Terran Fleet Command Saga 4: TFS Fugitive

by Tori L. Harris

  “Second!” at least two other members responded immediately.

  “Madame Chairwoman, we have a second. I believe it is time to call for a vote.”

  Kistler drew in a deep breath and released it slowly in hopes that one of the other members might speak up on her behalf. “Is there no further discussion from the floor?” she finally asked the now deathly silent room. “Very well, but before you cast your vote, I ask you to consider that information provided by Admiral Naftur and other Wek citizens has literally saved all of our lives at least once. Failing to do all we can to help them when it is easily within our power to do so may justifiably be seen as a betrayal … at a time when Humanity desperately needs friends and allies.”

  Minutes later, by a vote of eight to seven, Terran Fleet Command’s Leadership Council approved Representative Shadid’s motion. For the time being at least, no additional warships would be sent to Herrera. Theseus and her crew were on their own.

  TFS Theseus, Herrera Mining Facility

  (87.2 light years from Damara)

  “Are they still heading this way?” Prescott asked as he entered his ready room for what felt like the tenth time during this watch alone.

  “Yes, sir,” Reynolds said, momentarily turning her attention away from the room’s large view screen. “I’m still not entirely comfortable with the way this new — what are they calling it again …?”

  “Argus, I think it is.”

  “… Argus system presents tracking information, but it still looks to me like we’ve got a total of six Krayleck ships on the way here from their nearest forward operating base.”

  “Yeah …” he replied, leaning both hands on the table to get a closer look for himself, “that’s still the way it looks to me as well.”

  “How did they come up with the name ‘Argus,’ anyway?” she asked, leaning back in her chair and rubbing her eyes. Neither officer had slept for more than a few hours at a time over the past several days, and the all-too-familiar effects of sleep deprivation were beginning to take their toll on both.

  “I think the new Op Center just started calling it that today, in fact, and I wondered the same thing so I looked it up. It turns out that there are a bunch of different mythological figures by that name, but I believe the one they are referring to is an all-seeing giant with a hundred eyes. Makes sense, I guess. When I was a kid, you could have easily convinced me that my mother was one of those.”

  “Hah,” Reynolds chuckled, “that’s because she was a good mom and you were undoubtedly a pain in the ass. Anyway,” she continued, turning her attention back to the view screen, “their extended course lines come within about three hundred thousand kilometers of Herrera, so I can’t imagine that’s a coincidence.”

  “Any changes in ETA?”

  “Nope. Still around 1215 UTC tomorrow — assuming they continue with their current course and speed, that is.”

  “I’d say that’s a safe bet. The question is what we’re going to do about it … all by ourselves,” he said, plopping himself down casually on the long couch at the far end of the room. “Show me the order of battle summary again, please.”

  Before Reynolds could enter the required commands, the AI reconfigured the display to show an extended range tactical plot, including the makeup of the small Krayleck task force.

  “Three destroyers and three frigates,” she said. “And if their hyperdrive signatures are any indication, they’re also likely to be of similar design to our own Theseus and Ingenuity classes, respectively. After yesterday’s encounter, however, the AI now has enough information to differentiate between our frigates and theirs.”

  “That’s the ‘KE’ designation depicted on the plot?”

  “Right — for Krayleck Empire. You’ll see that anywhere there is identifying text, and also in the lower right corner when standard ship icons are being displayed.”

  “Got it. I’m sure it will do the same for the other classes as soon as it gathers enough data.”

  “Oh, and the frigate that got away yesterday is still sitting right … here,” she said, zooming in on an area of space much closer to their current position. “It’s only about a light year out, so I’m guessing it called in the cavalry from there and will form up with them as they pass by.”

  “So, that makes three destroyers and four frigates.”

  “Yes, and as far as we can tell, all of them are pretty much carbon copies of our ships.”

  “Of similar design, certainly, but if push comes to shove, I still like our chances. AI, let’s see the tactical assessment of Foxtrot 2 from yesterday’s encounter.”

