“Understood. Stand by for further orders.”
Weiskoff returned to studying the Mortek formation. He noted that, as he had experienced in the past, they stuck to their locked-in mindset. Attack ships led, followed by the frigates. Then came the destroyers, cruisers and dreadnaughts, in that order.
“Captain, we will cut off the nose of their formation. Since we have only three cruisers at this time, we will cut a path through the frigates, destroying as many as we can. I want a staggered run, with Vengeance leading. Retribution will follow with Reprisal trailing. Multiple angles.”
“Collins, Perry, Robinson, please join me at the strategy table.”
The newly promoted pilot, the defensive specialist and the weapons officer left their gravity chairs then followed Captain Brewer to the corner of the bridge where the oversized strategy console stood.
“Lieutenant Clarke, please join them.”
Vice-Admiral Weiskoff’s Adjunct joined the four huddling over the large touch screen. The five worked the display. With the Mortek fleet covering the screen, various members offering paths, drawing lines through the enemy formation.
Aboard Ravage Maker – Bridgelen
Four legs magnetically gripped the decking. The nail of one claw mindlessly tapped the command console. The pink, cylindrical tongue unthinkingly flicked in and out of the oval mouth, picking up senses from Ravage Maker’s air.
War sat and waited for the rest of his fleet to arrive. Sitting, he wool-gathered, running through scenarios where the massive armada would burst from its self-imposed dormancy and begin its retaking of the soft skin systems.
“My Overlord, three cruisers have appeared at this system’s outer boundary.”
“What do you mean that they just appeared, First Sensor?”
“It is as though they jumped in, much like the small soft skin jump ships.”
“First Communicator, contact them. Determine their purpose.”
“At your command, My Overlord.”
“First Sensor, watch them. Report any change of position.”
“Yes, My Overlord.”
“My Overlord, there have been no responses from the unknown cruisers.”
“Flag Captain, contact all ships. Have them come to a defensive war footing.”
“At your command, My Overlord.”
“My Overlord!”
“What, First Sensor?”
“One of the small jump-ships has just executed multiple jumps around our fleet.”
“Did it launch any of its strange rockets?”
“No. I believe that it has performed a reconnaissance”
“Continue to watch those cruisers. They are probably three of those which have been seized in Cencore.”
“Yes, My Overlord.”
Flag Captain, order all ships to activate the weapons fire defensive net.”
“At your Command, My Overlord.”
Fleet Captain spoke to First Communicator. War watched his monitor. Suddenly, the entire fleet appeared to be wrapped in a web of laser lights and particle beams. Gratified, War knew that none of those highly destructive soft skin rockets could harm his protected ships.
Aboard Griffin - Bridgelen
At Bridgelen’s edge. Two freighters, one large and one medium, materialized. Griffin revealed herself shortly after. Floating in place, the three HEB Alliance ships kept their distance, hid in the dark. Picking up light from three minutes in the past, they saw the huge Mortek fleet holding position in Bridgelen’s center.
Picking up light from less than three seconds ago, they saw the three Federacy ships poised to attack. They saw Heimdallr holding position, waiting for direction.
“Sue, have you got eyes on the Mortek fleet?”
“Yes. It’s definitely gotten bigger. With the fleet coming through Dorogon, in another couple of weeks it will monstrous.”
“Weiskoff might have been right in sowing seeds of doubt as early as possible, Krag.”
“Maybe, Keiko. We’ll see. It all depends on how our upgraded cruisers do against that fleet. Igaklay, would you get me Galactic Express and Cosmic Traveller?”
“Immediately, Commander.”
Krag waited the moment needed for the connection.
“Captain Rizzman and Captain Emoli are online, Commander.
“Captains, how was your journey?”
“A walk in the park, commander,” Rizzman responded. “Once we get these bugs out of our systems, these jump drives are going to completely revolutionize how the Federacy does commerce.”
