by Saxon Andrew
“How long will it take you to develop the pattern and get the assignments to my Wing Commanders?”
“Four hours.”
“Do it in two. I want the Wings to know their responsibilities and we’re going to launch our ships again once you’re ready. Give the ships a coordinate to attack and let’s see how they perform.”
“They’ll just be moving to an empty place in space.”
“It will be filled soon enough. Notify all the flight crews to replace the fighter’s weapons stores with training rounds.”
“Can I assume from this that we’re going to start maneuvers against the Essays?”
“Tomorrow, so you need to get moving. Issue recall for all ships and have all the Wing Commanders report to my conference room along with their Squadron Commanders as soon as they’re back on board.”
Cam walked to his conference room and hoped his Wing Commanders had done a good job of preparing their pilots for the magnitude of the forces they were going to face. Admiral Hart was right, he needed this as much as the new officers chosen to command a Prophet Carrier.
Chapter Five
The meeting ended and Doc had the assignments ready for the four wings. Cam was thankful and said, “All of those officers assigned to ship defense will remain behind.” The room started clearing and Cam saw the eighty Squadron Commanders responsible for the ship’s defense move to the front chairs. He waited until they settled down and he saw they weren’t happy to be left out of the attack forces. “I want to make sure all of you know what will happen during combat. The Tombstone will be a primary target for any force that attacks us. I will not sit and wait for them to overwhelm our defenses and I will be jumping the ship to a new location whenever I think there’s a risk of that happening.”
“Sir, how are we going to be able to stay in formation around the Tombstone if you’re randomly jumping the ship?”
“All of your Fighters will receive the new coordinate of the Tombstone as soon as it jumps. It will automatically go into your stardrives and you will jump the moment you receive it.” Cam stood up and looked at the pilots, “I want to make sure all of you understand that you will not hesitate to follow the Tombstone the moment you receive that coordinate! The coordinate you’ll receive will put all of your ships into your proper formations around the ship.”
“How far out from the ship will we be, Sir?”
“More than a hundred miles.” The pilots were all shocked and looked at each other shaking their heads. “I know what you’re thinking, how can we defend the ship from so far away? Am I right?” The pilots hesitated and then began nodding. “None of you have seen this ship during actual combat. Our defenses can completely cover any approaching attackers inside eighty miles. If your fighters are inside that radius, the firing computers will still fire at any enemy vessel close to you. You could go out with the enemy ship. Your primary responsibility is to knock the numbers of attackers down before they move inside the eighty-mile limit. If any attackers move inside forty miles, I’m jumping the ship to a new location and we’ll start the process all over again. If any of your Fighters move inside the eighty-mile limit, your entire unit will scrub the landing bay with toothbrushes. Am I clear?”
“YES, SIR!!”
“One more thing, if our Attack Fighters sustain high losses, some of you will be released to join in the attack. You will receive a coordinate on your panel that will be red in color telling you that you are about to jump into a highly active combat zone. Your ship computer will automatically reset your communicator to the frequency of the unit you’re being sent to reinforce along with the unit commander’s frequency. Don’t wait for orders, start firing on targets and listen for any instructions.”
“Sir, what happens if our attack forces are being overwhelmed?”
The Tombstone will send a jump instruction to all of our surviving vessels and they will jump out of the combat zone to a new location where the Tombstone will be waiting for them. You will hold off any enemy vessels while we bring our Fighters on board. Once they’re on board, I’ll jump the ship again and your Fighters will come on board to be rearmed and if necessary, launched again to continue the attack.” Cam looked around the room making eye contact with as many as possible, “It is extremely important that you keep the enemy off the Tombstone until our attacker fighters are back on board.”
“Sir, how is the ship going to be able to use its defenses if thousands of our fighters are around going through landing maneuvers?”
“Lt. Russell, the ship will go to a primary missile defense at that time and the missiles will avoid our ships. Your forces will be allowed to move within forty miles of the Tombstone during the missile defense. Once again, I emphasize that once you receive the coordinate from the Tombstone, jump immediately to start your landing operations.” Cam looked around, “Any questions?” The question was greeted with silence and Cam smiled, “I’m sure you’ll have plenty after the first exercise is completed. You’re dismissed to report to your units.”
The officers ran out of the room to meet with their subordinates. There was a lot to cover and not much time to do it. Cam waited until the room emptied and he said, “Doc, are you able to do all the things I just discussed?”
“I can actually do a lot more, Cam. The upgrades I’ve been given have vastly improved my calculation ability and speed.”
“Well, let’s see how this simple program works first. You have to walk before you can run.”
“I agree. When do we go to ready stations?”
“That starts now. Notify the Wing Commanders that we will be open to attack one minute after 24 hundred hours. I want all hands in their armor five minutes before that deadline.”
“You better get some rest.”
Cam nodded and reclined the chair in his conference room. It was actually just as comfortable as his bed, “Doc, wake me if anything shows up on the long range scanners.”
“Will do.”
Cam lifted his Combat Helmet and put it on. He connected the alarm to the long-range scanners and sonic scanners. He pressed the sleep-mode button and quickly fell asleep. What could be done was done. He slept and dreamed of giant black warships.
