by Ricky Sides
Bran Lynch anticipated another attack as his fleet entered Chesapeake Bay, and had arranged a surprise for the enemy. When that anticipated attack didn’t happen, Lynch was certain the peacekeepers had decided to wait until the convoy of ships entered the Potomac. Therefore, when the peacekeeper battle group appeared on the horizon, hovering over the river, it came as no surprise to him.
Inside the Valiant, Jim observed the enemy as their ships drew closer to the mouth of the Potomac. He decided to commit the Valiant to the fight, despite a lack of weapons capability, because of the potential to utilize the drive system of the Valiant to sink small enemy vessels.
The battle group had landed in the city for a few hours, so that the fighters utilizing conventional miniguns could have their weapons reloaded and the fleet could recharge. During that process, the engineer had scrounged up some computer equipment that he was attempting to convert into an operable control panel for the weapons of the ship, but that had been hours ago. Thus far, his attempts had failed. Finally, Max went to Jim and requested the assistance of Lieutenant Teresa Connors. Her computer skills combined with his engineering skills might succeed where he had met failure on his own.
Teresa had studied the problem for a while and then she had said, “Your hookups seem configured correctly. I think it’s the machine. Though the computer is advanced, it lacks some of the components that make it possible for our system to function as it does.”
“There’s nothing we can do about that, is there?” asked the engineer.
Thinking for a moment, the lieutenant responded, “I think I can cannibalize the old system to make the new one work, provided the needed components weren’t burned out by the EMP, but it won’t be able to hold up to the stresses well. It may overload and burn out the motherboard. If that happens, we’ll lose both computers.”
“Do it,” Jim said. “The system is useless to us as is, and if we can only get a few shots out of it before the system fries, then there’ll be that many fewer enemies to deal with on the ground in the city.”
“In that case, I’m on it, Captain,” Teresa responded.
That had been an hour before scout fighters reported that the enemy had entered Chesapeake Bay. Jim had ordered the fleet to take to the sky. So far, the combined efforts of the communications expert and the engineer had failed to produce a working weapons console, but Jim was determined to fight with the Valiant, even if it meant being forced to use the drive to sink ships.
“Communications specialist, it’s time to drop the project. In less than two minutes I’ll need your expertise full time at your panel,” Jim ordered.
“Yes, Captain. I’m afraid I’ve already done everything I can do to make the system work. It should work. The components tested as good, but it’s just not working. It sends the commands to the weapons, but the weapons aren’t attempting to activate as they would in routine weapons testing. It’s as if the weapons aren’t receiving power from the battery system so they can activate,” Teresa explained.
“I checked all the relays, and they’re working. Of course I don’t have the full schematics for this ship, so I may have missed something,” the engineer explained.
“You don’t? They’re in the computer system. I spotted the file during one of my maintenance periods. If you’d like, I can pull it up for you,” Teresa explained.
“I was told the files were encrypted and Patricia couldn’t break the encryption,” Max stated in surprise.
“One moment and I’ll check the system,” Teresa said. Quickly, the computer expert pulled up the file and then she accessed the history. “Ah, I see what happened,” she said. “Patricia left the computer working on the problem in the background. By the log date, it cracked the encryption a month after the Valiant went into service under Captain Wilison.”
She stopped speaking when she saw the angry expression on the engineer’s face. “I’m sorry, Max, but you didn’t ask me to keep a check on the file, so I didn’t. I wasn’t even aware that it was an issue.”
“I’m not angry with you. I’m mad at myself,” Max said to Teresa. Turning to Jim, he said, “I’m sorry, Captain. I screwed up.”
“Don’t worry about that, Max. Patricia told me that she had left the computer working the problem, but she advised me that it was a long shot at best. I should have informed Teresa to keep a check on the file, but I didn’t, so technically, it’s my fault. I’ll be as content as a kitten with a bowl of milk if you can get my weapons functional for a few shots,” Jim said with an earnest grin of expectation.
