“No!” shouted Adams, thumping his broad hands against his console.
However, not all of the missiles were affected by the Vraxar countermeasures. Six Shimmer missiles reached their intended target. The rear of the enemy ship was hidden by the size of the explosion. A total of sixteen Shatterer missiles followed, the detonation of their payloads adding to the heat and light.
“I think they’re breaking up!” said Mercer.
“Their power readings are all over the place,” said Johnson.
“They’re still damn well firing at us!” shouted Talley.
“Lambdas launched,” said Adams. “They can’t have anything left in the tank.”
The Vraxar vessel was tough and Talley wasn’t too proud to admit it. For the next few seconds, the enemy turrets pounded the Devastator’s armour with slugs until Talley became worried that mutual destruction was to be the outcome of the engagement.
On this occasion, Space Corps metal came out on top. Hundreds of Lambdas crashed against the enemy hull. This time there was no doubt and it broke apart. Commander Adams fired another wave of missiles, dividing them amongst the larger pieces of the Vraxar battleship. Huge chunks rained down upon the moon’s surface, striking it with immense speed.
When it was over, Roban’s moon was covered in craters ranging from a few hundred metres wide, to some which were three or four hundred kilometres across. Talley wondered what it would take for the moon to break up and destroy Roban. It didn’t happen, though the damage was extensive.
With the battleships destroyed, Talley turned his attention to the next problem on his neverending list – the missing Neutraliser.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
THERE WAS no sign of the largest of the Vraxar warships. The Devastator continued its low orbit of the moon, hunting or running, Talley wasn’t sure which. If the enemy vessel was close by, it was only a matter of time until the two of them met.
“Did our sensors pick anything up that we missed during the fighting?” Talley asked. “Could they have given up on Roban and gone to lightspeed?”
“There’s not even an echo of a fission cloud,” said Johnson. “They could have gone to lightspeed on the exact opposite side of this moon and with a vessel that size we’d know about it. Anyway, we’re still tapping into the Obsidiar core, which means it’s in range to keep us offline.”
“It’s out there somewhere.”
“And we’re in no fit state to deal with it,” said Adams. “We need another twenty minutes for the Obsidiar core to recharge.”
“They must know we’ll be a lot harder to deal with if they allow us the time to recover,” said Talley. “Lieutenant Mercer, try and reach the Gallatrin-9. See if our allies are alive.”
“They can’t have lived through that?” Mercer said.
“If their life support was active, they can live through pretty much anything,” said Talley. “Find out when they’ll be operational.”
The Devastator’s Hynus comms arrays were able to pierce through small planets and moons such as this one, so there was no need to be directly overhead. Mercer got on with her job and attempted contact.
The Ghast captain was alive, though the Oblivion wasn’t going anywhere soon.
“This is not time for talking, Admiral Talley. Our sensors tell us the main enemy vessel is still operational. Go.”
The Ghasts were similar to humans in some ways and distinctly different in others. Talley realised he had a lot to learn – Rioq-Tor wasn’t interested in his life, he wanted to be on the winning side and didn’t expect any consideration until the conflict was brought to a full conclusion. Talley cut the channel without further response.
“Pass on a verbal update to Fleet Admiral Duggan,” he said. “Let him know the situation isn’t yet resolved.”
“The Vraxar have disabled our main comms and we’re on backups, sir. The message won’t reach him until next week.”
Talley bit his tongue to stop from swearing. “Send it anyway.”
“Yes, sir.”
Until the main comms were restored, there was no choice other than to get on with things.
“Fifteen percent on the Obsidiar core,” Talley mused. “Not enough to sustain our shields through any sort of extended engagement. We have to stay hidden.”
“We should be able to activate the stealth modules shortly,” said Johnson.
“Good – keep me updated. How long until the wrecked Vraxar cruiser comes down?”
“Fifteen minutes until it impacts, sir,” said Banks.
“Maybe we should deal with it first,” said Lieutenant Johnson.
“We’ve got time and I don’t want to get caught in the open,” said Talley. “In truth, I don’t want to lure the Vraxar back towards Roban in case they start taking pot shots just for the hell of it.”
The Hadron was equipped with various satellites to use in situations like this one – the idea being to drop them behind in order to monitor the enemy when they came into range. Unfortunately, these satellites were fitted with Gallenium engines and power supplies. The Neutraliser’s effects reached them in their launch tubes, rendering them offline and useless.
“What are we going to do against the Neutraliser even if our power source recharges to maximum?” asked Adams. “We’re a minnow in comparison. I’m willing to give it a go, but I don’t think we can knock them out.”
“We’re only a minnow in size, Commander. We know little about the Neutralisers’ offensive capabilities and it could be their primary function is to disable Gallenium power sources, whilst they themselves are only lightly armed.”
“If it wasn’t carrying weapons, it would have run, sir,” said Adams, pointing out the obvious.
“We don’t know it’s the last Vraxar ship left at Roban, either,” added Lieutenant Poole.
“True. On the other hand, it seems unlikely they’d have drip-fed their forces in our direction in order that we could pick them off piecemeal.”
“That’s hardly what happened, sir.”
