by Tori Harris
"Green Deck, Schmidt. Get those RPSVs airborne. Helm, move us to within weapon’s range. Use our maneuverability to complicate their targeting and don’t wait for me to tell you if you need to take evasive action."
The tactical plot displayed on the starboard view screen now flashed continually with energy weapons fire. Just as Admiral Naftur predicted, the two enemy warships were ignoring Ingenuity for the moment and appeared to be attempting to isolate her from the Gresav.
"Gresav is maneuvering, sir," Lieutenant Lau announced. "I think she’s headed our way. There’s a huge amount of energy weapons fire, but I’m not reading much in the way of damage on any of the ships so far."
"They have shields, Lieutenant, we don’t. If we let them hit us the way they’re hitting the Gresav right now, we won’t last long."
"All eight Hunters outbound, Captain," Schmidt said. "The AI is set for a coordinated anti-ship strike on Delta 1."
"Very good. Since we have no idea how effective their shields are against our weapons, let’s try a probing attack first. Give them a volley of missile fire from astern, if possible. I’d say one missile from each RPSV will tell us everything we need to know. Don’t risk them unnecessarily, Schmidt. Hit and run for now."
"Executing now, sir."
Lieutenant Commander Schmidt issued a series of commands at his console, forcing the AI to modify its attack profile per the captain’s orders. Although the probing attack was not expected to do much, if any, damage to the destroyer, the AI’s indication of a sixteen percent probability of success was still discouraging.
Already well within missile range of the enemy vessels, the RPSVs split into two, four-ship formations, each of which veered off sharply in opposing directions while simultaneously climbing above the plane of the enemy ships.
"Directed energy weapons online, Captain!" Lau reported excitedly from Tactical. "We’ll be in range in one zero seconds."
Although not nearly as maneuverable as the much smaller Ingenuity, Admiral Naftur was making the most of his ship’s capabilities. Shortly after the enemy vessels opened fire, he rolled the destroyer onto its back before diving below the pursuing enemy vessels. Gresav’s six massive sublight engine nozzles blazed forth with a brilliant blue glow as energy weapons fire issued from what looked like hundreds of locations along the entire length of her hull. The maneuver had the immediate effect of taking the huge enemy cruiser out of the fight, her primary weapons arrays no longer in a position to target the Gresav.
Commander Reynolds had been rapidly shifting her attention between the tactical plot and a customized, three-dimensional model of the battlespace displayed on her console. She recognized the admiral’s strategy almost immediately. "Sir, Charlie 1 is like a classic line of battle ship. Her primary weapons have a limited field of fire. The AI is still defining the boundaries, but we should be able to prevent her from ever getting a firing solution. Transferring the data to the Helm and Tactical consoles."
"Excellent work, Commander. Ensign Fisher, get us a clear shot at Charlie 1’s stern while staying out of her field of fire as much as possible. That ship was probably designed for much longer range engagements. If that’s the case, I doubt they can retarget their main guns very quickly, but their secondary weapons might be more agile, so try to keep them guessing."
Above the enemy formation, the two groups of Hunter RPSVs had a clear view of Delta 1’s stern as she dove in pursuit of her sister ship. All eight fighters simultaneously fired a single HB-7 missile before executing a series of aggressive maneuvers designed to avoid being targeted by the enemy vessels.
"Eight missiles away, Captain," Schmidt reported. "Impact in one zero seconds."
"I’m guessing that will get their attention," Prescott observed. "Lieutenant Lau, I need you to do the same thing Schmidt is doing with the missiles. Hit them near the stern with at least one of every weapons type and let the AI chew on the battle damage assessment. Fire as soon as we are in position."
"Aye, Captain. I should have a clear shot in a few more seconds."
"Commander Reynolds, give me a tactical assessment of both enemy ships on the port view screen."
Ingenuity’s AI continuously gathered and analyzed tremendous amounts of data from her multitude of sensors. During combat ops, however, the process was intensified to such a degree that very little measurable information went unnoticed. A window now opened on the left end of the bridge view screen displaying multiple views of each enemy ship with potential vulnerabilities highlighted. So far, Charlie 1 showed only the limited firing envelope of her main weapons. Unfortunately, the AI had yet to discover a single vulnerability for Delta 1.
