by Travis Hill
“Weapons hot,” Meyer said calmly, allowing Admiral Huang to worry about navigation plots and tactical maneuvers. “Fire at will the instant they’re on your tactical.”
Irina’s HUD lit up with acknowledgment pings from the other fleet commanders.
“Disperse fleet,” Huang said. “Formation Gamma. Hercules, pop your bays Alpha-Omega. San Antonio, full CAP, close support. Hyperion, get ready for sync with ALVIN. He’ll feed your bombers with a pretty fucking scary jump plot. Jump and burn. On my mark.”
Irina forgot to breath over the next minute. Hercules morphed from a single carrier icon to an angry hornet’s nest as it purged every available fighter and bomber from its launch bays. Within seconds, all two hundred twenty-five fighter and bomber icons moved in a straight line from their carrier toward the Kai fleet, now only ten light-seconds away.
“Defense batteries primed,” Aweke said. “Incoming munitions in three, two, one.”
Irina braced herself for impact but Raiden was deep within Silver Fleet. She knew that made little difference when thousands of warheads and railgun slugs were in play, but was thankful the Kai were clueless as to what kind of ship Raiden truly was. She noted the swarm of tiny icons around San Antonio, its fighters slowly fanning out to provide extra defensive coverage.
“Mark,” Huang said.
Irina blinked when Hyperion disappeared from her tactical overlay. Her heart sunk for a few seconds, worried that the Kai’s initial volley had destroyed the supercarrier. She blinked again when the supercarrier appeared less than one hundred thousand kilometers from six Kai battleships. A grin spread across her face as the sudden swarm of bomber icons lit up her overlay. Her jaw tightened until she heard the tendons creak while she watched the secondary jump timer for Hyperion count down. Ninety seconds later, the supercarrier blinked out of existence again.
“Hyperion status?” Meyer asked his tactical commander.
“Unknown, Sir,” Aweke said.
Irina’s grin flatlined into a grimace. Huang’s risky move of jumping the supercarrier into the middle of the Kai fleet to unload its bombers before jumping away had either ended in total disaster for the carrier, or it was light-minutes away and performing a flip to jump back near Silver Fleet. Over one hundred bombers were doing their best to harass the Kai fleet but she knew it was unlikely any would survive.
“Gemini, Forenza, Honor, Kelvin, Raymond Hernandez, and Hyam Wolski are down,” Aweke said, his voice neutral. Irina was proud of the man for being so calm after two battleships, a battlecruiser, and three destroyers were eliminated.
“Sir,” Lt. Ken said. “Hyperion is five-by-five, three light-minutes at 022-100. ETA for return jump is six minutes. One hour thirteen minutes to resync with the fleet.”
Irina let a heavy breath out, thankful the massive carrier had escaped a knockout blow while surrounded by Kai battleships.
“Kai strength at eighty-eight vessels,” Aweke said. “There’s too much interference for ALVIN to guess at Hyperion’s bomber numbers.”
Two more blue icons winked out on Irina’s HUD. The two frigates had been focused on by the Kai, a quick replay of the seconds before their destruction showed at least one hundred warhead detonations within six thousand klicks of the two ships.
“Dreads are aligned,” Lt. Hellewege said.
“Fire,” Huang ordered.
The three dreadnoughts unloaded their first salvo into the Kai fleet, knocking out two Kai battleships. Their second salvo finished a third battleship and what ALVIN guessed was either a heavy cruiser or a battlecruiser.
“Fuck,” Huang growled ten minutes later when the dreads were blasted into millions of shards of metal, electronics, and human remains.
“At least they got nine capitals down,” Meyer said.
“I’m amazed they hit anything at this range and speed,” Huang said, his tone full of solemn respect.
Irina silently agreed, though her stomach turned at the memory of Meyer’s words concerning dreadnoughts being little more than coffins for any crew unlucky enough to be assigned to them. The Kai had immediately focused on the three deadly ships. The enemy’s acceptance of heavy losses with the knowledge they’d eventually grind the human fleet down to zero made Irina hate them more than she’d ever hated anything in her life. For the Kai, the survivors would return to the Empire and continue on with their mission while receiving replacements and reinforcements on the fly. Their lack of desperation made the humans’ fate all but inevitable.