“I’m on it, Captain,” replied the engineer, who had begun to smile himself. “Teresa, please show me that file.”
“Captain, the enemy ships are closing on optimal range,” the gunner advised Jim.
“Thank you,” Jim responded. Turning to Teresa, he added, “Communications, order the fleet to open fire on the enemy lead ships. Once the first rank has been attacked, we are to initiate attack plan Alpha.”
“Roger, Captain,” the communications specialist responded.
Moments later, the peacekeeper air group opened fire at the lead ships in the enemy convoy, but the enemy fleet sailed on toward the peacekeepers despite the attack. Even the ships under fire held their courses, not attempting to maneuver out of the line of fire.
“Captain, that’s not normal,” the gunner warned Jim.
“Agreed,” stated Jim as he leaned forward in his chair deep in thought. He thought for a few moments and then he shouted, “Com, tell the fleet to take evasive action now!”
***
Captain Bran Lynch observed the enemy as his ship drew closer. He was waiting for the optimum moment to launch his surprise attack. This time, there would be no radio signal, which could warn the enemy. This time, the pirate fleet would take their cue from his ship. Lynch almost ordered the attack the moment the enemy opened fire on the fleet, but he knew they needed a few more seconds to reach optimum range for a great many of the ships.
Twenty seconds into the peacekeeper attack, Bran keyed his microphone. “Launch the missiles,” he said, utilizing the external speaker.
On the deck of the ship, the men waiting in concealment behind the deck rails heard Lynch’s amplified voice. They stood up, sighted on their targets, and fired their shoulder-fired missiles.
The men on the deck of the ship began to cheer and jeer at the peacekeepers, but Lynch knew that something was wrong. Somehow, the enemy had anticipated his surprise attack. They had broken formation and began to initiate evasive maneuvers even as he had given the order to attack.
Around his ship, dozens, then scores and finally, hundreds of shoulder-fired missiles took to the air.
***
The Constitution was the largest peacekeeper ship ever constructed. It was easily the size of a football field. Being such a large target, it was hit by numerous shoulder-fired missiles but the Constitution wasn’t just the largest peacekeeper ship. It was also the toughest. Its tri hulled construction served to make it strong enough to absorb the energy of the attacking missiles without penetrating to the inner crew area or the vitally important battery compartment.
The Arizona was also tougher than the average patrol ship, because it had been laminated by the peacekeepers prior to the beginning of the war. However, the Arizona was still a single hulled vessel, so the crew wasn’t certain whether or not it could take a missile attack without suffering a hull breach. Namid flew the ship as if she expected one of the missiles to penetrate the hull. She executed a brilliantly flown evasive pattern, but such was the volume of the missiles directed at the Arizona that even Namid’s best efforts couldn’t avoid them all.
The Arizona took one missile amidships and two toward the stern. The crew felt the vibrations caused by the explosions, which they also heard as a muted roaring sound. The captain ordered the strike team to begin a hasty inspection to see if their hull had been breached. If it had been breached, then they would be forced to abort their part in the Alpha attack plan. T
hat plan called for the Arizona to fly to the rear of the enemy fleet and fight on the surface. Thus, they would be able to attack more ships than they could hope to attack while remaining airborne.
However, a fighter pilot reported to the Arizona that they had some black smudges on their ship, but that the hull was intact. That pilot sent Sharon a video feed that contained footage of the sections the pilot was referencing.
“Thank the pilot for me, Sharon, and have the men abort their examination,” Jack said.
“She says you’re welcome, Captain. It’s the least she could do for the man who pulled her out of that Arkansas hellhole,” relayed Sharon.
“Is that Lina?” the captain asked.
“Yes, Captain,” responded the communications specialist.
“Good, then she survived the missile onslaught. Has there been word of any fighters going down?” he asked.
“Not yet, Captain. I think the fighters managed to avoid the missiles,” Sharon responded.
