by C. R. Daems
"Not Sinclair-eligible ones, ma'am. I want a husband who’s home at night, not away on a cruiser somewhere in space."
Just then Captain MacLin entered the room, followed by Pannell. "Admiral, I've Captains Thayer and Hargrove getting their ships ready to depart for Westar, since you’ve indicated we needed to get to Westar yesterday."
"Have a seat, gentlemen," said Rawls. "We've received a communication from the raiders that indicates they're preparing a raid on Westar in four days’ time. Since I'm informed it will take three days to reach Westar and the raider will be in place at one hundred hours on the fourth day, we don't have any time to lose, and we want Commanders Sinclair and Paulus there, as the time and place could change. Unfortunately, there are no cruisers available in the area, nor any capable of getting there in time to transfer them."
"And you want the raider's cruiser destroyed this time?" MacLin remained silent for a long while after Rawls nodded. "I could take them on the Vulcan and let the Lapis and Cabiri be the primary find-and-destroy cruisers. I'll be backup in the event they needed help."
Rawls looked to Kris and me. "Alright. Afterward, they'll coordinate with Adrian and direct you and your squadron to find and detain or destroy specific merchants. We're planning to close down the raiders’ current operation."
* * *
The next four hours were a mad rush. I called Alexa to let her know I was on my way to Westar. She offered to help me pack, so I had the marine shuttle picked her up at work, which meant we could have a few hours to say goodbye. Later, on the way to the spaceport shuttle depot, they picked up Kris and her detail. She was quiet on the ride to the shuttles and to the space station.
"Seven!" she said as we marched down the space station hallway on our way to the Vulcan. "This is the seventh space submarine I've been on. I was never supposed to serve on one. I'm never going to sign a contract again until I have a team of lawyers read it first." She scowled then gave a small choked laugh. "The work is far more exciting and satisfying than I could have imagined—that is, when I'm not terrified of dying or frustrated about being on a cruiser with gorgeous men I won't consider marrying." She linked her arm through mine as we marched along. "And I found a crazy friend I love like a sister."
"Yes, life can be cruel and wonderful. Right now I feel like I'm in the wonderful stage. I have a loving mother, the work is exciting, and I've discovered an amazing person who feels like an older sister I can trust. So, today is wonderful. Nothing else matters."
"A good philosophy, Anna, as the future's difficult to predict. We're both great examples of how unpredictable it can be." She lapsed into silence.
Onboard the Vulcan, we were assigned commander quarters and told the captain was in his office and would like to see us. When we arrived, the marine on duty opened the captain's office door when he saw us coming. Inside, we braced to attention and saluted.
"At ease, get something to drink and have a seat, Commanders." MacLin waited as we got settled. "Unless you object, I would like you on the Bridge anytime there may be trouble. I'm going to let the Cabiri and Lapis engage the raiders, but if they get in trouble, I'll have to intervene." He sat watching us for our reaction.
"Captain, we appreciate you holding back for our sake and understand that can't be easy. If and when to help is your decision," Kris said, mirroring my thoughts. Captains lived to engage the enemy.
He smiled. "Yes, the thought of engaging the enemy of the UAS is exciting. On the Bridge it becomes a game where we too often forget human lives are at stake. Let's hope this time, we catch them unaware."
* * *
"Well, how was the date?" I asked the next morning at breakfast. We had both gone to the Officers’ Club that night. I had been asked to join another female lieutenant commander, and we were soon joined by several others. They had been interested in Red, and it had turned out to be a fun evening. I had managed to get them to talk about their lives aboard a war cruiser. Kris, on the other hand, had a date with a young male lieutenant commander.
"That's what’s so frustrating. He seemed like the kind of man I could get interested in, but he loves cruiser duty, and I refuse to marry someone who’s going to be away over half his career. At home, I would have to do my job as well as his." She laughed. "Maybe it's best we aren't always on the same ship so I don't see the same men. Wouldn't want to get interested by accident. What about you?"
"I'm living the life of a cruiser officer by proxy—listening to others’ lives aboard the various ships we’re on," I said, and we lapsed into silence, each in our own thoughts.
* * *
"Commanders, I thought you might want to query the WavCom when we exited the Wave," MacLin said in his normal cheerful tone as we entered the Bridge.
"Thank you, Captain. It'll give us something to do, and who knows what we might find," Kris said.
And keep her from worrying, I mused, because we weren't looking for anything relative to the raiders.
Wave exit went smoothly and Kris queried the WavCom as soon as MacLin declared the area safe. Then we returned to our quarters.
"What are we looking for?" Kris asked with a smile.
"Our next assignment," I quipped.
"As much as I would hate to see the team disbanded, I could use a little less excitement. What about you, Anna?"
"I'm a today person, because I feel I'm living on borrowed time," I said. "I could do with fewer hospital stays, but that doesn't bother me as much as putting people I love in danger. Except for that, I love what we’re doing and don't mind the risk."
