The Empress Hecate shuddered in a different way as an enemy ship got a hit on them, but the size of the round was too small to do any real damage - probably a destroyer, she thought. Things were going well. Perhaps it was that thought that jinxed it, but at that precise moment the Bat Fleet got their legs under them and fire began to sprout from all quarters.
"Wiggle and Wobble, Helm!" shouted the Hecate's XO from the main deck of the bridge, although it was clear from the way they were being jerked around in their harnesses that the Helm was doing just that. Andrea's inertial harness and helmet damped those excursions somewhat, but they still hurt like hell. The crew would be sore tomorrow - then Andrea grinned wryly. Better sore than dead.
The Hecate sang a new song as the beamers came online, having a shorter range than the railguns and missiles. Another round hit them somewhere aft, and this one was bigger - maybe a cruiser, thought Andrea. Immediately an even larger round smacked into the nose, barely shunted by the grav dampers, heaving them up and to the side before the Helm caught it and returned them to attitude.
"Battleship," said Andrea.
"Right-o," agreed Derinoe.
"Half-way point!" yelled the Nav Officer - they were halfway through their gun run. At that precise moment, the ship clanged like a bell and the lights dimmed, then went out. The backup battery-powered lights came on immediately. The holotank flickered, went out, then came back on under battery power. The acrid smell of something burning came from the vents.
Andrea did nothing. It was not her place to fight the ship - that, and damage control, were up to Captain Melousa. She merely peered at the holotank to see if it was updating. It was – the Bat fleet passing steadily to their rear, any number of them now shedding pieces, burning, or simply vanished. But her own fleet was not unscathed - she saw a cruiser spinning helplessly in space, burning as she went. Behind that, another ship - smaller, a frigate - also rotated end-over-end, venting gasses.
The firing continued, but the range was quickly increasing. The hits became fewer; finally, Captain Melousa gave the order, "Cease fire, cease fire, cease fire!"
Immediately, as the starships achieved perigee on their swing around the planet, they went to max accel to slingshot around Nest. Within minutes, their outbound vectors had stabilized on a direct track to Orinoco, 398 light years back toward Zeta Capricorni. Twelve hours later, they crossed the mass limit and sank out. Their vectors did not change as they did so, which was duly noted by the BEN Intelligence Office and the small BEN scout ships trailing them.
***
Bruntel roared. "Apes! Crap-eating, fly-infested jungle apes did this? I will crush them to jelly, I will smash them to paste. I will stack them like cordwood in the reefers!"
Before him, the Comm Officer remained in a low bow, afraid to move. He had just delivered the message to Bruntel that the Apes had attacked Home Fleet in their absence. The losses were significant; half the Home Fleet was no longer functional.
Bruntel kicked the stanchion before him, knocking his a’kaff cup and tablet onto the floor. He turned back to the shivering Comm Officer and drew back his leg to kick him, but finally thought better of it.
"Do we have a scout following them?"
"Yes, sir," said the relieved Comm Officer. "Two scouts right behind them, dogging their trail."
"Then," roared Bruntel, "Turn this damn task force around and get after them!"
First Fleet, enroute to Orinoco
4 July 2207
Andrea stood in the docking bay of the Empress Hecate, her formal dress uniform gleaming in the overhead lights. Behind her stood Captain Melousa, Commander Derinoe, and Commander Duspera, along with the rest of her flag staff. The docking bay - not as large as a carrier's, but large enough - contained most of the crew of the battleship. In front of her, holo cameras hovered to carry her image to the rest of the ships in her fleet. Andrea looked over the crowd and smiled grimly.
"Yesterday, we were given the honor of striking the first blow against a terrible enemy. We succeeded in our mission - in fact, we excelled. Our Stealth Girls have verified the following: seven destroyers killed..." - a cheer erupted from the crew - "five frigates out of action..." - another cheer went up from the crew - "three cruisers down..." - Andrea looked up and smiled broadly - "...and three battleships shot to hell and dead in space!"
A final cheer, the largest yet, went up from the assembled crew, and Angela let them go. It was the beginning of a war; best to let them celebrate while they could. She well knew this war was not over. After a few moments, the cheering and congratulations died down.