She tuned out the command channel for the most part, knowing she would have nothing useful to offer other than her unspoken worry that the Kai were almost leisurely about mopping them up. Eleven more ships from Silver Fleet were eliminated over the next few minutes, the Kai volleys never ceasing. She was thankful San Antonio’s fighters were able to keep the incoming warheads from unchecked success at impacting Silver Fleet’s ships, but the slugs from the Kai’s railguns were well within optimal range and numerous enough to easily overload each ship’s shields.
“FTL contacts!” Aweke shouted, his voice close to panic. “200-225, sixty light-seconds, number is thirty-two, repeat three-two and rising!”
“And here it comes,” Huang grumbled. “Fucking Drazek, I hate you.”
Irina guffawed before catching herself and apologizing to the admiral for her sudden outburst. Her eyes continually drifted to the counter on the right edge of her HUD. Thirty-nine human ships were still alive, their icons bright blue in the center of her vision. Sixty-one Kai ships from the initial fleet were still active, along with the thirty-two newcomers two points off their port quarter.
“ALVIN, calculate the new contacts’ positions over twelve minutes,” Huang said calmly. “Hellewege, align the fleet toward 043-090 and jump to these coordinates in fifteen seconds from my mark.”
“What are you up to, Matty?” Meyer asked.
“Fucking Drazek,” Huang said, but she could detect a hint of laughter in his tone. “She freaked us out with that first jump to refuel. I’m going to freak everyone out. Including me.”
“I don’t think we can be more ‘freaked out’ than we are now, Sir,” Meyer said.
“Watch me,” Huang growled.
“Alignment complete, Admiral,” Hellewege announced.
“New contacts stabilized at sixty-four, repeat six-four strength,” Aweke said. “Forty-seven light-seconds, ships inbound at .03c, eight gravities acceleration. We have weapons launch.”
“Mark,” Huang said. “Aweke, impact estimate?”
“Twenty-three seconds, for missiles, Sir. Any moment for slugs.”
Irina watched the stream of incoming missiles from both Kai fleets. Three more human ships winked out before the overlay blacked out.
“Jump complete,” Hellewege said. “Hyperion is eleven seconds behind but ALVIN showed no trajectories toward her.”
“Align 299-010,” Huang ordered. “How long until she syncs with the fleet?”
“Three minutes, Sir.”
“Once she’s aligned with us, jump on my mark.”
“Roger that.”
Less than ten seconds before Hyperion was within real-time comm range, Irina’s tactical overlay redrew. She grinned at Huang’s blind jump two light-minutes out—even though they both knew the Kai wouldn’t allow him to stay at the periphery like he did in Rathalan space. Both were worried the Kai had even more ships inbound since they had a Wire connection.
“New contacts!” Aweke said, his voice cracking slightly. “117-255, ninety light-seconds. Speed .04c, 6g acceleration. Thirty-two, repeat three-two contacts.”
“All right, Matty,” Meyer said with a sigh. “We’re in a triangle. I hope you got a plan that includes them jumping in a dozen fleets.”
“Keep ‘em coming,” Huang said.
Irina was almost certain Admiral Huang was enjoying himself more than he ever had in his career. She wondered if it was the sudden knowledge the Kai weren’t going to take any chances this time. She’d remain
ed hopeful they might have a slim chance of survival until the third fleet had translated into the system. The realization they were at the end didn’t frighten her as much as it freed her mind of its prison.
A wave of memories flooded through her. Irina didn’t bother to wipe the tears from her cheeks as visions of friends, lovers, and comrades flashed in front of her eyes, blocking out the crowded tactical overlay. Captain Junith’s hands locked on her breasts during zero-g sex, Lt. Barnes and Commander Sheldon’s obliterated remains plastered to the side of TS-30’s engineering deck from a Kai plasma grenade, twelve thousand human corpses scattered across Poli’s streets on Uriah-4.
“New contacts,” Aweke said, breaking Irina from her hypnosis. Aweke’s voice was casual, no longer stressed, as if he were already bored of being surprised every few minutes from new Kai arrivals. “102-340, sixty-four, repeat six-four contacts. Speed .05c, 2g acceleration, distance is eighty-three light-seconds.”
