by Ryk Brown
All eyes watched the main view screen as the thrusters at each end of the cargo container fired briefly. With the artificial gravity on the launch pad set at only a fraction above zero, the cargo container rose easily off the deck, drifting higher with each passing second.
“First mine is away,” Lieutenant Eckert reported.
“Moving to second deployment point,” Mister Chiles announced.
The image on the main view screen zoomed back out, causing the cargo container to become a tiny dot floating above the forward section of the ship. The stars appeared to shift slowly upward as the ship pitched down slightly and started moving. Their only perception of forward motion was the cargo container itself as it moved toward the camera growing ever larger with each passing second. A half minute later, the container nearly filled the view screen as it passed overhead.
“How many mines are you laying?” Captain Nash wondered.
“We only had time to make eight of them,” Nathan explained, “so we’re laying them out in two rows of four, each of them one hundred kilometers apart.”
“That’s an awfully small net,” Captain Roselle commented, “even for a ship with a twenty kilometer beam.”
“We have her course and speed precisely calculated,” Nathan assured him. “We expect the energy spread per antimatter mine detonation to be enough to create an overlapping field of intense energy. We’re confident that the battle platform will fly right into our trap. The most challenging part will be the detonation. Too soon, and the intensity of the event may fade too rapidly to be effective. Too late, and the target is flying away from the event faster than the event’s energy field expands.”
“Coming up on the second deployment point,” Mister Chiles announced.
“It would have been better to do a test detonation of one of those mines, first,” Captain Poc suggested.
“We have a limited supply of the antimatter cores,” Nathan explained, “and it may require more than one attempt. Sometimes you just have to trust the math and make your play.”
* * *
Cameron sat quietly in her command chair at the center of the Celestia’s bridge, the lighting around her tinged with red.
“Twenty seconds to first jump point,” Mister Jakoby reported.
Lieutenant Delaveaga scanned the tactical console before him. “All plasma weapons at full power, ready for triplets.”
“Pitch maneuver started,” Ensign Hunt reported from the helm.
“Jump one, in five seconds,” Mister Jakoby added.
“Final tracking data from the Falcons has been received,” Ensign Kono said. “Target’s course and speed remain unchanged.”
“Very well,” Cameron said.
“Jumping in three…”
“By the numbers, everyone,” Cameron added. It was an unnecessary statement, yet one she felt compelled to say.
“…Two…”
It was times like this, when her crew were executing a well-planned sequence of events, that she felt most useless. She loved being in command, as it had been her dream since long before she was accepted at the EDF Fleet Academy.
“…One…”
Yet, here she sat, in command of an interstellar warship, with nothing to do except listen.
“…Jumping.”
She had to constantly remind herself that in such situations, she was there not to deal with the expected, but rather, the unexpected.
“Jump one, complete,” the navigator reported.
“Position verified,” Ensign Kono confirmed.
“Firing all weapons in three…” Luis began from the tactical station behind her, “…two……one……firing.”
Cameron watched the main view screen as eighteen balls of red-orange plasma streaked over their heads, on their way to a target that was still several million kilometers away. As powerful as their plasma weapons were, she knew that at such distances, their effectiveness would be greatly reduced by the time they reached their target. Assuming that they were successful in forcing the target out of FTL to begin with.
“Weapons away,” Luis confirmed.
“Jump two in three……two……one……jumping.”
The blue-white jump flash washed over the Celestia’s bridge as the ship instantly jumped forward a predetermined distance, her nose continuing to rise at a rate that would put her nose on the target’s position relative to the Celestia’s new position.
“Jump two, complete,” Mister Jakoby reported.
“Position confirmed,” Ensign Kono added.
The tactical officer took his cue from the battle clock and began his count. “Firing all weapons in three……two……one……firing.”
Again, the Celestia’s bridge was momentarily awash in brilliant red-orange light as the plasma charges left their weapons and streaked ahead toward the target that was now only slightly closer than it was before.
“Jump three in three……two……one……jumping.”
“Jump four, complete,” Mister Riley reported as the blue-white light from the Aurora’s jump flash disappeared from her bridge.
“Position confirmed,” Mister Navashee reported.
“Firing weapons in three……” Lieutenant Eckert began.
Captain Nash watched the Aurora’s bridge crew with fascination as they executed their plan.
“…Two…”
“Jump five is ready,” Mister Riley reported.
“…One…”
“Nose is coming onto the targeting point,” Mister Chiles announced. “On point… Now.”
“Firing,” Lieutenant Eckert said a split second later.
The bridge again filled with the red-orange light of the Aurora’s plasma weapons as they raced toward their unseen target. The captains of the three Scout ships stood in front of the comm station at the rear of the bridge, watching over Lieutenant Eckert’s shoulder as he expertly manipulated the ship’s weapons.
“Weapons away,” the lieutenant reported calmly.
“Jump five in three…” Mister Riley began.
“How many jumps are we performing?” Captain Poc wondered.
“…Two…”
“Eight, in this attack run,” the lieutenant answered.
“Why only eight?” Captain Nash inquired.
