A Galaxy Unknown

by Thomas DePrima

  Without rising from her chair, Jenetta looked in Rondell's direction and nodded. He needed no further instruction and released the first cargo section. All eyes turned towards the huge viewscreen at the front of the bridge as it presented a CG image from sensor data. At first, the bond between the ship and cargo section seemed unbroken, but then the unseen temporal field that enveloped the ship at FTL speeds reformed without it. As normal space and time reasserted its control over the single cargo link, it fell away behind the freighter so quickly that it seemed to just disappear.

  When the distance from the cargo container passed just beyond a billion km, Gunny Rondell said, "The contact has slowed, Captain."

  "He's curious," Jenetta said quietly to Gloria. "He wants to know why we lost it."

  The distance between pursuer and pursued widened beyond the DeTect range of their equipment and the image that had seemed like a sensor ghost disappeared from the screens temporarily. When it suddenly reappeared, Gunny Rondell said, "He's back, Captain. The contact is moving considerably faster than us now. The computer estimates their speed at Light-211."

  "They must be trying to close the gap," Gloria remarked. "It'll take them almost four minutes at that speed."

  Once the contact reached a point one-billion-ten-million kilometers behind the Vordoth, it slowed to Light-150 to maintain that distance.

  "Well, there's no longer any doubt that he's tailing us, and no doubt that we can't outrun him," Jenetta said before lapsing into silence to ponder the situation further while Charley and Gloria hovered near the security station and kept a close eye on the sensor data.

  Jenetta waited another twenty minutes before telling Gunny to release the next container. This time the tailing ship didn't slow its forward motion as it bypassed the container.

  "Okay, it looks like he's accepted that we're breaking up," Jenetta said. "I imagine they're attributing it to damage from the earlier attack. Let's take it to the next level."

  "What is the next level?" Gloria asked. "So far all we've done is turn over cargo containers full of valuable ore. They may believe that we're breaking up, but they haven't moved in for the kill."

  "I never assumed they would. We're going to have to take the battle to them. That should be something they'll never expect if they're a Raider warship. I doubt that any warship captain would anticipate an offensive attack from an old freighter in transit. Helm, drop our envelope. Gunny, release the third rearmost section and then detach the main section from the ship."

  Acknowledgments flowed back to Jenetta from both the helmsman and Gunny.

  "Charley, send out the tugs. Helm, using maneuvering thrusters only, drop us down under the cargo body, then turn us 180 degrees and move us back to a position just behind the third cargo section that we detached. I want that single cargo section to stay between us and the ship that's following us, until they close to within a million kilometers. Don't use the sub-light engines unless I tell you to. We don't want to light up their sensor grids."

  "Aye, Captain."

  "We're not going to fool them, Captain," Gloria said. "The returned blip on their scanners will be much larger than the one returned from the containers they passed before."

  "I'm hoping they'll just think a larger section has broken off. There will still be a six kilometer long section moving away from us on our former flight path, and that has to be returning a major blip on their screens."

  "But they'll see that the main cargo section has slowed."

  "The logical action for us to take if we really were losing link-sections would be to drop our envelope and investigate. They'll think we're doing that. I just hope they're so bored with following us that they won't question why we've engaged our sub-light engines instead of merely stopping to resolve the problem. Perhaps they'll believe that we want to continue putting as much distance as possible between ourselves and wherever those fighters came from. Anyway, if they don't question it, they'll drop their envelope to maintain their distance from the main cargo section."

  The underbelly of the cargo section could be seen on the large monitor at the front of the bridge as the tugs locked onto it and began to accelerate away. One tug hauled from the front while the other two locked onto the top of the steel link framework with the electromagnets in their landing skids. Once they attained fifty-thousand kps, they would hold that speed until they received additional orders. The helmsman brought the freighter to a stop just short of the container left behind and then raised up behind it. Only a close-up view of the backside of that single cargo link-section, with its four cargo containers locked solidly in place, could be seen on the front monitor. With the ship in position, the bridge grew deathly quiet. It was almost as if everyone on the bridge was afraid to make the slightest noise for fear that the trailing ship would hear him or her and detect the ambush.