“They aren’t fucking around this time,” Huang said. “Mark.”
“Jump complete,” Hellewege said twenty seconds later.
“Align 190-232, jump fifteen seconds after my mark. Hellewege, update on Genesis-5?”
“Sir,” Hellewege said, “last update still pending. She’ll begin launch sequence in four hours nine minutes when the burst transmission arrives. So far, the Kai haven’t sniffed at her even though they have to see her on their sensors.”
“Good,” Huang said. “Let’s hope we annoy these fuckers enough to keep them focused on us.”
“Alignment complete,” Hellewege said. “Sir… this plot has us jumping into the second fleet…”
“Roger that,” Huang replied. “Mark.”
Irina braced herself for the unknown. Admiral Huang’s planned jump into the middle of an accelerating fleet of sixty-four ships was beyond madness. Her HUD blacked out, redrawing almost immediately in a tangle of blues and reds. Within seconds, green lines streaked out from Silver Fleet with orange dashes doing the same toward them from the Kai battlegroup.”
“Brace for impact,” Meyer said. “CAP, full front now.”
The fighters launched heavy flak and EM dampener clouds while the remaining ships of Silver Fleet deployed their own defensive batteries to confuse or destroy the incoming barrage.
“Align to 265-000,” Huang said calmly, as the impact alarms flashed in everyone’s HUD.
Irina closed her eyes, knowing the moment death arrived would be swift and violent, regardless of the details. If a Kai warhead detonated near the fusion reactors buried deep within the reinforced hulls, her life would be over within seconds. If a well-placed slug somehow penetrated all the way into the bridge, death would be slower but more painful as the sudden decompression would create chaos.
“We’re taking a lot of slug hits, Matty,” Meyer warned.
“Looks like those improved shields and armor are doing their job,” Huang countered.
“That improved shielding and reinforced armor doesn’t seem to help when a plasma warhead hits it,” Meyer replied.
“Well, it’s a good thing missiles are slower, right? Mark!”
Irina’s HUD wiped once again, but this time it stayed black for almost four minutes. Two minutes after the icons were busy crawling across her overlay, Aweke announced the arrival of two more sixty-four ship fleets to the party. With almost three hundred capital and subcapital warships forming an angry, globular cluster of death, she knew the chances the twenty-seven ships left in Silver Fleet would last more than another few hours were fantasy at best.
ELEVEN
“Lieutenant, on my mark,” Huang said.
“Roger that,” Hellewege said.
“Mark.”
Irina waited for five minutes, but her tactical overlay remained blank other than the flood of numbers all around the periphery. She wondered what Admiral Huang was up to, but knew better than to openly ask what he had planned. Her only hope was that the man had a plan and was confident enough to execute it to guarantee maximum impact.
She’d waited for him to discuss the XBD weapon with her, but with the information she’d provided, he and Meyer had likely formulated an idea of how and when to finally use it for maximum effect. Irina had no regrets that nothing within .5AU would survive the pulses. She didn’t want to die, but more than anything, Commander Irina Drazek wanted to complete the mission and provide humanity the highest odds of survival. Going down with the fleet was the only possible chance of success, as long as Silver Fleet could hold the Kai’s attention long enough for Genesis-5 to hit the pocket.
“Bring us around,” Huang said calmly.
“We’re in total blackout, Matty,” Meyer said, his voice just as calm.
“Not for long. Lieutenant, on my mark. Let us pray that ALVIN’s math is as good as we need it to be.”
Hellewege acknowledged the order. Irina tightened her jaw. Meyer softly cleared his throat before going silent. The bridge was as quiet as when the ship had been in dry dock orbiting Ryder-III.
“Mark.”
Within thirty seconds, Irina’s HUD lit up in fury.
“Weapons free, focus target,” Huang said. “On my mark, Lieutenant.”
Irina watched as a marker appeared on the largest Kai ship out of the sixty-four warships cruising by at less than two light-seconds distance. Hundreds of lines streaked out from Silver Fleet. Just before the overlay updated to show her the results, it went black again.
