Payback Is a Given: Pirates of the Badlands Series Book 2

by Sean Benjamin

  They set out on time and passed under the moon toward the floating space docks while keeping the moon behind them, and continued to hide in the planet’s waves and the multiple splashes of sensor waves rebounding off the moon from several systems protecting the base.

  Thirty-three minutes later they closed up to the docks as the docks moved to stay in synchronized orbit above the surface base. They were at the attack position. In three minutes, they would come out of subspace, and ten seconds later, rounds would go downrange.

  Chapter 25

  “Three… two… one… now,” Tactical concluded the countdown as Predator shimmered into normal space. Rafe checked to see if the other three ships had emerged on time and in formation. His screens came to life upon reentry and showed Nemesis on his left and up, Vindictive on his right and down, and Bandit to the rear. It took eight seconds to completely clear subspace. A second later shields were up, and a second after that, missiles were downrange. It was six thirty in the morning local time. The attack would be over at six thirty-two local time.

  2:00 Minutes

  Predator started at one side of the surface base while Vindictive began at the opposite side. Cries of “Predator! Predator! Predator!” echoed through the hull as initial missiles went downrange. The two ships began to systematically work their way to meeting in the middle. Predator shot volleys of hydra missiles. Hydra missiles had one body with three warheads that separated apart just prior to target impact to cause three distinct explosions. These three explosions were smaller than a single warhead impact, but when used against soft targets such as buildings, space docks, or storage tanks, the three explosions did significant damage across a wide area. One launcher on each side of the ship carried hydras. Predator now employed the missiles to ripple explosions across the surface base. The first targets were the two power stations and the power grid on this side of the base. The control facilities for the floating batteries and other port defenses were underground and would’ve taken time and munitions to blast out, but if they had no power that would serve the same purpose. Explosions quickly took out the stations. Hydras took out key power junctions and their adjoining lines to inhibit backup power systems from immediately coming to the rescue. The several seconds delay brought by the power disruption was put to good use as the surface batteries and gun mounts were now struck with regular single warhead missiles.

  In the meantime, Vindictive did like damage to her side of the base. After the single power station and grid were hit, the communications array was destroyed to ensure no immediate calls went out. Supply points, repair stations, and two gun mounts swiftly went up in smoke.

  Nemesis was responsible for harbor targets. She immediately attacked floating batteries and sensor arrays with her missiles, guns, and lasers. These systems were raked repeatedly as the pirate ship hit the closest targets and then moved outward.

  Bandit hammered the moon from long range. There are several missile and gun batteries there but only one sensor array. She first got the array with hydras to ensure destruction and used all her armament against the weapon systems. The moon systems would be the main obstacle to escape.

  Rosstrappe was an old base with a well-documented base layout and defense facilities. This allowed for detailed planning and many first-round hits on targets programed into the fire control computers. This immediate destruction and slow response on the part of the defenders swiftly moved the battle momentum in favor of the attackers.

  1:45

  A fast-acting withstander or an automatic release due to power loss cut the safety lockouts on the harbor defenses, and now a hail of missiles and gunfire rained on all ships. The ship shields held and the nearest threats had already been destroyed or immobilized. Now the nearest return fire drew responses from Nemesis with all her weapons and from the guns and lasers of Predator and Vindictive. On the surface, two missile batteries and one gun emplacement began to return fire, but they were quickly silenced by Predator’s missiles. Several weapons on the moon engaged Bandit using the local fire control sensors mounted on each battery and gun emplacement. This localized control did not allow a coordinated defense as each missile battery and gun mount would select its own target. These defenses fired on all four pirate ships instead of concentrating on one target. Bandit returned fire with all her weapons and systematically reduced the moon threat.

  1:30

  “Ninety seconds left,” Tactical counted down even though there was a two-minute clock on all screens.

