Desperate Defense: The First Terran Interstellar War book 1 (Founding of the Federation 4)

by Chris Hechtl

  ~~*^*~~

  The second cruiser's Alpha bull blinked at the sudden onslaught of fire that wracked his ship, momentarily blinding it in nuclear and kinetic fire. His shields buckled and then fell. His forward armor took the brunt of the damage.

  “They fight but they are weak,” the weapons officer said contemptuously.

  “We have lost half of our bow sensors. The main guns are offline,” the engineering bull reported.

  “Blast!” the ship's Alpha bull roared. “Get those guns back online!”

  “The gun apertures are fouled with debris. There is some unknown damage to the power runs. It may take some time,” the ship's engineer warned.

  “Get it done,” the ship's Alpha bull snarled as he clenched and unclenched his fists. “Quickly.”

  ~~*^*~~

  “Cruiser Two's main guns are off line,” a communication's tech reported.

  “See?” the Beta bull said mildly. His ship's Alpha bull grunted. “Destroy that ship with the full fire of this ship. It will destroy the other ship's morale.”

  “As you command, Herd Leader,” the ship's alpha replied with a nod. He waved a crocked index finger to the weapons officer and then pointed to the maneuvering alien ship to make it so.

  ~~*^*~~

  Captain Yuanja felt his ship buck as kinetic rounds pinged off her armor. But the first cruiser was maneuvering on another target. Her bow skewed away from them.

  “Valor, watch out!” he barked. “Guns, fire!”

  “Firing!” the TO replied. She fired her rail gun turrets in a broadside as the ship passed the enemy ship's flank and headed for the relative safety of deep space.

  The rounds impacted on the already decimated shields and tore craters in the ship's dorsal and flank armor but otherwise did no appreciable damage.

  ~~*^*~~

  Valor's crew saw the cruiser lining up for the shot and jinked hard to starboard, then up to port in an effort to dislodge the other ship's aim. She even cut her engines briefly and then turned them back on at full afterburner.

  Her attention to one ship was good, but the battleship also had the range. The giant Tauren ship opened up with her own turrets and main gun. One moment Valor was jinking all over space, the next a wall of metal tore her apart.

  ~~*^*~~

  “And now there is one,” the Beta bull said quietly as he watched the small ship fleeing into the darkness of the void. “Cruiser One, follow that ship and destroy it. Cruiser Two, continue repairs. Do you need the support ship's help?”

  “As you command, Herd Leader,” Cruiser One's ship's Alpha bull acknowledged.

  “Not at this time,” Cruiser Two's ship's Alpha bull ground out.

  “Do not let pride overwhelm you. This has just begun,” the Beta bull stated as he checked the long-range sensor feed. He didn't like the sight of the herd of ships some light minutes distant but approaching. A second smaller herd of ships were behind them. Here and there other ships were headed to the large herd.

  “Herd Leader, there is a large ship of appreciable mass in that herd,” his sensor tech reported.

  “Hurry up and finish off that stray and then get back here,” the Beta bull ordered cruiser One.

  “As you command, Herd Leader. We will get it done.”

  Chapter 33

  Captain Shidou Yuanja realized his first task force command had been disastrous. He also knew it was most likely his last. He couldn't dwell on those thoughts though; his ship was in for the fight of its life. In and loosing, he reminded himself, looking at the titan bearing down on his ship from the stern.

  Constitution was in a running battle with the alien cruiser and not faring well. As long as they kept jinking, they would screw up the ship's aim and keep the cruiser from lining up its bow for a shot with its spinal mount guns. But that was all they could do, and their luck and fuel wouldn't last forever.

  He shook his head at that thought and then pursed his lips as he tried to think. An orange-suited DCC tech came in and handed him a tablet wordlessly. He glanced at it. The starboard weapons were junk. His engine and reactor were fine however. Casualties had been hard on the starboard weapon mounts.

