Vanquish (The Pike Chronicles Book 6)

by G. P. Hudson

  The Kemmar looked back at Jon with hate filled eyes, and growled “We await the arrival of your troops,” said Raath, regaining some semblance of control.

  Chapter 51

  The Intrepid raced through the void, maintaining FTL speeds, while several Kemmar warships nipped at its heels. The Kemmar matched the Intrepid’s speed, flanking it on three sides. Captain Konos monitored the nail biting situation on his tactical screen. They had been running at FTL speeds for several hours, and would need to continue for much longer before they reached Calledonius and his armada.

  His engines couldn’t go much faster than twenty times the speed of light, and it would take months before he reached the armada. His only hope was to repair the jump system, or the Kemmar tired of the chase.

  He hadn’t seen any sign of the missing Kemmar jump ships. He was pretty sure they had jumped ahead somewhere, waiting in ambush.

  “Sir, our velocity is dropping,” said Commander Mani. “We are now at 19.8C and falling.”

  Konos opened a comm with Chief Mendyk, his engineer. “Mendyk, what the hell is happening down there?”

  “It’s the reactor, Sir. It’s losing integrity. We need to drop out of FTL speeds or we’ll lose containment,” said Mendyk.

  “Chief, do you know what is happening out there? If we drop out of FTL we are dead.”

  “If we stay at FTL, we will be dead.”

  “That is unacceptable, Chief.”

  “I’m sorry, Sir. There’s nothing more I can do.”

  “Damn it,” said Konos. “Commander Mani, we are about to drop out of FTL. I want all fighters and bombers in the sky the second we do.”

  “Yes, Sir.”

  “Tactical, ready weapons. Bring point defense system online the moment we’re out of FTL. You are free to fire at will.” Konos looked back to his tactical display. Four ships were chasing him. The others had stayed back, or had jumped ahead. For now, he only had these four to deal with. He hoped for all their sakes that the Intrepid could hold its own, at least until help arrived.

  “Dropping out of FTL,” said Mani. “Launching fighters and bombers. Kemmar ships are also coming out of FTL.”

  “Weapons hot,” said the tactical officer, hunching over his console, ready to blast away at the enemy.

  The Intrepid lit up like the fourth of July, as the point defense system came online, and its explosive rounds established a protective perimeter around the ship. Its numerous gun batteries fired powerful blue energy bolts at the four Kemmar warships, while missiles launched from their tubes, racing toward their targets.

  The fighters and bombers still had usable jump systems, and they took full advantage, jumping in close with their enemy targets, conducting strafing attacks, and launching their armor piercing torpedoes.

  Taking the initiative, the Intrepid hit first, and it hit hard, catching the Kemmar flat footed. It seemed they were so focused on chasing down the Intrepid, they didn’t expect the lightning attack underway against them.

  The bombers proved to be the decisive weapons, as their torpedoes pushed through the Kemmar defenses, burrowing into the enemy hulls. At detonation, they left large, jagged gashes in the sides of the enemy ships.

  “Tactical, target those breaches,” ordered Konos. “Commander, have our birds do the same. I want to see what’s inside those tin cans.”

  Concussions rocked the Intrepid, as the four Kemmar warships returned fire. Energy bolts and plasma cannons targeted the Intrepid’s point defense batteries, while missiles came at it from all sides. Countermeasure drones raced out of the Intrepid in all directions, mimicking the Intrepid’s signature, attempting to draw the missiles away from its own hull. Some were fooled by the drones, others flew into the point defense shield.

  “Point defense batteries four and six have just been destroyed,” said Mani, as a gap in the Intrepid’s point defense shield formed, leaving it vulnerable.

  A new wave of Kemmar missiles were launched at the Intrepid. Countermeasure drones took to the sky again, leading several missiles away from the ship. There were simply too many, however. New explosions detonated against its hull, as the weapons found their way through the gap in the point defense system.

  “Hull breach deck nine,” said Mani. “Emergency containment fields are in place.”

  On the viewscreen, a satisfying, yet blinding light blazed as one of the Kemmar warships succumbed to its injuries.

