The Chance Encounter: The Linda Eccles Series - Book One

by Robert Woodard

  “At once, Overlord.”

  It wasn’t long before Brest appeared. When he approached Sinska, he asked, “You needed me, Overlord?”

  “Our ships have finally arrived.”

  Both of Bresk’s eyes focused on the tracking display. After a few beats, he said, “They are perfectly placed to cut off the prey ship.”

  “They are, and now we will have our revenge,” Sinska said with pride.

  Excitement filled Sinska in knowing his prey had no chance of reaching their original entry point before the Kracks’ ships intercepted it. Not only were the incoming ships perfectly placed to keep his prey from getting away, but the makeup of the small fleet brought more speed and far more firepower to bear. His prey had no hope this time, and payback would be swift.

  As the question of who led this small fleet ran through his mind, Sinska observed how the five ships began to disperse. The Tracker, with its greater speed, shot forward. The two pursuer ships were left behind, but they pulled ahead of the slower takedown ships.

  The Biting Prey and Wicked Bite altered course slightly to their left. The Tracker continued to stay on course. It only took a few beats before the strategy became clear to Sinska. The Biting Prey and Wicked Bite were moving into position to pull in behind and to the right side of the prey ship. The Tracker would continue to cut in front of the prey ship until they had it boxed in from three sides.

  Sinska wished his ship was faster and had more firepower. He could then turn his ship to close the box on the left side of the prey ship and effectively ensnare this crafty prey. But, since he had neither the speed nor the rockets to make that happen, he had to be content with letting these other, more formable ships take on that task.

  Slowing opening his elongated jaws, Sinska then snapped them closed in triumph. There would be no escape for his prey. These mighty ships and their rocket launchers would make short work of stopping the prey ship in its tracks. The ship could run, but it couldn’t get away.

  Sinska’s tongue flashed out in excitement.

  ◆◆◆

  Linda studied tactical with an intense stare as she looked for an answer to this latest dilemma. Facing five alien ships in a position to head her off before she reached the jump point was a new and dangerous situation. The bridge remained quiet while Linda focused her attention on the mounting problem. The five ships bore down on her right side. They were slightly ahead of her ship and maintaining a closing angle that she could not outrun.

  Three of the smaller ships pulled away from the latter two large ones. Linda had no desire to take on any one of them, let alone five. Then again, she absolutely didn’t want to abandon the only jump point that offered her a known and safe exit from this system.

  The current track of each ship painted a clear picture on the tactical display for her. They were going to box her in on three sides. Her only option would be to either give up or turn away from them. Neither option appealed to her. Giving up would put her crew at the mercy of creatures she doubted had any compassion and turning away only made her departure that much more hopeless.

  The only comfort Linda felt was in the Privateer’s weapon and a competent commander in control of it. She hated the thought of having to use it again, but the lives of everyone on her ship, and the ship itself, may depend on it.

  “Comm, have Commander Launtra report to Weapons Control and have Commander Bresee report to the bridge.”

  Linda shuttered as flashes of the teenagers cornering her against the cold, hard outer brick wall of the old high school flashed through her mind once more. It seemed that no matter how much she tried to keep that cellar door closed, the memories overpowered her will and made their escape. This entire situation reminded her of that most trying time in her life. All she ever wanted was to be left alone, but just like these ships, those mean-spirited girls refused to allow it. Linda felt they were cowardly, too, for they always came in force to overpower her ability to fight back. Why was it that bullies had numbers on their side?

  Although never able to bring herself to do it, Linda had always wanted to run directly at them, kicking, grabbing, punching and screaming. Just once, she would have liked to have turned the tables on those girls—blackened their eyes, split their lips, pull out their hair to make them ugly enough to receive a bit of their own medicine for a change.

  Linda sat up straight. Why couldn’t she do that to these ships? The one thing bullies always count on is their victim cowering in fear. Suppose she did the opposite. What if she refused to yield and just drove straight on? She would force them to make the first move. Perhaps she could confuse them enough to let her slip past. She cowered from bullies back then, but not here, not now. She would take them on using her owns terms, not theirs.

  Sharon arrived onto the bridge and came to Linda’s side. Before she could speak, Linda said, “Five more of those alien ships have arrived.” Linda nodded toward the screen showing tactical. “As you can see, they’re attempting to box us in on three sides. Unless I miss my guess, they expect us to turn to port and away from our ability to safely exit this system. I am not going to do that, though.”

  “You’re not, Captain?” Sharon questioned.

  “No,” Linda said while shaking her head. She then glanced up at Sharon. “I intend to do the last thing they expect. We will fly right into the teeth of those creatures. If they don’t get out of the way, we’ll bust our way through them. We have been the target of these creatures’ aggression since we arrived. Now I intend to show them that we will not be pushed any further!”

  Looking at tactical again, Linda noticed how each ship had been marked by the tracking computer. The first ship they encountered, and still positioned well off her stern was carrying a T1 label. Of the newly arrived ships, the leading one, the smallest by mass, was labeled T2, while the other two were T3 and T4, with T4 being the one that appeared to be heading for a position behind her. This left the two larger ships that trailed the pack to be designated as T5 and T6.

