by Dietmar Wehr
Strider jumped when he heard Jaeger’s voice over the com device’s frequency. “Okay, I’m in the tank. The crew are stunned. I need a minute or two to figure out how to load the gun and aim. Stand by.”
“We’re standing by,” said Strider in a low voice. He switched channels and said, “What’s the hold up, Traffic Control?”
“Ah, incoming space traffic, NC Enterprise. Hold your position.” Strider didn’t believe that for a second. He switched back to Jaeger’s frequency.
It took longer than expected, but Jaeger finally had the tank’s main gun loaded with what looked like a high-explosive round, and the gun was aimed right at the open hatch of the raider ship.
“I’m ready,” he whispered. “Firing in three…two…one…now!”
Wolfgar saw that his groundcar had almost reached Wolfhound. Most of his raiders would be back by now, and it wouldn’t take long to organize the attack and launch it. Sanderval wouldn’t be happy about his spaceport traffic control personnel being roughed up a bit or with the mayhem caused by the attack, but he wasn’t in any position to protest about them. The moment Sanderval stopped co-operating was the moment when Olympus would experience its own raider attack. Wolfgar was just about to tell the driver to pull up right in front of the boarding ramp when the open hatch at the top exploded in flame and shrapnel.
Strider’s eyes opened wide when the zoomed-in image on the main display flared and temporarily overloaded the camera.
“HE DID IT!” yelled one of the Bridge crew.
“He sure as hell did!” agreed Strider.
“Aren’t we going to lift off?” asked the Astrogation Officer.
“Not yet! We have to make sure they’re focusing on Jaeger’s tank and not us.” The image quickly adjusted to the new light level. Strider used his console to shift the focus up to where the raiders’ ship’s own gun turrets were. They hadn’t started moving yet.
Jaeger let out a shout of exultation as he watched the target explode through the gun’s optics. Now he had to eject the spent shell and load another. That was not as easy as it sounded. The body of the stunned man was getting in the way inside the small compartment. Jaeger’s heart was beating fast, and he was sweating. He finally got the second round loaded and looked through the optics. The gun was still aimed at the open hatch, which was now belching smoke. His right hand found the firing mechanism and pulled the trigger.
Wolfgar realized that the ground car had stopped. He screamed at the driver to get closer. As the vehicle started moving again, Wolfgar saw his men running around in front of the ramp shouting and pointing somewhere off to the left. Nearing the ramp, the vehicle slowed down and Wolfgar jumped out even before it came to complete stop.
“WHO THE HELL IS SHOOTING AT US?” he yelled. One of his ground force officers ran over and pointed.
“The shot came from over there!”
“Give me your optics!” commanded Wolfgar. The officer handed it to him, and Wolfgar looked in the indicated direction. He saw the tank just as it fired again. The concussion from the hit knocked him down and smashed his binoculars. One of Sanderval’s tanks was actually shooting at his ship! Damn the man! As he got up, he turned and saw that the officer was laying on the ground with a piece of shrapnel sticking out of his back. He wasn’t moving. Wolfgar lifted his left wrist to his mouth and yelled into the device on it.
“This is the Captain! The President’s turned on us! Target all the surrounding tanks and open fire!” He barely heard the reply when one of the ship’s turreted cannon found a target and fired.
Jaeger was just about to load a third round into the gun when he heard a faint voice that was coming from the stunned man’s headset. Jaeger grabbed it and held it up to one ear.
“What’s happening?” yelled a voice. Jaeger moved the boom mic into position.
“DIDN’T YOU GET THE ORDERS? FIRE ON THE RAIDER SHIP NOW!” He threw the headset aside and started to load the round when a giant smashed the tank and flipped it upside down. His last thought as he lost consciousness was of the lovely young woman who worked at the officers’ dining hall at the Base on New Caledon.
Strider held his breath as the gun turret moved and quickly fired, but it wasn’t firing at his ship! He found the lift off button and touched it. Haven’s Enterprise lifted off at full acceleration and broke the sound barrier six seconds later.
Wolfgar heard the sonic boom and looked over at where Strider’s ship should have been sitting. There was enough light from the fire in his own ship to see that the freighter was now gone. Wolfgar screamed his rage. Strider and Sanderval must have planned this whole thing! One of his ship’s cannon boomed again, followed by an explosion in the distance. More tanks were firing at his ship now, but they were hitting the collapsed-matter armor with negligible effect. He knew he wouldn’t be able to catch the freighter now. The ramp entrance to the ship was blocked with debris, and the ship wouldn’t be able to take off until it was cleared, but there was something else he could do. He lifted his com device to his mouth again.
“This is the Captain. All ground units are to prepare to raid this fucking planet! If anyone finds the President, keep him alive and bring him to me!”