  “We've got to find a way to hit back,” he murmured, mind struggling with different scenarios. He realized he was possibly grasping at straws, delaying the inevitable, but he had to find something, some way to spit back, to give the other ships a fighting chance.

  A thought occurred to him. He tucked it away for the moment as he continued to scan the Damage Control Report.

  ~~*^*~~

  Admiral Lewis frowned as he listened to Ensign Ook-Soon Sedong report on what they knew about the enemy. Most of the first task force had been gutted, but they'd gotten back priceless information. Information he intended to use … if he had the ships to do it with. At the moment, that part was very much in doubt he knew.

  Their main guns were a surprise. Spinal mount kinetic guns he had anticipated based on the 3D images of the ships. The spinal mount energy weapons he hadn't. The enemy preferred to get his ships into a 1-million-kilometer range before firing, most likely in order to maximize their chances of a hit.

  “Fast and dirty, sir, we're still doing an engineering rundown, but I can tell you based on the telemetry from Constitution and the other ships, the enemy ships have a single layer energy shield. They have the force emitters on towers away from the hull,” Ensign Sedong reported.

  “Single layer but tough,” the admiral murmured.

  “Yes, sir. They keep the shield tight to the hull, which minimizes the surface area and maximizes the power. So it's not as efficient as our shields are but they are tougher. They also have redundant emitters, which means they can shift the load to others if needed.”

  “Understood.”

  “CIC has passed the spectrographic analysis of the armor debris that was blown off to Mars base. We're still waiting on a reply.”

  The admiral snorted. Ensign Nelson would try to get it processed. But the A.I. was just one individual, and he wasn't built for that sort of processing and analysis. “Continue.”

  “They are slower on the helm initially but can pick up speed when they want to. We also didn't detect any counter missiles or ECM.”

  “None? None at all?”

  “At that range, it isn't really worth it, sir.”

  “Perhaps. Perhaps not. So, they rely on their shields and armor for defense?” He frowned. “What about those turrets?”

  “They are smaller main guns, sir. They might be used for point defense. We're not clear there.”

  “Understood.” He could feel the horror and dismay in the compartment ease slightly. The ensign's professional analysis and tone were helping a lot there.

  “Sir, they have fired a kinetic bombardment at the nearest colonies,” a technician reported.

  The admiral looked up. By the time he got the order out, it would be too late. “Order all stations and habitats to jink using RCS thrusters. Keep up a random pattern going; don't stay still for too long,” he ordered.

  “Aye aye, sir.”

  “Back to the enemy ship analysis, we're still crunching the numbers, but we know their energy weapons are slow firing as are their main guns. They take about 10.4 seconds to cycle between shots.”

  “Inefficient superconductors?” the admiral asked.

  “Or something, sir.”

  “All right. Good work, keep on that. Com, raise Argus. Let them know we're going to rendezvous before we engage again. No more of this defeat in detail horseshit.”

  “Aye aye, sir.”

  “Com, also get Constitution up if you can. Broadcast it. Tell them I want a running telemetry feed.”

  “Their communications are spotty, sir. They've taken damage on both flanks.”

  “Keep trying,” the admiral ordered.

  ~~*^*~~

  “Our starboard missile tubes have had it, sir,” the tactical officer said, looking up and then over her shoulder to the skipper.

  Capt
ain Yuanja grimaced but nodded. “I see that. That means we've got to be shifty. Get me Chief McNalli. I want him to get a work party going shifting as many missiles as we can to the starboard boat bay.”

  “I don't even know if we can get it open, sir. The door might have warped. We know it's not holding pressure well.”

  “Pump the air in. But get that work party together. Time is short. Pull them from damage control if you have to. We need the strongest backs available.”

  “Aye aye, sir.”

  ~~*^*~~

  Chief McNalli grunted as the work party tried its best. “Heave! Smartly! Put your knees and backs into it!” he snarled into his suit comm as the work party groaned in agony under the slings. It would have been easier to move the missile parts through the sections of the ship that had lost gravity, but many of those were choked with debris and bodies. He couldn't wait; the mission was critical.

