The Temple of Light (The Shadow Space Chronicles Book 5)

by Kal Spriggs

  Ricky eased out of his hiding spot and then crawled over to a maintenance access hatch. If he got aboard the La Muerto Negra, he could work his way to the bridge. They'd sent their people to attack the station, so there shouldn't be anyone aboard, no more than a skeleton crew at most. Ricky could kill or take hostage anyone he met, and then radio his crew on the Raptor. They could take a shuttle over, and then he could escape.

  He smiled as he eased into the maintenance hatch and then down into the access tube. It was a tight fit. Ricky realized he hadn't done this kind of thing in years and he'd gained more weight than he cared to realize. Yet he slithered down the access tube, pistol in hand. This was going to work he was going to get out of this.

  Ricky was a survivor, he'd rebuild. He didn't care anymore about revenge. That had been a mistake from the beginning. Now was the time to do what he did best: stab someone in the back and take their shit.

  ***

  Alannis winced as a turret in the docking bay opened fire. The La Muerto Negra's armor held up against the anti-fighter turret, but she saw other turrets that could do far more damage. For that matter, numerous pirate vessels had undocked, headed for the bay opening and space.

  Opening fire in the crowded bay with heavy weapons would be stupid. Debris and shrapnel would destroy docked ships and could open parts of the base to vacuum, but apparently the pirates were willing to risk that.

  "How long until our support arrives?" Alannis asked, even as she began to key systems to life.

  "Ten minutes, ma'am," Ensign Mays reported.

  "We can't stay here, we're a sitting target," Alannis said. She flipped the emergency cutoff switches and internal hatches slammed down, disconnecting the ship from the station. She frowned as she saw one indicate a blockage on a water and air transfer tube. Without a thought she ordered the system to flush the blockage and then went back to bringing the ship's systems online.

  ***

  Ricky's eye went wide as he heard hatches slam behind him. The only reason a ship would do that would be if it were about to do an emergency disconnect... which would vent him into space if he wasn't aboard in time.

  He scurried forward, scraping and cutting himself on the hard edges of the tube and managed to get his hand on the sensor. He breathed a sigh of relief as the hatch remained open. Now he would have time to crawl inside the ship...

  He heard a roar of air then and he let out a scream as the purge vent behind him opened. Roaring air screamed down the shaft and caught him, forcing him along the tube, his hands clawing desperately at the walls, ripping his fingernails off as he tried to hold on against the wall of pressure.

  Then he was at the purge valve and for just a moment his body blocked it. Ricky's fingers scrabbled for purchase even as his gut blocked the vent, his legs kicking in the bypass chute. Pressure built around him as the purge system over-pressurized the tube to try to flush him out. He felt his ears pop, and he screamed in terror as he realized that there was no escape.

  Then the pressure overcame the friction of his belly and he popped out of the vent like the cork from a champagne bottle. Ricky gave one last desperate scream as he rocketed down the bypass tube. It wasn't fair, he so close...

  Ricky let out a girlish scream as he fell… and that scream cut off as he dropped head first into the waste overflow tank.

  ***

  Alannis noted the blockage had cleared and the system had sealed off that transfer tube and she unlocked the docking collars. The La Muerto Negra hung still for a moment, but then she applied the maneuver thrusters and kicked the destroyer away from the wall and towards the center of the bay. She brought the weapons systems online and tracked the forward projectile turret to face the gun position that continued to fire at them.

  The pirate was either too stupid to take a hint or else the turret was automated. The La Muerto Negra's main guns were relatively low velocity and fired a variety of explosive warheads. Alannis selected a high explosive round and triggered a single shot. The turret and most of the structure it was built into vanished in the resultant explosion. "Anyone else?" She asked. Most of the bay had cleared as the pirates scrambled their ships.

  "Skipper," Ensign Mays shouted, "starboard, forty degrees, we got a frigate powering up!"

