply.
“So your recommendations are?” This time it was my father chiming in from the display panel.
“This is an endgame scenario for the Imperial forces, sir. They want this over, and they want it done quickly, and their way. From what I’ve seen these last few days, I don’t think there’s a thing we can do about it except take the fight to them as best we can,” I said.
“Your director asked you for a recommendation, Captain, not your opinion,” said Wesley rather curtly.
“All planetary fleets and defenses to maximum. All Lightships and Wasps moved to instantaneous jump point range of any of the four primary worlds,” I said.
“Of which Pendax is not one,” said Admar Harrington. The other council members made noises of conciliation to Harrington, but no promises. I continued.
“When we attack, we must attack with everything we have. No holding back, or we’re likely to have nothing to come home to,” I concluded. Again it was Serosian who challenged me.
“And what if they lure us to one core system, then attack another?” he challenged.
“Then we go there,” I said. “If our planetary defenses and local navies can’t defend our worlds for a few hours while we get to the battlefield, then we’re doomed already anyway.”
“So that’s the best plan you have?” said Duke Benn.
“It’s my only recommendation, Highness. We go in full-strength or not at all,” I said.
“And fight on their terms?”
“In my opinion, we have no other choice, Highness. Otherwise it will be a war of attrition, and they overwhelmingly have the numbers.”
There was so much debate and crosstalk at that point that Wesley had trouble maintaining control of the room. When he got everyone quieted down, he asked all military personnel except Maclintock to leave the room. We all shuffled out to the lobby, waiting to be called back in. To my surprise, the only one who dared approach me was Dobrina.
“You always did have an art for stirring things up,” she said.
“And you always had the common sense to stop me. But not this time. Why?” I asked.
“Because this time,” she said, “I agree with you.”
We were out in the lobby for more than thirty minutes. I found it irritating and a waste of time, but it did give me a chance to com in with Babayan on Defiant.
“We’re ready to go, sir. Fully stocked and resupplied. We even picked up another marine detachment, though we’re still down on that count. We can go the minute you give the order,” she said.
“I’m not sure there’s going to be an order,” I replied. “The politicians have been in there alone for half an hour. My guess is that they’ll break soon for shrimp cocktail and table military action until tomorrow.” Babayan laughed at that.
“You should try humor more often,” she said. “You’re good at it.”
“Thanks. I don’t get— Hold on.” The doors to the conference room swung open again, and there was quite a commotion accompanying it.
“Only command and executive-level officers are to return to the council room,” announced a captain wearing diplomatic bars. “The rest of you are dismissed and asked to return to your assignments.” There were murmurs of discontent at that, but I quickly rounded up Karina and Dobrina and headed back in, dropping the line with Babayan. It took us another minute to settle in before the doors were shut and locked and Wesley started in again.
“Decisions have been made,” he announced in his gruff Newfie accent. “The Lightships Starbound and Defiant will be sent through to Levant immediately, where they will join Resolution.” That was the ship commanded by Maclintock’s former exec, Devin Tannace, a man I didn’t know at all. “It has been determined that Levant is the most likely Union world to be attacked for two reasons. The first is that she has only a single Lightship with a crew that has never seen battle, and second is that she has control of the reconstructed jump gate, which allows for travel to the inner empire, specifically Altos. From the Altos system, we might have a tactical advantage, and Captains Maclintock, Cochrane, and Kierkopf have been in-system before.” I determined from that statement that Dobrina wasn’t going to be disciplined for her actions at Pendax, despite my report to the Admiralty. Wesley’s next statement confirmed my suspicions in a very big way.
“Captain Kierkopf, since you have no current command but you do have experience battling Imperial units, you are hereby placed in field command of the Lightship Resolution. Captain Tannace and his command crew have agreed to step down on a temporary basis until this situation is resolved. It is my understanding that you have eight senior officers, a large number of junior officers and marines, and several experienced technicians available to you from your old crew. You can take those people with you to man as many positions as possible with battle-tested personnel. I expect you to have the list of positions to Captain Tannace by the time you dock at High Station Artemis,” he said.
“Aye, sir,” she replied. “I do have one request, sir.”
His massive image looked down on her from above. “Go ahead,” he prompted.
“My request is that the Historian aboard Resolution be removed prior to my arrival. I’ve been betrayed by two of them now, sir, and I think that’s as much as any Lightship captain should have to endure,” she said.
“I trust Historian Valdere implicitly,” said Serosian, cutting into the conversation.
“Irrelevant, since I don’t even trust you,” retorted Dobrina. That elicited an expression of annoyance across Serosian’s face.
“Regrettably, I have to deny your request, Captain,” Wesley said abruptly.
“But—”
“Captain Kierkopf, the Historian Order has been our greatest ally. There wouldn’t even be a Union Navy if not for them. So while I understand your reticence under the circumstances, my order stands,” he said firmly.
“Yes, Admiral,” she replied, backing down.
“Sir, what about Vanguard?” I asked. “Captain Zander is experienced, too.” Dobrina’s head whipped around at that. She didn’t like my implication, but I didn’t care.
