The damaged Juggernaut moved sluggishly as its thrusters glowed with exhaust.
“What’s happening with the intact Juggernaut?” Valerie asked.
“I have connected with the probes at the equator,” Galyan said. “The main Juggernaut is readying its heavy lasers. It will fire momentarily.”
“Weapons,” Valerie said. “I need the disruptor cannon. We must kill the wounded Juggernaut. If it gets away—”
“I’m working on it, Lieutenant,” the weapons officer said.
Valerie nodded as she heard the antimatter engines build up. She made a fist, squeezing harder and harder as she leaned on her armrest.
“Enemy vessel targeted,” weapons said.
“Helm, get our ship moving,” Valerie said.
“Aye-aye, Lieutenant.”
Victory began to give chase, although it moved even more slowly than the escaping Juggernaut.
“What’s the intact Juggernaut doing?” Valerie asked.
“It is continuing to accelerate at the decoy,” Galyan said. “Perhaps they think we are the decoy. Plus, the decoy Victory is right there. It might as well attack it before returning here.”
Valerie cocked her head. That seemed like computer logic. Did that only mean that Galyan was thinking like a computer, as he did from time to time, or did it mean they faced a computer-commanded enemy?
“The disrupter cannon is ready,” weapons said. “I am targeted on a hole in the armor.”
“Fire,” Valerie whispered.
A whine sounded throughout the starship. A second later, the intense disruptor beam reached the accelerating Juggernaut. The beam thrust into the open wound. The ray boiled away inner alloys, turning them liquid and then into gas. Bubbles appeared as the beam chewed deeper and deeper into the stricken vessel.
“I have full maneuvering capability,” the helmsman said. “I can close in.”
“No,” Valerie said. “Let’s keep our distance. We have the better long-range weapon, and we don’t want to get hit with its death throes.”
“The enemy vessel is rotating,” sensors said.
The disrupter beam no longer burned into the same location. Instead, the beam lashed along the tough outer alloy as the ball-shaped Juggernaut rotated.
“Why’s it doing that?” Valerie asked herself.
“Maybe it wishes to close with us,” Galyan said. “If its commander knows it is going to die, why not try to take us with it as it self-destructs.”
“Find a weak spot,” Valerie said. “Bore into that thing.”
Sensors and weapons worked together, attempting to keep the beam on one location even as the spheroid rotated. At that point, a former rent exposed itself on the Juggernaut.
“I’m locked on!” weapons shouted triumphantly. “Now, we’ll show them.”
The disrupter beam burned into a great gaping hole in the outer armor. The devastating ray boiled away at the less-armored interior bulkheads. The beam smashed through one bulkhead after another, digging deeper into the interior.
“Compared to last time, the Juggernaut should have exploded by now,” Galyan said. “I wonder if they have shut down much of the inner war-vessel. Look. It has stopped rotating. Now, it is braking, using its thrusters to slow its momentum. I was correct. It is going to attempt to close with us.”
Valerie’s right fist hurt from clutching her fingers so tightly. Why couldn’t they get a clean kill for once? Why did it always have to be so difficult?
“I am receiving images from the decoy starship,” Galyan said.
“Belay that,” Valerie said. “I’m interested in this battle. One thing at a time, Galyan.”
“We’ll have to shut down the disrupter beam for a moment,” weapons said. “The cannon is beginning to overheat.”
“No,” Valerie said. “Take out the enemy vessel first.”
“If we do that,” weapons said, “we risk damaging the disrupter cannon. We’re going to need it again to face the other Juggernaut.”
Valerie bit her lower lip. “Give me thirty seconds. Surely, we can keep the cannon going for thirty more seconds.”
“Lieutenant,” Andros Crank said, his gray eyes shining. “This is a serious situation. If we lose the disrupter, our odds for ultimate success diminish to almost nothing. I suggest you—”
“Shut off the disrupter cannon,” Valerie said reluctantly. If Andros looked that worried, she’d better listen to the advice. “Start up the neutron beam. Keep hitting that wound.”