  Alannis brought the turret around, she noticed the writing on the hull, the frigate's name was Raptor, she saw. She hesitated as the frigate didn't present a threat, none of the ship's weapons were operational. "Attention, Raptor," Alannis snapped, "power down your systems or I will open fire."

  This close in the bay, there was too much chance that the ship could ram them or open fire without warning. Even as she saw that, the ship's engines began to power up. Using the main drive in an enclosed area like this would be incredibly destructive.

  Shit, Alannis thought, no choice about it...

  She centered the targeting reticle on the Raptor's midships and fired.

  ***

  Captain Burani felt sweat bead his forehead as he undocked from the station. Half the crew was gone, either fled their stations or off with the boss. He didn't know what to do, didn't want to die, and was terrified that Ricky One-eye would return and kill him for abandoning him.

  Yet as a turret blew up from fire by the La Muerto Negra, he decided enough was enough. He didn't have anyone on the communications station, Ibrihim had gone with the boss. He wasn't going to wait around to see how things turned out.

  Captain Burani began to bring up the Raptor's main drive. A full burn here in the bay would probably destroy half the docked ships and tear open entire sections of the base, but he didn't care. It would serve the bastards right... and maybe in all the confusion they wouldn't pursue him.

  He didn't even know that the La Muerto Negra had targeted him, never heard the transmission, because he didn't even have the Raptor's radio operational.

  The explosive round struck the Raptor directly amidships. The round smashed through the already damaged armor and exploded inside the main engineering space, only ten meters behind the frigate's bridge. Captain Burani and the other forty crew never even knew they were dead as secondary explosions ripped the Raptor in half.

  ***

  The Constellation emerged from shadow space and Daniel blinked as he saw pirate vessels detaching from Yaitsik and forming up into what might generously be called a combat formation. "Well," he said, "it looks like we've got something of a fight on our hands."

  "Captain," Lieutenant Meyers spoke up, "We just got the La Muerto Negra's data dump, there's a Carillo-class battlecruiser, the Alexei Slivko, as well as some other large vessels. We're scanning for them now, but it looks like they're powered up and prepping for combat."

  Daniel just nodded. He brought up the combat estimate for the Carrillo-class battlecruiser. The intel was rather sparse, just a note about estimated power output for energy batteries. Like many Tanis-built vessels, the owner could specify a great deal of customization.

  "Fighters launching from the base," Lieutenant Gray noted. "I'm seeing four squadrons."

  Daniel opened a channel to Kaigun Motogami and Kapitan Langsdorff. "Gentlemen, are your forces ready?"

  Kaigun Motogami spoke first, "We are launching fighters now. We will be ready within three minutes."

  "Our systems are operational, fighters launching," Langsdorff replied.

  By earlier discussion, Daniel had agreed that the United Colonies forces would focus on any large ships, while the other two task forces focused on the flanks and elimination of enemy fighters and screening vessels.

  Of course, he noted, that means we're taking three cruisers and a destroyer up against a battlecruiser and three cruisers.

  Daniel studied the display. There were two Independence-class cruisers, an Azov-class cruiser, and the Alexei. The Independence-class cruisers were tough, but they were old and they weren't built with the most modern tech. Their boxy, modular hulls had bolt-on armor, but the ship's main purpose was to occupy larger vessels long enough for their escort
s to deal with them.

  The Azov-class cruiser would be far more dangerous. It was a dedicated energy weapon platform, what had been an auxiliary vessel under Amalgamated Worlds, used by the core colonies to defend against pirate raids or Provisional Colonial Republic Army attacks. The Azov would be slow, but it mounted two turrets with two heavy particle projectors. The Constellation had better range, but they'd be hampered by the close proximity to Yaitsik Station. They had to be careful with their shots and they wouldn't be able to use any of their missile systems for fear of damaging the station.

  The Gallant and the Lancer were Jouster-class light cruisers and they were powerful vessels themselves. Daniel was confident enough that their firepower, backed by that of the Constellation, could take the enemy.

  But he didn't want to risk them any more than necessary. "What's the status of Major Woods?"