  One down, three to go, thought Konos.

  “Jumpspace disturbances detected,” said the computer. “Jump bombs depleted. Unable to launch at targets.”

  “Shit,” said Konos, as five more Kemmar warships appeared all around the Intrepid. Within moments, the new contacts opened fire, releasing a torrent of energy bolts and missiles.

  Fresh concussions jostled the hulking carrier, as more missiles raced toward it.

  “Hull breaches decks four, six, and twelve,” said Mani. “Emergency containment fields are not responding.”

  Konos looked on in disbelief, as crewmembers were flushed into space, arms and legs splayed, their bodies spinning in the merciless void.

  “Point defense shield has failed. All point defense gun batteries are down,” continued Mani.

  Konos hung his head in defeat, as hundreds of missiles raced toward them. His eyes remained glued to his tactical screen, as the tiny red threat icons closed in.

  “It’s been an honor serving with you, Sir,” said Commander Mani.

  Konos looked up and found his XO, long time friend, and wingman, standing at attention, and saluting his Captain.

  Konos returned the salute. “The honor’s been all mine, Commander.”

  Chapter 52

  The fleet pushed through Kemmar space with ease. None of the Kemmar defenses could stand up to its numbers, or its jump bombs. Jon hadn’t encountered another force as large as the one fielded against him at Telepylos.

  He’d fought several battles since against Kemmar fleets of varying sizes. In most cases the enemy fleets contained several hundred ships. But nothing could yet match his thousand strong UHSF fleet. They’d been lucky enough to avoid the Juttari so far. He had to believe Calledonius was finding much of the same, as he moved through Otan space into the Kemmar Empire.

  They’d had enough ships to defeat the Kemmar, even without the jump bombs. But it would have been a costly victory, if they had even made it as far as the home system. Equipped with jumpspace technology, a campaign that should have resulted in horrendous casualties, ended up with only a handful of deaths.

  Euphoria filled the Freedom, and Jon didn’t need his heightened awareness to sense his crewmembers were riding high. As they floated in space, waiting for their final jump into the Kemmar home system, Jon accessed his comm opening a channel to the entire fleet.

  “This is Admiral Pike speaking. We are about to enter the final phase of this campaign. I want to commend every single one of you on a job well done, but I also want to remind you that this job isn’t finished yet. Now I know you’re all feeling pretty good after all we have accomplished, but we can’t be overconfident, or careless.

  “With the next jump, we will enter the Kemmar home system. There, we will defeat the enemy once and for all. Not only will this be a great victory, but it will signal the dawn of a new age. The age of the UHSF. The age of humanity. Stay focused, stay sharp, and you will all tell this story to your grandchildren one day. They will know that you were there when the vicious Kemmar Empire was defeated. They will know that you were there when humans rose to power in the galaxy. Good luck. Admiral Pike out.”

  Jon closed the comm, as applause broke out on the bridge, bringing a smile to his face. “Thank you, now let’s get back to work. Commander, what is our jump status?”

  “Jump system is at seventy-five percent. We are jump ready,” said Henderson. “Fleet is reporting jump ready as well.”

  “Deploy surveillance drones.”

  Underneath the Freedom a hatch opened and a couple of tiny drone
s were launched into space. The little bots shot out ahead of the carrier, engaging their jump systems, and blinking off the screen. Minutes later the drones returned and began transmitting their data to the Freedom.

  “This is why we have not met any major Kemmar forces,” said Jon, while studying the feed on his display. “They’re all protecting the home planet.” The surveillance feed revealed well over a thousand ships in position around the planet Kem.

  “That is a lot of ships,” said Henderson. “They have a few space stations too. The drone data indicates that those stations are armed.”

  “Battle stations. I was wondering when we’d come across some. The data indicates that the planet has a defense grid in place. Should be easy enough to take it out. Any word on General Calledonius?”

  “No, Sir. Nothing since his last report.”