“How the HEB Alliance does, commerce, Captain Rizzman.”
“You are right, Captain Emoli. How HEB Alliance does commerce. We’ll change everything forever.”
“Let’s get back to the here and now. You two can daydream later. Get all your sensors up and running. I want to collect everything on Weiskoff’s run.”
“Roger that, Hawk.”
“Aye, aye, Commander.”
Aboard Vengeance - Bridgelen
“Captain, the Morteks have activated their defensive firing grid.”
“We knew that was going to happen, Mr. Bradley. Vice Admiral, orders?”
“Now we will find out how well this Ballison shield works. Vengeance leads. We continue as planned. Captain Brewer, jump.”
“Mr. Perry, be sure to watch Mr. Collins. The moment our pilot activates the jump, I want you hitting the shield icon.”
“Copy that, Captain.” The Defensive Specialist held his finger over the proper icon and watched Senior Pilot Collins’s hand.
Collins tapped the icon. Vengeance jumped. Perry matched the tap. The blue disruptor shield flashed into existence.
Still under full thrust, Vengeance powered into the vicious network of particle and laser beams. The blue, ionic shield darkened to almost black in spots.
“Shield holding, Captain.”
Vengeance burst through the defensive barrier and found itself in amongst the Mortek frigates.
“Fire, Mr. Robinson.”
Following his Captain’s orders, First Lieutenant Robinson fired a hundred gravity rockets at ten of the fifty-five Mortek frigates. Within seconds, Vengeance ran the gauntlet, once again powering through the deadly Mortek defensive grid. After clearing the killing network, Captain Brewer jumped his ship back to its original position.
Aboard Ravage Maker – Bridgelen
“First Sensor, report!”
“Ten frigates compressing and deforming, My Lord,” First Sensors cringed as he delivered the disquieting report.”
“That blue cloud protecting the ship. How well did it stand up?”
“Portions blackened, My Overlord. It appeared to weaken at the point where we focused high concentrations of particle beams.”
“The particle beams are the most effective. First Captain, order all ships to retarget the particle beams into groups of three cannons, each focusing on single targets.”
“At your command, My Overlord.”
Again, War watched his Flag Captain carry out his orders.
Aboard Griffin - Bridgelen
“Rizzman, Emoli, did you get that?”
“Yeah, Hawk. I got a lot of visual and sensor readings”
“I have also collected multiple video and sensor readings, Commander Marston.”
“Keep running. I don’t know what Weiskoff is going to do next. Sue, how about you?”
“Buckets full of data.”
“Igaklay, could you take a quick look at what Sue collected? Give me a first impression?”
“I already have, Commander. The disruptor shield protecting Vengeance performed as expected. However, where multiple particle beams struck the same point, degradation occurred.”
“How bad?”
“Nothing dangerous, Commander. The weakened points dropped to approximately twenty-three percent efficiency.”
“Igaklay, could you write that up and give it to Keiko?”
“I recorded my findings during my evaluation, Comm
ander.”
“Keiko, get Igaklay’s analysis over to Captain Brewer. Let him know he has some soft spots.”
“Will do.”
Aboard Vengeance - Bridgelen
“Vice-Admiral, we just received a communique from Griffin.”
“I don’t have time for that. Contact Retribution. Tell him to prepare for his run.”
“Sir, the communique is an evaluation of Vengeance’s attack on the Mortek fleet.”
“What? Marston’s here? He’s probably hiding behind some rock, watching the show.”
“At first glance, the report does warrant a read-through.”
‘Very well. Send it to me.”
The communications spaceman transferred the document to the Vice-Admiral’s console. Weiskoff brought it up, read it through and clicked it closed.
“It’s nothing. Our shield held up just fine. Have we gotten an after-action analysis?”
Spaceman Bradley cleared his throat before speaking. “Ten for ten, Sir. No damage to Vengeance.”
