Blockade

by Chris Hechtl

  "Frack. Too rich for my blood," the captain said mildly. "Are you sure they got a sniff of us? How?" he asked, crossing his long arms in front of him and pretending to twiddle them backwards.

  "My money is on any ion trails we've left and neutrinos," the sensor officer stated. They turned to her. "It makes sense; they've been steadily updating and upgrading their fleet. BCs would be the natural recipients of such hardware."

  The captain turned to the other officers. They nodded.

  "We've got an arrival at the jump point!" a rating said urgently.

  "Which one?" the captain asked, looking up and then at the plot. All eyes fell with his.

  "This one! Fourteen million kilometers out from us." the ship's A.I. said urgently. "Massive jump arrival. Over two dozen ships."

  "Frack me. It never rains but it sure and hell pours apparently," the captain said.

  -~~~///^\~~~-

  "Convoy arrival at the Bd2r3 jump point," Captain Ryan Cartwright said, voice taught with concern. His XO Commander Jessie Sanchez sucked in a protesting breath. She had been dealing with the conflicting reports from the local pirate lord on the planet. He insisted they'd gotten a Mayday from a courier but there weren't any details in it and the message had been garbled.

  "Comm, open a channel, cancel that," the admiral's voice said over the PA. They looked up to it. "Comm, broadcast a warning to the incoming ships; let them know there are enemy ships practically on top of them. If there are any warships, tell them to find and engage them. Give them our data," he said.

  "Aye aye, sir."

  -~~~///^\~~~-

  "Transmission from what appears to be the flagship of the cruiser force to the convoy," White Knight, the ship's A.I., stated.

  "So much for that!" the JTO said in disgust.

  For the past three hours, they had been trying to find a way to maneuver behind each of the four enemy cruisers to take them out. Most likely the call had been an IFF challenge, but it could be a warning.

  "They are using old encryption keys, decrypting now," White Knight stated. "Message reads as an IFF and a warning that we are near."

  "So, they definitely know we're here," the captain stated.

  "Active sensor sweeps in our general direction from the cruisers," CIC reported.

  The captain frowned at the display. If he engaged the cruisers, he could get hurt and possibly pinned long enough for the enemy cruiser force to overhaul him.

  "Guns, we can't hurt them at this range, can we?"

  "Sir, CIC reporting, enemy convoy has put on some speed," CIC reported.

  "Not as they are opening the range," the TACO stated. "Recommend we disengage and haul ass out of here, sir."

  "I hate to say it, but I agree," the Neoape captain grumbled. "Damn!"

  "Oh, we're going to leave all right but not before we give them a parting gift."

  "Sir?"

  "Guns, work with the other ships. I want to take out some enemy ships."

  "The cruisers will be able to defend at this range, sir."

  "I never said we're going to target the cruisers," the Neoape captain said with a broad smile.

  -~~~///^\~~~-

  "Sir, multiple ships have dropped stealth; they are firing on the convoy!" CIC reported.

  Jessie sucked in a protesting breath but then exhaled. What they were seeing was several hours old. "Comm, call the skipper and admiral. Let them know what we're seeing," she ordered.

  "Aye aye, ma'am," the rating stated. The captain and admiral had stepped off to get a bite to eat and a possible nap. She hated to interrupt them but had no choice.

  "The escort cruisers are returning fire and trying to handle the incoming fire. None of it appears directed at the warships," the CIC rating reported. "The range is long; it looks like fifteen million kilometers and opening up."

  "Of course they didn't target the cruisers," she murmured. If the shipping schedule was right, that was most likely an El Dorado convoy. That meant they were packed with priceless tech. She watched silently as the short engagement happened. The range was long; they couldn't get a very good read. From the look of it, at least two of the unarmed lumbering freighters took hits. One just simply evaporated from the plot.

  She closed her eyes in pain.

  "Shit just got real," a rating muttered.

  "Someone just had a very bad day," another rating replied.