  * * *

  "Helm, all stop!" the tactical officer screamed when an alarm sounded on his console aboard the Raider destroyer Satan's Own.

  Captain Garth Goshan twisted his bulk to look at his tactical officer and ask calmly, "What is it now?"

  "It's the freighter, sir. She's dropped her envelope and engaged her sub-light engines."

  "Match her speed."

  "Aye, Captain," the helmsman said as he keyed in the changes.

  Captain Goshan stared at the enhanced image on the front viewscreen. The ship seemed to have lost another cargo section. She must have slowed to check out the problem. "A reasonable action," he mumbled to himself, "but why has she engaged her sub-lights? No matter. We can return and retrieve all the separated containers once we take the freighter at the new ambush point."

  * * *

  The crew spent the anxious minutes staring either at the large front viewscreen or their new captain. Jenetta's heart was racing like never before, but she forced herself to look perfectly calm as she relaxed in the command chair and sipped from a mug of coffee while glancing up occasionally at the large screen at the front of the bridge. She knew that the appearance of imperturbability would help keep the crew calm and focused.

  As Gunny Rondell gazed at Jenetta, he wondered if her equanimity was real or show. She seemed as cool as any commander he'd ever served under and he wondered if she realized just how dangerous the situation was. He'd missed his opportunity to stop this earlier, and now had to follow through as though he believed they really had a chance of surviving. The others on the bridge showed sensible signs of fear, but managed to remain calm as they concentrated on their tasks.

  After numerous anxious minutes, the crewman at the Vordoth's science station said nervously, "Captain, the Raider ship is nearing a point one million kilometers aft of us. It's slowed to match the speed of the main cargo section, but it's closing fast on our position here."

  "He's so sure that we're not a threat, he's ignoring the inconsistency," Jenetta said to Gloria with a grim smile.

  "Sensors indicate that it's about the size of a GSC destroyer," the science station crewman said.

  "Very good," Jenetta said calmly. "Gunny?"

  "Confirmed, Captain. I have them on the plot."

  "Helm, using thrusters only, gently nudge us lower than the container section. Just enough so that Gunny Rondell has a clear shot with the torpedo tubes. Gunny, as soon as you get a lock on that ship, fire torpedoes one and three. They'll have torpedoes also, and a lot more tubes than we have, so we need to get them before they can figure out where we are and get a lock on us. "

  Both men said, "Aye, Captain."

  As the Vordoth sank slowly behind the cargo section, Jenetta watched the front viewscreen intently. Gunny Rondell amplified the view to maximum sensor magnification, and a CG image of the approaching ship leapt onto the viewscreen. The image lacked sharp definition at this distance, but it was definitely a destroyer, and it bristled with armament. Announcing from the security console that he had a lock on the target, Gunny Rondell lightly depressed two illuminated contact switches. The heat trails from the torpedoes were clearly v
isible on the forward viewscreen's enhanced image as the deadly missiles left the Vordoth and accelerated rapidly towards the approaching ship.

  "One and three away!" Gunny announced.

  * * *

  The sudden shriek of the imminent threat warning alarm on the bridge of Satan's Own caused Captain Goshan to sit up straight in his chair and look anxiously towards his tactical crewman.

  "What is it?!" he asked, slurring the words in his eagerness to get them out.

  "Torpedoes, Captain. Someone's locked onto us and fired. There are two of ‘em."

  "From where?"

  "They're approaching from dead ahead."

  "Eject counter measures. Helm, hard to port. Full power."

  "Aye, Captain," the young helmsman managed to squeak out as he twisted the joystick and punched in the speed variable. His eyes were wide with fear and he had trouble swallowing because of the enormous lump that had suddenly materialized in his throat.

