“Understood, sir, what would you like us to do in the in between time, once we finish?” she said through a grin.
“Why, get things ready for the celebration,” I said grinning back, “now get your troops out of here Captain. Oh, and good luck.”
“We make our luck, Admiral,” she said as she turned and headed out the door.
“She’s turned out to be one hell of an officer, don’t’ you agree Marranalis?” I said.
“Yes sir,” Marranalis answered, “one of the best troopers in the Federation, I would say.”
“Considering the rough start we had with her, I’m quite impressed. Admiral Regeny and Kala both gave her a stern dressing down after we met, because of her attitude.”
Marranalis chuckled, “I remember all too well,” he said, “I’m glad though it turned out the way it did.”
True to her word it was only minutes after Sokaia’s departure from the bridge that cloaked transports began leaving the ship with half of them headed for the planet surface, and the others to the HAPRIN. Ships leaving from the forward hangar headed planet side and the ones leaving from the aft hangar headed toward the HAPRIN. We were able to observe the departures from the vid screens on the bridge, which were fed information on their locations from special transponders. On the DUSTEN, receivers tuned the signals into codes that we could view on the vid screen, otherwise we would not have been able to see them at all. Without the codes, the HAPRIN was unable to see the transports and to target them with the few lasers and other weapons they had left. It took a little longer for the ships headed to the planet surface to arrive and then even more time to reach their individual targets, but the task was accomplished quickly and efficiently.
Because of the close range between the DUSTEN and the HAPRIN, we could monitor the communication between our troops that had landed on the HAPRIN. Damage in the hangar bay was extensive, and finding place for the transports to land and unload their troops was severely limited. Monitors in the hangars had obviously been totally knocked out by the explosions there, and with the air evacuated from the area, there were no living enemy forces within the space at all. Captain Sokaia reported back that the airlocks from the hangars had been damaged as well, and it was only the internal airtight doors protecting the inner areas of the ship from total loss of atmosphere. This posed a problem, for without a working airlock, there was no way to access the inner compartments without losing a lot of air pressure and possibly lives.
It was Captain Wanoll that came up with a solution for the dilemma. He knew of some maintenance tunnels running under the forward hangar to the aft hangar, and also to the engineering section of the ship. These tunnels had their own airlocks inside. Though the tunnel was rather small and would hamper quick access into the interior for all the troops, it still would allow them to gain entry without causing a large loss of air inside the ship. The major obstacle would be the alarm system on the doors that would show on the bridge once the airlock was opened. Since the HAPRIN and the DUSTEN were sister ships, Wabussie was able to call up the ships' schematics and located the circuits for the alarm system. That enabled Sokaia’s team to bypass the alarm system. So far, her team had been undetected, at least as far as we knew, and we wondered how long it would be before they were noticed, and the element of surprise lost.
“Admiral,” Captain Wanoll announced with alarm, “our long-range sensors are detecting incoming ships. At their current rate of speed, they will be here in minutes.”
“Captain Sokaia,” I said into the communicator linked to her, “You’re running out of time. Either take that ship or get out of it quickly, the enemy has arrived.”
“Sir, we’ve bypassed the airlock, and we have two teams entering the engineering section now. We seem to have surprised the crew there and have them in custody.” Then she added, “sir, we have control of engineering and are disabling all weaponry and sealing all compartments. The Brotherhood troops on this ship are now at our mercy. We will commence taking them into custody one compartment at a time.”
“Negative, Captain,” Iordered. We don’t have time for that now. Focus on a straight line to the bridge, when you get there let the crew inside know they have a choice of surrendering or suffocating, if they refuse to surrender have engineering evacuate the air from the bridge, and then enter and take control over the ship. We can mop up the other Brotherhood members on the HAPRIN later, but for now it’s most important you gain control of the bridge, and alert me of the condition of the RMFF and the ship’s cloaking device.”
