Wolf's Run: The Chase of War (Star Wolf Sqaudron Book 2)

by Shane VanAulen

  Damage reports quickly came in even as the Randori’s crew was cheering at their success.

  “Keep pounding her,” Mike ordered as they came in range of his fusion turrets. The heavy hitting though short ranged fusion cannons blew molten holes into the crushed destroyer until its last turret stopped firing and the broken ship slowly went into an uncontrollable roll.

  “Mike, we’ve taken a hit to the bender drives,” Cappillo reported.

  “How bad?”

  “Well … we aren’t going to bend if I can’t get it fixed,” he said his normal grinning face showing the stress.

  “Get a team on it and keep me informed. We are moving up to go after the other destroyer.”

  “Captain, two of our missile turrets are out of action, we have a hull breech on D deck and we have five wounded,” the comm. officer reported as update came rolling in.

  “Anyone dead?” he asked with a hard swallow.

  “None reported in yet, sir,” Jansen said.

  He had been lucky, no dead but that wasn’t going to last.

  “Sir, the Wolf is ten minutes to target as are we,” Byrd announced pulling him back to the fight and away from thoughts of losing someone.

  Now the enemy battle destroyer and remaining the standard destroyer had to face the Star Wolf, Cody and Randori. She had closed the distance to her target but now the odds had shifted.

  “Prepare to launch fighters,” Mike ordered in steady voice.

  He had twelve LN-28 Wasp star-fighters to add to the fray. At the same time the Star Wolf was launching her own six SF-86 Sabre star-fighters.

  The Wasps were older yet very fast and agile. Lt. Cappillo had spent weeks upgrading their avionics and counter measure programs. The little fighters’ frames were also made of TPA and it was because of them that they had found out about the error in the enemies’ sensor units.

  The SF-86 Sabre was the most modern and heavy hitting fighter in the Confederation Navy, having replaced the drone controlled SF-18 Hornets. They were not only fast with the best counter measures available but could also deliver a heck of a punch.

  “All fighters, follow the missile strikes in and concentrate your fire on the destroyer,” Hope ordered over the open channel.

  At the same time the Cody moved to support the fighter attack.

  “Fire all missiles at the destroyer,” Mike announced as his ship was hit by a long-range turret based particle strike from the Battle Destroyer.

  The shot did little damage but they were getting closer.

  “Captain, the Wolf is now firing her missiles and Blitzens at the Battle Destroyer,”

  Mike grunted his acknowledgement.

  “Prepare to fire our torpedoes at the Battle Destroyer,” he ordered.

  “Sir, the Battle Destroyer is reversing course and is coming at us!”

  The battle destroyer was keeping its bow facing the Star Wolf but had reversed course without coming about. It wanted to crush the Q-ship while keeping its nose towards the attack cruiser. Both large ships had spinal particle cannons that could take out the other ship with one strike but they had to fire by turning and aiming the entire ship.

  One of the two Blitzens from the Randori hit a mid-ship and caused heavy damage but the battle destroyer didn’t even slow down as it kept its range from the Star Wolf and continued firing. Reversing may have also worked against it as the pursuing Karduan fighters were still hard pressed to close the final distance and aid the besieged battle destroyer.

  The standard destroyer was hit with two of the anti-ship torpedoes launched from the Star Wolf as well as numerous missile strikes all of which crippled the warship. The eighteen fighters and their sloop moved in and continued to silence the damaged ship’s guns and take out what was left of her engines.

  The Star Wolf moved in and prepared to fire her main gun. Now a spinal weapon had to be aimed by turning the entire ship which meant it could also be easily predicted. So as they lined up the Karduan Ship Mistress moved to deny them the shot. Karduan spinal weapons took almost twice as long to recharge and that gave the attack cruiser a slight edge. Normally, the Wolf’s main gun had a range advantage and that would with any luck be able to sway the battle but the Karduan commander was skilled and maintained her distance from the attack cruiser while cutting down the angle.

