by Chris Hechtl
“Going to be an interesting morning,” Janice observed dryly.
“Yeah,” Shelby said, studying the enemy formation. She saw that the enemy had their six destroyers in a classic wedge formation ahead to screen the other ships. The eight cruisers were behind that, spread out in front of the battlecruiser. Behind the battlecruiser five more ships, most likely a fleet train brought up the rear of the formation.
It was a more classical formation than most might have anticipated of the Gather Fleet. It shouldn't have been she thought with a mental kick; it suited the Gather Fleet. The destroyers would act as a screen and beaters while also able to run down and pin enemy ships to allow the slower ships to get in to engage them. They would also protect the flagship from her picket defenses she knew.
“We won't be able to get an early shot in on the cruisers and Black Death. The tin cans will intercept the fire first,” Lieutenant Brudbaker warned, echoing the commodore's thoughts.
“He's right, ma'am,” Janice replied.
“I know and I agree. Go with Baker One, Janice,” Shelby ordered. “Bleed them as much as possible, hit the screen and score as many kills as you can with the weapons. We'll just have to take what we can get with the cruisers and battlecruiser,” she ordered the picket ships. Janice nodded curtly. “We'll be moving in shortly Janice, stay alive,” she said. “Fall back on us when they break out. If not fall back on the third tier.”
“Understood, ma'am, we'll do our best,” Captain Yu replied with a second nod.
Shelby turned her head. “Comm, general signal to all units not here. Rally one. Repeat, Rally One. Ollie Ollie In Free on the Flag,” she ordered.
“Aye aye, ma’am,” Lieutenant Jardin said. The signal went out to all ships in the star system to head to the flagship at their best speed. They would form the last line of defense if necessary.
“With your permission ma'am …,” Janice said firmly.
“Kick some ass, Janice,” Shelby said with a nod.
“Oh, I intend to,” Janice replied grimly as she cut the video channel.
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“Flag ordered Baker One. Spot the Alpha birds and put them on the screen. Beta birds are for the cruisers. The weapon platforms will fire on the cruisers and the battlecruiser,” Janice ordered. “All ships, conserve your fire but keep your eyes and ears open. We need to learn as much as possible while we can. Fire only when they get across the line,” she said, indicating a dotted line, which was actually a globe where their outer engagement zone for the ships lay.
“Alpha targets acquired, ma'am. Ready to fire,” her tactical officer replied. “The destroyers are in the outer engagement zone and moving steadily inward at ten KPS. They'll be in engagement zone of the missile pods and platforms in two mikes,” he said. He passed the targeting criteria over to the missiles and to the heavy cruisers assigned to control the Alpha birds.
Shelby had ordered capital ship grade missile pods to be built for the picket defenses. Each missile pod housed ten massive long-range birds. The large Raphael-XO class missiles were complex birds so they had slowed production; therefore, they didn't have as many as they'd like. Not all of them would be in range either. But what they did have were longer ranged than cruiser grade missiles and would therefore have plenty of time left on their clocks when they got into the final attack stage to maneuver as needed.
“Alpha pods fire!” Janice barked.
“Alpha birds away,” her tactical officer replied.
“Spot the Baker pods,” Janice ordered.
“Baker pods targets … acquired,” the tactical officer said. Baker was being handled by the tactical departments of the other light cruisers in the picket force. There were three hundred missiles but they were above the plane of the ecliptic, the current orientation of the enemy ships. If the enemy moved in either direction the birds in the other direction would have a longer flight time and potentially burn out before they got to their intended destinations.
The three hundred Gamma pods were on the direct plus and negative Y axis but were scattered in an attempt to cover a large volume of space. They would be controlled by Captain Zlanka and the two heavy cruisers assigned to Alpha Flight or by the frigates and corvettes if need be. Unfortunately, it looked like they were at the extreme range of fire as they were, and the enemy didn't seem to have any intention of entering their kill zones.
As they watched, the plot sparkled with clusters of missiles being launched from the Alpha birds.
“Beta pods fire on the tick,” Janice said.
“Aye ma'am, Beta birds on the tick,” the tactical officer said, locking the command script into the computer and then waiting with his thumb hovering over the red button. He watched the clock as it counted down to zero. “Firing Beta!” he said.
“Only a third of Gamma Flight will get to the capital ship, ma'am. Another minute and they'll be out of range to be effective,” tactical warned.
“Fire the ones that have the range now. See if they can bring the battlecruiser under fire and make them divide their resources,” the captain ordered.
“Aye aye, ma’am, Gamma birds away!” the tactical officer replied.
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“This is it, sir, it has to be,” Captain Baker said as he noted the wall of platforms blocking them from entering the inner star system directly. CIC continued to paint the plot, showing a curve of what appeared to be mines englobing the jump point.
“Ar,” the admiral said in agreement.
The admiral noted the fixed defenses around the jump point as well. They weren't thick enough or strong enough to deter him and Black Death though. But they did force him to hesitate, to sit on the jump point for a moment as his starship's systems switched from hyperspace to defense.
“Vampire! I say again Vampire! Multiple missiles incoming on multiple vectors. The clock has been started,” CIC reported, voice shifting from surprise and tense to more professional tones.