The mighty disrupter cannon shut down, and the constant whine ceased. Now, a weaker purple ray took its place. The neutron beam was a shorter-ranged weapon, but they were still close enough to do heavy damage. The neutron beam did not have to contend with the amazing alien alloy, but struck deeper against interior bulkheads.
“Get ready,” the sensors officer said. “I’m reading strange—”
Abruptly, the Juggernaut became an incandescent ball of annihilation, spewing heat, EMP and terrible radiation in all directions.
“Everything to the shields,” Valerie said.
The next few seconds were fraught with heart-pounding anticipation, but the bridge crew had been through this before. They were also farther from the Juggernaut compared to last time. The blast, heat, EMP and radiation struck Victory’s strengthened shield. The shield shifted colors, turning red, but the shield held against everything the destroyed vessel could throw at it.
At last, the frightening moment passed.
Valerie slumped back in her chair. “Status report,” she said. “What kind of damage did we take?”
“Nothing,” an officer said. “We took no damage.”
“I am proud of you,” Andros Crank said. “You took out the Juggernaut cleanly. That was wonderful work, Lieutenant. You pulled off the perfect maneuver.”
Valerie wanted to glow in the admiration. She didn’t have time, though. “What about the second Juggernaut? What’s happening with it?”
“That is what I have been trying to tell you,” Galyan said.
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The intact Juggernaut continued to accelerate toward the decoy-image of Starship Victory. If its commander sensed the first Juggernaut’s destruction, its actions betrayed no evidence of it.
All at once, seven different laser ports energized. Heavy beams flashed the distance from the Juggernaut to the giant holoimage. The lasers flashed through and disappeared from sight within the image, making the starship waver as if with heat. That might have given away the decoy. The enemy vessel simply continued beaming.
“The enemy commander seems perplexed,” Galyan said. “He or she is beaming longer and hotter, but the wavering image remains.”
“Suggestions,” Valerie said.
“Another jump,” Galyan said. “If you come in behind the Juggernaut while it is engaged with the decoy—”
“No,” Valerie said. “We know Jump Fatigue accumulates in people and machines. We don’t dare risk another jump now because we’d be a sitting duck once we appeared. We will adhere to the plan.”
“But the opportunity…” Galyan said.
“It’s a gambler’s trap,” Valerie said. “Helm, give me acceleration. We’re going to chase down the other war-vessel.”
The antimatter engines throbbed as the helmsman demanded greater power. The ancient Adok vessel quickly built up velocity as the exhaust tail lengthened behind it and the gravity dampeners hummed overtime to compensate for the strain.
At that point, the equator-located probes fed Galyan and the sensors officer new data. Two enemy lasers beamed through Victory and struck the decoy drone providing the holoimage its existence and the false sensor signals.
Abruptly, the fake starship—the giant holoimage—vanished from sight.
“Faster,” Valerie said. “We have to catch it quickly. We have to time this just right. Did the combat drones stop accelerating and emitting signals in time?”
“Affirmative,” Galyan said. “The combat drones are in deep s
tealth mode, ready for the next maneuver.”
Valerie forced herself to sit back. She forced her shoulders to relax as she went back over the battle plan.
She had destroyed the weaker unit at no loss or harm to Victory. It had been as clean a kill as she had ever achieved during a voyage. That considerably strengthened their position against the intact Juggernaut. Even better, they had deployed powerful drones near the enemy vessel in a bracketing position. It did not appear that the Juggernaut had sensed the stealth drones yet. The drones had hidden behind the decoy starship, which seemed to have fixated the enemy’s attention. Now, the black-painted, ghost-plated antimatter drones drifted on momentum alone, waiting on a signal from Victory to resume their attack.
“The Juggernaut has begun braking maneuvers,” sensors said. “I think they want to engage us, Lieutenant.”
Valerie turned to Galyan. “What do you make of that?”
“I do not understand your question, Valerie.”
“If you controlled the seven—the six Juggernauts, what would you do next?”