  "A lot of someones just had their very last day," another retorted.

  "Can it," the bosun growled.

  "Enemy ships are running for the Bd1r17 jump point," CIC reported. She opened her eyes as she heard a voice clear its throat.

  "Sorry," she muttered, getting out of the hot seat for the skipper.

  "Sleeping on the job, Jessie?"

  "No, sir, active imagination took over," she said as they exchanged places.

  "Helm, alter course … no, Nav, plot an altered course to the Bd1r17 jump point. Feed that course to the other ships. Engage on the admiral's say so," the captain stated.

  "I say so," the admiral's voice said dryly. "Lay on enough speed to overhaul our intruders if possible. We've got some payback to dish out."

  There were some growls of agreement from the bridge watch over that statement.

  -~~~///^\~~~-

  Admiral Quartermain was surprised when three days into the chase they began to make some headway.

  He'd just been reading the latest report from the convoy. An ammunition collier had been vaporized. It had only taken one hit, just one for the ship to go up like tinder. Two other ships had been destroyed. A total of fourteen other ships had been damaged or crippled. At least four of those ships were not going anywhere anytime soon. The escort cruisers had done their best to defend them, but surprise had been on the enemy's side. He put in a commendation for their crews for saving what they could.

  He was even more surprised when he received a call from the enemy ships. The captain of the Resolution class heavy cruiser called him. "Going to surrender?" he asked. "If you are looking for terms, you aren't going to get any favorable ones," he said. He checked the plot again. It would be close.

  "Funny, I was going to ask you the same thing," the voice replied two hours later. "Your Prince Mason Ramichov is enjoying his time in our custody. I'm uploading a list of all POWs in our custody as well as images of them for your verification."

  What Jed didn't say was that his ship's A.I. had inserted viruses in the image files.

  Kuresh sat back when heard that. So, the prince was alive. Or it was some sort of ploy. He grunted when his people said they had a ways to go before they could release the files the enemy commander had uploaded.

  "I'll be sure to pass that on to the empire. I'm sure the families will appreciate it," the admiral said slowly as he gathered his thoughts. He decided to throw a taunt in. "It's not like the Federation Navy to fire on unarmed ships. My, how the times have changed," Kuresh said scathingly.

  "They might not be armed but the way that one ship went up I'm pretty sure she was loaded to the deckheads with munitions. That put her squarely in my sights, so I'm not going to lose any sleep over it. What's funny to me is a pirate who has spent the past seven centuries preying on the helpless is whining about my choice of targets."

  "Try and target my ships and see what happens," the admiral riposted two hours later.

  "Nah, I'm not interested at the moment. Thanks anyway," Jed said with a wicked grin in his face. "We can make a play date for a week or two from now."

  "Cute. You do notice the disparity in forces, right?"

  "At the moment, yes. But see, I'm not from what you'd say around here," the voice drawled.

  "Oh? Just what backwater star system are you from?" the admiral asked in amusement.

  "Bek. Admiral Irons contacted us, and we've been turning out ships in our yards. Hundreds of nice shiny ships that are going to tear your salvaged ships apart."

  "Oh, really," the admiral drawled. He checked the computer, but there was no mention
of a Bek.

  While he was eating dinner, another taunt came through. "I wouldn't be surprised if the home yards are building battle moons by now. So, you might as well give it up."

  That made the admiral sit back in surprise. It had to be a bluff; it had to be. He hadn't heard of a Bek. There wasn't anything on the maps.

  "Bullshit," was his simple reply.

  "Have it your way," the voice drawled two hours later.

  "Why are you running if you have it in the bag?" the admiral replied.

  "I'm not an idiot. Live to fight another day and all that. We'll be back," the voice replied.

  "Sir, comms has reported our firewall has been hit with numerous cyber-attacks. The voice is just a cover," Captain Cartwright warned.

  Admiral Quartermain nodded. That made sense. He was glad the Retribution Fleet had brought back word of warning of that enemy tactic. It might have just saved his command.