  A window immediately opened on the left end of the large view screen, displaying multiple views of the Krayleck version of an Ingenuity-class frigate with potential vulnerabilities highlighted.

  “All of this still seems —”

  “Surreal?”

  “I guess that’s a good word to use, but I can think of a few others that might also work,” Reynolds said. “On the plus side, we should at least know exactly where to hit ‘em.”

  “Yeah, but unfortunately that almost certainly works both ways.”

  “Maybe … maybe not. Look at this,” she said, bringing up yet another window with video of Foxtrot 2 as she turned away from the gravimetric disturbance that had ultimately destroyed her consort. “Neither ship took any weapons fire, so we didn’t get any data on the effectiveness of their point-defenses.”

  “Right, but we did detect the presence of energy barrier shields — similar to those used by Wek ships.”

  “Correct. Gravitic shields are, thankfully, a strictly Human design and probably our biggest single advantage. There was a lot of random debris in the area, though, and the AI detected this piece right … here,” she said, highlighting what appeared as a blurry streak on the video approaching Foxtrot 2’s stern. “Now don’t get me wrong, this thing didn’t have anywhere near the kind of energy that one of our kinetic energy rounds has, but it did interact with their shields long enough for our AI to make some projections regarding localized field strength.”

  “And?”

  “Good news and bad news there. First off, they don’t seem to have much of a problem with gaps aft of their drive section like the Wek ships do. The field strength is generally uniform from roughly four hundred meters out, all the way in to the hull.”

  “I hope that was the bad news.”

  “It was. The good news is that peak field strength is about twenty percent less than what we typically see on Wek ships.”

  “I’ll take it, I guess,” Prescott said, “but that’s still substantial — particularly since they don’t suffer the same problem with gaps and the field itself is, for lack of a better term, ‘thicker’ than it is on the Wek ships.”

  “That’s what I thought too until I started running simulations. What the Krayleck are using appears to be a beefed-up version of the shield design the Pelarans provided us.”

  “Which we don’t use.”

  “We do for some civilian applications, but not on our warships. The way the Wek and Krayleck have them set up, they’re really intended primarily to absorb energy weapons fire. They’re actually pretty good at doing that, but as we’ve seen, they’re not as effective against kinetic energy weapons.”

  “That’s not good news for the Wek Fleet. I think they need to start rethinking how they arm their warships.”

  “Not good news for them, no, but good news for us. My guess is that the Pelarans were well-aware that most potential adversaries their proxy worlds would face in this part of the galaxy would primarily be using energy weapons. So, they offered up a shield design that’s good at handling energy weapons while at the same time recommending that we equip our ships with good old-fashioned railguns and the like.”

  “Seems reasonable, and my understanding is that the Pelarans did provide railgun designs, but keep in mind that the versions aboard our ships are significantly more advanced. The application of gravitic tech is what allo
ws our projectiles to reach relativistic speeds. In fact, I remember Kip referring to our railguns as an almost exclusively Human design. So what do your simulations tell us?”

  “That I wouldn’t want to be onboard one of their ships if they pick a fight with us,” she said with a cunning smile. “Don’t get me wrong, a single stream of penetrator rounds will lose so much of its energy on the way in that it probably won’t do that much damage. But if we concentrate multiple streams —”

  “Like we’ve done before with point location attacks.”

  “Yes, but this time, as soon as the rounds start penetrating, we should be able to walk the stream down the hull,” she said, nodding once again at the screen. In response, the AI played a simulated attack in photo-realistic detail. Both officers watched for several seconds with an odd, mixed sense of both disquiet and relief as the port side of Foxtrot 2 was quickly reduced to mangled wreckage by four incoming streams of kinetic energy rounds traveling at ten percent the speed of light.

  “That’ll do,” Prescott replied, “but I would prefer it not come to that if we can avoid it. That’s also obviously not what the Leadership Council wants to see happen either.”

