by Terry Mixon
“Won’t the crew recognize strangers?” she asked. “They won’t have a lot of people to remember. We don’t look like these two.”
“We only need a moment’s confusion. If you see someone in the kind of clothes you expect, acting as if they have every right to be there, you wonder if you somehow missed a new guy. That’s human nature.
“Andrew and I will lead the team forward and hit the bridge first. On a freighter like this, we’ll probably only have a couple of folks to contend with. Those stunners make for much faster work, and are a lot less chancy than shock weapons. Alan will come with us to take over running the helm.
“The other team will hit the computer center. Your people will be right behind us in case there’s trouble. Once we’ve secured the bridge, we can lock out the com systems. That’ll keep anyone from screaming for help right away. The team hitting engineering will make sure the drives stay the way they are. With those two areas secure, you and your marines can hunt down the remaining crew.”
She nodded. “Excellent. The other team should be close to engineering, so let’s be about this.”
They stripped the two prisoners out of their coveralls. The woman’s would be tight on one of the men, but it only had to stand up to a momentary glance.
The recovery agents checked the corridor and sauntered toward the bridge. She led the marines far enough behind them so that anyone they encountered wouldn’t see them. The other agents brought up the rear. They’d hit the computer center at the same time as the bridge team went in.
Hopwood stopped by the bridge hatch and hefted his stunner. Once Andrew was ready, Hopwood triggered the door mechanism and went in. The low hum of the stunners sounded. The rest of his bridge team went in after him.
Then shouts of dismay and gunfire.
She came in fast with her stunner up and searching for targets. Of which there were far too many for her taste.
The bridge wasn’t the small affair the plans had led them to expect. It was as big as the one on Persephone and had almost a dozen men and women at every control station. Not just regular crewmen, either. Most of them were in Rebel Fleet uniforms and were armed.
“Civilians down,” she shouted over her com as she shot the closest armed woman. She dropped, but flechettes started ricocheting off Kelsey’s armor even as the marines poured into the room behind her.
Kelsey shot the man at what would be the com console next. He’d turned back to his controls and she didn’t want a cry for help to get out.
The fighting was brief, but intense. When the enemy was down, she checked her people. A few of the marines had minor wounds, but Hopwood was crouched over Alan Barnes. The man had taken a flechette to the chest and was in a bad way.
“Medic!” she shouted.
One of the marines couched down beside the wounded man and ripped open his medical pack. It looked bad, but they had a chance to save him.
A loud alarm began hooting over the overhead speakers. She walked around the bridge and made sure everyone was out. Then she started examining the consoles.
“This is overkill for a freighter, and they certainly don’t need armed Fleet officers. Something is very wrong.”
Chapter Sixteen
Zia watched the fleet approaching the Erorsi flip point with frustration. There had been no way to send a warning drone without someone detecting it. The gap between the lead destroyer and the fleet was too small. She really wished they’d had the time for Carl to finish deploying the ship-to-ship FTL coms.
“Once that fleet flips to Erorsi, I want us moving as soon as possible,” she said. “We have to follow them through and hold the flip point. How long to get the fusion plants back up to normal output?”
One of her staff checked something on her console. “Twenty minutes, ma’am.”
“Tell Tony to try for fifteen. I have no idea what kind of situation is going to develop at Erorsi, but we have to count on some of those ships heading back into our system before we get to the flip point.
“If not, we’ll probably pop over there to find a battle already in progress. Have we nailed down what the fleet consists of?”
Commander Levy nodded. “I make out two dozen destroyers. The remaining eight seem to be a mixture of light and heavy cruisers. Invincible can probably handle all of them, though it would hurt.”
Zia shook her head. “No, those ships can scatter. No one in their right mind goes head-to-head with a superdreadnought, if they can help it. If any of them get away, we might not be able to catch them all without a huge mess.”
She grimaced. “Besides, we don’t know their plan. Is this something to deal with the rogue AI, or it an all-out attack on Pentagar? The ships in Pentagar space are up to the task of defending themselves, but it only takes one ship to devastate a planet.”
The time until the enemy task force reached the Erorsi flip point counted down with syrupy slowness. If they left any ships on this side, that would severely limit the amount of support Zia could give Admiral Mertz.
She cursed when the enemy ships flipped. Two icons tagged as destroyers remained on station in the flip point. The enemy commander was covering her backside.
“Dammit,” Zia muttered. “Why the hell did we get a competent bad guy?”
“Because idiots make you sloppy,” Levy said. “Then you get your clock cleaned when the good ones show up.”
Well, they weren’t going anywhere at speed now. They’d have to sneak up on the ships as best they could.
“The most important thing is to prevent them from getting a warning back to the Rebel Empire,” Zia said. “I want a net of ships between them and the other flip point. If they shoot off any drones, I want them swamped.”
He nodded. “We can move ships into position while we have an ambush team creep as close as possible. We won’t be able to stop them from seeing us, but we can stop them from wanting anyone else at home.”
