“Yes, sir.”
He waited a few more moments to see if she would make any protests or at least a defense of her actions, but she simply stood there, back stiff, eyes level, expression blank. Finally, Jacob nodded and turned back to the milling group of pirates. A thought occurred to him.
“Are there any of them who seem to not belong with the others?”
“Sir?” Chiun’s expression turned less stony and more puzzled.
Jacob motioned to the milling prisoners. “Are there any pirates that we captured who would be ready to switch sides? Maybe someone from the station who joined them, or a person they press ganged or something?”
Chiun’s face had closed down again. “Sir, I would not recommend we put any of these prisoners in charge of any system on any ship in our fleet.”
Jacob nodded impatiently. “I know, I know. Are there any?”
There was a long pause, and then Chiun finally shook her head. “I don’t know, sir. I will have to see if there are any I can find.”
“Good. Let me know if there are any more problems. We definitely don’t want these guys getting loose on the station. That would only worsen the problem we already have.”
Chiun nodded again, and Jacob turned to face the corridor. “I’m going back to the Wolfhound to see how preparations are going there. I will see you later, Sergeant.”
“Yes, sir.” She watched him with that same blank expression as he walked away. He shook his head as he felt her stare following him out into the dark. One day I’ll figure out what is going on with that Marine. He suppressed a chuckle and continued on his way.
Chapter Twenty One
Four days later, the fleet was starting to take shape. After three days, over four hundred fifty new recruits had signed on. The new recruits, while clumsy in their work, had mostly adapted to their assigned tasks, and Jacob was comfortable in how the ships were maneuvering. He kept the crews drilling, forcing them to develop their skills as quickly as they could.
Ashford had taken complete command of the Talon, and began training his crew the moment the battle damage was repaired. The Talon's crew was shaping up nicely, with most of the spacers quickly bullied into line by the Marine officer. With Miguel acting as his executive officer, Ashford was beginning to look optimistic about his chances for once, and his grudging approval for the men he commanded was obvious every time Jacob talked with him.
Taylor was doing almost as well, having less damage to repair on the former Ravager. Having renamed the ship the Defender, the former Gunnery ensign was getting the hang of his own command, though his progress was slightly slower than Ashford’s. Jacob blamed the delay on the larger crew and lack of an experienced executive officer. Poor Singh was doing his best, but he wasn’t nearly as experienced or familiar to the spacer crewmen as Miguel was. In any case, Jacob hoped the crew would adjust quickly enough to be prepared for the coming fight.
Iriel’s squadron was progressing nicely also. All seven skiffs had been modified by the station repair crews, who added more armor and maneuvering thrusters. After a hefty debate, the few plasma turrets they had were sealed shut or removed, leaving the ships all but defenseless in order to provide more space on the inside. Cabin space and a heavy plasma cutter had been added, turning each ship into a heavily modified assault shuttle. Chiun had assigned most of her Marines to train several squads of boarding parties, arming them with leftover railgun rifles.
There had been a lot of debate over the boarding crews, since they were mostly made up of spacers turned soldier. At first, the lack of heavy weapons was pointed out as an impediment, at least until Miguel suggested they adapt mining and repair tools for the task. Heavily modified cutting torches and plasma beams became plasma cutters and devastating close combat weapons. Mining charges were loaded on board as well, allowing the boarding crews to simply set charges and fly away, leaving behind a present to cripple the enemy.
Torpedoes from the wrecked carriers were salvaged and shifted to the station itself. Even without specialized launchers, the weapons would provide a measure of protection for Reefhome. A few point defense turrets were salvaged from the wrecked ships to add countermeasures for enemy shells, but by and large the station remained defenseless, making it an extreme liability if the pirate fleet decided to target it. It would be hard for Jacob’s small fleet to both shield the station and fight back, especially with such fresh crews.