  “We’ll just have to start the party without him. Let the fleet know we’ll be jumping momentarily.” Jon and Calledonius’s two fleets had invaded from opposite ends, creating a vice with which the Kemmar could be squeezed. That feat had been accomplished. Jon did not necessarily need to wait for Calledonius to take the home system, however. The jump bombs gave him enough of an advantage to attack alone.

  “Fleet is standing by to jump, Sir.”

  “Very well. Initiate jump.”

  The Freedom landed in the Kemmar home system, some three hundred million kilometers away from the home planet. Jon glanced down at his tactical display and instantly knew they had a problem. “This can’t be right. Commander, are all our ships accounted for?”

  “No, Sir,” said Henderson, working feverishly at his command console.

  “Well where the hell are they?”

  Henderson looked up at Jon with a blank expression. “I don’t know, Sir. It looks like only about five hundred ships landed in this system.”

  “Unauthorized jumpspace disturbances,” said the computer. “Launching jump bombs.”

  The space in front of the Freedom lit up with fireworks, as Kemmar ships began to appear, only to have jump bombs detonate in exactly the same coordinates. The bombs exploded almost instantaneously. In most cases, sections of the Kemmar hulls were blown open by the blasts, venting gas, equipment, and personnel. Jagged, gaping holes were left behind, yet many of the attacking ships survived the initial attack.

  Mercy was not a key attribute of the jumpspace system. Another wave of jump bombs landed inside the crippled warships. Their detonations were enough to crack open the remaining hulls, often igniting the ship cores in the process. Blinding light and radiation followed, leaving behind millions of tiny fragments in place of the once mighty Kemmar warships.

  The assault pulled Jon back to the task at hand. He didn’t know what happened to the rest of the fleet, but he still had the jumpspace technology, giving him a tremendous advantage. Outnumbered or not, that advantage would even the odds.

  Speed mattered now. He had to hit the ships defending the planet before they jumped. “AI, assign first strike coordinates to our remaining ships.”

  “Coordinates have been assigned, Admiral,” said AI in her usual flat tone.

  “Initiate jump bomb first strike.”

  “Initiating,” said Henderson. “Jump bombs away.”

  “Launch all fighters and bombers.” The Freedom’s alert squadron had launched the moment they landed, but now he needed all his birds in the air.

  “Launch orders sent. Birds are launching.”

  Across the void the first strike hit hard, with internal explosions blasting through hundreds of Kemmar warships. Many were destroyed. Some were left with yawning hull breaches. Hundreds suffered internal damage, which meant downed systems, raging fires, and dead personnel. The enemy was knocked down a few notches. Jon felt some relief. They could do this. The jumpspace technology was powerful enough.

  “Unauthorized jumpspace disturbances,” said the computer. “Unable to launch jump bombs.”

  The relief Jon felt a moment ago slipped away as more of his ships disappeared, replaced instead by Kemmar warships. On the tactical display, the Freedom was now practically enveloped by red threat icons.

  “All ships, target the Kemmar ships in our midst. Jump bombs and conventional weapons. Fire at will.”

  The Freedom shook violently as the newly arrived Kemmar ships opened fire.

  “Point defense shield is online,” said Ensign Petrovic, the tactical officer. “Launching countermeasures.”

  “AI, what happened to my ships?” said Jon.

  “The Kemmar ships were jumping into the same coordinates as those vessels, so the jumpspace system jumped them to safety.”

  “Goddamnit,” said Jon. “AI, modify that damned system to jump the endangered ships only a short distance away. They’re no good to me if they’re out of this system.”

  “Understood,” said AI. “Making modifications.”

  More explosions rocked the Freedom, as the Kemmar took their revenge. Many of the new arrivals now targeted the Freedom.

  “Sir, we are taking heavy fire,” said Petrovic.

  “They’ve pegged us as the flagship,” Jon said grimly.

  The rest of the fleet concentrated their fire on the warships within their midst. But the Kemmar largely ignored them, focusing almost exclusively on the Freedom. Even as the jump bombs blew them apart, missiles cutting into their ravaged hulls, the Kemmar seemed determined to destroy Jon’s ship.

  “Hull breach, deck three,” said Henderson. “Emergency containment field in place.” Henderson looked up at Jon. “We can’t take much more of this, Sir.”