“I suppose that’s the best we can hope for, but it’s going to delay our arrival at Erorsi. Admiral Mertz will be on his own. If we’re going to do this, let’s do it right. I want enough force to be sure that anyone that comes running back from Erorsi can’t overwhelm us with drones. We’ll plug this system.”
“Aye, ma’am.”
Getting all the ships back up to full combat power took a little over twenty minutes. She’d be having a long discussion with certain captains about that.
If the enemy fleet came rushing back into this system, she didn’t have enough ships to be certain of stopping them all. That meant she needed to plug the other flip point. To be sure nothing got past the blockade, she assigned the two heavy cruisers, two light cruisers, and two destroyers to the task. They should be able to stop anything that got past her.
That left her with two light cruisers and four destroyers to protect Audacious. Less than she’d like, but she had to play the hand luck had dealt her. Two dozen enemy destroyers and eight cruisers might swamp them, if that was all the firepower she’d had available.
The aces up her sleeve were her three squadrons of fighters. Gnats carrying sledgehammers, Annette had once called them. Added into her force mix, she could kill most of the ships she’d seen earlier, if she had to.
With her reserve blocking the only other exit to the system, she could hunt them all down. Ugly and messy, but doable.
Right now, she needed to get the four destroyers into position to block their enemy counterparts in case the initial strike failed. They were harder to detect at slow speed than the two light cruisers or the carrier. The plan was for them to get as close as possible before the primary attack took place.
Once the blockading force was far enough out and ready to shoot down the inevitable drones, she ordered her main task force into motion. The destroyers led the way while the three heavier ships cut in to interpose themselves along the most direct route of retreat for the enemy.
Admiral Mertz was the inspiration for the attack method. He’d once used a single fighter to ambush an AI des
troyer. He’d rammed it, but Zia knew she could do better. Rather, she knew that Annette could do better.
* * * * *
Annette took her fighter out to join the combat space patrol. Once she was flying along beside them, she brought her low-powered com online. They could do all the inter-fighter communicating they wanted until they got close to the destroyers watching the flip point.
Dozens of fighters were already on a ballistic course toward the Erorsi flip point. They’d coast into range and launch anti-ship missiles as they soared past. If they didn’t kill both destroyers, they’d certainly cripple them. Hopefully before they took any shots in return.
After all, a fair fight indicated lack of planning on her part.
For once, she had a stroke of good luck. The enemy rear guard must’ve been certain they were alone. They only used their active scanners every once in a while, so the fighters made it very close. When the risk of detection became too high, she ordered her people to launch.
The first inkling the enemy had that they weren’t alone was a swarm of missiles blossoming to life in their faces. The small grav drives spiked to life at ridiculously short range, hurling their explosive passengers into the stationary destroyers.
One of the enemy ships exploded outright in a bright flash as its fusion plants failed, creating a momentary sun right next to its companion.
The other destroyer was luckier. It survived the explosion and the missiles blasting into its hull. It was no doubt wrecked, but still functional enough to launch a pair of drones toward the distant flip point and to vanish. It had flipped to Erorsi.
Annette cursed under her breath. Bad luck had ruined the surprise. The fight around Erorsi was going to be ugly.
“Back to Audacious,” she ordered, bringing her fighter to full power and swinging around. “Rearm and get ready for immediate launch. We’re going to war, boys and girls.”
* * * * *
Jared waited impatiently as the freighter and its escort slowly flew more deeply into their trap. His view from Erorsi orbit was time-delayed, but the other ships were far enough past his net that they wouldn’t be able to escape.
The destroyer captain had already communicated with them, never guessing that Marcus was mimicking the now dead computer they’d been dealing with. With the full transcripts of every interaction it had ever had with the Rebel Empire, it was child’s play to construct a convincing message.
In fifteen minutes or so, his trap would close and one of his hidden destroyers would carefully fire missiles at the two ships. One would be aimed at the freighter. It had to be convincing, but still cause as little damage as possible. He wanted his people alive and that ship intact.
Other ships would then open fire on the destroyer, forcing it to separate from the freighter. He’d prefer to take it alive, so he was hoping the show of force he’s planned would intimidate them into surrendering. He wasn’t holding out much hope, though. These people were damned bloody minded.
“Status change,” Marcus said. “The probes monitoring the enemy flip point have detected a number of ships transiting. There are too many to be Captain Anderson’s carrier group.”
Jared realized almost at once what it had to be. The Rebel Empire had sent an ambushing force of their own. He didn’t have time to ponder the reason for that. He had to deal with the situation as he found it.
“What kind of numbers are we talking about?” he asked. “What course are they taking?”
“Thirty ships moving slowly enough to avoid detection from Erorsi. It looks as though a third of them are heading toward us. The remainder are angling for the Pentagaran flip point.”
“Can you assign classes to the ships?”
“Tentatively,” the AI said. “Most are destroyers, but eight are likely cruisers of some kind. Two cruisers and eight destroyers are following slowly behind the freighter and its escort. Six cruisers and fourteen destroyers are angling for the Pentagaran flip point.