Galyan blinked rapidly. “I would summon this Juggernaut and have it join the five accelerating toward the third planet.”
“Me too,” Valerie said.
“But our Juggernaut is not doing that,” Galyan said. “Your question is what does that tell us about the other Juggernauts?”
Valerie nodded.
“They are not under the same commander,” Galyan said.
“Two independent Juggernaut flotillas,” Valerie said. “How can that be? I mean, aren’t these ancient Rull ships?”
“That is what we have been led to believe.”
“Ludendorff told us that. Was he lying?”
“Unknown,” Galyan said. “I have no other independent source of data.”
“Could Strand be controlling the other Juggernauts?”
“Please give me a moment, Valerie.” The holoimage froze. A few seconds later, he regarded the lieutenant. “I have been unable to detect any communications between the star cruiser and the enemy Juggernauts. The five war-vessels have already launched drones. Those drones are accelerating hard toward the fleeing star cruiser.”
“We sent drones behind our decoy starship,” Valerie said. “That doesn’t necessarily mean anything.”
“Perhaps the enemy commander believes you and Strand would bracket a fleeing Juggernaut. Thus, it is going to attempt to engage us and badly wound or destroy us by itself.”
Valerie slowly scratched her right cheek. She hadn’t thought of that. Yes. That was a good point. Strand and she might have been able to surround this lone war-vessel.
“How much longer until we’re in line-of-sight?” Valerie asked the weapons officer.
“Eight point seven minutes, Lieutenant. The enemy vessel is hugging the atmosphere in a low orbital position. The Juggernaut is also pulling away from our drifting drones, gaining greater separation from them every moment.”
Valerie tapped her fingers on an armrest. “Take us to a higher orbit, Helmsman. We’re going to engage in battle sooner rather than later. I have a feeling we’re going to need the help of those drones to defeat the Juggernaut.”
“Yes, Lieutenant,” the helmsman said, as his hands began to rove over his panel.
Victory not only gained velocity as it sped away from the North Pole, but it maneuvered away from the planet, lengthening the horizon.
“We will be in targeting range in four minutes,” weapons said.
Valerie’s gut began to churn. This was it. Could Victory take on an intact Juggernaut?
The seconds ticked away as the starship maneuvered into a firing position.
“What’s the status of the disrupter cannon?” Valerie asked.
“It’s primed and readied,” weapons said. “There was a weak coolant coil in the reaction chamber. The techs have already refitted it.”
Valerie nodded. How had the maintenance crew overlooked that? It was almost criminal negligence. She would have to convene a review board after this was over.
“Initiate stealth acceleration for the first antimatter missile,” Valerie said.
Weapons touched various green symbols on his board.
A laser signal went out to a responder probe in high North Polar orbit on the other side of Sind II than the approaching Juggernaut and Victory. The probe relayed the signal to a different probe near the equatorial plane but in high orbit. The equatorial probe relayed the signal to a probe near the South Pole, which in turn bounced the signal to another probe that sent it to another equatorial probe—this one was on the same side as the Juggernaut and Victory. Finally, the last probe used a laser signal to lessen chances of enemy interception. The signal reached the forward-most antimatter missile—the missile had been launched at the same time as the holoimage/decoy drone.
Spewing gravity waves, the antimatter missile began a stealth acceleration toward the Juggernaut.
The other antimatter missiles maintained their forward momentum, waiting for similar signals.
Antimatter missiles were one of Star Watch’s secret weapons. They had fantastic explosive power, especially compared to normal thermonuclear warheads. The alien alloy protecting the Juggernaut was tough, but could it resist near antimatter explosions?
“We will be in targeting range in thirty seconds,” the weapons officer said.
Valerie was leaning forward again, with her gaze focused on the main screen. Ten seconds later, the disruptor-cannon whine began. That caused the lieutenant’s eyes to bulge outward the slightest bit.
“The Juggernaut’s laser ports are energizing,” the sensors officer said. “They know we’re coming.”
