“Wrath,” I called out, “take us to the limit of their sensors in the opposite direction from Azsuram.”
Before he could do so, we were wracked by the most powerful gravity waves they'd fired on us yet. The cube shook like an angry T-rex had stepped on us. Then we phased out, and everything was still. As my nausea subsided, I called out, “Damage report!”
“None, Form.”
“Al, can you validate that report?”
“Yes, Captain. All systems and weapons unharmed.”
“What are the Berrillians doing?”
“They are drifting in place,” replied Manly. “We did not do sufficient damage to force them to linger, so presumably, they are awaiting a second charge.”
“Or,” good old Al added, “they are breaking down our attack, looking for countermeasures. I imagine communications must be severely limited when they're in warp space.”
“Withdraw to the limit of our sensor range and keep me posted.”
“Form? Shouldn't we strike again? They are sitting targets.”
“No. Sooner or later, they’ll enter warp space. When they do, we whack ’em again and run. I want them to fear high-speed travel.”
“An interesting, if passive, tactic,” replied Manly.
We floated idly in space for nearly half an hour. Impatient by nature, I kept asking my twin computer for updates. They both reported no change, except that one Berrillian ship had been scuttled. Presumably the crew was transferred before the craft exploded. They certainly didn't want to leave us a gift to study if one of their ships was incapacitated.
Finally, Wrath said, “They've entered warp space. Heading away from us.”
“What direction?” I asked. “What lays in their path.”
“Azsuram, Form.”
My heart stopped beating, and my brain drained into my stomach. Barely audible, I asked, “Directly?”
“No,” Al replied, “but the solar system in general.
Crap! They'd probably detected some sign of advanced civilization and had decided to attack a hard, immobile target. “ETA?” I asked louder.
“A few hours, perhaps, if they stay in warp space.”
“Immediate attack! After we materialize, fire as many rail balls as possible in one second, then raise membrane.”
Mild nausea hit me.
“Done, Form. Three ships destroyed, four damaged significantly.” The cube began to shake like we were in a blender.
“Put us in their geometric center and repeat firing pattern.”
“What?” said AL. “Point blank is pretty close, Captain.”
“I know. Do it, now!”
“Done,” said Manly. Twelve ships damaged, six destroyed. So far no sign of plasma or gravity wave retaliation.”
Several seconds later, there was still no counterattack. Instead, the fleet jumped back to warp space. Damn! I'd found a weakness. They didn't want to fire those gravity waves at themselves.
“Wrath, repeat attack per last plan immediately.”
Again, as my nausea cleared, Wrath reported, “Two ships destroyed, three…”
The gravity wave perturbations that struck us were impressive. For the first time ever, I saw sparks fly from a couple control panels. The plasma streams surrounded us, completely engulfing Wrath inside the membrane.
“Damage report,” I called out.
“Minimal, Form. One redundant backup tele-relay system overloaded.”
“Hull integrity?”
“One hundred percent,” he replied
“Take us far away, now.”
“Done, Form. We are a few light years away.”
“Wrath, I need your honest report. Did they damage you in any way?”
“Form, all of my…”
“Belay that, Manly! I want short sentences with small words only. Were you damaged?”
“Aside from the minor system overload, no.”
“How did that system fail?”
“Between maintaining the membrane at full power, scanning the enemy, directing secondary membranes to deflect the plasma streams, and maneuvering to correct for drift, I was unable to secure non-essential systems.”
“By design or because of over-demand?”
“Both. I can do the impossible, but even that has limits.”
“If we repeat the same assault ten times, is it possible they will cause us more damage—critical damage?”
“Unlikely, but possible.”
“So,” I summarized, “we can attack them, but they can, with luck and persistence, damage us?”
“Yes, Form. I should point out that such a fate is…”
“Belay that. Are they back in warp yet?”
“No… wait, yes, they just resumed faster than light speed,” replied Manly.
