Joshua nodded. The Traders Alliance wasn't the only organisation that claimed to supervise interstellar trade, but it represented hundreds of thousands of independent shippers and small trading companies. Joshua was a member himself. Even their rivals, as much as they would appreciate the chance to sneak business from under the Alliance’s nose, wouldn't be inclined to break the embargo on the Hegemony. The Funks were making it harder for independent freighter commanders to make an honest living.
Ironically, it was also making it harder for the pirates. With fewer ships travelling through the threatened sectors, the Funks had a chance to escort more of them with escorts heavy enough to daunt even the Clunker fleet. The rebels were still committed but some of the pirates were edging away, perhaps to the point of considering selling Joshua out to the Funks. They’d find it harder to make a living if the Funks kept escorting their ships – and they were less inclined to pick fights with any warship. Getting rid of Joshua had to seem like a bargain to them. He’d responded by moving most of his activities away from the known asteroid colonies and keeping as much as he could firmly out of sight. Even if they did manage to sell him out to the Funks, the rebellion would go on.
“It can't be a very important cargo,” Joshua said, thoughtfully. The last convoy they’d seen had been escorted by four heavy cruisers, far too much to tangle with for his little fleet. What intelligence they’d picked up had suggested that the Funks had been moving heavy industrial equipment. Unlike most Galactics, the Funks weren't too keen on the idea of developing colonies building their own industries, even though it would save them a great deal of money in shipping costs. “But if we could take out those destroyers...”
He smiled, coldly. The Hegemony had been losing a great many escorts lately, thanks to Joshua and his men. Even a force the size of the Hegemony Navy had to be feeling the pain; light units were needed to escort their superdreadnoughts as well as everything else and they couldn't replenish their losses quickly enough. It was hard to tell if his tactics were having a major effect on the Hegemony, but with the trade embargo and the pirate raids, the Hegemony had to be in trouble. Their currency had been falling compared to the Galactic Credit for the last two weeks. It wouldn't be long before they had to dip into their own stockpile of credits to purchase almost anything they wanted from outside the Hegemony. The knock-on effects would certainly destroy the economy...
…On the other hand, plenty of human governments had gritted their teeth and kept fighting even in the face of economic disaster. Why couldn't the Funks show the same resilience?
“Take us in on attack vector,” he ordered. There were enough ships in the raiding force to hunt down all of the freighters if they tried to scatter. “Prepare to engage the enemy.”
The standard Hegemony tactic for dealing with pirates was to mount a resolute defence and hope that that deterred the pirates from pressing the offensive. Joshua had planned for that, but instead the Hegemony seemed to be playing it very cagily. The destroyers were hanging back, guarding the freighters, a tactic that suggested that they weren’t eager to fight. And that made little sense.
“Maybe one of their Great Ladies is onboard the freighter,” Karla suggested. “Someone worth a few million credits to them.”
Joshua shrugged. It was possible, but Great Ladies normally didn't travel on anything smaller than a battlecruiser. On the other hand, it was also possible that the Hegemony had recalled most of its good crews and starships to the war front and left behind the dregs of the service, Funks who were less inclined to die for the Hegemony. But if they wanted to live, they should have scattered and hoped to lose themselves within quantum space. What was going on…?
“The bulk freighter is coming apart,” Karla said, puzzled. “The hull appears to be crumbling into its component pieces.”
“Odd,” Joshua said. The Cats had developed hulls that were held together by a combination of prehensile materials and the ship’s structural integrity field. They could be damaged, but it was rare for one to simply wear out, certainly on a starship belonging to a reasonably capable galactic power. It made no sense at all, unless...
“Break off,” he snapped. “It’s a trap!”
The power signature of a Hegemony battlecruiser appeared, rising up out of the remains of the bulk freighter. Someone on the other side had heard of Q-ships and decided to go one better, hiding a battlecruiser within a bulk freighter until the enemy ships entered attack range. The battlecruiser couldn't have used its own targeting sensors without giving the game away too soon, but there was no reason why it couldn't draw targeting solutions from the destroyers falling in behind it. Joshua and his ships were already within range.
