First Colony: Books 1 - 3

by Ken Lozito

  “Time to scare the crap out of a few people,” Connor said.

  They entered the bridge and Connor went over to the command area where Colonel Howe sat. Connor sat in the seat next to him.

  “Tactical, confirm the position of the decoys and put it up on the main holoscreen,” Colonel Howe said.

  The output on the main holoscreen updated to show the current position of the cargo carrier, along with its destroyer escorts. Then fourteen red dots appeared for each of the decoys they’d deployed. When their transponders went active, they would do so with different classes of warship identifications, and the decoys could also generate the drive signature of vessels both large and small.

  Connor used his implants to check a few data feeds and saw something that gave him pause. “Tactical, don’t activate the decoys yet. We just need them to check in on the passive channels. It will take longer because of the distance, but it won’t give away their position just yet.”

  The tactical officer paled. “Yes, General. I’m sorry. I was just looking to get the quickest response possible.”

  Colonel Howe glanced at Connor. “Pre-mission jitters.”

  “We’re playing poker, and once this thing begins we’ll see how well Corwin and Cross can play,” Connor said.

  8

  Major Alec Corwin slouched in the commander’s chair on the bridge of the Wyatt. They’d been at this combat patrol for nearly a week and it was extremely tedious work. However, the work seemed to suit Savannah Cross just fine; she loved this stuff. Corwin would have preferred to see a bit more action. Weapons training on nearby asteroids was more fulfilling than running escort duty. It was thrilling to fire the rail-guns and missiles, giving the destroyer’s weapons system a chance to clear its throat.

  There was nothing out here that hadn’t been placed here by the CDF. He glanced at his terminal, and it was the same as before. All the weapons platforms in the system were active and their onboard diagnostics indicated that they were functioning normally. Perhaps on one of the next scouting missions he’d push the engines a little more as a way to break up the monotony. The crew always appreciated that. There was only so much a person could learn running training drills anyway.

  “Major, I’ve detected an anomaly with the last passive scan,” Lieutenant Green said.

  “On screen,” Corwin ordered.

  The main screen showed the scan data from the most recent passive scan. There were two anomalous detections, and Corwin glanced at his tactical officer.

  “The second one was just detected, Major. The computer matches the drive signature to that of a Raptor-class cruiser,” Lieutenant Green said.

  “Comms, are we being hailed?” Corwin asked.

  “No, Major,” Lieutenant Kordek replied.

  Corwin pressed his lips together in a thoughtful frown. “Can you confirm these are actual ships and not decoys?”

  “Running diagnostics on the system. It checks out,” Lieutenant Green replied.

  “Run an active scan of the area,” Corwin said.

  “Major,” Kordek said, “Captain Benson of the Chmiel is asking for a status update. He says that the two ships are appearing on his sensors as well.”

  Corwin sat up in his chair. If those ships were being detected on a cargo carrier’s sensors, they must be closer than initially thought.

  “Comms, open a channel back to COMCENT,” Corwin said.

  “Sir, the time lapse is over an hour,” Lieutenant Kordek said.

  “Okay, never mind that—”

  “Sir, one of the ships is on an intercept course,” Lieutenant Green said. “Make that both of them.”

  Corwin sat in the command chair with an ugly twisting feeling churning in his gut. If those ships weren’t decoys, could they be part of the alien fleet that had rampaged Earth? Could they have made it here already? And how would they have gotten this far into the system without being detected? Surely the automated defenses for the turrets and missile-defense platforms would have detected them.

  “They’re heading right for us, Major,” Lieutenant Green said. “What are your orders?”

  Corwin’s mouth became dry and he couldn’t tear his eyes off the main screen.

  “Three more ships detected, sir.”

  “Orders, Major.”

  Corwin sat in the chair, unable to move or think. This couldn’t be happening. This must be some kind of drill, but what if it wasn’t? He was out here with just one other destroyer. There was no way they could stand against Raptor-class cruisers. The armament differential was too great, and they already knew the Wyatt was here.

