by Dietmar Wehr
Chapter Eleven:
When Excalibur arrived at the Nimitz Base, there was a surprise waiting for Koenig. The base itself was still intact, and there was a heavy cruiser, the Valley Forge, there as well. Her CO, Gregor Steiner, was initially glad to see a light cruiser that had been given up for lost. But his text message response posed a problem.
VALLEY FORGE ACTUAL TO EXCALIBUR ACTUAL. YOUR REQUEST TO FIND 7TH FLEET IS NOT APPROVED. WE NEED ALL THE HELP WE CAN GET WITHOUT GOING ON WILD GOOSE CHASES. EXCALIBUR WILL ACCOMPANY VALLEY FORGE TO BRADLEY BASE FOR RE-ASSIGNMENT. END OF MESSAGE.
“Like hell we will!” said Koenig. He quickly recorded a reply.
EXCALIBUR ACTUAL TO VALLEY FORGE ACTUAL. I WAS NOT REQUESTING APPROVAL OF MY PLAN TO REINFORCE 7TH FLEET. MY FIELD PROMOTION TO CO OF EXCALIBUR AUTOMATICALLY INCLUDES A FIELD PROMOTION TO THE RANK OF COMMANDER. THEREFORE YOU HAVE NO AUTHORITY TO ISSUE ORDERS TO ME AS WE ARE THE SAME RANK. I HAVE ORDERS FROM THE ACTING FLEET COMMANDER OF 7TH FLEET TO BRING REINFORCEMENTS TO THE RENDEZVOUS POINT AT MR66. I’M REQUESTING THAT VALLEY FORGE ACCOMPANY EXCALIBUR. IF YOU REFUSE THIS REQUEST, I SUGGEST YOU START THINKING OF YOUR DEFENSE AT YOUR COURT-MARTIAL FOR COWARDICE. END OF MESSAGE.
STEINER TO KOENIG. MY AUTHORITY COMES FROM THE FACT THAT AT THIS POINT IN TIME I’M THE SENIOR OFFICER IN THIS SECTOR AND THEREFORE YOUR ACTING RANK IS NOT RELEVANT. IF YOU REFUSE TO OBEY MY ORDERS, IT WON’T BE MY COURT-MARTIAL BUT YOURS. SIGNAL YOUR WILLINGNESS TO OBEY MY ORDER AND I’LL FORGET YOUR INSUBORDINATION. END OF MESSAGE.
KOENIG TO STEINER. I’LL TAKE MY CHANCES WITH THAT COURT-MARTIAL. LET’S SEE IF THE ADJUDICATING FLAG OFFICERS THINK THAT BRINGING 16 WARSHIPS BACK IS PREFERABLE TO BRINGING ONE LIGHT CRUISER. EXCALIBUR IS NOW VEERING OFF. END OF MESSAGE.
“Are you sure that he doesn’t have the authority to give you orders?” asked Soriya.
Koenig shrugged. “I find it hard to believe that a mere Commander, who just happens to be the most senior officer in the sector, assuming that he’s correct about that, can countermand orders from a Fleet Commander. Even if Steiner was a Fleet Commander himself, I’m STILL not sure he has that authority, because Excalibur would not be part of his fleet command structure. I think he figured he could score some points towards his next promotion by showing up at HQ saying, ‘Look what I found’. If I’m court-martialed, and the Board says I’m wrong, then I’m wrong. But until that happens, I’ll play it the way I see it. Com. Make sure that the Base gets my full report and request for more assistance for 7th Fleet. Do not copy the Valley Forge. Astro, do you have a new course for us yet?”
“Affirmative. Excalibur can maneuver as soon as you give the word.”
“Then the word is given.”
The trip along the shortcut was uneventful. When Excalibur arrived at the last giant star system of the shortcut, there was tension in the air once again. Koenig and Soriya were both on the Bridge with Chen as BDO.
“Any signs of other ships, Tactical?” said Koenig in a voice that was barely above a whisper.”