"They could find a cure for the virus any day," Kris said. I could feel her concern.
"Don't feel sorry for me, Kris. Today, life is wonderful, and that's all that matters."
* * *
"Have a seat, Commanders. We're starting the show early." MacLin said as we entered the Bridge. "The Cabiri and Lapis are moving into position early and will lie in wait at minimum power for the raiders. That will give us the advantage this time. We'll remain well back also at minimum power so they won't detect us as they approach. With luck, we can give the Cabiri and Lapis advance notice of their arrival. I'm hoping this is going to be quick and—"
"Captain, missiles fired ... four missiles ... unidentified cruiser ... the Cabiri is trailing debris," shouted Commander Childs, the radar officer. Then several seconds later, "Another unidentified cruiser just fired on the Lapis. Four hits."
* * *
The Cabiri: Captain Hargrove
"Captain, we're approaching the search area for the GPS coordinates we were given," said the Nav officer. "Three minutes."
"Comm, establish a tight-beam connection to the Lapis." Hargrove felt his excitement rising with every passing minute.
"Captain, Captain Thayer on monitor one."
"Elaine, time to cut back to minimum power and go passive, unless you want to give the raiders a handicap."
"Then it wouldn't be a surprise party, Harry."
Thayer's face was smiling ear to ear. "True. All right, party hats on—"
"Shit—" the Radar officer shouted as the Cabiri was slammed with multiple explosions.
The Comm officer, who hadn't buckled in, was thrown from his chair, bounced off the Nav officer, and hit the back wall. The Nav officer lay unconscious, slumped over in his seat. Hargrove and the other officers on the Bridge had an assortment of injuries from the violence of the impact: arms and hands striking panels or chair arms.
"Unidentified cruiser is accelerating away," said the Radar officer, coughing blood. "Damn! The Lapis is under attack ... four hits."
"Helm, maximum acceleration after that raider. Tac, prepare to fire, max load." Hargrove sat with his eyes glued to the hologram showing the two raider cruisers moving away.
"Two hundred gravities and increasing at one grav per second. Definitely military grade engines," said the Radar operator as he watched his panel between coughs.
"Weapons ready, Captain," shouted the Tac officer with one arm in h
is lap, covered in blood.
"Fire!"
"Six missiles away."
"Five hits on unidentified cruiser," the Radar operator said, a slight grin on his lips.
Less than a minute later, "Four incoming," shouted the Radar officer, and the ECM operator's fingers flew over his bloody panel.
"Chaff away, laser defense active—"
The Cabiri bucked as three missiles stayed on course and got past the lasers.
Hargrove watched the damage monitor as the reports began coming in: they had lost two missile tubes, two fighter bays had been destroyed, six areas had been opened to space, and every area seemed to have some level of damage.
"Tac, fire when ready."
"Four away. Ten seconds to impact."
"They're increasing their lead; we've lost one engine."
"Tac, keep firing as long as they stay in range," Hargrove said, hoping one of the missiles would get lucky and disable the raider.
"Four incoming, no, eight. Both cruisers are firing on us."
"Tac, stay with our raider," Hargrave said as seven missiles slammed into the Cabiri.
* * *
The Lapis: Captain Thayer
Thayer's jaw dropped as the monitor showed Hargrove thrown violently sideways into the arm of his chair and his head shaking like a bubble doll’s.
"Captain—" the Radar officer shouted.
Four missiles slammed into the Lapis before he could finish the warning, and a ripple of explosions sent aftershocks through the ship.
"Tac, fire when ready," Thayer said in a voice of steel as her eyes watched the damage monitor. It wasn't good: more than a hundred had been killed as the ship was breached in three different areas. The good news, such as it was: they had full power, all their missile tubes, and ECM survived intact.
"Unidentified cruisers accelerating away, Cabiri chasing one."
"Helm, max power, keep our raider in missile range." Thayer said, looking around the Bridge and finding everyone functional.
"Six missiles away," the Tac officer said, "Time to impact, ten seconds."
"Six hits," the Radar officer said several seconds later, smiling.
"Four incoming." The ECM officer's face was a mask of determination as he worked in vain to stop them.
The cruisers were too close, and the distance was covered in seconds. Four explosions rocked the Lapis, taking out a bank of two missile tubes, a bank of lasers, and causing additional damage to the Environmental section.
"The raiders are both firing on the Cabiri. It's lost power," the Radar officer said, slamming his fist into his panel. Then softly, "Bastards."
"Mac's on the way. Don’t let that raider escape."
* * *
The Vulcan: Captain MacLin
"The raiders are accelerating away yet continuing their attack on the Cabiri and Lapis," Childs said, eyes glued to his radar panel.
"Nav, an intercept vector." MacLin's voice was space-cold as his eyes studied the hologram with the four cruisers. "Radar, tag Hargrove's raider red-one and Thayer's red-two.
