by D. J. Holmes
“With pleasure sir,” the Sergeant replied.
*
A few minutes earlier Jensen received a call over the COM channel from the Lieutenant leading the marines from her shuttle. “Lieutenant Jensen, we have secured the freighter. No Russians were onboard, I’m moving my men to the docking hatch in case they try to force their way in when they realize what we’re trying to do. The ship is yours.”
“Good job Lieutenant,” she replied. “I’m making my way to the bridge now.”
With a wave she led her team of navy personnel off the shuttle and onto the freighter. It only took her a couple of minutes to get to the bridge. When she did she was pleased to find three French traders awaiting her.
“Ah Lieutenant, am I glad to see you,” the eldest man said extending his hand. “I am Pier, the most senior crewmember left on this of the freighter. The Russians took our Captain and Executive Officer away when they captured the station.”
“Nice to meet you,” Jensen said. “Do you mind if we borrow your ship?”
“Not at all,” Pier replied, “if it means we get out of here.”
“It sure does,” Jensen said, turning to her team she continued, “spread out. I want all the command consoles manned. Power up the engines and inform me when we are ready to move.”
As she sat in the Captains chair her COM unit beeped. “Yes?” she said. When Lieutenant Cassells informed her the clamps had been released she immediately ordered the freighter to back away from the station and make for open space.
*
Somerville was watching the visuals of the docking station anxiously as Achilles continued to pound the Russian positions on Ouvea. It had been almost ten minutes since a flash from the station had indicated the marines had blown their way onboard. Any minute now the freighter should be powering up and undocking if the mission was going to plan.
“Signal from Lieutenant Jensen,” the First Lieutenant called. “She has captured the freighter and is about to disengage from the station. She is requesting coordinates for a rendezvous.”
“How many targets are left?” Somerville asked the tactical officer, relieved to have finally heard from the Third Lieutenant.
“Just three more sir, we’ll be able to break orbit in two minutes.”
“Navigation, set a course for the shift passage to Cartier. Engage once we have hit the last target. Send your course to Jensen as well. She can break orbit and match our course.”
“Aye sir,” the officer replied.
As the freighter detached from the docking station and began to accelerate out of orbit, Somerville sat back in his seat to enjoy the images of the last missiles raining down destruction on the Russians.
When the last missile hit and Achilles was breaking orbit he opened up a COM channel to the planet, knowing the Russian commander would be listening. “Don’t think we’re finished here, we’ll be back and I will be seeing you soon.”
Chapter 3 – Misdirection
8th September, 2439, edge of the Cartier system.
Somerville was awoken by the alarm he had set before retiring to his quarters. It was time. Donning his uniform, he made his way to the bridge. When he got there he sat in the command chair and reviewed the sensor displays. Everything was exactly the same as when he had left five hours ago.
Instead of jumping to the edge of Cartier’s mass shadow – the closest point to a star the shift drive would work. Achilles and the French freighter, Clara, had exited jump space ten light hours away from Cartier’s star. There they had spent ten hours carrying out the alterations to the freighter that were necessary for Somerville’s plan.
Cartier was a critical system. Shift passages led away from it towards Russian colonial space and New France. Apart from the shift passage from the Alpha system into Russian space, Cartier was the only avenue of invasion if the Russians were determined to expand their federation. Whatever else they were about to find in Cartier, Somerville was sure there would be Russian warships. Achilles and Clara were preparing a welcome for them.
“Has the work been completed?” Somerville asked the officer of the watch.
“Lieutenant Jensen contacted me ten minutes ago with a situation update. The Chief Engineer is still over with her but they expect to be ready in another half hour at the most,” came the reply.
“Very good, send a general signal to the crew, inform them we will be going to battle stations in an hour. Let them get something to eat now while they have the chance,” Somerville ordered. He loved to read about naval history, for centuries before man had set foot on the moon it had been a custom in the British navy to send the crew for a warm meal before battle. As far as he could he liked to keep those traditions alive. Plus, it just made sense. His plan called for a lot of waiting around and if his ship had to cross swords with another Russian warship it was likely to be a lengthy affair, for Somerville was determined he would only fight on his terms.
The Russians still hadn’t found their own source of valstronium. The discovery of the metal in rare asteroids at the very edge of the Sol system and, later, in other systems had revolutionized ship design. Without the metal the Russians were forced to armor their ships in nano-carbon titanium composite. Their ships were thus bulkier, meaning they weren’t as maneuverable. Compounding this problem, the lack of valstronium meant lower top speeds as the metal provided much greater protection against the cosmic particles that a ship encountered in space. The faster a ship traveled through space the more damage would be caused to the ship or the crew by a cosmic particle strike. As valstronium provided greater protection it meant ships armored in the metal could reach higher top speeds. Achilles could max out at 0.28 the speed of light. The Russians would be lucky to get to 0.20.
