Imperial Command

by D. J. Holmes

  He began to carry out evasive maneuvers just as the frigate opened up with its weapons. Though far less point defense fire was coming his way than when he had attacked the gas mining station, Chen put just as much effort into his maneuvers. To help his chances, he opened up on the frigate with his small plasma cannons. The small plasma bolts wouldn’t penetrate the frigate’s armor, not unless tens of them hit the same spot. Nevertheless, there was a chance they would distract the frigate’s gunners. Twisting and weaving, Chen kept his fighter charging towards the frigate. He kept going past the point where he would normally have launched his missile. He kept going past the point where his plasma cannons could actually penetrate the frigate’s armor. He kept going after his cockpit’s collision alarms blared. Only at the last second did he whip his hand off his flight stick. Reaching across his cockpit he smashed the eject button. Before he had a chance to blink or tense his muscles, his cockpit was thrust up and away from the rest of the Spitfire’s body. The Karacknid frigate, unaware of the true danger it faced until it was too late, desperately tried to turn away.

  For the three seconds it took for his Spitfire to close with the frigate, Chen’s mind cleared. Peace descended on him. There was no way he could get back to Enterprise now. But equally, there was no way the frigate could avoid his fighter. Through the canopy of his cockpit he watched as his Spitfire crashed right into the middle of the frigate. The fighter’s momentum had been so high that Chen saw parts of it blast right out the other side. Then the frigate erupted into a fireball. It wouldn’t threaten the rest of his fighters.

  Off to the side, Chen saw a second fireball erupt moments later. Without his fighter’s sensors he couldn’t tell who had destroyed it, but it didn’t matter. With two frigates destroyed and the other two hopefully distracted with defending themselves, the rest of Chen’s force would pass by without being accosted. They will get home safely, Chen thought, as heroes. Whatever praise they would receive would be rightly deserved. It had been bought at a great cost.

  As his cockpit floated through space, Chen checked its power reserves. He had enough life support for six hours. Chen couldn’t help but smile at the number. In flight school, every pilot was told six hours was all they needed. In Humanity’s history, space battles almost never lasted longer than that. Six hours would usually give the victor time to send out rescue operations to pick up ejected pilots. Of course, such thinking didn’t apply to his situation. Whether he had six or sixty hours, no one from Enterprise or Ark Royal would be coming for him.

  A voice in his mind suggested opening his canopy now. He would die instantly. It would be better than waiting for his oxygen to run out. With a grimace he dismissed such thinking. He was a warrior. He wasn’t going to kill himself. If circumstances meant he was to die, then so be it. He wasn’t going to do it himself. Dismissing such thinking with contempt, he pulled out the picture of his family. If he had to go, he would do so staring into the face of his wife and son.

  *

  Rivers had to fight to keep his face straight as he watched the four Spitfires charge the four Karacknid frigates. He had been gripping the armrest of his command chair when his Chief of Staff had informed him about the Karacknid frigates’ maneuver. Now his knuckles turned white. Though he knew it would mean their death, he silently willed on the four pilots. Around him, on Stalwart’s bridge, a deathly silence had descended. Everyone was watching the fate of the four pilots play out in front of them. When one was hit by a laser and destroyed, a collective groan filled the bridge. It disappeared quickly though for there were three more Spitfires desperately twisting and weaving as they charged their enemies. A second gasp erupted when another Spitfire was destroyed just moments away from impacting its target. A louder groan followed it when the two remaining Spitfires hit their targets. Rivers found himself emitting the same expression of distress as the two frigates disappeared in explosions. Although the frigates’ destruction meant safety for the remnants of the attack force, it also meant the death of two more of his pilots.

  “Orders Commodore?” Rivers’ Chief of Staff asked, breaking the silence.

  “Yes, of course,” Rivers said as he shook himself. “Those Karacknid ships from the gas giant are still chasing our fighters. There is no way our bulk carriers will be able to escape from them. Begin evacuating their crews now. Make sure Enterprise and Ark Royal are prepared to take all of our remaining fighters and bombers on board. I don’t want to leave one of those pilots behind.”

  “Aye Commodore,” Rivers’ Chief of Staff replied.

  Rivers turned his attention to the fleeing fighters and bombers. It would take another hour for them to reach his ships. Yet they were accelerating at much higher rates than the Karacknid warships pursuing them. That would give him time. A glance at one of the bridge’s secondary readouts indicated Enterprise and Ark Royal could take on board all the fighters and bombers in the space of fifteen minutes. Then his ships would be free to increase their acceleration rates and flee towards the system’s mass shadow. It looked like his ships would have about half an hour’s leeway to get to safety. Of course, if the Karacknids tried to send what smaller ships they had left after him they could nip at his heels. That was why Stalwart and his other warships were there though. They would be able to see off any attempt to waylay Enterprise and Ark Royal. Barring any new surprises, we should make it to safety, Rivers said to himself. Though given what had happened last time he was in the system, he wasn’t going to relax until his ships were in shift space. At least we accomplished what we came to do. The losses had been high. But as cruel as it was to admit, he knew Spitfire fighters and their pilots where relatively easy to replace. Even the bulk carriers that he was about to scuttle were reasonably inexpensive. In contrast, buying Andréa Clements and the Imperial Fleet ship builders an extra two or three months was priceless. Even so, Rivers brought up the personnel files on the pilots who had been confirmed killed. He went through them slowly. On the way back to Earth he intended to write personal letters to each of their families, communicating to them just what their deaths had accomplished. He was still going through them when the surviving pilots reached Enterprise and Ark Royal and began to land.