“Captain Wanoll,” I said as I turned to him, “as soon as the Brotherhood ships are in range, begin opening fire on them. Marranalis, contact our fighters out there to cease all fire on the HAPRIN and fly out and attack the incoming ships from their flank. Make sure to tell them not to get between the DUSTEN and the enemy and to stay out of direct firing range between us and the enemy. We don’t want to shoot down our own ships. Any ships they see that aren’t shielded I want them to concentrate on. I want us to thin out the herd as much as we can before they get here completely.”
“So far as we know, the only shielded ships the Brotherhood have are the ones they managed to steal from the Federation; the same goes for cloaking. None of the incoming ships appear to be of Federation design, so it’s very likely they won’t have cloaking or shielding,” Marranalis announced.
“Admiral,” Wanoll interrupted, “the incoming ships appear to be turning. The HAPRIN must have alerted them to our boarding party. The Brotherhood ships are fleeing. They are abandoning the HAPRIN.”
“Get our fighters and patrol ships after them; damage and knock out as many of their ships as you can,” I ordered. “Captain,” I addressed Wanoll, “I want you to pursue those fleeing ships with the DUSTEN, it’s faster than their ships. As soon as we’re in weapons range, I want you to start pounding them with everything we’ve got. Focus on the largest ship. That’s where Shydak is most likely to be.”
We had just entered a range where the DUSTEN could start firing on the fleeing Brotherhood ships when one of the officers on the bridge announced, “Sir, our long-range sensors are detecting two frigates and about a dozen corvettes approaching the HAPRIN from the rear. Based on their formation, it looks like they may also have at least one and possibly more cloaked ships with them.”
“What?” I exclaimed, “Bring the images up on the screen, so I can see their formation.”
Almost instantly the main view screen image changed showing blips representing the ships approaching the HAPRIN from the rear, and us pursuing the fleeing Brotherhood ships in the front.
“Damn,” I muttered, “they led us into a trap. Stop the pursuit, Captain, get us back to the HAPRIN as fast as possible.”
“As you wish, Admiral,” Captain Wanoll replied.
“Sokoia, can you still read me?” I said knowing that now we had traveled far enough that even if she was getting the message on a standard transmission the signal would be weak and delayed. I counted down the minutes, and at the 10 minute 13 second mark the answer came back. “I read you Admiral, but your signal is weak. We have taken the bridge of the HAPRIN, sir.”
“Sokaia, if you can, get the RMFF up and operating, we’ve been led into a trap. The Brotherhood has a fleet of ships coming at you from the rear. They should arrive shortly, and you don’t have much time. The RMFF is your only hope. We’re rushing back as fast as we can. Have your troopers ready to repel any boarding parties. I know the HAPRIN’s weapons are pretty much useless at the moment, so you’re going to need to rely on the fire power of any fighter and patrol ships you have in the area to help defend the HAPRIN. Use your discretion in pulling ships and men back from the surface to help until we get there.” I turned to Marranalis while we waited for the message to reach Sokaia and a response to get back. “I need you to slip through the Cantolla gate to Admiral Regeny’s office and get Slater. He hopefully will be there. Get him and get back here as quickly as you can. This trap smells of something Mi
ng would concoct, and Captain Slater knows Ming and his tactics better than any of us do.”
“Yes sir,” Marranalis said as he turned and left the bridge.
A few minutes later, the reply from Sokaia came in. “Admiral, we see the incoming ships. The RMFF shields here are still down, but we have a team working on the repairs. There was a cable running through the forward hangar that powers the RMFF that was severed; my men are attempting to splice in a new piece of cable, but they say it will take about an hour, and the Brotherhood ships will be here in 17 minutes. We’re going to take a pounding, sir. I've got our fighters and patrol ships that are left out there cloaked and going to meet the incoming ships head-on. They have orders to make concentrated attacks on the larger ships that are not protected with RMFF’s, if there are any with the fleet. It looks to us like they may have one or two cloaked ships, possibly with RMFF’s with them. With them firing on us, we can’t get the transports back to pick us up and get us out of here.”
