by Chris Hechtl
“I'm in trouble!” Dita said, voice rising in anxiety.
“I can see that!” Meia replied in disgust. “Always I've got to save you,” she said as Dita's fighter took a glancing hit on her port wing, throwing her into a corkscrew. Dita screamed over the radio until the computer cut her off.
Dita’s fighter was critically hit, forcing Meia to tractor her out of range of the fight. With her covering her wingman all the fighters were a spent force.
<----*----*----*---->
“Admiral, we're all that is left. Dita is down, Meia is towing her out of the battle space. They passed through the enemies lines, Meia reported that she would attempt to bring them to Echo if possible.”
“She doesn't have the range,” Nobeki replied. “Not with Dita on tow,” she said.
“If Dita recovered maybe,” Bounty replied. “Or jettisoned and Meia picked her up.”
“Either way, out of our hands now,” the Admiral replied. He looked at the sitrep.
The wounded Antelope destroyer tried to cower behind the battlecruiser for cover.
“Kick the force platform down mark ninety. Target their belly. Fire when you have a lock,” Irons said, looking at the tactical station. Nobeki nodded.
<----*----*----*---->
“Force beam attack on our keel Admiral!” a rating called out, looking at Admiral Rico in fear.
“What do you want me to do about it?” the Admiral demanded. “Damage control!” he said just as the weapon fired. “Bridge roll!”
<----*----*----*---->
Bounty had kicked the last force beam emitter out down the negative Z-axis to get a clear shot. The force beam emitter hammered the destroyer and the battlecruiser. The destroyer was left adrift, helpless with her shield pods exploded like over ripened fruit.
The battlecruiser was maimed, her port side force emitters had been torn apart. Half her electrical systems were out on that side as well. But she was still alive, and now fighting mad.
“And now we're down to one. Mano e mano,” Sprite said. “David and Goliath.” The Admiral glanced at her and then back to the status board. “She's regaining her footing Admiral,” Sprite warned.
“Target the Adrienne with our missiles. Fire all,” the Admiral ordered, looking at Nobeki. She nodded, not looking up from her station.
The packs jettisoned from their mother ship. Once clear they oriented and fired. Bounty had a dozen surviving packs, each with six missiles. Thirty-six missiles went into immediate sprint mode as they came online.
Adrienne however had recovered part of her systems. She picked off half the incoming missiles as she rolled to protect her damaged flank. Force beams lashed out in a broad arch, killing another seven missiles. Six more were picked off by point defense fire. A decoy sucked one off. The remaining two slammed into the ship, one wasted itself on the dorsal armor wiping away part of her main guns, but the other exploded near her bow, kicking the ship up and crumpling her nose. After a moment the ship began to show signs of recovering.
“There goes our last Sunday punch Admiral,” Bounty said.
“We're not out of it yet. Keep us bow onto that port side. Don't let her get away. Keep hammering her until we hit something vital.”
“We're out of missiles Admiral,” Irina said, clawing her way back onto her couch.
“Then use counter missiles. They won't penetrate but they will do some damage. Keep hammering.”
“We don't have a big enough hammer,” Sprite said. “And no, I can't get in,” she said. “All her communications are down. My viruses and bombs did some damage though, that's probably why we're still alive.”
“Great,” the Admiral growled. “Then we'll have to do it the hard way,” he growled, hands gripping the hand rests. “Helm, keep us bow on to the beast. Guns, keep firing as our weapons cycle. Don't go for her vitals if they are too thick, which they are. Just tear into her. Eventually something's got to give.”
“Admiral, she's a battlecruiser. We're a fricking Destroyer. She's got layers of armor, not to mention redundant systems one on top of another on top of another.”
“We can't run, can't hide. Fight,” the Admiral said simply. “It's our only option.”
“Since it's our only options left you mean,” Sprite muttered. The Admiral's eyes cut briefly to her and then back to the status board.
Bounty tried to keep its bow locked onto the side of the wounded battlecruiser like a wolf on a moose. The wolf had it wrong though, her prey wasn't a moose, she was a bear, an angry wounded bear. One with blood in its eye.