Andrea spoke again. "That was the good news, people. Now for the bad news."
The crew subdued quickly.
"From our fleet, we lost the cruisers Prince Adrian and the Nimitz; two frigates, the Golden Mare and the Sao Paulo; and destroyers Desert Wind, Keen Wind and Whitney." Andrea paused to look over the crew, many of whom had grim faces.
"I know that many of you had friends on those ships," she said. "There were, in fact, 4,268 people on those ships. Every one of them..." and hear Andrea raised her voice - "...EVERY ONE OF THEM...died a hero to the people of our Alliance - and to Aeolis!"
There was dead quiet on the deck. Andrea looked around at the hundreds of people standing before her. Her heart pounded, not from excitement or fear, but from the depths of her emotion as she looked at this crew, this wonderful crew.
"In three weeks, we go into battle again at Orinoco. Here on the Hecate, and in the other ships of this fleet, are the best warriors the Rim has. The best of the best. We are no longer Earthers, or Aeolians, or Daneki...we are the Rim. We are one."
Andrea paused and quite publicly wiped a tear from the corner of her eye.
"When we fight again days from now, remember those who died at Nest. Remember what they fought for, and what we fight for - a future for our Homeland, a future for our children. Safe from fear; safe from danger. And in memory of those who died yesterday. I don't have to tell you more. I know you. I know what you can do. And I know what you will do when next we meet the monsters who seek to kill us."
Andrea paused. She looked around the room. There was dead silence. Slowly, silently, she raised her hand to the Aeolian salute position and held it. As one, so synchronized that it made a single sound, the assembled crew snapped to attention. Their hands went to their left shoulder in the formal hand salute. Andrea dropped her hand and nodded. Then she spun on her heel and left.
***
Back in her conference room, Angela took her seat at the head of the table, handing her hat off to Gasperdy, her valet. As her officers filed into the room, she sat unconsciously drumming her fingers on the wood. When they had all reached their seats, she looked at Commander Derinoe. "What have we got?" she asked.
"Good news," smiled Derinoe. "Stealth Girls report the outbound BEN Detached Fleet has turned around and they're on a vector straight at us, so clearly they are hoping to intercept us before we get too far away. Evidently, they read our outbound vector accurately, and it seems they also went for the "inadvertent" failure to erase our AI cores on the destroyed ships back at Nest."
"Good," nodded Andrea. "Although I would have much preferred not to lose any ships."
"Yes," said Derinoe. "But given they were lost; the rest of the plan seems to have worked.”
Andrea sighed. "A lot of good people gone."
Silence reigned in the room for a few seconds, then Andrea slapped the table.
"OK!" she said. “We have a battle to plan. Let's be about it! Where are the Bats now, Derinoe?"
"They've made good time...they're only fifty lights behind us and making up the distance pretty well as we expected. They'll come up on our tail right about twenty-five AU behind us when they surface at Orinoco. We'll be just ahead of them all the way into the primary, losing ground rapidly. I don't see how they can resist the temptation."
Andrea grinned an evil grin. "Let's make sure they don't - when they surface at Orinoco, I w
ant to be looking as bedraggled and panicky as possible. Let's make sure."
Derinoe grinned back, her own evil grin a close second to Andrea's. "Oh, we will!”
Orinoco
25 July 2207
As they surfaced at the Orinoco system, the RDF ships dispersed into a ragged formation, some speeding up slightly and pulling ahead, some lagging behind. Several began venting volatiles to look damaged. Twenty hours after their arrival, as they rode straight in toward the primary at 155g, the Bat fleet surfaced behind them and began pursuit. With their greater acceleration, the Bats reduced the distance, making up ground at a steady pace. As the RDF fleet approached the primary, the Bats were only six hours behind them. The Bat Detached Fleet had been joined by surviving remnants of their Home Fleet, including two battleships, two cruisers and three frigates. This now created a Bat Armada of fourteen battleships, fourteen cruisers, eighteen frigates and sixteen destroyers.
Onboard the Bat flagship Pride of Nest, Admiral Bruntel paced, periodically cursing at the slow pace of the intercept. In frustration, he turned and slashed his baton across the face of his nearest slave. “Three damn weeks,” he cursed. “Chasing these crap-eating Apes for three weeks!”