“Order all ships to scatter,” he said, grimly. The pirates were going to hate him for leading them into a trap. Some of the rebels might even have second thoughts about facing the Hegemony. They might be able to defeat the battlecruiser, but the cost would be far too high. “We’ll regroup at Point Delta.”
“They’ve locked onto our hull,” Karla snapped. “The battlecruiser is opening fire.”
“Evasive action,” Joshua ordered. “Configure the torpedoes for proximity detonation and return fire.”
Blackbeard lurched as she launched a spread of antimatter torpedoes, just before the first enemy torpedo slammed into her shields. If the battlecruiser had concentrated her fire, they would have been vaporised. As it was, Blackbeard spun like a top, hopefully convincing the Hegemony ship that she’d been badly damaged. Eddies of quantum space energy shimmered around her as the fleet scattered, leaving the battlecruiser and her two escorts to pick targets and go after them. Joshua wondered, grimly, if someone had managed to sell them out already, before deciding that it was unlikely. The Hegemony had simply gotten lucky – and he’d got sloppy. He should have sensed the trap before they committed themselves.
“They’re coming after us,” Karla reported. “Damn – those sensors are powerful.”
“Crash transition,” Joshua snapped. They might be able to hide in quantum space’s energy storms, but not if the battlecruiser had a clear lock on their hull. “Get us into normal space.”
Blackbeard shuddered, as if the hull was about to break apart, before finally crashing back down into normal space. “Go dark,” Joshua ordered. They’d already taken down most of the systems that would have released betraying emissions, but even a pirate ship had active sensors and targeting systems. There was no point in trying to run if the battlecruiser came after them. “Shut down everything we can without compromising ourselves.”
Karla snorted. “Worse than we are already?”
An alarm from the tactical console cut off the retort that rose to Joshua’s lips. “The bastard just made transit,” he said. “Maybe they did know who we are after all.”
The enemy battlecruiser wasn't trying to hide. Her active sensors swept space, projecting an image of iron determination to track down her prey. Joshua watched her through passive sensors, wondering just what kind of reward would be offered to the enemy commander if she managed to take the infamous pirate king alive. After all the chaos he’d caused, the Funks had probably put millions of credits on his head. But then, how would they know they’d caught the real pirate king?
Karla looked over at him. “If she paints us, we’re dead,” she said. Her voice was very quiet. “Now what?”
“We wait,” Joshua said. He keyed the intercom. “All hands, an enemy battlecruiser is hunting us. Do not activate anything that might betray our location.”
“Everyone is going to be whispering,” Karla said, softly. They shared a grin. “We don’t dare even risk a VR simulation.”
“I always thought those were bad for kids,” Joshua said. “I guess we’ll have to have our pleasures the old-fashioned way.”
He shook his head slowly. Hollywood had been slow to understand the potential in Galactic-designed VR simulation packages, which had left the big-name film producers struggling to catch up when the bell finally rang. Wh
o wanted to watch the latest actor playing Spiderman when a VR simulation could put a watcher directly into Spiderman’s outfit? Joshua had made millions of dollars selling systems imported from nearby Galactic worlds by the time Earth had finally produced its own version. Unsurprisingly, the pornography industry had been among the first to capitalize on the market. VR sex was clean, private and almost any kind of fantasy could be played out inside a person’s head.
A long hour passed as the enemy ship hunted them, her sensors probing every last piece of space dust. Luckily, her transition had come several minutes after Blackbeard’s, leaving her some distance from the point where Joshua had returned to normal space. A few kilometres in quantum space could mean light-minutes in the mundane universe. It was also quite possible that Blackbeard had broken apart through the stress of the transition and had been vaporised. But the Funks wouldn't want to assume that if they knew who they were chasing.
“They might go dark themselves,” Karla said, slowly. “It might trick us into believing that they’ve departed.”
