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

by Sean Benjamin

  Missiles continued to fly at the pirates as they fought back with all the defenses at hand. They got a brief respite as they topped the moon and dove to the other side. All four ships quickly targeted the sensor system and its missile systems there. These systems were always meant to defend against targets from the space side, and not from an enemy who jumped over from the other side of the moon. The missiles and sensors were quickly destroyed with guns and lasers from the four raiders.

  “Starboard now!” Raferty commanded.

  The four ships pulled hard to the right. As Nemesis pulled over the top of Predator while making the turn, she bounced her bottom shields off Predator’s top shields. Hawkins’ eyes went to O’Hare’s live image on his screen. She responded to his look with an innocent smile. Hawkins shook his head. “She is having way too much fun,” he thought.

  “Make sure you counter that on the flip back turn, Eli,” Rafe ordered, and saw the helmsman nod.

  The four ships now sped along the moon’s equator and toward the three OrCon ships’ arrival point as they would round the moon. The fire control computers counted down the seconds and then fired continuous salvos at the expected arrival point of the enemy. Surprisingly, salvos of enemy missiles came around the planet first. Their commander had had the same idea as Hawkins, of firing blind at the expected enemy’s location, but had predicted the wrong course of action for the pirates. The enemy missiles sped out into open space at the expected point of the pirates’ travel if they had continued to run away using the moon’s mass as a temporary shield. The missiles were running at nothing. Good plan, bad guess as to location.

  The three enemy ships now rounded the edge of the moon, and a second later ran into a massive pirate onslaught. The timing wasn’t perfect but it was close. The missiles were on top of the enemy before they could react. The projectiles drove into all three spacecraft. The bows and topsides of all targets absorbed dozens of hits. Shields collapsed and explosions racked the vessels. Compartments opened to space briefly flared with fires as they expended their oxygen. The ships shook under the many impacts and pulled off in different directions. The pirates closed on them. One destroyer was hit repeatedly by missiles. As it slowed and became predictable, gunfire slammed into it. Nemesis pounded the ship. Cannon rounds ripped into the inner compartments. Without the protection of shields and the armored hull, the compartments collapsed rapidly. A very few escape pods began to come off as the hulk dissolved like sugar in the rain.

  Predator and Bandit took the cruiser under fire. Her bow had disappeared under a storm of missile impacts, and now missiles and gunfire burrowed deep into her guts. A massive explosion shook the hull, and it shattered into jagged pieces of space junk. Not one pod got off.

  Vindictive attacked the last destroyer. An early hit had disabled the starboard engine, and the ship spun to starboard under the thrust of the port engine. She became a slowly revolving target, and Vindictive made hits with missiles, then guns and, finally, lasers. The rounds poured into the hull as the open end came around during each revolution. Pods began to come off the newly created wreck. The smaller of the two enemy pursuit forces was now removed from the field of battle. The remaining five ships lead by the battleship would require an entirely different solution.

  “Come hard port,” Raferty commanded. “Time to run again.”

  The pirate ships swung back to port. As Nemesis crossed back over the top, Eli dipped down at the last instant to avoid a repeat scraping of shields. Rafe looked at O’Hare on screen and got a wide smile in return. He then scanned Bandit’s information. Bandit was barely keeping pace now. Soon the port engine would buckle under the strain, and she would have all the speed and maneuverability of a garbage scow. Hawkins frowned. A tough decision had to be made.

  Captain Emily Legrand agreed a tough decision lay ahead. She would disagree about who would make it. Despite the turmoil around her, she focused on her floating screens. Nothing had changed or would change. She did not play “what if.” There was no time for it and no hope for an alternate scenario suddenly and miraculously coming to the rescue. The fate of her ship was sealed. The only variable would be the actions of her three companion ships. They should leave her. That was the briefed plan, but Emily was afraid they would not follow it, especially Hawkins. If he stayed, O’Hare would stay also. Delacruz would stay because Bandit was in his squadron. A one-sided last stand, and their inevitable sacrifice would not save her or her ship. Emily flashed a mirthless smile. Loyal to a fault, and it would get them all killed. She was loyal also, so decided to take the decision out of their hands.