Which was why, with the majority of his officers assembled in his office, Jacob was trying to come up with a better means of defense. If Miguel’s guesses were right, there would not be much time before the enemy appeared to take back the station and punish the interlopers. Jacob looked around the room and took in the tired expressions, and then smiled. “So, how are we going to do this?”
The question remained unanswered for a long moment as the officers shifted uneasily and looked at each other. Iriel, who had been running drills with her squadron for a couple of hours already, had not retained a lot of her cheerfulness, while Taylor was struggling to stay awake in his chair in the far corner. Al-shira was still glaring, as she had been for the past four days, and Miguel, Chiun, and Singh shrugged or returned his look with blank expressions.
Ashford, on the other hand, grumbled just as loudly as usual. “I still don’t know how you're planning on taking out an entire fleet. The corvettes and carriers alone could kill us all.”
Taylor spoke up a little defensively. “We aren’t dead yet. At least we have crews now.”
The Marine snorted. “A bunch of spacers who have no idea how to handle combat. They could panic after the first volley is fired.” He noticed the glares several of the others gave him, and he shook his head wearily. “Look, I’m just saying out loud what everyone here already knows. These recruits could turn out to be the best crewmen in the fleet, but they aren’t anywhere close yet, and you know that.” He scrubbed a hand back through his hair. “Besides, the best crews in the Navy can’t hold off an armada with a frigate, a corvette, and a destroyer.”
Jacob sighed. He had been trying to avoid the sheer scale of the task when he had briefed the other crew members earlier, but here the truth of it would be impossible to dodge. We're a molehill trying to take on a mountain here. A very large, very angry mountain. He tapped a finger on the desk and looked around as the officers settled back into a sullen silence. Then, he spoke up again. “All right, let’s look at the first problem we have.”
He tapped a few keys on the reader built into the desk. An image of the Reefhome system sprung up in miniature above it. “First problem: We have to stick around Reefhome Station, but the pirates could come from anywhere. There are too many lanes open through the asteroids and debris to cover with the ships we have, and they can take advantage of that to threaten the station itself. If they hold the station hostage, most of our crews aren’t going to fight, and we'll lose without a shot.”
Miguel nodded, his expression grim. “That’s pretty much how it happened the last time. Dianton jumped in behind a line of patrol boats we had set up for defense and trained his guns on the station. We had to give up or our families were toast.”
Ashford grimaced and glanced over at his new executive officer sourly. “Bastards. Why were the boats so far out anyway? A drill or something?”
The former spacer shook his head. “A couple of corvettes had jumped into the system boundaries and were holding up a cargo hauler. The boats moved to assist, and suddenly the Bloodthorne was there.” He frowned. “It was rather like what you did to the pirates here, only with less of a challenge.”
Jacob frowned as well. That’s why the Ravager recognized the tactic; Dianton had used it before. He nodded. “All right, so how do we prevent that from happening again?”
Iriel sighed heavily, and put her head in her hands. “I don’t know. It’s not like we even know when he’s coming anyway. Isn’t that just as important?”
Singh nodded in agreement. “Yes, it would be. It is too bad we don’t have someo
ne aboard his destroyer. They might be able to send us a signal, like the pirates did when they tried to capture the Wolfhound.”
A flash of brilliance went through Jacob’s mind, freezing an idea in perfect clarity. “Maybe we can.” The officers looked up, and he smiled. “Chiun, did you keep an eye out for pirates who might switch sides? Like I asked you about earlier?”
Chiun nodded. “Yes, sir. There were a few who fit the guidelines you mentioned, but I still don’t think that I would trust them to fight for us.”
“What if we could give them a chance to redeem themselves by helping us out? Say, in exchange for leading Dianton and his gang where we want them?”
Surprise flashed across Chiun’s face and disappeared almost as quickly. “I don’t know, sir. One or two might be willing to do it, but we have no guarantees that they wouldn’t turn on us once they reached him.”
Miguel appeared to be deep in thought. “Does it need to be a pirate? Couldn’t it be one of the spacers here who pretends to be selling us out?”