  “Commodore,” a voice said tentatively.

  When Rivers looked up, he was surprised to see that it hadn’t come from one of his staff officers. Rather, one of Stalwart’s junior bridge officers was looking at him. Though she didn’t make eye contact when his gaze settled on her. “Yes?” he asked.

  “I was reviewing the sensor readings from Commander Chen’s final attack on the Karacknid frigates,” the Sub Lieutenant replied without looking up.

  “And?” Rivers prompted as gently as he could. “I don’t bite.”

  “Yes Commodore, of course… It looks like two of the pilots ejected before their fighters were destroyed. I think Chen was one of them,” the Sub Lieutenant informed him.

  Rivers let out a deep breath as he sat back in his command chair. He glanced at its chronometer. Chen, or whoever it was, had already been floating in space for more than an hour. He could only imagine how they were feeling. Knowing there was no hope of being rescued. Their deaths were certain. They sacrificed themselves knowing that would be their fate, Rivers thought. You cannot let them just run out of air. That’s no way for them to die. Even as he told himself that, Rivers’ mind went to Mink. She was a stealth frigate designed to be used for covert missions. Most of her sister ships had been assigned to Imperial Intelligence, but several were operating in the fleet. Rivers had used her to scout ahead of his ships to make sure the Karacknids couldn’t ambush him. But he wouldn’t need her on the way home.

  “Get me Mink’s Captain,” he requested as he made a snap decision.

  “Captain,” Rivers said when the face of one of the youngest men he had seen in a Captain’s uniform appeared in front of him. “I have a mission for you. But only if you are confident you can pull it off. You know your ship’s capabilities better than I. I want the truth,
mind you. This isn’t the time for bravado.”

  “I understand Commodore,” Mink’s Captain replied. “What do you want us to attempt?”

  “One of my Lieutenants believes a couple of the pilots that attacked those four Karacknid frigates ejected from their Spitfires,” Rivers explained. “Do you think you could return to the area and pick them up? Hopefully the Karacknid fleet’s attention will be on us. You can take as much time as you want to sneak out of the system. But the pilots only have five hours of air left. You need to be able to get to them by then. Can you do it?”

  “Hold on,” Mink’s Captain said as he turned away from Rivers. Thirty seconds or so later his gaze returned to Rivers. He gave a confident nod. “Yes, we can get them for you Commodore.”

  “Then do it,” Rivers said at once. “We’ll rendezvous with you at the Damang system.”

  “Aye Commodore,” Mink’s Captain said as he saluted and ended the COM channel.

  Good luck, Rivers thought as the image on the holo projector changed to show Mink turning and leaving his fleet’s formation.

  *

  Staring out of his canopy, Chen watched as the stars slowly spun around and around. He had just finished reading the final letter he had written to his wife several hours ago. He had read it thinking he would make some additions and transmit it to Enterprise. Making the transmission would alert the Karacknids to his location, but that didn’t concern him. However, after reading the letter, he could think of nothing more to add. He had shared his heart with Biyu, his wife. He had known that surviving his mission was unlikely. If he added to it now, writing with just a few hours of life ahead of him, he wasn’t sure he could say anything useful. It would just cause Biyu more pain to know he had spent his last few hours alone.

  The shadowy ship that blocked out a number of stars made Chen jump in his command chair. His heart raced. The Karacknids had come for him! His mind went to the many horror stories he had heard of how the Karacknids had treated the civilians and marines on Holstein. His hand twitched as he reached for the release mechanism for his canopy. He wasn’t going to let them capture and torture him. A faint crackling from his laser COM unit stopped him in his tracks. It was very faint, but it definitely sounded like a Human voice. Increasing the output from his COM unit, Chen strained his ears.

  “Wing Commander Chen, come in. This is IS Mink. Wing Commander Chen do you copy?” the voice asked.

  Though Chen strongly suspected it was a trick, he couldn’t quell the hope that was growing within him. Without active or passive sensors, his cockpit couldn’t detect the ship that was nearby. That meant he couldn’t lock onto it with his laser COM unit. Instead, he did the only thing he could do without alerting any nearby Karacknid ships to his presence. He used his cockpit’s maneuvering thruster to release the smallest amount of energy it could.

  “Acknowledged Wing Commander, we see you,” the voice said almost immediately. “Hold on Commander. We are coming. We’ve already got one of your pilots. Commodore Rivers sent us for you. We are not leaving you behind.”