“Have they targeted the antimatter missile behind it?”
“Unknown,” the sensors officer said. She studied her panel intently. “Yes! They know it is coming. They see it.”
“Initiate Plan B,” Valerie snapped.
“Plan B initiating,” the weapons officer said, as he stabbed a forefinger against his board.
Another signal flashed from Victory, this time going the shortest route to the antimatter missile.
Victory breached the horizon limit. The Juggernaut appeared on the main screen.
“Fire,” Valerie said.
The disrupter beam flashed into existence as it sped toward the twenty-kilometer Juggernaut. At the same time, five enemy heavy lasers returned fire, beaming at the starship. On the other side of the Juggernaut, a laser lashed out at the nearing antimatter missile.
“Accelerate the other missiles in a staggered formation,” Valerie ordered.
The disruptor beam struck the alien alloy, stymied for the moment. The enemy lasers struck Victory’s electromagnetic shield.
Meanwhile, the forward missile’s antimatter warhead ignited. An intense antimatter explosion spewed EMP, radiation and blast. It was too far away to damage the Juggernaut, but that hadn’t been the missile’s function.
One of the weak points of any spaceship was its sensors. One could harden the hull, but how did one sufficiently harden sensor nodes? The antimatter explosion might have burned out some sensors. Certainly, it momentarily blinded the Juggernaut on the other side. That was the great hope, at least.
The other antimatter missiles burned hot, one after another in a staggered formation. They had one goal: to reach the Juggernaut before the blinding white explosion dissipated enough for the enemy sensors to spot the new attack. The first missile had acted like a smoke grenade in an old-fashioned land battle, creating its own covering terrain.
At the same time, in order to keep the Juggernaut’s commander busy, Victory’s disrupter beam burned against the advanced alloy, trying to chew through.
The giant war-vessel continued to return fire with heavy lasers.
The distance between the two spaceships was minimal compared to regular space battles. In a relative sense, this was almost pointblank range. Instead of fifty thousand kilometers, it was a little over six thousand kilometers and closing be
tween ships.
Valerie endured as the shield began to darken.
Because the disrupter beam traveled at the speed of light, it crossed the greater distance in the blink of an eye. The antimatter missiles were all now less than one thousand kilometers from the giant vessel. But the missiles crawled compared to light-speed, even though each of them presently traveled faster than a bullet shot from a sniper rifle.
“The Juggernaut is launching missiles,” the sensors officer said.
“Galyan, you are in charge of the neutron beam. Target the enemy missiles. Destroy all of them before they get too close.”
“Yes, Valerie,” the AI said.
The shield went from deep red to brown. More enemy lasers crossed the distance, adding to the destructive force. If the shield went down, Victory’s armor would have to hold. Against the magnitude of those lasers, the armor plating would not last long.
“Has the Juggernaut spotted our missiles?” Valerie said.
“I don’t know,” the sensors officer said. “The vessel hasn’t targeted them yet. I don’t think we can count on their blindness much longer, though.”
Valerie willed the Juggernaut to remain blind. They needed a break. She’d destroyed the first Juggernaut easily enough. If she could get this one—
“The shield is blackening,” the weapons officer said. “It’s down to thirty percent in areas.”
Valerie’s stomach began to churn harder than ever. She tasted stomach acid at the back of her throat. Victory was minuscule compared to the alien war-vessel. What had she been thinking to take on—?
“Yes!” the weapons officer shouted. “Yes, yes, yes! Lieutenant. The first antimatter missile slammed against the Juggernaut and ignited. We hurt it.”
Valerie allowed herself the faintest of grins. Could the trick have worked? Would the other missiles reach the enemy ship?
“Breach,” the sensors officer said.
Valerie’s stomach knotted.
An enemy laser burst through the weakened blackened shield. The laser continued its journey, striking the starship’s outer armor. It began to chew away at the armor, the laser growing stronger by the second.
“Hit!” the weapons officer said. “Another missile detonated.”
The Lost Planet (Lost Starship Series Book 6) Page 30