The Long Road Home (A Learning Experience Book 4)

by Christopher Nuttall

  “Target the destroyers,” he ordered. “Keep updating the passive locks as we move closer to the gravity point. If they get a sniff of us, blow them away.”

  “Aye, Captain,” Callaway said. “Weapons locked and set to automatic firing mode.”

  “Confirmed,” Biscoe said. “Automatic firing sequence confirmed.”

  Elton sucked in his breath as they glided into firing range. They needed to be close, very close, before opening fire. He could throw enough missiles to overwhelm their defences in seconds, but they still had the option of popping through the gravity point. And yet ... they were in one of the very few regions of interplanetary space where a head-on collision was actually probable. His instincts were urging him to pick up speed and get out of the danger zone before it was too late ...

  They’ll see us soon, he told himself, grimly. And then they’ll start running.

  Two more freighters flickered into existence on the display, barely pausing long enough to exchange messages with the station before they brought up their stardrives and vanished into FTL. The station didn't seem to make any effort to search them, something that bothered Elton more than he cared to admit. Either the station’s crew wasn't inclined to search ships popping through from the wrong side or they were confident that the defenders on the far side had already done the work. If that was the case, it suggested worrying things about the forces waiting for him.

  We need a recon drone that can be popped through a gravity point, he thought. But so far none of the researchers have managed to miniaturise a gravity pulse generator so we can pop a gunboat though, let alone a drone.

  “Entering medium range now,” Marie reported.

  “Hang tight,” Elton ordered.

  He braced himself. The enemy would spot them soon. He had no doubt of it. Odyssey’s stealth mode was inferior to a proper cloaking device. Even if they had had a cloak, they couldn't have crept to point-blank range without being detected. The gravity point was playing merry hell with his sensors, but the enemy had had plenty of time to adjust their systems to compensate ...

  An alarm sounded. “They saw us,” Callaway snapped. Odyssey rumbled as she unleashed her first broadside. “Missiles away, Captain! I say again ...”

  “I heard,” Elton said. “Raise shields. Ramp up the drive!”

  “Aye, Captain,” Callaway said.

  “Enemy ships are raising shields,” Biscoe reported. “One of them is heading towards the point!”

  Damn, Elton thought. They must have been on alert, even if they weren't putting wear and tear on their shield generators.

  He cursed under his breath. He’d miscalculated. The enemy knew that Odyssey was in the system, even if they believed her to be seven AUs from the gravity point. They’d put their ships on alert. And that miscalculation might have cost them everything, unless ... the missiles reached their targets and slammed into their shields, smashing them down. A moment later, both destroyers were blown into dust.

  “Targets destroyed,” Callaway reported.

  “Helm, take us through the gravity point,” Elton said. There was no point in wasting time destroying either the station or the two freighters. They’d just soak up missiles he knew he’d need on the far side. “Tactical, reset the weapons. Prepare to engage any nearby enemy battleships or fortresses with Hammers.”

  “Aye, sir,” Marie said. “This is going to be a rough transition.”

  “We can handle it,” Elton assured her. Celesta wasn't that important a system, but he was fairly sure the Harmonies would have done their best to fortify her. They couldn't risk popping through the gravity point at zero velocity. “Stand by to transit ...”

  “Captain,” Callaway snapped. “I’m picking up targeting emissions from the freighters!”

  Impossible, Elton thought. They have to be mad to pick a fight with a warship.

  He turned his attention to the display. The enemy freighters had raised shields - military-grade shields - and were manoeuvring into attack position. And that suggested they weren't insane after all. What were they doing?

  “Target them, standard warheads,” Elton ordered. Odyssey was still picking up speed. A few more minutes and they’d be through the gravity point and into the next system. “Mr. Williams, order them to back off.”

  “No response, Captain,” Williams said. “They didn't even bother to tell us to surrender.”

  “I think we’re way past that now,” Biscoe said. “We wouldn't let them have the ship, even if we surrendered the crew.”

  “Missile separation,” Callaway snapped. “Multiple missile separation!”

  Elton felt his eyes go wide as he saw the new wave of icons on the display. A freighter couldn't carry so many missiles, could it? A battleship couldn't fire so many missiles in a single salvo. And yet ... he pushed his disbelief aside. The freighters had been configured to carry missiles, adding to the firepower defending the gravity point. Dismissing them as harmless had been a terrible mistake.

  “Bring up point defence, prepare to engage,” he ordered. “Mr. Biscoe?”

  “Analysis indicates that they’re single-shot weapons,” Biscoe said. “Someone crammed the hulls full of missile pods ... they can't reload.”

  “I hope you’re right,” Elton snapped. He silently saluted the enemy commanders. They’d taken full advantage of his blunder. And it had been a blunder. “Helm?”

  “We’ll be through the gravity point in one minute,” Marie said.

