Mutineer (Empire Rising Book 7)

by D. J. Holmes

  “I think we’ve been detected,” Ivanov announced. “Look at this frigate here.”

  James focused on the one she had identified. It was acting strangely. It had just changed direction, and, as he watched, it changed direction again. It was clearly a prearranged signal.

  “They know we’re here,” James confirmed.

  Before he could give the order to begin his plan, Scott drew his attention elsewhere. “There’s another fleet in the system. Look at the gravimetric sensor display. Out beyond their homeworld.”

  The main holo projector altered to show the data coming in from the gravimetric sensors and zoomed out to show the whole system. There was a large group of contacts slowly making their way into the system from one of its other shift passages. There were at least thirteen hundred, and their numbers were still climbing. Miyamoto designated them as fleet Beta.

  “How many ships can they have?” Becket asked in amazement.

  “I’m not sure I want to know the answer to that,” James replied as he rethought the tactical situation. This new fleet could be a problem, but it wasn’t a pressing one, not yet anyway. They were still quite a distance from the Flex-aor homeworld. Unless his ships got sucked into an extended missile duel, the new contacts wouldn’t be able to get close enough to prevent his escape. But they will try and follow us, he knew. Of that there was no doubt. “Send the course details to the rest of our fleet. We are sticking to the plan,” James ordered.

  “Transmitting now Admiral,” Emilie replied.

  “Order all our damaged ships to peel off and remain in stealth. Bring our engines up to full. Let’s begin,” James followed up.

  Almost every ship in his fleet charged towards the Flex-aor homeworld. As soon as they did, they were detected by every gravimetric sensor in the system. James had thought of several ruses or different strategies he could have attempted to carry out within the Flex-aor homeworld to throw off the fleet pursuing him. With so much space in a solar system, there was always some trick one could try. In the end he had adopted the simplest approach. Despite having the system scans Ya’sia had provided him, the Flex-aor would know their home system far better than he. He had decided trying to outsmart them or outmaneuver them in a series of drawn-out exercises was too risky. Instead, he was going to do exactly what he hoped Ala’ron was expecting him to do. He was going to attack. That would draw in all the Flex-aor forces and make sure they didn’t surprise him.

  “Beta Fleet is altering course and accelerating,” Miyamoto reported. “They’re making for the Flex-aor homeworld.”

  James watched the new data appear on the holo projector. The projected course of Beta Fleet indicated they wouldn’t get to the Flex-aor homeworld before his fleet did. They wouldn’t be too far behind though and were still a serious threat.

  As James’ ships raced into the system, a few small skirmishes broke out. Individual Flex-aor scout ships and a small squadron of eight light cruisers were engaged and destroyed. They all found themselves in the direct path of James’ ships and had been unable to escape. Other contacts were detected as well. Several small squadrons and a number of single ships all appeared on the gravimetric plot as they turned and raced towards the Flex-aor homeworld. Ala’ron or whoever was commanding the Flex-aor forces was recalling all their warships. James understood the thinking of the Flex-aor commander, but it was not what he would have done. By now the Flex-aor should know the capabilities of his and Ya’sia’s ships. If they were thinking rationally, the Flex-aor commander would know their homeworld’s defenses were strong enough to withstand his fleet’s attack. At least for a while. Beta Fleet, along with the other warships in the system, should be angling to cut off James’ retreat, instead of heading straight for the Flex-aor homeworld. Of course, that was the rational tactic to take. Rationality went out the spaceport when one’s homeworld was under attack.

  “New contacts,” Golden Hind’s sensor officer reported, breaking James’ train of thought. “It’s the fleet from X-62. They’ve exited shift space and are moving into the system. They are coming onto a pursuit course. Designating them fleet Gamma.”