By now we were nearly back to the HAPRIN, and we could see that the Brotherhood fleet had arrived, and they were opening fire on the HAPRIN. Where the smaller patrol ships and fighters we used to pick away at the HAPRIN earlier had slowly done damage to the starship, the frigates and corvettes from the Brotherhood fleet were now blasting hunks out of the ship. Our small fighters and patrol ships were firing away at the frigates, slowly knocking out a few guns here and there, but it was obvious that there were at least two cloaked ships with RMFF’s in the fleet, and the power of their shots was tearing the HAPRIN apart.
Soon, we were once again in range close enough for only a slight lag in communication with the HAPRIN. “Sokaia, this is Tibby, if you read me, did you take the components for a Cantolla gate with you on any of your ships?”
After a few second delays, Sokaia’s voice came back over the com system, “Affirmative, we have it set up, however, we do not have a matching gate up on any ship at the moment.”
“Who has the synthesizer codes to produce the matching gate?” I asked, just as the door to the bridge opened and Marranalis and Captain Slater entered.
She responded, “A’Lappe and Cantolla do.”
“Turn your gate on, I’m sending Marranalis to the NEW ORLEANS to get A’Lappe and Cantolla to produce the sympathetic particles necessary for a matching gate on the NEW ORLEANS. As soon as it’s active I want you to send your troopers through that gate. You’ll be arriving on the NEW ORLEANS, but you can use the matching gate there to the DUSTEN and route your men back here as quickly as possible.” I nodded to Marranalis, who, having heard the conversation, was already headed out the door and to the Cantolla gate back to the NEW ORLEANS.
“Sir, what about the Brotherhood men aboard this ship?” Sokaia asked.
“I have a hunch there are not that many. I think this whole thing was a huge trap.” I responded.
“You may be right, sir. We haven’t encountered half the number of Brotherhood men here we anticipated, and there appear to be no civilians aboard at all.”
“Captain Slater,” I said as I turned toward him, “I hope Marranalis apprised you of our situation?”
“I got the short version of it as he rushed me here,” Slater responded.
“You know Ming and his tactics better than any of us do. Does this sort of attack look like something Ming would concoct?”
“Indeed, it does Admiral,” Ming used a similar ploy back in the war on Earth against the Pacific fleet.”
“What was his purpose then?” I asked. “I can’t imagine why he would risk losing a starship like the HAPRIN, just to kill off several hundred of our troopers. It’s a poor tradeoff.”
“Ming’s tactic back then was far larger than we thought; on Earth, he captured and was holding a missile base in the Philippines. He drew the unified world forces away in pursuit of the ships that had conquered the island while our men reclaimed it. He had submarines lying in wait in deeper water, and once our ships were out of sight, he had them surface and nuke the island. Our ships that were in pursuit of the fleeing Chinese ships turned to return to the island, but were caught between the two Chinese fleets; first the subs, and second the once fleeing ships.
“Our fleet immediately put out the call for assistance and ships and planes from Hawaii were dispatched in what we expected to be a huge battle. In the meantime, the real goal of Ming was about to come under attack. Ming had another submarine fleet lying in wait near Hawaii and stealth bombers in the air headed to Hawaii. They hit the island with heavy fire and missiles, destroying all the military facilities there. Our ships at the Philippines received a nasty pounding as the ships and planes from Hawaii turned, heading back to help what was left of the base at Hawaii. However, by the time they arrived, it was too late and the attacking subs and planes were gone, and Hawaii was in ruin. Our fleet at the Philippines lost 65% of their ships.”
“So you think Ming has another larger target he is getting ready to attack?” I asked.
“I’m certain of it, but I have no idea where.” Slater said.
“I think I do, Captain. I'm just hoping that A’Lappe and Cantolla have been able to work some of their magic again, because we are going to need to move a lot of ships very fast, and extremely far if I am correct.”
“Sokaia, this is Tibby,” I said in the com, “how are you holding out over there?”
“We’re getting blown to pieces, Admiral,” Sokaia said. Our transports can’t get back to the HAPRIN to get us out of here, and at the rate the Brotherhood is taking pieces out of this ship, we only have another hour left before we’re all dead.”
“Captain Wanoll, can you spot where the HAPRIN is taking the most intense fire and get the DUSTEN in front of their shots to shield them?” I asked.
