Hawkins’ initial response to this possibility was to return from his battlecruiser hunt and defend the base. He knew that was impossible. Kupin would still have many ships including battlecruisers and one or two battleships. They would pound the debris field into small pieces and his ships with it, and then turn their attention to the surface. Hawkins called Major Cabot. “Major, I suspect Admiral Kupin will be passing back by here in a few hours. She will have been informed of your deception and will probably turn Aegis surface base and the surrounding area into its own little version of hell just because she can. What plans do you have for the immediate future?”
“Well, to be completely truthful, we are in a bit of a bind. We did have transportation in the form of two small shuttles. They were stored in a hangar on the edge of the surface base about four kilometers away so as to be out of the immediate target area. However, the Orion attack jets hit every large structure they could find on the target surface and the hangar was smashed. As of right now, we can’t leave and there are damn few places to hide on this rock, so we are stuck. If the OrCons hit us as they pass by, we will fight to the best of our ability.”
“If you can stand to be a pirate for a few hours we will send our shuttles down there and bring you back to our ships. After that, we can get the hell out of here ahead of the OrCon return. I’ll even buy you a beer.”
There was relief in Cabot’s voice. “That would be a capital idea. Both the evac and the beer. We have thirty people. Twelve are wounded.”
Hawkins owed them the next question. “How many died in the OrCon attack?”
“We lost nine. Everyone not essential to the defensive effort had been evacuated and our defense command bunkers are underground, but the OrCons got a lucky hit from their battleships in their attack.”
Hawkins replied in a quiet voice. “I’m sorry for your casualties.”
Cabot sighed. “The OrCons should have hit this base on the first day of the war. Could have made a clean sweep of it then, but they didn’t even do a quick strike, so we probably got off easy.” He paused. “Of course, our nine dead probably would not agree.”
“Yes,” Rafe responded and could think of nothing to add so moved on to the next topic. “We will be launching shuttles from two ships to bring you aboard. Be there in twenty minutes if convenient.”
“Roger, sir. That would be very convenient. Look forward to seeing you.”
“Same here. Thanks for the timely firepower.”
“Our pleasure.”
Rafe spoke over his command net. “Shane, you and I will launch our shuttles to get the Zekes. We need to move so we can get out of here and back up Captain O’Hare.”
Delacruz replied immediately. “On the way.”
Raferty talked to everyone. “Patch your damage and conduct your reload as best you can, and be prepared to move out as soon as we recover our shuttles. Any ships needing a head start due to reduced speed, take off now and we’ll catch up.”
Ross Landry of Gunfighter came on line. “Rafe, I need a head start. We got an engine down and damage throughout engineering.”
“No problem, Ross. Go ahead and follow Wolfpack. Rogue, go with Gunfighter and we’ll catch up.”
Both ships turned and departed the wreckage of the spaceport and followed O’Hare’s flight path. That left Predator, Vindictive, Cottonmouth, and Marauder guarding the base; Hawkins didn’t think the OrCons at the carrier site would make a move. They had more important concerns at the moment. When the remaining pirate ships departed from Aegis, the commander of the Orion destroyers would have a decision to make. All his destroyers had some damage and at least two were barely moving. The OrCon commander had to leave at least two ships to defend the carrier recovery operation and it couldn’t be the two cripples. They would stay and then he or she would have to augment them with at least one functioning ship. That left three ships to chase pirates. Of course, the OrCons could decide to chase the pirates with one ship just to keep tabs on the pirate force and inform the main fleet. Rafe could live with that. If they moved with three or more destroyers and were looking for an engagement if the opportunity presented itself, that would be a challenge.
The OrCons would not know Aegis had been evacuated and would give it a wide berth to stay out of missile range. They would also have to go around the planet from at least two directions as the pirates could hide on the other side of the planet, and if the OrCons came around the planet from one direction, the pirates could simply move around the planet in the other direction and make a run at the carrier salvage site and the supply ships there. No way could the OrCons risk that. Hawkins knew they would leave protection at the site. The variable was the condition of the escort ships. He turned to Baby Doll. “Do a quick assessment on the battle worthiness of the OrCon escorts. If we pull out, what is their likeliest course of action?”
