The remaining pirate ships learned the lesson of the unfortunate Desperado and kept under cover. When targets moved into fields of fire, the pirates would shoot and adjust to get back behind large boulders. Hits were made on all the Goth ships. The pirate ship, Renegade, was hit several times and withdrew further in the belt to lick her wounds.
Admiral Dietrich watched the battle while issuing few orders. His ship captains and crews were well trained and did not need him to ride herd on them. The crippling of Kobold and the loss of Heimdellr were harbingers of what was to come if he chose to fight it out in open space while his enemy stayed in cover. He had the superior firepower but the pirates had the rocks and maneuverability. He could not chase them into the belt nor stand out here in open space and trade fire with them. He decided to move past the pirates and threaten the Zekes from their rear. He had no intention of actually attacking the Zekes and creating a political incident, but the pirates may not know that. Perhaps they would follow his force. They would not be able to keep pace in the tumbling chaos of rocks and would have to come out into open space to engage his force to keep them off the Zekes. He hoped.
“Go defensive and move by the pirates. We will threaten the Zekes but no attacks. I repeat, no attacks are authorized on them unless I order it.”
His squadron sped on while stopping all incoming pirate ordnance.
Raferty turned to his command net. “Cease fire. We won’t get through their defenses. We’ll follow them while staying in the rocks. Do not go into open space. I don’t believe they will attack the Zekes and create an incident with the Aurora Empire but we want to be as close as possible if this goes bad.”
He turned to Tactical. “Relay my reasoning to the Zekes. If that force does shoot at the Zekes we will support by moving into open space to close the gap from behind them and reengage the Goths.”
The pirate force, minus the wounded Renegade, turned in slow pursuit of the Goth ships.
Chapter 54
The Zekes gradually gave ground as the Orion ships maintained a barrage of missiles. The Zekes would reply as opportunities presented themselves, but it was a fraction of the incoming they were absorbing. The light cruiser Hudson took several hits and was venting atmosphere. Captain Mallory made a decision. “All ships cease fire and load all tubes. Get your guns on line. We’re going to make a stand here. We might catch them between salvos. Dragon, stand by to fire on my mark. Your target is the Goth flagship. Anticipate thirty seconds. Mac will concentrate on the heavy cruiser. All other ships, pick targets as they present themselves. Adjust your missile firing to coincide with Dragon’s incoming salvo. I want everyone firing at something so adjust position if necessary. You got twenty seconds.” She turned to her operations officer. “Lisa, we need to pound that cruiser and we’ll get only one chance. Use everything we got.”
Fifteen seconds later Sky gave the order to Dragon. “Shoot!”
A swarm of seventy-one missiles appeared on the screen from the far side of the belt. Sky knew the full barrage was seventy-five. There were probably misfires with four missiles. She also knew this was the last shots from the freighters. Their entire missile system was an ad hoc affair with small magazines. Their main advantage was surprise and an overwhelming salvo. They could not stand and trade shots with an enemy. The three freighters were good for four salvos and then had to pull away and reload the magazines, a task which would take over an hour, as there were no automated systems. It was done by swearing, sweating crewmembers loading magazines entirely by hand.
The freighter was firing from above the belt, but much of the flight path of the missiles would be through the spinning rocks at a target hugging the edge of the asteroid field furthest from the freighter. Some missiles would be lost to rocks, but the enemy would have to honor the threat. That might be enough to force them on the defensive, and give Mallory the gap in the incoming missiles her force needed to inflict some damage.
As the missiles passed over the Zekes, they rose from their cover and added their own missiles to the attack. The oncoming enemy vessels had seen the threat and had gone defensive. Interceptors flew, guns fired, decoys deployed, and lasers danced. The majority of the missiles were stopped short of their targets but fifteen struck the shields of the Goth flagship Bergspitze. Six of these missiles got through and hit the light cruiser’s hull. Three hit against the forward superstructure and opened three compartments to space. Two of those spaces were the bridge and the CIC behind it. The ship’s captain and his bridge crew plus Admiral Jochen Kaufmann and all others in CIC were killed instantly as the contents and personnel in the two compartments blew into space. The other three hits took out two starboard missile launchers and the nearby sensor array. The cruiser slewed to starboard under the impacts. Her XO continued to fight the ship, but her firepower was greatly reduced.
Admiral Stavka saw the missiles hit and knew it would be bad. Kaufmann’s command monitor going down confirmed his fears. Regardless of the Goth command situation, he would continue the fight. The Goths would stay with him. No captain on his own authority would quit the fight and risk being branded a coward. Stavka hoped the commander of the incoming Goth squadron either had not seen the hits, or would confirm Admiral Kaufmann’s death before taking control. That confirmation would take time.