  Each missile had to be broken down into as few subassemblies as they could get away with, then hauled through the ship from the port magazine to the starboard boat bay.

  He hoped and prayed the skipper's brainstorm paid off and that the work wasn't for nothing. He'd pay good money to see it go off, but he doubted he'd get the chance.

  ~~*^*~~

  “Times up,” Captain Yuanja said.

  “Chief McNalli reported only four missiles are in the boat bay, sir. The fifth and sixth are hung up strewn across the ship. The crew is fatigued,” the XO reported.

  “They'll have to do. Button the missiles up and get the crews out. Make sure each is free of any cables. Guns, you've got the plan I've got in mind loaded?”

  “Yes sir. They are smart missiles; we'll get it done.”

  “Good. It's important that we don't signal them. They'll have to go on their own.”

  “Aye aye, sir. We'll get it done.”

  “Good woman.”

  “Sir, coming up on point sigma. We need to get underway in the next two minutes,” the navigator called out.

  “Heard that, Chief McNalli?” the captain said over the PA.

  “Boat bay is clear now, sir. We're dogging the hatches. It'll take five minutes though to pump down.”

  “Pump … no, wait. Blow the exterior hatch,” the captain ordered.

  “Sir?”

  “You heard me. Make sure we get them out with some debris and out gassing. It'll look like we're really hurting.”

  “We are hurting,” the XO said.

  “I know. But we're not out of this fight yet,” the captain growled as he watched the red lights go off indicating a problem in the starboard boat bay. After a moment, he saw the ejection of debris and cloud of ice and snow as the compartment vented into space.

  “Just more debris,” he murmured as the missiles tumbled out of sight.

  ~~*^*~~

  “The prey is wounded. We are detecting more debris and out gassing out of her flank,” the sensor technician reported.

  “Close on her. I want her run down before she can get away again,” the ship's Alpha bull ordered. “Let's end this chase and return to the herd,” he growled.

  ~~*^*~~

  “Admiral, Constitution has vented from her starboard side,” Ensign Sedong reported.

  “Understood,” Admiral Lewis replied. “She's got internal damage then? Worse than they thought?”

  “We're out of communication with them. They are now getting underway, sir. But at a much-reduced speed. The enemy ship will be able to overhaul her easily,” the ensign reported.

  “Damn,” the admiral muttered quietly.

  ~~*^*~~

  The Tauren cruiser was intensely focused on the wounded Terran destroyer since there were no other threats in its immediate area. As the ship fled, the cruiser lumbered into extreme-weapons range and began to fire. Constitution twitched and jinked, but she was slow on the helm. A few of the lighter rounds caught the cruiser's recovering shields, battering them down again. As the force emitters began to overload or tear apart from the beating, the ship took additional damage.

  “Nice way to show we're hurt but no need to let them really hurt us this badly,” the captain said.

  “Who's faking? We've lost another engine, sir,” the chief engineer snarled back.

  “Oh, damn,” the captain said. “Well, the good news is they'll be focused on us and won't notice anything else … for the moment,” he said, checking the plot. He could see the drifting wreckage of the first task force. Hopefully, someone was still alive to save in that wreckage.

  But first there had to be someone alive to save them he thought. By the time any of the rescue ships got there, most of the trapped people would run out of oxygen and hope he thought bleakly. He did his best to put such thoughts out of his mind.

  “Just between you and me, sir, I'd like to have seen what is going to happen next,” the XO said as the ship shuddered again under the relentless pounding.

  “We can't always get what we want,” the captain murmured.

  ~~*^*~~

  “Her drive is down. One more volley should destroy her,” the sensor tech reported. “But there is something strange about the debris she vomited a few minutes ago,” he said.

  “Spare me the unnecessary details,” the ship's Alpha bull ordered, waving a massive hand. “Helm, keep us in range but watch for any last-minute surprises. We know that a wounded prey is the most dangerous,” the alpha warned.