  * * *

  The Raider ship didn't seem to spot the two torpedoes until they had traveled over three-quarters of a million kilometers and were closing rapidly on its position. But then it altered course violently to larboard and expelled counter measures designed to confuse the targeting systems of the torpedoes. Jenetta's eyes widened and she re-swallowed her heart as both torpedoes lost their lock on the escaping ship and began flying in circles around the zigzagging counter measures. The torpedoes were still trying to kill the counter measures as the Raider ship disappeared from view. The bridge crew of the Vordoth watched in horror as the counter measures went cold and the torpedoes lost track of even them.

  "Damn Falcon Mark III's," Jenetta muttered nervously. "That's another reason why they went out of production. It doesn't take much for them to lose their target."

  "What do we do now, Captain?" Gloria asked.

  "That depends on our friend out there. We've had our only free shot. It'll be tough to sucker him again. Gunny, any sign of that destroyer?" Jenetta asked.

  "He's still headed directly away from his previous track," Gunny said, watching the plot screen on the security console. "No wait, he's turning around, Captain. He's reversing course and accelerating rapidly back."

  "I guess we're not through here yet. Prepare to fire torpedoes two and four, Gunny."

  "Aye, Captain, I'm ready."

  * * *

  "Tactical," Captain Goshan said calmly, "Do you have a location on those torpedoes?"

  "They're off the plot, sir. I didn't record any explosions so they must have exhausted their fuel and gone ballistic after being distracted by our counter measures."

  "Where the devil did they come from?"

  "It's almost a certainty that they came from the freighter we're following, sir. Our intelligence data does state that they have four bow tubes."

  "Bow tubes? How could they fire torpedoes at us from bow tubes? Unless…"

  "Sir?"

  "Give me maximum sensor magnification on that cargo link-section that's fallen away. Put it up on the front viewscreen."

  "Ready, sir."

  Captain Goshan stared at the image. "There," he announced as he pointed to the image. "Look at the lower edge of the link-section. Does that look like a ship to you?"

  "It isn't part of a cargo link section, that's for sure."

  As Satan's Own continued on a course perpendicular to its original track, Goshan grinned evilly and mumbled to himself, "So, our young captain is more clever than the commandant believed. She distracted us by sending her cargo section on ahead and preparing an ambush. But she's not commanding a warship; just an old freighter." Raising his voice he said, "Tactical, target that ship and fire tubes seven and eight."

  "Aye, Captain."

  Goshan leaned his bulk back into his bridge chair as the torpedoes left his ship. He was supremely confident in his ability to destroy the freighter, and he had a grudge to settle. Despite assurances from the commandant that the freighter's crew was incapable of putting up a fight, they'd somehow destroyed the six fighters that he'd sent out. Six fighters? He should have sent six squadrons. But on their last mission Leggmann had done serious damage to the ship he was sent to seize, so this time they had been under strict orders. And those orders specifically limited the size of the force Goshan could send out. But now that the freighter had separated from the cargo section, she was fair game. He could use whatever force he wished. And since that ship out there was only a freighter, two torpedoes with high-explosive warheads should split it open like an overripe melon.

  * * *

  "Captain," Gunny said calmly, "the Raider has fired torpedoes. They're presently bearing down on us at— 36,178 kps and still accelerating. Estimated time to impact is— one-niner seconds."

  "Gunny, fire two and four," Jenetta said quickly, trying to remain calm but unable to remain totally unperturbed in the face of this new development.

  Anticipating her order, Gunny had been targeting the destroyer. He immediately depressed the two switches that would send the missiles on their deadly errand. "Aye, Captain. Two and four away!"

  "Helm, get us back up behind our cover. Quick."

  The Vordoth's ascent seemed agonizingly slow as tiny thrusters struggled to raise the mass of the ship into position. All that could be seen on the viewscreen was the rear of the cargo link-section until Gunny locked in the targeting sensors. Suddenly, it was as if the cargo section wasn't there at all. As Gunny counted down the seconds, everyone on the bridge watched in stunned silence as the torpedoes raced menacingly towards them. The crewman at the science station began whimpering, until she realized the noise was being heard by those around her. She clamped both hands over her mouth and nose. Two seconds before impact Gunny changed the view back to regular sensor data.

