Convoy (The Shelby Logan Chronicles Book 1)

by Chris Hechtl

  “Sorry. Thanks for the warning though, it saved our bacon,” Captain Z'll replied.

  “Well, it saved your bacon, but it won't help the people here much. But, I've got an idea to give them some advanced warning,” Captain V'z'xx said twenty-two minutes later. “Send us your logs Captain, I want your ship to provision and refuel quickly, then take up station here on this jump point. When you see the enemy force arrive, warn the planet, and then jump for Tau-1929.”

  “Play rear guard in other words,” Captain Z'll replied forty-four minutes later. “I think we can do that. And we can do the same for Samos and Delos too I suppose,” the captain replied. “Log transmission commencing now,” the Veraxin captain said.

  “Thank you, Captain,” Captain V'z'xx replied as the comm section indicated the receipt of incoming data. “What were you coming for anyway?”

  “We have news from the capital as well as a ship movement notice,” Captain Z'll replied forty-four inevitable minutes later. “Check the orders. We were supposed to let you know Mercy Flights 1 and 2 were coming,” the Veraxin captain stated.

  “We got that from the messenger buoy here,” the T'clock captain said. “But thank you,” he said. “Hopefully they are okay,” he said.

  “The way Lady Luck is running right now, I doubt it,” the Veraxin retorted.

  “Don't curse us,” the T'clock replied as his ships began to charge their hyperdrives. “Lady Luck's blessings,” he said as he noted the other ship making its way to the planet. “See you in the capital,” he said.

  ]][#]]]{OO}===}==>

  ME Mahoney and Shrill Kill made good time in the middle octaves of Gamma band and arrived in the Tau-1929 star system two and a half weeks later. They immediately put in a radio call to the planets with the warning. Halfway across the solar system they received a reply from both planetary governors.

  “We heard. Your couriers passed on the warning. Thank you,” Governor Los said. “How bad is it really?”

  “Bad. We're talking a battlecruiser with escorts,” Captain V'z'xx reported.

  “Can't you stop them?” Governor Farnsworth demanded, anxiety creeping into his voice.

  “Not with one warship! Shrill Kill's crew is game to give it a try, but it would be futile. She's just a destroyer, Governor. We're going to warn others and get help,” the T'clock said firmly.

  “Thanks for nothing! You people said you'd stop them!” Governor Farnsworth snarled; voice filled with fear and tension as he lashed out at the one group he could.

  “They may not notice you if they are intent on us and think you are mostly dead,” the T'clock captain said patiently. “If they see you are transmitting, know you are alive, they might drop rocks on you. I recommend you go bush.”

  “Understood,” Governor Los replied.

  “Thanks for nothing,” Governor Farnsworth growled, clearly thoroughly disgusted and disillusioned by the Federation. “You people …”

  “Can it, Farnsworth! They are at least trying to do something! What have you done? They came all this way …”

  “No one asked them to! We'd be better off …”

  “What? With the plague? Remember, the pirates spread the damn thing!” The Tauren governor reminded him.

  “They said that but …”

  “Oh for the love of …” The Tauren governor sputtered into swearing for a full minute before he stopped. “Mahoney, my people thank you. Go. Lady Luck's blessings.”

  “To you and yours as well Governor. Both of you,” Captain V'z'xx said quietly.

  “I wish we could do more,” Captain Fowler said over a private channel. Captain V'z'xx gave a human-style nod. He too felt mounting guilt over leaving not only their own people behind but also tens of thousands of helpless civilians. That wasn't how the navy was supposed to operate.

  “The good news is, our ships are far faster both in sublight and hyperspace. We are most likely weeks, possibly months ahead of the enemy ships,” the Neogorilla continued.

  “How goes repairs?” Captain V'z'xx asked.

  “We are making do. Some of the work is a yard job,” the Neogorilla said gruffly. “What can I say, boys dig scars,” she said in a dust dry voice.

  “Then they should love yours,” the T'clock captain replied, looking at an image of the Arboth class destroyer. Her stern had been kissed heavily.

