by Isaac Hooke
“No,” Barrick said. “All six remaining enemy vessels have passed through unscathed. They’ve set a course for B2.”
“So much for Admiral Ford’s newfangled mines,” Jonathan said. “You say six, Barrick? Five dart ships and one capital ship?”
“Yes,” Barrick confirmed.
“All right,” Jonathan said. “Time to set the ball in motion. Continue along our current trajectory and have Valor transmit the planned message.”
Valor was to claim that an Elk uprising had retaken the Talon, and the crew had made a break for the Slipstream but the humans had refused to let them go without a fight.
“Communication in progress...” Barrick said.
“How do we know Valor will transmit what we told him to?” Wethersfield said.
“We don’t.” Jonathan wished Wethersfield would map the alien language faster. The sooner the United Systems could negate the need for the telepath, the better. Unfortunately, Wethersfield still insisted that AI-assisted translations were a year away.
Jonathan glanced nervously at the pit that held the alien crew. He wasn’t sure what kind of data the aliens had gathered during their guided tour into United Systems territory. At the very least, Valor had collected ship visuals and heat signatures, their communication frequencies, and the layouts and locations of all United Systems bases and colonies between Vega 951 and Beta Ursae Majoris. Basically a treasure trove of damaging information that could help the invaders secure the outlying systems very quickly. Valor could be sharing the data with the Raakarr at that very moment, and no one in the United Systems would even know it.
“They’re not replying,” Barrick said. “I don’t think they’re going to fall for it.”
“They’ll fall for it,” Jonathan said. Assuming Valor sent what we hope he sent. “Bane should have detected our gamma ray signal by now.”
“Yes,” Barrick said. “Otter tells me the Halberd is accelerating to perform the planned attack run. They’ve fired kinetic kills, and unleashed a Viper volley at us.”
The proximity fuses of the kinetic kills were set way too high to cause any damage, but to an outside observer it would look like the missiles struck the Talon. And the laser volley was at the lowest power, enough to dent the Talon’s hull and no more. The whole thing was basically a glorified light show.
“The Talon is venting the planned material from the hangar bay,” Barrick said.
Jonathan nodded. The ‘planned material’ was meant to emulate debris, and included garbage, supplies for the Raakarr equivalent of 3D printers, and organic matter. The latter likely came from the surviving Elk faction members still imprisoned aboard the Talon. Jonathan had heard rumors that Valor had given up a few of those Elk crew members to the United Systems for study, but Levieson neither confirmed nor denied those rumors.
“Have we cut power to the particle beam and engines?” Jonathan asked.
“We have,” Barrick replied.
To the enemy the Talon would appear like it had just been disabled. At least, that was what Jonathan hoped. Valor seemed confident that the altered heat signatures would convey the necessary ruse. Of course, the enemy might not actually believe it: they would know of humanity’s ability for cunning and subterfuge by then, especially after the battle in the Elder galaxy. And while they could not know humans were aboard the Talon and advising the alien captain, they might suspect it.
“The Halberd is breaking away,” Barrick said. “Accelerating on a perpendicular course to the incoming enemy, as planned. It’s firing the throwaway mortars at them.”
“The Stalwart and Fade?” Jonathan asked.
“Drifting in place ten thousand klicks off starboard,” Barrick said. “Both have left long debris trails.”
Similar to the Talon’s ejecta, the “debris” was composed of garbage, spare parts, and bioprinted limbs. Atmospheric vents aboard both vessels piped oxygen into hangar bays left open to space in order to simulate breaches. The two vessels were running at their lowest possible power levels, with all external lights deactivated. Limping along like vessels damaged beyond repair.
“The Halberd is adjusting course,” Barrick said. “Swinging back toward the enemy.”
Jonathan had instructed the Halberd to fly by the enemy ships, with specific orders to remain well outside their particle beam range.
“Estimated time until main flotilla is within firing range of the Talon?” Jonathan asked.