“Good! We’ll put the fear of Humanity in them, yet. Captain, contact Retribution. Order them to make their attack run immediately.”
“Aye, aye, Sir.”
Aboard Ravage Maker – Bridgelen
“My Overlord, a second cruiser just jumped to the edge of our defensive grid.”
“Is it powering through, same as the first one?”
“Yes, My Overlord.”
“Flag Captain, have all frigates repurposed their particle cannons to cluster?”
“Yes. And are beginning their fire now.”
“Put it on the main screen.”
The enemy cruiser pushed through the gauntlet of cross-fired particle beams and laser rays. Again, its disruptor shield held, displaying multiple black variances where it weakened under the onslaught.
Retribution broke through and began its attack run. A hundred gravity rockets fired at ten more frigates. This time, the frigates fired back with effect.
Triple particle beams targeted the darker spots on the blue cloud surrounding the renegade Mortek cruiser. Although weakened, the beams succeeded in striking Retribution’s armored hull. Highly dense metal melted. Black scoring occurred along her flanks.
War watched the screen, seeing more frigates twist and deform into useless hunks of metal and death. He also saw the breakthroughs which scarred the rogue cruiser. Then he watched the scarred but unwounded ship punch through the upper defensive net and jump to safety.
“We hurt that abomination. But not enough. First Sensor, you said that there are three of those traitors.”
“Yes, My Overlord.”
Flag Captain, pull the remaining frigates into a hollow sphere. I want that last traitor to jump into open space, surrounded by all thirty-five of them.”
“It will be done, My Overlord.”
“Order all frigates to fire their nuclear missiles into the attack path of the soft skin ship.”
“But, My Overlord. There will be casualties. Our own ships will be in the line of fire for all nuclear missiles not striking the invader. They will be destroying each other.”
“I want that mongrel ship destroyed. If we lose some frigates, that will be the price. Make the order!”
“As you command, My Overlord.”
Aboard Griffin - Bridgelen
Oy, Cap. Those Mortek are getting smarter. It looks like Retribution took some lumps.”
“What did you see, Mack? Any real damage?”
“Nah, Cap. I will say one thing. Those Mortek know how to build a tough ship. Retribution got some hull plating holes. Lots of scoring. But, none of those beams got into her innards.”
“They’re beginning to adjust.”
“Should I perform an evaluation and send it to Vice-Admiral Weiskoff?”
“I don’t think it would do any good, Igaklay. He seems to have ignored the last one. I do want you to perform an evaluation for us, though.”
“Aye, aye, Commander.”
“Ya are becoming more of a spaceman every day, Iggy.”
“Learning from the best, Wrenchy.”
“Rizzman, Emoli, you still there?”
“Yes, Commander. It appears that the Mortek are adjusting their firing solutions with some success.”
“Yes, Emoli. You two, note that the cruiser armor is denser and stronger than what you have. If you had made that run, those focused particle beams would have done significant damage.”
“I see that, Hawk. I’m glad that we’re not under Weiskoff’s flag. He’d run us in there without batting an eye.”
“Keep recording. When we get back to Ballison, you two are going to put your heads together and design an attack plan for your less-armored ships. Understood?”
“I understand, Commander.”
“Copy that, Hawk.”
“Still rolling, Sue?”
“Yes, Commander.”
Aboard Vengeance - Bridgelen
“Retribution, report!” Vice-Admiral Weiskoff demanded over the com link.
“Minimum damage, Admiral,” the Captain of Retribution reported. “A few chinks in our hull and a lot of scoring. Nothing extensive.”
“Damn. That A.I. came through. Bradley, action report.”
“Again, ten for ten, Sir.”
“Your attack plan seems to be working, Admiral.”
“So far. We know that those frigates can hit like pile drivers. We also know that we can take a punch. Get me Reprisal.”
“Reprisal actual, here.”
“You’re up. Make sure that everyone is strapped in. you are to barrel-roll the ship. Do not let any of those particle beams remain focused on a single point of the shield for any length of time.”