Acting Captain Kruger had Mackenzie focused on the last operational Orion heavy cruiser, Zadornyy. The two heavy cruisers traded missile attacks. Mackenzie achieved several hits but little damage. Missiles from Zadornyy had the same result, but now all the Orion ships joined in the attack on the Zeke flagship. The Zeke ships responded in kind. Mackenzie took several hits. Two compartments opened to space, and debris blasted out and drifted around the ship. Two missiles came through the bridge. Acting Captain Erik Kruger and his bridge crew were killed instantly. The second passed through the bridge and exploded against the bulkhead between the bridge and CIC. The blast blew all the CIC personnel against the closest bulkhead and scattered shrapnel throughout the compartment. Sky was blown out of her seat and smashed against the stern bulkhead. Several bones were broken and she suffered a concussion. Commander Lisa Cassidy was slammed into a sensor station and was peppered with shrapnel. Petty Officer Janice Chou was knocked over, but her comm station absorbed the blast, otherwise shrapnel would have killed her. She rose amidst the chaos, wiped blood from her face, and began directing rescue efforts. The holes in the forward bulkhead were draining atmosphere. Although all crewmembers had a personal breathing apparatus strapped to their bodies, the blast had blown several masks off of faces, and there was the threat of the venting atmosphere catching fire and toasting everyone in the compartment. Chou directed efforts to clear out CIC even as more missiles hit Mackenzie. Commander Ari Goldman, as acting XO, assumed command from aft steering, and moved Mackenzie back into cover. The fighting continued around her.
“Mackenzie just took a pounding,” reported Baby Doll from her station. “She’s under cover now but damage is serious. The other Zekes are trying to cover her.”
Hawkins nodded to nobody in particular. He glanced at the computer screen showing the sensors feed from that sector, but considered it only for a moment. He couldn’t help and had more pressing concerns. He still did not believe the Goth reinforcements would attack the Zekes, but he wouldn’t bet his ship on it. The few Goth ships supporting the current OrCon attack on the Zekes could be explained as originally attacking the pirates accompanying the Zekes, and once the pirates pulled out, the Orion ships could not disengage. A lie, of course, but it was passable. The reinforcements did not have that excuse, so shouldn’t join in the attack on the Zekes. But if they did attack, an official protest from the Aurora Empire to the Goldenes Tor would not make Skyler Mallory’s sailors any less dead.
Raferty frowned. “Make sure we got an attack plan to support the Zekes. I still think the Goths won’t join in, but we will support if they do.”
“Already done,” Tactical responded with just a slight shade of annoyance over
the obvious being stated. “All ships on board with it.”
The pirates maneuvered through the rocks as they moved upstream, and the reinforcements continued to pull away from them in open space. They would be within missile range to support Mallory’s force in minutes.
Captain Nathan Kimble, in the light cruiser Armstrong, assumed command of the Zeke ships. He immediately ordered a retreat back into the spinning turmoil as he tried to regroup his few ships. The Orion ships, emboldened by the damage done to the enemy flagship, began to enter the rocks in pursuit. They moved to enter beyond the minefield, and as Admiral Stavka concluded, only the few mines tossed out by the retreating Zeke ships were in their path. He was willing to take the risk. Victory was close now, so very close. His force could run the Zekes down while the Goth reinforcements kept the pirates from assisting the Zekes. Yes, it was there, close enough to touch.
Suddenly a cloud of missiles appeared on all sensors. They came from the same direction as the freighter attacks but the freighters should not have been able to reload that fast. But Dragon had done yeoman work as sixty missiles streaked at the enemy.
The Zekes paused in their retreat and added missiles to the attack. The oncoming enemy vessels saw the incoming threat and went defensive as they moved forward to take cover behind asteroids on the edge of the belt. The majority of the missiles were stopped by the countermeasures or by hitting asteroids, but seventeen impacted on the shields of Republic. Six got through. Two impacted the flag bridge. One opened the compartment and the second exploded inside. Admiral Stavka and all others on the flag bridge were killed instantly.
Captain Korlov felt the missiles hit just above his bridge as the admiral’s command monitor went down. Korlov turned a camera on his ship’s hull to survey the damage. It only took a second. He turned back to the command net.
“I have command,” he announced over the net. “We will continue the pursuit.” He was convinced his ships couldn’t get all the Zekes. If they started to get hammered, the survivors could melt away into the belt, and pursuit would be difficult if not impossible. But he could inflict damage here and now.
Chapter 55
“How did Dragon get missiles on line?” Rafe was very happy, but couldn’t figure out how it was done.
“Riki did not bother to reload the magazines. She had crew go right out into the missile spaces and load the five-by-five’s only. She saw the developing situation and had it organized ahead of time. She stopped it at sixty missiles so she could get the salvo out to cover the Zekes.”
“If Riki wasn’t such a great supply officer, I’d get her a warship to command,” Hawkins stated. Heads nodded in agreement all around the bridge. Captain Riki Takahashi was held in high esteem throughout Flot 1. Rafe, Tactical, and Baby Doll exchanged knowing looks.
“Dragon is done now. Hope the bad guys don’t figure that out,” Tactical added.
Rafe got on his command net. “Come starboard to move deeper in the belt. We’ll aim to rendezvous with the Zekes on the run. Kick out some mines to discourage pursuit.”
