Star Strike: Book 3 of the Star Man Series

by I. G. Roberts

  “Dimitri, you’re a man after my heart. We will teach them not to mess with FNS Harmon. The problem is how do we achieve our goal without killing them?”

  “Why not Jump in close and paint them with low power Laser shots? Hit them from stem to stern and tell them what we’re doing at the same time. If you demand they surrender while we do so it’ll give them a fright. We must uphold your reputation, Colin.”

  Colin chuckled as he replied, “We need to take their attention away from the Jump-Point so our incoming ships can raise their Shields and bring Point-Defense online.”

  “We’re ready whenever you wish, Commodore.”

  “Let me set up the timings. I need to explain our plan to Kirkor Wolf and Roger Tobin on the Cobras. It’ll be a variation on the plan we used during the exercise in Cotoni. This time I want Forseti and Magni placed to intercept Missiles fired at our incoming ships.”

  “That’s a plan, Commodore.”

  Ten minutes later, Harmon, Magni, and Forseti Micro-Jumped back to Space near the Jump-Point. The three ships from Cambridge raised their Shields within milliseconds after arrival, and FNS Harmon moved to a position between and above the picket ships. Dimitri’s tactical painted the two ships with targeting signals and then fired Harmon’s Lasers on low power to hit their Shields. The intent wasn’t to damage the other ships but frighten them. Colin wanted to show the Captains their folly. As the picket ships returned fire, although their Lasers weren’t set on low power, Colin’s face took on a grim smile. Colin remembered a line from an old movie. Unable to help himself, Commodore Gordon opened a broadcast channel to nearby ships and piped his words to the Bridge.

  He said, “Behold, the power of a fully armed and operational Harmon class Destroyer.”

  Dimitri understood Colin’s intent. He ordered decoys launched and had tactical increase the Laser power to fifty percent. The Captains of the picket ships soon took fright and ran. Colin ordered Harmon to pursue, firing the occasional full power Laser across their bow. This was to show that till now, he’d only played with them. Colin wanted them to understand, he could demolish both the opposing ships at will. Once again, Colin smiled.

  He opened the same channel and said, “Stand down and prepare for boarding.”

  On the Bridge, Dimitri sat and listened, dumbfounded as Colin prodded the other side. Then, both ships dropped their Shields and in a flash, Micro-Jumped away.

  Colin said, “Did you track them, Mr. Bach?”

  “Yes Commodore, I’m sending coordinates now.”

  Colin thought, ‘I love these new Sensors.’

  He opened Comms with the Bridge and said, “Captain, Mr. Bach sent coordinates to your navigation, please ask them to plot a Micro-Jump at your leisure. Our playmates Jumped there, I want to put the fear of God into them.”

  FNS Harmon arrived right on top of the fleeing Home Fleet Destroyers and resumed the game. Colin was aware they’d call for help, but it took time to move a large ship into a position to Micro-Jump. By then, Colin had grown bored with this game, so he asked Lieutenant Wheeler to open an FTL channel to Federation Navy Headquarters.

  Federation Naval Headquarters

  Admiral Dalkasan sat in another boring meeting. He missed the excitement he experienced during his trip to Cambridge. It was enjoyable and fulfilling. Somebody droned on, discussing a shortfall in ships and supplies. That wasn’t new, the Federation Navy never suffered from oversupply. Dalkasan’s aide slipped through a side door and bent toward the Admiral’s ear.

  He said, “You’re needed in the Comms, center Admiral, we have a situation. Home Fleet say an invading fleet has entered the System and Commodore Gordon is requesting you on FTL Comm.”

  Dalkasan replied, “An invasion? Who’s stupid enough to invade Sankarah? We have two powerful Fleets to defend ourselves. Commodore Gordon’s here too. Whoever the invaders are, they’re in for a shock with him in the neighborhood.”

  The Admiral stood and excused himself from the meeting to head for the Comms center. He thought he should take the call from Home Fleet first. He needed to understand the threat before talking to Gordon. When he opened the channel to Commodore Devlaran, he was confronted by an angry Home Fleet CO. Devlaran regaled Dalkasan with stories of ships broadcasting fake IFF and making an unprovoked attack on the picket ships. As Dalkasan listened to the tale, an inkling of a suspicion wormed its way into his mind. He told Devlaran to wait while he accepted another call and took Colin’s subspace call.