Strider didn’t allow himself to relax until the ship had almost crossed the no-jump zone boundary. Rearward-facing radar had not shown any pursuit. The ship was safe thanks to his good friend, Karl Jaeger. He told himself he would wait until the ship was in hyper-space and he was in his quarters before yielding to the sadness that was waiting in the wings. And he would make damn sure that New Caledon awarded Karl Jaeger a posthumous medal.
Chapter Twenty-three
Admiral Morningside and his subordinate admirals looked appropriately somber as Strider finished his description of the events on Olympus.
“Commander Jaeger will receive a hero’s funeral,” said Morningside in a low voice. “I have to ask this next question, Major Strider.” Strider took note of the fact that the admiral had used his AF rank and not his temporary Haven Navy rank. “Was the information you obtained worth the loss of Karl Jaeger?”
Strider had been asking himself that question on the way back, and he still wasn’t sure of the answer.
“In addition to learning the identity of the captain of the raider ship, Wolfhound, we also learned about two other ex-Federation planets that are being used as raider bases. My Astrogator has checked their locations. Katmandu and Draconia are both on the outer edges of colonized space, just like Olympus. The three of them form a perfect triangle that suggests they were carefully chosen as part of a larger plan. I believe that Tubal was the next phase, creating a base deeper in Federation space, to give them access to planets that would otherwise be too far away to be practical. Now that we know where these three bases are, we can ambush raider ships as soon as we have enough ships to do the job. Based on that analysis, Admiral, I believe one could say it was justified.”
Morningside looked skeptical, and Strider couldn’t blame him. He hadn’t tried to hide his confrontation with Wolfgar. A case could certainly be made that if that confrontation hadn’t happened, Wolfgar might not have tried to capture the ship, and Jaeger’s sacrifice wouldn’t have been necessary. On the other hand, Strider hadn’t sought out Wolfgar. Wolfgar had come to him.
“While the names and locations of those other two bases is certainly of value, there will be some who disagree with your answer to my question, Major. I’m undecided, but that really doesn’t matter. We can’t go back and change the outcome. We can only go forward. I’m sure that you and your people will want to return to New Caledon. Haven’s Enterprise’s regular crew will take you back in a couple of days. By the way, we still haven’t heard so much as a peep out of Valhalla and its Supreme Leader since their attack on your planet. My officers and I will stay here to discuss the situation further, but you’re free to go. Good day, Major Strider.”
The freighter took Strider and his crew back home two days later. Tomonaga and his people had already be
en taken back by a light cruiser. Haven’s Enterprise would arrive at New Caledon a couple of weeks before they were scheduled to come back for another turn manning Redstone. The freighter’s crew had been told to wait until it was time to bring the New Caledonians back.
When the ship emerged from its last micro-jump, they were immediately challenged by Nemesis. Strider was glad to see that her crew were alert and taking their sentry duties seriously. He was surprised to see General Terrington waiting for him when he stepped off the ship’s ramp. That had never happened before.
“Welcome back, Richard,” said Terrington as he shook Strider’s hand. “I take it from your expression that the mission didn’t go the way you had hoped.”
“No, it didn’t,” was all Strider would say right then.
Terrington must have figured out that Strider didn’t want to reveal the bad news while there were crew and spaceport personnel within earshot.
“Why don’t you tell me all about it on our way back to my office, Major.” The tone revealed that it wasn’t really a question. Strider managed to tell the whole story by the time the general’s car pulled up beside the headquarters building. Terrington didn’t move to get out. He shook his head sadly.
“Jaeger was a good man and a good officer. I liked him from the first day I met him. You’re damn right he deserves a medal. If the Senate won’t vote one for him, I’ll make sure the AF recognizes his sacrifice in some other way. Do you think the raider ship was crippled by the spaceport battle?”
“Not permanently. It might need a week or two of repairs before it can go into space again, but that’s just a guess. I have to tell you, General, that my impression of Wolfgar is that his ego will insist he comes looking for our freighter, and the logical place to start is right here. I’ll be very surprised if he doesn’t attack New Caledon in the next month or two.”
Terrington’s expression took on a feral grin. “Let’s hope he waits at least another three weeks. If he does, we’ll have a surprise for him. The decision was made to build a non-jump capable ship the size of Fearless, with flat surfaces. Fearless herself provided most of the equipment and almost all of the metal for the hull. The new ship is basically the same internal layout as Fearless with minor adjustments to accommodate the new hull geometry. She’ll be finished in two to three weeks. We’ll keep her on the ground for the time being. She can be launched quickly in the event that Wolfhound shows up. Now that you and your team won’t be needed to provide alternate crew for Haven ships, you will be assigned as Fearless II’s new crew.” Strider started to protest, but Terrington stopped him with a raised hand. “I know you’re not thrilled about being given a ship that can’t make hyper-space jumps, but this assignment isn’t permanent. The groundwork is being done for a larger, jump-capable ship. Internal equipment is being manufactured and then stored until it’s needed. When Fearless II is finished and confirms how good the new hull geometry is in deflecting radar, then they’ll start work on a flat-surface ship that’s jump-capable, and when that ship is ready, she’ll be given to you.”
