Eye of the Storm
Page 47
The Mound was, in reality, nothing but a highly modified bulk freighter such as had originally been used to move forces between planets. Nearly a kilometer long and with cavernous holds, the ship's modifications involved ways to move stuff out of its holds and onto certain courses, very fast, as well as binary, tunnel and ley-line, FTL engines. Its ship-to-ship weapons were pop-guns but it could toss out a bunch of kinetic energy weapons. They didn't go out very fast, but when you're firing in a gravity well, it doesn't really matter. Especially since it was punching out fifteen KEWs the size of a train engine every second. Secondary guns were, in the meantime, firing smaller KEWs at the rate of several thousand per second.
The KEWs really weren't much more than chunks of iron. Oh, they had tungsten fins and an internal gyroscope. But other than that they were just great big pieces of steel shaped vaguely like a dart. The rain of steel was aimed in various directions, but most of it was aimed more or less straight down at the just completed, and nearly charged, Hedren wormhole generator.
The Hedren fire was slow to start but brutal when it finally got into motion. Hundreds of lasers flashed upwards along with dozens of heavy meson guns. However, they were having a hard time hitting the Mound and her consorts. The air was almost literally filled with chunks of metal. Meson bolts capable of tearing apart a cruiser burst into pointless fireworks when they hit a KEW the size of a crowbar. Lasers had trouble with just the plasma and gases that were filling the sky.
Targeting the KEWs was automatic, but there were simply too many. Lasers flashed and flashed, but all it did was cut the darts in half. They were small enough they would burn up from reentry heat but most of them were large enough it took quite a bit of chunking to get to that point. Missiles flashed up as well, intercepting the larger KEWs and blasting them apart. But, again, there were a lot of KEWs and only so many missiles. Well before the Mound was out of chunks of steel the Hedren antiship missile inventory was exhausted.
And behind fell the tanks, AFVs, panzerjaegers and artillery carriers of the Vaterland in their very first Augenhöhlentropfensturm, an orbital drop storm.
"Vater unser, der Du bist im Himmel,
Geheiligt werde Dein Name . . ."
Frederick was praying as fast as he could but could not tear his eyes from the vision blocks. The world of Daga Nine was spread out below him and the panzer was dropping into a cloud of fire. The kinetic energy weapons, coherent and those that had been broken up by fire, were dropping beneath him to the surface of the world and they were burning. The effect filled the sky with orange fire, a volcano of torrential energy, into which the panzer was falling, the volcano falling away just as fast. At times they seemed to catch up to it then the distance would open, close . . . open. It was like one of those dreams where you fell and fell, the ground always only inches away but about to kill you at any moment. Energy screen or no, he did not think that there was any way that they could survive. And it was, yes, getting very hot. Sweat was pouring down his face for more than one reason.
He could see some of the fire coming up, but it was insignificant to the power of the dropping weapons.
"I saw an Eye of Baal from the ground one time," Harz mused. "That was what we called the Posleen drops. They would light the sky with fire in a great circle like a glowing red eye. Now I know what it was like from the top-side. I rather prefer this. And if you're going to pray, Schutze, might I ask that you at least not babble the words."
"Your pardon, Feldwebel," Frederick said, continuing to whisper the Lord's Prayer under his breath.
"Here, this will help," Harz said as a bass male voice started to recite the Lord's Prayer in Deutsch. Then a booming electronica synthesizer started up followed by a soaring chorus. "This is how to pray to the Lord, Schutze!" the track commander shouted. "For the Lord did say unto his people, make a joyful noise and rejoice for I am the Lord Thy GOD!"
Vater Unser (E Nomine)
Our Father
Vater unser, der Du bist im Himmel,
Our Father, which art in Heaven,
Geheiligt werde Dein Name,
Hollowed be thy name,
Dein Reich Komme,
Thy Kingdom come,
Dein Wille geschehe,
Thy will be done,
Wie im Himmel als auch auf Erden,
On Earth as it is in Heaven,
Und vergib uns unsere Schuld,
And forgive us our trespasses
Wie auch wir vergeben unseren Schuldigern. . .
As we forgive those who trespass against us. . .
. . . In nomine patris et filii spiritu sancti . . .
In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit
Vater unser, der Du bist im Himmel,
Our Father, which art in Heaven,
Geheiligt werde Dein Name,
Hollowed be thy name,
Dein Reich komme,
Thy kingdom come,
Dein Wille geschehe,
Thy will be done,
Wie im Himmel als auch auf Erden,
On Earth as it is in Heaven,
Unser taeglich Brot gib uns heute,
And give us this day our daily bread,
Und vergib uns unsere Schuld,
And forgive us our trespasses,
Wie auch wir vergeben unseren Schuldigern,
As we forgive those who trepass against us,
Und fuehre uns nicht in Versuchung,
And lead us not into temptation,
Sondern erloese uns von dem Uebel,
But deliver us from evil,
Denn Dein ist das Reich,
For thine is the kingdom,
Und die Kraft und die Herrlichkeit,
The power and Glory,
In Ewigkeit. . .