  Counter fire against the pirates continued from harbor’s floating batteries and from the batteries and guns on the surface of the planet and the moon. All four attackers engaged the threat now to reduce it and to allow a return to infrastructure attack. Several floaters were destroyed or disabled. The attackers changed positions to continue to present different shield sections to the enemy. The defensive fire was uncoordinated and wild.

  1:15

  Return fire lessened as the attackers took a toll on the base defenses. Bandit stopped firing missiles from one launcher but continued to actively engage the moon defenses with the remainder of her weapons.

  1:00

  All attackers returned to their primary targets with missiles while their guns and lasers continued on defense. Predator leveled the harbor master structure. The headquarters for several squadrons were hit. Supply buildings, barracks, repair facilities, storage tanks, and shuttle ports were brought under fire and decimated. Vindictive took out the main shuttle pad and nearby hangar. She then hit the base recreation center as the two pirate ships continued their destructive march to meet at the center of the base. Nemesis hit the repair dock holding Abendhimmel. The dock was holed repeatedly while the ship was undamaged. Bandit had reduced the moon threat and was working over the outermost floaters with missiles and guns.

  0:30

  “Thirty seconds.” Tactical liked to keep a running tab.

  Vindictive and Predator attacks met at the center of the base, leaving wreckage throughout the base with two exceptions, base housing, and the main headquarters. Vindictive now hit empty space docks and floating maintenance sheds. Nemesis strafed missiles along the hulls of three destroyers and one light cruiser moored together on one space dock. Clearly, the four ships were all units of one squadron and the bunched ships were easy prey. Missiles smashed into all four targets. They were the only warships in harbor so there would be no pursuit.

  Blondie, as flotilla tactical officer, sounded off from her station. “Nemesis closing on her ship targets.”

  Raferty glanced at that screen. Blondie made a more tactful observation rather than saying “Nemesis leaving formation on her own agenda,” but that was exactly what was happening. Rafe pushed O’Hare’s live image on his command screen to bring up the private line he maintained with each captain.

  “What cha doin’?” He asked in a slightly tired voice.

  Killian O’Hare smiled at him and simply announced. “Closing on target to ensure target destruction.”

  Rafe shook his head. “Get a better ops officer who can engage at long range. In the meantime, get back in formation.”

  Rafe turned to Tactical as Blondie reported Nemesis’s return to force. “Take the last shot.”

  “With pleasure,” Tactical responded and hit her targeting screen. One missile flew at the main headquarters of Third Fleet. It was the only shot taken at the large building.

  Tactical started the countdown to the end of two minutes. “Five… four… three… two… one…”

  “We run,” Raferty announced.

  The four ships turned and drove at the moon with Bandit leading the way. Defensive fires continued to track the intruders while ships’ guns, lasers, and decoys still did their job. Pirate missiles still flew at targets in the immediate area. Floaters were hit and space docks holed. All the storage tanks supporting space docks were raked with 75 mm fire to empty their contents.

  The flotilla closed on the moon to gain as much distance as possible from the surface
and then pulled hard starboard to depart the area. This last maneuver kept them from the defense systems on the space side of the moon. They were more numerous there, undamaged and on alert. There was no point in tempting fate at this late stage of the operation. The harbor side defense on the outermost moon now fired on the departing pirates but the range and speed of the raiders made this a futile gesture.

  The departure was executed as planned. The raid was a success with slight damage to the attackers.

  Chapter 26

  The four raiders were now clustered around the supply ship Vampire, and shuttles scurried back and forth topping the ships off with supplies and munitions as the key leaders were debriefing the Rosstrappe raid.

  The discussion was near an end. The after action items were all good. Much destruction had been visited on the Goths, the damage taken in return had been minor, and there had been no deaths among the pirates. The victory was complete and the mood reflected that.

  Raferty had the final words for his staff at the table in his day cabin and for the other ships’ captains on the virtual screens floating over the table. He smiled at all of them. “A couple of items before I tell you all how great you are.” This brought smiles from all before he continued. “Emily, the reduction of the moon took longer than expected.”