“Two minutes,” Barrick replied.
thirteen
Jonathan intertwined the fingers of his two gloves and squeezed.
Can we pull it off?
“The capital ship is launching fighters to intercept the Halberd,” Barrick said.
“Are any of the main vessels otherwise breaking away to pursue the Halberd?” Jonathan asked.
“No,” Barrick said. “At least not yet.”
The Halberd had orders to adjust its course to maintain that wide berth during its flyby. The goal was to draw away the enemy fighters. It seemed to be working.
“Do we know if they’ve launched all of their fighters?”
“Otter counts thirty-six of them,” Barrick replied. “But he also tells me capital ships can hold anywhere between thirty and fifty fighters, depending on configuration, so that might not be all of them.”
“How long until the enemy fleet is within range of the nuke rings?” Jonathan asked.
“One minute, fifty seconds,” Barrick said.
Jonathan believed the enemy would fire upon the Talon, Stalwart and Fade, if only to ensure the respective vessels were truly dead in space. It was what Jonathan himself would have done if he were the enemy commander.
To prevent that from happening, the ships had launched rings of protective nukes before the enemy had emerged, creating two layers the foe would have to eliminate before they could reach the supposedly lifeless craft. It had been a fine balancing act, deciding on how many nukes to place. Jonathan needed just enough to force every single enemy into firing its particle beam, but not so many that the aliens would be completely deterred.
“The navigation systems on the first smart nukes are activating,” Barrick said. “The weapons are accelerating toward the incoming ships.”
Jonathan nodded. He bit his lower lip as the tense seconds ticked past.
“The closest dart ship fired its particle beam,” Barrick said. “It was able to take down two of the nukes... the second and third ships just fired their own beams. Now the fourth.”
Jonathan impatiently thrummed his gloved fingers on his leg assembly. “What about the fifth and sixth?”
“They haven’t activated their own beams yet.”
The Raakarr particle beams required a full two minutes to recharge after firing. Jonathan had banked his hopes on all enemy craft firing at the nuke decoys, giving him a window of opportunity to attack while the foes were defenseless.
“They might intend to dodge,” Wethersfield said.
“They’re making minor course adjustments,” Barrick said. “It appears they do intend to dodge.”
“Don’t want to risk coming at us entirely defenseless,” Wethersfield said.
“We have to move in,” Jonathan said. “Barrick, power on.”
Similar to the recharge interval, the particle weapon also needed a full two minutes to activate from a cold start. But Jonathan didn’t intend to wait that long.
“Set an intercept course with the closest dart ship,” Jonathan said. “Preferably one waiting for its beam to recharge.”
“It has been done,” Barrick replied. “The Stalwart and Fade are powering up, too, it seems. They’ve launched mortars in an attempt to herd the ships into the nukes. With luck, the remaining two vessels will engage their beams.”
“No point maintaining radio silence,” Jonathan said. Via his helmet aReal he re-activated the remote comm nodes, and the tactical display once more overlaid his vision.
“Bane,” Jonathan said. “See if you can herd them tow
ard us.”
“On it,” Bane replied. “By the way, we received a communication from Admiral Ford. She has ordered the Talon to return imm—”
“Not now, Bane,” Jonathan said.
On the display, he watched as the Halberd altered its trajectory once more to swerve closer to the incoming alien ships.
When the enemy was almost within particle beam range, Jonathan spoke.
“Fire two nukes and break away,” he said. “Target the two enemy vessels that haven’t used their particle beams yet.”
During the initial flight to the Slipstream, the Stalwart, Fade and Halberd had each retrofitted two Dragonflies with nuclear warheads, for a total of six. Those six shuttles had been docked aboard the Talon, and Jonathan watched as the blue dots representing them launched from the hangar bay. They would function the same as smart nukes.
“Let’s see how well the enemy responds to this little surprise,” Jonathan said.
The Talon swerved away from the enemy.
“The enemy fighters have engaged the Halberd,” Bane said. “I’ve launched two Avenger squads to counter. And point-defenses are firing at full bore.”
