The tactical readout above David’s head showed the shields going up and various weapons systems coming online.
Sheila leaned over David’s shoulder and asked quietly, “Sir, shouldn’t we ask for instructions from command?”
“No time, XO. Besides, Barton is the commander of the home-defense fleet.”
She scrunched her nose in response. “Point taken.”
“Conn, TAO. Aspect change, Master One. Master One has locked its weapons onto us and has completed charging its weapons.”
At that point, the Destruction could fire on the Lion at any time. David turned to Taylor. “Communications, signal the Destruction. Warn them off.”
A couple of seconds passed before Taylor replied, “No response, sir.”
So this is it. A fake peace deal, the Trojan horse defeated, and now the League will try to kill as many as they can before they run away. David felt many would try to hang the debacle on him, but more importantly, they would blame his crew. The Destruction could not be allowed to fire on Canaan or to leave the system with the information it had undoubtedly gleaned from sensor sweeps. Still, he didn’t want to fire the first shot, and he figured that Seville was hoping he would get a propaganda coup against the Terran Coalition.
“TAO, firing point procedures, Master One, all forward mag-cannons and neutron beam emitters,” he stated as formally as possible.
“Aye, sir. Firing solution set,” Ruth responded. Her shaking hands betrayed her nerves.
David’s second-guessing ended a few seconds later.
“Conn, TAO. Aspect change, Master One. Master One has opened fire!” Ruth nearly shouted, and a moment later, the ship rocked slightly as weapons fire slammed into the Lion.
“Deflectors holding, sir.” Ruth announced after reviewing the status displays on her console.
David leaned forward. “TAO, match bearings, shoot, all weapons, Master One.”
Weapons fire erupted from the Lion’s forward and aft magnetic-cannon turrets, and at the close range, there were no misses. The Destruction’s shields flared, absorbing the hits, which were followed up by attacks from the Lion’s secondary weapons system—its neutron cannon emitters, which fired directed energy pulses.
“Conn, TAO. Multiple clean hits on Master One. Master One shields intact but weakening.” As Ruth spoke, the ship buckled again as incoming weapons fire hit it. “Conn, TAO. Aspect change, Master Two. It’s powering up its engines and charging its Lawrence drive.”
David would have to disable the transport to give the Marines time to board the ship and secure it. “TAO, firing point procedures, Master Two. Target its engines only with the neutron cannons. Disabling shots only.”
The overwhelming stress of a combat situation in point-blank range of Canaan was getting to him and everyone else on the bridge.
“Aye, aye, sir. Firing solution set.”
“TAO, match bearings, shoot, neutron cannons, Master Two.”
Blue beams of energy darted out from the Lion once again, stabbing into the League POW transport. They cut through the shields and hull of the ship like a hot knife through butter, neatly slicing off the engine exhausts and manifolds. The League transport was unable to further maneuver in space.
“Conn, TAO, Master Two disabled,” Ruth said, exhaling sharply.
“TAO, firing point procedures, Master One, magnetic cannons and neutron beams,” David said, resuming the attack on the Destruction.
As Ruth made the necessary calculations, David looked at Taylor. “Communications, signal Colonel Demood. He is ordered to release the breaching pods and secure Master Two by any means necessary. Alert Command that we’ve engaged the enemy and request reinforcements.”
31
Calvin stood next to his second-in-command, Major Raul Cabello, reviewing a 3-D projected schematic of the League transport that contained the POWs. “This just looks gnarly, Cabello.” He pointed at the areas of the ship they had no intelligence on. “How many Force Recon Marines do we have on this tub?”
Since Force Recon was considered a Special Operations Capable force, they were the most trained and best equipped Marines aboard the Lion of Judah. Under normal conditions, the MEU would have a company of actual special forces operators attached, but the Lion only had three hundred out of three thousand Marines currently embarked. But of three companies attached, one was a light company of Force Recon Marines.