  "They've secured the civilian sections and they're moving on the command section," Lieutenant Meyers reported. "Apparently something must have tipped off the pirates, they've faced heavy resistance."

  Daniel nodded. Hopefully the Major would be able to secure the base's command section before the station launched missiles. This looked to be an interesting enough fight without worrying about that kind of thing.

  "Captain Bowder," Daniel said, "bring your ship in along vector two six one, let's tighten things up a bit. All vessels, target priority will be the targets delta, charlie, followed by alpha, and bravo." He'd like to knock out the two Independences first and then focus fire on the battlecruiser.

  This whole fight had a rushed, uncertain feel to it and Daniel just hoped that the enemy didn't have any more surprises.

  ***

  Captain Jarred Bednar ran a hand over his shaved head as he contemplated the inbound enemy force. What he wanted to do was run away, but after decades of working for the Slivko Family, he knew better. Unless and until Anton Slivko gave that order, he wasn't going to abandon the station.

  Captain Bednar didn’t like how he was short on some of his key crew. His defenses officer was still on the station, along with dozens of other personnel. Luckily he had some emulation software, which allowed him to input a random code and the jamming software would randomize off an algorithim. It wasn’t as good as a real defense system operator, but against other pirates and criminals it should be fine.

  He wished he had a better grasp for what was happening at Yaitsik. There'd been a general alert called and then reports of gunfire breaking out near the upper docking bay. Since that, he hadn't been able to find anyone in charge. Anton Slivko had left the command deck and no one there wanted to take responsibility. If Captain Bednar didn't know better, he would have assumed that one of the other crime families had staged some take-over attempt.

  Yet the ships coming in weren't attached to a crime syndicate. One squadron had Centauri Confederation transponders. The other two had Shogunate and United Colonies transponders, which made no sense to Captain Bednar. The Slivko Family had bought off the local Centauri Confederation garrison as well as the system government. There was no way that they'd launch a raid against Yaitsik Station, much less invite other star nations in to do the same.

  "Attention pirate vessels," a confident voice spoke over the comm, "this is the UCS Constellation, ordering you to stand down. At this point, we have troops aboard Yaitsik Station and your forces are outnumbered and outgunned. Surrender and you will be given fair trials."

  This has to be a ruse, he thought. Maybe this was an attack by one of the other crime syndicates, staged to look like a military force to get his people to back down? If so, they were in for more of a fight than they could expect. The Alexei was purpose built for the types of battles that pirates favored, with a massive energy battery of fusion projectors, designed to rip light pirate vessels apart. Backed by the Tula, the Karelia and the Kostroma, it would be more than a match for most of the oncoming fleet... assuming they were pirates, of course.

  The question came with the opposing ship classes, "Did you identify them yet?" Captain Bednar snapped, his deep voice heavy with suspicion.

  "Some of their ships, yes," his sensor officer reported. "I don't have a match for the lead cruiser or several of the frigates on their starboard flank. Two of the cruisers at the center are Bora-class cruisers, I think. The ones on the port flank are Freiheit-class destroyers with a Ritter-class cruiser." She consulted her display, "I've also identified several Forerunner-class destroyers and a pair of Liberator-class carriers on the starboard flank."

  That was a broad mix of ships and it made it far less likely that this was some kind of legitimate fleet operation. Bora-class cruisers were newer copies of the old Jouster-class cruiser that Amalgamated Worlds had built, they were the export model that criminal gangs like the Slivko family and mercenary companies sometimes used. The unknown cruiser was probably another, heavily modified by Tanis. The mix of Forerunner-class destroyers and unknown frigates probably represented older ships that the pirates had assembled to bulk up their forces.

  That was good, it meant he could win the battle. "Tell the Karelia and Tula to move out front," Captain Bednar growled. "And contact the Volksarmee, ask them to launch their fighters." It was always difficult to work with an alliance, but the People’s Freedom Army had some kind of weird paramilitary organization, so at least when their commander gave orders, they should react.