“Hang in there...” Jonathan said. “Barrick, have Valor fire the next four nukes. Target the remaining ships.”
“Done,” Barrick said. “Thirty seconds until flyby.”
Jonathan watched the yellow dots representing the nuke-laden Dragonflies fan outward from the Talon and toward the enemy.
“The final two ships are firing their particle beams,” Barrick said. “We lost the two initial Dragonflies.”
“Stalwart and Fade,” Jonathan transmitted. “Send two more nukes at those ships.”
“You got it,” Captain Chopra replied.
One of the enemy ships broke away from the pack, obviously intending to flee. A dart ship.
“Barrick, I want the Talon to track that dart ship,” Jonathan said. “Stay with it. Keep our nose pointed at it.”
“Decelerating to track fleeing ship,” Barrick said.
On the tactical display, the next wave of Dragonflies closed with the enemy. The yellow dots winked out as the red dots overlapped.
“We have multiple detonations,” Barrick said.
“Tell me we got them,” Jonathan said.
“Otter tells me two of the vessels appear to be severely damaged,” Barrick said. “They’re dead in space. The third, the capital ship, is breaking away. It looks like we took out its particle beam weapon.”
The nukes from the Stalwart and Fade arrived.
“Two more enemy disabled,” Barrick said. “And the fleeing dart ship is approaching the closest points of its flyby.”
“Keep our nose pointed at it,” Jonathan said.
“Particle beam is online,” Barrick said.
“Are we in range of the fleeing ship?” Jonathan asked.
“We are,” Barrick replied.
“Fire.”
The red dot representing the ship vanished from the display.
“Enemy target has been torn in half,” Barrick said.
On the display, one of the blue dots trailing the Talon had also disappeared almost simultaneously. The Fade.
“Chopra, status on the Fade?” Jonathan asked.
“They’re gone,” Captain Chopra replied. “Apparently the particle weapon of the fleeing ship just recharged. They managed to get off a shot before the Talon fired. I’m sorry.”
Another nuke, launched from the Halberd, impacted the retreating capital ship.
“The capital ship has powered down,” Barrick said. “They’ve taken major damage from the second nuke.”
Three of the five red dots representing the enemy ships winked out.
“What just happened?” Jonathan said.
“The enemy Raakarr self-destructed,” Barrick replied.
The two remaining red dots appeared to be accelerating toward the Slipstream.
“Two of the dart ships are turning back,” Jonathan said.
“Otter just informed me of this, yes,” Barrick said.
“I thought you said we disabled them?” Jonathan asked.
“We did,” Barrick said. “Apparently only the nose sections, including the particle beam weapons, are damaged.”
“All right,” Jonathan said.
“I guess that means we won,” Wethersfield said.
“Bane, status on the enemy fighters?” Jonathan sent.
“Most of them have powered down and are drifting in place,” Bane replied. “But a few are still attacking.”
“Those would be the manned fighters,” Barrick interjected. “Otter says now that the capital ship is gone, we should be able to override the binding protocol and take control of the autonomous units.”
“Do it,” Jonathan said. “Before the two fleeing ships do so.”
“The Talon has control of the unmanned fighters,” Barrick announced a moment later.
“Redirect them to destroy the manned fighters still harassing the Halberd,” Jonathan said. “Bane, tell your own Avengers to stand down. Let the enemy fight it out.”
“Done,” Bane replied.
In a few moments, Barrick said: “All manned enemy fighters have been destroyed.”
“Recall the autonomous fighters,” Jonathan said. “Members of B3, mark the units as friendlies.”
The red dots representing the remaining enemy fighters turned blue.
“Barrick, I want the alien fighters to assume a defensive formation around the Talon,” Jonathan said. “How long will their propellant last? Will we be able to restock them with supplies from the Talon?”
“According to Valor,” Barrick replied. “The propellant is self-regenerating.”