"All eight missiles destroyed, Captain," Schmidt reported. "It looks like the shields actually cooked off the warheads, so there were explosions, but no obvious damage to Delta 1. I also saw no point defense weapons fire of any kind."
"Firing all weapons in sequence, Captain," Lieutenant Lau interrupted from Tactical before Prescott could respond to the RPSV attack on Charlie 1.
As Ingenuity banked to avoid the cruiser’s field of fire, Lau initiated a probing attack with each weapon system in turn, starting with the ship’s energy cannons and ending with a salvo from her four primary railgun turrets. At this range, each of the frigate’s munitions types impacted the target’s stern shields almost instantaneously.
"Captain, I’m seeing hull impacts from the kinetic energy rounds. They went right through her shields!"
"Fire at will, Lieutenant," Prescott replied, just as surprised as his tactical officer. "Disable her engines if you can."
Commander Reynolds nodded to the side view of Charlie 1 on the tactical assessment display. "We only saw a slight fluctuation in her shields from our plasma torpedoes, but look at the lobing pattern near the engine nozzles."
Ingenuity’s energy weapons fire had provided the AI with a wealth of information regarding the cruiser’s defensive capabilities. In addition to the target’s limited field of fire, the tactical assessment now displayed two additional vulnerabilities – kinetic energy weapons fire as well as the elongated shape of her aft shields.
"That has to be what the admiral was talking about. For whatever reason, they are forced to stretch their aft shields well beyond their sublight engine nozzles. That should decrease the field strength quite a bit." Prescott paused as he noted a change in the tactical assessment for Delta 1 as well. "In case we needed more proof, there’s the exact same pattern on Delta 1. Is there enough room in there for a C-Drive missile strike?"
"Plenty of room on the cruiser, yes. The gap is smaller on the destroyer, but according to the specs we were provided, the missiles should still be able to get in there. I think it’s worth a try in both cases. Our railguns alone probably won’t be enough," Reynolds said.
"Lau and Schmidt have their hands full at the moment; can you handle the missile prep and launch? I’d like ten out of our sixteen targeting Charlie 1’s engines."
"Absolutely. I need us to back off a bit before the next attack run, though. I want to minimize the potential for the missiles to be intercepted, but they still need time to accelerate before they make their C-Jump."
"Did you hear that, Fisher?" Prescott asked.
"On it, sir."
"Schmidt, keep the RPSVs out of harm’s way for the moment, but put together an anti-ship profile option on Charlie 1. If we manage to hit her with our C-Drive missiles, her shields may drop. That may be our best chance of taking her out."
"Will do, Captain."
All four of Ingenuity’s railgun turrets continued to send a steady stream of kinetic energy penetration rounds into one of the cruiser’s huge sublight engines. As the frigate made a sweeping turn to open the distance to her target, the guns momentarily lost their solution and ceased firing just as Charlie 1’s battered engine nozzle exploded.
"Targeted engine destroyed!" Lau exclaimed. "There were a couple of secondary explosions and it looks like the nozzle right next to it is offline as wel
l. Their shields temporarily dropped by thirty percent, but have already started to recover."
Prescott felt the hair stand on the back of his neck. There’s no way they can afford to ignore us now, he thought, glancing at the tactical plot. If they consider us a real threat, it makes sense to destroy us first.
As if reading his thoughts, Delta 1 broke off their pursuit of the Gresav and began a turn in their direction. Within seconds, the space between the two ships was streaked with energy weapons fire.
Ensign Fisher reacted instinctively, pushing the ship into a steep dive below most of the incoming fire. The frigate shook with multiple impacts, each of which vaporized sections of her outermost armor. At this range, however, Delta 1’s beam weapons were unable to penetrate the ship’s multiple armor layers protecting her inner hull. For the moment at least, Ingenuity was holding together.
"We need to finish this quickly, folks," Prescott said in the most matter of fact tone he could manage. "We have a plan in motion, all you need to worry about right now is executing the plan."