“Geographic center, repeat attack, but only half as long and withdraw immediately after last shot fired. Oh, and add in laser shots just before we dematerialize.”
“By your command.”
I was hit with two bouts of nausea barely separated in time. Wrath gave report. “We destroyed eight ships, forced them out of warp space, but experienced no gravity wave retaliation.”
Yes! They had a weak underbelly. “Wrath, return to the same point, fire five hundred rail balls, then return to this point.”
“Done, Form. Two ships damaged, no return fire.”
“Repeat assaults at variable intervals between one and three seconds. Same duration as the last. Do so until offensive action is taken by the enemy. Then, return here and hold position.”
I went through rapid fire nausea that was really quite unpleasant. I wished I'd just vomit and be done with it, but I knew that wouldn't work. I just sucked it up.
After multiple cycles, Wrath received a massive jolt of gravity radiation. The lights flickered briefly, and one panel went dark. “Form, we are stationary, per your orders.”
“Report.”
“We hit them seventeen times in less than a minute. Thirty ships damaged or destroyed. On the last run, they committed to gravity waves directed at us while we were in their center.”
“Did the gravity waves hurt them?”
“Yes. Patterning all the waves and reflections was difficult, even for me. However, I believe the cascade of waves, some that resonated with others, damaged sixty additional vessels.”
Wow! The most damage we'd ever done was to have them shoot at their own feet while we stood on them. They were down over a hundred ships, so far. Unfortunately, they still had over five hundred under sail.
“Damage to us?”
“Minor.”
“Minor as in…”
“One fuel cell removed from duty, three hull breaches already repaired, and one rail cannon blown free.”
That was real damage. So, if we maximally harassed them, we could pick of a goodly number of ships, but we risked our own destruction in the process. Plus, we couldn't significantly threaten the bulk of their force. We could inflict nickel-and-dime damage, but not wipe them out. Not good enough.
“Are they back in warp,” I asked.
“Not as of yet,” replied Manly.
“Of note, Captain,” Al cut in, “they have begun moving along their last course under standard propulsion.”
“What? Wrath, you omitted that detail?” I was hot. Manly was simply not to be trusted.
“When I was certain of their intent, I would most definitely have mentioned it, Form. No point burdening you with premature information.”
“Wrath, this is war. No data is too insignificant to mention. One of their ships stops for cigarettes and beer, I want to know. You got it?”
“Yes, Form. I live to serve.”
I bet! “Al, what speed are they making?”
“Slow acceleration to an estimated sixty thousand kilometers per hour.”
“When would they make Azsuram?”
“Perhaps three weeks under conventional drive.”
Three weeks. Well, that was something. In three weeks, I cou
ld maybe pick off a few dozen more ships. Still, five hundred swarming my home was not good.
“Alert me immediately if they go to warp space.” I left the recipient of the order unclear, so they'd both be on their toes. After an hour, they remained under conventional ion drive. I guess we convinced them they were too defenseless in warp space to risk it.
“Wrath, in thirty minutes, I want an ultrafast raid. Appear in the center and fire all weapons for three seconds. Then immediately retreat beyond their scanner range.” I wanted to know we hadn't left.
The hyper short attack took out two ships. We were gone before they could fire anything at us. I had Manly repeat the same fifteen minutes later, only that time I had him appear directly in their path. Twenty minutes later, we repeated the maneuver, but from behind. Six ships damaged, all told. Through it all, they remained in ion drive. I had Al draw up a schedule of randomly timed repeat attacks. We could take out maybe one hundred fifty ships before they arrived at Azsuram. Better than nothing.
After the next attack, I had Manly put us on the side of Azsuram farthest from the Berrillians. It was a long way from home, but I wanted to give nothing up to the enemy. Sapale, JJ, Tao, and Toño flew in a shuttle to meet with me. I updated them. The Berrillians were opting for caution and were heading toward the solar system basically on foot. No matter what I did, Wrath was only going to thin their numbers. A large force would find our colony within a month.