  “Sure … but, all things considered, better them than us, right? Also, back on the subject of their railguns, we were able to collect some performance data when they took a few shots at the surface of Herrera. Based on what we’ve seen so far, I’d say it’s a safe bet that they’re based on the original Pelaran designs you mentioned. Still powerful, but significantly less so than ours — lower rate of fire, lower velocity rounds, etc.”

  “Our shields should be able to handle them then, since they have been extensively tested against our own railguns.”

  “Yup … with the usual caveat that we try to avoid taking fire that’s perpendicular to the hull, but the AI should be able to help Fisher with that.”

  “Alright, Commander, good work with all of that, now get lost and get some sleep. Schmidt can mind the bridge for a few more hours.”

  “Aye, sir,” she said, drawing out the words around a long yawn as she stood to leave the ready room. “By the way, there’s no doubt that this Argus system is beyond awesome from both a strategic and tactical perspective. The problem is that the security restrictions surrounding the DEFIANT BASTION program are having a tendency to keep both you and me off the bridge. I wouldn’t be happy about that under the best of circumstances, but it’s a particularly bad idea right now. Any chance we can get the bridge crew cleared?”

  “In the near term? I doubt it, but it doesn’t hurt to ask. I agree that, at a bare minimum, you and I need access to the data from our Command consoles, so I’ll try to make the case to Patterson. I don’t think it’s a problem with getting our people cleared, but we’ve always kept a somewhat open-door access policy for our ships’ bridges. We may be able to solve that problem by having the AI lock things down a little more tightly when we’re accessing Argus data.”

  “I hope so, because what we’re doing now seems a little nuts to me.”

  “Good night, Commander,” he prompted again, already stretching out on the long couch.

  “Sorry. ‘Night, Captain,” she replied on her way out the door.

  Chapter 12

  TFS Theseus, Herrera Mining Facility

  (The following day - 87.2 light years from Damara)

  “All hands, this is the captain. We have taken the unusual step of putting the ship at General Quarters for combat operations, Condition 1, based on some intelligence data we have in hand. I’m sure like many of you, I tend to be a little cynical where intel is concerned. In this case, however, I can assure you that the information is both credible and specific. Very specific, in fact. We are expecting several ships from the Krayleck Empire to arrive in this system at any moment. While their intentions are unknown, their previous behavior gives us a high degree of confidence that they intend to attempt to either capture or destroy the Herrera Mining Facility. Unfortunately, there are still fifteen Wek personnel down there who are under orders not to allow the mine to fall into enemy hands … and, yes, that means they will destroy it themselves if they have to. Our orders, in turn, are to defend the station long enough for them to complete their work and be rescued by our Marines, if necessary.

  “Now, I’m sure you can all see that there are a number of potential problems implicit in our orders. If, for example, the Krayleck are bent on the destruction of the facility and everyone on it, there may be very little we can do to stop them from doing so — particularly against multiple ships. As always, our ability to think on our feet and react quickly as the situation dictates will be the key to our success. We will avoid a confrontation if we can, fight if we must, and win if we do. As usual, crew restraints are mandatory for the duration of Condition 1. All personnel and equipment should be secured at this time. Prescott out.

  “Alright, XO, what’s the status of our Marines?”

  “Two of the Gurkhas with fourteen Marines each are ready for launch. Since we might see combat ourselves, the shuttles will remain secured on the hangar deck until we clear them to depart.”

  “I assume Master Sergeant Rios is leading the mission?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  Seven members of Theseus’ Marine platoon, including its commander, First Lieutenant Jackson “Jacks” Lee, had been killed in action during the Resistance attack. During the period of extensive repairs following the battle, six replacement Marine special operators trained in advanced EVA ops (including VBSS — Visit, Board, Search, and Seizure missions) had joined the destroyer’s crew, thus bringing the platoon back to one short of its full complement. With the ship out of action for an extended period, however, and given Master Sergeant Rios’ extensive experience, a new commander had not yet been assigned.

  “I doubt there’s much either of us could do about that if we tried,” Prescott said, nodding. “Flight ops?”