  The tension in Chen’s body evaporated and he fell back in his command chair. He could hardly believe it. It seemed almost impossible that a ship had snuck back into the system. Yet as a shuttle appeared in front of his cockpit he couldn’t deny what he was seeing. He watched eagerly as the shuttle gently closed and latched onto his cockpit. Soon he was being towed towards the shadowy ship he had first seen. A stealth frigate, Chen thought. That was how the ship had snuck back into the system. He really was being saved. The Karacknids could fake a Human shuttle, but not a stealth frigate! Filled with joy he pulled out the picture of his family again. “I’m coming home after all,” he said to them. “I’m coming home,” he repeated almost to reassure himself that it was actually true.

  Chapter 27

  We have already noted that any historical study of the main players in the Karacknid War must start with a review of their careers during the First Galactic Expansion Era. So too is it with the minor characters we now turn to. Many of those who served on the Imperial Inner Council had colorful pasts long before they appear in most history books.

  -Excerpt from Empire Rising, 3002 AD.

  IS Drake, outer Sol system, 3rd January 2483 AD (6 weeks later).

  Though he had fully expected to see Earth and her orbitals intact, when Drake exited subspace into the Sol system and her sensors detected everything as normal, James couldn’t deny the relief that he felt. It had been three months since he had left and anything could have happened in that time. Yes, a packet ship had crossed paths with Drake passing on several messages and reports telling him everything was well; but James had still been concerned. When he had met the packet ship two weeks ago, its messages had already been two weeks out of date. Even a month was a long time when a Karacknid invasion fleet was amassing on your borders. But they are all there, safe and sound, James reassured himself.

  As he looked around the system several groups of contacts caught his eye. James guessed they were squadrons of warships carrying out training exercises. That was good. It meant Koroylov was working the fleet hard. His eyes narrowed when one group stood out to him. Just thirty light minutes ahead of Drake, a squadron with two unmistakable ships was on a course for Earth. “Rivers’ squadron,” James said. “They have just beaten us back.” And they have been in a fight, he thought. The six bulk carriers that he had watched leave the Sol system were not with Rivers’ ships. That meant he had been forced to abandon them. Which hopefully meant Rivers had engaged the Karacknid supply depot and not been forced to retreat before reaching the system. “Put us on an intercept trajectory,” he ordered. “I want to get into two-way communication range with them.”

  “Aye Admiral,” Miyagi replied. “We should be there in an hour. Do you want me to ask them to slow down for us?”

  “No need,” James replied. He wanted to speak to Rivers before he made it to Earth and was swallowed up in the bureaucracy of the Imperial Fleet’s debriefing process. At the same time he didn’t know if Rivers had any seriously injured crew or other pressing reasons to get to Earth in good time so he didn’t want to slow him. As they continued into the Sol system, James surveyed Rivers’ ships more closely. Reassuringly, none appeared to have any outward signs of battle damage.

  “Look Admiral,” Lieutenant Beckford, James’ COM officer said. She was pointing at a large contact just outside of Earth’s orbit. “It looks like Prometheus was completed in our absence.”

  “Indeed it does,” James said as his eyes left Rivers’ squadron. Prometheus was the first Karacknid era fleet carrier. Twice the size of Enterprise, she could carry more than double the number of fighter squadrons. “That is a reassuring sight,” he added. If his memory served the carrier hadn’t been scheduled to begin her space trials for another two or three weeks. Yet she was already out of her construction yard.

  “It looks like Drake’s sister ships are coming along nicely,” Miyagi commented as he altered the view of the bridge’s main holo projector slightly. Two battleships identical to Drake were in high orbit above Earth. Quite a number of ships were swarming around them, presumably loading supplies and other necessities. But they too were out of their construction yards.

  “They will be a welcome addition to the fleet,” Captain Fisher responded. “Though I’d fancy our chances against either of them any day.” As she spoke she patted the armrest of her command chair.

  James smiled. Every Captain was biased towards their own command. Yet he had to admit, Fisher had a point. She had drilled her crew mercilessly over the last three months. Unless the two battleships in Earth’s orbit were crewed by veterans from other ships, James was certain their crews would struggle to match Drake’s efficiency. And Fisher isn’t half bad herself, James happily thought. On the way back from New Delhi he had engaged her in numerous simulated battles. Both one-on-one ship duels and larger fleet engagements. She had handled herself ably. Another one who will be a flag officer in the not-too-d
istant future, James was certain. Especially as he had a somewhat significant say in such matters. As his other staff officers and some of Drake’s bridge officers joined the conversation about the various ships they could see, James was happy to sit back and listen. He was glad they were starting to relax around him.

  “We are ready to hail Stalwart,” Lieutenant Beckford informed James when Drake caught up with the battlecruiser.

  “Proceed,” James said with a nod towards his COMs officer. A few seconds later Commodore Rivers’ face appeared on the holo projector of James’ command chair. “Commodore,” James began as he gave his subordinate a salute. “It’s good to see your squadron made it back largely intact. No doubt I’ll have time to read your full report once we get back to Earth. But I’m keen to hear things firsthand.”