  “Are we doing the right thing, Koko? Should we, or should I say, you, go back for the people we left behind? Surly the enemy has jumped by now,” the T'clock said.

  There was a long pause on the radio, long enough to make the bug wonder if the other captain had heard her questions. Finally, she got a response. “We have to think about the safety of the ships and mission,” Captain Fowler said quietly. “That's the hard part about being a captain, making calls like that. Hopefully, they can go to ground. We'll be back for them. Count on that much.”

  “Definitely.”

  “They can tear apart anything, and we'll just rebuild it. Stronger and better each time. We can't replace the lives lost, but we can do our best to make a better tomorrow, eventually without them,” the Neogorilla growled.

  “Preaching to the choir,” the T'clock said in agreement.

  ]][#]]]{OO}===}==>

  “Ar, no defenses around the jump point. No sign of ships, Cap'n,” a rating reported as Black Death and her consorts safed their hyperdrives from jump.

  The Neochimp captain turned to his Admiral but saw the Neocat had already heard. “Your orders, sir?” he asked.

  “Make for the next jump point at best speed,” the admiral ordered.

  ]][#]]]{OO}===}==>

  “They are here,” the sensor rating reported.

  Captain Z'll grunted. “Comm, raise the planet and get the warning out now. They should have a good three-day head start,” he said.

  “Aye aye, sir. Warning transmitted,” the ship's A.I. reported.

  The pirate task force had been picked up by Blitzen's telescope. They had of course arrived twenty minutes prior, the pulse of light had taken that long to reach them on the other side of the solar system. But their arrival had triggered the crew of the courier ship to do their duty and warn Lebynthos. “I don't like playing rear guard but at least we can give the population some warning,” Captain Z'll said.

  “How long do we wait here, sir?” his XO asked.

  “Good question. I want to see if they go for the planet or not before we jump,” the captain replied. “The better we get their timing down the better we'll know their moves and the window they'll arrive in the next star system and so on,” he said.

  “Yes, sir,” Shannon replied dubiously.

  “Don't worry; I won't let it go on too long. Comm, while you are at it, update the messenger buoy and set that script up to trigger.”

  “Aye aye, sir,” the ship's A.I. replied.

  ]][#]]]{OO}===}==>

  “Admiral, our sensors are picking up a ship across the solar system on the Tau-1929 jump point. She's just sitting there,” CIC reported.

  Admiral Ishmael growled as he studied the contact report. The distance was too far for radar or lidar to get a clean reading, but he was fairly confident it was some sort of rear guard picket keeping tabs on his forces progress.

  “Smart,” Captain Baker growled. He was clearly unhappy like his Admiral. “Right where we can't get to them in time.”

  “Exactly,” the admiral rumbled.

  When he put in a conference call with the captains, he was surprised to hear from Captain Layafette. “Sir, we've noted a lot of traffic in the star system recently. There are some ion trails which I assume lead to the Tau-27KC jump point.”

  “Kingdom Come,” Captain Baker said. “That would most likely be Saladin carrying your plague,” he said gruffly.

  “It isn't my plague per se,” the human captain replied.

  “Whatever. Based on these readings she's already jumped for Asterion IX,” the Neochimp retorted.

  “Pity, we could have used her,” the admiral
said mildly.

  Captain Baker looked at him for a moment, and then shrugged. “More booty for us,” Captain Baker replied.

  That earned a chorus of “Ar's” and cat calls from the other ship captains.

  “Then we have an accord. We march on the next system.”

  “What about this planet here, sir?” Captain Layafette asked.

  “Tis' been infected. We dare not risk landing now,” the admiral replied. “We make do,” he said.

  “Aye aye, sir,” the captain of Fancy replied.

  “A problem, Captain?” the admiral asked, eyeing the human.

  “It's just … the planet. It is quiet. Too quiet. We saw that hospital ship, so they had to have been here too. What happened to the population?”

  “Ah,” the admiral said, sharing a tight-lipped smile with his flag captain. “Likely they went bush,” the admiral said dryly. That earned a snort from the other captains. “Tis' something the lubbers do when they know we be comin' a callin',” he drawled. “No matter. They not be the targets of this chase,” he growled. “On to the next star system, me maties!”