Damage in both ships mounted. Neither backed off, they both knew this was a contest to the death. The battlecruiser was ten times larger than the destroyer, capable of dishing out and receiving incredible amounts of punishment, far more than the destroyer could handle. Admiral Rico knew time and tonnage was on his side.
Still, her wounded portside represented a problem. The ship attempted to roll to keep it away from the destroyer, but the destroyer stuck to it, keeping it locked on like a mastiff.
<----*----*----*---->
The Admiral frowned when he got a priority call. He turned. “What is it Lieutenant?” he asked when Sprite put the identifier up on his HUD.
“Sir, I have a plan,” Gustov said as the ship bucked. Irons held onto his armrests, glad his implant force emitters were keeping him tractored into his seat. Mister Enric wasn't so lucky. The young man picked himself up off the deck though and climbed back onto his couch. He was favoring one wrist though.
“A plan?”
“Yes sir. I'm in the boat bay. I have the surviving marines with me. We've got the new powered armor and mechs ready. I am so glad you insisted on replicating them sir. Sir, I want to take them over. I think we can make a difference."
“Board in combat Lieutenant?” Irons asked, tapping at his controls. “Are you serious?”
“It's something sir. If we can dig our way in we can distract them. Maybe do some damage from the inside. We're not getting through her armor.”
“True,” the Admiral replied.
“Admiral,” Bounty said. “It's suicide,” he said.
“I know,” Irons replied. “Volunteers only,” he said. “We'll think of a way to help you get across somehow.”
“Aye sir, we're all volunteers,” Gustov replied. “And I've thought of a way to help us a bit. We're loading them now,” he said.
“I see,” the Admiral said, checking the image to the boat bay. He nodded in appreciation at what he saw.
<----*----*----*---->
A few minutes later the boat bay signaled the shuttles were ready to depart.
“Admiral, this is suicide,” Sprite said. “There is no way they can survive to get over there, let alone board! And it's hopeless odds!” she said.
“Doing something is better than nothing Commander,” Irons replied. He was glad she was talking to him alone and not to the entire bridge. “We all play our part,” he said. He looked over to Miss Nobeki who bit her lip. Her face looked troubled, but she was too focused on her station to say anything.
Gustov took a volunteer team of nine of his surviving marines and boarded the battlecruiser. The Admiral's launch, the last remaining decoy, and the four recon drones were used as decoys to draw the large ship's fire.
The Admiral's launch was on autopilot. She was unarmed, but she had something better, her shields. She made a spiral pass around the wounded leviathan. She was blown apart as her shield emitters interacted with the BC's and tore them to shreds. The decoys and drones lasted a moment longer before they too were gone.
Fortunately their sacrifice had not been in vain, the distraction allowed the stiletto of marines to slip through her defenses in the pinnace, to cross the void and get in close to the ship's wounded side.
“Sir, we're ready. I'm looking for an airlock,” the pilot said, glancing over his shoulder briefly.
“Hell with that! They'll expect that. Find one of the breaches and wedge us in there good and tight
. We'll take it from there,” Gustov said.
“Yes sir,” the pilot replied.
“Good man,” Gustov said, pounding him on the shoulder before he left the compartment at a run.
The marines came in with the pinnace, raking the ship's already wounded side. Then they performed a hard dock on a wound in her hull and forced their way inside.
Gustov had stuffed the shuttle with every bot they had as well. A swarm of bots, cleaner bots, security dogs, cargo movers, and bipedal security robots stormed the ship, absorbing the first initial fire of the arriving ship's security forces. Fortunately it was light; there was only a pair of guards with the damage control party.
“Go! Go! Go! Move em out!” A marine snarled, pushing some of the robots out ahead of them.
The robots moved forward with the suicidal bravery of the lifeless, digging deeper into the bowls of the ship. The security robots and marines followed in their wake. Gustov had a plan, dig in as deep as he could and hopefully find and take out something vital. He just wished he'd had a nuke to bring along. Unfortunately none had been available.