Of course, when it came to a missile duel the difference in maneuverability and top speed counted for little. What mattered was who could force the most missiles through their opponent’s point defenses first. Yet the advantage Achilles had over whatever Russians warships were in system meant she could choose when and where the missile duel took place. Unless they got very lucky, or Somerville made a mistake, he knew he could avoid action until his time and place of choice. Though that meant the crew could end up spending hours at their battle stations waiting for the right time to strike.
As Somerville was reviewing his plans one more time he didn’t notice the time passing. When someone entered the bridge and he looked up he was surprised to see it was the Chief Engineer.
“Captain,” he began, “I’ve finished up over on Clara, she is ready to go.”
“Excellent,” Somerville responded. “I guess it’s time to get this show on the road.”
“Communications, open a channel to Jensen for me, then ask the First Lieutenant to report to the bridge,” Jonathan ordered.
Hamilton had come to him and requested command of the freighter when Somerville had detailed his plan to the senior officers. Jonathan had denied his request. If Achilles was involved in a pitched battle in Cartier, or more likely in New France, Hamilton would be vital. He was too important to risk on Clara. Jensen had proven herself commanding the freighter in Ouvea and overseeing the alterations Jonathan had requested, she deserved her chance to stay in command. Besides, Somerville had to admit to himself, he had a growing soft spot for the young officer. She had a fine future ahead of her.
When her face appeared on the holo display Somerville smiled. “Excellent work Lieutenant, I hear you are ready to go?”
“Yes sir,” she answered. “We are all set on this end.”
“Very well, you may jump immediately. We will be half an hour behind you. Happy hunting. Achilles out,” Somerville said as he closed the COM channel.
As Clara disappeared off Achilles’ sensors Somerville set a timer. They didn’t want to appear right behind the freighter. The idea was to let Jensen get away whilst still threatening her. Five minutes before the timer reached zero he called his ship to battle stations. Then, when the time came, Achilles jumped into the Cartier system
after the freighter.
Everyone on the bridge was silent as they waited for the sensors to update the main holo display on what was happening in the system. The first thing to appear was Clara. She was further into the system, accelerating at more than her maximum safe limit, screaming out on every COM channel for help. Somerville didn’t have to listen in to the COM signal to know what was being said. He didn’t speak Russian so he couldn’t understand it anyway.
Corporal Weir had been the best Russian speaker they could find among Achilles crew and so she had remained on board Clara with Jensen. At the moment she was shouting in her thickest Russian accent about a British destroyer that had attacked the system picket force in Ouvea and bombarded the planet. With any luck, she would be able to trick whatever warships were in the system into thinking Clara was under Russian control and had just managed to escape from Ouvea.
As the sensors continued to update the bridge on what was happening further into the system, he guessed that their ploy was working. The gravimetric sensors showed two ships accelerating from Cartier’s inner system towards the fleeing freighter. Judging by their acceleration profiles one was a light cruiser while the other was a destroyer. Larger than the frigates they had engaged at Ouvea the destroyer would have four or five missiles and the light cruiser seven or eight on each broadside. Alone, they would be no match for Achilles, together they could give her a run for her money. If Somerville’s plan worked that wouldn’t be a problem he would have to worry about.
If they believed the report from Clara that Achilles was only a British destroyer, they would be in even more trouble. In order to help the ruse Achilles had many of her systems powered down and one fission reactor switched off. To anyone looking at the levels of electromagnetic radiation coming from her she would look like a smaller warship. Everything was set for the Russians to walk right into their trap.
Further into the system things were harder to make out. None of the planets were habitable and so there was no colony with its orbital industry. Nevertheless, because of the strategic importance of the system, the French had set up a military base in orbit around the sixth planet. It was a gas giant and they had also built a gas mining facility to extract He3 to fuel the fission reactors of their ships. The military station and gas mining station were both clearly still intact as they were radiating heat into space. Around each station there were numerous ships, picked up by the gravimetric sensors as they maneuvered about. Many of them were only appearing briefly and then disappearing off the plot as they used their engines sparingly to alter course or enter orbit.
“Sensors, I know it will be hard but try and identify as many of those ships around the gas giant as you can. If we deal with these warships we need to know what else might be coming after us.”
“Yes sir,” the officer acknowledged.
“Ok, navigation, time to play our part. Take us after Clara, remember, not too fast. We don’t want to catch them before they get to the Russian ships.”
*
For the next two hours Achilles and Clara raced into the system, one behind the other. On an opposite course, the two Russian warships charged out to meet the British warship. To further aid the deception, Clara begun to beam out her sensor recordings of the battle that had occurred around Ouvea. The Russian ships were already coming under full acceleration but if they could have, Jensen was sure they would have tried to come even faster after seeing their ships destroyed and their ground troops bombarded.
Sitting on the bridge of the freighter Jensen was getting more and more nervous as the two Russian ships closed the range. If they got suspicious, all it would take for them to destroy Clara was one missile or heavy plasma bolt. The freighter would crumple and break apart in seconds. Yet, so far, they were holding their fire. If would only take another twenty minutes for them to come into range of Clara’s modifications.