For ever and ever. . .
. . . Amen.
. . . Amen
In nomine patris et filii spiritu sancti
In the name of the Father, the son, and the Holy Spirit
Amen
Amen
In nomine patris et filii spiritu sancti
In the name of the Father, the son, and the Holy Spirit
Amen
Amen
Vater unser, der Du bist im Himmel,
Our Father, which art in Heaven,
Geheiligt werde Dein Name,
Hollowed be thy name,
Dein Reich komme,
Thy Kingdom come,
Dein Wille geschehe,
Thy will be done,
Wie im Himmel als auch auf Erden,
On Earth as it is in Heaven,
Und verbig uns unsere Schuld,
And forgive us our trespasses
Wie auch wir vergeben unseren Schuldigern.
As we forgive those who trespass against us.
Vater hoere meine Stimme.
Father, hear my prayer!
Herr hoere meine Stimme!
Lord, hear my prayer!
Lasser uns beten.
Let us pray.
In nomine patris et filii spiritu sancti
In the name of the Father, and the son, and the Holy Spirit
Der Herr. . . ist ein Schatten ueber
The Lord. . . is my shepherd.
Deiner Rechten Hand. . .
I shall not want!
. . . Amen
. . . Amen
Vater unser,
Our Father,
Dein ist das Reich,
Thine is the Kingdom,
Und die Kraft,
And the Power,
Und die Herrlichkeit,
And the glory,
In Ewigkeit,
for ever and ever . . .
. . . Amen . . .
Amen
Chapter Twenty-Two
"Emergence."
The Posleen tunnel drive was extremely useful, tactically, but enormously expensive energetically. The only really functional fuel for it was antimatter, which was both costly to make and extremely unstable. But there was no way that any ship could
have enough fuel space, bunkerage, for fusion bottles to produce the same power with any reasonable range.
Converting ships to use both ley-line transport, which was much cheaper energetically, and tunnel drive meant that something had to go.
In the case of the superdreadnought Lexington IV it had been Ronnie's pride and joy: the primary mass-driver. However, the Hedren in the Daga Nine system didn't have any ships really suitable for the main gun to engage. Would have been cute, mind you. Even their battleships would have come apart like tinker-toys. But they just needed the space.
What filled the space where the enormous mass driver had once been, its fusion bottles and capacitors, its grav drivers and magazines, was nine tunnel drives from Posleen Command Dodecahedrons, C-Decs, and one of the largest containment vessels of antimatter ever made. Even with that much antimatter, the ship only had the range to go from the nearest star to the Daga system. Going out they'd have to find a ley-line.
And they would be going out. They did not intend to stay. The mission of the Lady Lex was simple: Trash everything in the system then get the fuck out. They'd be back. But they'd have to refuel to do it.
And Ronnie didn't get to do the fun stuff like run the guns. Indowy crewed most of the ship, doing everything they could that a human wasn't absolutely critical for. The rest of the crew, mostly gunnery, tactical and sensors, was a mash of Indi crewmen and officers and some Northern European and Japanese "old guard."
But, in truth, they were just filling. The only thing Ronnie needed to run the Lex was floating beside her.
Unlike many of the being's fellows, the group that was coming to be known as the Daisies, Lex did not choose to have a real body. Each of the Command Cyborg Entities took for his or her personality that most closely associated with the ship they inhabited.
The Lexington had never had a girlie name. No former movie star or pin-up girl for her.
The Lex was called "The Blue Ghost."
"Hedren battle squadron designate BatRon One at one hundred thousand kilometers 135 mark 4," the entity whispered. She was barely visible, a cloaked and hooded cerulean apparition. "Recommend come to 134 mark 2 to close for engagement."
"Maneuvering, make it so," Ronnie said, her arms crossed. "Launch fighters, tell them to go for the heavies."
Battle Commodore Ularn watched the visual playback in wonder. Six ships had flashed into substance in mid-space. Well inside the normal dimensional warp point so they were using some other means of faster-than-light travel. But he ignored all but one.
"What is that?"
The single ship, alone, outmassed his entire task force. It was clear it was not terribly maneuverable. But if it got into engagement range they were all toast.
"The ship is one that was classed as salvage," the Marro intelligence officer replied. "One of their superdreadnoughts. The humans used them in a previous war but some were boarded in secret and determined to be unrecoverable."
"In that case, someone made a very deadly mistake," Ularn said. "Maneuvering, get us around that thing. Stay out of its range and close with the invasion fleet."
"Battle Master, that may be impossible," the Kotha Fleet Maneuvering Officer replied. "The human task force is in a geometry such that we cannot do both."
Ularn considered that information for a moment then ground his beak.
"Close the invasion fleet."
"BatRon One maneuvering to close the invasion fleet," the task force tactical officer said. "If they maintain current trajectory and acceleration, we're going to cross their T."