“On it.” She turned to her computer and Tactical moved over to be next to her and help in the review of battle damage to those ships.
Chapter 33
The Zeke volley augmented by the broadsides from the three freighters bored in on their Orion targets. The OrCons went defensive too late to meet the attack far out, but still put up a desperate defense close in. Their countermeasures cut deeply into the strength of the attack, but well over one hundred missiles found their way to ships’ shields and dozens hit bare hulls. The pirates had designated the battlecruiser Republic for their attention. The battlecruiser had already been damaged and had reduced defenses. Dozens of missiles hit her shields and depleted several sections. Now missiles hit the hull and penetrated. Explosions rippled through the ship. The port engines shut down and the ship skewed violently in that direction as only the starboard engines were providing thrust. Defensive measures ceased and more missiles honed in. Explosions along the ship’s length looked like a string of large firecrackers going off. One pod, then two, and finally, five more pods blew off the disappearing battlecruiser. That would be all that would ever get off as two violent detonations shredded the hull into a hundreds of jagged pieces of shrapnel. Three of the departing pods were engulfed in the conflagration and disappeared along with their ship. Only five pods got clear.
All was quiet on the flag bridge of Fortress as the occupants went about their business of warfighting or were in shock at the damage going on around them. Fortress herself had been hit several times but was in no danger of destruction at the moment, so her crew had the time and the capacity for sympathy for their comrades.
Captain Sergei Korlov leaned back in his chair in the dark rear of the flag bridge. For him it was more than mere sympathy. He had been captain of Republic not that long ago. He had commanded the great majority of the crew of that dying ship. He closed his eyes. It was like a death in the family. Even worse. This was many deaths in the family. His family. He wished he was still captain and was over there on the bridge. He knew it would have made no difference so it was a completely irrational urge, but he still wanted it. A death wish? Maybe, but he couldn’t help it.
He had seen this coming when he had identified the three freighters after their first salvo had decimated Citizen. He knew who they were and whom they belonged to. With each massive missile launch from those pirate ships, he had fervently hoped they were firing interceptors in support of their Zeke allies. From his experience with them at the battle of the Nomad asteroid belt, he knew they had only five broadsides before a lengthy reloading process. Even as he hoped for interceptors, and his prayers were answered as the freighters’ next three volleys were indeed interceptors, he knew it couldn’t last. Korlov knew those goddamn pirates didn‘t come all this way from the Badlands to save Aegis or Buckler. They didn’t come for money or to win Zeke favor. They came for only one reason. Their intelligence gathering was very good and that system had found and tracked Citizen and Republic. When those two ships became exposed, the pirates would strike. It didn’t matter where or when, once the two battlecruisers were out in the open, the pirates ensured they would have a
shot at destroying both of them. Korlov knew the two battlecruisers were marked for death. The only way to save them was to put out a great defense against the inevitable attack. If it was the pirates only, it might have been possible, but with the added weight of Zeke missiles in the fight, such a defense was not going to happen.
Korlov wiped at his eyes, took a deep breath, and went back to work.
~ ~ ~
Riki Takahashi allowed herself a smile. Mission accomplished. Republic was space junk and Citizen was crippled. She didn’t see any way Citizen would get back to friendly space under the current tactical situation. Even if the OrCons won, they couldn’t loiter in the area repairing ships. They must know Zeke reinforcements were on the way. Those Zeke ships wouldn’t arrive in time for this battle, but they would get here shortly afterwards. Riki was brought back to reality when a battlecruiser on the Zeke line took a multitude of hits and exploded. Nobody got off. The Zeke attack had taken away from their defense, and the incoming Orion missiles were scoring hits.