  “What are your orders, Major?” Lieutenant Green’s voice went up an octave.

  The breath caught in Corwin’s throat as he tried to think of something they could do.

  “Any response to our hails?” Major Savannah Cross asked.

  “No, Major,” Lieutenant Daniels said.

  “Okay, they had their chance. Action stations, set Condition One,” Major Cross said. “Helm, move us ahead of the Chmiel. Operations, I want the anomalies designated by groups, beginning with alpha. Tactical, I want firing solutions ready to go, both long and short range, if any of them decide to close in.”

  Her orders were confirmed and carried out. Savannah peered at the main screen, which showed that the Wyatt hadn’t changed course.

  “Comms, link up the ship’s systems to any defense platforms in the area. Tactical, I want you to account for missile platforms’ capabilities in your firing solution. If these really are hostiles, I want to be able to return fire as soon as possible,” Savannah said.

  “Yes, Major,” Lieutenant Daniels said.

  Captain John Elder, who sat next to her, leaned over. “Major, with so many potential hostiles in the area, should we necessarily wait for them to fire their weapons first before we engage?”

  Savannah eyed him for a moment. “You know the rules of engagement. We’re away from COMCENT, and until they make their intentions known, I don’t want to be the one to fire first. We’ll tag them so they know we mean business but won’t fire our weapons just yet.”

  Captain Elder nodded, but he still looked pale. Savannah understood his concern. With five potential hostiles, three of them cruiser-class or above, they might not survive the first salvo.

  “Comms, any word from the Wyatt?” Savannah asked and was unable to keep a tinge of annoyance from her voice.

  “No, Major. I’ve tried to reach them multiple times, but they won’t respond,” Lieutenant Daniels replied.

  “Open a comlink to the Chmiel,” Savannah said.

  A successful connection to the cargo carrier registered on the main screen.

  “Captain Benson, I need you to update your course to the space station with the one we’re sending you now,” Savannah said.

  “Course received,” Captain Benson said, his voice sounding relieved. “We tried to reach Major Corwin but haven’t had a reply.”

  “They could be having an issue with their communications array,” Savannah said.

  John Elder glanced at her, making his opinion of Major Corwin known with just a passing look.

  Savannah shrugged.

  “Use best speed available and we’ll cover you,” Savannah said.

  “Understood, Major, and thank you,” Benson replied.

  The comlink was severed and she looked at her comms officer.

  “Still no reply from the Wyatt, Major.”

  Savannah nodded. She hoped he was having a communications issue and just couldn’t respond. “Computer, record the following,” she said, and the status on the main holoscreen showed that the computer was ready. “Major Corwin, I’ve sent the Chmiel an updated navigation course for Titan Space Station. Our current firing solution will cover their escape for a time. We’ve been unsuccessful in opening a comlink to the Wyatt. If you’re receiving this, can you go on an intercept course to the cargo carrier to protect them in the event that these anomalies do prove to be hostiles? End recording. Se
nd message.”

  “Message sent, Major,” Lieutenant Daniels said.

  “Contact!” Lieutenant Brennan said. “Incoming missiles detected.”

  Savannah swung her gaze to the main screen. The missiles were almost on top of them. They shouldn’t have been able to get this close and avoid detection. “Launch countermeasures. Evasive maneuvers,” Savannah said.

  Since they were already at battle stations, the bridge crew was strapped to their chairs.

  “Tactical, launch firing solutions alpha, bravo, and charlie groups,” Savannah said.

  Savannah noted the time and waited for the confirmation that their weapons had successfully fired. She watched as the main screen showed missiles closing in on the Banshee. They each had an unknown designation, so she didn’t even know who the hell was firing on them. There had been no communication from the hostile ships.

  “Still waiting on that confirmation, tactical,” Savannah snapped.

  “I’m sorry, Major. I authorized the firing solutions as you ordered. The system won’t respond,” Lieutenant Brennan said.