  “Weapons control, this is the Captain,” Linda said after activating the comm unit.

  “Yes, Captain?” Bill responded.

  “Commander, I want you to begin a target track on ships T2, T3 and T4. If I have to give the order to fire, I want you to target them in that order.”

  “Understood, Captain, I am to track targets T2, three and four and use that order should I receive direction to fire.”

  “Correct, Commander. Let’s hope it does not come to that,” Linda said, and then cut off the comm.

  “Are you targeting them in ascending order?” Sharon asked while looking down at Linda again.

  “Not really. Target T2 will be cutting across our path, so driving them off will reopen our escape route. It will also be the most logical step for us to take. Then we will drive off T3 before focusing on T4 to protect our aft end. I don’t want to give them the impression we are concerned about our aft shielding by targeting T4 first.

  “That makes sense,” Sharon said while nodding her head in apparent agreement. Looking back up at the monitor, she asked, “Do you really think they will fire on us?”

  “These creatures have shown us nothing but aggression. If they make the mistake of firing on my ship, they are going to regret it severely.” Linda could feel her control wavering, so she went quiet.

  The images of the girls pinning her against the building popped into her mind once more. Each alien ship seemed to carry the face of the girls who forever burned their image into her memory. Just give me a reason you cowardly bitches. The words rang silently in her head.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Jeftrick could not have been any more pleased with what lay before him. Not only had his small fleet arrived in formation, but they were in perfect position to cut off the fleeing prey ship. Observing what tracking displayed, Jeftrick watched his orders being implemented. Having seen his advantage in position almost immediately, he ordered the smaller ships to surge ahead to make good use of the favorable angle of pu
rsuit.

  Having ordered the Biting Prey and Wicked Bite to shift course directly at the prey ship, he watched as they rapidly covered the distance. Unless the prey ship altered course, the Tracker would eventually cut off their escape route, too. Flashing his tongue at the screen, he knew there would be no escape for this prey. They would work together to take it down.

  Watching his ship fall behind the lead three, Jeftrick wished he could coax more speed out of the lumbering beast. Like an elder no longer able to keep up in the hunt, he felt like a spectator watching the youngsters chase down this prey. Noticing the Tail Whip altering course on the tracking display, he wondered what they were up to.

  “Underlord, set up a communication link with the Tail Whip. I want to talk with Overlord Sinska.”

  “At once, Overlord.”

  The thrill of commanding a ship once more flowed through Jeftrick. He thought those days were over, but here he was standing in a control chamber and having command authority over his small fleet. How could any Overlord, or even a Masterlord, for that matter, ask for anything more? He would subdue this prey ship and drag it back to Kracks. What a prize it would be. How could he be denied a Masterlord title after that?

  “Overlord, the frequency link is now open.”

  Jeftrick simply nodded. Pulling the flexible microphone up from the side of his chair, he pressed down the activate button at its base. Now ready, he said, “Overlord Sinska, this is Overlord Jeftrick, what is your status?”

  Static poured down from the overhead speakers before being replaced by the booming voice of Sinska. “The Tail Whip has suffered structural damage, Overlord, along with the loss of our primary circuit panel, but we are operational using the backup panel. After two failed attempts to disable the ship, I broke off the chase.”

  “I see you have altered course. What are your intentions?”

  “I am trailing the Prey Ship again in case we are needed.”

  Thinking this over for a few beats, Jeftrick said, “I doubt if you will be needed, but I see no harm in your actions.” He then considered the sturdiness of the minelayers, and the damage it had sustained, and asked, “What capabilities have you seen in this prey ship, Overlord?”

  “They have a very effective weapon,” Sinska responded. “It appears as a bubble at the front of the ship, and it rotates to align on target. They shoot a round mass with a high-energy yield that has proven very effective. It travels at a high rate of speed and carries a heavy punch. Its penetration power appears limited, though.

  “The ship carries a shielding that makes our energy weapon ineffective against it. I was able to explode a mine close behind it, but the ship did not display any negative impact from it. Perhaps your rockets will prove more effective against them.”

  Nodding to himself, Jeftrick said, “Okay, Overlord, I will take over from here. Maintain course and speed until ordered otherwise.”

  Jeftrick cut off the microphone and sat quietly while digesting the information from Sinska. The prey ship’s shielding may have been ineffective for the Tail Whip, but would it withstand the sustained firepower of three ships at once? Jeftrick figured there was only one way to know for sure. First, he would collapse the shielding and take out their weapon. Then, He would target the propulsion system to cripple their ability to maneuver. Once disabled, he could make use of the Tail Whip by having Sinska tow the prey ship to Kracks while he returned first to take in all the glory. He would even be on hand to observe the Tail Whip’s arrival when it finally got there. Hissing out satisfaction, Jeftrick stared at tracking that showed the progress of their closure on the prey ship. Nodding again, he knew that first he had to disable that ship.

  The control chamber was dead silent. Jeftrick liked it that way as he sat in the chair and stared at the tracking display with one eye and the live viewer with the other. Each passing beat brought his ships and the prey ship closer together.