“Vanguard will be protecting Quantar, only an instant jump away. Which brings me to the other assignments. Avenger will remain in the Carinthian system and Fearless at Pendax. When Valiant arrives, I’ll have her stay at Sandosa to protect the mission there. That’s the best we can do for the moment, ladies and gentlemen. Now you have your assignments, and they are so ordered.”
With that the meeting broke up, and we all scrambled our separate ways to fates unknown.
To Levant
I called Babayan again and ordered a twenty-minute countdown to breaking dock. We wouldn’t waste any time getting to Levant. It would be a ninety-minute run to jump space if we used the regular jump point technology, but after arriving on the bridge I went straight to my office and called up Maclintock.
“Commodore, I suggest that we skip the normal jump point process and use our direct jumping technology once we’ve cleared displacement range of Candle. My helmsman can put us half an AU from the jump ring and Artemis station without much problem, sir,” I said.
“How long until we can rendezvous with Resolution once we jump in?”
I put him on hold to switch com channels and asked Layton and Longer the same question, then went back to our conversation. “If we use our HD impellers, my Propulsion officer says we’ll be seventeen minutes out, sir,” I said.
“Good enough. Let’s get these buckets moving.”
“Sir,” I said, making a final point. “We’ve navigated this system before. Commander Layton can plot an accurate course that will save us maximum time. It would be best if Starbound matched our co
urse and speed and followed us in.”
Maclintock thought about that for a second and then agreed. “Confirmed, Captain. We’ll follow your lead, but then I’m stationing my ship at the jump gate ring while you dock at Artemis and exchange command crew with Resolution,” he said.
“Also confirmed, sir. Estimate nine minutes from breaking dock until the jump, sir,” I said. Maclintock nodded.
“We’ll see you in Levant space,” he said, then signed off. I went to my command chair and briefed Babayan.
“We’ll need to be at least a hundred thousand clicks from both Candle and Starbound to make the jump, XO,” I said. She nodded.
“Understood, sir. I’ve had Layton plot us a course away from Candle and out of the system, and then we’ll lay our course back into Artemis Station using Lieutenant Arasan’s jump coordinates once we hit Levant, sir.”
“I’ll leave it in your capable hands, XO,” I said, then made my way to the longscope station. Karina turned to me as I approached.
“Anything I can do for you, Captain?” she asked with a slight smile. I gave her one back before getting serious.
“This is likely going to be very rough, Karina. I want you to consider staying here at Candle before we break dock,” I said. She eyed me in that strong Carinthian way that I knew meant no before she even spoke a word.
“I’ve been through two battles and an attempted murder with you just on this mission, Captain. And now you’re asking me to step aside?”
“I was thinking . . . I want to protect you, our future, perhaps even our children. That’s all,” I said, and I was serious about it. Her safety was my paramount personal wish for this mission, and I wasn’t going to find any peace on that on the battlefield.
“If my husband is to die in this war, I want to be with him, helping him, helping fight the battle. Not stuck on some military station waiting to hear word of his fate. So my answer is, a hundred times no. We live and survive and are victorious together, or we die together. And that, Captain, is final,” she said sternly.
“Understood, Lieutenant,” I replied. I looked quickly around the bridge to see if we were being observed, then snuck in a kiss on the lips. “As you were, Lieutenant.”
“As you were, Captain.”
I managed a smile then and headed back to my chair.
We broke dock precisely on time and started to make our way to a safe jumping distance. Starbound did the same. Everyone was present on the bridge except Gracel, and frankly I was glad she wasn’t there. I had all the information I needed from her, and I found that her presence in battle was more of a distraction than a help.
Babayan reported we had reached safe jumping distance from both Candle and Starbound right on the dot, time-wise. I sent a confirmation code to Starbound, got an affirmative ping back, then took my command chair and strapped in.
“Five-second count, Mr. Arasan,” I told my astrogator. He gave the countdown, and then we shifted interdimensional location, and I found myself looking at the inner Levant system. A few seconds later, Starbound jumped in a hundred thousand clicks behind us. It took me another few seconds of looking at the visual display to realize something was wrong.
I jumped to my feet. “Tactical,” I ordered. The main display switched over and zoomed in on Levant Prime. It quickly identified multiple ships engaged in a firefight. One of them was Resolution. Another was Vixis. “What the fuck,” I said. “This can’t be a coincidence. How did they know we were coming? XO, tactical report!” I demanded. Babayan made for the tactical station, which included the weapons console. It took her a few seconds to respond. I used those seconds to my advantage.
“Mr. Layton, get us moving. Target an intercept course to Vixis.”
“Aye, sir,” said Layton as the bridge crew leapt into action. I turned to Longer.
“Full HD sub-light drive, Mr. Longer.” He affirmed my orders, and then I was on to my wife. “Longscope scans, Lieutenant,” I ordered.
“Already complete, sir. Resolution is fully engaged with Vixis and three HuKs. There are two dreadnoughts parked near the jump gate, holding at station-keeping. Suicide drones are attacking both High Station Artemis and planetary defenses, sir,” she reported.