Talley could only agree and he fell quiet in order to think. The last two or three minutes had a bizarre feeling to them, as though it was the calm both before and after the storm. He found himself in a position where he didn’t want to locate the enemy, yet he needed to face them in order to bring some stability to this area of Confederation Space. There was one possibility, which he hadn’t confided with his crew. Now’s the time.
He entered his command codes into his console. The Hadron’s battle computer required verification, which he also provided. “Commander Adams, I’m giving you access to one of the Devastator’s hidden weapons systems.”
“I see it, sir.”
“We’re carrying an Obsidiar bomb. One of three the Space Corps currently possesses.”
Adams’ eyes widened. The bombs were top-secret, but the rumours still went around in certain circles. “What’s the blast radius of this model, sir?”
“Unknown. These things are largely theoretical and there have been only two recorded uses of the weapon. Our entire stock was built forty years ago under orders from one of Fleet Admiral Duggan’s predecessors. Let us settle on the word huge to describe the likely radius.”
“It’s got hardly any propulsion system on it, sir. We’ll have to drop and run.”
“We won’t be dropping it anywhere near Roban or its moon.”
“Exactly how huge do you mean?” asked Adams, looking bewildered.
“It’ll be in the files somewhere. Definitely enough to take out a Neutraliser.” Talley smiled without humour. “Even if it happens to be a considerable distance away.”
Two short minutes passed, during which the Devastator continued in a low, slow orbit of Roban’s moon. Talley wondered if he should simply withdraw for a period, in order to take stock and plan. He dismissed the idea quickly – the Vraxar were an unknown and he didn’t want to present them with an opportunity to make an unmolested punitive strike against Roban. It was better to keep close and hope
to avoid detection until the battleship was prepared. They’d suffered damage and a number of missile clusters and Bulwarks had been disabled, along with a secondary particle beam turret. The Hadron would need repairs to bring it back to full operational capability, but with the Vraxar threatening the entire Confederation it didn’t seem likely it would be in a shipyard any time soon.
As time passed, Talley began to think they were going to make it to full shield strength. The Obsidiar core’s reserves built up until they climbed past thirty percent. The moon rolled by beneath, its surface temperature still a few hundred degrees higher than normal. Talley ordered the stealth modules be activated in order to give them the advantage when they stumbled upon the Vraxar.
The warning, when it came, was too late.
“Sir, I’ve located them,” said Lieutenant Mercer.
The main tactical display populated with details of the Neutraliser. There it was, stationary on the moon’s surface a few thousand kilometres below, waiting for them to pass overhead.
“Have they detected us?”
“Yes, sir, they have,” Mercer replied. “They’re lifting off.”
She got a sensor fix on the enemy spaceship and the sight drew Talley’s eyes. He’d seen the file images, but the reality was somewhat less pleasant. The Neutraliser was long and almost delicate in appearance. Its black-metal front and rear nullifying spheres crackled with an unknown source of energy. The trapezoidal central section was as long as the Devastator, so although the Neutraliser looked fragile, it was in fact nothing of the sort. It rose from a flat plain of red-tinged glass, slowly, yet with increasing momentum.
Contrary to Talley’s hopes, the Neutraliser was more than adequately armed. A dozen energy beams raked through space, hunting the cloaked Hadron, whilst concealed turrets spewed out heavy projectiles. The Devastator was equipped with surface incendiaries – nothing like as effective as those deployed by the Ghasts - and Talley ordered them launched. A series of huge cannisters tumbled from the Hadron’s bays. They ignited the rock for the second time and scattered their fires for hundreds of kilometres around.
“Not quick enough,” said Mercer. “They’ve climbed too high.”
“Fire everything we’ve got, damnit!”
Missiles exploded from their launch clusters. Once again, many of the Lambdas and a few Shatterers refused to target. Those which did launch were met by the same scrambling wave of energy which the Vraxar battleship had used. The guidance systems on two hundred Lambdas were fried, rendering the missiles useless.
“Use the overcharge!”
The familiar whining thump vibrated through the walls.
“Direct hit. Firing the rear.”
Another thump.
“Direct hit.”
Both strikes were against the front sphere of the Neutraliser. More than half of this sphere burned with a hundred different hues. The metal sagged and flowed in huge rivers, giving the damaged area of the Neutraliser’s hull a flattened appearance. Through it, the sparks leapt with undiminished energy. Talley’s hopes that he could somehow disable the Neutraliser’s nullification field were dashed and the battleship’s Gallenium engines remained offline.
“Keep firing!” ordered Talley. His voice was strong, but his heart was heavy. The Devastator’s primary shock weapon had clearly done a great amount of damage to the enemy ship, but now it required time to recharge.
“Firing missiles,” said Adams. “We’re going to need far more than another two rounds from the overcharge to take them down.”
“Agreed,” said Talley.
“Recommend deployment of the Obsidiar bomb, sir. Before it’s too late.”
“There will be no deployment of the bomb so close to Roban’s moon, Commander! I thought I made myself clear.”
“Yes, sir. As soon as their weapons systems pinpoint us through the stealth cloak, we are going to lose. This would be a good time to retreat.”
“And give them free rein over Roban?”