“We’ll just have to be careful,” Joshua said. He’d evaded pirates in quantum space, but normal space was a whole different problem. Even the slightest transmission might betray their location, let alone powering up the drives and trying to flee. He worked it out, piece by piece, in his mind. By the time they managed to power up enough to jump back into quantum space, the enemy battlecruiser would be right on top of them. “Unless...”
He looked over at her. “Do we have any of the static bombs left onboard?”
“Only a couple,” Karla said. She stared at him. “We’ll never be able to use them to destroy that ship.”
“I don’t intend to destroy that ship,” Joshua assured her. “I have something sneakier in mind.”
* * *
Almost every Galactic-designed starship carried a Worker Bee, a tiny self-contained spacecraft intended to allow the crew to do outside the ship and carry out routine maintenance work on the hull. Only one human could fit inside the Bee at any one time, which limited its use as far as starship maintenance was concerned, but Joshua had other plans. It took nearly twenty minutes to pack both of the static bombs inside the Worker Bee, during which time Karla reported that the enemy battlecruiser was slowly, but surely drawing nearer. Their search pattern would have been admirable if they hadn't been chasing Blackbeard, Joshua had to admit; they’d be able to give any suspicious sensor reading a thorough examination before deciding that it was nothing more than a stray atom.
“We’re ready, sir,” the Chief Engineer said. “Seems a bit of a waste, man, but better it than us.”
“Yep,” Joshua agreed. Losing the entire Bee would be a fine trade if it saved their lives. “You may fire the gas cylinders when ready.”
The Funks would have detected a drive field the moment it powered up, but they wouldn't be able to detect a stream of gas shielded by Blackbeard’s hull. It would take several minutes for the Bee to reach the best position for stage two of Joshua’s plan, giving him time to prepare his crew for action when the time came. They’d have to move swiftly. Even if the plan succeeded perfectly, the Funks wouldn't be surprised for long. Guided by a pinpoint communications laser, the Worker Bee moved steadily away from the hull. Unless they got very lucky, the Funks would be unable to detect her.
“She’s nearing Point Fred,” Karla said. She’d mocked his choice of name mercilessly, but now she was all professional. “Do you want me to take her active?”
Joshua sat down in his command chair, and then nodded. “You may fire when ready, Gridley.”
The Worker Bee’s active sensors came online. With a little careful tweaking, they looked like a damaged starship’s sensors trying to work out just what had happened to their opponent, risking detection in the process. The Funks certainly picked her up at once; their battlecruiser wheeled around and raced towards the Worker Bee, her sensors locking onto the new threat. It wouldn't be more than a few seconds before they realised that they’d been tricked, but there would be just enough time for them to get too close to the Worker Bee. The static bombs detonated together, destroying the Bee and flooding space with brilliant radiation. Static bombs were useless in fleet actions – they blinded both sides indiscriminately and their effects didn't take long to shake off - but they worked very well as part of a sabotage mission. For as long as it took the Funks to reboot their computers and replace blinded sensor blisters, the battlecruiser was blind.
“Bring up the drive,” Joshua ordered. Blackbeard hummed to life, alarmingly close to the battlecruiser’s last reported position. Her passive sensors had been damaged too, even though she’d been further away from the Bee than the battlecruiser. “Take us out of here, now!”
It took several minutes for the battlecruiser to repair its sensor systems. By the time it started sweeping space again, Blackbird was already opening up a quantum gate and vanishing. The battlecruiser gave chase, but it was far too late. Joshua and his crew had made a clean break and lost themselves within the storms of quantum space.
“Thank God,” he said, as they realised that they were safe. A single error in the timing could have cost them their lives. “That could have ended badly.”
Karla chuckled. “I suppose it could have done, sir,” she agreed. She seemed to hesitate, and then winked at him. “Want to join me in my cabin to celebrate?”
Joshua blinked at her, and then pushed his doubts aside. “Why not?” He asked. A hundred possible answers arose in his mind, but he pushed them down. It would be two days until they could return to Shadow, whatever else happened. “I don’t think we'll have much more to celebrate for a while.”