Cabello looked up from the schematic and said in his thick Spanish accent, “Forty, Colonel. I’ve ordered them all to suit up and prepare for VBSS.” VBSS stood for Visit, Board, Search, and Seizure. “We can breach one team of twenty on the port side of the ship and the rest on the starboard side to split the defense security teams inside the ship. After that, we have the rest of our two hundred sixty combat Marines board and secure the areas the spearheads take.”
Two bright dots began to glow on the schematic, indicating where Cabello planned to insert TCMC forces.
Calvin nodded. “Looks good to me. What about EOD?” he asked, referring to explosive ordnance disposal. “We didn’t get our team on before the ship launched, and I’d wager we’ll see some booby traps over there.”
“Well… We have a volunteer.”
Calvin raised an eyebrow. “A volunteer?”
“I think I’ll let him speak for himself.” He motioned to a Marine sergeant standing near the hatch to the passageway. “Sergeant, bring Mr. Uzun in.”
The sergeant motioned to someone in the passageway, and a few moments later, an older man in civilian clothing walked into the room and strode over to Cabello and Calvin.
“Gunnery Sergeant Hadi Uzun reporting for duty, Colonel,” the man said crisply in accented English.
Calvin couldn’t quite place the accent. As he looked the man over, he appeared to be in good shape and wore an engineering technician’s jumpsuit and work belt. “You’re out of uniform, Gunny.”
“I’ve been out of uniform for eight years, Colonel. But I spent fifteen years in the Marines, specializing in explosive-device disposal,” Uzun said. “I’m on board as a member of the contractor team. I overheard some of your Marines talking about needing an EOD tech as I checked a power relay. If you’ll have me, I’m your man.”
“Colonel, I took the liberty of pulling Mr. Uzun’s service jacket. He was honorably discharged for medical reasons and had high performance rankings during his time as an EOD technician.”
“I can’t allow a civilian to join a boarding op against a League POW transport, Major. Good Lord, how many regs does that break?”
Uzun cleared his throat. “Colonel… once a Marine, always a Marine.”
Calvin could tell Cabello backed putting the man aboard, and they desperately needed someone who could disarm League booby traps and the onboard self-destruct system. “Damn right, Gunny. Get in uniform and get a bomb suit. We’re dusting off as soon as the bridge gives the order.”
A change seemed to come over Uzun. He stood just a little bit taller and straighter. “Sir, yes sir! Semper fi!” he said then turned on his heel to leave.
At that moment, a corporal rushed up to Calvin and Cabello. “Sirs, Colonel Cohen has requested that the rescue operation begin immediately.”
Calvin looked at Cabello. “Get those boys in the breaching pods. I’ll take team A. You take team B. Corporal, please relay to the bridge that we will be ready to launch momentarily.”
* * *
“Conn, TAO. Master One’s aft shielding is close to collapse, sir,” Ruth announced.
“TAO, firing point procedures, forward vertical launch array. Target eight Hunter missiles on Master One’s aft section. Make tubes one through eight ready in all respects and open outer doors,” David said. Hunters carried advanced artificial intelligence and could evade all but the absolute best League point-defense systems. In this combat, the League dreadnought lacked its escorts and the overlapping point-defense coverage they carried. He wanted to end the battle quickly and disable the Destruction.
“TAO, match bearings, shoot, tubes one through eight, Master One.”
Ruth pressed the launch button on her console, and eight Hunter missiles thundered into space from the Lion’s forward vertical launch array—a missile cell that popped out of the ship’s superstructure and could retract to be reloaded fully in less than an hour. The array held one hundred twenty missiles, of which forty were Hunters and the rest less sophisticated but still powerful LIDAR-tracking variants called Starbolt missiles.
“Conn, TAO. All Hunters running hot, straight, and normal sir.”
The warheads went active a thousand meters from the Lion and quickly linked with the Lion’s tactical network, locking onto the Destruction. Evading enemy point-defense weaponry, they plunged into the weakened aft shield. Out of the eight, six hit their target, and two were destroyed by point defense.