“Negative. Shall I switch to active scanning?” said the AI.
“No. We continue with passives and max ECM.”
“Why are you whispering?” asked Soriya.
“Was I?” asked Koenig in astonishment. “Sorry, I guess I’m nervous about being in Tong territory.”
“Technically this system is within the area we know the Tong claim as theirs, but there’s nothing in this system that would be interesting enough to the Tong to warrant a permanent presence.”
“Oh, I agree, but we’ll play it safe anyway. Okay, Astro, let’s get the ship over to where we can make the next jump. We’re making good time. Three jumps left and 7th Fleet is still a week away from MR66 if they’re on schedule. We should get there in plenty of time.”
Excalibur entered the MR66 system 77 hours later. The star in that system was only slightly larger than Earth’s sun, and Koenig found it’s yellow light strangely reassuring.
“Let’s see the system-wide tactical,” said Koenig. The display showed a representation of the system as if they were looking down at it from above the ecliptic. The sun was in the center. Excalibur was at what Koenig thought of as the 2 o’clock position. A green oval representing the most likely area where 7th Fleet would drop back into normal space was down around the 6 o’clock position.
“Shortest route to the arrival area?” asked Soriya who was sitting in the Command Pod as the BDO.
Koenig shook his head after pondering that question for a few seconds. “Not necessary. We’re in no hurry. 7th Fleet’s schedule was based on optimistic assumptions, so they’re unlikely to have gotten here first, and even if they did, they know they’d be ahead of schedule and would wait. Let’s come at that arrival area from the far side so 7th Fleet ships will be silhouetted against this sun. That will make it easier for us to detect them and let us make the first move to establish contact. What would that trajectory look like, Astro?”
A green, curving line appeared, starting from Excalibur’s icon in a giant ‘S’ where the ship would initially get deeper into the sun’s gravity well, then come back out to approach the arrival area from behind. The sidebar showed the elapsed time for the maneuver to be almost 5.5 hours due to the wide swing around at the end.
“Okay. That looks fine. Execute the maneuver,” said Koenig.
Five hours 15 minutes later, the tactical AI dropped a bombshell. “Optical sensors are detecting multiple ships between Excalibur and the sun. Two ships detected so far, with considerable distance between them.”
Koenig frowned. If they were 7th Fleet ships, why wouldn’t they be in a close formation? Was it possible that they had just arrived and hadn’t closed ranks yet? Before he could ask the question, the AI had additional information.
“Two more ships, also widely-scattered, have been detected. They do not appear to be maneuvering. Preliminary projection of the ranges puts them further out from the gravity well jump threshold. TacComp has raised its threat assessment to high and has designated these sightings as Tango one through four. The tactical display has been updated.”
Koenig saw four red icons in two groups of two over-lapping icons. Without needing to ask, the display rotated to give him a 3D perspective. The four ships were actually in a large rectangular formation. Even as the display was still rotating, a fifth red icon appeared, and then a sixth that duplicated the formation and widened the rectangle.
“That’s not 7th Fleet,” said Koenig with sudden assurance. “That’s the kind of formation that a fleet would use if they were expecting visitors and wanted to ambush them. They have to be Tong.”
“TacComp calculates a 97.7% probability that these are Tong ships,” said the AI.
Koenig nodded, his expression grim. “We have to assume that they somehow know that 7th Fleet is headed here and are preparing to ambush them, and I don’t think six ships is all they have. Astro, adjust our trajectory to give us the angles we would need in order to see if there are more ships in that formation.”
“Understood. Adjusting maneuver.”
“Can they detect us, Tactical?”
“Highly unlikely. We are behind them from their point of view, and they are not actively scanning in this direction. Detecting us visually with our black hull against the black background of deep space would be very difficult. Recommend taking the ship to Battle Stations as a precaution.”
“I agree; sound Battle Stations. CO to XO. Come to the Bridge.”
By the time Soriya arrived at the Bridge, the enemy count was up to nine. Ten minutes later, it was up to 25.