  Dalkasan said, “Good day, Commodore. I didn’t expect you in Sankarah. Why are you here?”

  “You asked to see the new Harmon class Destroyer when we completed one Admiral. We came to show FNS Harmon off to you, Sir, and we’ve brought Lady Conti to see the Council Chairman. Sir, I must report that we had a small problem with the Home Fleet pickets when we arrived. I taught them not to mess with my ships. They ran, so it’s only us here on picket now.”

  This was getting worse. Dalkasan suspected the picket ships had played silly buggers with Colin’s group and he slapped them. He’d have to check the logs to confirm this, but Dalkasan had learned to trust Commodore Gordon, that was why he’d promoted the man. Gordon was protecting Conti, so Dalkasan understood what happened. Sankarah wasn’t under attack. Sankarah was safer with Commodore Gordon here.

  The Admiral said, “Wait till we get new pickets out there and come to Headquarters. I’ll clear the way for you with Home Fleet.”

  “Thank you, Admiral. I’ll see you soon.”

  With one conversation completed, Dalkasan returned to the other. He reopened the channel to the CinC of Home Fleet.

  Dalkasan said, “Commodore Devlaran, tell me, why did you believe an invasion was in progress.”

  “Captain Sim reported it, Admiral.”

  “You will withdraw your Fleet. Send two new pickets to the Jump-Point then come to Headquarters. They are not to harass or obstruct the ships waiting there. Bring Captain Kile and the Captain of the other ship on picket duty with you. I will examine the evidence and decide what actions to take then.”

  “As you wish Admiral.”

  Dalkasan cut the connection and ordered his staff to watch the situation.

  FNS Harmon

  Several hours later, two ships arrived from Home Fleet. These were different to the ones Colin played with when he first arrived. The Captain of one contacted Colin to introduce himself.

  He said, “Welcome, Commodore Gordon, I’m Captain Silna Kalsa. Admiral Dalkasan sent his compliments and ordered us to let you head for Sankarah Orbital, Sir.”

  “Thank you, Captain. We’ll head for Sankarah Orbital. Be aware, we are waiting for three more ships, FNS Theseus, FNS Thor, and FNS Fortitude. Send them after us when they arrive, please, we’ll wait closer to Sankarah.”

  “I’ll send them on arrival, Sir.”

  Colin sent orders for Harmon, Magni, and Forseti to make for Sankarah Orbital. Harmon’s AI received the instructions and transmitted the data to the Cobras. They formed into a tight formation and loafed toward the Federation Capitol. When they’d moved far enough from the pickets, Colin sent new orders to the Cobras. He wanted them to go dark and separate from FNS Harmon. Colin sent them back toward the Jump-Point where they’d keep an eye on the pickets and help the rest of his Task-Force if needed. After the first welcome, Colin no longer trusted Home Fleet. The aggressive posture was unnecessary. The Navy in Cambridge presented a less aggressive stance toward unexpected arrivals, and that world had fewer ships for defense and suffered invasion.

  As it transpired, Colin’s precautions weren’t required. When the balance of his ships arrived, the picket ships did the usual checks then sent them after Colin’s group. FNS Magni and FNS Forseti stayed dark and reversed course, parallel to their friends. The picket ships never knew Colin’s Cobras watched. An hour later, the entire Task-Force rejoined into a tight formation and took on FNS Fortitude’s greatest acceleration. At this rate, they took another day to reach Sankarah Orbital. Col
in watched as they approached and saw the two ships he’d played with docked there. When they were close enough, Colin arranged for the Comms team to send FNS Harmon’s logs for the period after he entered Sankarah Space to Admiral Dalkasan. Given his response to the challenge the picket ships posed, Colin considered it wise to make sure Admiral Dalkasan had the facts as he saw them.

  On the Bridge, Dimitri was in contact with Sankarah Orbital’s traffic control, following their instructions to the letter. By then, word was spreading regarding Colin’s reaction to a hostile posture near the Jump-Point. Nobody wanted FNS Harmon shooting at them. She was a big ship and armed to the teeth. While docking progressed, Colin arranged escorts for Lady Conti, and himself then returned to his cabin to prepare for his meeting with Admiral Dalkasan.