“Conn, TAO. Master One’s aft shield has collapsed.”
David started to order Ruth to capitalize on that development and pound the Destruction’s aft quadrant with mag-cannon and neutron-beam fire, but before he could, Taylor interrupted him. “Conn, Communications. General Barton is demanding to speak to you, sir.”
David groaned inwardly. Of all the times, I have to deal with Barton now? “Put it on my viewer, Lieutenant.”
Barton’s face popped onto the viewer that hung from the ceiling above David’s chair. “Colonel! What are you doing? I show sustained weapons fire between you and the peace convoy.”
David fought to keep his neutral expression. “General, sir, we discovered a League saboteur aboard the Lion. She has been apprehended, but the Destruction opened fire on us after—”
“You are supposed to be securing peace in our time, Colonel! Not start another war! Stand down now. The Ark Royal will deal with this.”
David glanced at Sheila out of the corner of his eye. “General, we can’t stand down. If we disengage, the Destruction will be free to fire on Canaan.”
While Barton was yelling, Sheila made a gesture across her throat to Taylor.
“Colonel, I said—” The screen blinked out.
David turned to Taylor.
He shrugged apologetically. “I’m sorry, sir. General’s Barton’s signal seems to have dropped. Should I try to get him back?”
Sheila smirked. “I don’t think we have time for him right now, sir.”
“I concur, XO. TAO, firing point procedures—”
“Conn, TAO. Aspect change, Master One. Master One is powering up her Lawrence drive.”
David quickly adjusted his tactics. “Navigation, match course and speed, Master One. TAO, drain the energy-weapons capacitor and redirect that power to the engines.”
Sheila glanced doubtfully at David. “Sir, are we going to pursue them?”
“Of course we are, XO. We’ve got to. They’ve been inside Canaan’s defense perimeter —who knows what scans they took? Beyond that, it’s a massive propaganda victory for the League to pull this and get away without a scratch. We’re neutralizing that ship.”
“Yes, sir.”
He could tell from her tone that she wasn’t completely sold on the idea, but David felt his gut was almost always right. Besides, I’d really like to take down a League dreadnought in our first combat. If nothing else, that’ll help morale on the home front.
“Conn, Communications. Colonel Demood reports that they are ready to begin the rescue operation on Master Two.”
David felt relief at the news. They could pursue the Destruction without leaving the POWs behind. “Communications, patch me through to Colonel Demood.”
A moment later, Taylor said, “Sir, Colonel Demood is patched into your console.”
David spoke into the mic. “Demood, this is Cohen. Bring them home. Godspeed and good luck.”
Calvin’s voice crackled through the speaker. “Godspeed, Colonel. Good luck to you in blowing those communist bastards out of space. Demood out.”
“Conn, TAO. Master One has successfully opened a wormhole.”
David snapped his head up and quickly checked the tactical plot. We’re close enough to pull this off. Typically, a successful Lawrence drive jump ended the pursuit, because it was difficult to pinpoint where the wormhole led—unless, of course, the pursuer could get through before the unstable vortex collapsed. “Navigation, all ahead flank. Follow Master One through that wormhole. TAO, stand by to immediately reacquire Master One upon transit.”
A chorus of “Yes, sir,” was followed by action on the part of Ruth and Hammond. David stared at his tactical plot as the Destruction disappeared from their screens. The two breaching pods from the Lion launched, followed by several large shuttlecraft headed directly for the transport. With that, the Lion was ready to pursue the fleeing enemy ship. The Lion’s engines powered up, and the vessel accelerated through the void before the wormhole’s vortex collapsed in a dazzling array of colors.
32
The Lion of Judah emerged from the wormhole close on the trail of the Destruction. In the seconds it took for the ship to recover from the stress of wormhole transition, the Destruction’s bridge crew steeled themselves to reenter the fight.
Admiral Seville watched Colonel Strappi pace the floor. Fighting the urge to sneer at the man, he counted down the seconds until their sensors snapped back online.