Adams was teetering on the brink of argument and he backed down with a nod of his head. “Launching missiles.”
The Neutraliser was able to use its anti-missile energy wave much more frequently than the Vraxar battleships. Each second wave of Lambdas was countered, cutting the Hadron’s offense significantly. All the while, beam weapons danced to and fro between the two vessels. The Devastator’s advanced particle beam technology ignored the Neutraliser’s energy shield and each discharge struck the enemy hull. Unfortunately, the standard particle beams didn’t have anything like the power to inflict a fatal blow on a spaceship as large as the Neutraliser. To make matters worse, each use drained the Hadron’s power supply a little bit at a time.
The Shimmer missiles worked as intended, along with a number of Shatterers. Bulwark cannons roared out a constant steam, pounding against the Neutraliser’s shield. It wasn’t going to be enough.
“They’re getting closer,” said Adams. “Their average miss distance is below five klicks.”
“Ten minutes until the Vraxar cruiser impacts on Roban,” said Banks.
Talley felt like he was caught in a vice. Their energy reserves were falling fast and the Devastator’s energy shield wasn’t even activated. The Neutraliser was so big it looked as if it could mop up standard particle beams all day and its own shield wasn’t troubled by the few missiles which got through its countermeasures. On top of that, Talley knew he needed to act soon to prevent half a billion deaths on Roban. He was left in the unenviable position where there was no apparent path to victory.
Two of the Neutraliser’s slugs pounded against the Devastator’s starboard side. The battle computer spun the ship and lifted it a few hundred kilometres higher to try and fool the enemy targeting. Another slug punched into them, leaving a crumpled dent in the armour plates.
“They’ve got a lock on us, sir,” said Adams.
A particle beam lanced into the same place where the projectile had recently connected. The structure of the ship was designed to channel the heat away, but there was only so much it could do. A few of the plates burned and others fell away into space.
“Sir, I recommend an immediate withdrawal,” said Adams.
“Fire the front and rear overcharge, Commander. Target their front sphere.”
“We’ll have hardly any power left if we discharge both, sir.”
“It’s my call, Commander. Fire.”
“Front and rear have fired.”
The front sphere on the Neutraliser was ravaged by the attack. It hadn’t started to cool down from the previous overcharge strikes and these two new ones heated parts of the metal to several million degrees. A billion tonnes of molten alloy slid away, cascading towards Roban’s moon. A moment later, the central strut attaching the sphere to the rest of the ship bent downward. It looked as if it might snap under the stresses, but it did not. The Neutraliser remained in place at an altitude of ten thousand kilometres, and continued firing.
“The stealth modules have deactivated through lack of power,” said Adams. “We’ve got just enough to keep our critical systems running. The disruptors are unavailable and we’ve only got a few shots left with the standard particle beams.”
Talley saw the warnings on his console. There were too many to count – it was the kind of thing they threw at rookies and experienced officers alike in the simulator. They called it the no-win situation, informally known as the dead man’s choice, to see how a person would react to failure. Talley was in that position right now and it was infinitely worse than being in a simulator where you knew you could get out when it was over and discuss the results with your commanding officer across a table.
The one lesson you were expected to learn from the dead man’s choice was that you should never give up, no matter how bad the situation.
“Don’t let up on them, we might force them to run.”
It wasn’t looking likely – it was as though the Vraxar had claimed Roban as their own and they weren’t going to relinquish it fo
r anything. The Devastator’s hull was a mess of heat and impact damage, with several areas crumbling from the dark energy weapon the Vraxar employed.
“Sir, we are going to break up,” said Adams.
“Roban is going to suffer a catastrophic event in the next few minutes,” said Lieutenant Mercer. “If we let ourselves be destroyed, a lot of people will die.”
Talley realised it was time to listen to the advice of his crew – the lesson of the dead man’s choice was a highly-nuanced lie. Reports of previous encounters with similar vessels to this Neutraliser had indicated they usually broke away from the engagement if they were put under sufficient pressure. He’d gambled on the same happening here. In fact, he’d taken it to the edge and looked over the precipice into the infinite depths below. His attempts to be bold had failed and now it was time to run. Before he could give the order, there was another development.
“Sir! I’m reading a fission signature! There’s a spaceship inbound!” shouted Lieutenant Johnson.
“One of ours?”
“No, sir. I don’t know what it is. It’s a vessel of significant size.”
“Commander Adams, let us see if this new arrival is more susceptible to our missile technology than this Neutraliser. Prepare to target and fire. We might catch them by surprise. As soon as we’ve launched, activate a short-range transition towards Roban.”
“Yes, sir, preparing to target.”
“Readying the SRT. We’ll go on your order, sir.”
The new spaceship dropped into local space only thirty thousand kilometres from the combat, as though it had been somehow forewarned of what to expect. Talley closed his eyes and bowed his head when he saw what it was.
“It’s the ES Rampage!” said Mercer.
At three thousand three hundred metres long, the Rampage was one of the first generation Galactics, laid down at the height of the Ghast war and still in service after forty years of combat, repairs and extensive refits.
Inferno Sphere (Obsidiar Fleet Book 2) Page 22