“They should, they are twice as maneuverable as the patrol ships and three times as maneuverable as the Constitution, Namid interjected.
“Captain, Admiral Wilison is calling for a resumption of attack plan Alpha,” Sharon reported dutifully.
“Helm, proceed with the attack plan via the land route we discussed earlier,” Jack ordered.
“Roger, Captain. You may want to warn the boys to buckle up. If we come under fire at the wrong moment, the landing on the river may be rough,” advised Namid.
“All hands, secure for rough landing,” Jack announced over the intercom when Sharon gave him the nod.
The captain released the button and was staring out at the land passing beneath them when his gunner said, “Would you look at that! The Valiant is using our drive attack!”
Moving to the window so that he could witness the Valiant in action, Jack saw the Admiral’s ship sink one mid sized boat and fly immediately toward another. “The Admiral runs a fighting ship. He’d find a way even if he had to drop a bay door and place a machinegun on it.”
“I heard a rumor once that he did that at a fight in Tennessee, and that Pete was the gunner, but you know how rumors are,” Gunny said with a shrug.
“Actually that’s true, but I wasn’t aboard at the time or I would have vetoed Pete taking that risk,” the captain said.
“Damn! How the hell, am I supposed to compete with that?” asked Gunny playfully.
“I know you’re joking, but I’ve just gotta say that it’s a bad idea to compete with Pete when it comes to shooting. He’s the best shot I’ve ever encountered,” the captain responded.
Moments later, Jack had to return to his seat and buckle his harness when Namid began her final approach for a landing on the river. “Be ready, Gunny,” she warned. “I plan to set us down within range of that big fuel tanker; and break right for that big ship with the deck crowded with men. Unless I miss my guess, that’s a troop transport.”
“I’ll be ready, Namid, But the tanker will be double hulled. I’ll need you to back off the speed until I can punch through both hulls,” he explained.
“Will do, Gunny. She’s sitting high in the water, so I’d aim low. I guess they used most of the fuel on the trip to America.”
“The fighters are dropping their bombs,” Jack observed. Moments later, he saw three fighters blown out of the sky by multiple hits from the shoulder-fired missiles. None of those pilots could have possibly survived. He wondered briefly if he knew the pilots, and then he noted Namid wiping her eyes, and it hit him then that she knew them all.
***
“Max. I could really use weapons right about now,” the captain said in a soft tone of voice. He had dealt with engineers enough to know that rushing them didn’t help, and could actually be a distraction.
“I’ve almost got it, Captain,” Max’s muffled voice responded. He had his head and right shoulder stuck inside the bottom access panel of the weapons console. He was struggling to replace an inline fuse that was supposed to blow in the event of a power overload.
Moments later, the lights on the weapons console came on, flickered once, but then remained stable. “I think I’ve got it!” Max said elatedly.
“Yes, you did, Max. Now if you’d be so kind as to button up the console, we can really go to war,” Jim said.
Max scrambled out from under the console, slammed the access hatch shut, and then he inserted the screws in record time.
“Gunner, I hope you’re rested up and ready to go to work,” Jim said as Max stepped out of the way and the gunner took his seat.
“You just watch me, sir. I’m tired of being a sitting duck. I’m gonna show these pirates what happens when they pull an eagle’s tail,” the gunner, Corporal Joe Winslow, said enthusiastically.
Jim smiled at the reference. He rather liked the man’s analogy. “You do that, Joe,” he said. “Just don’t waste a shot. Treat each shot as though it were your last, because with this jerry-rigged board, it may well be.”
“She’ll hold now, Captain,” the engineer said confidently. He quickly added, “Just don’t go crazy trying to fire and target multiple weapons simultaneously. That would probably overload it.”
“That’s good to know, Max,” Joe responded. He immediately discarded his plans to fire every weapon simultaneously for a few rounds in order to make up for lost time.
“Gunner, select us a nice target and fire at will,” Jim ordered.