The three ships turned back to their course to Buckler. The hangars on each ship were being pressurized and soon crewmembers would be working to reload the racks. They would all be reloaded with interceptors. The Aurora ships would make a stand at Buckler, the freighters would provide defensive fires only, and the Zekes would do the offensive shooting as the tactical situation permitted. They would arrive at Buckler in forty minutes. More importantly, Buckler floating batteries would be within missile range of the Zeke flotilla within ten minutes. They could provide defensive fires to help protect the ships. As the ships closed on Buckler, the further Buckler missiles could go beyond the Royal Navy ships to provide defensive support.
The Royal Navy ships shot one last defensive broadside and turned and ran toward Buckler. The enemy pressed hard after them. They knew Buckler had limited missile capabilities. There were four floating batteries with four launchers each, and there were ten twin ground launchers on the surface of Senka. Each side had absorbed almost the same number of ships losses in this running battle, so the OrCons still had a slight-numbers advantage, but Buckler could help the Zeke cause.
“Something happening at Lilitu,” reported Dragon’s sensors operator.
Riki acknowledged the report and switched up the long-range sensor screen. Four small ships in formation were coming out of the planet’s atmosphere on the edge of sensor range. Destroyers or smaller ships. Riki considered the possibilities. The Zeke force had received updates from the carrier engagement but had received no communications since Flot 1 had moved to the Aegis base. The base was currently on the other side of the planet and the planet itself blocked communications from Raferty Hawkins. Admiral Levant broke in on Riki’s thoughts.
“If you are getting four returns from near Lilitu, that is Captain O’Hare and her Wolfpack coming this way. Let’s see what Admiral Kupin does about it.”
Riki was surprised at his certainty. “How do you know that for sure?”
Admiral Levant smiled from the floating screen. “I’m an admiral and have all sorts of special powers. Or, maybe, one of my people on Aegis surface base told me. The comm system is still working and we have comm transmitters all over the planet to eliminate planetary interference.”
Riki smiled that the Admiral could make a light comment at this stage of the battle. She went with it. “I’ll go with special admiral-like powers,” she replied in the same light vein.
Admiral Levant smiled, “Let’s do that. And let’s hope Kupin appreciates the dilemma she has now.”
Admiral Kupin certainly did appreciate the dilemma she had now. She knew the four new arrivals behind her were enemy warships and she had a good idea what they were about to do. She also knew the longer she delayed in taking a course of action, the more time those four ships would have to do damage to her crippled warships drifting in the wake of the fight.
“Do we have any ships back there that can defend themselves and others?”
“Scanning the damage reports,” offered the OpsO. Ten seconds crept by and he reported, “Judging from reports, several have some level of defense measures. Most do not.”
Kupin thought that would be true. If those ships had weapons and propulsion, they would still be in her battle line. The fact they were in the rear of the fight trying to complete emergency repairs told her all she needed to know. She shook her head. This wasn’t going at all as planned. “Detach Destroyer Squadron Three to go back and deal with it.”
There was an awkward silence. Nobody was issuing orders over the command net. Kupin raised her head from her screens as she spun her chair to look at her OpsO. She gave him a hard look. He responded with a quiet voice. “Destroyer Squadron Three has three ships left, all with damage. The other five are ineffective.” Kupin briefly noted the word “ineffective,” and was slightly annoyed at it. Proud warships disabled or destroyed with hundreds of crewmembers dead deserved a better epitaph than “ineffective.” She drove the thought away. No time now.
“Send a squadron that has four good ships left.”
“Detaching DS Ten,” the OpsO responded immediately.
Missiles continued to fly between the fleets, but little damage was done now. The Royal Navy was on the defensive and the raiders were totally offensive, but the few hits they scored seemed to have no effect on their targets. The remaining Zeke ships would reach Buckler missile range and receive protection from the base. Even now missiles began flying from Buckler’s four floating batteries. The floaters had been moved into an outer orbit so were at their maximum distance from the base and now were finally in range to cover the incoming Zeke fleet. The missiles flew out and passed through the oncoming Zekes to impact the few Orion projectiles that had gotten through the defenses and were about to hit Zeke ship shields. The three freighters were in the middle of the Royal Navy formation as the warships had caught up to them as they all raced that final leg to safety. As they got closer to the base, the ten surface launchers joined the defense. The closer the fleet got to the base, the further the base’s missile support would go beyond them, giving these missiles more time and distance to take out incoming Orion ordnance. Everyone expected the Zeke ships to get in tight on their base and fight from there. Admiral Levant intended to do exactly that. He would use the pirates and the base launchers to provide defense and that would allow some of his ships to go on the offensive.