  “Continue to come hard to port. Push both engines through the safety stops. We’ll go for the battleship as it comes over the moon.”

  The helmsman continued to pull Bandit hard to port as the other three pirate ships rolled out on course. Nobody said a word to contradict their captain. The bridge crew had screens and sensor readings. They knew the circumstances. Bandit crewmembers with families had lost them on Ulatar, so life had little meaning lately. Those without lost families… well, they understood the current situation and crewmembers stick together, no matter what. Besides, if the run was successful, they would get some serious revenge on the OrCons. Not a bad trade. Not a great one, but not a bad one either.

  “Bandit!” Baby Doll spoke only one word, but the urgency had everyone’s attention on their screens instantly. They watched as the corvette completed a hard pull to port, and moved toward the expected point at which the battleship would come over the moon. Everyone knew what was coming.

  As Bandit sped away from her comrades, the other enemy force did come around the far side of the moon. Missiles flew from the enemy at all four pirate ships as they did not see the ramifications of Bandit’s maneuver, and so followed the targeting orders they had previously been given.

  “Reroute fires to support her!” Raferty ordered immediately to Tactical and over his command net to the two other ships. He would not abandon her now. He scanned Bandit. Both engines were blazing red hot on his sensor image now. The port engine due to the damage, and the starboard because the power demand had been shoved beyond the safety limits. The two engines would explode in a few short minutes, but Hawkins knew they would never reach that time constraint.

  “Bandit! Bandit! Bandit!” The chant began with Eli at the helm but quickly spread. It was piped to all other sections of the ship and to the other two ships. The chant was picked up by all recipients, and monitors throughout all three ships changed to the appropriate image feed to watch. The chants were sent to Bandit on several comm nets by crewmembers on the three ships. They wanted Bandit to know. Very quickly, everyone in Bandit did know. Despite the circumstances and inevitable outcome, every Bandit member smiled.

  The doomed ship sped back at the moon as the battleship came over the top. Bandit locked on to the large target. Missiles from her three companions helped fight off the incoming attack on Bandit as the OrCons still did not understand the threat from the lone small combatant. Such maneuvers did not exist in their tactics manual. Bandit took the battleship under missile fire while using guns and lasers for defense.

  Hawkins brought up his command link on his center screen, and tapped on the window of Emily Legrand’s live image to bring up the command frequency for Bandit. Their conversation, if there was to be one, would be private. Emily Legrand now filled his screen. She was giving a stream of orders on a bridge that was buffeting from multiple hits. She paused briefly.

  “Emily.”

  He spoke the single word softly but, despite the noise and the demands on her, she heard him. She turned to the private screen showing him. She did not seem surprised he would call. She smiled that smile that had dazzled him the very first time they had met and every time afterwards. Emily Legrand was never a great beauty but her smile transformed her. She spoke, matching his soft tone. “You were always the best part of my life and this ship was the second best. I thank you for both.”

  “No need, you were
a great partner, and you are an outstanding captain. I was always happiest when I was with you, and I never worried about Bandit with you in command.”

  She nodded at the compliment. “Thank you so much for that. I was happiest with you also.” She glanced around and then returned to him. “Have to go. I would say, ‘lead your three ships to safety,’ but that is a foregone conclusion. Fair winds and following seas, Zachary.”

  He smiled at the name he hadn’t heard in many years. Yes, she knew most of the secrets. “See to your ship, Captain,” he stated in a soft command voice, and then added, “I’ll see you on the other side.”

  She nodded slightly. “I look forward to it.” Then added lightly, “But don’t come too soon.”

  They both smiled one last time and she turned away. The cries of “Bandit!” continued to echo throughout the bridge as he watched her on the private screen.

  Legrand spoke rapidly but clearly. “Reinforce shields with power from life support and all backup systems.”

  Without life support on line, the air supply was very limited and the ship’s interior would rapidly cool. But the crew did not need an air supply, and nobody would notice the drop in temperature.

  As the ship continued to close on target, Legrand added, “Weapons, pull all the safeties on all warheads.”

