She knew what the captain intended. She'd seen pirate crews working enough to know when they intended on taking a ship and her crew. Enough to be glad she wasn't on the receiving end this time around.
"I'll take lead. The rest of you form up behind me, hit the targets in turn and flip around to do it again."
"Roger," all three muttered over the comm.
Bobcat kissed her fingers and held them on the roof before beginning her maneuver, hoping the gesture was enough for her bird to keep her in one piece from here on out. The odds were in their favor and as long as they could avoid getting hit by fire from one of the capital ships as they made their pass they'd make it out alive, especially considering they had already taken out the first batch of fighters.
She pulled back on the controls, brining her ship into a controlled spin that aimed her fighter at the first thruster. Her squads focused on the stern, to keep the ship from reaching the gate. The choice of targets seemed odd too her considering the ship was moving away from the gate and picking up speed, but she suspected it was to halt the ship regardless of where it went.
Holding her crosshairs over the first target, she waited until her console beeped telling her it was in range. When it was, she unleashed a torrent of fire that tore into the armor, sending small bits of metal outward. The rest of her squad followed shortly after. Within moments the combined fire from her squad penetrated the plasteel plating and hit the thruster dead on. They were rewarded with a small explosion that caused the red reticle on the target to go black.
"Nice work guys. Onto the next."
They moved through the rest of the targets, hitting each of the smaller thrusters with the same level of force they had the first. While these thrusters weren't responsible for the main thrust of the ship, they did help maneuver the ship in battle. A side effect of them taking out these thrusters was limiting the amount of weaponry the York could bring to bear on the Endeavor.
But even as they pelted the York, it continued to gain speed as its main thrusters continued to fire. While it was possible for the fighters to damage those thrusters, it would take far more firepower than it was worth making it a high priority for the Endeavor.
As her squad finished the last of her targets, she flipped her ship around to get a better look at the damage to the main thrusters and saw they had not so much as been hit by the attacks. While the smaller thrusters were nestled over the ship, the main thrusters were hidden in an alcove and surrounded by dozens of meters of plasteel plating, making it difficult for the other capital ships to hit. Making matters worse, a few of the York's auxiliary thrusters were still active, allowing it to keep the main thrusters out of the line of fire of either ship. She knew, unless they did something quick, there was a good chance the ship was going to get away.
"Bobcat to CAG, our targets are down. Should we engage the main thrusters?"
"Negative, Bobcat. Once the auxiliary thrusters are down, you're to return to the flight deck for debriefing."
"But they're getting away," Bobcat said, fuming. Why would they take the time to disable the auxiliary thrusters if we're just going to let them get away? Stupid decisions by macho captains had nearly gotten her killed before and she was going to be damned if it was going to happen again.
As her ship swung around the York, she pulled up the schematic of the York on her console. Tapping a few times on the screen, she locked her ship's targeting system on the York's main thrusters. She held her finger over the confirmation button for nearly a minute, hoping someone had the balls to make the right call. The call to take down the bastards for good. As she was about to press the button and transfer the command to her squad, she received a fleet-wide transmission from Captain Wellard.
"All ships. Move into position to protect the Providence. You are to disengage the York and allow her to escape. I repeat. Disengage the York and allow her to escape."
Furious, she balled her hand into a fist and slammed it into her console. She knew they were making a deadly mistake. Allowing the York to escape would only lead to it returning later on with some friends. As it was, the York and Dachshund had taken out four of their ships, including the Vice President's own Providence. How did they hope to survive another attack if they returned with even more ships this time?
Reluctantly, she opened her squad channel and spoke. "You heard the captain. Form a defensive perimeter around the Providence. Time to play defense."
Chapter Twenty-Five
Atroxxin Sector
Bridge, NECS Endeavor
"Why the hell are you letting them escape?" Bremerton demanded from the XO's station.
"Our mission is to protect the Providence. Last I checked there are still life readings from the ship which means we have an obligation to the vice president. Not only that, our thrusters aren't capable off keeping up."
"Screw that," Bremerton added. "The Concord is chasing them now. They won't last long if we help. Since when do we let an enemy combatant leave the skirmish?"
"When the chain of command demands it." Wellard stood up from his chair and made his way over to Bremerton. The XO was gripping the arms of his chair so tight, all traces of blood had left his knuckles. Cautious, Wellard stopped a few feet away in case his discussion came to blows. "Our mission was to protect the vice president at all costs."
"But they attacked us!"
"And they will be punished for it," Wellard assured. "Just not today."
Bremerton fumed. He wanted to stand up and tell Wellard off for his lack of guts. They should've been pursuing the York, not letting it get away relatively unscathed. Sure, they'd lost the majority of their auxiliary thrusters and half their weapons on its starboard side, but they were still a threat to any other ships they'd come across.
Besides, they attacked the Providence. The way he saw it, an attack on the vice president's ship was the same as an attack on the vice president himself. They deserved to be brought in and tried for treason, not allowed to get away.