“I’m concerned about Princess Kelsey and her forces. If we delay much longer, our hidden ships will be out of position to support them.”
“There’s nothing we can do about that now,” Jared said. “We have to let the new ships get further into the system so we can bottle them up. If we attack now, they’ll run back through the flip point. Zia doesn’t have enough ships to be sure of stopping all the runners.”
He considered the layout of the forces he had on station. If they allowed the first destroyer and the freighter to proceed past the ambush, they wouldn’t be able to intervene if the warship figured out something was happening on the freighter.
The two ships would enter Invincible’s range in roughly three hours. That allowed the force headed toward Pentagar to get almost to the flip point, even if he attacked early. If he waited for the right time in Erorsi space, the other ships would have transitioned to Pentagar.
Well, at least the Pentagarans had a sizable fleet of their own and kept up a very diligent watch, even over the secured flip point to Erorsi. They could handle the attack.
“Are any of our ships in position to fire a probe through to Pentagar without detection?” he asked.
“Possibly,” Marcus said. “One of our colliers is stationed in that direction. If we signal it now via tight beam, it could possibly get a probe to the flip point before the attackers arrive. Unfortunately, there is a significant chance the enemy will detect the probe. That might endanger the collier.”
Jared brought up that ship’s location and considered the distances involved. A second option presented itself.
“If the collier bolts for the flip point as soon as it receives our message, she might beat the missiles they fire at her. It’ll tip our hand, but their ships will be committed by then. It doesn’t matter what they think.”
The AI seemed to consider that. “Our fleet will not be in an optimal position to engage the enemy at that time. They will be able to elude us. Except, perhaps, the closest destroyer.”
“Send the collier.”
“Aye, sir. Orders transmitted.”
Jared felt a little hollow. This entire mission had gone sideways, and no matter how this played out, people were going to die.
He hoped one of them wasn’t Kelsey. He had no way to warn her that she was in significant danger, or to tell her what the new plan was. He had to count on her to understand what the aborted ambush meant and to act accordingly.
“Status change,” Marcus said. “A new ship has arrived at the hostile flip point. It’s transmitting a signal. Passive scanners indicate it has battle damage.”
“Go active,” Jared snapped. “Spring the ambush.”
Chapter Seventeen
Kelsey hit the com to the other team. With the alarm ringing, the crew knew something was wrong.
“Report.”
“We’re fighting for engineering,” Lieutenant Paulson said. “There are a lot more people down here than we expected, including armed Rebel Empire Fleet officers.
“The layout is radically different, too. Someone spotted us and sounded the alarm. We have the control consoles, but we’re trying to nail down the Rebel Fleet personnel before they can shut off the drives manually.”
Not optimal, but better than some possible outcomes.
“We have the bridge, and presumably the computer center. They aren’t getting a warning out. Stop them as fast as you can.”
“The marines are pushing hard. We’ll get it done, but people are going to die, ours and theirs.”
Kelsey grimaced. “It can’t be helped. Do the best you can. Something is very wrong with this ship, and we need someone to tell us what it is. The bridge crew will be out for hours.”
“Roger that. I’ll call you back when we’re secure down here.”
Kelsey pointed at the bridge hatch. “Watch for crew trying to retake the bridge. Send out teams of marines to locate and incapacitate the remaining crew. I want this ship under our complete control as soon as possible.”
She turned to
Hopwood. “Is the computer center under our control?”
He nodded, rising from where the medic was still working on Alan Barnes. “I just got the word. They had a few people inside, but we stopped them from purging the system.”
Finally, some good news.
She nodded toward Barnes. “How is he?”
“It’s not good, but the medic thinks he can stabilize him. The ambush should kick off soon. We’ll transport him back to one of the pinnaces in an emergency bubble. He and any other wounded can get care more quickly that way.”
Kelsey shook her head. “We’re going compartment by compartment, so we’ll find the medical center soon. They’ll have what we need. If we can take the medical staff without stunning them, we’ll get them to work on all the injured, theirs and ours.
“Before we do that, we need to figure out what the hell is going on with this ship. The layout is off and there are a lot more people than we expected. Rebel Fleet shouldn’t be manning a civilian freighter. This makes no sense at all.”
Hopwood stepped over to a console. “They were still running the ship, so this isn’t locked. They never expected anyone to just pop in unannounced like we did. Let’s see what I can find.”
He worked his way through the console’s screens. He must’ve been studying hard to know what he’d need to do.
“Weird,” he muttered. “The engineering controls show two fusion plants. That’s definitely non-standard. It had to eat into their cargo space.”
Kelsey looked over his shoulder. “Is that what was blocking the corridor we tried to take?”
The man checked a few other screens. “I don’t think so. The second fusion plant is forward of engineering, but not that far. Let me toggle through some more panels.”
She watched him going from screen to screen and stopped him when he found one she wasn’t familiar with. “Hold up. What’s this?”
“I’m not sure,” he said. “It’s almost like a weapon control system, but not like any I’m familiar with.”