He talked to Riki. “Let me know when you’re ready to go with interceptors. I want some of my ships to go offensive when we tighten it up with the base.”
“Give us six minutes and we will have two salvos loaded with interceptors,” she replied.
He smiled. “Tell you what. We won’t be in lower orbit for another ten minutes. Let’s look at shooting in eleven minutes so you can use that as a timeline for your reloading.”
Riki nodded. “The extra minutes will give us time to load a third salvo. We’ll do it with more interceptors.”
“Good enough,” Levant responded.
Chapter 34
Killian O’Hare scanned her screens as her Wolfpack came around the planet. There were several dozen dead, and wounded ships stretched out across the sensor screen all the way to the battle raging on the edge of the sensor screen. O’Hare switched between sensors and hull cameras on maximum magnification to scan the area. There were hundreds of escape pods drifting around wreckage sites. Nearby Orion ships were moving at reduced speed and were engaged in picking up pods from their comrades. In the direction of Buckler, there were damaged ships from both sides retrieving pods. They were within easy weapons range of each other but nobody shot. There had to be operating weapons among those ships so there was probably a tacit agreement to ignore each other while engaged in rescue operations. This fight was hard enough, no point in adding to it at this stage.
Poets or politicians might wax on about the noble sacrifice made by those doing their duty for their respective Empires. They might bring up the dedication and devotion needed to go into this human gene
rated maelstrom. They would highlight the ultimate sacrifice made by so many as a measure of the worthiness of the cause and the need to push on to victory. It had been done that way for centuries and probably would continue for much longer than that.
Unfortunately for the OrCons, Killian O’Hare was not a politician or a poet. She was a battle-toughened captain whose sole purpose was to bring death and destruction to her enemy. She did not see the sacrifice or the noble devotion. She saw nothing but the flotsam and jetsam left behind by the flowing currents of battle. She was not looking for magnanimous purpose but for potential threats hidden in the leftover carnage. She was also looking for targets and the opportunity to rain more devastation on the enemy. That was her sole interest at the moment.
She might agree a war’s ultimate goals might be noble and virtuous, but the methods needed to achieve these goals were anything but that. She had been a warrior for far too long and seen way too much to suffer under the illusion of nobleness and decency in the middle of a war.
Others can talk about superior human qualities when the war is over as a way to justify the sacrifices. But neither the war nor this battle were over yet. There was still opportunity for more destruction and she was just the one to deliver it.
O’Hare addressed her captains. “We are looking for the battlecruisers Republic and Citizen. If they are among the walking wounded back here, we will hit them hard. We will ignore all other ships unless they fire on us. If we can’t find our battlecruisers, we will engage other Orion targets as they present themselves as a threat. We will not chase the two battlecruisers if they are still in the Orion battle line. This is a search-and-destroy mission, not a search-and-get-killed mission. If the two ships are too well covered to be hit by us alone, we will call on the rest of Flot 1 to join us.” She paused in thought and then added. “Under no circumstances will we fire on escape pods, even those pods of Republic and Citizen.” She paused once more as she realized this was a departure of their recent handling of pods from those disgraced Orion ships of their Badlands squadron. She spoke again to ensure everyone heard her correctly. “I know this policy on pods is different from our recent actions, but we are part of the Zeke force here, and we are not going to create an incident that would complicate our relations with the Zekes or give the OrCons something to bitch about. If we fire on those pods, it will be open season on all pods, and that just complicates things. Just this once, we’ll play nice.”
Echoes from Yesterday: Pirates of the Badlands Series Book 4 Page 21