Voyage of the Hayden (The Adventures of Christopher Slone Book 1)

by Donald Nicklas

  “This is Captain Slone. We are about to engage in combat for the first time after almost one and a half centuries of peace. No one aboard this or any other vessel in the fleet has ever fired a shot in anger except against pirates. We will be fighting a ship three times our size that out guns us by 16 guns. She is a formidable foe, but we trained for just such an event. In addition, we have much more to fight for than they. This is one of the ships that attacked our home, Purgatory, where our families are. I have no idea what the situation is back at home, but if our families are still alive, we are the only ones who can rescue them. If they are dead, we are the only ones who can avenge them. To do either we must survive. You all know your duties and I expect everyone to do theirs to the fullest. The Hayden is an old but a proud ship. Let us all do her proud with our actions. Roll out the guns.”

  At this last command, the gun ports, six on each side and two forward, two behind, slid down into the hull. Once the port covers were gone, a force field similar to the one covering the opening to the hangar bay formed. This was not meant to act as a shield, but rather to be a self-closing wall through which the guns fired. They would not stop a projectile moving in either direction. The purpose of the shield was to deal with a problem discovered early in space combat history. In the old days, the guns protruded from the ship with a collar around their midsection where the ship hull was. The problem this presented was a temperature differential between the breach inside the ship and the muzzle outside. As a result, accuracy suffered because the caliber could not be maintained. The solution was to keep the entire cannon in the ship and use a force field to keep the temperature and atmosphere intact. “Fire forward thrusters to slow us down and let them catch up. Helm, be ready to accelerate on my command.”

  The forward thrusters slowed the Hayden just enough to let the dreadnought close the gap faster. From the bridge, they could see the dreadnought gun ports open and her guns became visible. She had 12 on each side, four forward and four behind, a formidable arsenal.

  “Helm, let me know as soon as we are just outside gun range.”

  “Aye, sir.”

  “Sparks, any communication from the ship or response to our hails?”

  “No sir. There have been no outgoing messages from them.”

  Several minutes passed before the helmsman indicated they had reached the desired distance.

  “Stern guns track and fire. Missile control, lock on and fire stern anti-ship missile now. Full thrust forward.”

  Slone was using a trick he had only heard about. When engaging a superior target, it is important to stay out of range while hitting them. Since the effective range of cannons is the same, the only way to accomplish this is to be in front of your enemy and allow them to run into your shots while you stay ahead of theirs. Both stern guns fired and a missile left the single stern missile tube. Almost simultaneously, the dreadnought fired her four forward guns and two forward missile tubes.

  “Seal the bridge,” Slone ordered and protective armor formed a solid wall around the bridge bubble while metal protectors projected out of the frames to block all of the bridge windows. The rest of the battle would be fought while watching the external camera feeds. Slone could see the ordinance pass, each group heading to its target. The cannon shot speeding to the Hayden fell short and self-destructed as programmed to do. The missiles were another matter. They came on behind the shot and the Hayden’s point defense sent a hail of small projectiles at the missiles. One detonated far from the Hayden. The second one made it almost to the hull before it detonated. The blast knocked down the rear gunners, as a wave of shrapnel blew through the gun port. No breaches occurred but a piece of the missile lodged in one of the coolant tubes to the port engine. This resulted in a slow leak of coolant and an unstable plug of shrapnel that could blow out at any moment.

  “Felt like that missile hit us. Any damage?”

  “Engineering reports no hull damage but there is a small coolant leak on the port engine. Nothing serious.”

  “Good our gambit worked. What about our shots?”

  “Sensors indicate they shot down our missile but they ran right into our cannon shot. One bounced off the curve of the hull but the second one indicates penetration.”

  “Send the self-destruct signal.”

  Cannon shot is designed to penetrate. Once a penetration is confirmed, then a code is sent to the shot, which causes it to explode and wreak havoc where it comes to rest. The reason this system is preferred to automatic explosion lies in the fact that too many shot were detonating on impact without penetration. The weapons technician sent the signal and Slone was gratified to see a portion of the forward ship hull blow outward along with a missile tube. Unfortunately the tube was empty from the recent shot or there would have been even more damage. The dreadnought suddenly accelerated and began to turn to the side to bring her starboard broadside into line.