  Mike watched as the Wolf fired her particle cannon just as the battle destroyer made a hard port side burn with her thrusters. The charged particle wave creased the huge ship rending a long gash in her armored side that ran from the bow of the ship to her aft.

  The battle destroyer had a choice she could rush in to close the distance between the attack cruiser and fire her main gun or she could continue to retreat back towards the Q-Ship. Surprisingly she retreated in full reverse, her orders making her continue to try and buy time for the remaining Karduan ships to close on the attack cruiser.

  The Randori was hit again and again by the battle destroyer’s aft turrets.

  “Concentrate all missiles and energy weapons’ fire on her rear guns,” Mike yelled, “Load torpedoes and fire when ready.”

  “Sir, the Wolf is signaling,” Jansen yelled as the Q-ship was hit again.

  Captain Hope’s face filled the viewer.

  “Mike, she’s keeping us at bay to finish you off and gain more time. We can’t get too close without facing a spinal counter strike. I think it is time for Lt. Cappillo’s special surprise,” the ancient headmaster and veteran ship captain advised.

  “Yes sir, my thoughts exactly,” Collins said and ordered, “Open the nose port!”

  “Aye sir,” a voice replied.

  Signaling engineering, Rufo answered his call.

  “You better have good news for me,” Mike said his face looking stressed and dead serious.

  “Bender drives are back online,” he reported still not smiling, “You should now be able to use the main gun.”

  “Cross your fingers cause its time to use your little monster, Lt. Frankenstein,” Mike said and turned to his helm. “Lock onto they’re engines and prepare to fire the main gun.”

  The express freighter had been built and rebuilt several times in its various lives as a merchant freighter, a pirate, and privateer as well as its recent incarnation as a Q-ship. At the Battle of Austro Prime she had taken heavy damage and it was during her last rebuild that Rufo had an idea.

  They had several broken enemy ships that had spinal particle cannons. In the process of salvaging them many of the old but usable spinal coils and other parts had been simply laying at the old pirate base’s main floor sitting there doing nothing. Cappillo had inventoried them and checked them during his time there and realized that there were enough parts to make a small but functional spinal cannon.

  He knew it wouldn’t be as large as the Star Wolf’s or as big as the Karduan ships it had been taken from but it could work. Back then the Chaos was already torn open and was being repaired. It also had a large pair of bender drives big enough to power a main gun. It was a gamble of resources but the Hawk approved his plan, having already made his own decision to follow the Chase of War.

  “Mr. Thornton, fire the main gun,” Lt. Collins ordered saying a quick prayer to God.

  For a second nothing happened and then the Randori’s spinal cannon fired sending her particle charged energy wave directly into the rear of the trapped battle destroyer. The blow tore through the larger ship's engine section’s armor and deep into her interior.

  A moment later the Star Wolf now having a clean shot fired her spinal cannon and blew through its armored bow finishing off the dying battle destroyer.

  “I can’t believe it worked!” Mike said as his crew cheered and jumped for joy.

  Lt. Cappillo’s familiar face showed up on the viewer of the command channel of his chair.

  “See, I told you it would work,” he said, his shit-eating grin back on the Italian’s proud face.

  “Yeah, well let’s get the hell out of here,” he replied not wanting
to swell his friend’s head too much as he shut off the channel.

  “Sir, Commander Star Wolf signaling,” Jansen at the communication station said looking tired and stressed out.

  “Helm, come about and take us back to the New Orleans, flank speed,” he then turned and said, “Mr. Jansen, recall all fighters.”

  Mike looked to back to the main viewer and saw Hope and bridge crew of the Star Wolf looking back at him.

  “A well fought action Mr. Collins and a very well done to your crew,” the Hawk stated as the bridge crew of the attack cruiser cheered and applauded them.

  He shook his head and smiled.

  “Thank you, sir but it was your plan. You figured out that they would focus on you and try to trap the Star Wolf in a flanking envelopment. We also gambled that in so doing that they would virtually ignore the harmless appearing Randori.”