The pirate ships dutifully turned while discharging mines out of airlocks. The mines could be command activated if needed, or left dormant so as not to present a threat. Assuming constant speeds by all ships, they would be within range of the Zeke attackers in eleven minutes. The pirates moved away from the enemy reinforcements as they stayed in open space.
Chapter 56
The Orion ships now moved further into the asteroid belt in pursuit of the retreating Zekes, but the wounded Goth flagship and two Goth destroyers stayed on the edge. They had taken cover behind rocks in response to the missile attack but did not move forward as the Orion ships did. They merely held position.
Korlov watched them through a hull camera. He didn’t blame them. It was possible the oncoming commander had told them to halt their chase. It was also possible nobody was in command of the three-ship squadron at the moment. It was also possible that the two destroyer captains and whoever was commanding the flagship had independently come to the conclusion this was not their fight anymore. Regardless, he would press on alone at least until he was sure victory was not obtainable.
The pursuit continued with occasional shots being taken as targets were identified through the ever-changing maze. The smaller ships maneuvered around the larger obstacles while taking hits on their shields. The two battle cruisers were not that nimble and took a battering on their shields. Each large impact was akin to a missile hit. The shields were recharging, but the continuous bombardment took its toll. The Zekes were hampered by their slow, damaged flagship and their refusal to abandon her. The Orion ships were closing the gap.
The Zeke light cruiser, Hudson, was hit by two asteroids, and then had the bad luck to take a missile in the same depleted shield section. The missile impacted her starboard engine and blew it out like a candle. The ship slewed to starboard and managed to gain cover behind tumbling rocks, but did not have the maneuverability to maintain the protection. The ship stopped and took a steady position. She then discharged her missiles at the battle cruiser Citizen. The OrCon battle cruiser tossed off the missile attack, but the other Zeke ships stopped and joined in while maintaining cover. Soon the distance closed to gun range and shots were exchanged. Hudson took a pounding, but so did Citizen.
“They will fight to the finish now,” Korlov announced both over the command net and to his bridge crew. “Pour it on them.”
Hudson was reduced to a barely-maneuvering wreck as she tried to move back. Armstrong took her place in front of Hudson and now took the hits intended for the brave light cruiser. The destroyers Coral and Emerald moved up to assist and to take the hits intended for the two cruisers. Coral took several hits but the lucky Emerald fought off all attacks.
The Orion ships moved in. Suddenly a barrage of missiles came from their right flank. The pirates had come within range. Raferty had left the corvettes to cover their rear against the Goth reinforcements still out in open space. Predator and Nemesis had pushed well beyond safe navigational speed within the belt to get into position. Now both continued to close in on the OrCons while emptying their missile magazines at the cyclic rate. The Orion vessels had maneuvered independently through the belt and now could not support each other. The heavy cruiser Zadornyy was on the Orion right flank and took the brunt of the attack. The two pirate destroyers numbly dodged asteroids and darted from rock to rock so quickly, Zadornyy couldn’t get a tracking solution. She tried to move to cover from the pirate missiles, but this exposed her to Zeke fire, and a quick barrage of missiles and gunfire sent her retreating with damage throughout the ship. The pirates pressed onward and took the light cruiser Ranjit under fire. That ship had lost its aft 150 mm turret at Potenka so was fighting at a reduced capability. She also discovered that maneuvering to escape pirate fire only brought Zeke incoming missiles. She now pulled back out of the fight. The destroyer, Ognevoy, saw what had happened and maneuvered back to ensure she did not get caught in the crossfire. The little destroyer would have been annihilated in short order. This left the two damaged battle cruisers and the light cruiser Ranijay absorbing missile and gunfire, plus the continuing impact of asteroids. Shield sections were failing now and it would be only a matter of time until missiles or gunfire started banging against the hulls of these ships.
Captain Korlov ground his teeth in frustration as he reviewed his sensor screens. So very close. But now the Zekes were back under cover. The Zekes and the pirates had a crossfire established, and he had no place to hide. The Goth reinforcements continued to sit at the belt’s edge, and the three Goth ships left from the escort were moving to join them. The two enemy forces, now deep in the asteroid belt, could hit him at will while he would be very lucky to get any hits as the enemy ducked and threaded their way around the boulders. There was also the damned freighter fire to consider. A coordinated freighter launch with the Zekes and pirates adding their weapons to the attack could spell destruction for at least one of his damaged battle
cruisers. It was clear the Goth support was at an end. Now he was not even sure they would support repair of his ships or restocking his munitions. He briefly considered one final rush on the Zeke ships, but decided against it. He could not get them all, and if he lost any ships in here, the entire crew would die, either from the asteroids hitting escape pods or the pirates using the pods for target practice.
He reflected on that. The pirates. If not for them, this fight would have been over at Potenka. Hitting that base at Ulatar had been the undoing of the Confederation campaign. It had accomplished nothing in advancing their mission and had brought a smart, unpredictable enemy onto the field of battle.
Allies of Convenience: Pirates of the Badlands Series Book 1 Page 30