  Federation Naval Headquarters

  The descent to the Naval Shuttle Station was uneventful. Colin hoped the events near the Jump-Point were a misunderstanding but the Threat Radar in his head operated on full power. Two hours later, Colin stood in front of the Naval Chief waiting while the Admiral read a report. Colin had sent raw data from the logs with no editing or material choice. This meant that people on the ground had to assemble the data into a coherent story, so they understood what happened. While Colin didn’t know it then, Captain Kile was careful to send data he’d assembled from his logs, selecting parts meant to support his actions. Captain Harol from the other picket ship was reticent to color events. He contacted DNI and asked them to extract the logs.

  Dalkasan had seen Captain Kile’s side of the story first and worried that Colin was becoming uncontrollable. His problem was that Colin’s behavior didn’t reconcile with him losing his sense of duty. Now after reading this report, the Admiral knew the exact sequence of events. Commodore Gordon might’ve handled things another way, he could’ve run, but running wasn’t in his nature. Captain Kile’s actions before, during and since were reprehensible and stupid. He’d taken an aggressive posture toward a Federation hero. In Dalkasan’s opinion, Kile wasn’t fit to scrub pots.

  The Admiral said, “I apologize for the reception you had on entering Sankarah. One Captain isn’t fit for his position, I’m less sure of the other one. How do I handle this?”

  “I’m not sure of your preference, Sir. I will not argue with you. In hindsight, we should’ve handled the pickets another way, but their reception took us by surprise. Our actions are my responsibility.”

  “Colin, of the two picket ships, one took an aggressive stance toward you. The other didn’t target you until after you played silly buggers with his companion. Then your low power Laser shots…” Dalkasan let out a sigh of exasperation.

  “I have no excuse, Sir.”

  “Commodore Devlaran is furious with you. He wants to charge you with Piracy.”

  Colin rolled his eyes in exasperation. “Not that old chestnut again. I’d argue we should charge the Captains of the picket ships. They made aggressive moves toward us when anyone with half a brain could see we are Federation Navy and outclass them. We broadcast our IFF within a second of exiting Jump, and we tried voice and visual contact too. One Captain demanded we prepare for boarding. FNS Harmon carried a Federation Council agent, should we have permitted a hostile boarding, Admiral?”

  “No, Colin. We are meeting Devlaran soon. I wanted to warn you, he’s hostile. He hasn’t seen the data you sent or the logs from FNS Kaval.”

  “FNS Kaval?”

  “Yes, that was the, shall we say, less aggressive picket. Captain Harol asked DNI to retrieve his logs when he reached Sankarah Orbital. His logs and yours match though from different points of view. Come, let’s face Commodore Devlaran’s wrath.”

  Admiral Dalkasan rose and led the way from his office. Naval Headquarters on Sankarah is a large installation so often, walking from one destination to another takes too long. Dalkasan led Colin to a small, automated Ground-Car which sped off after they boarded. Colin didn’t feel safe but supposed the designers must’ve considered those aspects.

  Five minutes later Colin and Dalkasan arrived at their destination. They alighted from the Ground-Car and walked along a passage to a meeting room where the others waited. When Colin entered, Devlaran sprang to his feet in anger. Dalkasan voice rang out, telling Devlaran to sit until he knew the facts. Devlaran subsided and sat but still glared at Colin.

  The Admiral said, “We’ve had a few unfortunate events, several caused by misunderstandings, others, I’m not sure. Commodore Devlaran, before you make wild accusations or demands, you should watch the logs from FNS Harmon and FNS Kaval. Captain Kile has compromised FNS Besim’s logs. DNI needs longer to recover them. FNS Harmon’s logs are on the left, FNS Kaval’s the right. We have lined up the times, so they correspond.”

  Dalkasan ran the files which were several hours long. Colin watched Devlaran in his peripheral vision. As the logs proceeded, the color drained from Devlaran’s face. The records showed his preconceptions were invalid. Commodore Gordon wasn’t at fault, Home Fleet was. That made Devlaran responsible. Colin opted to stay quiet, preferring to watch and wait.

  When the logs had run out, Devlaran sat for a moment then said, “Commodore Gordon, I apologize on behalf of my Captains, I should say, former Captains. Admiral, with your permission, I’ll send my resignation to you in the morning. I must leave my Command in a fit state for my successor.”

  Colin watched this unfold, curious to see Admiral Dalkasan’s reaction.