The battle was completely unexpected the admiral thought. That was rather stupid of him, he realized. If they were willing to ambush him in Tau-1929 as he jumped out, he should have been prepared for an ambush when he jumped in. It was the best time to catch his ships with their systems degraded and off balance.
“Missile defense Baker,” the captain growled as he walked over to the tactical section. The admiral left him to it. Most of the missiles were targeted on the nearest ships, which meant the tin cans and cruisers.
“Long-range rail gun fire detected,” CIC reported. “Multiple incoming rounds, one hundred plus. Mass over one ton,” the rating said.
“All ships jink,” the admiral said mildly. “Keep them jinking on a random time and course helm,” the admiral ordered.
“Aye, sir, dance,” the Neochimp helmsman said.
The admiral grunted as he turned his attention to the bigger picture once more. He noted that the mines were there to pen his forces up on the jump point while the missile pods and gun platforms did the real killing. The missile pods and long range weapon platforms were indeed firing to tear into him as he got the lay of the land.
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“We're getting the tin cans, the small fry. They've got them out as a screen,” Lieutenant Brudbaker warned.
“The missiles had to be used,” Cynthia said as she watched 240 capital ship grade missiles go after six destroyers. “Captain Yu knows what she's doing,” she said.
“Aye, ma'am. Tango counter missiles have been fired. Alpha missiles are entering the coast phase in four seconds.”
“Understood,” Cynthia replied.
“Beta missiles have fired. I say again, Beta has fired,” Lieutenant Brudbaker reported just as the first wave of missiles cut their drives and began to coast.
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The 240 missiles of Alpha Flight had been fired at long range to keep their launchers out of range of the enemy screen. They finished their boost phase and then entered the coast phase. Shrouds were ejecte
d, as were decoys and puffs of thermal gel and tinsel to confuse the enemy's sensors.
Counter missiles leapt out to meet them. Some of the missile spread died, but others behind them moved in to fill the void. Thousands of missiles had been launched. There was no way the ships could stop them all.
Desperate crews tried anyway, firing counter missiles and rail gun point defense systems into the starry night, turning it bright with an explosion every second or so. Sometimes a missile tried to maneuver out of a field of fire and jostled its fellows into another field of fire, or collided.
But enough missiles managed to survive through the coast phase to boost one last time with a burp of energy, and then kick their submunitions loose. The plots of the pirate ships seemed to multiply as the 124 surviving missiles each spat eight submunitions as well as decoys and ECM packages.
The boosters continued to coast in, deploying more puffs of tinsel and deliberately over lighting their engines to draw in the enemy's fire while the submunitions spread apart to get clear. The munitions worked in a carefully coordinated electronic network to allocate the final targets and the timing of the ECM munitions. The ships had over five thousand targets on their scopes, of which only 992 were real and potentially deadly.
The cruisers fired their own counter missiles and point defense to help protect the destroyers. Some were slow to begin firing but then opened up with their point defense. That didn't last long; they had to shift their fire away to defend themselves when Beta Flight came close to entering their outer counter missile engagement zones.
The 623 surviving submunitions lit their small boost engines as they entered the final attack stage. More were cut down, but 487 survived to tear into the destroyer screen. Of that number, 395 were warheads, the rest were ECM and other countermeasure packages.
Frantically the ships tried last ditch maneuvers to throw off the aim of the incoming fire.
Ships erupted in nuclear fire, which tore down energy shields and ripped apart armor. Their armor was never designed to handle the firepower of a capital ship munition, besides; they were old, battered by age, use, exposure to the elements, and poor repairs. Three of the destroyers took hits from two hundred warheads and were instantly torn apart in eye searing balls of nuclear fury.
Castrator rocked as warhead after warhead got through. “I never signed on for …,” Captain Burke would never have the chance to finish that sentence. Nor would the captains and crew of Tender Mercy, Stingy Jack as they too were destroyed, some dying cursing the admiral and his stupidity.
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“Oh my fracking word,” Commander Misaki muttered as the bridge crew watched in horror as all six of the destroyers were destroyed. One moment they'd been there, the next they were expanding balls of fire and vaporized debris.
“And now it looked like it was Fancy's turn as missile after missile came roaring in.
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“Tango destroyers destroyed, ma'am,” the tactical officer reported. “All six accounted for, ma'am.”
“Talk about overkill,” a rating muttered, just loud enough to be heard.
“In this, I'll take overkill if it means they are dead. Continue the engagement,” Captain Yu growled.
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“That's one way to blood their nose,” Lieutenant Prometheus said after Lieutenant Brudbaker reported the destruction of the enemy destroyer screen.
“The question is, will they get smart and back off or keep coming ready to draw their own blood?” Shelby asked.
“I think we're going to find out now, ma'am,” Cynthia said. “And I think we're going to be sadly disappointed with Gamma Flight's numbers,” she said.
“That's not all we're going to be disappointed with,” Shelby observed. The rail guns had only found their marks a few times she noted. The enemy ships were twisting and maneuvering to get out of the line of fire. They'd scored some hits, but few, all too few. The energy platforms would be getting into range shortly … those that survived and were in the general direction of the remaining enemy ships.