  Moments later the main holo plot updated to show the new contacts. The fleet that had followed them from X-62 was moving onto a trajectory that would put them right behind James’ ships. They had exited shift space much further into the system than James’ command had and they were just half an hour behind his fleet. He had jumped out early to make sure there wasn’t an ambush waiting for him, Gamma Fleet’s commander hadn’t worried about such a possibility. James filed that piece of information away for later. For now he was focused on Gamma Fleet’s progress for as soon as they exited shift space, they powered up their engines and followed as fast as they could. Like Beta Fleet, they wouldn’t catch his ships before he reached the Flex-aor homeworld. They would, however, be coming in fast behind him.

  For another thirty minutes the tactical situation didn’t change. James’ ships, along with Beta and Gamma Fleets, accelerated towards the Flex-aor homeworld. Sitting in his command chair, James could feel the tension slowly rise. On the holo projector, it looked like James was leading his ships to their death. If things continued as they were, his fleet would come into missile range of the Flex-aor homeworld in an hour. Twenty minutes later, Beta Fleet would enter missile range, and fifteen minutes after that, Gamma Fleet would also enter missile range. The Human and Crian ships would find themselves being attacked from three different angles by more than three thousand enemy warships. His officers knew that wasn’t the plan but the closer his ships got to the Flex-aor homeworld, the tighter it appeared the noose was getting around their necks.

  “Admiral, Flex-aor fleet Beta is altering course,” Miyamoto said in a tone that didn’t sound so happy.

  When James saw the new tracking information for Beta, he bit back a curse. Someone in the Flex-aor fleet was starting to think beyond the need to protect their homeworld at all costs. Beta’s course change was minimal, but it was significant for James’ plan. “They’re giving themselves more tactical options,” James responded. Beta Fleet was now heading towards a point somewhere in between his ships and the Flex-aor homeworld. “If the Flex-aor commander wants to, he could order Alpha Fleet to break orbit and close with us. Beta Fleet’s new heading means they would be in a better position to support Alpha if they come out to engage us.” The Flex-aor commander was hedging his bets. If Alpha was really going to come out after his ships, Beta’s course change would have been more severe. They were leaving the option on the table, but it didn’t look like they were too keen to take it. “Alter our plans to accommodate Beta’s course change,” James ordered.

  “Optimum launch time is in twenty-five minutes,” Miyamoto updated James.

  “Make sure everyone knows about the altered timetable,” James replied.

  As the ships continued into the system, James kept his eye on Beta Fleet, they were the best indicator of what the Flex-aor commander was thinking. At the moment his opponent was being cautious, but that could change at any moment. Thankfully, Beta didn’t alter its course again and there was no indication the warships in orbit around the Flex-aor homeworld intended to come out to fight. They were thinking about it though, James thought. It’s too late now, your opportunity has passed. “Launch drones and fighters, carry out the fleet’s course change.”

  Every ship in the fleet had been waiting for the command. Out of their forward missile tubes, pre-prepared drones were shot towards the Flex-aor homeworld. As soon as they left their motherships, the drones powered up their engines and released electromagnetic radiation that mimicked the ships which had just released them. Almost all of the fighters and bombers under Wing Commander McGrath’s command launched and fell into formation with the drones. Then, the warships powered down their reactors and engines and, using only minimal thrust, altered course up and away from the Flex-aor homeworld.

  Very slowly at first, but then with increasing velocity, James’ warships moved away from the
drones. Crucially, both Beta and Gamma Fleets continued on their current trajectories. They have bought the ruse, at least for now, James thought as he forced himself to sit back in his command chair and appear calm. Inside, his heart was racing. He knew that his ruse wouldn’t last long. Yet every second his ships were able to break away from Beta and Gamma Fleets reduced the chance that either Flex-aor force would be able to bring his ships into missile range. As the seconds turned into a minute, and then two, James felt his arms tremble slightly. He wanted to grip his command chair, but he resisted the effort. Instead, he focused on giving off a calming aura. Though he ignored it, he was very much aware of the glances his officers were sending him. They could all read the holo plot, until the course change, his fleet had been heading towards certain destruction. Now they were ever so slowly edging their way to safety.