  "Not if I have anything to say about it. You are just delaying the inevitable. Eventually we're going to catch up to you."

  "Funny, I was going to say the same thing. Keep chasing me and see what happens," the voice replied.

  -~~~///^\~~~-

  "We're going, we're going," Captain Misipeka muttered as the Horathian warships continued to chase his ship south to the Bd1r17 jump point. He was being driven off his station, and he didn't like it—not that he had a choice in the matter.

  He somewhat regretted putting a bee in the enemy commander's bonnet. He hadn't introduced himself and the other commander hadn't either. He'd hoped the conversation would have allowed White Knight an opportunity to get in and perform a cyber-attack, but there hadn't been a chance of it. The enemy's coms were tighter than a virgin's ass at a sex toy convention.

  So much for that.

  Someone back home is not going to like this, the Neoape thought. If those ships kept coming after him, Captain Firefly was going to like it even less.

  -~~~///^\~~~-

  The bridge crew of Decapitator watched in disgust as the Federation ships jumped out of the star system unmolested. They'd kept carefully out of weapons range the entire time. Any chance to overhaul them had been lost when the ships had put on a burst of speed and had passed through the jump point to the outer edge before launching a spread of nukes to blind their ships. By the time they'd gotten a clear look, the ships had altered course and put on another couple million kilometers between them, enough to give them time to power up their hyperdrives and get away.

  "We didn't get much. We didn't even get into firing range of that ship," the XO said in disgust. "Or the others," she said.

  "No, that we didn't," Admiral Quartermain replied over the link between the bridges.

  Captain Cartwright turned to his XO. Jessie blushed ever so slightly at the look.

  "Captain, make sure the recordings of that conversation are marked. We'll want II to look into that. And someone find me a damn star chart! I've never heard of this Bek, and I think I should have," the admiral growled. "We'll send back what we know in the convoy and then keep going. The least we can do is clear out the damn Fed pickets along the way," he said.

  "Aye aye, sir."

  "I'll leave you to it then. Let me know when we're ready to jump," the admiral said, cutting the circuit.

  "I wonder how much of our shipping they picked off before anyone back home noticed," the XO muttered.

  The captain turned to her. "Be glad we're not returning home. Be very glad. You wouldn't want anyone back home in high places to hear what I just heard," he said.

  Her eyes widened and she gulped before she hastily looked away.

  He frowned thoughtfully. He'd thought she'd had more backbone than that. She'd just failed that test. He was curious though how she'd stand up later when things got tougher.

  -~~~///^\~~~-

  Admiral Quartermain frowned as he considered what he'd just seen. If the enemy was picketing so close to his home star system, it didn't bode well for other systems. He checked the shipping logs. Some ships had gotten to Horath unmolested. There hadn't been a single report of those ships either. Had they just arrived on station? How long had they been there? He had no idea. He wasn't sure he'd like the answer when he found out.

  Act II

  Chapter 21

  Antigua

  Admiral Subert was grateful he'd passed on traveling to Antigua in stasis. He'd taken a fast courier over a berth on one of the convoys. He'd been tempted to stop in to see Jersey and Agnosta, but the little ship's blistering speed had made him reconsider.

  He couldn't help but smile as his A.I. forwarded his mail including greetings from Admiral Irons. There was even a greeting from Captain Sprite.

  He had a bit of catching up to do, plus some liberty he and the crew of the courier were looking forward to. Bulkhead fever wasn't quite that bad, but it was bad enough to want to see some long sight lines again. Maybe even on the planet.

  He closed his eyes. He hadn't been on a planet in ages. It might be nice to feel a breeze on his face made by something other than a plastic fan. Smell, no, walk a forest, a real one not a virtual one or a greenhouse or artificial park.

  Hell, he might even try some sports while he was on the ground. And he might even get a chance to check out the dating scene and do something about his overlong celibate situation.

  He smiled ever so slightly in anticipation. Three more days and the fun would begin.

