He glanced at his sister. Tactical was looking at him with her usual unreadable look. “Quit eyeballing me,” he said as he quoted one of her favorite expressions.
She gave him a twitch of a smile. “Good to have you back.”
He nodded. “Good to be back.”
She returned to her screens and he thought briefly of touring the flag bridge but decided against it. He might command them, but these weren’t his people. For the briefest instant, he missed the bridge of Predator. Then he got over it.
“Appaloosa on board with Admiral Barrett,” came a report from an ops officer.
That light cruiser’s job of reporting on Kasyanov’s force was complete now so Hawkins had had the ship arc around the enemy and joined the Cockeyed Bob formation. Hawkins knew Barrett would need all the help he could get. The Admiral now had ten warships to defend the pirate freighters.
Minutes passed in near silence on the flag bridge. Personal breathing equipment was issued and donned by all personnel. People quietly went through their prebattle rituals to ensure they would survive. The rituals had worked so far so why not.
“Five minutes to missile range,” reported Captain Bond. He then added, “The three OrCon ships behind us are two hours away.” He was letting everyone know he had not forgotten their shadows.
“Attack formation,” Admiral Levant directed his fleet. Ships slid around to allow everyone to come abeam so the formation had all ships on line and pointed at the enemy. He waited forty seconds to allow ships maneuvering time and then ordered all ships to redline their engines. The formation would approach the OrCons at emergency speed.
“In range,” Bond reported quietly.
Levant nodded. He knew they were on the edge of missile range and, if he shot now, the OrCons would merely move away while the missiles were in flight and end up out of range. The gap would have to be closed a little more. The OrCons could fire at them now and move away and the Typhoon group would have to run at the enemy missiles as they pursued the OrCon ships. Of course, the Zekes should be able to handle any attack so the OrCons may not want to waste the missiles.
“The OrCons are shooting at us,” reported Bond. Hawkins saw the missile launch on his sensors. He shrugged and looked at Tactical. “I guess they do want to waste the ordnance.”
She did her own shrug in response. “They’re praying for lucky hits. If we lose a ship or two, we will also have to leave protection with our cripples so the three ships behind us don’t pick off our wounded. That will take more of our ships off the firing line.”
The Typhoon formation began putting out interceptors and readied guns and lasers. The two opposing forces kept up a steady stream of missiles at each other with the Zekes firing interceptors only and the OrCons firing offensive missiles.
“Another eleven minutes and we will have closed sufficiently so they cannot outrun our missiles,” stated Bond from his station.
The eleven minutes passed in silence as the Zekes fought off the enemy attack. Bond reported, “Typhoon is in range now. All ships will be within range in ten seconds.”
“Target one battlecruiser and one heavy cruiser with the initial volley and then one heavy cruiser with the follow-on shots,” ordered Hawkins. Unlike the missile boats, all warships had the ability to designate targets for their missiles. The entire Zeke force would be focused on two ships with their first shots and then a single ship with the follow-on volleys. The strategy was obvious. The OrCons would assume the Zekes would use their greater numbers of ships by having the vast majority remain on the defensive with only a few going over to the offense. Most prudent commanders would do exactly that, but Raferty Hawkins was not most commanders. The safety of his fleet was not his mission, the destruction of the enemy fleet was. Thus, this first barrage within missile range would catch the OrCons by surprise as they would assume this broadside would be mostly defensive, so the OrCons would keep firing offensive missiles until they saw the Zekes missiles pass their own volleys without intercepting them. By then the OrCons would have lost the opportunity to begin cutting down the Zeke attack at the greatest range possible so more Zeke missiles would get to their targets.
Despite the late recognition by the OrCons, the majority of the Zeke missiles would still be taken out, so it was necessary to ensure some damage would be inflicted and limiting the entire attack to a few targets was the best way to do it. As Orion ships were disabled or destroyed, their defense would be degraded so more Zeke missiles would get through. The variable was how long that would take. All engagement tables showed there would still be plenty of OrCon ships to shoot at Barrett. Hopefully, Barrett could hold off all the Orion attacks until the Orion warships were destroyed.
“Shoot!” ordered Levant. The entire Zeke force went offensive. They would have to combat the incoming OrCon missiles with guns, lasers, and shields, but it was time to force the OrCons to the defense. The initial Zeke volley was followed by ships continuing to fire at the cyclic rate. The opposing missile clouds merged near the midpoint between the two fleets. No collisions occurred as the missiles continued on their way.
“Go defensive!” shouted Kasyanov over her command net as she realized she had offensive missiles coming at her ships. She had not seen this coming. She was used to Zekes being conventional so expected them to be defensive and use their slight advantage in ship numbers to gradually move the battle their way. Under that assumption, she thought the Zeke missiles were interceptors so had given away half the distance in which she could have been cutting down the incoming attack. Her ships switched to shooting their own interceptors and took out many of the incoming rounds, but enough missiles would get through to do damage. As the missiles closed in, the OrCons went to guns, lasers, and, finally, shields to further deplete the attack. It wasn’t enough. The battlecruiser Assembly was struck twenty-two times in rapid succession. Shields stopped fourteen missiles. The armored hull stopped two more. The remaining six penetrated and bore deep into the ship. Explosions racked the big vessel as it slowed down and fell out of formation. The heavy cruiser Bessmenny was the second victim. Eight missiles burst through her hull and did damage from bow to stern. She also fell out of formation. Both ships were on their own as Kasyanov had to continue after the missile boats.