  When two minutes turned into three, and then four James felt the pressure of his next decision start to affect his body. If he gave the order too soon, it would have no effect, yet if he waited too long it would also be pointless. Initially he had planned to wait five minutes. Yet now, in the midst of it, his thinking was changing. Six minutes, he told himself. You can wait six minutes. Every second allowed his ships to get closer to safety, yet it also increased the likelihood the Flex-aor would see through his ruse. When five minutes came and went, his heart was hammering so fast he had to start taking deep breaths. At five and a half minutes, something changed, James didn’t know why or how, but he sensed the order needed to come now. “Tell McGrath to proceed immediately,” he snapped.

  “Order sent,” Emilie replied instantly.

  On the holo plot, McGrath’s one hundred and sixty fighters and bombers broke away from the drones and accelerated towards the Flex-aor homeworld. Now all James could do was hope that the launch of McGrath’s fighters had the intended effect. If the Flex-aor commander was starting to get suspicious, seeing the fighters and bombers appear from the midst of the drones would make him have doubts. With the exception of multistage missiles, there was nothing in James’ fleet that could move as fast as McGrath’s fighters. There was no way to mimic their abilities. Their appearance would add weight to the belief that the drones were in fact James’ warships.

  Though he had given the order, James’ heart was racing. His fleet was still a long way from safety and it was just a matter of when, not if, the Flex-aor figured out they were being duped. Every second counted, and his heart continued to thunder.

  A full twelve minutes after the drones had been launched, someone finally became suspicious. “Multiple ships breaking orbit!” Miyamoto reported. “They’re fanning out.”

  On the holo plot forty light ships broke orbit and accelerated into the system on various trajectories. They had their active sensors powered up and were filling space with electromagnetic energy as they sought James’ ships. Moments later many more light ships detached from Beta and Gamma Fleets as they too sought to locate their enemy. In response, McGrath’s fighters and bombers veered off from their attack run on the Flex-aor homeworld as James had instructed. Though an attack on some of the large shipyards in orbit was tempting, James didn’t know how many more battles he would have to fight to get his fleet out of Flex-aor space. He couldn’t afford to lose the fighters that would be shot down in such an attack.

  “More contacts,” Golden Hind’s sensor officer said, beating Miyamoto to it this time. “They’re coming from the battlestations on ballistic courses. They must be sensor drones.”

  Thirty seconds after appearing the drones turned on their active sensors. James shared a glance with Gupta. This was new. The Flex-aor fleet that had invaded Human space hadn’t used one recon drone in the entire campaign. They hadn’t encountered any since entering Flex-aor space either. The Flex-aor might not have improved their technology over the last five years, but they were clearly able to develop some innovations.

  “They have to know the drones are a fake now,” Scott said. A Flex-aor frigate had come within missile range of them, and of course, the drones hadn’t opened fire.

  “I think this drone is the one that will get the best look at us,” Ivanov suggested as she highlighted a drone on the holo plot. “Two and a half minutes and its sensors should be able to get a lock on the Crian ships.”

  James nodded. “We’ll go to maximum acceleration as soon as the drone gets into range.” If the circumstances were different and he was just commanding his own Outer Defense Fleet, he could have tried to be even more sneaky. Human stealth systems were significantly more advanced than Crian ones. In truth, the Crian ships weren’t designed to be stealthy at all, their advanced technologies simply meant they were hard to detect. The drone Ivanov had identified was going to come more than close enough to pick them up though.

  “Going to maximum acceleration,” Scott said as soon as the drone came close enough. James’s command immediately fired off their thrusters, announcing themselves to the Flex-aor forces.