  Hope nodded, “It was a good trick of war but you still had to bring the fight to them to make it work.”

  “I don’t think we’ll get away with that again,” Mike commented, feeling the exhaustion setting in.

  “Agreed but let’s get to the gravity well and escape this system before those fighters catch up with us and we get bogged down in another fight. We did good work today, let’s live to brag about it,” the old veteran said also sounding a little tired before he nodded with a slight grin and ended the transmission.

  The Karduan fighters were still ten minutes behind them and now with nothing in their way the Confederation ships ran full speed back to the ice giant’s gravity well.

  The IPS Spider had detached from the attack cruiser and had moved to aid the Randori close her hull breeches.

  The boarding party, prize crew and freed prisoners on the New Orleans had been busy while the Task Force’s ships had been fighting and maneuvering. Mike listened in as they reported to the Wolf that their hull had been temporally patched and that they were now able to bend.

  “Damage report?” Collins called out as his bridge crew scrambled to prepare to bend. The remaining enemy squadron of eight ships was still thirty minutes behind them and they didn’t have any time to waste.

  “We are still working on patching and sealing our hull ruptures. Our wounded have been taken to sickbay and all fighters have been recovered though two have moderate damage. I’m sorry to say sir but we lost five crewmen from that last blast of battle destroyer,” Mister Jansen said, the big Nord looking like he was going to cry after giving him the news.

  Mike swallowed hard and felt the bile rise up in his throat in response. He looked down to his command chair’s built in computer and brought up the names of the wounded and dead. He looked at the names of the dead and realized that he knew them but they weren’t people he had known for very long or very well. Still, they were part of his command and he would have to read the mass for the dead for them as well as write to their families of how they met their ends. It was the worst feeling he ever had and it weighed on him as he read their names over again struggling to remember their faces or if he ever had a real conversation with them. Putting those thoughts aside for now he returned to the task at hand and that was one of escape and survival.

  “All non-essential crew report for repair duties,” he announced “we have to get the hull sealed and be able to polarize if we want to get out of here.”

  Coming up on the ISS New Orleans, he was happy to see his cargo and armored shuttles waiting for them. The old frigate had already moved to the bender point and was waiting for the task force to arrive.

  The Randori had to slow down to take the shuttles on board and the enemy fighters now closed on them. Mike ordered his aft turrets to open fire and give the Karduan fighters something to think about.

  The Star Wolf and Cody also open fired as they approached the site of the gravity well.

  “Sir, I have Lt. Peters on Comm. One,” Mister Jansen said.

  Mike saw his friend’s smiling face from the bridge of the small repair ship.

  “We have your exterior hull breeches temporarily patched. It’s not pretty but it will hold and will allow you to bend,” he informed.

  “Thanks, what do we owe you?” he called back.

  “A beer and a ham sandwich would do nicely,” Bill joked and then added, “I’m detaching the Spider and heading back to the Wolf.”

  “Roger that, see you on the other side,” Collins replied as the signal cut off.

  “Sir, the Star Wolf is signaling for us to move up and bend while they continue to fire at the Blues’ pursuit ships,” Jansen shared from his comm. panel.

  “Acknowledged” he replied and called to the helm station, “Mr. Thornton polarize the hull and take us into the gravity well.

  The Cody vanished in front of them as the Star Wolf and the New Orleans moved up next to them.

  “Activate bender drives,” he said just as an alarm sounded and the command center’s red alert lights came on blinking angrily at them.

  Someone said, “What the fuck?”

  This was followed but another crewman crying out to abort the bend.

  Mike leaped to his feet and ran to the computer station as fast as he could.

  “What’s going on?” he asked,

  Ensign Barry Steven’s froze for second in surprise, realizing that his captain had crossed the bridge in what seemed like a blink of an eye.

  “Sir, I’m not sure but I think one of our two bender drives isn’t answering the call to bend,” he said struggling to figure out all of the steaming data on his console’s panel as fast as he could.