  “Stand your ground, Commander. We’re not going anywhere.”

  “Unauthorized jumpspace disturbances,” said the computer. “Unable to launch jump bombs.”

  More of the fleet disappeared, as Kemmar ships landed in their coordinates. The targeted UHSF ships had landed only a short distance away this time, and remained within weapons range.

  The Kemmar had found Jon’s weakness. With the loss of half his fleet in the initial jump, they were woefully outnumbered. And with the Kemmar were fighting for their home planet now, they were more than willing to sacrifice themselves for the cause.

  The suicide attacks proved an ideal counter to the jumpspace technology. If the UHSF ships stayed put, they would be destroyed along with the Kemmar ship. If they jumped away in self defense, they allowed Kemmar warships into their ranks.

  “Hull breach decks eight and nine,” said Henderson. “Containment fields are in place.”

  “Activate tactical jump grid,” said Jon. A numbered graph appeared on his display, assigning coordinates to the surrounding space. “Helm, jump to grid coordinate B17.”

  The Kemmar ships surrounding the Freedom disappeared as the Freedom landed twenty million kilometers away. “All ships, launch jump bombs at will,” ordered Jon, as he assessed the situation.

  Now that the Kemmar wanted the Freedom, they should come after him. His fleet had been effectively scattered.

  “Mobility,” Jon said to no one in particular.

  “Beg your pardon, Sir?” said Henderson.

  “Mobility,” Jon repeated. “The fleet can’t stay together in one spot. Not with the jump system. It leaves them prone to suicide attacks. We need to take advantage of the jump system, and stay mobile. Especially now that we have jump bombs.”

  “Unauthorized jumpspace disturbance,” said the computer. “Initiating jump.”

  The Freedom landed in a different location, as it jumped to evade a Kemmar suicide attack.

  “We are going to have to behave more like our jump fighters,” Jon continued. “We use the jump system like a fighter when we go into battle as one ship, or even a small group of ships, but we don’t as a fleet. We must change that.”

  “Yes, Sir,” said Henderson, tapping away furiously on his array of command screens.

  The Freedom continued using jump tactics to evade the enemy. Then she began hit and run tactics, combining short range tactical jumps,
with jump bomb strikes.

  Jon soon had the remaining fleet follow suit, allowing them to stay one step ahead of the Kemmar, with the ability to deliver punishing blows simultaneously. The battle turned into a game of cat and mouse, with UHSF and Kemmar ships jumping around the system, both sides fighting to gain an advantage.

  The Kemmar’s frequent jumps created new challenges. The jump bombs often missed their targets, due to the fact that the Kemmar ships bounced around.

  It was a few hours in when john began to worry about his shrinking stockpiles of jump bombs. Whittling the Kemmar force down to size had proved more difficult than anticipated. If he ran out before the Kemmar fleet was defeated, he would have real problems.

  “Reading multiple new contacts,” said Petrovic.

  Jon cringed. They couldn’t handle more Kemmar ships right now. Or worse, Juttari.

  “It’s General Calledonius,” said Petrovic, relieved.

  Jon exhaled sharply. “Well it’s about time.” He opened a comm with Calledonius. The General appeared on Jon’s display, and he couldn’t remember ever being so happy to see the old man’s frowning face.

  “You look like you could use some help, Admiral,” Calledonius said smugly.

  Jon smiled. “We’ve got things under control, but your help is appreciated nonetheless.”

  “Stand by,” said Calledonius.

  The arrival of Calledonius’s fleet proved decisive. The increased firepower made short work of the remaining Kemmar warships. Their destruction marked the elimination of the dreaded Kemmar space force, and the Kemmar Empire. The Kemmar no longer had the means to invade, and enslave, their neighbors.

  With the ships gone, the UHSF picked apart the remaining planetary defenses at its leisure, leaving Kem, the home planet, alone and helpless.

  As the victorious UHSF ships took position in orbit around Kem, Jon opened a comm with the Kemmar leader, who appeared on his display, all teeth and attitude.