  “Captain, the enemy has changed course to 10 degrees to port and is trying to pull up to us at an angle. At her present acceleration we will not be able to prevent her from coming alongside.”

  “Helm, bring her to port 45 degrees. Let’s cut across her bow and see if we can get in a broadside. Be ready to respond with the helm for a quick reverse.”

  The Hayden turned left 45 degrees and the dreadnought closed faster. The distance was now half what it had been when the first shots left the stern cannons and the Hayden’s port broadside now aimed squarely at the bow and part of the side of the enemy. “Port guns fire,” Slone practically shouted the command.

  The Hayden moved slighting to the right as the guns recoiled. Six shots quickly sped the distance to the target. The dreadnought did not try to evade them and all six found their mark on the big ship. Four of them penetrated and detonation did considerable damage with one of the cannons actually dislodging and flying into space. Along with the ship parts, bodies were visible for the first time. Slone thought there was something odd about the bodies but he did not have time to think about it. “Bring the ship to starboard 180 degrees.”

  It was now Slone’s intention to bring his other broadside to bear and run for some nearby asteroids. The dreadnought suddenly swung to the right to bring her uninjured side into play. Slone was confused as to why she had not fired her forward guns when he did. Since dreadnoughts usually have only the best crews, they should have serviced the forward cannons and had them ready to fire long before this. The Hayden finished her turn and fired her starboard broadside guns just as the dreadnought was coming around. The shot slammed into her bow and side with five of six penetrating. The explosions opened gaping holes in the side of the larger ship, but her sheer mass guaranteed that the damage looked much worse than it was. This time the Hayden would not get away so easily. As the smaller ship began to accelerate, the port broadside of the dreadnought came to bear and all twelve guns on that side fired. The shot leapt across the gap and slammed into the Hayden. Slone could feel his ship reel under the force of the impacts and then the explosions. Many of the bridge crew was thrown to the deck. Since his was the smaller ship, there were fewer decks to absorb the impacts and explosions. There was no time to worry about overall damage. What mattered is whether the ship could still fight.

  “Captain, starboard guns report two dismounted and out of action. The four remaining are loaded and ready for orders.”

  “Starboard guns fire as they bear.” This order left it up to the gunners to fire when they knew they had a good shot. Three fired immediately and one a few seconds later. The shot sped to its target and all four penetrated. The following explosions must have done some internal damage since the dreadnought slowed appreciably and soon the Hayden was out of her firing arcs and heading for the asteroids. Slone had a moment to breath. “Engineering, get me a damage report; just the major stuff.”

  As Slone waited for the report, keeping a distance between him and the enemy, he notice a decrease in the speed of the ship. “Why are we slowing?”

  “Engineering reports
the impacts must have jarred loose whatever punctured the port engine coolant line. They have taken the port engine offline so we are down to three engines.”

  “Very well, keep them at maximum output. See if engineering thinks they can fix that during combat.”

  The navigator suddenly spoke up. “Captain, there is a ship coming out of the slipstream. Very high mass, I think it is our ore hauler.”

  Slone thought over the tactical situation and a way to even the odds suddenly struck him. “Helm, steer for that ship, best speed. Navigator, see if you can find a way to remotely override the programming and gain control of that ore ship.” The bridge crew looked at each other, wondering what their captain had in mind. So far, he had done better than they expected he would, since this was his first voyage as captain. However, this was new territory for everyone and war had a way of quickly removing peacetime commanders with no stomach for the real thing.

  The Hayden changed course again and moved towards the ore hauler, which was now in-system and retracting sails. Her engine fired and she moved towards her next slipstream entrance.

  “I have her codes overridden. She is ours to control.”

  “Good, change her course towards the dreadnought and bring us parallel to her but keep her between us and the enemy.”

  The arrival of the ore hauler changed the dynamic in ways Slone found hard to understand. The dreadnought began to act as if the Hayden was not even in the system. As soon as she was in range the enemy opened fire on the ore hauler; totally ignoring the Hayden.