“Making it so now, Admiral. However, it will only be a short time before the enemy reposition and start hitting her from another angle.”
“I’m hoping that by then we will have been able to get our men off of her.”
“Admiral,” Sokaia’s voice came across the com, “we have an open gate now, and I can see A’Lappe on the other side. We will begin sending our troopers through immediately. My team is still trying to get the RMFF up and working, if they don’t have it by the time the rest of the team has left the HAPRIN, we will be the last to evacuate.”
“How soon before we are in a position to block the shots coming from the cloaked Brotherhood ships?” I asked Captain Wanoll.
“We’re maneuvering into position now and already are taking some of the shots,” he answered.
“See if our computers can triangulate where the cloaked ships are from the shots they are firing, and return fire to those locations. It’s possible some of those ships may not have RMFF’s, and with a couple of lucky shots, we may be able to damage or destroy a few of them,” I ordered.
A few minutes later as we watched on the screen, we saw a large explosion as our ship's computer targeted and destroyed a cloaked ship. “Admiral, it looks like at least one cloaked Brotherhood ship didn’t have an RMFF. How did you know it wouldn’t?” Captain Wanoll asked.
“I didn’t,” I answered, “I was guessing that it would be harder to produce an RMFF than a cloaking device and getting a 10X reactor to fuel an RMFF even harder. The Brotherhood is relying on ships they steal or capture from the Federation for both the RMFF and 10X reactors. The cloaking device is not as power hungry and is easier to make and power from conventional reactors or other power sources. Unless the ships attacking us are ex-Federation ships taken by the Brotherhood, it’s unlikely they will have RMFF’s aboard them.”
“Excuse me, Captain,” one of the crew members monitoring systems on the bridge said, “the Brotherhood has launched a large number of torpedoes from their ships, and they all are headed toward the HAPRIN; if only half of them hit the ship, there will be nothing left of it.”
“Sokaia, this is Tibby; get your men off the HAPRIN now!” I commanded into the open communication link. “You have incoming torpedoes
that will destroy the ship when they hit. Do you read me?” There was no reply, I watched the screen as the torpedoes drew ever closer to the HAPRIN. “Sokaia, evacuate immediately! That’s an order!” I said just moments before our screen images were lost when the first of the torpedoes we were blocking impacted our RMFF shields, flashing brilliant white, and obscuring our view of the HAPRIN. Moments later, just as our screen images cleared, we got a glimpse of the HAPRIN as the remaining torpedoes reached it and detonated in bright flashes of light. I felt my heart sink, fearing Sokaia and her team had perished, and then I heard, “Sorry for the delay in replying, Admiral. I had my hands full helping to make the last connection to the RMFF and activating it,” then as the images on the vid screen cleared and the outline of the HAPRIN’s hull appeared, she added, “We made it sir. The shields are functional, and the HAPRIN is safe.”
“Well done, Captain,” I said, “You gave us quite a scare there for a minute.”
“Thank you, sir, however; I must give the credit to my team. They were the ones that pulled it off, sir.”
“True,” I said, “but you were the one who trained and led that team, Captain. Nevertheless, my congratulations to you all.”
“Admiral,” Captain Wanoll called for my attention, “The Brotherhood ships are fleeing. What are your orders?”
“Have half of our fighters chase after them and do as much damage to their ships as possible for one day, and then return here,” I answered. “Keep our larger ships here.”
By now, Marranalis had returned from the NEW ORLEANS. “Captain Marranalis, get a team together and with the aid of Sokaia and her troopers round up all Brotherhood people still alive aboard the HAPRIN, and get them into confinement for interrogation. I also want you to have a damage assessment team aboard the HAPRIN to determine the extent of damage. I want an estimate of how long it will take to get the ship fully operational again. Furthermore, find out what happened to our troops on the surface and how they are doing. Contact Admirals Stonbersa and Kophious and have them meet us here in two hours. I’m going to expect a preliminary update on our status at that time. I’m heading to my suite until then.”
Solbidyum Wars Saga 5: Desolation Page 26