  “Number four tube jammed with a bad feed from the magazine,” she replied. “That’s an old problem as you know. We got it cleared in a few minutes.”

  “A jammed tube at Murmansk and you probably won’t have a few of minutes.” He looked at her image hard. “And then neither will the rest of us because we won’t get out without you leading the way. Change out the hydraulics feed, replace the lift, or whatever, but fix it.” He didn’t wait for a reply but turned to O’Hare’s image. “Killian, you shove your bad-shooting ops officer out an airlock yet?”

  She shook her head. “I’ve decided the time was too short to train another so I’m stuck with him. We’ll be fine.” She gave him a sunny smile and so did her wolf-head hallie.

  “I’m sure you will. But in the next attack, leaving the formation risks all of us.”

  O’Hare nodded in response and Rafe let it go. He knew she knew and it would not happen again.

  He nodded at Shane Delacruz by way of saying nice job. He had no debrief items for him but was not surprised by that. Delacruz was quiet and reserved. He preferred to be in the background but he knew his stuff and ran a disciplined, taut ship. He would be where he was supposed to be, and do what he was supposed to do, and more.

  Rafe scanned the group again. “All of you and your crews deserve great credit for today’s work. The raid went better than we could have possibly hoped. In fact, I’m a little disappointed. It is clear now the Goths have been living off their reputation and their excellent ships for quite a while. With the ships out looking for us, their reputation alone wasn’t enough to protect Rosstrappe. If I had known that, we would have hit that base long ago.” Much smiling and nodding at that. “We did well, but Murmansk will be another matter. Better protected by more and newer systems. Ships in port for instant response, and ships on patrol to cut off retreat. Everyone there on a war footing. This will be a challenge.” He smiled at them all again. “Fortunately, we seem to be up for a challenge.” The comment brought forth smiles and several remarks of agreement. “Time to set sail for Wanderlust, and then for points beyond.” With that he closed the debrief.

  Chapter 27

  Light Admiral Erich Dietrich sat in his chair on the flag bridge of his battlecruiser. He leaned close to his floating screens as his ship entered the Rosstrappe naval base. The screens showed the widespread damage throughout the harbor. Space docks were wrecked. Tugs and shuttles tied to the docks had laser holes through their power plants. Floating batteries, reduced to wrecks, drifted aimlessly in nearby space. A light cruiser and three destroyers were destroyed at their berths. He had seen the majority of the scenes already. The attacking pirates had recorded the entire attack and put it out on the imaging networks hours ago. By now, half the quadrant would have seen this attack and the resulting damage. The other half would see it soon enough. And, the Admiral had to admit, the vast majority were probably celebrating.

  One item did hold his interest. The destroyer Abendhimmel floated in her berth in a repair dock. All around her was drifting wreckage and debris, but the vessel was not hit at all. Dietrich knew that was no coincidence. He was aware of the recent series of battles between the pirates and his own Navy. Indeed, he had played a small part in it. He found it interesting the ship was spared for a second time. Apparently, the pirates remember good deeds, or attempted good deeds, done on their behalf.

  Now Dietrich directed one hull camera toward the surface facilities, and then put it on high magnification. He scanned the base. Supply warehouses and heavy equipment were demolished. Buildings of all types and sizes were blackened hulks. The Admiral focused in on the fleet headquarters building. This large, stately building was composed of a central hub with three large single wings branching off north, east, and west. South of the building was the parade ground and large well-kept gardens. The roof of the central hub had been a large, golden dome. On the apex of the dome had been a tall flagpole with the flag of the Goldenes Tor and, underneath, the ensign of the Navy.

  There was one single missile hit on the headquarters, directly on the central hub. The dome now lay in great pieces on the floor of the massive room it had once shielded from the elements. The images sent out by the pirates had shown the two flags in the rubble, but the flags were gone now. The three wings of the building were untouched.