  “All of our Hunters are on station in coordinated anti-ship strike mode. They’re carrying eight HB-7c missiles each, but I suspect their railguns may come into play if we have to engage. We have them divided into two flights of twelve and positioned as planned. The AI currently has control, but Lieutenant Commander Schmidt at Tactical 1 or Lieutenant Lee at Science and Engineering can override at any time.”

  “Very well,” Prescott replied, catching Reynolds’ eye and nodding to the Argus data that had just become available via his Command console within the past few seconds. “I assume that means your request was approved.”

  “Excellent. I’m happy to see that common sense does still win out on occasion,” she said with a wry grin. “That’s it as far as I know, Captain. I think we’re as ready as we’re going to get.”

  “Thank you, Commander. It’s been nice to have some time to prepare, but I can’t say I’m a fan of sitting around waiting for something we know is about to happen. ETA?”

  “Three minutes.”

  Prescott leaned back in his chair, taking in a deep, slow breath in an effort to quiet his mind. Wiggle your fingers and toes, he thought, recalling his flight instructor’s advice that he had passed on to others many times during his career. Noting that this time-honored technique was having little effect, he pulled up Admiral Patterson’s Emergency Action Message from the previous day to fill the remaining time.

  Z0917

  TOP SECRET - MAGI PRIME

  FM: CNO — ABOARD TFC FLAGSHIP, TFS NAVAJO

  TO: TFS THESEUS

  INFO: DEFENSE OF HERRERA FACILITY

  1. LEADERSHIP COUNCIL WISHES TO AVOID HOSTILITIES WITH KRAYLECK EMPIRE IF POSSIBLE.

  2. BELIEVES DEPLOYMENT OF ADDITIONAL TFC FORCES MAY BE PERCEIVED AS ESCALATION.

  3. NO REINFORCEMENTS EN ROUTE YOUR POSITION AT THIS TIME.

  4. FIRST PRIORITY IS EVACUATION OF WEK PERSONNEL FROM FACILITY.

  5. DO NOT ENGAGE KRAYLECK FORCES UNLESS FIRED UPON.

  6. REMAIN ON STATION UNTIL RELIEVED BY WEK FORCES.

  7. EXPECT IMMEDIATE RETURN TO
EARTH FOR REASSIGNMENT. ADM PATTERSON SENDS.

  Prescott reflected momentarily on how strange it was that, with the availability of instantaneous real-time communications, the Admiralty still chose to send written messages in this format on occasion. The standard explanation for such anachronisms usually included vague references to the need for simplicity and a desire to maintain naval traditions. He had to wonder, however, whether the delivery of terse, often ambiguous written orders intentionally placed the burden of success entirely upon the recipient rather than the source. Perhaps that was the real tradition being doggedly maintained by the Admiralty.

  “Are we still showing about six hours for the Wek task force?”

  “The first of them, yes, sir. It looks like they have the better part of half their fleet headed in this direction now, but the farthest ones coming in from near Graca are several weeks out. That includes Admiral Naftur’s ship, by the way. Better late than never, I suppose.”

  “I guess we’ll see.”

  “Contact!” Lieutenant Commander Schmidt reported from Tactical 1. “Seven ships, Captain. This time identified as Krayleck in origin with types of … four Ingenuity-class frigates and … stand by … confirmed, three Theseus-class destroyers, sir.”

  “Understood. Designate as Foxtrot 1 through Foxtrot 4 and Delta 1 through Delta 3. Weapons hold.”

  “Designated. Weapons hold, aye.”

  On the tactical plot, the seven Krayleck warships were represented by square icons shaded in green to indicate that they had been positively identified by the AI and initially assigned a status of “neutral.”

  “Everyone take a deep breath and relax. Remember, we’re here in support of the Wek personnel still on the station. Comm, you should receive a channel-share from the surface when Commander Gara hails the Krayleck ships. Go ahead and put it on-screen when you do, but please ensure that we’re not transmitting from our side.”