“Aye, aye, Admiral.”
“Let’s finish slicing this pie. With your pass, we will have cut those frigates into six sextants. Destroyed thirty of their frigates. Cut them down to less than half. Go now.”
“Aye, aye, Admiral.”
“Captain, put Reprisal’s run on the main screen. Tie into her video and sensors.”
“Images and readings will be three minutes behind, Admiral.”
“I know that. Just do it.”
After the first two minutes, Vengeance’s bridge became nervous. Reprisal should have jumped back by then. Everyone fidgeted, waiting for either the return of the third cruiser or the reception of the three-minute-old video and readings.
The video and readings arrived. Reprisal never did.
Aboard Ravage Maker – Bridgelen
“Flag Captain, the third cruiser has jumped to the edge of our defensive net. It is currently accelerating into our energy beams. It is spinning on its axis.”
“Flag Captain, are the frigates repositioned?”
“As you ordered, My Overlord.”
“Begin the firing sequence, Flag Captain. Begin at that invader’s entry point and sequentially fire, ending at its exit.”
“At your command.”
“Put the battle on the main screen.”
The giant view screen displayed the battle between the lone human-controlled cruiser and the thirty-five remaining frigates.
The first five Mortek frigates launched their nuclear missiles into the path of the human-controlled cruiser. The barrel-rolling Reprisal successfully defended itself against the first wave, her spinning succeeding in limiting the depths of her slowly growing weak points. She countered with fifty gravity rockets. The first five frigates began collapsing into themselves.
The thirty remaining frigates launched a total of six more rounds, five nuclear missiles each. Reprisal, distributing its own deadly rockets, continued its run through the gauntlet. More frigates died.
Reprisal made it to the two-thirds point before the first nuclear, two-stage rocked succeeded in penetrating the blue cloud.
The front stage of the nuclear missile separated from his base, accelerating into a dark black weak point in Reprisal’s disruptor field. The weakened field did its job, breaking dow
n the molecules, turning the front stage into a vaporous, ionic cloud.
The front stage also did its job. It punched a hole through the blue cloud. The back stage, the one containing the nuclear warhead, followed through. Reprisal’s shield never fully reformed. The Mortek nuclear warhead struck Reprisal amidships and detonated.
The explosion crippled Reprisal. It tore through her hull and broke her back. The electro-magnetic pulse shut down all her electronics, including her disruptor shield. The next four nuclear missiles finished her destruction.
The expanding ball of gas, wreckage and human corpses marked its death throes.
The entire bridge crew of Ravage Maker raised their snouts and hooted. They stomped their four metal-shod feet on the deck. They extended their head combs. They flapped their vestigial wings.
“Well done, Flag Captain. This is a momentous click.”
“Your wisdom and guidance determined the outcome, My Overlord. I only followed your commands.”
“How many frigates did we lose?”
“The abomination destroyed six. Our nuclear missiles destroyed twelve more. There are seventeen frigates remaining.”
“A small price, Flag Captain. Lives and ships well-spent.”
“Yes, My Overlord.”
Aboard Griffin - Bridgelen
“Oh, No,” Sue spoke in a soft, doleful voice.
“Speak to me, Sue. Put it up on the view-screen.”
“Reprisal is gone, Captain. The Mortek destroyed her.”
“Put it up, Sue. Start from the beginning of her run.”
With limp fingers, Sue tapped some icons. Reprisal’s last moments of existence played, ending in a spectacular explosion.
“Igaklay, how did they kill Reprisal?”
“After evaluating the data, the Mortek succeeded in hitting Reprisal with a nuclear missile.”
“Nuclear? A fission bomb, Iggy? No one has used anything like that for a thousand years, Cap. Those Mortek are plain daft.”
“Igaklay, how did they get a nuke through the shield?”
Victory in the Stars (Marston Chronicles Book 6) Page 34