Most of the pilots were on board their Attack Fighters and had also activated their sleep-modes. The Skipper had taught them the importance of getting out before trouble arrived. They all knew that normal sleep was out of the question and left it to their ship’s computers to wake them if anything happened.
• • •
Lyla sighed and rubbed the back of her neck. She had finally completed the attack simulations and she had to admit that she was wrong about having to do it. She initially thought that she had trained on the new Prophet Carrier since the first one entered the service and that Admiral Holiday had worked with her on learning the Carrier’s capabilities. These simulations taught her that planning an escape was paramount to survival. It took a few repetitions to drive that point home but once she focused on keeping the carrier out of the range of the enemy’s main weapons, she passed the exercises before the other two were half way done. She stood up and Lt. Patel smiled, “Good job, Commodore. You may report back to your ship in twelve hours.”
Lyla’s eyes narrowed, “Why do I have to wait?”
“Your ship is currently in the middle of an exercise and you wouldn’t be safe to enter the area where it’s taking place.”
“Is there anywhere I can view what’s happening?”
“You can go and ask Admiral Connor or Admiral Hart about viewing it in their conference room.”
Lyla turned and ran out of the Training Center. She pulled up the location of Admiral Connor’s office from her wrist unit and followed its instructions on how to get there. She arrived and ran up to the Commodore sitting at a console outside his office. She caught her breath and said, “I’m Commodore O’Hara. Will you ask Admiral Connor if I may watch the exercise?”
Carol smiled and pressed a button on her panel. After a moment, she
looked up, “He’s approved your joining him.” She pointed at the double doors and Lyla rushed up and one of the guards opened the door for her. She rushed in and Amy said, “Pull up a chair, Commodore. There’s some popcorn on the table to the right along with some drinks. It’s starting to get interesting.”
“Thank you, Sir.” Lyla looked behind her and saw a huge wall monitor with several screens within screens on it. She went to the table, picked up a bag of popcorn and a drink, and then pulled up a chair to watch the monitor. One monitor showed the Hawk Fighters and Attack Fighters in a massive dogfight. Another monitor showed the Essay Battleships maneuvering to escape thousands of Attack Fighters going after them. The third monitor showed the Tombstone being attacked by thousands of Hawk Fighters and more than a hundred Essay Battleships that had made it through the attacking Fighters. The Essays opened fire from a hundred miles out but the Tombstone’s force field shrugged off the beams. She saw the force field glowing bright white and then it disappeared.
Amy looked at Steve and snickered, “I’ll bet John and Timmy are starting to get frustrated.”
Steve nodded, “That’s the third time they’ve moved into range and had the Tombstone jump away. I really like the way the defense Fighters jump with the Carrier.” Steve looked up, “Computer, give me an estimate of how long the Attack Fighters can continue before having to be rearmed.”
“Thirty percent of them are starting to run low.”
Steve turned back to the monitor. What was Holiday going to do about that issue? Lyla stared at the monitor with the Tombstone and saw thousands of Attack Fighters around it going into the landing tubes. Now is when the Tombstone was at its most vulnerable. Admiral Connor turned to Amy, “Now is when the Essays should go after it.” Evidently, he saw it as well. Lyla stared at the screen and thought about what she would do. “Commodore, how would you handle this?”
Lyla turned and saw both Admirals were staring at her. She looked back at the monitor and said, “The Tombstone can only use the rear and bow blasters to defend itself without running the risk of hitting the landing Attack Fighters. I’d start launching missiles at any approaching attackers. Once all the Attack Fighters are on board, I’d jump the ship again and launch the ones that landed and are rearmed. Once they’re launched, I’d jump the ship again and start landing operations with another group of Fighters.”
Amy looked up and tilted her head, “Ten Essays were knocked out of the exercise by the training missiles. The Tombstone jumped before the others could move into range.”
Steve smiled at Lyla, “Have you planned this before the exercise started?”
Lyla shook her head, “No, Sir, but it’s what I think Admiral Holiday would do. He really does understand the limitations of the Tombstone.”
“Do you understand them, Commodore?”
Lyla looked at Admiral Hart, “I thought I did but the attack simulations taught me a lot more than I knew going in. Admiral Holiday is focused on keeping the Tombstone fighting and he’s allowing his Attack Ships to do their job without interference. I suspect he’ll be recalling all of his Attack Fighters if he loses much more.”
Amy looked up at the monitor, “The Attack Fighters he rearmed have joined the defenders.” The giant Carrier suddenly disappeared and Amy pressed a button on her console and listened to a frequency and heard John and Timmy, “Where did it go?”
“It jumped away and it apparently jumped outside the range of our long range scanners, John. Spread out the ships and find it.”
“Timmy, wherever it went, all of the Attack Fighters have disappeared with it.” John paused and said over the attack frequency, “All Ships, spread out and find that Carrier!! It’s rearming its fighters and we’re going to have to go through this again if we don’t find it fast.”
One of his Ship Commanders said, “Sir, we have to retrieve our Hawk Fighters to rearm them. Most of them are low or completely out of munitions.”
