by Dietmar Wehr
Further thoughts along that line were halted when her new command came within sight of the shuttle she was riding in. Kursk was the same class of light carrier as Ranger, Bismark Sea and the two lost carriers. Externally she had the same black hull that looked like a manta ray without the tail. When on a mission, the hangar would be blacked out as well in order to avoid being seen, but in the here and now, it was lit up. That enabled her to appreciate the vastness of the internal space as the shuttle gently floated into the hangar and over to the docking bay. While waiting for the docking procedure to be completed, she looked around at the rest of the hangar. All of the corvette docking bays were empty at the moment. Her squadron was still being made ready at the main station in Earth orbit. They would move over to the Kursk approximately 24 hours before mission departure.
With docking complete, she exited the shuttle and was met by her X.O. She had known him only for a short time, but he already reminded her of Gort in some ways.
“You got here just in time, Sir. Fleet Admiral Suku has called a video conference on short notice. It’s scheduled to start in less than five minutes.”
“Oh, all right. I’ll take the meeting in my quarters. Has Admiral LeClair been notified?”
“I would think so since we got the word from Ranger’s Flag Bridge.”
“Fine. When I’m done with Suku’s conference, I’ll call you to my quarters, and you can update me on ship’s status.”
With a ship as big as Kursk, she had to walk quickly to get to her quarters in time to catch the start of the meeting. All six carrier C.O.s, plus all six squadron leaders and the two admirals were soon hooked up. The digital transmissions from the alien carriers were not quite in sync, which meant that the image and sound were slightly off. Harrow found it annoying at first but soon got used to it.
The conference itself did nothing to allay her fears that the alien admiral would try to dominate the mission. The fact that he insisted on making relatively minor changes to the already agreed upon tactical plan irked Harrow, and when LeClair didn’t object to any of them, that irked her even more. Gort’s calm and professional behaviour during the conference impressed her. She was certain that he would be offended by something the alien did or said, but nothing untoward happened. In fact, none of the human officers objected to anything Suku said or did. Harrow wanted to object, but knew that LeClair would not like that and therefore kept her peace. It was only when Suku condescended to give permission for the humans to leave the video network connection that LeClair finally spoke up and told the human officers that he wanted to chat with them as a group for a bit. LeClair waited until he was certain that only human officers could hear him before speaking.
“Since Admiral Suku brought us all together for a video conference, I’ve decided to take advantage of that to say a few words to all of you at the same time. I’m sure that some of you are wondering why I allowed Admiral Suku to act as though all of us, including myself, were subordinate to him. It’s very simple. I’m a firm believer in the principle that you pick your battles carefully. Those minor changes to the tactical plan just aren’t worth a confrontation with Suku. Our C.E.O. told me that if our alien allies need to have their egos stroked a bit in order to make the mission run smoothly, then we should be prepared to do that. If a situation arises where I disagree with Admiral Suku over an important tactical issue, I WILL risk a confrontation with him. I’m now going to share with you some classified information that is not to be discussed with anyone else for the duration of this mission. I have authority, if I deem it necessary, to pull Task Force 1.2 out of the 1AF and act independently. However, until such time as I use that authority, I’ll expect all of you to respect the chain of command of the 1AF. That means that if you get an order from Admiral Suku and it does not conflict with any orders issued by me, then you are to carry out that order. The decision to pull out of the 1AF is up to the leader of this Task Force, and unless I’m incapacitated, that means me. Are there any questions?”
Harrow held her breath as she waited to see who, if anyone, would raise a question. If Gort was going to make waves, now would be the time for it.
“I don’t have a question, but I do have a suggestion, Admiral,” said Eagleton. Harrow smiled as she allowed herself to breath again. Good old Gort Eagleton. You just couldn’t keep a good shit disturber down for long.
“I’m open to suggestions. What is it, Commander?”
“Well, sir, if there’s a possibility that the 1.2 might act independently, then shouldn’t we have our own rally point as well?”