The Zekes fought the incoming OrCon missiles with only guns, lasers, and shields. Several ships were hit and damaged. Two light cruisers and a destroyer fell out of formation. Two heavy cruisers were designated to drop out of formation and remain with the three cripples to protect them from the three Orion ships that had been pursuing the Typhoon fleet since Rurik.
“Admiral Barrett reports the enemy just came onto his sensors,” reported a watch officer. Barrett’s formation was two hours away at max speed from the Orion blocking force on the far side from Typhoon’s group. The OrCons would have Barrett’s unit on their sensors also. Hawkins thought the enemy might turn and run at Barrett’s force. If the OrCons could wipe out those ships and make a clean escape, that would allow them to forego a fleet action against a superior force while still claiming a measure of revenge for their earlier defeats. Hawkins wished they would try it.
He got his wish. “They’re running at Admiral Barrett,” reported Bond. There was a pause and he added, “Admiral Barrett is moving away.” The race was on now with the prize being the missile boats.
It would take the OrCons two hours and forty-two minutes to close the gap to get within missile range on Barrett. All that time would be spent trading broadsides with the pursuing Typhoon flotilla. Hawkins was determined to cut down on the Orion numbers before they reached missile range on Barrett.
The two fleets continued to exchange fire as the OrCons chase the pirate freighters and Typhoon’s force chase the OrCons. Hawkins stayed on the offensive with his missiles. Kasyanov was forced to be on the defensive. With his slight advantage in missile broadsides, he could ensure missiles got through the enemy defenses. An OrCon destroyer and light cruiser were the next victims. Kasyanov knew t
his would only end one way, but she needed to extract a price for her losses.
“We go offensive in one minute. Make sure all ships will support it,” she ordered her OpsO. She hoped the attack would catch the Zekes by surprise just as their initial offensive barrage had done to her. The Zekes would assume the OrCons were staying on the defensive so would not recognize the offensive broadside until it did not intercept any incoming Zeke missiles. Of course, her ships would take punishment without interceptors as the first line of their defense, but it was important to keep the Zekes guessing.
One minute later, Orion offensive missiles leaped from their tubes and sped toward the Zeke fleet. Hawkins continued offensive fires at his targets so when the storm of Orion missiles did not intercept any Zeke projectiles, he knew what was coming. He also knew the OrCons were vulnerable for several seconds. “Go defensive with half our ships. Keep offensive with the other half. Target a battleship,” he said from his operations station seat.
The order was followed. Everyone knew some missiles would get through. Everyone also knew the OrCons would absorb a beating for this one offensive push. Orion missiles were hit by interceptors, lasers, guns, and finally stopped by shields but enough got through. One Wind class battlecruiser, two River class heavy cruisers, an Explorer class light cruiser, and three Armet class destroyers were damaged. Another Armet destroyer blew up with the loss of all hands.
Tactical looked over at her brother. He felt her stare and looked back at her. “Nothing you could do,” she said quietly. “You play it safe and protect this fleet, you reduce your offensive strikes, and the OrCons will have enough ships left to wipe out Barrett.”
Hawkins nodded. He looked at his screens and said, “We need to do some damage now.”
Tactical smiled. “We will.”
The Orions had scored well, but it was time to pay the bill. Without interceptors cutting down the incoming Zeke attack, the battleship Borets was the lone target. She absorbed thirty-one hits on her shields before any missiles got through. The first three missiles that did get through exploded on her armored hull. The fourth missile and the next twelve after that penetrated her stern. Each explosion was deeper inside the giant ship with the last two destroying her engineering sections. She lost all power and began to glide to a stop. The other Orion ships rushed past her.
Admiral Kasyanov took a deep breath. She just traded a battleship for a destroyer. She knew in a straight up even fight she could win. This wasn’t a straight up even fight. The slight Zeke advantage in ships and subsequent broadsides would gradually wear her down to nothing. She hoped to get the pirate missile boats, but she had to pick her spots on when to go offensive. She would still do it occasionally to keep the Zekes honest, but the Zeke commander had shown a willingness to take punishment in order to dish some out. Unusual for Zekes, but there it was. “Go defensive,” she ordered over her command net.
When it became clear the OrCons had gone back on the defensive, Hawkins ordered a full offensive push. He knew the Orion commander would go back on the offensive occasionally to keep him guessing, but he had no intention of guessing at all. He would stay on the offensive for the remainder of the battle.
So the battle proceeded. The Orion ships were slowly being reduced in numbers. Three times over the course of an hour, Kasyanov went on the offensive. She knocked out eight ships including a battlecruiser. She lost twelve ships in return. She was closing the gap on the fleeing pirate freighters and their escort but was sacrificing ships to do it. The OrCons would get shots on Barrett, but Barrett would get some in return.