“Why do you suppose,” Tao asked, “they are traveling toward us? You present a real and present danger.”
“Not sure,” I had to admit.
“Perhaps,” Toño said, rubbing his temples, “they are too frustrated with Wrath's mobility and apparent indestructibility. They may want a simpler target to attack, one less able to defend itself.”
“That's not logical,” said JJ. All eyes turned toward him. “They can't know Wrath is our only Deavoriath asset. Logically,” his new favorite word, it would seem, “we'd have to assume they were in search of an alternate Deavoriath target, just a stationary one. It would be just as difficult for them as a movable platform.”
Good point. “Maybe,” I said, “their weapons work better on land-based targets. Those gravity waves would likely rip a solid surface apart.”
“Yes,” agreed Tao, “I can accept that argument.” He sat in quiet reflection a moment. “Perhaps that is what they were designed to do. Destroy planets.”
“Like Oowaoa,” responded Sapale.
“Yes,” Tao said, “especially Oowaoa.”
“I'll have the AIs run simulations and report back ASAP,” said Toño, without having to be asked.
“That's a troubling thought,” I said, “that those assholes might be able to destroy an entire planet. Sure, over time I might be able to eliminate them by attrition, but they could do one hell of a lot of damage in six months.”
“Not that much,” remarked JJ. “Not if they can't go to faster than light speed. They're pretty much confined to this region. Aside from Azsuram, there's not much else to blow up.”
Hardly reassuring,” Sapale said to our son.
“Their entire campaign makes next to no sense,” said a troubled Tao.
“How so?” I asked.
“This race was embarrassed by the Deavoriath and has held a long grudge. Presumably, they have dedicated a million years of effort to focusing their entire society on nothing but the destruction of their sworn enemies. They decide they're finally ready, they travel an immense distance, but they end up underprepared and able to engage a limited number of targets. Doesn't make sense.” He shook his head angrily. “They should have at least sent out…” He stopped talking and his face went blank, like a knife had been thrust into his back.
“What?” snapped Sapale. “Divisinar, what's wrong?”
“It would make no sense,” Tao said absently, “unless they’d sent out small bands to test their enemy’s readiness. Expendable raiding parties to see what they would need for a full-scale assault.”
“Don't walk into a dark building with your eyes closed and your hands behind your back,” I said.
“What?” asked JJ. “You think seven hundred ships with crazy good weapons is just a field test—a trial run?”
“I do,” replied Tao glumly.
“Their actual attack force must be massive,” said Toño.
“And still quite far away, so changes can be made and new technologies invented if needed,” finished Tao.
“So, what? These guys are here to whack a few Deavoriath things and die?” asked JJ incredulously.
“And report back,” added Tao. “That is their only mission.”
“Ah, gentlemen,” said Sapale, “whatever their ultimate motivation is, we stand in harm’s way. If we’re killed, it doesn’t really matter what their larger goal is, now does it?” My Sapale, always practical.
“True,” agreed Tao. “However, defense against a suicide squad is more difficult than against a rational opponent. They are all committed to die; they probably want to die, so they cannot be counted on to act with any self-preservation.”
“We're six kinds of screwed, aren't we?” was my summation. In spite of our desperate situation, that brought a punch in the shoulder from my brood's-mate. It also got a chuckle from JJ, so it was worth it.
“So, if they must stay out of warp space,” said Sapale, “they are no real threat to the worldship fleet, are they?”
“Not if Wrath survives the final battle,” replied Toño.
“They'll be relieved to hear that,” I said, “if they actually do hear it.”
“The ultimate goal of your human fleet is the long-term survival of your species,” said Tao. “The Berrillians may not threaten those humans who are currently alive, but I'm afraid they pose a grievous threat to the core mission.” My but he was a Glum Gus, wasn't he?