  “Major, we’re being hailed by General Gates on the Vigilant. Transponder codes and authorization clearance are a match,” Lieutenant Daniels said.

  Savannah’s brows pulled together and she narrowed her gaze. “On screen,” she said.

  General Gates’ face appeared on the main screen. “Major Cross, stand down. This is a training exercise designed to test your actions against a surprise attack force.”

  Savannah clenched her teeth. General Gates had a reputation for being opportunistic with his training exercises. She felt her racing heartbeat slow down but only slightly. “Acknowledged, General. Banshee will stand down.”

  General Gates’ hard gaze softened for a moment. “Major Cross, please congratulate your crew on their exemplary performance. They did well, but there’s a lot of room for improvement, as I’m sure you’re aware. I want you to review the data from this encounter and in the next twenty-four hours I want you to present to me ten alternative actions you could have taken. Vigilant out.”

  General Gates’ face disappeared as the comlink was severed. Savannah blew out a breath and John Elder did the same.

  “Alright, you heard the general. This was a training exercise. Set action stations to condition three. I want the entire dataset from this encounter, beginning with the first onset of the anomaly detection, put up in the simulators so we can start running combat scenarios against them,” Savannah said.

  “How does he already know that we could have done better, Major?” John asked.

  “Because General Gates designed this whole encounter. Do you think he didn’t already have more than a few tactical solutions on how best to deal with this scenario ready to go?” Savannah asked.

  “I see your point, Major,” John replied.

  She got up from her seat and walked over to Lieutenant Brennan. Her tactical officer’s hands shook as he tried to work through the menu options on his terminal.

  “You didn’t do anything wrong. You followed my orders, which is exactly what you were supposed to do,” Savannah said.

  Lieutenant Brennan sucked in a deep breath and glanced up at her. “It all happened so fast. I don’t know what I could have done differently, Major.”

  “That’s the whole point of this exercise. The secrecy of its execution was the best way to test us. I know once we all calm down and put our heads together we’ll improve our performance. Let’s get to work, shall we?” Savannah said.

  “Yes, Major, and thank you,” Brennan replied.

  Savannah went back to her command chair.

  “What the hell happened to the Wyatt?” John asked.

  Savannah nodded. “An excellent question and one I’m keen to know the answer to myself,” she said and pressed her lips together. “One of the first scenarios I’d like to run is a coordinated response that includes the Wyatt.”

  “But they weren’t available during the encounter,” John said.

  “Doesn’t matter. We know the capabilities of our own ship, and that’s a resource we have available. The fact of the matter is that if this had been a true encounter, we would have died. Don’t get me wrong, we would have bloodied the enemy, but we would have died or come close to it. We need to devise a way to respond to that scenario where we don’t lose our capacity to fight, and we only have twenty-four hours to do it,” Savannah said.

  “Understood, Major.”

  Savannah nodded. “Call in your reserves to the bridge. We’ll need all hands working on this for the time being. I want ideas and solutions for the current engagement, and don’t be afraid to stretch the encounter with a couple of ‘what if’-type scenarios.”

  The call went out and Savannah sent her orders to the rest of the crew, bringing them up to speed. She knew there was a better way to respond to the threat they’d just faced. Now she needed to set her mind to finding the best solution so the next time General Gates wanted to test them, the Banshee, at least, would be ready for the encounter.

  9

  Connor could scarcely keep the scowl from his face. The comlink to the destroyer Wyatt had just been closed. Throughout his military career he’d seen all manner of people who’d frozen up at the first real sign of danger, but this was the first time he’d seen the commander of a damn destroyer do so. Had this been the NA Alliance military, Major Alec Corwin would have been relieved of duty and replaced with a more capable commander.

  He sat in the officers’ conference room near the bridge with Reisman and Sean across from him, and they were joined by Colonel Howe and Major Nathan Hayes.