“Communications, signal our reinforcements to transit to our coordinates now,” Seville commanded.
A moment later, the communications officer replied, “Admiral, message received and confirmed. They will jump in momentarily.”
Strappi walked over to Seville and leaned close. “Admiral, what reinforcements?” he asked, bewildered.
Seville smiled thinly at his political officer. “I had a small squadron of my best ships waiting just in case we needed them. I had expected to see the pride of the Coalition fleet, the Ark Royal, pursuing us, but they’ll do against this new ship just the same.”
“How did you get this past the Social and Public Safety Committee, Admiral?” Strappi asked with what seemed like both respect and fear.
“Because not everything in the League goes through the damn Social and Public Safety Committee,” Seville said derisively. “There was a contingency plan in place if we needed it. Turns out we did.”
The tactical officer broke into the conversation with an announcement. “Admiral, we have eight wormholes opening. Our reinforcements have arrived.”
Seville smiled. “Checkmate.”
* * *
On the bridge of the Lion of Judah, David had been counting down the seconds until his ship could see again. He was ready to finish the fight against the League warship.
“Conn, TAO. LIDAR array online.” Ruth’s voice shot up an octave. “I’m showing nine contacts, sir.”
“Confirm that, TAO. What are the ship classes of those contacts?” David barked.
Sheila stared in alarm.
“Conn, TAO. I show one Behemoth-class dreadnought, designation Master One… four Rand-class cruisers designated Master Two through Five… and four Lancer-class frigates designated Master Six through Nine. Sir, the Rands have fighter craft detaching from them. I’m reading some kind of rail-launch system.”
Rail-launch system for fighters? What the heck? David had read about a contraption like that in intelligence reports concerning the very top tier of League ships and elite crews but had never engaged one in combat. He quickly realized that the battle group was designed to engage a fleet carrier without her escorts. But perhaps not a battleship of the Lion’s design.
Stopping himself from overthinking the tactics, he concentrated on the situation at hand. He had to solve one problem at a time and prevent the enemy from getting inside his OODA loop. “TAO, do you have a read on how many fighters we’re facing and what types?”
“Sir, I estimate at least fifty League fighters. They�
�re too far out to identify, but at least a few appear to be bomber sized.”
“Conn, TAO. Aspect change, all contacts. Sublight engine light off. They’re moving toward engagement range, sir. Master One through Five are standing off, while Master Six through Nine are maneuvering to cover our fighter bays with point-defense fire.”
David pulled up his tactical plot on his viewer. The League fleet clearly intended to prevent him from launching fighters while they overwhelmed the defenses of the Lion. He quickly decided that the only course of action was to disable the frigates and scramble the Lion’s fighter wing to engage the League fighters and capital ships.
“TAO, firing point procedures. Load high-explosive shells into the mag-cannons. Target Master Six, Seven, Eight, and Nine with mag-cannons and neutron beams.”
“Aye, aye, sir. Firing solutions set.”
“TAO, shoot, mag cannons and neutron beams.”
Magnetic-cannon shells shot out from the Lion and struck the shields of all four League frigates. As the high-explosive rounds impacted, causing extensive energy drain, neutron-beam fire raked over the frigates. The deflectors on the two closest Lancers failed, and the vessels exploded as multiple impacts slammed into their weak and brittle hulls.
“Conn, TAO. Master Six and Eight destroyed. Master Nine neutralized. Master Seven continues to engage,” Ruth said.
“TAO, spin up automated point defense. Set a perimeter around the ship so that our fighters can launch.”
“Conn, TAO. Automated point defense engaged. We have a perimeter of twenty thousand kilometers.”
David reassessed his tactical plot. “Communications, get me Colonel Amir.”
Taylor cued up Amir’s personal command channel. “He’s patched in to your station, sir.”
David spoke into the mic. “Amir, I need you to launch your wing and engage the League fighters and capital ships. I want to engage the Rands and degrade them enough that we can close in and finish this.”
Coalition Defense Force Boxed Set: First to Fight Page 44