LeClair took his time responding. “I’m going to give the suggestion serious consideration, but I won’t make a snap decision on it right now. Any other suggestions or questions?”
Harrow very much wanted to ask him if his carefully worded clarification about going independent meant that she would have that same authority if she needed to assume command of the task force, but that was the kind of thing that should be discussed privately. When it was obvious that there were no other questions or suggestions, LeClair terminated the conference. Harrow decided she would wait for another time before asking that question.
Twenty-one days later:
Eagleton checked the chronometer and noticed that he had been awake for almost 20 hours now. The Ghost Riders would stay on picket duty around TF1.2 for another 16 hours before being relieved by Kursk’s Hellhound squadron. With the easy cleansing of what turned out to be a token Tyrell presence in the Korel system eight days ago, the First Alliance Fleet was now engaged in garrison duty. Suku had decided that TF1.1 would stay near Korel-C, while TF1.2 stayed much further out in open space. This was fine with LeClair. Eagleton had overheard LeClair tell another officer that he couldn’t see much sense in keeping any carriers that close to the planet, but if Suku wanted to take the chance of being ambushed there, that was up to him. So Suku’s people got to hobnob with the Korelians while the human squadrons got the boring duty of sweeping large areas of space around the human carriers day after day. Not that anyone expected a Tyrell counter-attack this quickly given how long it had taken them to organize another attack on Odina. The planning staff weenies at EAF HQ had estimated at least another four weeks before the Tyrell would return.
“You’ve got the ship, Brad. I’m going to get some sleep.”
“No worries, Boss. I just love these quiet patrols.”
Eagleton chuckled as he unstrapped himself and headed back to the corvette’s tiny crew support module. His co-pilot had a very droll sense of humor.
He woke up to the sensation of being shaken and the sound of his Comm. Officer’s scared voice.
“Wake up, Commander! The other task force is under attack!”
“Shit! Okay, I’m coming!” He quickly got out of the bunk and ran forward to the cockpit. He heard his co-pilot talking with someone.
“He’s here now, Admiral. Standby.”
Eagleton jumped into his seat, and as he buckled in, the co-pilot began talking to him. “LeClair is on Com1. Suku’s task force is taking KE fire from a Tyrell fleet of six super-ships.”
“Got it.” Eagleton quickly put on his communication gear. “Switch to Com1,” he ordered the computer. “I’m here, Admiral. What do you need from us?”
“Not so fast, Commander. You’re not going to like this order. TF1.1 is dead in space. All three carriers are unable to maneuver or jump away. The Tyrell fleet emerged from hyper at close range like they knew what to expect. They fired on Suku’s carriers first; then they went after the squadron on overwatch duty that was close enough to be detected. The other two squadrons are being picked off as they launch. Suku is calling for help. He wants me to send all three of my squadrons to attack the Tyrell fleet. I haven’t responded because doing so could tip the Tyrell off to where this Task Force is. Suku’s carriers are still in orbit around Korel-C. The Tyrell fleet is now also in a high orbit, but spread out. Getting behind any of them without being detected is going to be damn near impossible. Suku is c
onvinced that the Tyrell are going to try to board and capture his carriers. That can’t be allowed to happen. Why he hasn’t ordered his carriers to self-destruct I don’t know. Here’s what you have to do. You take your squadron to within ten light-seconds of Korel-C and assess the tactical situation. If you feel that your squadron can defeat the Tyrell fleet, then do so. If you think it can be done but not with one squadron, then you can request the Reapers. They’re getting ready to launch even now. The Hellhounds stay with our carriers no matter what. But if you don’t think Suku’s carriers can be saved, then your secondary orders are to make sure those carriers aren’t captured, even if that means destroying them yourselves. Are we clear on that, Commander? First priority is denying them to the enemy. Saving them comes second.”
LeClair was right. He didn’t like those orders, but he would carry them out if necessary. “I understand the priorities, Admiral.”