  He considered the oncoming forces and he gave a grim smile. He could win this fight. The enemy pirates would be hesitant to take severe casualties, especially with pricey ships like the Bora-class cruisers. He had the Independences to soak up hits, and the commanders of both vessels were solid men, who knew that a brave effort on their parts would guarantee their families would be well taken care of... and that running would get those same families tortured and murdered.

  The other assorted pirates of their alliance he didn't think much of, but he could goad them to attack and hopefully distract the lighter enemy ships on the flanks.

  Anton Slivko had set up a sort of chain of command and Captain Bednar used his boss's name as he ordered ships into position. He felt his smile grow as the enemy began to launch fighters and shook down into three loose formations. I will crush you, he thought, and then I'll find out who sent you and the Slivko Family will hunt them down and make examples of them.

  ***

  "They haven't responded to our hails, sir," Lieutenant Meyers reported.

  Daniel shrugged. While he had hoped the enemy would surrender, he wasn't terribly surprised that they hadn't. The types of pirates and criminals they'd identified were the hardened men and women who knew they faced life in prison if not outright execution.

  The two forces had drawn closer and Daniel kept an eye on the friendly and enemy fighter squadrons along the flanks. The Shogunate and Tau Ceti pilots wouldn't be able to use their missiles, but the pirates didn't have to worry about hitting their base. The fighters might just engage in actual dogfights, which hadn't happened in a battle this size in a very long time. Well, he thought, there were stories from pilots at the Third Battle of Faraday about engaging Balor interceptors with their main guns, but this will be the entire course of the battle...

  Even as he thought that, missiles began to fire from the pirate ships. "Initiate fire protection plan alpha," Daniel ordered as he watched the inbound missile tracks.

  It was a ragged volley, which gave him at least some sense of relief. If the pirates had timed the different missiles and launcher platforms right, they could have sent an overwhelming wave. Instead, it came in as a staggered launch... and Daniel's ships hadn't begun jamming yet.

  He waited until those missiles drew almost within engagement range before he said, "Initiate jamming."

  The Constellation had the most modern jamming system that the United Colonies could produce, with several banks of broad-spectrum and point jamming. The Gallant and Lancer both had upgraded jamming systems, not up to the most modern standards, but still better than most nations had. He grinned as
that system went live and dozens of inbound missiles went on haywire courses or even detonated as their sensors burned out. A moment later, the Shogunate Katana-class frigates began jamming, their systems almost as advanced, and still more missiles lost track. The Tau Ceti jamming wasn't quite as powerful, but it seemed to do the job well enough.

  "Launch interceptor missiles," Daniel said. The Constellation, Gallant, and Lancer launched in sequence, firing overlapping salvos of their external racks of Mark V's, designed to thin the enemy missiles and reduce their numbers so that their point defense weapons could do their jobs.

  The thirty pirate vessels launched just over six hundred missiles, spread across the three task forces. As the different jamming systems went live, over two hundred of the inbound missiles lost track. The interceptor missiles fired ripped huge swaths through the flight, breaking up the inbound missiles into dozens of pockets that the point defense guns could engage.

  The United Colonies task force laid down overlapping fields of fire, with the destroyer Spathae acting as the final wave of defense with its six thirty millimeter rotary cannons firing to pick off individual missiles on their final attack runs.

  "All missiles accounted for," Lieutenant Commander Miller reported. "No hits reported on the squadron. The Shogunate reports minor damage to their destroyer Kitsune. Tau Ceti reports three hits on their cruiser Befreiung, but no severe damage."

  "Excellent," Daniel smiled. They had another thirty seconds until the Constellation's main guns would range. "Prepare to engage with exotic particle cannons."

  My turn, he thought.

  ***

  Staff Sergeant Dawn Witzke ducked down as bullets tore through the sheet-metal structure of the market stall she'd hidden behind. Whoever these bastards were, they weren't giving up.

  She was low on ammunition and with the jamming, she didn't know if any of her squad were still alive. Where the hell is Major Woods? From the angle of fire, she guessed that some of the pirates were trying to flank her.