  “Understood,” the helm bull replied with a nod.

  ~~*^*~~

  Each of the four missiles had taken their sensor data and programming from the mother ship. As they drifted, they gathered additional sensory data. When the enemy cruiser had passed and the set time had expired, they each lit off their drives and then used their RCS to maneuver themselves further apart as well as orient on their prey.

  Three of the missiles had an immediate lock. The fourth ironically hit a piece of genuine debris from the battle and tumbled, its avionics addled by the crash and unexpected event momentarily stunning its programming.

  ~~*^*~~

  The sensor technician gaped at his board for a moment. A small gasp escaped him alerting the bridge watch. He looked up, eyes rolling white in alarm. “Small engines have lit off behind us!” the sensor bull called out. “More of the missiles the aliens are in favor of! They have nuclear warheads!”

  “Helm, hard over! Guns, fire on those missiles!”

  “Too late!” the weapons bull replied. “They are in too close!”

  “Try anyway!” the captain ordered. “We've got nothing left to lose!” he snarled as he gripped the armrests of his chair.

  ~~*^*~~

  The missiles lacked the extra speed from being kicked out of a missile tube so their base velocity was low. But they were within a hundred km of the enemy ship. The closest missile was picked off by the cruiser's desperate point defense. It exploded harmlessly. But the second and third impacted the ship's shields and detonated in sync. The ten-megaton explosions overloaded the ship's force emitters and knocked the shields down.

  The fourth addled missile managed to reorient itself enough to face the enemy ship. Its drive kicked in to boost it up to speed. When its programming realized that it was not going to make it, the computer decided to go to its last resort and burn the drive out before traveling the last distance on ballistic.

  ~~*^*~~

  “Shields are down. Drive is offline. Sensors are down,” the ship's Beta bull reported. “We're still making damage assessments now.”

  “Get our systems back online. That prey better not have gotten away again under this diversion!” the Alpha bull snarled, blowing hot air out of his nostrils.

  ~~*^*~~

  Missile Four's drive sputtered and then flamed out. From now on, it was on ballistic. It coasted in past the ship's flickering shields. The missile's computer used the last of its RCS to pick a spot on the hull, an airlock to hit.

  The warhead went off just as it touched the hull and ten megatons of nuclear fury tore into the ship.


  ~~*^*~~

  “Damn, sir! Constitution must have gotten her!” the sensor tech said in a tired yet elated voice. The admiral looked up as some of the crew cheered. “The cruiser—she just got hit by a pair of nukes that took her shields down, then something else went off on the side opposite us. It looks like a third nuke gutted her! Right on her hull!”

  “Is she really dead?” Admiral Lewis demanded.

  “See for yourself, sir,” Ensign Sedong replied, showing him an image of the wreckage of the enemy cruiser. There was little left. The nuke may have gone off on its flank but the blast had been on a weak spot—one that had allowed its fury to burrow deep into the enemy ship's flank and tear it apart from the inside.

  “Damn good work. And Constitution?” the admiral asked in a dull voice. He was pretty sure he already knew the answer. Facing Tiffany was going to be the least of his concerns however.

  The ensign's face fell. “They are a derelict, sir. We're not sure at this point if there is any life left on board.”

  “Damn,” the admiral muttered, closing his eyes in pain for a brief moment. “Pity they missed out on that.”

  “Their ghosts are probably cheering to beat hell, sir,” Ensign Sedong replied quietly.

  “Yeah. Probably,” the admiral replied. “Including my son,” he said heavily. That quieted the compartment. “Carry on people; this fight isn't over. Not by a long shot.”

  Chapter 34

  The Beta bull stared at the plot, stunned at the loss of one of his cruisers to such a small alien ship. The loss was inconceivable, yet he couldn't deny it.

  “What of the firing plan on the alien habitats,” he suddenly demanded, turning on the weapons officer.

  “You ordered me to fire with the others, Herd Leader,” the weapon officer said, indicating the recent battle. “That took precedence.”