"And all the way back to the surface warfare days, that's the killer app," Ronnie said, nodding. The six ships were all that they had had time to refurbish. To the extent they were refurbished. The Lex, two cruisers and three destroyers were all that stood between the Hedren task force and the invasion ships, none of which were capable of duking it out with warships.
On the other hand, of those six one was the Lex.
"Signal task force, close in line ahead, Lex leads the way. Order fighters to close from the rear. We got some destruction to deal out."
"They are going to cross our front," the Kotha maneuvering officer said.
"Engage with meson cannons at maximum range," Ularn replied. It was probably useless, but it was the only choice he had. That or avoiding confrontation which would have equal or worse consequences. At least dying in a space battle was relatively clean compared to what the Imeg would mete out.
The Hedren had the range. Their heavy forward meson cannons had a range of almost five light seconds. Each of the four Hedren battleships in the squadron, long cylinders bristling with secondary weapons, had two of the massive cannons forward. Capable of punching through six meters of homogenous steel, they were brutal devices of war. The ten cruisers and four destroyers each had lesser versions with the same range if not the same power.
And they used it, concentrating the fire of all thirty-six meson cannons on the Lex.
* * *
"We're taking a pounding on the port side," the executive officer said. "Three plasma guns and two mass drivers off-line. Crews are on it."
Commander Burenda Kidwai knew his head should have been on a spike. Many of the officers he had come to know over the years, including all of his former commanders, were either under arrest or "permanently retired." Some had been killed in various incidents as the "Old Guard" reestablished control over Fleet.
Recognizing in his new commander, female that she was, a degree of frankness he had summoned the courage to ask why he had not joined them.
"You're competent," the bitch had answered. "If you manage to keep your hands out of the till and remain competent, you'll go far. If you don't, I'm going to space your ass. End story."
He had, thus far, carefully "kept his hand out of the till" and worked very hard to get this massive old warhorse into action. Yes, there were problems. Large sections of the old ship were still without environmental controls or even lights. Many of the drive bottles were still inactive, reducing the ship's already slow acceleration to a crawl. But he had done everything he could in a most "competent" manner to rectify those problems. And all of her guns were working, which was the important part. He did not want to breathe vacuum.
The ship shuddered, ever so slightly, at another barrage from the enemy guns.
"We can engage with mass drivers," he noted. Breathing vacuum because your ship gets pounded into scrap was no fun either.
"Let 'em shoot," Ronnie said. "Sorry, Lex."
"Portions of the metal of the aircraft carrier Lexington, sunk by the Japanese at the battle of the Coral Sea, were infused into this dreadnought in its construction," the ghost whispered. "More were added from the Lexington II, an aircraft carrier that withstood kamikaze strikes and fought on. In this iteration of my being, I am the survivor of virtual destruction three more times in the Posleen War. I have fought on sea and in space in every worthy battle to be found in this arm of the galaxy. This is the price of being a warship. I agree that we should close."
"Fuck yeah," Ronnie said.
* * *
"They are surely in range by now," the Kotha tactical officer said.
"Yes, they are," Ularn replied, grinding his beak. "They are waiting until they are in range to utterly destroy us. They are willing to take damage to do so. We must send a message to the communications relays. Tell the High Command that we have seriously underestimated the human willingness to fight. And tell them that's probably the last thing they'll hear from us."
The Hedren fleet was arrayed in a stellate pattern, the battleships at the center and the cruisers and destroyers arranged outwards.
The human fleet was in line astern. Which meant the Hedren could get angled shots on the human ships. But they could only hit one side and they were concentrating all their fire on the superdreadnought, trying to take it out.
Then it rolled.
"Starboard batteries coming in range of Hedren targets," the tactical officer said.
> "Shift control to automatic," Ronnie said. "Concentrate on the heavies. Bring fighters in from the rear. Tell everybody to hold on. Lex, open fire."
The enormous globe-breaking mass driver had been removed. But the Lexington had been designed to not only break globes, but to destroy the huge swarms of lesser Posleen ships. B-Decs, a C-Dec surrounded by twelve Lampreys, equated nicely to one of the Hedren cruisers. A C-Dec to one of the destroyers.
And the Lex was designed to take on thousands of such, not a mere handful.
Arrayed along her sides were literally hundreds of lasers, each capable of destroying a Lamprey. Nearly as many heavy plasma cannons capable of gutting a C-Dec. But the pride and joy were over two dozen grav-guns per side. Each of the GalTech 200mm mass-drivers accelerated a one hundred and fifty kilogram chunk of refractory heavy metal to ten percent of light-speed. The kinetic impact was equivalent to a sixteen megaton nuclear weapon.
The impacts from the Hedren meson cannons had barely caused the ship to shudder.
The Blue Ghost's first broadside nearly threw everyone off their feet.
"Report!" Ularn shouted, sealing his suit. The fact that he had to seal his suit in the deeply buried tactical room told him everything he really had to know. He was surprised he was alive to ask the question. "What do we have left?"