“Okay then. Good luck, Commander.”
The connection broke before Eagleton had a chance to respond further. He quickly brought the rest of the squadron up to date and then ordered them to jump to a point that was just over ten light-seconds away from Korel-C. Because the squadron was dispersed over a wide area in order to perform its current mission of picket duty, the 12 corvettes arrived in a scattered formation. While they used their inertia drives to come together, Eagleton and his tactical officer examined the data generated by the mass detection system. At this range, they would be able to detect the Tyrell super-ships and Suku’s carriers, but they would be too far away for the enemy to detect them. As the long range detection data from the other corvettes was collected, the triangulation from different angles gave Eagleton a very precise look at where the carriers were and where the enemy ships were. Suku’s carriers were in close formation at a lower altitude above the planet. The six super-ships were spread out in a higher orbit that almost ringed the planet, with thousands of kilometers between each super-ship. Eagleton now understood why LeClair considered the idea of attacking each super-ship from the rear as impossible. There really wasn’t any end to that line. It didn’t matter which super-ship’s rear was targeted for long range particle beam fire from 1.4 light-seconds away, there would always be another super-ship closer and potentially able to detect the attacking corvette and fire on it. So firing from long range and staying undetected was not possible. That left firing from an exposed range that risked counter-fire. At the maximum speed of 0.65 of light, it would take a corvette almost 14 seconds to move from the 10 light-second detection range up to the firing range. The advantage of doing it that way was the ability to zero in on a designated target as the corvette got closer so that it could fire as soon as it got within effective range. The disadvantage was the possibility that the Tyrell might be able to detect the corvette further away than the humans were expecting and therefore have time to aim and fire at the incoming corvettes. Jumping directly into firing range of less than half a light-second meant the corvettes would have to take at least a few seconds to pinpoint the target with the targeting laser and then line up the ship for the shot. If the Tyrell acted quickly, they might be able to fire first.
There were other things to consider too. Should he call in the Grim Reapers? From what direction should the attack originate, taking into consideration the location of TF1.1 carriers? Bringing the other squadron up and co-ordinating their attacks would take time that Eagleton wasn’t sure he had. And before he made those decisions, there was one other thing he could do first that might make the whole mission easier. He recorded a message that would be sent to Suku’s flagship as a text message since FTL communication was not conducive to voice or video. Eagleton had made sure that this long-range recon point his squadron had jumped to was not in a direct line between Korel-C and TF1.2, and therefore if the Tyrell detected and tracked his incoming message, only his squadron would be at risk. Suku’s reply came back surprisingly quickly.
[1AF FC TO SL EAGLETON. YOUR SUGGESTION TO SELF-DESTRUCT ALL THREE CARRIERS IS REJECTED. IF GIVEN ENOUGH TIME, THE KOREL CAN HELP US REPAIR THE MANEUVERING AND JUMP DRIVES OF ALL THREE CARRIERS. OUR MISSION IS TO LIBERATE AND DEFEND THIS SYSTEM. I ORDER YOU TO ATTACK THE TYRELL SHIPS IMMEDIATELY TO PREVENT MY CARRIERS FROM FALLING INTO ENEMY HANDS! SMALL CRAFT FROM THE ENEMY SHIPS ARE EVEN NOW APPROACHING MY CARRIERS. I DON’T KNOW HOW LONG WE CAN HOLD THEM OFF. END OF MESSAGE.]