* * *
Joshua had been feeling paranoid when they returned to Shadow and had taken care to bring Blackbeard out of quantum space some distance from the asteroid. Even so, it was easy to see the expanding shell of debris where the asteroid had once been, torn apart by antimatter torpedoes launched by Hegemony starships. Some of the drifting clouds of debris looked to have come from starships, hunted down and destroyed by the invaders while trying to escape. The Funks had hit the system, blown apart the asteroid, and left again, leaving the debris as a silent warning to anyone who had thought that the secret colony was a safe place to hide from their wrath.
Few of the people on Shadow had been morally uptight citizens, even of societies where anarchy was the general rule. They’d been criminals, hunted by their own governments and every other government in the galaxy, or rebels from the Hegemony and a dozen other repressive powers. But one man’s terrorist was another’s freedom fighter. The Funks would have obliterated rebels from any other power with the same lack of compassion they would show to the Gobbles, or insurgents on Terra Nova. They’d probably sent the other governments a bill.
“They’ve mined local space,” Karla said. She was quietly professional, betraying nothing of the passion she had shared with him over two long nights. Joshua found it easier to grasp than most; freighter crews got very close or they ended the voyage hating each other. He’d always found it easier to assign ships to married couples than singletons. “Nothing particularly subtle – they wanted the mines to be detected.”
“Their version of sowing the ground with salt,” Joshua muttered. “They wanted to make sure that the message was rubbed home. Thou shall not conspire against the Funky bastards.”
He shook his head. Someone had definitely betrayed him, probably one of the pirates he’d pulled into his growing fleet. Or maybe one of the rebels was actually a long-term sleeper agent from the Hegemony. Some of the tricks the Galactics had developed had horrifying implications. It was possible to program someone to be an unwitting spy, leaving them unaware of their actions – and if tested under a lie detector, swearing that they were innocent because they believed that they were innocent.
But unless they’d had access to more information than was possible, they wouldn't have been able to wipe out the other bases, or even the rest of the Clunker fleet. The tiny
fleet of freighters carrying his supplies wouldn't have been touched. And that left him with options, including some the Funks would never suspect. They might believe that they’d killed the pirate king, or at the very least scattered and unnerved his followers, but they were in for a surprise. Joshua smiled to himself, remembering the strange civilization that had existed inside the asteroid, and then looked over at Karla.
“Take us out of here,” he ordered.
“Aye, sir,” Karla said. She looked down at her console, before looking up at him again. “And where exactly are we going?”
“Point Pooh,” Joshua said. They’d meet up with the remainder of the fleet, at least those who had stayed loyal, on the way. Some of the pirates probably wouldn't stop running until they reached a whole different sector, but the rebels had nowhere else to go. “And then we’re going to Tauscher. It’s time to give the Hegemony a very unpleasant surprise.”
Chapter Thirty-Three
“I must say that Earth was not impressed with Third Garston,” Admiral Sun said. “I spent far too much time soothing the nerves of old women of both genders.”
“Neither was I,” Tobias said. Garston had been settled long enough to have a first-class interstellar communications array. Right now, part of him was wishing that it had been accidentally destroyed during the invasion of the system. “It was just a reminder that our enemy is more inventive than we would prefer.”
“The incident certainly disturbed our political masters,” Sun confirmed. “It took hours of arguing to convince them to sign off on the transfer of the 4th Cruiser Squadron to the war front. That will have consequences back on Earth.”
He wasn't explicit – for fear of interception, even with the best encryption programs in the galaxy – but Tobias knew what he meant. Earth’s defences would rest in the hands of a single squadron of modern cruisers, a number of refitted seventh-hand starships purchased from the Galactics and a handful of gunboats that were meant to be working up for their own transfer to the war front. It was just possible that the two captured superdreadnoughts could also be pressed into service, but the last report had suggested that it would be at least six months before they were ready for even local defence. Besides, if Earth started building superdreadnoughts rather than cruisers, they’d be massively outgunned by the Hegemony.
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