  “The shit hit the fan,” Connor said. “I can’t have a destroyer commander freezing up like that. By all accounts, it was Corwin who failed to even execute a rudimentary response to the hostile forces in this exercise. Where was his XO?”

  “She was performing an inspection in Engineering when the attack occurred,” Major Nathan Hayes, XO of the Vigilant, answered.

  Colonel Howe leaned forward. “Captain Mattison hightailed it to the bridge shortly after the attack began, but by then the damage had already been done. That crew has suffered a major blow to their morale that I’m not sure they can recover from.”

  “So that’s one for replacing Alec Corwin as the commanding officer of the Wyatt,” Connor said and looked at Major Hayes.

  “There’s a pool of candidates we can draw from if we go that route, and I agree with the colonel. Major Corwin should be relieved of command,” Major Hayes said.

  “General, meaning no disrespect to anyone here, but I disagree,” Sean said.

  Connor glanced at him, considering. “Care to elaborate, Captain?”

  “The training drills are designed to expose weaknesses so they can be addressed. Simply yanking Corwin off that ship won’t help us in the long run,” Sean said.

  Connor narrowed his eyes thoughtfully. “There are some things you don’t get a second chance on. The lives of the hundred and fifty crewmembers aboard the Wyatt depend on their chain of command not faltering at the first sign of danger. I’d initially thought his approach to escort duty was on the conservative side, but now I’m thinking Major Corwin was just being lazy.”

  Reisman brought up some data on his personal holoscreen. “General, there’s nothing in his performance history that indicates a dereliction of duty. If you’re taking votes, sir, mine is to allow the major to complete the escort duty and return to New Earth. Then we can decide what to do with him.”

  Connor sighed and looked at all of them. “Two of you think I should yank him out of the chair and two of you think I should give him another shot. You guys are no help.”

  Reisman chuckled. “One other thing to consider is the amount of time that went into training Major Corwin. I know Captain Mattison. She’s a topnotch officer, and I’m sure things would have been different had she actually been on the bridge.”

  “That’s not good enough,” Connor said.

  Colonel Howe cle
ared his throat and drummed his fingers on the table. “I may have been hasty with my recommendation. I’d like to see what Major Corwin and his crew can come up with in terms of solutions to the combat drill. To me, that will be very telling as to whether he should be left in command.”

  Connor nodded. “I agree. Okay, let’s move on to the Banshee. Wil, put the simulation up on the main screen.”

  Reisman tapped a few commands into his personal terminal and the main holoscreen came on.

  Connor leaned back in his chair and watched the simulation play out. This gave an accurate representation of how Major Savannah Cross had handled the combat drill.

  “She’s a scrapper,” Connor said. “She tried to hail the unknowns, and when they didn’t respond she had her tactical team formulate multiple firing solutions. Those firing solutions provided the maximum coverage for the cargo carrier, and she even sent an updated course to Captain Benson of the Chmiel, which was accounted for in her plans. Pause the simulation,” Connor said. “She followed the rules of engagement and even tried to leverage use of the missile-defense platforms nearby. If I had another heavy cruiser, I’d give it to her right now. Alright, resume the simulation and let’s see how this plays out.”

  The combat simulation sped forward, and the destroyer was able to extract a heavy toll from the enemy forces, but there was still a ninety percent certainty that the Banshee would have been destroyed.

  “Look at that. The computer shows an eighty percent estimate that the Chmiel would have escaped the encounter unscathed,” Sean said.

  “That’s right. So now, a test for you guys. What could Major Cross have done differently that would have allowed her ship to survive the encounter?” Connor said and looked squarely at Colonel Howe.

  “I see this is for me,” Colonel Howe said and narrowed his gaze thoughtfully. “Assuming the raiders or enemy forces were only after the cargo carrier, she could have leveraged that to her advantage, using them as bait to draw them farther inside the envelope of the missile-defense platforms. That would have given her more cover and provided protection for the cargo carrier.”