by Chris Hechtl
“Okay, I already did,” the A.I. finally admitted when her gaze never wavered.
“Never try to stare down a cat. Especially this cat,” Bill murmured.
“You do realize the image you see is just a hologram, right? I don't blink,” the A.I. replied. That earned another chuckle from the group.
:::{)(}:::
B-97a
An explosion of energy announced the arrival of CruRon 1 and Desron 4 of Second Fleet in the B-97a star system. The massive energy signature of their arrival gave Chainsaw the warning her crew needed to power up her drive to give herself a one-minute burst of speed away from her assigned picket on the jump point and then to run silent.
All of the other ships also went dark. Not that it did them any good. When Captain Bates noted the activities of the sixteen ships, he called the other ships, bouncing a laser off of a comm satellite to each of them.
“The jig is definitely up. They know we are here,” Captain Bates said as he saw the ships moving away from the jump point and spreading out in their general direction. Two of them were close together and on a stern chase of Chainsaw.
“They probably can see us with neutrino detectors,” Captain Set said in disgust. “I don't know why we're bothering to hide.”
“What are you …?” Captain Bates cut himself off as Chainsaw dropped her stealth and powered up her drive and shields. He watched for a few minutes as the medium class cruiser went to full power and sped away from the enemy ships.
“Well, that did it. There goes the neighborhood. It was fun while it lasted,” Captain White drawled.
“Right. We're out of here. The question is, where do we go from here?” Captain Demsi demanded. “Anyone notice they launched fighters in my direction too?” he snarled.
“Wherever it is, we better hustle. They are faster than us in hyper, remember?” Captain White stated. “And yeah, I see it.”
“If they are ahead of us, we run. Anywhere is better than here,” Captain Bates said firmly. He turned to his XO. “Drop the stealth and bring up the drive.”
“Aye aye, sir.”
“I say we run to Sigma,” Captain Demsi said. “I mean, that's my vote if anyone asks.”
Captain Bates thought about it. He didn't need a lot of time; he'd already planned a series of contingency plans. With this large a force coming at them, it meant they were exposed. It also meant that B-97b was most likely compromised as was DD01ns. That meant the direct road home was closed. “Sigma it is.”
“Great,” Captain Set drawled in disgust. “Out of the frying pan and into the fire it is.”
“You have a better idea?” Captain Bates demanded scathingly. “Because I'm sure we'd all like to hear it.”
“Um …”
“Yeah, that's what I thought,” Captain Bates growled. “Remember, they've got a minefield in B101a1. There is no telling how wide it is or dense, so use your best judgment. Go wide and jump short.”
“Frack.”
“See you on the other side.”
:::{)(}:::
B-97C
“Excuse me, Admiral,” a voice said from the overhead.
Amadeus let the tablet he'd been reading flop down onto his chest. “Yes, Leopold?” he asked, looking up.
“Sir, we've got an unexpected arrival at the DD01ns. She's flashing a signal to the picket but isn't one of ours.”
“Oh?” Amadeus asked as he sat up in bed. “Whose is it then?”
“The sensor characteristics match the fingerprint of that courier that escaped, sir.”
“Ah.”
“Tachyon signal received. It is the courier with a prize crew,” Leopold stated.
“So, Osborne got them? Or did the picket?” the admiral asked as he flipped his legs over the side of the bed and placed his bare feet on the floor. He'd intended to get up and hit the head before bed anyway.
“I have downloaded their log. The action is described as a group effort.”
“Ah. Anything of use in her database? Like her recent travels?”
“The log indicates the database was purged and overwritten. Someone was thorough. I and the other A.I. as well as the cyberists will take a look, but if the three A.I. in the ships that caught the courier couldn't do anything, then I'd say her security worked.”
“Darn,” Amadeus grumbled as he stretched and then padded to the open door to the head. “Anything else?” he asked as he paused at the door.
“No, sir. They'll be with the fleet in two hours,” the A.I. reported.