"But..."
"Enough." Wellard strolled over to Bremerton's station and took a knee next to his young XO. He'd read the kid's reports. He knew all about his background and why he was as vocal about the situation as he was. Shit, if he was in the same position, he'd advocate the same thing. But as it stood, they had no idea whether the vice president was alive or dead, and until they had that information he intended to stay close to the Providence. "I understand why you want us to follow the York, but we have an obligation here. Not only are we responsible for protecting the Providence, we also need to help the survivors on the other ships. As much as we can."
"What if the York returns with reinforcements?" Bremerton asked.
"We need to assume they will," Wellard replied. "I want you to take a team over to the Providence. You are to find the vice president and bring him back here as fast as possible. If the ship is beyond immediate repair, direct any survivors over here."
"What about the Madrid and Achilles?" Price asked.
"Send them a transmission and offer the same. But make sure they know to hurry. We don't want to be caught here if the York returns with help."
Bremerton stood up and faced Wellard. "Why me? Why not send Alton?"
"He's going too. I'm sending you both on separate shuttles so you can cover more ground." Wellard held a hand up before Bremerton could protest. "Look. Time is short. We may have ten hours, or ten minutes, so we need to hurry."
Reluctantly, Bremerton nodded. "Fine. But when I get back, I would like to talk."
"Agreed."
Bremerton drew in a deep breath before making his way off the bridge. He had to hurry out the door before he did something he'd regret. Namely, telling Wellard where he could stick his order. If they weren't going to follow the ship, then he deserved to stay on the bridge with the rest of the ranking officers. Not sent to a damaged ship to search for someone who may not even be alive. They'd been trying to reestablish communications with the Providence since it was lost with no luck. He knew if
the vice president was alive, they would've been working to get him off the ship themselves. So why did he have to lead a team over there?
As much as he wanted to protest the order, this was not the time or place to question it. Instead, he walked quietly to the flight deck and boarded the shuttle with the rest of his team.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Atroxxin Sector
Flight Deck, NECS Providence
Bremerton pulled the strap of the blaster over his shoulder as he exited the shuttle. The rest of his team followed close behind. Wearing the weapon made him feel out of place. He'd been trained to use it, but never expected to carry one onto another NEC ship. Definitely not while surrounded by a squadron of marines.
He shrugged. Whatever it takes to get this business over with and get back to the Endeavor so I can have a word with the captain.
The flight deck was in near pristine shape. Not unlike the Endeavor's bay, but odd to see on a vessel that had been in service for years. It was also odd to see the lack of damage in the bay considering the amount of punishment the Providence took in the previous battle.
Thirty fighters were spread throughout the bay in front of two dozen shuttles along the outer walls. Chipped paint and scorch marks marred most the fighters from previous damage though not from the battle today. A quick glance under the nearest fighter told him everything he needed to know. These fighters had never even been prepped to move, let alone join in the fight.
"Where the hell is everyone?" one of the marines said, a burly man who wore a pair of black-rimmed glasses named Adams if Jason remembered right.
"Probably working damage control or some shit. Saw the battle play out through the viewscreens at Breezer's. Those ships did a number to the Providence. Thought they were going to destroy her for a moment there," another said, this one taller and leaner than the other. Jacobs, Preston Jacobs.
"All of them?" Jason asked, bemused. "You really think they'd send every pilot and technician out to work on damage control?"
"Why wouldn't they, dumbass? Bet they'd put a wrench in our hands of it got that serious."
"Enough," Bremerton said as he pushed through the pair. "I doubt they are all out working damage control, but it's pretty damn clear they aren't here. Let's just focus on the task at hand, please."
"Sorry, Commander," the two barked in unison.
Jason turned and made his way towards the double doors on the far edge of the bay. He was halfway there when someone behind him grabbed his shoulder. He turned to see the sole engineering tech on his team standing in the lead holding what looked to be a large datapad in his hands. Though unlike the pad Jason owned, this one had six wires attached to its sides.
"Sir, if I may?"
Jason shot his a quizzical look. "And you are?"
"Oh I'm sorry," he dusted his hands off on his pant legs and offered one to Jason. "Brendan Richards, senior engineer and computer specialist. If we can find an active terminal, I should be able to shorten our search considerably."
"How do you propose do to that? They build these computers so they can't be hacked. Unless you have the Admiral Flannigan's override codes, its a waste of time."
"Hardly," Richards countered. "Just so happens I specialize in this very thing. Point me to the nearest terminal and I'll show you what I've got."
"Fine." Jason sighed and turned to Adams and Jacobs. "You two take the rest of the marines and secure the hallway. Search any rooms you come across and bring anyone you find to me. There has to be someone left alive on this heap."
"Sir," the two men acknowledged before leaving the bay.