  The warheads for the missiles were armed by G-forces during acceleration from their firing tubes. While in the magazines, warheads had safeties in their noses to ensure they would not explode if the ship was heavily damaged or explosions occurred within the compartment. With the safeties removed, the warheads would detonate in sympathetic explosions if other explosions occurred within the ship.

  Hawkins watched her in silence. She was doing all the right things, and her crew was executing her orders quickly and efficiently. Bandit was a fine ship and she was an outstanding captain.

  All this time, Predator had been firing missiles in support of Bandit’s run and guns and lasers for self-protection, but Bandit seemed to be doing it on her own. In reality, the ship’s computers were fighting the battle. All of the bridge crew were transfixed by the progress of Bandit. Even Tactical was staring at her screen. It was probably the same throughout the ship, even throughout the squadron. All eyes would be on Bandit and her name was echoing through each hull.

  All three destroyers continued to rotate positions to ensure no one ship was exposed to a prolonged missile attack on its shields as they supported Bandit. Hawkins shook his head in disbelief. Surely, the OrCons must see what was coming.

  Bandit rapidly closed on the huge battleship from underneath her. The four enemy ships and the battleship had shifted fires to Bandit as the pirate vessel’s intent became clear to them. The move was too late. The incoming interceptor missiles from the other three pirate warships kept the majority of the enemy fire from hitting Bandit while Bandit concentrated her fires on a single section of shields protecting the bottom of Citadel’s engineering section. She was trying to blast an entry hole for herself. The continuous impacts on one shield section caused it to collapse as Bandit closed in. She continued to fire on target. Missiles continued to hit the battleship’s armored hull even as Bandit arrived there. The pirate vessel impacted the hull, and it seemed to fold in on itself, but also, it drove through the hull armor. The initial explosion of Bandit hitting the hull was followed by a succession of explosions deeper and deeper in Citadel. The huge battleship rocked side to side as she immediately lost headway. Running lights flickered and then relit as battery power took over. The explosions did not stop. Jagged metal pieces separated from the hull and fires flared briefly as the oxygen in compartments opened to space and were consumed.

  The cries for Bandit ceased as everyone watched the wounded giant struggle. Raferty desperately wanted the ship to go up in one massive explosion. He wanted the sacrifice of Bandit to achieve a maximum result. He wanted the scales to balance even though he knew they never truly would.

  The desired end wouldn’t happen. Citadel was hurt, perhaps mortally, but she wouldn’t provide the satisfaction of disappearing in a last violent upheaval. Instead, the explosions ceased as she steadily lost speed. The damage to her engineering section and the six engines surrounding that compartment was immense. That ship would never again see service in her Navy. Trying to repair her would be like trying to revive a corpse. Any satisfaction to be achieved by the pirates would have to come from that. The hulking vessel may survive but would never serve.

  Hawkins closed his eyes to ensure the tears welling up did not roll down his cheeks. He said a silent prayer. Raferty Hawkins was not a religious man. He did not know if there was a heaven, but for the sake of Emily Legrand, the crew of Bandit, and all the others who have gone before, he truly hoped there was one. He also hoped it had a special place for all those who try to make things better, regardless of the odds against them. He would know many people in that particular corner of paradise. He would be right at home there. But not too soon.

  He opened his eyes. “Back to it, people!” His tone was harsher than he had intended, but the bridge crew would never hold that against him. They knew the story.

  The three remaining ships continued to run toward the moon. Arrival would be in three minutes. The sacrifice by Bandit had bought some time as the enemy force had switched their fires on her. The remaining four ships now reengaged the fleeing pirates with a vengeance. The three destroyers rapidly rotated positions as the rear ship absorbed the majority of the incoming missiles and quickly depleted her shields. Predator took her turn at the rear even though shields were only back to seventy percent strength. Despite continuous defensive measures, the ships were having to switch up more often as the rain of incoming rounds depleted the shields quickly. Shields shook under the multiple impacts.

  The enemy chased them like a pack of wild animals. Their formation became ragged as each ship pushed their engines to their limits and two ships pulled slightly ahead of the other two. This chase had all the discipline of a pack of dogs hot on the scent a fox. This suited Raferty Hawkins quite well.