"Sir!" cried the Tac Officer.
Admiral Bruntel grunted. "What?"
"Their fleet is...dispersing into some kind of random formation, sir!"
Bruntel - son of the famous Field Marshal Brunt who had conquered many planets in a previous generation - looked at the holo tank. He backspaced a bit and ran the tank forward again. He saw that the Earthers were slowly dispersing into an even more ragged, staggered formation. He nodded. "The Apes are preparing to run in all directions," he said. "Cowards that they are!"
The Tac Officer nodded, addressing both the Admiral and the Flag Captain who stood nearby. "I think so, Sirs. They'll slingshot around the star and come out in random directions. To chase them all down, we'll have to split up."
"We can't hit them before their perihelion?"
"No, sir. We're short by just over three hours. They'll get around before we can intercept on the inbound. We can only intercept on the outbound, and we'll need to follow them around the star to have the speed."
"Damn," said Bruntel. He looked at the holo tank. "Alright, Captain Naptar, issue orders to the fleet: All battleships to designate one of the enemy capital ships and follow it around. Follow and destroy it - without fail! Those who don't come back with a destroyed capital ship in their sensorium will pay the price!"
Captain Naptar nodded vigorously. "Aye, sir!"
"Frigates to join on their assigned battleship and stick with them for the nonce. Destroyers - ah, give them free rein. Tell them to just go hunting!"
The Flag Captain grinned, his canines showing. "Aye sir - they'll like that!"
Slowly, over the next hour, the two fleets approached the small G9V primary, the BEN fleet gaining slowly on the RDF - but not quickly enough to intercept before the Earthers could sling around the star and disperse. Bruntel grew increasingly frustrated as they drew closer.
"Captain!" he yelled. "More speed!"
"Trying, sir. But if we are to stay together and maintain formation, this..."
"Damn the formation! Let the fastest ships go ahead!"
Captain Naptar grimaced, his ears erect from stress. "Sir, that is dangerous..."
In his anger, Bruntel spit as he angrily replied. "Dangerous? Dangerous? Chasing these Apes? Run up the engines, Captain! Now!"
The Captain nodded. "Aye, sir. Helm - increase engines to 110%. Comms - notify all ships to break formation as necessary and make max speed to intercept!"
Within a couple of hours, the Bat destroyer squadrons were streaking far ahead of the main fleet. Newer, faster battleships - including the Pride of Nest - had pulled out well ahead of the older, slower ones. Admiral Bruntel paced the bridge, shaking his head periodically at the slow pace of the intercept.
Suddenly the Tac Officer stared at the holo tank. With a puzzled expression, he backspaced and ran the tank forward again. Suddenly he yelled, "Captain! Something strange...!"
"What?" cried Captain Naptar.
The Tac Officer screeched in his excitement. "They are very slowly moving into new courses as they approach the star. I think this new arrangement does not disperse them...they will stay together!"
Admiral Bruntel shouldered his way to the holotank. Quickly he backspaced and ran the tank forward. Only an hour prior, the projection of the enemy ships as they came out from behind the star had been random, shooting off in all directions. But now their outbound courses were subtly coming into parallel - and, he realized, if they had sufficient delta v available, they could come arcing back towards the Bat Fleet. Even as he watched, the holotank adjusted the courses slightly as the sensors got new data from the ships in front of them. Clearly, the projected outbound courses were starting to line up.
Captain Naptar said it first. "It's an ambush, Admiral!"
Admiral Bruntel grinned. "Perfect. We'll smash them!"
"But, Admiral," spoke Captain Naptar. "They could have more ships behind us, coming up our rear. We should re-group and get back into formation."
Bruntel grunted. "No way these slimy pirates have more ships."
Naptar persisted. "But, sir. We are dispersed. We broke formation to allow the faster ships to go ahead. Now we've lost the interlocking fields of fire. Sir. Let's reverse, or at least slow down, to put ourselves back in formation."
Bruntel mused for a few moments, then sighed. "Very well, Naptar. We can just as easily smash them a few hours later. Order the fleet to re-form."