Amadeus grunted. He'd placed the fleet near the jump point, close enough to pounce on anyone who emerged with fighters but far enough away to run if he needed to do so. He didn't want a repeat of B-97a.
“Very well. Work on the database when you have the space cycles. Out,” he said pointedly. He was gratified when he heard a return click signaling the A.I. had disconnected. Only then did he step into the head to do his business.
:::{)(}:::
Amadeus took his cup of coffee from his Veraxin steward and then took his seat at the head of the table the following morning. “So, what did we learn?”
“The person who purged the database did too good a job. Her files are gone. I'm surprised they didn't do a number on the rest of the ship's systems,” Leopold stated.
“According to the report, the crews managed to patch the software. And this ensign who is charge is apparently good at her job,” Kyle stated.
“Do they need to head back?” Aleck asked.
“Not yet. Apparently, they drew the prize crew from volunteers from all three ships. Some of the personnel are long overdue for some downtime though.”
“Ah.”
“What do we do with them, sir?” Kelly asked, turning to Admiral White as he took a sip of his coffee and then set the cup down. “We can't send them to B-97a with it in the state it is in.”
“True,” he admitted.
“We could put another crew on her, do a bit more cleaning up and then use her. We're a little short on couriers at the moment,” Kyle pointed out.
“I dunno,” Ch'v'tt said dubiously. “You are talking about pressing an enemy ship into use …”
“Why not? A ship is a ship, right?”
“It could have hidden surprises on board. Viruses …”
“We went through her systems thoroughly. There is literally no data there other than the files and programs needed to operate the ship,” Leopold stated. “There is no mask or partition. It's clean.”
“Viruses? The organic kind? Anything else?” the Veraxin persisted.
“You are asking about physical threats?” Kelly asked, pulling her tablet up to her and then keying it online to check. “I don't see why they'd do that to their own ship. And it's a little too paranoid to believe they deliberately got caught. We know differently.”
“Point,” the Veraxin conceded. “But the threat remains.”
“I see no sign here. If there had been something the prize crew would have found it by now. That's a small ship.”
“We'll check anyway,” Amadeus rumbled. The intelligence officer nodded and made a note. “Do the same for the personal kit of the former crew.”
“Ah, there is a note about materials sequestered. Databases and such that were offline and outside the main net.”
“I know. I haven't been given access to those obviously,” Leopold stated in a grumpy voice.
“We're getting there. It's all being shipped over to us as we speak,” Kyle said soothingly. “And yes, it's all being scanned a fare-the-well in the process,” he said directly to the Veraxin chief of staff.
“So, we sit on her?” Aleck asked. He turned expectantly to the admiral.
“No. We clean her up and give her a formal crew, then we send her to B-97b or A. I'll have them jump short and get the data, then return. It shouldn't take a long time to move between the other components.”
“True,” Aleck replied slowly. “You cut orders for the squadron assaulting B-97a to send a ship back
one way or another though, sir,” he said as a reminder.
“Correct. And to send a ship to B-97b if the enemy moves in that direction. They can use our superior speed to let Illustrious's battle group know trouble is coming.”
“Yes, sir. I'd send her to one of them, but it might be better to send a reliable ship as we planned until we've put that ship through her paces, sir,” the navigator stated.
The admiral studied him and then nodded slowly.
“Okay. We'll see.”
:::{)(}:::
B-97a
Three days after arriving in the system the two Federation squadrons watched the enemy ships leave. They had not tried to run them down until the last minute. Instead Captain Drew Tocci watched them go, then dispatched a destroyer to race ahead while another destroyer went back to B-97c, and a third went to B-97b with the news.
:::{)(}:::
B-95a3
Seven warships arrived in the near empty crossroads star system in the usual explosion of energy and light. The four destroyers set up a screen around the escort carrier and two heavy cruisers before they moved into the star system.