Strider relaxed. Building a smaller ship first to test the new hull design made a lot of sense. “Okay, General. By the way, before we left Haven, I told their senior officers about the flat-surface hull design concept. They said they’d look into it, but I could tell that they weren’t keen on the notion of giving up CM armor.”
“Ha. I’m not surprised. It does seem a bit counter-intuitive. Write up your report and send it to my office by the end of the week. My driver will take you home. You’re officially on leave now but make sure we can reach you if we need to. Say hi to your wife and son for me.” Terrington got out of the car and nodded to Strider before turning to enter his headquarters.
Strider spent the next three weeks getting re-acquainted with Samantha and Troy. His son had used his allowance to buy more spaceship models, and he proudly showed his father his collection. Some were hanging from the ceiling in his room, while others were on book shelves or on top of his desk. When Strider told Troy about the new hull design with the flat surfaces that the new Fearless would have, Troy pestered him about taking him to see the ship until Strider laughed and agreed.
The Senate had voted to award Karl Jaeger his posthumous medal. Both Samantha and Troy cried at the official presentation when Strider read aloud the official citation of what Jaeger had done. They had met him, and both had liked him. It was on the way back from that event that Strider drove them to the spaceport to look at Fearless II. The ship was not quite finished, and they weren’t able to get close, but it was still possible to make out the difference in the hull design.
“Does this mean that you won’t be going on long trips anymore, Dad?”
“No, it doesn’t, but I won’t be going on long trips for a while. The Haven Navy has now had enough time to train and promote the officers and crew they need in order to keep their heavy cruisers operational all the time, and they don’t need me anymore. Senior Lieutenant Tomonaga and his crew have just left for one more tour of duty on board Redstone, and when they return home, they’ll be staying here as well. Eventually, the Aerospace Force will have jump-capable ships, and they won’t always be tasked with planetary defense.”
“Yeah, but Dad, you’re a Major now, right? I thought ships were commanded by Captains.”
Strider laughed as he looked at Samantha who was smiling too. Troy’s observation was sufficiently obscure that Strider was surprised his son had figured it out. “The AF is still figuring out what kind of command structure its space units should have. When I commanded the first Fearless, I was a Captain. When we became friends with the Haven Navy, I was promoted to Major because their heavy cruiser COs have the rank of Commander, which is one step below Vice-Admiral. Their vice-admiral rank is equivalent to our Colonel, which means their Commander is equivalent to our Major. General Terrington decided that if I was going to take on the temporary Haven Navy rank of Commander, I should have the equivalent rank here. There’s been some talk that when we build our own jump-capable heavy cruisers, they should be commanded by a Major because they’re going to be much bigger ships with bigger crews.”
Troy thought about that for a few seconds before responding. “So, does that mean that a fleet of heavy cruisers would be under the overall command of a Colonel?”
“I don’t think anyone’s thought that far ahead, but your deduction is quite reasonable, son.”
“I like the sound of vice-admiral better than colonel,” said Troy.
Strider laughed again. He leaned over and said in a whisper, “Don’t tell any one this, but I do too.”
A week after the medal presentation, Terrington called Strider.
“Fearless II has just passed her first test flight with flying colors. There are two more scheduled over the next three days, and then she’ll be officially commissioned into the AF Fleet. When that happens, you’ll be given command, and that means your leave will be over. But as long as the ship is on alert status on the ground, you’ll still be able to see Samantha and Troy every evening. You’ll be getting calls from Personnel shortly regarding your officers and crew. You can request specific individuals, but you may not get everyone you ask for, so give that some thought. Oh, one more thing. We’re starting a new tradition for ships like Fearless II. When she’s officially commissioned, someone will christen her with a bottle of champagne. I think it should be the wife or daughter or mother of the ship’s first CO. Ask Samantha if she’d like to do the honors, and let me know what she decides.”
When he told Samantha about the new tradition, her eyes opened wide with excitement. “I’d love to do that! You know what this means though.”
“No, what?”
“I’ll have to buy a fancy new outfit for the occasion. Dress, hat, shoes, gloves, purse of course.”
“Of course,” agreed Strider.
The ceremony took place seven days later. Troy was allowed to accompany his parents up the elevator that took them to the top of the special gantr
y built for just this event. Terrington was with them as well. When the elevator came to a stop, they got out and walked over to a balcony that was about ten feet from the widest part of the ship. A large bottle of champagne was tied to a thick ribbon so that when she let it go, it would swing down and hit the ship with enough force to break the bottle. There was also a microphone so that her words would be broadcast to the thousand or so spectators who had gathered around the ship to watch.
Terrington carefully handed her the bottle and pointed to the microphone. Strider picked up his son so that he could see what was about to happen.