Taylor was smiling now, nodding in excitement. “Maybe we could have them take one of the cargo freighters and jump to Telos where Dianton is probably holed up. They could claim to be carrying a message for him and ask for a reward. He’d fall for it in an instant!”
Jacob felt a smile growing on his face as well. “And if the pirates jump in to a spot we are prepared for…”
“We can be waiting.” Iriel raised her head again, and a fatigued smile ghosted across her features. “If we can get in close enough, we could be on them before they even knew we were there.”
Taylor reached over and thumped Singh on the back, earning a short glance of surprise from the Sensor officer. “So where would we put them, then? How do we set it up?”
Jacob studied the map of the system. “Miguel, show me where the Bloodthorne appeared last time. Maybe he would try the same trick as last time.”
The spacer walked over as Jacob enlarged the image of Reefhome. After a few moments, Miguel pointed at a small vacant area near the station’s position. “There. I’d have to look at some records of the attack to be sure, but I am pretty sure they came out there.”
As he nodded, Jacob’s mind raced. “That’s well within torpedo range, right? Didn’t the station have defenses then?”
“Yeah, but it was within gun range as well. If we’d fired, his response would have put a hole in the station. We could have lost half the population.” Miguel’s face went grim. “We can’t risk him coming out there again. It’s too close.”
Iriel stared at the spot as well, bleary-eyed with fatigue. “So why don’t we just put an asteroid in it? The failsafes on his riftjump generator would cut in, and he wouldn’t be able to make the jump.”
Ashford’s frown grew deeper, something Jacob hadn’t thought possible. “Then he would know we were onto him, though. He might change his entry position to somewhere we can’t anticipate.”
Taylor nodded, his smile dimming. “That’s right. Then we’re back in the same place as before.”
Once again, the room fell silent as they studied the floating image. Jacob’s brain raced, but nothing came to mind. Then, from the corner she had been brooding in, Al-shira broke in. “Why not put an asteroid between the station and the jump point? That way they can’t shoot at the station directly.”
Jacob frowned. “That would protect the station for a while, but then the station can’t fire either. We’d lose the use of the torpedoes.”
“Wait a minute.” Taylor’s face was bright again. “Guns need a direct line of sight, but the torpedoes don’t really need it. Besides, with the ships jumping in, won’t the station be able to sense them and shoot without direct visuals?”
Singh nodded. “That is correct. With the dark energy disturbances, at that distance the station should be able to get a definite lock on the enemy ships.” He pursed his lips as he studied the situation. “In fact, torpedoes would probably tend to curve on the way in, trying to tack into the current the jumps are giving off. That would mean they would curve around the obstacle and hit the ships while they are still immobile.”
Jacob smiled. “So we shield the station and get a few shots off for free. Excellent idea, Al-shira.”
The former Communications officer colored slightly, but Jacob couldn’t tell whether it was in rage or embarrassment.
“Now we just need to figure out how to survive against the enemy fleet after we jump them. Any ideas about that?”
Chiun’s eyes took on a cold, predatory glint. “They are pirates, sir. If we manage to do sufficient damage quickly enough, they should scatter, no matter how few we may be.”
Jacob nodded hesitantly. “While they are probably more disorganized, they are one of the better disciplined rogue fleets out there. It is going to take a lot of punishment to make them go away, and I’d like to have more to rely on than confidence in our own superiority.” He paused, hoping someone would come up with more ideas.
“My squadron can probably start things off. If we manage to hit some of the corvettes early on, we might be able to take out their crews and keep them from coming into the fight.” Iriel’s tired voice had started to recover her usual enthusiasm.
Jacob turned to the Marine sergeant. “Chiun, do you think the new recruits can handle the pirate crews?”
She nodded slowly, her expression carefully blank. “I believe so, sir. They should stick to smaller targets like the corvettes and frigates, or else they will be overwhelmed.” Iriel nodded her agreement.