  “We programmed?” asked Rafe.

  “Affirm and everyone has it,” answered Baby Doll.

  Hawkins spoke over his command net. “Confirm timing and nav.”

  “Confirmed,” reported O’Hare and Delacruz simultaneously over the command net.

  “We do it,” Hawkins ordered in his command voice. He got two answering nods on his screen.

  The three ships spread out abeam each other and provided three targets to their pursuers. This was going to be close but it had to be to be convincing. The trio closed on the outer moon with four ships hurling incessant salvos at them.

  “Shield sections in the rear at thirty percent,” Tactical noted. “Shifting all shield power to the rear.”

  This was risky, as an impact on the forward sections of the ships would hit bare hull. If the Orion ships had been above or below them, they could have brought enfilade fire from an angle onto any part of the fleeing ships. Fortunately, the pursuing ships had ended up in a direct line behind the pirates as they tried to keep up with the faster destroyers. Tactical had noted this and adjusted shields as required. The other two pirate ships had noted the maneuver and copied it. This would give them the time needed to make the moon.

  “Thirty seconds,” noted Baby Doll to the bridge crew and over her intel net.

  “Computers have the action for timing, subspace, and maneuvering,” reported Tactical. “Reinforced shields at forty percent.”

  Baby Doll counted the time down as Tactical counted the shield strength down. When the timing hit zero the shields were at five percent but they had made it. They were just above the moon about to angle down to the other side and to temporary safety provided by the moon’s bulk. But just before disappearing from the enemy’s sight, the three ships vanished into subspace.

  The chasers thought the pirates had panicked as their shields had depleted and had gone subspace before they were hidden behind the second moon. Th
us, the pirates had lost the element of surprise of going subspace now as the pursuers immediately spread out to get maximum white phone coverage. The formation maneuvered so a ship would go around each side of the moon as one went under and the last vessel went over the top following the pirates. The split second early entry into subspace allowed the enemy to see the pirate’s intentions and prepare for a subspace search much earlier than would have happened had the maneuver gone unobserved.

  Sky watched from her seat on the bridge. She had noted the same things as the enemy and thought the pirates could be taken now. The subspace maneuver had been seen and she knew the OrCons were adjusting on the run as they continued in hot pursuit. Things would get dicey on the far side of the moon, as the enemy would come around the moon from every direction with their white phones operating at maximum range to cut off several avenues of escape.

  Then she glanced at her floating nav screen. The ship was not dropping down behind the moon. Once in subspace the ship had pulled up into a large loop above the moon and was rolling back on a reciprocal course, and would soon be heading back the way she had come. This maneuver was done in subspace but in front of the enemy. Subspace provided concealment but not protection. As Hawkins was fond of saying, being in subspace was like hiding behind a bush. It is great until somebody knows you’re there and starts shooting through the bush. That was an apt comparison.

  To find a ship in subspace, the accepted response was to fire canister rounds from all ship guns. The rounds departed the barrels and quickly dissolved into ever widening clouds of grapefruit-size explosive balls. If any of the balls hit a ship in subspace, they explode and quickly mark the hidden ship on all sensors. Then the missiles go downrange against a target in subspace with no shields. If OrCons had put out canister rounds and peppered the area with explosive balls, they might have found the pirates and made quick work of them. But they did not. Such a maneuver would have required them to greatly reduce speed and re-plot their weapons employment. The early subspace entry ruse had worked. In the enemy’s mind, the pirates had panicked due to depleted shields, engaged subspace a second before they should have, and were now taking temporary refuge on the far side of the moon. The enemy had assumed that even if the pirates had wanted to reverse course they would turn around only when they were safe behind the moon and this would take valuable seconds. The Orion ships would have the time to spread out and employ white phones as they moved to go around the moon from every direction. But the pirates never went behind the moon so even now the three pirate ships were coming back at the OrCons faster than the enemy thought possible. The renegade force would pass over the maneuvering OrCons as they got their white phones on line and their formation spread out to move around the moon.