  “Configuring warheads to swat enemy missiles,” Callaway said. “Firing ... now!”

  Elton nodded, suppressing his annoyance. If they made it through the point, they’d just wasted a ton of missiles ... it was no consolation that the enemy had done the same thing. He didn't even have time to blow the freighters away. Destroying them, now they’d shot themselves dry, would have been nothing more than pointless spite. But ...

  “They’re too bunched up to be effective,” Callaway reported. “I’m taking out hundreds of them.”

  “There are hundreds more,” Elton said. He clenched his fist. After everything they’d done, he was damned if they were losing to a pair of crappy makeshift warships based on freighter hulls and crewed by amateurs. “Deploy drones.”

  “Gravity point in thirty seconds,” Marie said.

  The weapons fire shouldn't have any effect on the gravity point, Elton told himself. He’d scanned the records during the long flight to Harmony. The Tokomak threw thousands of warships through one gravity point, back during the wars ... the gravity point didn't even twitch.

  He shook his head. The Tokomak believed that gravity points were natural outgrowths of the gravity field that held the galaxy - and the universe - together. Some parts of space, they’d reasoned, were weaker than others, linking two regions of space together and allowing starships to hop hundreds of light years in an eyeblink. Elton didn't pretend to understand the math, but everyone agreed there was no way to disrupt a gravity point. And yet ... finding a way might be very interesting indeed.

  “Point defence going active, sir,” Callaway said. “Missile impact in fifteen seconds.”

  “Get some more push out of the engines,” Elton said. A real warship would have been able to overstress the drives, if only for a few minutes. Right now, it would have made the difference between life and death. “Divert power to shields and drives.”

  “Aye, Captain,” Biscoe said.

  “Captain, the enemy ships are reversing course and dropping into FTL,” Callaway added. “I think they’ve realised they were played.”

  “It doesn't matter,” Elton said. His ship was shaking as Marie overpowered the drives. He was grimly aware that they were trapped, if anything went wrong. Losing the drives completely would spell utter disaster. “They can’t interfere now.”

  “Gravity point in five seconds,” Marie said.

  “Hammers pre-programmed to engage,” Callaway added. “Firing sequences ready to go.”

  Elton tapped his console. “All hands,
brace for rough transit,” he snapped. He hoped the crew remembered what to do. It wasn’t a drill they practiced very often. In hindsight, it was another oversight. “Brace for rough ...”

  The universe sneezed, violently. Elton doubled over, feeling as though he’d been punched in the gut. A faint haze hovered at the edge of his vision as he retched uncontrollably, swallowing hard to keep from throwing up on the deck. His head ached ... just for a second, he honestly believed that someone had stabbed a knife deep into his brain. He sniffed, recoiling as he scented vomit. Someone behind him hadn't managed to keep their lunch. He carefully didn't look around to see who’d vomited. Normally, they’d be relieved at once, but there was no reason to assume that the beta crew was in any better state. His head still felt like broken glass ...

  “Transit complete, Captain,” Marie said. Her face was pale. She sounded badly shaken, her hands trembling as she worked her console. Beside her, Callaway looked exhausted, as if he'd just run a race. “The drive is cycling down now.”

  “Launch drones,” Elton ordered. His voice threatened to tremble too. “Tactical?”

  “I’m picking up two enemy fortresses and a squadron of smaller ships,” Callaway reported, grimly. New icons flared up on the display. “Hammers are engaging ... now!”

  Elton nodded. “Helm, get us out of here,” he ordered. They were in no state for an engagement. “Best possible speed!”

  “Aye, sir,” Marie said.

  Chapter Thirty

  I believe I have made my objections quite clear.

  I’m sure you’re about to accuse me of being racist against aliens, even though - let us face it - the vast majority of the Galactics view us as children, upstarts or prey. They think of us as something akin to ‘uppity niggers.’ Yes, I used that word and it fits, because the contemptuous mindset that allows someone to dismiss someone from a lesser race - as they saw it - is exactly the same attitude the Galactics use to dismiss us.

  Be honest. Even our allies think of us as the new kids on the block.

  -Solar Datanet, Political Forum (Grand Alliance Thoughts).

  “Impact in ten seconds,” Callaway said.

  Elton nodded, stiffly, as he fought to remain calm. His stomach felt queasy, as if he’d eaten something rotten. His implants couldn't do anything about the sensation, either. It wasn't a real sensation. Reports were flooding in from all over the ship, informing him that one in ten crewmen were no longer in a fit state to carry out their duties. There was a reason why starships always crept through the gravity points after all, rather than charging through like a bat out of hell.

  The enemy, at least, had been completely surprised by Odyssey’s arrival on their side of the gravity point. Elton watched, grimly, as the fortresses struggled to bring their shields and weapons up, even though it was far too late. They should have kept everything at standby, he noted, as the Hammers slammed into the fortresses and destroyed them. It would have given the Harmonies their best possible chance at smashing Odyssey before she made her escape.