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Gamma Flight, the last of the missile pods fired on one target, the battlecruiser. Only a third of the missile pods had the range to fire. The rest were held back. One hundred missiles were fired from the ship's starboard side at the battlecruiser as it rose majestically to climb over the minefield. However, the ship and her surviving consorts wove a web of counter missiles and point defense to take down a majority of the missiles before they could get beyond the coast phase. Twenty-six missiles managed to deploy their submunitions. Two hundred and eight submunitions spread out in a wave targeting the capital ship. Sixty of those munitions were purely ECM and decoys.
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Captain Baker had been overseeing Tactical's efforts to defend the screen and cruisers. He hadn't been happy by the initial poor showing of his ship's gunnery crews, but they seemed to get better as the seconds dragged on. He turned to the Admiral.
“Sir, we're penned in. We need to either jump or get out of this trap,” Captain Baker said, fighting to keep his voice even and professional as his ship was shot up around him. It wasn't easy; he'd had it his own way for decades. He had never seen six ships lost so quickly in one battle. And the battle was just getting started he knew.
“Use the rail guns. Target the mines. Use nukes to sweep a path. Fire the nukes to blind the weapon pods and sweep the missiles. Tactical! Fire nukes along the bow! Give those missiles a broadside! Give 'em hell and clear us a path!” the admiral snarled, using the blade of his hand to indicate a direction.
“Helm, plot us a course up and over those mines!” Captain Baker barked. The admiral turned to him. “Go where they are the thinnest,” the captain said. The admiral nodded.
The task force's maneuver to go over the mines threw some of the surviving submunitions' off track. The capital grade nuclear weapons exploding danger close to their own ships swept many of the submunitions away. Only half of the irradiated warheads managed to get into final acquisition range, ten warheads went off along the starboard flank of the battlecruiser, battering her shields down by half.
“Return fire as the enemy ships get into range!” the admiral snarled. “If the weapon platforms are in range, so are our weapons! Fire!” he growled.
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Baker flight began to get torn up by cruiser counter missiles, then the ship's point defense. There was much more point defense in the cruisers than the other ships; some cruiser skippers turned broadside to give their entire flank weapons a chance to defend the ship and her consorts, though typically they only fired to protect their consorts after the fact or on accident.
Fancy had the best chances of survival since she had been recently refitted in the Horathian home yard less than a decade prior. She had proper phaser point defense clusters, not rail gun turrets. Her ECM was also far more efficient at spoofing some of the enemy fire.
The maneuver to rise over the minefield blocking their path made the munitions that had been launched from the ventral missile pods go off target. Their final boost phases tried to make up the difference but many were easily picked off.
One hundred seventy-eight missiles survived to release their submunitions. One thousand four hundred twenty-four submunitions spread out in a wall of death, but they were immediately pocketed by sweeping fire from the cruisers. Nine hundred thirty-three were warheads, the rest were decoys and ECM packages. Three quarters or seven hundred warheads had the time remaining on their clocks to continue to come in under some power; the rest were tumbling and out of the engagement. One by one the warheads that were not going to strike went off to blind the enemy sensors and to not present themselves as a hazard to future navigation.
Of the seven hundred, 433 were cut down by the eight cruisers, leaving 277 warheads spread out over the eight cruisers. The two cruisers closest to the warheads got the most attention, with roughly eighty missiles targeting each ship.
>
So much attention was too much for them to endure. The light cruiser Fester erupted in nuclear fire as her shields went down. One too many hits tore into her hull. She exploded under the onslaught of fire. The medium cruiser Dementia was also in the direct line of fire so she also joined her consort in death.
Hannah, Whidah, Thrill Kill, Black Corsage, Fancy, and Crapshoot all took varying degrees of damage.
Chapter 46
Janice grimaced when her CIC reported the maneuver. “Comm, all ships, climb with them. We need to keep them at extreme range of the cruisers. All other ships are on defense.”
“Aye aye, ma’am,” the comm rating replied.
“Helm, execute that order. I want us to keep the range at medium to max. Don't let them get too close, especially that big boy. If they jink towards us to get into energy range, move us clear.”
“Aye aye, ma’am,” the helmsman replied in a subdued voice.
Janice couldn't blame him, playing with a battlecruiser was like playing with a bully twice your size and more than ready than to just pound you flat.
“They are taking out our weapon pods,” Lieutenant Lang over at Tactical warned.
Janice looked up and frowned at the status board. “I see it,” Janice replied. “Focus them on the battlecruiser and targets of opportunity before we lose them.” She didn't have high hopes for the rail guns. They were inaccurate; the enemy was dodging the fire too well. The beam weapons were out of range for the moment. “Order them to bob and weave,” she added.
“Aye, ma'am.”
“Launch all fighters. Defensive formation Kilo for the moment,” Janice ordered, turning to the JTO.
“Launch all fighters, aye. Defensive formation Kilo, aye,” the tactical officer echoed.
“A.I. see if you can infiltrate their systems. Don't do anything rash, just see what you can do,” she ordered.