  ]][#]]]{OO}===}==>

  Mercy Flight 1 arrived happily in the Tau-1183 star system. The returning ships had left a battered but surviving population on Kingdom Come to rebuild on their own. Once they were settled, Captain Cho Branigan of Herd Culler contacted the messenger buoy for news as the ships began to shape a course to the Tau-XXX jump point. The buoy immediately broadcast a warning of the enemy ships coming to the star system. Governor Shaver called within a minute to confirm the enemy was there.

  “What the hell?” Captain Branigan snarled. “CIC, didn't you check the neutrino detector?”

  “Shi … I mean no, Captain,” a chastened noncom said. “Doing so … multiple ships detected crossing the star system now sir. Also … one ship detected sitting on the Tau-1929 jump point.”

  “We're trapped,” Captain Branigan said, cursing. He vowed to do something about the CIC watch at a later time if they survived what was coming their way. From the weight of metal, he had his serious doubts. “Comm, open a channel to 1353,” the human snarled. “Nav, get us turned around fast. We need to get back to that jump point and the hell out of here,” he said.

  Captain Bzz'k'll of 1353 heard that last statement as the channel opened. “We can't jump back! It's a cul-de-sac!”

  “Look, Bzz'k'll, we're faster than them. We go there, and then wait it out. If they follow, we jump back here.”

  “And if they leave forces in either place?” Captain Bzz'k'll demanded.

  “We're screwed either way! This way we have a shot. Running the gauntlet is suicide,” Captain Branigan said.

  “Right,” Captain Bzz'k'll said after staring at the plot. Doctor Taylor arrived on the bridge. The captain turned to the doctor. “Doc, it looks like we're going to revisit Kingdom Come sooner rather than later,” he said dryly.

  ]][#]]]{OO}===}==>

  Admiral Ishmael's instinct to chase the prey kicked in, but he quickly stamped it down as the navigators ran the numbers. When it came back, he grunted in irritation. The geometry prevented them from getting a ship to the enemy in time to prevent them from escaping. Reluctantly he decided to let them go.

  He was tempted to send a ship after them or place one at their jump point and wait them out. They were jumping into a cul-de-sac after all. But something told him he'd need all of his ships for the main prize.

  ]][#]]]{OO}===}==>

  The crew of Blitzen saw Mercy Flight 1 jump in and collectively held their breath. Mercifully, the ships managed to get warning of the danger and jumped back out the way they had come before their radio warning got to them. “That's a relief, even if they are going into a cul-de-sac. They have a slim chance of surviving.”

  “Yeah. The enemy isn't going after them. They seem to be coming our way,” Shannon said.

  “Understood. Comm, radio the planet. Tight beam if you please. Let them know what is happening,” the captain ordered. “Shannon, warm up our hyperdrive. We have a jump for Tau-1929 to prep for.”

  “Jump checklist loading now,” the A.I. stated.

  Chapter 43

  Tau-1252 Capital

  Cupid arrived in the capital and after broadcasting her IFF, began to transmit a warning of impeding trouble coming their way like an out of control stampede.

  Shelby received the warning from the courier through the tachyon network. She also received the courier's log, including a notation that the little ship had suffered a series of minor engineering glitches that had slowed her down.

  She spent some time swearing at the disruption to her carefully laid plans. Then she began to issue orders. Her first orders were for the tugs to begin to move the picket defenses. She was torn though on which jump point to picket. She was also torn and a feeling a bit guilty about not defending forward in the Tau-1929 star system to attrition enemy.

  She played with her lip thoughtfully. If she did that, she could theoretically hit them and then fall back, throwing the enemy off and bleeding them, perhaps enough to deter them. But if she did that badly enough to hurt them but not kill, they might turn around all right, but then go for the civilian populations to make up their losses … and out of revenge.

  That didn't sit well with her. She wanted it over with; she wanted the bastards down and dead. The only way to do that was to suck them in and then blow the shit out of them.