"The flight deck terminal should be over there." He pointed towards a set of glass doors off to the side. Like the rest of the bay, the flight deck command room was also vacant where it normally would be bustling with activity, even during downtimes. At the very least he would've expected the on duty officer to be present along with a handful of techs.
The two of them snaked between the fighters as they made their way towards the command room. Jason wasn't sure the man could pull it off, but it was worth a shot. The Providence was far too big of a ship to search room by room, even with the combined marines from all four remaining ships. Even if he found nothing more than the floor the vice president's room was on, it would be better than what they had.
Jason stepped up to the door and held his position for a moment expecting the automatic doors to open for them, but they remained shut. He shifted his position a few times figuring the sensors might be off. "They must've taken a nasty hit if the door controls are malfunctioning."
Richards lifted his eyebrows and glanced at the blaster strapped to Bremerton's back. "Think you could shoot your way in?"
"Could I? Yes. Will I destroy government property for the sake of using a terminal we can find somewhere else? No."
It was Richards turn to sigh. "It's just a glass door. They probably have tons of it in supply. We could just call down to..."
"We can't call anywhere. Communications to and from the ship are on the fritz which means shipwide communications are probably down as well. So unless you can hack the entry terminal, we're going to have to try something else."
"It's not optimal, but..." Richards stepped up to the entry terminal and plugged one of the cords of his datapad into its side. "Good news is that this terminal is linked into the main network, bad news is the encryption is off."
"Off?"
"Yeah, like it is similar to NEC specifications, but different enough to be difficult. With enough time I could..."
"Time is something we are deathly short on. If you can't get into the system now, we'll have to find another way."
"Give me ten minutes. Either I'll get in and find the information we're looking for or I'll have plenty of data to work with once we arrive at the next terminal."
"Fine," Bremerton replied. "You stay here and work. I'm going to help the marines secure the hall. If we find a better terminal, I'll let you know."
"Fair enough," Richards said, then got to work.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Atroxxin Sector
Bridge, NECS Endeavor
"Any luck with the signal?"
Wellard asked. Mark Wilson, the assistant XO had been working on reestablishing communications to the ship since the moment it was lost. Wellard was sure the bridge was destroyed. It explained the lack of communications between the Providence and the fleet and the ship's halted momentum. What it didn't explain was why it had been difficult to communicate with his two away teams on the ship. Something was going on over there, and he didn't like it.
"Nothing yet, sir," Wilson replied. "I'm still picking up some of their internal transmissions, but no luck getting them to catch one of our signals."
"How about communications with our teams on the ship?"
"No improvement," Wilson said. "I've asked them to keep one person in the shuttle bays to act as a liaison. They report no difficulties transmitting signals between themselves."
"Good enough," Wellard said. "Keep me apprised of any changes."
Wellard stared at the Providence through is viewscreen. From his vantage point, the damage didn't look that bad, but he knew better than anyone that one lucky shot could cripple the best ship.
Still, even without the primary bridge the ship would still be able to function. As long as people were alive to run critical systems, they should be able to limp the ship back to a station. The only issue being the communications issue on the ship. The layers of thick metal between the levels made it difficult to transmit messages normally without the assistance of the ship's communications systems. It would allow groups on the same floor, or perhaps a level or two difference to talk, but any further than that would be questionable at best.
"Captain, I'm picking up something," Wilson said.
"What is it?"
"I'm not sure. I'd been testing multiple frequencies, hoping they had another band open for communication, when I found this."
Wils
on pressed a button, sending the transmission over the speakers. There was a high-pitched sound coming through the system at first that caused most the bridge crew to shudder in pain. After a quick shift in frequencies the noise stopped. It was replaced by a low guttural sound.
"What the hell is that?"
"It may be nothing," Wilson admitted. "Probably just picking up engine noise or something."
"I don't think so," Wellard said. "That sounds like communication. Cross reference that noise with everything we know about the Mythrar and their allies. Maybe we'll get lucky and find a match."
"Sir? The Mythrar haven't made an effort to leave Sol for a hundred years. What makes you think they are communicating this far out."
"Call it a hunch. The signal could be ship noise like you said, but it could also be something much bigger. Either way, it's worth checking into."
Wilson nodded and got to work.
Wellard wasn't sure what to think about the signal. He'd heard Mythrar communications before and while the transmission had the same low tones, the actual noises were different. It almost sounded as if another species were trying to mimic their language. If that was the case, humanity was in for another war with a species that had kicked its ass once already.
"Sir, I'm picking up contacts near Noctum gate. Three ships just entered the system."
"Tell me they're NEC."
"Negative, sir. They're something else."
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Atroxxin Sector
Crew Quarters, NECS Providence
"I didn't copy. Say that again?" Bremerton smacked his comm link with his hand, as if it would miraculously fix the blasted signal on the ship. Everything over here was screwy. From the lack of personnel to their inability to communicate outside a few hundred meters. Surely they hadn't built the ship to make a raiding party difficult. Doing so would only hamper the ship's ability to function during a time of crisis.
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