The Typhoon group was passing enemy ships they had disabled earlier. A call to surrender was sent to each. No ship accepted, so more Zeke ordnance was poured into them until escape pods starting coming off.
Hawkins directed all damaged Zeke ships to do basic repairs and follow at best speed. If unable to do so, they would prepare to abandon ship on command. Hawkins was not leaving any targets to the second force chasing his fleet.
Chapter 40
Admiral Barrett checked his tac screens. The two hours and forty-two-minute pursuit was almost up. The OrCons would be in missile range in three minutes. Barrett would stop running shortly. The pirate missile boats needed to turn to port to fire. Since they could not designate targets, they had to point their missiles in the general direction of their target before launch so the missiles would have something to lock onto after their launch. This meant the missile boats could not shoot at targets astern or ahead of them.
“Prepare to come ninety degrees to port,” Barrett announced over his command net. A few seconds later, he merely said, “Do it.”
The ships turned to port, and the warships ensured they were out of the way of the five freighters while ensuring they had a clear line of fire for themselves. This was their one free shot and they needed it to count.
~ ~ ~
Aboard Gawain, Captain Yardley sat stiffly in the captain’s chair. Her imagination was working overtime regarding the many bad things that she was sure was about to happen to her ship. The first battle was easy as she had not known what to expect, and the issue was never in doubt. Now she knew exactly what was coming, and the issue would be very much in doubt. She hoped she would perform well as she willed herself to be calm.
Kit Kinkaid stood next to her with the air of watching a parade being formed. She glanced around to ensure all was ready on the bridge, and she was pleased nothing looked amiss. Despite her first impression of Yardley, Kit had to admit she was a damn fine captain who had performed well on this strange mission with a crew that, by and large, hated her. Kit even grudgingly admitted to herself she liked her captain.
As the ship turned and took a position astern Dragon in the number two slot in the five-ship line, Kinkaid smiled at Yardley. “I better get down to aft steering.” Yardley nodded without looking at her. Kit reached forward and put a hand on her shoulder. “Everything will be fine, Mac.”
Yardley looked at her in surprise. It was the first time Kit had ever addressed her by name. She gave a wan smile and nodded. “Thank you for all your support on this trip, Kit. You made it happen.”
Kinkaid gave a slight head shake. “You did that. I just helped a bit. You’re a fine captain, and I’m glad I came along.”
Yardley gave a bigger smile now. It was clear the words meant a great deal to her. Kinkaid gave her shoulder a squeeze and said, “See you afterwards.” Yardley nodded, and Kinkaid departed.
~ ~ ~
Barrett had one advantage now. It was the same advantage the OrCons had had on the Typhoon group at the beginning of this fight. To keep up the pursuit, the pursuers had to run headlong into the oncoming missiles in order to shorten the range so they could eventually shoot their own missiles at their quarry. Barrett would get a free shoot. He would shoot when the enemy was at maximum range, turn away, and run some more. If the OrCons fired an answering offensive salvo from the edge of missile range, Barrett would outrun the Orion missiles. Barrett would be safe for a few more minutes. Of course, the eventual result would be the faster Orion ships would get within firing range, launch offensive missiles, and Barrett would not be able to outrun them. Barrett’s advantage was one free salvo, and then the time spent running would allow the missile boats to reload for a second salvo.
The Orion ships were coming fast now that the small Royal Navy squadron had stopped running. Barrett did not form a battle line as they would be turning and retreating soon. Defense was not needed yet. What was needed was an exquisite sense of timing. Hawkins wanted the Cockeyed Bob salvo and the Typhoon salvo to arrive on target at the same time, thus creating the same immediate threat and dividing the enemy defenses. The operations officers, Tactical, Alistair Bond, and Luther Norton, were working the timing out and Barrett would get a time hack for firing.
Tactical’s voice came over the command net. “For Admiral Barrett, launch time is at twenty-one minutes and eighteen seconds. For Admiral Levant, launch time is at twenty-three minut
es and forty-two seconds. Acknowledge.”
Both fleets acknowledged the firing orders. Like all ships in space, the Royal Navy ships were on Zulu universal time, a remnant of Old Earth. Every ship had the same exact time down to the second. Barrett’s ships would fire at just over twenty-one minutes after the hour and Levant would shoot a little more than two minutes later. This calculation was based on the position of the flagships, so ships slightly away from the flagship would still shoot with the flagship even though their missiles might arrive a second or two after the flagship missiles hit the target. It would still be close enough. Of course, these time hacks for firing assumed the enemy continued to run at Barrett. If they changed course or speed while the missiles were in flight, the two salvos wouldn’t arrive together. Nobody thought the OrCons would do that. If they reversed course back toward Typhoon, they would outrun Barrett’s missiles which would be fired at max range. The two problems with that were it gave the Typhoon fleet more time to reduce the OrCon numbers, and it didn’t really help the OrCons. Once the OrCons reversed back to their original pursuit of Barrett, they would still be in the same position as before. Barrett would still get a free shot. They couldn’t catch him fast enough to prevent that. The only way to prevent Barrett from getting that shot was to stop chasing him. No, the OrCons would keep coming.
Smoke on the Wind Page 24