  “Folks, we're in a Little Bighorn situation,” she said to her captains and senior officers once they had assembled for the teleconference.

  “And that means, ma'am?”

  “Goth plan. We're in an 'On Death Ground Fight,' situation,” Janice said quietly.

  “Not exactly. But we are in a crack. The best way to deal with it is to suck the enemy in with us, then blow the ever-living shit out of them,” Shelby said.

  “Little Bighorn. Got it,” Captain Kaluha said with a grin as some of the other captain's nodded at the commodore's wit.

  “Exactly. But that means we're going to have to pull out all the stops. I mean all of them. We're going to work until we drop on the defenses,” Shelby said grimly.

  “I don't know how many extra gears we can find, ma'am,” Commander Sulistyo replied.

  Shelby frowned thoughtfully. She'd promoted the Neochimp off of Prometheus to the rank of lieutenant commander a week prior to take over command of the shipyard. Oz had been promoted to First Lieutenant and given the chief engineer slot on Prometheus since no one else of equivalent experience was available.

  “I've got some ideas for force multipliers. According to Cupid's logs, the other ships haven't been caught yet. They'll give us some indication of timing. The good news is, contrary to ancient Terra's Napoleon, we not only have time to prepare, and we also have the means and the intelligence of the upcoming attack. So ladies and gentlemen, let's not squander that, shall we?” she demanded.

  The various species began to signal assent.

  “The good news is, we have Shrill Kill report too. Let us not forget that,” Commander Sulistyo pointed out. “I've already got engineers pulling parts based on her report and logs. By the time she gets here we'll have everything she needs to plug back in and get her back into space in as short a time as possible,” the engineer said.

  “Good then,” Shelby replied. “Here is what else we're going to do.”

  ]][#]]]{OO}===}==>

  For the moment, the civilian population had been kept in the dark about the possible invasion. Shelby was too busy marshaling her forces and shifting resources to improve the defenses.

  The first four sublight frigates built by the yard were still working out their various teething issues; therefore, they had been relegated to covering the Tortuga and other jump points. That had freed up Janice Yu's Captain Zlanka as well as the frigates and corvettes covering those jump points to join the defenses around the Tau-1929 jump point.

  The fifth sublight frigate was down for a drive rebuild. The yard dogs kept assuring h
er that they'd get her and the sixth ship out into space, but Shelby had her doubts. Until they got further along she put the crew back in their old gunboat. She also tabled the start of construction of the sixth frigate for the time being, she had to switch all production to other defenses.

  The four gunboats that had been cleared for crew to man the first four frigates had been re-crewed by a mix of newly trained native enlisted and a couple of the noncoms and officers to ride herd on them. Their scores weren't as high as anyone would like, but they were slowly improving them.

  She could have put a lot more sublight ships in space if she hadn't skimmed off the production of their fusion reactors and other components to focus on another force multiplier project. One that was a kludge of parts but Cynthia and Commander Sulistyo had finally debugged and were putting into production.

  Her best option for the moment was to get as many missile pods and drones out there as possible. There was one thing that nagged at her though, the lack of intelligence on the enemy ship's capabilities. They needed more information.

  ]][#]]]{OO}===}==>

  The arrival of ME Mahoney and Shrill Kill was a relief for the personnel in the star system, but it only underscored the seriousness of the situation. Their arrival only briefly paused the frantic work on the jump point's meager defenses.

  Both ships transmitted their reports. The transmissions were relatively anticlimactic; they had already sent their reports and logs on ahead with the couriers.

  “We're being called over to the flagship,” Captain Fowler said. “I'll need a shuttle.”

  “I'm surprised she's here,” the XO said.

  “I'm not,” the Neogorilla captain said. “You've got the ship. Make sure engineering sticks to the rebuild schedule. Get their lists to the flagship. I'll bring the wounded with me.”

  “Fortunately few of them,” the XO said with a grimace.

  Four hours later Captains Fowler and V'z'xx arrived in Commodore Logan's office for their initial debriefing. The T'clock checked out the Neogorilla in uniform and bobbed an antenna.