“With numerical superiority and the element of surprise against them, 7th Fleet won’t stand a chance if they fall into this trap,” said Koenig.
“What if we jump further back along the milk run path and warn them?” asked Soriya.
Koenig shrugged. “I doubt if Excalibur can take this enemy fleet on all by itself, but my fear about warning 7th Fleet is that we’ll pass them going in opposite directions wh
ile we’re both in hyperspace. At least if we stay here, we’ll be able to give our Fleet some fire support when they finally arrive. I’m open to suggestions or analysis from any AIs.”
“Your doubt about Excalibur being able to defeat the enemy formation by itself is correct if you were thinking of using long range missile bombardment,” said the tactical AI. “However, our gravity cannons give us some new tactical options. The enemy formation is such that Excalibur could make a series of high-speed passes at relatively close range and attack each Tong ship with gravity cannon. We may be able to avoid detection from active scanning if the ship is oriented carefully, and our high velocity will make us difficult to hit with enemy graser fire.”
Koenig found that idea very appealing. He badly wanted to hit back at the Tong, and a setup like this might not come again. It took an effort of will to resist the temptation to go with the attack idea before seeing if there were other options.
“Astro?” he asked finally.
“7th Fleet’s estimated position at this time is two jumps back. Their projected timetable was deliberately optimistic in order not to miss a late arrival of the reinforcement fleet. Therefore, it’s highly likely that if Excalibur were to jump back to MR65, we could not only warn the Fleet of the ambush but also offer an alternate path around MR66 as shown on the display now.”
The display switched to the by now familiar star map of the milk run path. MR64 was flashing to indicated 7th Fleet’s projected position. An alternate set of jumps diverged from MR65 around MR66 and over to the last blue giant system in the shortcut path that Excalibur had used to get here. From there, the route led back to human space along the shortcut path.
“You’re suggesting that the Fleet take the shortcut path back home. What’s the probability of making all those long jumps successfully?” asked Koenig.
“If Excalibur acts as the lead ship for each jump, the probability of the Fleet reaching human space without any losses is 90.9%. The probability of reaching human space with less than 4 ships lost is 98.5%. These numbers are the result of Excalibur having already passed through these systems, thereby giving us the best possible astrogational data. We now know with certainty where those giant stars are. The only remaining variable is the ability of each ship in the Fleet to match Excalibur’s trajectory accurately enough.”
Koenig now was torn between two alternatives that each had advantages and disadvantages.
“Any other AI with a suggestion or analysis?” There was silence. Koenig hadn’t really expected any ideas from the com or engineering AIs but he’d had to ask.
“Comments, XO?”
“As much as I would like to hit back at the Tong, TOSF needs as many undamaged ships as we can bring them. That to me suggests we try to avoid battle, if at all possible. Let’s go around them and let them sit there wondering how 7th Fleet avoided the trap.”
“If only we could warn the Fleet and then come back here ourselves to inflict as much damage on that Tong formation as we can before rejoining the Fleet. But if the enemy gets lucky and Excalibur can’t make it back, the Fleet will lose a lot of ships trying to get back via the shortcut without us,” said Koenig.
He stared at the star map for another 30 seconds and then sighed. “God, I’d love to give the Tong a bloody nose, but you’re right, XO. The smart thing to do here is avoid battle if possible. Astro, get us to MR65 asap, and let’s hope we timed it right.”
Soriya was conning the ship as the BDO when Excalibur dropped into the MR65 system. She briefly contemplated waking Koenig but thought better of it. He was only halfway through his normal 8-hour sleep shift, and with no ships detected, there was really no reason to wake him. By prior arrangement, she knew exactly what he wanted Excalibur to do now. When 7th Fleet arrived in this system, they’d be on almost the opposite side of the sun. Excalibur had to get over there fast, which meant a high-speed and relatively close fly-by of the sun with the consequent heating problem. The ship’s life support would let the internal temperature drop now in order to make the heat bearable later.
‘Com, give me inter-craft,” she said. When the com AI signaled ready, she began to speak.