“Okay, let’s talk about what the other ships should target then.” Jacob tapped another button on the desk, and the image of Reefhome dissolved into the enemy fleet. At over twenty vessels strong, the small group of wireframes seemed daunting. “What are our priorities?”
Taylor spoke up first. “The carriers and transports. If the little boats get launched, our group will get overwhelmed fast. Besides, the little buggers are hard to hit. The transports could do even more damage just by docking with the station, or worse, pulling up alongside one of the corvettes Iriel is hitting.” Others murmured their agreement.
Ashford, on the other hand, was shaking his head belligerently. “I’d think we would do better hitting the frigates and the destroyer. They’re a bigger danger to us in the long run, and if we can manage to cripple them before the combat starts, we’ll last a lot longer.” He paused. “Besides, if we take out the Bloodthorne, the others aren’t going to be very excited about sticking around to fight us.”
Jacob had opened his mouth to offer his opinion when the reader in his pocket beeped at him. He stopped drew the small device out with one hand. With a frown, he read the message on the screen while the others continued the debate.
“…But the little ones have the maneuverability,” Taylor was saying. “I’m telling you, if the carriers get off all of those boats, or even just a few torpedoes, they won’t need the Bloodthorne to be active. All they will need are a few lucky hits.”
“And they’re going to launch and risk getting stuck after the flagship just blew up?” Ashford shook his head adamantly. “I don’t think so.”
Singh coughed lightly into his hand. “Pardon me, Sergeant, if we don’t want to risk all of our lives on what you think.”
The Marine bristled, but Jacob cut him off before the tirade could begin. “I’m afraid I have an issue I need to take care of. If you all want to continue the discussion, please move to the briefing room on your own quarters.” He looked at the door to the office. “Keep it civil, please, and don’t start rumors among the new crewmen if you can avoid it. I have enough problems to deal with already. Dismissed.”
The officers got up from their seats and grumbled at each other as they moved out of the doorway. Just outside the door, two men stood on either side of the opening, letting the officers pass between them rather than standing on the same side. Turley and Yorkshire were glaring at each other, fists clenched and teeth grinding in rage. Jacob resisted the urge to groan wh
en he saw the looks on their faces. This is going to be a long meeting. He waited until the last of the officers had retreated down the hall before he waved the two engineers inside.
Turley barely paused long enough to shut the door before launching into his angry tirade. “Hull, this fool has been sabotaging our ships! The damn tinkerer could have—”
Yorkshire’s snarl cut the white bearded engineer short. “Could have what? Done your job for you, you ingrate? If you weren’t so blind you’d see—”
“I’ll tell ya what the hell I’m seein’, you little—”
“Gentlemen!” Jacob’s voice brought the two men's heads around to look at him. He waved for them to sit, and after another tense moment of shooting each other threatening glares, they did. Jacob let them settle back and cool down before he turned to Turley. “All right, Petty Officer. Tell me what happened.”
Turley raised an almost indignant eyebrow at the use of his formal rank, and then started in again. “I found this spacer tech adding extra plating to the interior of the Wolfhound. He claimed to have authorization from you to do it, but the way he was adding the damn stuff is going to raise three kinds of hell if I don’t put it back the way it was.”
Yorkshire made a sound of protest, but Jacob cut him off with a short glare. “You’ll get your turn, Mr. Yorkshire. How much of a turn you get will depend on how much respect you show the Petty Officer here.” Jacob turned back to Turley, who was smiling at his opponent’s discomfort. “So you found him making changes. What happened next?”
A furrow suddenly appeared on Turley’s forehead. The engineer seemed to be a little taken aback by the question. “Well, I, uh…” He trailed off for a few seconds before continuing. “I demanded to know what he was even doing on the ship. He said he was part of the repair crew you set up. I said, uh…” Turley trailed off again, then he glanced at the ceiling. “I might have said something about the quality of their work, and then things escalated from there.”
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