Ensign Fisher randomly altered the frigate’s course as he accelerated away from the cruiser’s stern at maximum power. The approaching destroyer still blazed away with their energy weapons, but appeared to be having a difficult time tracking Ingenuity’s unpredictable flight path.
"Ten C-Drive missiles ready to fire," Reynolds announced. Hearing no response, she glanced in Prescott’s direction.
He gave her an unmistakably piratical grin as he nodded towards the starboard view screen and said simply, "C-Jump."
The graph indicating C-Jump range was now displayed in green with a range of 3.2 light years plus the standard one light year emergency reserve in red. Full power would still not be available for forty-five minutes, but that was of little consequence at the moment. Reynolds turned back to her captain wearing a similar look of satisfaction.
"Helm, at the end of this attack run, I want you to be ready to execute an escape C-Jump straight ahead on my mark, but dial it back to just one light minute," Prescott ordered. "There’s no need to waste our power on a long jump, we just want to get clear of the fight and reenter on our own terms."
"Aye, sir!" Ensign Fisher replied with obvious relief in his voice. For the past few minutes, he had been far too busy avoiding enemy fire to notice that the C-Drive had once again become available. Now, with significantly more confidence than he had felt just a few minutes earlier, he pulled Ingenuity into a tight Immelmann turn and headed back in the direction of Charlie 1.
On the frigate’s dorsal hull, ten C-Drive-equipped missiles ripple-fired from their vertical launch cells. After momentarily flying perpendicular to the ship’s path, the missiles arced over and accelerated rapidly towards the now distant cruiser.
"Missiles away," Reynolds reported. "Delta 1 has shifted her energy weapons fire to attempt an intercept."
"Hopefully, they are about to be disappointed," Prescott replied, smiling.
Downrange, all ten missiles simply disappeared, followed immediately by a series of massive explosions across the cruiser’s stern.
"Multiple impacts!" Lieutenant Lau roared. "Charlie 1 has completely lost power. They are adrift with shields down!"
"Fire plasma torpedoes. Schmidt, execute your attack," Prescott ordered.
Anticipating the captain’s timing, Lieutenant Commander Schmidt had already turned the two formations of RPSV’s in the direction of Charlie 1 at the same moment Ingenuity began her attack run. The ship’s AI had updated his console less than one second after the cruiser’s shields had dropped, improving the probability of success for the recommended anti-ship attack profile from twelve to ninety-seven percent. Although not a particularly superstitious man, Schmidt was gratified to see that the Hunters would fire forty-eight HB-7 missiles, just as they had done so successfully at the range only two days prior.
Within seconds, a swarm of missiles and plasma torpedoes was racing towards preselected targets all along the cruiser’s now vulnerable hull. At the same moment, Ingenuity came under renewed heavy fire from Delta 1, which was now approaching the optimal range for its beam emitters. The sound of the frigate’s hull being taken apart by an ever-increasing hail of energy weapons fire rose to a thundering roar.
"Fisher, emergency C-Jump!" Prescott yelled.
Chapter 14
TFS Ingenuity, Near Gliese 667 Cc
(24 light years from Earth)
Silence engulfed the bridge. The change was so abrupt that it startled every member of the crew, causing most to take in a deep breath while struggling to refocus on the task at hand.
"Report," Captain Prescott said in a decidedly more calm voice than he had used seconds earlier.
"Transition complete, Captain. We are one light minute – eighteen million kilometers – downrange from the battle area," Lieutenant Dubashi responded. "All systems reporting in the green. We have sustained moderate damage to the outer hull, but no further penetrations or breaches reported. No injuries reported. Sublight engines are still offline, pending the next transition. Both standard and C-Drive transitions are available. C-Jump range now 5.4 light years and increasing steadily."
"Excellent job so far everyone, and I know that because we are still alive," Prescott smiled. "Those two ships expected us to be unarmed, or at least of little tactical consequence. Dubashi, can you put our optical sensors on Charlie 1? The light from our attack run should be reaching us shortly."