  “What’s he doing?” Slone asked no one in particular. “CIC, are you seeing this?”

  “Yes. We took a hit down here. Nothing serious but we just got our screens back and could hardly believe what we were seeing. It’s as if he thinks it is an armed ship. What gives?”

  “No idea. Sensors indicate what damage he is doing?”

  “Not much, sir. He can’t penetrate the surrounding ore holds. He might as well be hitting an asteroid.”

  “Put the ore hauler on a collision course with the dreadnought. Lets shake things up a bit.”

  The navigator pushed a few buttons and the ore hauler picked up speed and fired its forward port thrusters. This caused the ship to pivot while moving forward. The sudden move caught the dreadnought completely off guard and forced it to pour on the speed to avoid a collision. Unfortunately, she was not quite fast enough, the ore hauler ran right into the rear part of the ship, sheering off the stern with her engines, and several compartments of the engine room along with the rear sail. Countless bodies, along with all of the rear guns and missiles, were ejected out of the gaping hole. All lights and control aboard the dreadnought went out and she was dead in space.

  “Captain, sensors indicate all power aboard the enemy has failed. Only the life support reactor is still working.”

  “How much of the ship is still habitable?”

  “Approximately, two thirds still seems to be pressurized. Something is shielding our sensors from detecting life signs.”

  “Odd they would let us scan everything else but deny us life signs. Perhaps they are not at full complement. Major Sardac, pull all of your marines from the rest of the ship and commence boarding operations against the dreadnought. We can’t get any life sign readings so keep alert. This may be some kind of trap as a backup measure.”

  “Yes sir.”

  The marines left the bridge to join their comrades. Three marines died in the combat but the rest were fit and eager for duty. “Major stay on visual, when you enter the ship, I want to see what we’re dealing with here.”

  “Sickbay, what’s our casualty report.”

  “We have twenty-six casualties, with eight dead, twelve wounded and six missing in action and presumed dead.”

  “Engineering, what’s our damage?”

  “Captain, two compartments were breached, both with guns which were dismounted. We can remount them easily enough. The breaches are temporarily patched. One major problem is damage to our frill sail. We will not be able to travel in the slipstream until that’s fixed.”

  “How long till we can get underway?”

  “Engine coolant leak and sail fix will take at least 10 hours. They can't be fixed while moving."

  “Carry on. Helm all stop.”

  “Helm registers all stop.”

  "Captain, Major Sardac here. We are ready to commence boarding operations."

  "Bring us back some souvenirs, major."

  The marines left the hangar bay on boarding skiffs. The skiffs were nothing more than a rocket motor and some handle bars with the electronics needed to control them. They were fast and maneuverable with seats for five marines to straddle them in a row. The marines like them because of their speed and agility. They are open which forces the marines to wear space suits and eliminates the need to check atmospheres on boarding ships. Major Sardac was a top-notch leader and her troops were all well trained. Half way to the enemy ship, they divided into two columns. One headed to the broken rear of the vessel and the other headed straight for the bridge. Since the dreadnought came to a stop with the bow angled towards the Hayden, the bridge units arrived at their objective first. Captain Takeda was in charge of the bridge attack and he landed his troops on the bow of the ship. His helmet cam was on and Slone could see the marines struggling to stay on the curve of the ship. They finally had to resort to firing anchors into the hull and using cables to secure themselves.

  "This is Captain Takeda reporting. We had some difficulty gaining a foothold on the ship. Our magnetic boots won’t hold. Not sure what this hull is made of, but it doesn’t feel or look like metal. Major we await your orders to breach; we set our charges on the bridge bubble. No movement on the bridge. It looks deserted so be ready for internal resistance."

  "Copy that, captain. We are approaching the rear now. The collision took off the entire stern and at least four compartments forward of the engines. I can see what is left of the stern near the ore ship and it looks shattered. Are you seeing this on the helmet cam?"

  Slone responded. "We're getting it, major. I would have expected the stern to crumple, not to shatter."