“Admiral, six destroyers are entering their final ten FTL translations,” ALVIN announced.
“How many for capitals?” Huang asked the AI.
“With current maneuvering stats as an average, a minimum of twenty-four FTL translations and a maximum of twenty-six.”
“Roger that, ALVIN,” Huang said, as if the ship’s AI were a human operator. “Hellewege, on my mark.”
“Since you’re probably wondering, I’ll let everyone know what the plan is,” Huang announced on the general comm. Irina was sure the other ships in Silver Fleet would receive it as well. “It’s not much, but it’s the best Captain Meyer and the other commanders could come up with based on what we know about TCN Raiden. In another hour or two, maybe three, depending on how long we can keep going before we either lose our ability to translate or we lose too many ships, I’m going to send the majority of the remaining fleet on a jump plot sixty-seven light-years coreward.”
Irina glanced over at the admiral’s command chair after clearing her visor. The comm remained quiet while he paused, every listening ear knowing his next words were going to seal their fates. She was both worried and curious as to what his plan might be.
“The first jump will put us above the arena, but close enough to hopefully convince the Kai that we’re just maneuvering for better position. We’ll have to survive for thirteen minutes until the fleet is aligned to the 3F-27G system. Captain Meyer will continue to focus your fire on targets to keep the Kai from sensing what’s up.
“For those continuing on with Black Fleet, your second jump will put you within two light days of 3F-27G. Your ALVINs will initiate a hard burn to align you to the next translation point. Do not, I repeat, do not attempt to return to the engagement area.
“You’re going to burn most of your remaining fuel jumping to the 7K-807 system and refuel at its lone gas giant. ALVIN has given all of your ship AI the coordinates to get you almost six thousand light-years distant within a few days with very little time spent locked into your couches. If you make it to the edge of the Transit, Black Fleet will refuel one final time, then enter your hibernation creches and hopefully wake up a few thousand years from now over a tropical planet.
“Those of us who don’t get to be part of Black Fleet, I’m sorry. Our second jump will be right back into the middle of a shitstorm and won’t be walking away from it. But we still have a few hours to keep these assholes guessing while they keep dropping in more ships to pin us down. Our ultimate goal is to force them to tighten their ring around us in a half-AU bubble
or less. After that, it’s showtime, but I don’t believe anyone will be around to accept the award for Most Foolish Flame-out in Galactic History. However, we’ll have hopefully given Genesis-5 and Black Fleet a chance to escape.”
The channel remained silent for a long pause until Huang spoke again.
“We have two hours to prepare,” he said. “Grab a partner and get it out of your system, then get yourselves ready for either fight or flight. Huang out.”
Irina grinned. She wondered if she had it in her to have one last fling with one of the crew. On one hand, her muscles were tense to the point of fraying, and an orgasm would loosen her up for a few minutes at least. On the other, she was sure beyond doubt her racing thoughts wouldn’t allow her to focus long enough to reach climax, which would be worse than doing nothing at all. She glanced at Sawalha, but the XO was engrossed in her task. None of the bridge crew did more than hug or kiss for a few seconds before resuming their duties.
“You guys sure you don’t want to take a few minutes?” Huang asked without the comm. Heads turned his way but all politely shook then refocused on their console or HUD display. “Okay. Don’t say I never offered.”
***
“Xenix, you have the flag for Black Fleet,” Huang said to Captain Rudinsky.
“Are you sure about this, Matty?” Talia Rudinsky asked, her voice slightly scrambled in Irina’s ears. She assumed Huang and Captain Rudinsky had once shared a bed based on the woman’s tone.
“No, Captain, but Godspeed to you and the others. Just do me the courtesy of trusting your ALVIN and get as far as you can. You might end up in the core of a planet, or you might end up as meat slaves for giant brain-spiders. Just get the hell out and let us do our thing.”
“Roger that, Admiral,” she said, then signed off.
“All right, ladies and gentlemen,” Huang said over the comm, his voice broadcast to the eleven capitals staying behind. “This is going to be ugly and it’s going to end badly, but fuck these assholes.” He waited for a small spattering of agreements to subside. “Lieutenant, on my mark.”