“We're glad to see you,” Captain Song of Shepard stated once a tachyon link had been established between the warships in the star system. “I wish you were here to relieve us though,” he said in a much put-upon tone of voice.
“No, unfortunately not. Though that might be arranged, I understand you've been here a while,” Captain Kiao Shenaka of the escort carrier Ch'Lx'sinak stated.
“You want to play tiddlywinks on picket duty?” Captain Song asked.
“It's not my first choice of occupation, but I'll do my duty, just like you've been doing,” the carrier captain replied. “For the moment though, the brass is giving us another assignment.”
“We heard,” Captain Daisy Leon of Almirante Grau stated. “Do we get in on the kill?” she asked eagerly.
“She's just saying that because we've run low on meat and she's a carnivore,” Captain Song teased.
“I'd say bite me …”
“Too much fur,” Captain Song retorted, “and distance, love.”
“Ahem. Ignoring the byplay here …Not unless they get past us. Set up on the B-94e1 jump point and go into stealth if you please,” Captain Shenaka ordered.
“I love it,” the Neocollie captain replied with a grin in her voice. “On my way,” she said after a moment.
“Me too. Save us something, will you?” Captain Song implored.
“I don't think it will be so much a thing as saving you something as something slipping past our net. We've only got so much firepower and only so wide a net we can set. I wish the brass had given us the full squadron,” Captain Shenaka grumbled. “But, we'll make do I guess.”
“Right,” Captain Song said dubiously, now wondering if he was getting the short end of the stick again.
Chapter 53
DD01ns
Three days after the departure of Osborne, the prowler returned to DD01ns. She sparked some initial alarm in the two cruisers until she sent her IFF. Captain Fen and the crew were alarmed by the recent signs of a battle.
A signal went out to her from the two cruisers. They exchanged IFF and then data. It took several days for the small stealth ship to cross the star system to get to the ships.
When she did, she came upon the two ships huddled near the jump point to B-97c. “What the hell happened here?” Captain Fen asked once she established a link.
“You missed all the fun,” Captain Falling Drop replied dryly.
“I gather that,” Captain Fen drawled.
“We sent Osborne to the fleet to give our report and to get help.”
“What happened to you? Did you really take on a superior force?”
“We ran into a spot of bother with the locals. Nothing we couldn't handle together. Since you are here … you can go back for help,” Captain Litchi drawled.
“Sure. Can we do anything to help?”
“Not a whole hell of a lot. We sent a lot of our wounded off on Osborne. She's going to run slow, so I'll give you a fresh copy of our log. By the way, we haven't seen any traffic to or from the SNHH jump point. I think it still needs to be scouted but I think it's clear.”
“Noted. I'll pass it on. What about the enemy?”
“They left. Three of the ships left, the rest are in pieces,” Captain Falling Drop replied.
“Ah. Three?”
“Of eight,” the other captain stated dryly.
“And you are still alive?” Captain Fen asked, shaking her head in wonder.
“We're still wondering about that ourselves. Two of the cruisers and one of the destroyers left. They ended up scuttling one of the surviving cruisers plus one of the wrecks. I'm betting the cruiser had too much frame damage to survive in hyper. We were too far away to get a clear reading though.”
“Well, that's good,” Captain Fen said. “One less for the fleet to have to deal with,” she murmured thoughtfully.
“Yeah, but the nuclear charges denied us anything to salvage to help repair our own ships. We're stuck here.”
“Well, you could go,” Captain Litchi said to Captain Falling Drop.
“My engineers are still wary of unseen frame damage. They've found a few cracked spars and patched them, but there could be more.”
“Understood,” Captain Litchi replied. He didn't really sound like he believed that excuse however.
“We'll whistle up some help for you in a jiff then,” Captain Fen stated.
“What about you? How'd it go?” Captain Litchi asked.
“We had the usual hide and seek game. They couldn't touch us,” the captain replied smugly. “And we confirmed the paper tiger they've got going on so the fleet can move in.”