  A second interesting result was the pirates did not attack base housing. Hundreds of spouses and children would have been getting out of bed when the attack struck. A pattern of hydra missiles laid across base housing would have meant mass casualties but the pirates didn’t do it. As with Abendhimmel, Dietrich knew this was also not a coincidence.

  “Interesting,” remarked Captain Max Westphal quietly.

  The squadron operations officer was standing next to his commander watching the screen. Apparently, both officers found many things interesting about the attack. Westphal continued, “They hit all the supply warehouses, the heavy equipment, and countless lesser targets, but got only one round into the Cathedral. If they had attacked one standard hour later, they could have smashed that building and gotten most of the Fleet Staff and Admiral Beck.”

  Westphal was using the nickname for the headquarters. The building had been around for over one hundred standard years and had been called that for nearly as long. Its status among Imperial sailors came close to rivaling that of a hallowed place of worship.

  Dietrich responded in the same quiet tone. “They did exactly what they wanted to do. The timing of the attack did two things. They knew the night watch would be tired and bored and not paying much attention to their sensors as they prepared to get off watch and eat breakfast. That lack of attention gave them valuable seconds while coming out of subspace. The second thing was they did not want the chain of command dead. They just want them pissed off. Angry people bent on revenge make mistakes.”

  The Admiral knew it went deeper than that. That building and, in particular, that dome was the symbolic epicenter of Goldenes Tor’s power and prestige in this part of space. The images of a missile hitting the dome, and the symbols of the Empire and the Navy laying in rubble were profound and memorable. It was also a taunting challenge. The images of the wrecked dome had been a highlight of the pirate’s recorded attack. If that had been the only missile fired and no other damage had been done, the attack would still have been a success from a propaganda point of view.

  The focus of the government and the Navy had always been “out there” into the Badlands. They had concentrated on gaining territory and markets. Getting raw materials and cheap labor. The goal was expansion, not protecting what was already theirs. Consequently, the naval base defenses had not been upgraded in years. The training and procedures of the
harbor defense apparatus had dulled with time. The Navy’s reputation and power of retaliation had been part of the protection package for the base. The leaders in the Goldenes Tor government and Navy had come to the silent conclusion that no regional government or group had the audacity or means to strike at the heart of the Goldenes Tor’s regional power, and then risk reprisal. Until now.

  Admiral Werner Beck, commander of Third Fleet, was very alive and very angry. He had not only been defeated, but also embarrassed in the process. Beck needed to catch and destroy the attackers with great dispatch and ruthlessness. An appropriate example had to be made and be made now.

  Dietrich knew Raferty Hawkins was counting on exactly that. That was why the headquarters was not attacked during the working day and leveled. A dead Admiral Beck was of no use. An alive Admiral Beck, determined to get revenge in the short time remaining until he was possibly relieved of command and recalled to the home systems in disgrace, would be of great use to Hawkins.

  Dietrich knew the pirate leader did not fight single battles, but he planned and carried out campaigns. This attack was the opening gambit in just such an operation. Hawkins would have the next encounter planned. The one after that, too. The plan probably depended upon Beck staying very alive and very angry. Dietrich had no doubt Admiral Beck would oblige him.

  Westphal cut into his thoughts. “Since they attacked before work hours there were not too many casualties considering what could have happened.”

  “Agreed,” replied the Admiral. “Those will come in the revenge operation against Hawkins. Our side will be providing most the casualties for those battles.” He stood and went to his day cabin.

  Chapter 28

  Predator’s shuttle entered the landing bay and settled in the center of the large open space. The huge doors closed behind the shuttle, and atmosphere was pumped into the bay. The light above the secured hatch turned from red to green. One of the Marine guards spun the center wheel on the hatch and pulled it open. Sky entered with her two Marines in trail. The hatch on the shuttle slid open. Seven pirates emerged with Hawkins in the lead.