  “If we abort the bend now then the enemy will have us,” Mike said as he reviewed their limited options.

  Moving to the navigation station he scanned the nearby sectors and rapidly worked the input controls subverting their intended bend and quickly putting in their new destination - a destination that they could make on only one drive.

  His ship rocked for a second as its inertia dampeners kicked in. They had been hit by a turret-based particle shot from the pursuing Star Destroyer.

  “Signal the Star Wolf what’s happening …” he started as they went into the gravity well. Mike had wanted to update the attack cruiser of their situation and their new destination but it was already too late.

  Chapter Five

  Lady Pir-Ly, Grand Fleet Mistress of the House of Win leaped up from her command chair on the bridge of Star Destroyer KS 04.

  “I can’t believe it!” she exclaimed looking to her viewer as the enemy ships escaped into the gravity well and disappeared.

  Her perfectly laid plan was ruined. She was a Grand Fleet Mistress and had prepared her trap flawlessly. She had followed all of the rules of a good ambush by concealing her force from detection, deploying her ships to encircle and divide the Confederation ships. She had even sacrificed some of her lesser ships and resources to channel the enemy cruiser to this system. Her master stroke was detecting it by creating a maser net. She had even used this trap successfully against a similar Confederation ship to great success.

  Yet this battle was a defeat, the first she had tasted in sometime. She now had lost a total of ten ships including a battle destroyer. It would be hailed as a disaster by both her enemies and her rivals on the Karduan High Council.

  Sitting back down, she contemplated her next move as her bridge crew tried its best not to make any noise that might draw her attention.

  “Orders, my Lady?” the Star Destroyer’s Ship Mistress reluctantly asked making sure she was out of patar range before speaking.

  “The human captain is highly skilled,” Pir-Ly admitted giving her enemy the credit he was due.

  “Yes Mistress,” her ship commander respectfully replied and nodded. All the while her pale blue face remained entirely expressionless.

  “He prepared for an entrapment and had a merchant ship converted for war to flank us,” she remarked to no one in particular.

  The ship mistress just stood there keeping quiet as the grand fleet mistress dealt with her defeat.
In her experience she had learned to step back and wait rather than draw a superior’s wrath.

  Lady Pir-Ly let out a sigh and shook her head, “But this fight isn’t over yet. We still have more than enough ships to defeat his forces.”

  “Yes Mistress,” the ship captain said.

  “Recall KBD 011and her escort ships from their sentry positions at the star’s gravity well to come and aid in recovery operations,” she ordered, “I also want an estimate of the systems that attack cruiser could have bended into with the escort ships she had with her.”

  “They took that old frigate with them and that should shorten their initial bend zone,” the Ship Mistress suggested.

  “Perhaps,” the Grand Mistress doubting her speculation as a ship the size of an attack cruiser or even the express freighter could extend their bender field and drag the frigate along with them.

  “My Lady, damage reports and casualties’ lists are now coming in,” the Star Destroyer’s Second said bringing her the computer tablet.

  She took the tablet and didn’t look at it as she already knew that all of her ships that had faced the enemy were beyond repair. Anti-ship missile hits and spinal mounted energy weapons made them into nothing more than floating masses of metal slag.

  “This is far from over,” she remarked to herself as she stared at the main viewer and waited for her fleet to finish its recovery operations.

  The ISS Star Wolf exited the gravity well to the welcome sight of the IPS Cody who was waiting on her. The scout ship had come about and had aligned her bow along with her forward weapons systems at the gravity well just in case. The ISS New Orleans was still next to the attack cruisier have been pulled along the longer bend cycle while inside her bender field.

  “Sir, I’m not reading the Randori anywhere in the system,” Ben Lewis called out from the Wolf’s maser station.

  Hope frowned as his first officer took charge.

  “Do another sweep,” Commander Richards ordered and then turned towards the comm. station. “Signal the New Orleans and the Cody and see what they know.”