As he watched the battle progressing out over the river, he saw the two fighters take hits to their tail sections. The missile impacts blew large holes in the rear of their fighters. Incredibly, he saw both fighters turn and make a strafing run at the ship from which the missiles had been launched. “Order those fighters to return to the D.C. base. Their structural integrity has been compromised,” Jim said.
However, even as she was relaying the order to the fighters, Jim saw machinegun fire swing onto the aft sections of the damaged aircraft. The heavy caliber bullets disappeared inside the airframes. Jim winced, knowing that once they were inside that protective outer layer, nothing stood between them and the pilots but body armor and the backrest of their cockpit seats. If the bullets began to ricochet around inside the cockpits, the pilots were as good as dead.
Moments later, both planes flew away directly into the hulls of two ships at what had to be two hundred miles per hour. As it happened, both still had a full load of bombs and those bombs detonated on impact.
“God, they sank two ships after they died,” the pilot of the Valiant said.
“Put me in the command channel, Teresa,” Jim said angrily. He was angry with himself for not making it plainer to the pilots that this was not a suicide mission. “All fighter pilots, if you take a missile hit, then you need to break off the battle and return to base. Two pilots just died because they didn’t take that precaution. Admiral out,” he said tersely.
“Scratch one heavy freighter, Captain. Do you have a preference for targets?” asked the gunner.
“Yes, Joe. Take out the two ships that just shot down those fighters,” Jim said.
“Bringing us about for the attack run,” said the pilot. However, as the Valiant turned they saw the two ships were already under heavy attack by two drones and three fighters.
“Select other targets of opportunity, gunner,” Jim ordered.
“Captain, we are being hailed by Lina, and she says we have to get away from the river at once. She says she has spotted another of those EMP guns and the crew is readying it for firing.” Teresa reported.
“All peacekeepers, return to base! Get away from the river, and return to base. Do not fly near the enemy! I repeat, bug out now,” Jim said urgently. He was trying to avert a catastrophe.
All along the river, peacekeeper aircraft began to fly toward the west bank of the Potomac, but their flight from the EMP weapon came too late. Fighters and drones began to fall out of the sky all along the west bank of the river. Most of the fighters never made it ashore. The aircra
ft splashed into the Potomac and began to sink. The Valiant answered the helm, but her weapons had once more been disabled.
When they were over land, Jim had the Valiant brought about so that he could see what was happening. He saw pilots who were desperately swimming for shore being cut to ribbons by the machinegun fire from the decks of the ships. He saw the Constitution wobbling as she tried to make it to land. He realized that the missile impacts earlier must have compromised enough of her shielding that she had been at least partially vulnerable to the EMP weapon.
Out in the center of the river, Jim saw a peacekeeper fighter hammering away at a ship with a conventional minigun. He realized that it was most likely Lina. He also realized that she was all alone in a battle against the entire pirate fleet. “Lina, break off your attack and come to the Valiant,” he shouted into the command channel as he saw the aircraft drop a bomb on the ship.”
“Max, I need weapons,” Jim said urgently.
“I’m on it, Captain,” Max said from somewhere below Jim’s line of sight. Tearing his eyes away from the single fighter shooting it out with the enemy ships, Jim saw Max once more inside the weapons console.
Sweeping his gaze back toward the lone peacekeeper out over the Potomac, he saw two contrails rising toward the aircraft. “I love you, Jim,” he heard Lina say through the speaker, and then the two missiles impacted the port side of the nose of her fighter as she applied forward thrust with her drive in an attempt to escape. Her forward momentum, combined with the force of the explosion sent her fighter spinning clockwise like a top. Its drive must have shut down, because the aircraft fell to the surface of the river. As the damaged nose of the plane dug into the river, it flipped upside down. Sliding across the surface, Lina’s aircraft came to a halt and began to sink. Pirate gunners opened fire on the wreckage. Jim saw the heavy caliber bullets shredding the bottom of the aircraft.