“Of course,” Jonathan said. “Damn these Raakarr and their unwillingness to share their tech. One question, now that we’ve captured them, is there any way we can lose control of the fighters going forward?”
Barrick took a moment to reply. “Apparently once the link is established with a Raakarr vessel, it can’t be broken unless that ship relinquishes control, either willingly or by being destroyed. Unless of course the fighters travel beyond range.”
“And what’s the range?” Jonathan asked.
“Basically an entire star system. But if we send the fighters through a Slipstream and don’t join them shortly, obviously they’ll unlink.”
“All right,” Jonathan said. “Bane, Chopra, turn back and collect any survivors from the wreckage of the Fade. Bane, now you can tell me about that message you received from the admiral during the battle.”
“She ordered the Talon to proceed toward the main battle fleet B1 at full speed. You were to abandon the escorts.”
“I trust you informed her that our communications were offline at the time?” Jonathan said.
“I did.”
“Good,” Jonathan said. “Barrick, have Valor set a course for B1 and crank our speed up to full while I inform Ford we’re happy to obey the order. “
“Valor seems to have different ideas...” Barrick said.
Jonathan glanced at the tactical display and saw that the Talon had fully reversed course, and was racing back toward the Slipstream, pursuing the fleeing dart ships. Both of the enemy vessels must have had some engine damage, because the Talon was slowly gaining.
“Order Valor to let them go,” Jonathan said.
“Valor isn’t answering,” Barrick replied.
“We have specific orders to return to the rest of the fleet,” Jonathan said.
“Still nothing,” Barrick said.
“He behaved this way once before,” Jonathan said. “Tell him I won’t stand for it again.”
“I’m sorry, Captain, he won’t listen,” Barrick replied.
“Bane, target the engines of the Talon,” Jonathan instructed.
“Targeted,” Bane answered.
“Tell Valor to stand down, Barrick,” Jonathan said. “Or I will disable the Talon.”
“Valor says you wouldn’t dare,
” Barrick replied.
“Bane, fire a weak Viper pulse off the starboard bow.”
The Halberd fired. The Talon didn’t change course.
“Tell Valor if he doesn’t obey within the next ten seconds, our alliance is off,” Jonathan said. “The fleet won’t proceed any farther, and we’ll never launch the planet killer against the Elk colony world. Tell him the Halberd and Stalwart are completely prepared to take out the Talon, and they’re only waiting on my command.”
The alien vessel continued onward for several anxious moments.
Then Barrick said: “We’re decelerating. He’s turning around.”
“Good,” Jonathan said.
“But he promises he’ll remember this,” Barrick added.
“I’m counting on it,” Jonathan said.
fourteen
The main fleet broke away from the Slipstream, intending to intercept the Builder, harvester and destroyers from B3 at the outermost gas giant of the system, known as Achilles, where they would assume a geosynchronous orbit behind the moon Achilles I. The fleet left behind twenty destroyers to protect the Builder working on the return Gate at 1-Vega.
The Talon was estimated to reach Achilles I in two and a half days, roughly half a day after the main fleet arrived from 1-Vega. Jonathan spent the time in his berth aboard the alien starship. He had downloaded the crew manifest of the Fade, and spent his time reading the public profiles of each of the lost crew members. Before the mission was over, he had no doubts whatsoever that he would have many more such manifests to review.
“Do you need psychological counseling?” Wethersfield asked at one point during the second day, when the Artificial had come to visit the captain and discovered him sitting against one wall, fully suited and staring off into space.
“It’s a constant battle,” Jonathan said. “Wrestling with my demons. Just when I think I’ve won, something happens that makes them come right back again to haunt me.”
“You feel guilt over what happened to the Fade?”
“Sure,” Jonathan said.
“It’s not your fault.”
“That doesn’t make it any easier,” Jonathan said. “You’d think I’d know better by now, not to beat myself up like this. I’m going to have more deaths on my conscience very soon now, after all. It’s just something I have to live with. And I’m not talking human deaths alone.”