The bridge view screen immediately transitioned from an otherwise empty starfield centered on the red-hued Gliese 667 C star back to a remarkably clear view of Charlie 1. Within a few seconds, the stern of the ship flared brightly as Ingenuity’s C-Drive-equipped missiles completely destroyed all six of her remaining sublight engines. All weapons fire from the cruiser ceased immediately as she began a slow rotation to starboard, clearly adrift and without power. A renewed burst of energy weapons fire well aft of the cruiser highlighted the locations of the approaching enemy destroyer as well as Ingenuity as she completed her attack run on the cruiser.
"That’s us!" Ensign Fisher exclaimed in a louder voice than he intended. "This is some seriously weird shit."
Prescott, along with everyone else on the bridge, laughed in spite of the obvious breach of military discipline. "Alright everyone, hopefully we’re about to see some even better news. Let’s refocus and get ready to put this ship back in the fight."
As if on cue, the cruiser’s stern once again flared brilliantly on the screen as Ingenuity’s plasma torpedoes scored direct hits to the already heavily damaged hull beneath the ship’s sublight engine nozzles. Multiple secondary explosions could be seen as the vessel’s propulsion and engineering spaces vented propellant and oxygen to space.
"I’d say she’s out of the fight for now at least," Commander Reynolds commented.
Before Prescott could respond, a tremendous series of explosions erupted down the entire length of the cruiser’s hull as all forty-eight of Lieutenant Schmidt’s HB-7 missiles found their mark. Although most of the ship remained in one piece, fully a third of the anti-ship missiles penetrated through to her internal spaces before detonating their compact antimatter warheads. The resulting explosions could be seen exiting the ship on the opposite side of the hull from their points of entry. Gaping, charred holes were now visible in multiple locations, all of which vented gases, debris, and bodies into the vacuum of space. The lifeless warship was now spinning slowly around all three of her axes as she continued to drift along her previous course.
For the second time, there was a brief period of grave silence on Ingenuity’s bridge as each crewmember struggled to reconcile their feelings of elation while recognizing the tremendous loss of life aboard the cruiser.
"Charlie 1 destroyed, Captain," Lieutenant Lau reported solemnly from the Tactical console. "Gresav is, or was, still engaged with Delta 1."
"Alright everyone, the tactical assessment for Delta 1 shows that her aft shields have a very similar configuration to those o
f the cruiser. We have six C-Drive-equipped missiles remaining, so our tactics will be the same as before. We need to get the ship in a position to fire the missiles so that they have a little time to accelerate before C-Jumping inside the destroyer’s shields. Lieutenant Lau, hammer the hell out of them with the railguns. If their shields drop, do the same with our energy weapons. Your priority will still be their engines."
"Aye, Captain."
"Schmidt, get your birds back online as fast as possible and keep an updated attack profile ready to execute. You’ve got, what, eight missiles remaining?"
"Yes, sir."
"Very good. Don’t bother firing unless their shields drop. Once they do, execute your attack immediately. I’d also prefer not to lose any of our RPSVs, so avoid close range attacks. I suspect we’ll be needing them again very soon."
"Aye, sir."
"We’ve learned some important lessons about Sajeth Collective ships today, but we still know precious little about their true capabilities. Admiral Naftur has said more than once that the Gresav is their most advanced warship design, so Delta 1 probably has a few tricks we haven’t seen yet. Look sharp and let’s get this fight over with so we can get back home. Helm, make your best guess on all three ships’ current positions and C-Jump us as close as possible without transitioning us inside one of them."
"Will do, Captain."
"All hands, this is Prescott. As I’m sure you all know by now, we destroyed the enemy cruiser. We’re now preparing to C-Jump back into the combat zone and finish off the destroyer. All personnel should remain at General Quarters for combat ops and prepare for incoming fire. Prescott out."
"Ensign Fisher, execute your C-Jump when ready."
"Aye, Captain, executing now."
Without delay, the AI’s synthetic voice began a ship-wide countdown. "Capacitive hyperdrive engaged, transition in 3 … 2 … 1 …"
With the return course laid in, the bridge view screen displayed green waypoint brackets around what looked from here like a very bright star or small moon, but was labeled as the planet Gliese 667 Cc. As the hyperdrive engaged, there was no apparent movement of the background stars, but the planet quickly increased in size, once again revealing its Earth-like appearance.