  "Agreed. This is very odd. I am moving to the main body. The bulkhead is intact in the last compartment torn open. There is no way of knowing if the intact portion of the ship is still pressurized. Our shots did more damage than I thought. Coming here, I could see gaping holes were we hit the bow and sides. We are ready to pry the bulkhead door open”

  Most of the landing force was now on the outside of the ship, at either the bridge or the rear of the ship. Marine engineers accompanying Major Sardac now went to work on the closed bulkhead door. As they were working, Sardac looked at the bulkhead itself. It was shiny, black, almost looking like obsidian. Even through her gloves, she could feel that it was smooth as glass. This did not look like the typical bulkhead. There were also no visible electrical lines.

  “Major,” the engineering crew chief interrupted Sardac’s examination.

  “What is it chief?”

  “I don’t think this bulkhead is made of metal. It is very hard but also very brittle. When we try to pry at the door, it chips off like rock. I am not familiar with this technology. We will have to set charges and blow the door open.”

  “Do what you have to chief.”

  The crew chief and his demolition experts framed the door with rope shaped explosive. When they were finished, they gave a sign to the Major and she signaled all marines to move away from the door along the floor exposed on their side of the bulkhead. When all was in readiness, the chief pushed the detonator button and the resultant explosion blew the door into multiple fragments.

  “The door fragmented rather than blew out. Just like the stern section that was hit. Watch out, chief, the bulkhead is cracking. Captain Slone, are you seeing this?”

  “Yes major we are and we are just as stumped as you are. Bring some of the ship structure back with you for analysis. Proceed with caution. What’s that gas co
ming out of the breach?”

  Sardac looked at the blown doorway and saw clouds of mustard-colored gas coming from the opening. “Someone get me a reading on that gas.”

  A marine technician held a sampler into the gas and read the results. “Major, analysis indicates this is mostly nitrogen with about ten percent methane. There are also multiple trace elements, all poisonous to us. This gas has a similar makeup to Saturn’s moon Titian’s atmosphere. This must be a boarding countermeasure; this stuff is highly toxic and a little corrosive. I suggest we advance with care. Someone had to release this stuff.”

  “Understood. By squads enter. Bridge force breach and enter.”

  The marines at the rear of the ship began to enter the breach. The marines at the bridge detonated the charges they set and, much to their surprise; the bridge bubble shattered and flew off in millions of fragments. “Major, our charges smashed the bridge like porcelain. Never saw anything like it before.” Captain Takeda reported. He ordered the marines to enter the bridge and they propelled themselves to the deck. “Major, there is no sign of anyone on the bridge, they must have deserted it. Some of the electronics are working on backup.” Takeda indicated to a marine tech to see to the bridge controls. “I put a tech on them to see if we can pull up some schematics. This may look like a dreadnought on the outside but nothing here fits to what should be on the bridge of one. We are going to move further in.”

  “Captain,” the marine tech interrupted. “I think I can get enough power routed to get the doors working. We can move in without charges then.”

  “Did you copy that Major? You will be able to move between bulkheads shortly.”

  “Understood.”

  A few minutes later, the marine tech indicated the doors now had power, though he could not be sure for how long. Takeda and his men moved to the door and activated the control. The door flew open and all hell broke loose. Several shots flew through the door from launcher pistols, which fired long, needle-like shards that penetrated bodies but shattered when they hit a hard substance. Two of them hit a marine standing in the doorway. They penetrated his suit and passed through his body. As his blood came out, froze in space and crystallized, the marines next to him could see his suite depressurize and his body crystallize as his eyes exploded outward due to rapid decompression. The force of the impacts sent his body careening out of the bridge into space. The other side of the door contained thick clouds of brown gas and the marines fired blindly into the opening. Two more shots came back from the other side but the marines had moved aside and the projectiles went wide. Takeda ordered a marine to throw in a concussion grenade. It flashed with a concussive force that the marines felt through the floor of the bridge. A marine squad followed the grenade through the door with suppression fire. It was all over in seconds and the room behind the bridge was clear to enter. Part of the marine force entered with five remaining on the bridge with the marine tech to act as a rear guard.