  The failure of the prey ship to turn away confused him. It was like the commander of that prey ship had no fear. It continued to play right into Jeftrick’s claws by staying on a course that brought it ever closer to his lead ships. But why? To him, it defied logic and that caused him concern.

  What game are you playing? Jeftrick silently asked.

  ◆◆◆

  Bill sipped at his coffee, brought in by a member of the mess crew, while keeping an eye on the five approaching ships, and the one that trailed them from far behind. Once he had locked onto the three leading ships, the targeting computer kept track of them from there. All he had to do now was calculate the firing solution and shoot. While Bill hoped it wouldn’t come to that, he sat ready in case it did.

  “T2 and T3 are altering course. It looks like they are swinging right to run parallel to us,” Don said.

  Nodding, Bill had already noticed the change occurring on the tactical display. The smaller ship had turned almost onto a parallel course, but still maintained a slight left angle that would keep it driving across the bow of the Privateer. The other two ships, slightly larger, were turning to parallel them, and Bill suspected they were now in range of whatever weapon the ship carried. The T4 ship was behind them but keeping slightly off the Privateer’s right side. T3 completed its starboard swing that now had them running parallel at 4,000 kilometers from the Privateer. The three ships had boxed in the Privateer, and he wondered what the Captain was going to do about it.

  All three ships were now well within optimal firing range of the plasma cannons. Bill felt that something would happen soon. He seriously doubted the alien ships were going to just tag along for a chance to wave goodbye while the Privateer jumped into warp.

  A monitor showed split images of the three leading ships and Bill studied their design. They looked lean and mean, reminding him of the old naval days of frigates and destroyers leading the charge ahead of the heavier cruisers and battleships. He supposed that roaming through space did not differ that much from sailing the wide-open oceans. Let the destroyers race in, inflicting enough damage to slow the enemy down, and then the big hitters pass by to unload their heavy guns for the sure kill.

  Keeping the old naval model in mind, Bill figured the smallest of the alien ships would be a destroyer escort. Probably lightly armed and armored, Bill figured it represented the speed demon of the group. The other two he suspected would be the destroyers. Lightly armed, and probably just slightly studier than the escort, their job would be to slow down the Privateer and disable their cannon if they could. Bill knew the Captain wouldn’t fire first, so he hoped these ships would not have the firepower to disable the Privateer before she had a chance to defend herself.

  Shaking off the thought, Bill leaned back again and took another sip of coffee. Setting the cup down, he kept his focus on the ships. He could feel the tension building. The lid would blow off this place very soon, and he hoped the Privateer would not get scalded as a result.

  ◆◆◆

  Uneasiness crept in on Jeftrick and continued to flow until it spilled over in his thoughts. The prey ship still refused to alter course, and he could find no logical reason behind that tactic. An unpredictable prey is a dangerous prey, Jeftrick cautioned himself, while also wondering if the commander on that prey ship refused to admit defeat.

  “Underlord, feed in the sensor data from the lead ships. I want to get a good look at this prey,” Jeftrick ordered.

  “At once, Overlord.”

  After a short delay, the monitor showing the live view now displayed a closer image of the prey ship. It came from the Tracker, offering an angled view of the front and right side of the ship. The dangerous bubble that Sinska had mentioned stood out prominently. Jeftrick decided disabling that weapon would be the priority of the Tracker.

  Rotating the selection dial on his armrest, the view changed to the right side of the prey ship, as seen from the Wicked Bite. Sinska would let that Overlord rake the ship to see if they could overload the shielding to bring it down. Once the shield dropped, he would have them target the
section of the hull where the energy readings proved the highest. That was most likely where the propulsion drives were located.

  Taking in the view from the Biting Prey showed the back of the prey ship. It was partially obscured by the heat from the exhaust ports. Nodding his head slightly, Jeftrick knew that if the Biting Prey could punch through the shielding, they could drive energy streams up into those very exhaust ports. If the beams got far enough up the outlets, they could create havoc with the drives.

  Deciding he had seen enough, Jeftrick said, “Underlord, order all lead ships to open fire with their energy weapons. The Tracker is to target the bubble, the Biting Prey the exhaust ports, and the Wicked Bite is to focus on overloading the shielding. They are to commence firing upon receipt of the order.”

  “Yes, Overlord.”

  Jeftrick was going to take down this prey quickly. He was here to do a job, so he would hit them hard right from the start. His prey was already captured they just refused to realize that fact, but he would educate them soon enough. Just like a ling that has to be stung a few times to learn which insects to avoid, his prey would learn that a Kracks was not to be taken lightly.

  On the live feed from the Biting Prey, Jeftrick could see they had fired their energy cannons directly into the back of the prey ship. The multiple light-blue beams struck an invisible barrier that shimmered everywhere the beams struck. He could see the beams swing slowly left and then right as some overling moved the cannons, looking for a weak spot. None seemed to exist.

  Changing views to that of the Wicked Bite, he could see that the pursuer ship had opened up with all of its five cannons too. The entire side of the prey ship rippled like the twitching of massive muscles under the hide of a powerful beast. The sight impressed him. Just like Sinska had reported, the prey ship had effective shielding. He felt it would be a nice bit of technology to retrieve from that ship to add to their own.