“…One…”
“Our plasma weapons have a limited range,” Nathan explained as his crew continued executing the attack plan.
“…Jumping…”
“That’s as many shots as we could comfortably fit into the time and distance available,” Nathan continued as the jump flash washed over them.
“Jump five, complete.”
“Our plasma weapons have a limited range, after which their effectiveness begins to diminish rapidly,” he explained.
“Position verified,” Mister Navashee reported.
“Firing weapons in three…”
“We might be able to squeeze in one or two more salvos…” Nathan said.
“…Two…”
“…but we’d probably be decreasing our targeting accuracy.”
“…One…”
“The key here is to put all the plasma charges onto a single section of their shields…”
“Firing,” Lieutenant Eckert reported.
“…all at the same time, in order to cause them to fail,” Nathan finished as the red-orange light washed over the bridge again.
“Weapons away,” Lieutenant Eckert announced.
“Jump six, in three……” Mister Riley began.
“Jump seven, complete,” Mister Jakoby reported from the Celestia’s navigation station.
“Position verified,” Ensign Kono announced.
“Firing weapons in three…” Luis began.
“How long until the antimatter mines go off?” Cameron wondered.
“…Two…”
“Twenty-eight seconds, sir,” Ensign Kono replied.
“…One…”
“Very well.”
“…Firing,” Luis announced, ending his
count.
Cameron glanced at the battle clock at the top of the center console that separated the navigator from the helmsman, noting the time as the next round of plasma weapons streaked overhead in a red-orange flash.
“Weapons away,” Lieutenant Delaveaga reported.
“Jump eight, in three…”
“Time to detonation, fifteen seconds,” Ensign Kono reported.
“…Two…”
“We’re going to be cutting it close,” Cameron said, more to herself than to her crew.
“…One……jumping.”
The jump flash washed over the Celestia’s bridge as they again jumped forward just enough to launch the next round of plasma weapons at the same targeting point, one that was still a considerable distance ahead of the oncoming battle platform.
“Jump eight, complete,” Mister Jakoby reported.
“Position verified,” Ensign Kono confirmed.
“Firing all weapons in three…” Luis began.
“Ten seconds to detonation,” Ensign Kono added.
“…Two…”
“Jump nine, plotted, locked, and awaiting your order, Captain,” Mister Jakoby announced.
“…One…”
“Very well,” Cameron replied.
“Firing.”
Cameron turned toward her sensor operator to her left as the Celestia’s bridge again filled with red-orange light for an instant.
“Five seconds to detonation,” Ensign Kono reported. She continued to stare at her sensor displays as she counted. “Three……two……one……” There was silence that seemed to last an eternity.
“What the…” Luis started to say.
Cameron raised her hand, cutting her tactical officer off in mid-sentence. “Wait for the light to come back.”
“Detonation confirmed!” Ensign Kono reported. “Oh, my God,” she exclaimed as her sensor displays offered her readings that she never thought she would witness.
“What about the battle platform?” Cameron urged. “Can you see her?”
“I can’t see anything, sir,” Ensign Kono explained. “The blast is obscuring all my… Wait…”
Cameron held her breath. If the antimatter blast failed to force the battle platform out of FTL, then the folded space around the target would again swallow up all their plasma shots and spit them back out the other side, leaving them with no choice but to fight the platform in yet another do-or-die scenario in their own system.
“Contact!” Ensign Kono finally reported. “Just came through the… Weapons impact! Fuck!” Ensign Kono glanced over her shoulder toward her captain. “Sorry, sir,” she apologized, “I’ve just never seen that many weapons strike a target all at once.”
“Its shields, Ensign,” Cameron reminded her. “Its shields.”
“Her forward shields are down!” Mister Navashee reported from the Aurora’s sensor station. “All neighboring shields are at half strength! I’m showing exploded shield emitters all across her forward arm!”
“Jump nine!” Nathan ordered. “Snap jump!”
“Snap jump, aye,” Mister Riley answered as the Aurora’s jump flash began to wash over them.
“Stand by all forward weapons,” Nathan continued in a slightly calmer fashion. “Target their forward arm. Triplets on all weapons.”
“Jump nine, complete,” Mister Riley reported as their jump flash subsided.
“Target is ten kilometers, dead ahead!” Mister Navashee reported.
“Nose on the target,” Mister Chiles added from the helm.
“Locking all weapons on the forward arm, triple shots,” Lieutenant Eckert announced.
“Fire when ready, Lieutenant,” Nathan said. “Mister Riley, execute jump ten as soon as our weapons are away.”
“I have firing solutions!” Lieutenant Eckert announced. “Firing! Triple shots on all weapons!”
“Standing by for jump ten,” Mister Riley acknowledged.
“Target is firing!” Mister Navashee reported as red-orange light washed over the bridge. “All forward rail guns!”
“Weapons away!” Lieutenant Eckert reported.
“Jump ten! Snap jump!” Nathan ordered. His navigator was one step ahead of him, as the blue-white flash of their next jump was already lighting up the main view screen and filling the bridge.