  The reaction when it came, surprised Colin. The Admiral said, “It’s clear that the person most affected by this was Commodore Gordon. I’ll take his advice here. For the record, he’s proven himself fair and impartial in the past, so his advice carries weight. Commodore Devlaran, Commodore Gordon, follow me, we have much to discuss.”

  The group left Captains Kile and Harol alone in the briefing room. Both Captains were in shock, considering their futures. Harol stood to leave when Kile said, “It wasn’t my fault, I was doing my job.” Harol paused for a second, shook his head, and left.

  Meanwhile, Dalkasan took the Commodores back to his office. During the trip, the Admiral showed Colin a precis of the report he received from Captain Kile. Devlaran told Colin and the Admiral how he formed his opinions based on this same report.

  The Admiral said, “Colin, I’m asking your opinion because you were the man on the spot. You defended your Task-Force against aggressive actions by someone else. We’ll start with Commodore Devlaran here. Should I accept his resignation?”

  Colin replied, “Admiral, except for you, this fiasco covered none of us in glory. Commodore Devlaran made mistakes, for example, he didn’t check the full logs before throwing accusations my way. Sir, I made my share of mistakes too. At least, when Commodore Devlaran saw the facts, he realized his mistake. Sir, you should not accept the resignation.”

  Dalkasan nodded then said to Devlaran, “Hanar, I’m inclined to take Commodore Gordon’s advice. Do you have a reason I shouldn’t?”

  “No, Sir.”

  “Then I won’t expect a resignation tomorrow. Pay more attention in future. Now, tell me, these Captains, what were they thinking?”

  “Captain Kile was the senior Officer. He was in Command out there. We only promoted Captain Harol a few months ago. He was a promising young Officer. You’ll notice, Captain Harol was slow to follow Kile’s orders. Commodore Gordon, I’m at a loss to understand why Kile acted that way when you arrived.”

  Dalkasan said, “They’re lucky Commodore Gordon acted with a modicum of restraint. What do we do with them?”

  Colin said, “Captain Kile instigated this. He isn’t fit to command a Destroyer. Hell, I doubt he’s fit to command a bathtub. We shouldn’t allow him near anything mounting weapons. Captain Harol is different. He followed the orders with reluctance. I think we can redeem him. Sir, may I suggest you assign his ship to my Task-Force for a while, maybe a year. He’ll learn to recognize when to follow orders without hesitation and when to ignore them around me.”

  Da
lkasan nodded and said, “What do you think Hanar?”

  “Home Fleet might lose one Destroyer for a year, but one Destroyer shouldn’t make much difference if we came under attack. I expect to get a seasoned Officer with an experienced crew back. Sir, this solution is perfect.”

  “Excellent. Hanar, I’ll leave it to you to arrange the transfer. FNS Harmon’s arrival has offered us a training opportunity. Colin, would your group be the Red Fleet for war games against Home Fleet?”

  “Yes, Sir. I’d prefer to use FNS Harmon and my Cobras for this. I’ll leave FNS Fortitude docked at the Station.”

  The three Officers discussed the exercise.

  FNS Harmon

  Colin approached the docking port beside Admiral Dalkasan. Dimitri knew of the Admiral’s impending visit, Colin made sure of that. The Troopers who guarded the docking port were in dress uniform although they carried loaded weapons, still as deadly to anyone foolish enough to attack. The guards subjected Colin and Dalkasan to the routine identity checks on arrival then permitted the arriving Officers to board FNS Harmon. Captain Molchaoff waited inside and rendered full honors to the Admiral before they embarked on a tour, showing Dalkasan everything.

  At the end of the tour, the Admiral said, “During the exercise, I’ll watch from FNS Harmon. I suspect you’ll give Home Fleet a few tense moments. Do you expect to win?”

  Colin grinned, “I always play to win Admiral. We shall see.”

  Dalkasan chuckled. Watching Colin Gordon work, might prove both entertaining and educational. Colin hoped the Admiral wouldn’t interfere with his tactics. Much of his success came from his education not narrowing his creative impulses. He often adapted tactics he’d learned on Earth. Tactics used for submarine warfare or aerial warfare between airplanes seemed best suited for his purposes. He’d even drawn upon lessons he learned about ships at sea and troops fighting on the ground. After he joined the Navy, Colin spent plenty of time looking at battles in the Federation databases too. He considered this in his tactical planning.