Resistance stiffened as they hit the main concourse. Gustov knew he was in trouble; he didn't have the numbers to handle an attritional fight. He had five sets of powered armor, but no other heavy weapons and limited ammunition. He had two wounded already.
Some of the security bots took cover, returning fire with the marines behind them. A repair bot survived long enough to jack into the ship's systems and upload additional viruses Sprite and Defender had crafted. Before the AI could use it as a node to jack into the system it was destroyed during the chaos of battle.
<----*----*----*---->
“Captain! We've been boarded!” a rating said, sounding fearful.
“Then get someone there and kill the bastards!” the Captain snarled, turning around to glare at the rating.
“This isn't supposed to be happening to us,” the exec muttered.
“Well, it is anyway. Better deal with it Mister! Someone kill that damn tin can!”
<----*----*----*---->
“Virus package two uploaded. The bot didn't get a chance to upload the other packages before it was destroyed,” Sprite reported.
“Effect?” Irons asked, shifting power around a damaged EPS junction. He traced his fingers back to the previous junction and cut the plasma stream back, then rerouted around the damaged systems.
“Minimal. It was a sub node. We aren't seeing anything. I'm thinking it is a dud Admiral,” Sprite said.
“Very well,” he replied. “It was worth a shot.”
<----*----*----*---->
“Sir, we can't shake her,” the helmsman said.
“Oh yes we can,” the Captain said, coming over. He knocked the smaller man to the side and grabbed the controls. He cut the ship to the left and then waited a beat, went back, then down and then back hard.
The battlecruiser jinked. Bounty's tired helmsman missed the jink a moment late; she got enough around for her undamaged starboard weapons to get a partial shot at the destroyer. Fire wracked the heavens as grasers spat, coherent light and force beams ripped and tore at the dorsal tower of the smaller ship as she tried to find cover. Her shield’s heat sinks overloaded and failed as they melted down.
“Admiral, we've taken a heavy hit, Bounty has lost her shields,” Bounty reported.
“Not good,” Enric said unnecessarily, climbing back into his couch. “This is getting old. I need seat belts,” he grumbled.
“We've lost our dorsal point defense Admiral, structural damage to dorsal surfaces and the tower. I don't think we can handle a jump sir,” Bounty reported.
Irons frowned. His last ditch plan was to jump for Pyrax from where they were. Now that was out.
“If you are thinking of boarding personally think again,” Sprite said. “We're fresh out of shuttles remember?” she said.
“Wasn't on my mind, but now that you mention it...”
“We're bleeding fuel,” Enric reported. “And life support. Damage control is trying to work on it but they are running into flash welded valves and some ruined piping,” the rating reported.
“We're having trouble keeping station Admiral. Estimate two minutes until we're out of RCS fuel,” the helmsman called out.
<----*----*----*---->
“There done,” Admiral Rico snarled, smiling wolfishly. That last hit hadn't been a knockout punch, but it had hurt the ship. Not badly, but that would come soon enough. He was tempted to take her intact, he wanted to meet the bastard who could pull this off. And find out what the hell had taken it to this. Hathaway deserved a long slow death.
“Sir! Jump point emergence!” a rating called out.
“Reinforcements?” the Admiral asked, turning to look over his shoulder.
“Not ours sir! It's from Pyrax!”
<----*----*----*---->
“Admiral! Jump point activity! The Pyrax jump point! There is a ship there, a big one!” Miss Nobeki reported looking up. “Adrienne is making a run for it,” she said. Hope stirred in her voice.
“What the hell?” Irons asked. “Who?”
“Who cares?” Sprite asked. “Should we be looking a gift horse in the mouth?” she asked. “And shouldn't we be putting some distance between us and that BC?”
Irons shook his head vehemently no. They had to stay in the ship's blind spot. “No, helm, stick with her. Keep firing. Don't let up. Bounty, raise the party crasher. See if we can get an IFF,” Irons replied. He knew light speed would limit transmissions, but it was worth a shot. Hope briefly surged within him. They still could pull this off.