“Jump ten, complete,” Mister Jakoby reported as the Celestia’s jump flash subsided.
“Turning toward next jump point,” Ensign Hunt added.
“Did you catch anything before we jumped?” Cameron asked her sensor operator.
“Only that our weapons hit the target,” Ensign Kono replied. “We jumped before I could assess the damage.”
“Well, if we hit them, we damaged them,” Cameron said confidently. “That much, I’m sure of.”
“Turn complete,” Ensign Hunt reported.
“Jump eleven, in three……two……one……jumping.”
“Jump eleven, complete,” Mister Riley reported from the Aurora’s navigation station.
“Starting our next turn,” Mister Chiles added.
“How are our weapons holding up?” Nathan asked.
“Main cannons are still a little hot,” Lieutenant Eckert said, “but they’ll hold up, Captain.”
“Jump twelve, ready,” Mister Riley reported.
“Turn complete,” Mister Chiles reported. “Pitching down to firing angle.”
“Jump twelve in three seconds…” Mister Riley began.
“All weapons charged and ready,” Lieutenant Eckert reported.
“…Two…”
Nathan sat unmoving in his command chair, trying to appear calm and collected. This was the moment he was waiting for. This was the moment that they needed, to give the Earth a chance to recover, and to give them a chance to prepare to take the battle to the Jung with all their might.
“…One…”
Without their shields, the battle platform was as vulnerable as they were, with nothing more than a thick hull between them and the weapons of their opponents. They would take rail gun fire, of that he was sure. By now, the battle platform would undoubtedly be spraying the area in front of their missing shields with as many rail gun rounds as possible in the hopes of denying the Aurora and the Celestia a decent firing angle. However, both ships were willing to take the hits. As long as their jump drives still worked and their weapons still fired, they would continue to press the attack until they reached the only acceptable outcome.
“…Jumping.”
The blue-white flash washed over them once more.
“Jump twelve, complete,” Mister Riley reported.
“Position verified,” Mister Navashee confirmed as he began scanning for the battle platform.
Seconds went by in silence.
“Mister Navashee?” Nathan finally asked.
“I’m not picking up any contacts, Captain,” the sensor operator reported. “Only debris.”
Nathan felt his emotions beginning to rise, as if he were about to explode in triumph.
“Something is wrong, though,” Mister Navashee continued. “There’s not enough debris.”
“Lieutenant?”
“Nothing on target scanners either, sir,” the lieutenant reported.
“Stand by one,” Mister Navashee urged.
Nathan felt his heart sinking.
“I have a red-shifted target,” Mister Navashee finally announced. “Same course and speed as before.” He turned to face his captain. “They went back into FTL, sir.”
“How is that possible?” Nathan wondered. “We just blew the hell out of their forward arm. You reported dozens of emitters had exploded before we even fired that last round.”
“They must not be using the same emitter arrays for both shields and folding space,” Mister Navashee surmised.
Nathan said nothing, only leaned to his left and rubbed his eyes. “Damn it,” he muttered under his breath.
“Celestia just jumped in to start her attack run, sir,” Mister
Navashee added.
“Stand down from general quarters,” Nathan said, his frustration barely hidden. “Contact the Celestia, tell her to return to Sol.”
“Standing down from general quarters, aye,” Lieutenant Eckert acknowledged.
“That’s it?” Captain Roselle said.
“Celestia acknowledges,” Naralena reported.
“You’re not going to try anything else?” Captain Roselle added.
“The target has already gone to FTL,” Nathan explained.
“Then go after them,” Captain Roselle argued. “You have the initiative now…”
“Captains,” Nathan said rather forcefully as he rose from his command chair and turned aft. “Perhaps you’d like to discuss this in my ready room?”
“Celestia has jumped away, sir,” Mister Navashee reported.
“Scott…” Captain Roselle continued to press.
“In my ready room…” Nathan demanded, his eyes fixed on Captain Roselle’s, “…Captain.”
Captain Roselle did not turn away as he spoke. “As you please… Captain.”
“Mister Riley,” Nathan said, his eyes still locked on Captain Roselle, “jump us back to Sol.”
“Aye, sir,” Mister Riley acknowledged, “plotting the jump back to Sol.”
Nathan waited for all three of the Scout ship captains to turn and head for the entrance to his ready room before turning to look at his tactical officer. “You have the conn, Mister Eckert.”
“Aye, sir,” the lieutenant answered calmly.
Nathan followed the captains aft, his eyes catching those of the sergeant standing by the hatchway to his ready room. The look on Sergeant Weatherly’s face told Nathan exactly what he had expected; that his trusted sergeant had been watching the entire exchange with great interest. “Sergeant.”
“Captain.” Sergeant Weatherly did not smile. He didn’t need to. The look in his eyes told his captain exactly what he was thinking. He waited for his captain to step through the hatchway, then reached in, pulled the hatch closed and assumed his position in front of it.
“Captain Roselle,” Nathan began as he moved around the three men to get to his seat behind his ready room desk, “I would respectfully request that in the future if you have a problem with my course of action, that you raise your concerns in private rather than in front of my crew.”