“Tactical report, XO?”
Babayan swiveled to face me. “Out of range to engage either the dreadnoughts or Vixis, sir. Starbound could engage the dreadnoughts holding the ring more easily than we could from her position.”
“My thoughts as well, XO.” Just then Maclintock chimed in on my personal com. I sat down to take it.
“Commodore,” I said out loud.
“Captain. My tactical analysis indicates that Defiant is better positioned than we are to go get Vixis. You are so ordered. Starbound is headed for those dreadnoughts. We must control that gate,” Maclintock said.
“Agreed, sir.”
“How long until you reach Resolution?” I looked at my watch.
“Sixteen minutes, sir,” I said.
“That’s a long time,” Maclintock said. I patched Karina and Babayan into the conversation.
“Battlefield status, Lieutenant,” I said. Karina replied.
“Resolution defenses are down to 63 percent, sir. Vixis is using her frequency modulation missile tech to punch holes in Resolution’s Hoagland Field. She’s taking a pounding, and she doesn’t have the full counterstrike capabilities that we have to take them on,” she said.
“Time until her defenses collapse?” I asked.
The line was silent for a second, and then she said, “Seven minutes at best, sir.”
“XO?”
“Five minutes best time to missile or torpedo range, sir, but they’re too closely locked to use any of our Mass Destruction Weapons with an acceptable margin of safety at this distance,” Babayan said.
“Make your best call, Captain,” came Maclintock’s voice through the line. “Just save Resolution. We’ll regroup at Artemis once we’ve run the enemy out of the system.”
“Aye, sir,” I replied, thinking to myself that he was far too optimistic. Levant’s planetary defenses were taking a pounding, and Artemis was just holding her own. We were already on full HD impellers, and the hybrid drive was shot, thanks to my play at Pendax. I stood and looked to my astrogator.
“Mr. Arasan, can you plot us a hyperdimensional jump back to the point we left Quantar, then program another jump back here, putting us closer to the battlefield?” I knew what I was asking of him. It was a dangerous thing and had never been tried before, to my knowledge. I wasn’t even sure if it could be done. But if we couldn’t pull it off, Resolution would likely be lost. And these types of skills were why I’d brought Arasan aboard in the first place.
“A double jump, sir?” asked Arasan. “That would be a neat trick. I can program it into the astrogation AI—”
“How long?” I interrupted. He looked at me with grim determination.
“Two minutes, sir,” Arasan said confidently.
“Do it.” I sat back down and waited. If we pulled off two near-simultaneous jumps to Quantar and back, we’d gain almost three minutes of life for Resolution and probably surprise the hell out of Prince Arin and Vixis. I focused next on Babayan.
“XO, I want a volley of frequency-busting missiles followed instantly by a high-yield mass-destruction torpedo as soon as we jump back in,” I ordered.
“How big on the MDW torpedo, sir?”
“All in. Fifty-megaton.”
“I can do that, sir, through the battle AI, but we’ll only get a volley of four missiles from the functioning launch bays, saving one for the torpedo,” Babayan said.
“Good enough, XO. Make sure the AI doesn’t waste a second waiting for my order once we jump back in.”
“Aye, sir.” She paused then. “What about Resolution’s weakening defenses, sir?”
I looked at her. “
They’ll just have to be enough, Commander,” I said.
A minute later, Lieutenant Arasan reported that his calculations were complete, and I called for a shipwide lockdown while he prepped the jump controls. I prayed his calculations were correct and that the space around our previous egress jump point at Quantar was clear of local traffic. An unshielded ship hit by a hyperdimensional displacement wave could be destroyed by our maneuver. It was a risk I had to take. I made a note of the ship’s clock—12:26:37—then gave my order.
“Ready, Mr. Arasan?”
“Ready, sir.”
“Then push the button, man.”
He did. The transformation was as “normal” as could be expected.
The first time.
The AI immediately reengaged the jump unit microseconds later, and I felt like I’d been hit on the head with a rock. My vision was blurry, and my head felt like it was spinning faster than a jump core. What seemed like minutes passed, and I was still disoriented, the spinning slowly dissipating, the blurred colors slowly forming recognizable shapes again. Nausea swept over me, but I pushed that down as best I could, trying to take stock of my bridge. I looked at the main display as the others slowly came to their senses. The ship’s clock read 12:26:42.
The whole maneuver had taken five seconds, regardless of how long it had seemed as we traversed interdimensional space. Then I comprehended what was on the main display screen. There was a Lightship, its defense field glowing purple as it took energy weapon fire. We were close enough that I could read the catalog number on the ship’s side: ULS-442.
Vixis.
I looked at the screen magnification; it had reset to 1:1. We were probably two hundred meters apart.
“Babayan, did the missiles fire?” I asked. If they had . . .
“Negative, sir,” said Babayan, shaking her head, probably as much to clear it as anything else. “Battle AI was knocked out by the double jump. And frankly, so was I.”
I turned to Longer. “Full reverse, Mr. Longer. Get us some distance—”