“Again, gentlemen,” Sapale urged, “may we focus on the present, not someone else's grim future?”
“Yeah,” I said, “I need to get back to annoying the crap out of the Berrillians.”
“Fine,” responded Sapale, “you've told us all that you can. Go, and I pray by the ancient gods you destroy them all.”
“Walk with me back to the cube,” I said to her.
She excused herself and took my hand. “How's Manly doing?' she asked as we walked slowly. “Has he blown his last mental circuit board yet?”
I smiled back at her. “Not yet, but man, is he ever nuts. I'm glad Al's along. Never thought I'd live long enough to say that!”
“Good old Al.” She was quiet a moment, then asked, “Do you think you'll make it back safely for the final battle?”
“Me?” I touched my chest. “You can bet I will. Takes a lot more than a fleet of desperadoes with advanced weapons and hearts of stone to stop me.” She gave me a roll of her eyes. “What? Not gonna start being serious and responsible now. With my last breath I'll be cracking a joke.”
“And I love you for it.” She kissed me. “I will always love you.”
We embraced for too short a time, then I said, “I really gotta go. The more I hit them, the less there'll be to bother you.”
She grabbed my shoulders and turned me toward Wrath. “Go, before I change my mind and ask you to stay.”
I waved goodbye through the clear window I told Manly to make, and then I was gone.
Though I didn't think they'd be too effective, I brought along a few infinity charges. Those were the membrane bombs that entered something and theoretically expanded it apart. What the hell? I'd throw a kitchen sink at them if there was a chance it would dent a hull. We materialized a few thousand kilometers in front of the armada. They had assumed a more open configuration, probably hoping to limit some of the collateral damage that had cost them ships. I had Manly fire as many rail balls as he could before they returned fire. They were lightning quick about it, but we still got off a few thousand rounds. We closed in, raised the membrane, and deflected the plasma beams back at them. A pretty routine att
ack plan by then.
A few ships exploded from the cannon fire and a few from redirected plasma shots. I had Manly target the exploding ships with infinity charges, just to see what might happen. Wow! When the charge went off, those Berrillian ships really exploded. They had to have designed them with secure compartments, thick walls, or something similarly designed to limit the spread of damage. The enhanced explosion destroyed quite a few ships, even at the increased separation they had used. I ordered Manly to withdraw.
“How many ships did we bag?” I asked.
“Twenty-four,” replied Manly.
That was the most tonnage we’d destroyed in one skirmish. Most cool! I assumed they’d spread out even more, so that we wouldn’t be so lucky in the next attack. I immediately ordered Manly to pop into the center of the fleet. Sure enough, they were already farther apart. No biggie. Wrath put out a three-sixty laser pattern, which he could do with the membranes up. The most intense gravity waves yet rocked the cube. They had altered their tactic. They used successive waves to push us away, all the while hitting us with converging waves to try and crack us open. Not for the first time, I was glad no living being was in Wrath just then. They would have never survived. In fact, it set me to wondering what the Berrillians must have been thinking. They had to know how hard they shook the cube, yet whoever was inside wasn't killed. Good. Let them stew over the possibilities. A confused opponent was the best kind.
We disappeared before they could do any real damage. Sitting there in the cold darkness of space, I had my best idea ever! Seriously, ever!
“Wrath, put us in their center again. Be ready to deploy an infinity charge at point-blank range.”
“Form?”
“Do it now!”
Instantly we were right back where we'd been. “Wrath, materialize inside the nearest ship, release the charge, and then get us the hell out of there fast.”
“Form, there is a chance we will damage ourselves if our fold-exit includes a bulkhead.”
“Then make real sure we don't. Do it now.”
The viewport went gray, then I was looking at the inside of a Berrillian ship. We were in a hangar or similarly large enclosure. Then we were back in deep space.
“Take us back, just behind the fleet,” I ordered.
The Forever Fight: The Forever Series Book 3 Page 19