Twenty minutes later, at flank deceleration, the Pride of Nest had started to move back toward the main fleet, along with the other fast burners who had jumped out in front. Admiral Bruntel and Captain Naptar huddled over the holotank, watching for any sign of ships coming up behind them. But it was not ships behind them that they saw.
"Sirs," said the Tac Officer. "I'm getting some kind of fuzzy signal from around us...very faint...possibly small craft, Sirs."
"What?" Naptar looked at him in puzzlement.
"Definitely there, sir. Small craft, or possibly shuttles. Now...now I see more, sir. They're coming fast."
"What do you think, Naptar? Could they be corvettes?"
With a "ping", the first of the unknown signals registered in the holotank. Naptar bent forward and looked at the estimated size and speed displayed next to the symbol.
"My Stars, Admiral! It's tiny...but it's coming fast!"
Suddenly the holotank erupted into a cacophony of "pings" as first several, then dozens, then hundreds of the unknown craft were detected by the external sensors.
"That's an attack, sir," said Captain Naptar. "I don't know what they are, but they're definitely attacking."
***
"Cassian to First Wing, engage, engage, engage. Give 'em hell, guys!" Cassian called over the intership. Around him in a huge enveloping mass surrounding the line of Bat ships, 726 A40 fighters firewalled their throttles. Ahead of them, the BEN Fleet was well dispersed, scattered in a long, ragged line for two hundred thousand klicks. With their targets pre-selected by their coupled AI, the attack craft raced toward the battlewagons and their screening ships. The Bat destroyers, well ahead and desperately trying to reverse course, would not be a factor in this action. They were too far ahead. Cassian nodded, just once, before buckling down to his task. "Today, son of Brunt, murderer of my people, today feel the flame we felt all those years ago," he said quietly.
In seconds, Cassian came into range of the flagship - he knew it was the flagship, because it was the foremost battleship, and no Bat admiral would let another battleship precede him into a fight - and a few sporadic guns opened up on his squadron. But it was nothing like the full firepower that could be brought by a Bat battleship, and at that moment, Cassian knew he had caught them napping.
With a war cry, Cassian released his missiles and watched them run hot and true toward the
flagship’s engines. Following the missiles in, the old Daneki never wavered from his course. While all around him the remainder of his squadron peeled off after missile release and powered away, Cassian's A40 simply kept accelerating, on a direct course toward the well-protected bridge of the battlewagon. He knew it would take a lot of energy to get all the way through the armor, and he probably wouldn't make it through. But...Cassian smiled as the wall of the huge ship loomed closer and closer. He was content. He had fought the good fight. He could go home now.
***
With a tremendous "clang", the lights went out. Bruntel found himself on his hands and knees on the floor of the bridge, in the dark. It took some seconds for the backup lighting to come on. As it did, he looked around, stunned. Almost every officer was on the floor. Captain Naptar was face down next to him, unconscious. Blood oozed from his ears. Bruntel pulled himself up to a squatting position. His AI interface was dead. He looked for the holotank. It was out.
"Tac!"
"Yes, sir," came a pained response from behind him. He turned and saw the Tac Officer on elbow and one knee, trying to get his feet under him.
"Give me a status! What's happening?" Admiral Bruntel struggled to his chair.
"Yes, sir," said the Tac Officer. He fumbled to his feet and stumbled over to his console. It was black, unresponsive. Grabbing his backup comm, he called Engineering.
"Engineering, Bridge. What's the status?"
There was a mumbled response which Bruntel couldn't quite make out. The Tac Officer turned to him. "Engineering reports all engines down, all reactors scrammed, sir."
Admiral Bruntel shook his head. "How? How could they hit us so hard?"
"I don't know, sir," said the Tac Officer. "They were so fast. And tiny. I've never seen anything like that before."
"Tell them to get Comms and Consoles back up ASAP."
"Aye, sir," nodded the Tac Officer. He relayed the message to Engineering. He listened for a few seconds, then responded to the Admiral.
"They're estimating fifteen minutes to Comms and Consoles, sir."
Bruntel cursed. "We could all be dead in fifteen minutes! Is there any other backup we can use to get a picture of the situation?"
Imprint of War Page 19