“This is the XO,” she said in a lower than normal voice, hoping not to wake Koenig. “Prepare for low temperatures as we get ready for a close fly-by.” When she finished, she realized that she had forgotten to bring her own cold weather gear to the Bridge for her duty shift. Asking one of the crew to go to her cabin and get it seemed like a poor idea. Not only would the person resent being tasked with such a menial job, but she was worried that the crew would judge her as being less competent. No, she would suffer through the cold with what she had on now, and that would hopefully teach her a lesson not to forget that kind of thing again.
Koenig woke up freezing and knew immediately what was happening. He wasn’t due for his shift on the Bridge for another two hours, but by then the ship should already be at the gravity well jump threshold in the area where 7th Fleet was likely to appear, and he wanted to be back on the Bridge before then. With only about 55 minutes left before his alarm would wake him anyway, he decided to get up, have a hot shower, dress appropriately and have a leisurely meal with coffee before relieving Eriko early. With the shower done, he was about to leave his cabin when he thought that Eriko might like something from the galley.
“Koenig to BDO.”
“I’m here, sir.” Eriko’s voice sounded like she was shivering.
“Did you remember to bring your cold weather gear to the Bridge, Eriko?” he asked.
“N-no, sir.”
“For God’s sake, Eriko, why didn’t you ask one of the crew to bring it to the Bridge? Never mind, I’ll bring it along with a hot beverage. Coffee or hot chocolate?”
“Just the hot chocolate is fine, sir. The temperature has already starting to climb again. I won’t need the gear in a few minutes if I have something hot to drink.”
“Okay, hot chocolate it is. Koenig out.”
When he had her hot chocolate ready, he was tempted to have one of the crew bring it to her so that he could stay in the galley and eat. But he decided to bring it to her himself and then come back for his breakfast. She was still shivering when he got to the Bridge and handed her the drink. He could have sworn that her face actually had a bluish tinge to it. It was still cold enough that both of them could see their breath.
“Thank you, sir.”
While she sipped her drink, Koenig took a quick glance at the tactical situation on the display. Other than this system’s sun, the inner planets and Excalibur herself, the display was clear.
“I’m going to head back to the galley and get breakfast, but when I’m done, I’ll relieve you.” She nodded her thanks while still sipping and Koenig began walking away. Just as he reached the doors, the display pinged for attention. A yellow dotted line appeared, heading out from Excalibur’s icon to the area where 7th Fleet was likely to hit the gravity well.
“Intermittent reflection contact,” said the tactical AI. “Multiple reflection contacts now. No identification at this time.”
“That has to be 7th Fleet,” said Soriya.
Koenig was once again standing beside the Command Pod. “Maybe, but we’re not going to assume anything. We keep our running lights off and ECM at max. I don’t want them seeing our silhouette against this sun, so we stay off to one side while we try to get close enough for a positive ID. Astro, do you know what I want?”
“Affirmative. Is this trajectory acceptable, CO?”
Koenig looked at the new curving blue line that passed the sun at a wider distance with a very gentle ‘S’ curve that would bring the ship around and behind the unknown formation of ships so that they would be silhouetted against the sun.
“That will do for now. If we’re not getting as close to this sun as we expected, we can adjust the internal temperatures accordingly. There’s still time for me to grab a bite to eat, XO. I’ll be back in about 20 minutes, but if there’s a new development, call me.
”
The ship was already starting to warm up by the time he reached the galley again. Normally he would have taken his time enjoying the meal and coffee. For some reason that no one seemed able to explain, Reforger had lots of coffee and hot chocolate. They were the only two things that didn’t need to be rationed among 7th Fleet ships. When he was done eating, the combination of hot drink and warmer temperature allowed him to drop off his cold weather gear at his quarters on his return to the Bridge. The situation hadn’t changed significantly.
“We’re still seeing reflections, but the number keep changing. The max number of reflections seen at one time is only nine,” said Soriya in a somewhat somber voice.