“She's moving out at flank speed. Mass and energy readings are consistent with a Resolution class Heavy Cruiser Admiral,” Bounty reported. “She has cut her drive and gone into stealth, signal lost. I have an approximate plot for her." The AI put a blinking icon on the plotting table. "Before she went into stealth she flashed her IFF signal. She's identified herself as..."
“Firefly,” Sprite said with a smile in her tone. “Based on her course and speed she did a short jump, coming in a million kilometers outside the Pyrax jump point and off the Pyrax straight line course. She is coming in hot and fast. She'll drop her stealth when she gets into range I bet.” She smiled. "Sometimes the gods of space smile on you."
Irons didn't have the time to dwell on the improbability of last minute saves. “Bounty, flash our IFF and then give them a sitrep. Let them know I'm on board. Give them Echo's last known location as well as the fighters. Alert Echo and the fighters of Firefly's arrival,” the Admiral ordered.
“Aye sir,” Bounty replied.
<----*----*----*---->
“It's the enemy sir!” A nervous rating said as the blood red image faded on the plot like a ghost. “Resolution class consistent with the ship the enemy found in Pyrax!”
“What are they doing here?” someone asked, tone sounding frightened. "How did they do it?" His voice quavered. It was too much for many, most having never faced a real fight in their lives.
“Who knows! We've got to run! We're too damaged to fight them now!”
“I know,” Rico replied between gritted teeth. He briefly pondered the timing; it was an incredible coincidence or was it some sort of planned act? Or was the universe just pissed at them? Either way, it didn't matter. He knew it was over, he had to run. He would probably not survive to face the board of inquiry, but he had to try, he had to try to get his people out. “Helm, set course for the Beta 103c5 jump point. Get us there quickly,” the Admiral ordered. B103c5 led back to the empire. Unfortunately it was a long series of dead systems before they reached an occupied system. He frowned, turning the problem over in his head before he set it aside. They had to get there first, and the way this day was going...
“We'll do our best sir.”
“I know,” the Admiral said, setting his jaw. He could hear and feel the defeat in their voice and manner, there was nothing he could do about it. “Send out an all ship's signal to reco
ver at that jump point."
"There are only two gunships and a corvette underway sir," a rating said.
The Admiral grimaced and shook his head. "Very well. All hands not on their duties or damage control, repel the boarders!”
<----*----*----*---->
"Admiral, they are running for B...." Ensign Patter said, looking away from his station to Admiral Irons.
"Yes, I see it," the admiral said mildly. The BC was lumbering along, trying to flee, which seemed ludicrous. It was still happening though.
"But Sir. Firefly doesn't have route data for that system. We have it in our navigational data base but it will take time to pass it to Firefly with our communications spotty. If they can jump out we will lose them."
Irons had already written the fleeing Horathian's off. He had no interest in a stern chase across the system for small fry. "Yes, Ensign. I know but do you really believe they will reach the jump point on the other side of the system with FIREFLY here?"
"No sir. But some of the smaller ships will get away."
The Admiral studied the plot again. Most of the small fry were gunships, they were already abandoning each other in their dash, not caring that they couldn't escape without a hyperdrive. The one vessel that might make the jump was a beat up Apollo corvette. She wouldn't get far though, there was no system in range for her to get to along that jump line. She'd die like the gunships, alone and out of fuel. "Let them run. They'll just die tired. Besides, we have a much larger target to take down."
"Aye sir. Firefly has launched fighters. Some are covering our forces, others are covering the enemy ships that have been disabled. Apparently they agree with you sir."
"A stern chase is a long one, especially when the rabbit has a head start. No, let them run. Focus on what is in front of us."
"Aye aye sir."
<----*----*----*---->
"Captain, we're receiving a signal. A sitrep. Processing now," Firefly said. They had transited the fourteen point five parsec journey in Delta band in just shy of twenty five days. Their original plan had been to jump short of the jump point, drop into stealth, assess the situation using their passive sensors, and then either kick up a hornet's nest by picking off anything in range as they turned and made a run for it, or went in deeper.