“Good to know. I think it's past time we chew off De Gaulte's head once and for all,” Captain Falling Drop said, clacking his mandibles in a biting motion.
“Agreed,” the two human captains growled in unison.
:::{)(}:::
Second Fleet
Admiral White looked on as the staff went over the report from Warrior's Creed. The destroyer had arrived several hours ago and had transmitted her report back from the force that had assaulted B-97a. Successfully, he noted, mentally putting a gold star in Captain Tocci's column.
“While I appreciate his dispatching Eagle to let Illustrious know which way the enemy jumped, I'm afraid we're still going to have to send a ship,” he said. The staff turned to look at him attentively. “Order a courier to recall the Illustrious group.”
“You don't think they should wait for any ships currently in hyper, sir?” Kelly asked.
He shook his head.
“I'll pass the order on, sir.”
“Good. Also, pass on the report through the ansible to the B-95a3 force. Let them know the enemy is coming their way.”
“They will appreciate the heads-up, sir.”
“Good. Anything on any captive ships?” Amadeus asked.
“No, sir. No sign of anything,” Kelly said as the compartment quieted. “Nothing in the report as of yet.”
“Understood,” the admiral replied pensively as he turned to stare off at the plot.
:::{)(}:::
The Illustrious task force thought they had their first customer when a ship appeared at the B-97a jump point. Instead, much to their disappointment they received an IFF transmission.
“Ma'am, it is one of ours. It is Eagle, ma'am,” a comm tech reported.
“Very well. Send them our IFF. Let them know where we are. They obviously have news.”
“Aye aye, ma'am,” Juggler replied. “You think they chased the pirates out?”
“Yes. Either the pirates are coming in behind them or they jumped in a different direction.”
“At least someone had the courtesy to let us know either way,” Juggler replied, turning and cocking one ear to the XO as he strode onto the bridge.
“Point. Remind me to thank them,” the captain murmured. �
�It looks like we're redundant here, Reggie,” she said with a shrug.
“It's over?” Commander Wilcox asked seemingly disappointed.
“It appears so. But I don't have any orders to leave, so we're going to sit here a little while longer in case someone is in hyper. If we don't see anyone in another week or two, I'll consider going back under our own initiative,” she said.
“Yes, ma'am.”
:::{)(}:::
Prowler UFN-003P arrived in B-97c with the news of the battle in DD01ns. Captain Fen downloaded her log, but the recent battle took precedence over processing her intelligence data.
The report of the battle made Admiral White realize that Admiral De Gaulte was no longer defensive minded. He sat there, considering his options as his staff checked the fleet status and considered who to send.
When Ch'v'tt clacked for attention, he looked up. “Sir, we can send …”
“We're not sending anyone,” Amadeus rumbled as he stroked his chin. He might have waited too long.
“Sir?” Garfield asked, clearly concerned.
“We're going. We're moving the fleet into DD01ns. Get the movement underway now. In fact, the first squadron to get to the jump point is authorized to make their best speed to relieve the ships in distress there.”
“Aye aye, sir,” Kyle said, making a note of the order.
“We'll leave a single courier here with orders for the cruisers and Illustrious group to catch up with us in DD01ns,” Amadeus stated directly to his OPS officer. Kyle nodded and made another note.
“Pass on the reports to the ansible and then let them know we're moving. I want the transport to take that platform down and pack the ansible the best they can.”
“It will sustain damage, sir,” Ch'v'tt warned.
“It can't be helped. We'll deal with it.”
“Will we be unpacking it in the next system, sir?” Kelly asked.
“I don't intend to unpack it until we're in Dead Drop,” Amadeus growled. That made the group sit up and take notice.
:::{)(}:::
Osborne arrived eighteen hours after the prowler's arrival, only two hours before the fleet was about to jump. Admiral White ordered Commodore Vargess and his force on ahead as he paused to speak with the captain of Osborne.