  The four, ten-meter deep by twenty-meter high containers, filled to the brim with unprocessed ore, took the full force of the two Raider torpedoes. Jenetta watched in silence as thirty-two-thousand cubic meters of rock, enclosed in linked, steel containers, completely absorbed the energy of the torpedoes. Since the torpedoes didn't penetrate the cargo containers, the explosive force discharged almost harmlessly against their surface in the vacuum of space. The link-section held together, but the force from the accelerated mass of the torpedoes bent the hundred-sixty-meter wide link-section inward and drove it towards the ship hiding behind it.

  "Helm," Jenetta said, "full reverse."

  The Vordoth responded to the order from the helm and immediately began to back away. The sub-light engines strained mightily to push it back from the approaching cargo link-section. Within seconds, it had matched the velocity of the link-section, insuring that the damaged cargo unit couldn't catch and damage the ship.

  "Helm, disengage sub-light," Jen said. "Keep us hidden behind the cargo link-section using thrusters.

  Gunny locked in the targeting sensors again and the bridge crew was able to watch as the latest counter measures from Satan's Own died and the Vordoth's second pair of torpedoes shut down as well.

  "Where's that destroyer, Gunny?" Jenetta asked anxiously.

  "It crossed our original track and continued on, but it's turning again, Captain. He's headed back."

  * * *

  "Did we get them, tactical?" Captain Goshan asked.

  "I don't know sir. The explosions blinded my sensors for a couple of seconds. Immediately after detonation, I got a reading as if they fired up their sub-light engines."

  "Which way did they go?"

  "They didn't go anywhere. The sub-light engines cut out after just a few seconds. Here's the image of the link-section at maximum magnification, sir."

  Goshan studied the two-dimensional CG image carefully. He saw no sign of the ship, and the link-section appeared intact. "We got the little bitch," he announced with a confident smile. "We must have blown them to pieces. At sub-light, they couldn't have cleared the area in a few seconds. Certainly not far enough to avoid power signature detection. The explosion must have shorted out their control syst
ems and ignited the sub-light engines briefly." His rubbed his chin for a second and then added, "But— helm, maintain this distance until we're absolutely sure."

  "Aye, Captain," the helmsman said. The lump in his throat had begun to shrink appreciably.

  * * *

  Chapter Eleven

  ~ July 13th, 2267 ~

  "Gunny, are tubes one and three loaded yet?"

  "Not yet, Captain. They'll be available in— forty-two seconds."

  "Unfortunately, we may not have forty-two seconds," she said calmly. "If that Raider sees that we're still intact, he'll try to finish the job. What's his position?"

  "He's holding at— eight-hundred-eighty-two thousand kilometers from us. Almost precisely where he was when he first altered course to avoid our torpedoes. His helmsman must be some kind of perfectionist."

  "How long until we can fire again?"

  "Tubes one and three should be ready in— thirty-one sec… Damn!" Gunny stopped talking, peered more intently at the console, and then stabbed a finger at the console interface pad.

  "What is it, Gunny," Jenetta asked, with just a touch of anxiety in her voice.

  "Look, Captain," Gunny said, pointing to the image that he had just put up on the front viewscreen. It was a greatly magnified view of the Raider destroyer as provided by the targeting sensors. Counter measures were erupting from the warship like seeds from a fluffy dandelion seed ball caught in a powerful Terran gust of wind. At the same instant, laser weapon gunners began to fill space with pulses of coherent light as they opened up on seemingly invisible targets. A second later, an explosion white'd out the Vordoth's viewscreen. Another explosion immediately followed the first. The two explosions opened great holes amidship in the destroyer, wiping out bulkhead walls and exposing large sections of the ship to open space.