  “Targets destroyed,” Callaway reported. “The enemy starships are bringing up their shields and weapons now.”

  “Engage all targets within range, but hold back the remaining Hammers,” Elton ordered, shortly. The Harmonies didn't have enough firepower to keep him from escaping the gravity point. “Helm, get us away from the gravity point!”

  “Aye, sir,” Marie ordered.

  Elton watched as the enemy ships opened fire. Their fire was sporadic, as if they weren’t quite sure of their target. The drones were probably confusing them, if they hadn't been shocked - badly - by the loss of the fortresses. They’d been absolute masters of the Celesta System for so long that Odyssey’s arrival was pretty much an outside context problem. He felt a flicker of contempt, even though he knew he should be glad. The Harmonies had known they might be called upon to fight at any moment.

  “They’re scattering,” Callaway said. “I think we killed their CO.”

  “They’ll pick another one soon,” Biscoe said. He cursed, softly. “Captain, long-range sensors are picking up an enemy fleet coming from Gravity Point Two.”

  Elton keyed his console, bringing up a starchart. Gravity Point Two wasn't on the direct route to Hudson Base, but it did provide a shortcut for enemy forces that might have been diverted towards Kami before being called back. The Harmonies had deduced their likely path, even if they hadn't reacted in time to keep him from jumping into Celesta. They’d know now, he was sure. The alert would already be racing out from Gravity Point Three.

  “They can move to block us,” he said, coldly. “Or ...”

  He forced himself to think. The alert would already be going out, but - thanks to the speed-of-light delay - it wouldn't have reached the enemy ships. Not yet. No alert had come through from Celadon or the defences at Gravity Point Three would have been ready for them. And that meant ... there was just time to take advantage of the situation, if they were lucky.

  “Helm, bring up the stardrive,” he ordered. “Take us directly to Gravity Point One.”

  “Aye, Captain,” Marie said.

  Elton shared a long look with Biscoe. It was a gamble, one hell of a gamble. The enemy commanders would see them the moment they dropped into FTL, unless their sensor operators happened to be asleep at the switch. And there was no way that would happen, unless the enemy was overwhelmingly confident. He rather doubted it. Odyssey escaping Harmony and then blowing her way out of a number of traps would probably have dented the enemy’s pride badly. They wouldn't take her lightly any longer.

  “They’ll adjust course as soon as they see us,” Biscoe muttered.

  “I know,” Elton said.

  He scowled. The records insisted that Gravity Point One was lightly defended, but the records were years out of date. He’d be astonished if the gravity point wasn't heavily defended. And yet, blasting their way through would cut years off their journey. They needed to break through, if it was humanly possible.

  And if it isn't, he thought grimly, we’ll at least give them a scare.

  “Take us out two minutes from the gravity point,” he ordered, as the display blanked. “And cycle the drive as soon as we arrive.”

  “Aye, Captain,” Marie said.

  “Message from sickbay,” Biscoe said. “We have over a hundred crewmen who have to go off duty.”

  “Understood,” Elton said. He still felt fragile himself. Two bridge crew had already been replaced. “We won’t make a note of it in their personal files.”

  He smiled at his weak joke. “Make sure the remaining personnel are moved around to cover for any holes,” he added. “And put the sufferers to bed.”

  “Aye, Captain,” Biscoe said.

  “Leaving FTL in one minute,” Marie said.

  “All weapons and sensors at full alert,” Callaway added.

  Elton braced himself as Odyssey slipped back out of FTL ... and swore. The display lit up like a Christmas tree. Gravity Point One was orbited by four fortresses, two full enemy battle squadrons and a swarm of gunboats. Their weapons were already charged ... thankfully, Odyssey hadn't tried to drop out of FTL right on top of them. There was no hope of getting through the gravity point in one piece.

  “Sir, the enemy fleet is on our tail,” Callaway reported. “They’re ...”

  The display lit up, again, as the enemy ships materialised near the gravity point. Elton cursed under his breath. The enemy had jumped into FTL as soon as they’d detected Odyssey, then - they’d deduced their destination and hurried to intercept. They hadn't quite managed to bring themselves out of FTL in firing position, but they were close enough to do real damage if they had a chance.

  “Helm, bring us about,” Elton ordered, harshly. “Get us out of here!”

  “Aye, Captain,” Marie said.

  “Enemy ships are moving into firing position,” Callaway said. “I’m picking up a disturbing number of missile-armed freighters.”

  “They must have designed them as a s
topgap gravity point defence system,” Biscoe said, looking down at his console. “They certainly have the firepower to give someone a bloody nose.”

  “Probably,” Elton agreed. He sucked in his breath. “Time to FTL?”

  “Two minutes, at best,” Marie said. “Engineering would prefer five.”