Eagleton wasn’t bothered by Suku’s order. LeClair, as Co-Fleet Commander, had just as much authority as Suku did, and he was also Eagleton’s Task Force Leader. What did concern him was the assertion that the damaged carriers could be repaired IF the Tyrell ships were destroyed or driven off. Suku’s message was now part of his corvette’s mission log and probably that of the other corvettes in the squadron who almost certainly received the message too. If he ended up ordering the squadron to destroy those three carriers and word of Suku’s message leaked out to the alien members of the Alliance, it would put humans in an even worse light. The possibility that those carriers could be repaired was just realistic enough to make him want to try to salvage them. He made his decision and began issuing orders. The Grim Reapers would be requested. One of his corvettes would remain here to rendezvous with the Reapers and pass on his instructions. The rest of his Riders would jump to a point that was 11 light-seconds away from Korel-C but also above it relative to the planet’s axis of rotation. By jumping down to attack range from above, the planet would not be behind any target, which would be the case if the corvettes attacked from the side. That way he didn’t have to worry about causing collateral damage if any shot missed or penetrated all the way through the target and out the other side. The attack would consist of two waves of six, then five corvettes. The second wave would wait five seconds before following the first wave, in order to allow time for the first wave to veer off after its attack and thereby avoid wandering into the path of the second wave’s particle beams by mistake. He understood that the second wave would run a bigger risk of counter-fire, but that couldn’t be helped. Having two corvettes try to line up to fire on the same super-ship at the same time was asking for either a collision or a situation where one corvette blocked the fire of the other.
With all preparations made, the Ghost Riders jumped to the two light-second position. That would give the corvettes just enough breathing room to pitch down and line up on the planet before getting closer than the 1.4 light-second range that defined the limit of the Tyrell’s ability to detect ships of their size. Eagleton watched as the pre-programmed auto-pilot pitched the nose of the Angel D down 89 degrees.
“Get ready, T.O.! Take control as soon as we jump!” shouted Eagleton.
“Roger that. I’m ready,” said the Tactical Officer is a much calmer voice.
“Rider Three to Rider—“
The voice cut off so quickly that Eagleton looked over at his co-pilot to ask him what he thought had just happened.
“Rider Three’s been hit, Leader! We’re under fire!”
Eagleton couldn’t tell which corvette pilot had just spoken, but there wasn’t time to find out. If the Tyrell had somehow detected them and were firing FTL projectiles at them, they had to get out of there fast!
“One to Squadron. Abort, I repeat, abort and jump back to the rendezvous point NOW!”
“Jump ready!” shouted the co-pilot.
“Punch it!’ yelled Eagelton.
“Okay, we’ve jumped. Dammit! How did they detect us at that range?”
“I dunno,” said Eagelton. He was trying to remain calm, but the realization that he had screwed up and cost the lives of at least one corvette crew was washing over him like a tsunami. Why didn’t he order the squadron to re-orient the attack run from further away? In hindsight, that seemed now to be the obvious thing to do. Time for recriminations later. Now he had to figure out how to snatch a victory from the jaws of defeat.
“Let’s get back to the rendezvous point and see how badly they hit us. I want to get back there before the Reapers make the same mistake.”<
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“I hear that. Lining up for the jump now. Jumping in three…two…one…now.”
It took almost a minute for the remaining members of the squadron to arrive and find each other. Luckily, there was only one ship missing, and that was Rider Three. While his co-pilot was herding the other corvettes back into a loose formation, Eagleton had time to think. Something had changed that allowed the Tyrell to detect corvette-sized ships beyond the 1.4 light-second range that used to be the mass detection system’s limit. Did they develop an improved system, or were they just employing their old system in new ways. He shook his head. In hindsight, Omega1 should have been enough of a clue that the EAF needed to rethink their whole approach to defeating super-ships, but the analysts had dismissed Omega1 as an aberration. He was now convinced that firing from 1.4 light-seconds away and remaining undetected was no longer possible, and therefore hunting super-ships stealthily from the rear was a tactic that might not work anymore. If they couldn’t fire safely from long range, then that only left jumping into close range and hitting hard and fast. The fact that his plan had been to do that anyway as a result of the particular circumstances here in the Korel system was beside the point. He had chosen that plan in spite of the risk of counter-fire precisely because orbiting super-ships were too hard to target accurately from long range. Now it seemed that long range fire would be the special case and not the rule.