Amy looked at Steve and said, “I’ll bet you could boil an egg on John’s head at this moment.”
They heard John order, “Recall the Hawks but send enough out to find that ship!!”
• • •
Amy smiled and then looked at the Tombstone on the monitor. Her smile disappeared, “What is Holiday up to?”
Lyla looked at the Tombstone and smiled, “He has to be aware that the Essays Hawks are low on munitions. I think he’s going to exploit that.”
The three stared at the Tombstone and saw thousands of Attack Fighters launching and disappearing. They turned to the monitor showing the Fleet of Essays. The Attack Fighters came roaring in and hundreds of the giant warships began disappearing as they were knocked out of the exercise. John’s ship was one of them. Steve shook his head, “I guess we should end the exercise.”
Amy shook her head, “Wait a moment.” She pressed another button on her panel and heard John yell, “DID YOU GET A LINE ON THEIR APPROACH!!?”
“I did, Sir.”
“All surviving Battleships, lock on to my ship and follow me!”
Steve looked back at the monitor and saw the Tombstone still retrieving Attack Fighters as two hundred Essays came roaring in on the ship and went to evasive maneuvers. Fifty were knocked out by the defense missiles but fifty of them moved into range and opened fire with a barrage of Main Blasters and Heavy Missiles. The stardrive field appeared around the Tombstone but not in time. The giant vessel suddenly disappeared showing it was out of the competition. Steve looked at Amy, “Why didn’t Holiday jump before they arrived?”
Lyla kept her face turned toward the Monitor and smiled. Amy could see it and she knew what had happened. Admiral Holiday knew that the Essays needed a victory or moral would be adversely affected. The Essays were designed to attack the Families’ Motherships and if they were incapable of taking out one Carrier, the hit on their confidence could be more than they could repair.
Steve saw Amy smile and, after a moment, knew what Holiday had done. He put the welfare of the Fleet ahead of his own ambitions. He now knew that Amy had made an excellent choice, the right choice, in putting him in command of the Tombstone. He also knew who was going to command the four Carriers when they became operational.
• • •
“Congratulations, Tim.”
“John, go to a private frequency.”
John’s head went back and he pressed a button next to his communicator transmit button. He entered Timmy’s frequency and said, “What’s wrong?”
“John, Holiday allowed us to hit his ship.”
“What?”
“I want you to think about what you observed during the exercise and tell me what you see was going on at the end.”
John thought about the exercise and after a few minutes he sighed, “You’re right; he stayed put so we could hit him.”
“Do you still think we were snubbed by promoting him?”
“No, I can see he didn’t want to destroy our morale. We need to have a conversation with him about how he thinks we should attack a Mothership.”
“I agree. However, there will be one difference when that happens.”
John nodded, “They won’t be running.”
“Exactly. I think we have to rethink our attack profiles. The only way to go after them is to use our superior speed and hit them faster than they can organize their defenses.”
“That’s going to be a dangerous strategy.”
“We’ve seen what holding back to find a way in accomplishes. We need to use our Hawks to clear a lane and go in hot and fast. We also have to remember that we’re invisible to them, unlike the Tombstone.”
“Tim, why do you think Holiday chose that name for his ship?”
“Go into your data banks and search for O.K. Corral.”
“What will I find?”
“You will find a gunfighter in the old west that carried a shotgun hidden in his coat. That gunfighter was named Doc Holiday. His ship’s computer is named Doc.”
“Well, at least he
’s consistent. I’ve discovered one thing during this exercise.”
“What is that?”
“Our Hawks are pretty much worthless against the Attack Fighters.”
Timmy nodded, “I have to agree. They can only take them out with one of their heavy missiles. However, they will be effective against the Mothership’s fighters. This really wasn’t a fair engagement. Their Attack Fighters can take out our battleships and our Hawks don’t stand a chance against that Carrier’s defenses. One of our weapons was off the table before we started.
“We still could have taken the Tombstone out if we could just get close enough.”
“We’ll get to try again tomorrow. We need to find a way to keep tabs on where it goes.”
“Are we not allowed to use a Tracker Probe?”
Timmy hesitated and tilted his head, “I’ve not seen anything prohibiting it.”
“Well, let’s see if Doc Holiday sees this coming.”
• • •
“Welcome back, Commodore. How was the training?”
“I learned a lot. Admiral Connor also allowed me to watch the exercise on the monitor in his office.”
“Good, I’m glad to hear it. You will be commanding tomorrow’s exercise.”
“Why?”
“What if something happens to me?”
“If something happens to you I’ll go with you; my chair is only ten feet from yours.”
“I’m talking about a burst appendix or some other illness. You’ve seen it happen before. I will be there to offer suggestions but for the most part, you will be in command.”
“What’s going on, Sir?”
Cam stared at her for a long moment and then decided that deception was not what was needed, “Lyla, you will be given the command of a Prophet as soon as the next ship is operational and you need to prepare to take command.”
Lyla stared at him and then shook her head, “Sir, I prefer to stay on this ship.”
“That’s not an option.”
“Why not!?”
“Because Humanity needs you to defend it and you’re the one best suited to do it.”