  -~~~///^\~~~-

  BUSHIPS had a couple of hundred research teams but the premium one seemed to be Gray, Wong, and Proteus. They had the most success getting their designs through the maze of sims and testing and into actual prototypes and production.

  The trio had occasionally worked with Admiral Logan and others over the years. Admiral Irons occasionally put in an appearance when they seemed stymied and put in his two cents to get them going again.

  With their Freedom's Dawn design undergoing the prototype phase, the trio had decided to switch gears and look into small craft design. Since the war was turning into a carrier war, it seemed like the thing to do. It also allowed them to be free for consultation with the yard dogs if any issues cropped up with the new SD design. That was normal for any new ship design.

  "A lot of people have been discussing the Patriot or block Cobra upgrades, the King Cobra IX or even moving forward with a classic but updated E-class design and putting that into production. I think we can do one better," Jory stated.

  He had a basic frame up. As usual they'd done their research by tearing into the competition, looking for their strengths and weaknesses, and then finding a way to harness them. "The Lemnos data is … incomplete."

  "No wonder, we didn't really focus on fighters and small craft there," Captain Wong replied. He was a chimera sleeper, a human who had voluntarily altered his bioform into one resembling a humanoid black raven, complete with a wicked beak, large eyes, and feathers.

  "I've been playing with basic forms. I even looked into recreating the Xeno fighters," Jory stated, showing off a teardrop design in the main holo-projector.

  Wong glanced at it. He had studied it before; the thing was scary. Some thought of them as spiders, arachnids. Others as squids. They could manipulate a monopole force emitter or cluster of them to create an impressive grav drive. They were blistering fast once they got wound up but had trouble maneuvering or changing direction once they were up to speed.

  Their force emitters were a weapon all on their own. They collected dust and debris in a tight ball that the ship could then eject when it altered course. More than one officer had been dismayed to see the trajectory of the ball going at fractional light speeds to something indefensible.

  "I hate those things," the bird man muttered.

  Jory glanced at him. "I know. They are a nightmare to a lot of people. According to everything I've read, they were almost completely nanite and smart material based. I'd like to take a few pages from them there. Create a core frame with smart material, nanotech, and modular compon
ents."

  The bird man crossed his arms. What Jory was saying made a sort of sense. They had fighters and other craft that had nanotech smart skin and smart materials. Jory was just taking it a step further. "I feel a but coming."

  "Mine has been in the chair a bit too much according to my wife these days," Jory quipped. Wong cocked his head at him. "Sorry. Yes, I ran into issues—the smart material and nanotech for one. I can apply some micro and nanotech components, molecular engineering, but the Lemnos data is … flawed."

  Captain Wong nodded, feathers flaring a bit. It wasn't an implied insult to him or the others working at Lemnos, just a statement of fact. The data they'd copied had subtle corruption in it, courtesy of the Xeno Wraith that had infiltrated the hidden naval research station.

  "Well, fortunately, there is a mission underway to get another copy and quite possibly even salvage some of the equipment and prototypes too," the captain stated.

  Jory turned to stare at him. "Missed that?"

  "Apparently so. When did this happen?"

  "It got off a couple of months ago. I don't know when they are expected back," the captain said, fluffing his feathers. Jory nodded.

  "So, I should hold off until they get a fresh copy so we can compare it to our current one I suppose?" Jory asked.

  "Yeah, I'd say that's the wisest choice of action," Wong replied with a nod. "Apparently, this Shield Team has a couple of engineers with them from Bek who asked to work with us. They are apparently quite good," the bird man stated as Jory started to object. "They come highly recommended."

  "By who?"

  "Admiral Logan. He apparently worked with them on Ilmarinen."

  "How are we with that new quantum armoring matrix?" Wong asked, changing the subject. He knew it had passed the labs but not the final results.

  "Tests in the lab are done; it passed with flying colors as you know from the email," Proteus stated. The Neobird nodded.