Those twenty minutes were the longest of her life. Every second seemed to take an eternity. Not knowing if each would be her last; she tried and failed to quash thoughts of her family and friends. Finally, the moment of action came.
“Pilot, take us out,” she commanded.
The pilot of the shuttle gently fired its maneuvering thrusters and lifted off from the freighter’s deck. What had originally been one of the freighter’s cargo sections had been cut open to allow the shuttle to be flown into the empty cargo hold. Gently, the pilot took his ship out the same way he had taken it in. Then, once they were in open space, he killed the engines and allowed the shuttle to drift away from the freighter.
“We’re out,” he needlessly announced to Jensen and the crewmembers who had been manning Clara. Forty minutes before they had all left their posts and crammed into the shuttle. Now they all turned to look out the viewer towards the freighter.
Jensen waited as long as she dared before triggering the second modification that Achilles’ Chief Engineer had made to Clara. When the timing was just right she pressed the button in the shuttle’s cockpit that sent the signal to Clara. Immediately, a small explosion erupted from the nose section of the freighter. Too quickly for the Russian ships to react, a part of the freighter’s frontal armor flew off into space revealing three large anti-ship missiles. Without electromagnetic acceleration tubes they would have to get to their target on their own acceleration however, Jensen had waited long enough that the Russians would have next to no chance.
As soon as the frontal armor cleared out of the way, Jensen hit her second button and all three missiles ignited their engines and raced away from the freighter. The Russian ships were headed almost directly for the freighter at 0.2c while the freighter was travelling at 0.17c. The velocities meant the closing speed of the missiles was the equivalent of 0.37c, even before they fired off their engines. With their engines going immediately to full burn the flight time would be just over fifty seconds.
Silently, Jensen willed the missiles on to their targets. Things weren’t going to go all her own way though. Someone onboard the light cruiser had quick reflexes its point defenses began to open up on the incoming missiles. There just wasn’t enough time however, for, although they managed to take out one missile, the other two came crashing into the light cruiser.
Jensen had targeted all the missiles at it for she knew Achilles could handle the destroyer on her own easily. One of the missiles over shot its target and detonated just behind the light cruiser. Still, as the blast wave hit the cruiser it visibly shook on the screen Jensen was watching. The final missile was right on target. It hit the light cruiser amidships and its momentum ensured it penetrated deep into the cruiser’s side armor before it detonated. The explosion tore a giant hole in the ship, ripping the spine right out of it. As its engine continued to accelerate the rear of the ship, the pressure on what was left of the central superstructure snapped the remaining support struts. In front of Jensen’s eyes the cruiser broke in two. Both halves began to spin away from each other, venting debris and bodies into the cold of space.
The Russian destroyer, unharmed by the missiles, obviously still saw the freighter as a threat for she quickly turned to present her port missile tubes at Clara. A full broadside of four missiles quickly homed in on the freighter and ensured she came to a quick end. Jensen couldn’t help but feel sorry for the freighter as it broke apart under the explosive force. Watching the Russian light cruiser break apart had been tragic. It was a waste of good lives. Yet they had brought it on themselves. Clara was her ship; she had an emotional connection to the little freighter that she couldn’t explain. She had only captained her for five days and even so, as the last sign of the ship faded from the shuttle’s sensors, she felt an overwhelming sense of loss.
*
The lost freighter was the last thing on Somerville’s mind. Coming in hot behind Clara, Achilles was about to enter missile range of the destroyer. He wanted to make this a clean sweep and take it out before it could do Achilles any damage. After the battle with the two frigates at Ouvea, he knew their missiles could
penetrate the Russian point defenses. One broadside should do it.
“Fire!” he shouted as soon as the destroyer came into range. The exhaust plums of the eleven missiles that streaked off towards their target momentarily blinded the ship’s sensors. When the sensors cleared they showed four Russian missiles bearing down on Achilles. As both ships had fired at extreme range the destroyer managed to fire another salvo before it had to raise its point defenses to protect itself. Somerville could have fired another salvo too but he wanted to see what damage his first one caused before wasting more missiles.
His judgment proved correct as the destroyer’s point defenses only managed to take out five of the British missiles. The rest closed with their target and at least one got a direct hit, causing enough damage to put it out of the fight.
Achilles fared much better. Her point defenses were designed to take on many more missiles than the two salvos of four that tried to destroy her. In the end none of them managed to get even close enough to score a proximity hit.
As the last missile exploded from a plasma cannon hit the crew on the bridge cheered. Somerville let them enjoy the moment but he knew that they were getting carried away. As yet Achilles hadn’t come up against an equal foe. The light cruiser and destroyer together would have given her a real test but ,thankfully, Jensen had taken care of it. If they had to face similar odds again Somerville knew they couldn’t count on being so lucky.