  For several seconds neither Beta nor Gamma Fleet reacted. James could guess why. Both commanders were trying to figure out if they could intercept his forces. “I think we’ve done it everyone,” he said as relief washed over him. The holo plot was updating to project the optimal course change and acceleration profile that either Beta or Gamma Fleets would have to carry out to intercept his forces. For Gamma Fleet, it was impossible. They were simply accelerating too hard towards their homeworld and their engines couldn’t carry out the same kind of braking and turning maneuver James’ ships could. It was all but impossible for Beta as well. Their previous course change had put them in a much better position, but they would have to redline their reactors and engines and, even then, it would be hit or miss if they could get into range for even one missile salvo.

  “Alpha Fleet is moving!” Miyamoto shouted.

  James swore. He had guessed, but now he knew; Ala’ron was no longer commanding the Flex-aor forces. From what he had seen in X-62, she would focus on protecting herself and her homeworld. Whoever was commanding the Flex-aor forces now had a different mindset. Almost all of Alpha Fleet was breaking orbit and turning onto an intercept trajectory for his ships. Whilst Beta and Gamma Fleets couldn’t catch him Alpha could. James’ ships were curving up and away from Alpha Fleet, but the momentum his ships still had was bringing them closer and closer to the smallest Flex-aor force. Alpha Fleet was starting its acceleration burn at a position of rest relative to his ships, they didn’t have to overcome any unwanted momentum.

  “They’ll get three missile salvos off against us,” Scott reported. “Then we will be in the clear.”

  James knew what she was saying. Three missile salvos wasn’t much, they wouldn’t do too much damage, but every ship that lost its engines or reactors would have to be abandoned. If James tried to help them, he would be allowing Alpha Fleet to fire more salvos at his ships.

  “Beta Fleet is breaking up,” someone reported. James didn’t hear who, he was too busy trying to bite back another curse. The smaller and faster ships of Beta Fleet were shooting ahead of their consorts. They wouldn’t get into missile range, but they would cruise up behind his ships and easily pick off any that fell out of formation. Alpha Fleet wouldn’t have to worry about lingering to finish off cripples, they could focus on his main fleet.

  His next batch of orders came easily, there was nothing else he could do. “Flush all our missile pods, I want our first broadside to be as big as possible. Launch the rest of our fighters as well, I want them ready to intercept Flex-aor missile carriers. Signal McGrath, tell her to launch an attack against her primary targets. She needs to hit their shipyards hard, maybe that will cause them to think twice about chasing us.”

  Though someone acknowledged his command, James didn’t hear them. He was focused on the holo plot. McGrath’s fighters and bombers altered course and charged towards the Flex-aor homeworld. James’ gaze focused on Alpha Fleet. He gave a grunt of satisfaction when two hundred ships decelerated. They were turning back towards their ho
meworld. As data on them appeared he had to stop himself from grimacing. The ships were all light escorts, the Flex-aor commander was sending his best point defense ships back to defend his homeworld’s orbital infrastructure. That would weaken Alpha Fleet and mean they would take more damage from James’ ships, yet it wouldn’t reduce the size of Alpha Fleet’s missile salvo by a great deal. We need to convince them to pull more ships back! he thought desperately. There was only one thing he could think of doing. “Contact McGrath, inform her I want her to make a second attack run. She is to target the shipyards with her fighter’s plasma cannons.”

  “A second attack run?” Scott asked as she looked up from her console.

  James didn’t reply, he simply allowed Scott to see the determination on his face. He knew what he was doing.

  *

  Wing Commander McGrath swallowed the lump in her throat. Her orders were all but a death sentence for her pilots. With a coldness that surprised herself, she opened a COM channel to her attack wing and informed them of what was happening. Then she plotted out her force’s escape route from their first attack run and the course change that would bring them back around. “You all know what is at stake,” she said after transmitting her intended trajectories. “If Alpha Fleet gets a chance to hammer our forces, thousands of our brothers and sisters won’t make it home. We have to draw away as much of Alpha Fleet as we can and we’re going to do it the hard way. Let’s show these Flex-aor just what Humanity’s elite fighter pilots can do! Good hunting everyone.”