"Vector on the helm's board, Captain."
"Helm, execute vector at max velocity. Tac, three and three on red-one and red-two when ready."
"Six away. Time to impact, red-two fifteen and red-one sixteen seconds," said O'toole the Tac officer with a predatory grin.
"They're combining their fire on the Cabiri," Childs said harshly, and then softly a moment later, "She's lost power.
"Nav, a vector a thousand kilometers in front of the two raiders." MacLin sat, eyes narrowed and lips pursed.
"Vector on Helm's board, Captain."
MacLin said nothing and the Bridge seemed suspended in time as he sat silent.
"Three hits on red-two; two hits on red-one," Childs’s words shattered the silence.
"Helm, execute a one second skip on the vector on your board." MacLin’s voice cracked like a whip. "Tac, ready a full load. Execute on whichever raider you acquire first."
The Bridge faded in and out almost too fast to notice, except for the eerie icy-cold sensation the skip produced in me. Silence again descended on the Bridge as everyone awaited the Tac officer.
"Six away on red-two," O'toole said. "Time to impact ... now." He laughed.
"Red-two lost power. Red-one skipped," Childs said, watching his panel. "I've lost Red-one. They must have cut all power."
"Comm, connect me to Commander Bitter and Colonel Graves."
"Connected," Jimenez said, and their faces each appeared in a split screen on monitor one.
"Colonel Graves, send one shuttle to inspect the Cabiri for survivors and two shuttles of your marines to inspect that crippled raider. Commander Bitter, scramble your fighters to support Colonel Graves's boarding action."
"Yes, sir," they replied in unison.
* * *
Fifty members of the Cabiri had managed to get into escape pods before the systems completely shut down. The raider ship, Rottweiler, had no survivors. The system computer had been destroyed, leaving no clue as to the location of their base. The Lapis had sustained substantial damage and lost one hundred fifty-six crew. Another forty-three were wounded.
"Well, Commanders, what now?" MacLin asked late the following day after the Vulcan and Lapis had docked at the Westar space station. The survivors of the Cabiri and the wounded from the Lapis had been transported to Westar hospitals. MacLin had been unusually subdued, as had Kris, who was feeling guilty that our information had led to an ambush. I felt the loss of so many humans but not personally guilty.
"I would like to wait and see what action they take next—"
"What! After this?" Kris blurted, clearly distraught.
"This just confirms what we already knew—they're vicious, vindictive, and more importantly not planning to leave the UAS."
"But if we close down the merchants and Controllers …" Kris said, implying they would have to leave.
"Or would they attack different targets, like merchants?"
"I kind of like Paulus's reasoning. Rounding up merchants doesn't seem as satisfying as destroying a raider's cruiser. No one is blaming the NIA. You told us where they would be, not when, and an engagement with two cruisers is always going to be costly."
"Alright, I'll get off a message to Adrian with our recommendation," Kris said reluctantly.
* * *
Early the next morning, Adrian replied.
To: Lieutenant Commander Sinclair and Lieutenant Commanders Paulus
Copy: Captain MacLin.
Return to Oxax when Captain MacLin is ready. Admiral Rawls is considering your recommendation in light of the ambush at Westar.
From: Lieutenant Commander Shrader
"I have to admit, I feel guilt over the ambush. I thought MacLin and Thayer would consider us to blame," Kris said. "But it would be like blaming Colonel Pannell for not having marines guarding us in the NIA building when the raider thugs attacked. We have to accept we're in a war with the raiders and the only rule is winning."
"I talked with MacLin earlier. He's planning on leaving tomorrow morning. He's anxious to get his bloodhounds back on the scent." I hooked my arm in Kris's when she smiled. "Let's go eat."
CHAPTER TWELVE
Decision time
On docking at the Oxax space station, Kris and I caught a shuttle to the planet and then a marine shuttle flew us to the NIA office. When we entered, Stauffer was in the conference room with Adrian and Rich.
"Welcome back, ladies. I appreciate you stopping into the office straight from the Vulcan. One question and then you can go. Why do you recommend we not round up the merchants and Controllers?"
"In truth, I thought we should." Kris grinned and punched me on the shoulder.
Red made no effort to move although he could have easily struck her if he had wanted. I understood. If nothing else, it would keep her off cruisers and give her time to search for that elusive husband.
"Adrian favors that approach too," said Stauffer, "so why is th
e team recommending we not?"
"A team member wants to wait, so she gets us to wait," Kris said.
"Isn't that rather ... capricious?"
"Tradition. When we started the Smuggler's Project, I wanted to see the merchant ship that smuggled the red-headed krait. Adrian went along with my whim and Anna found the fake missile and that led to closing down the smugglers," Kris explained.
"Yes, a good example of why arbitrarily adding members to this team wouldn't work. Most senior officers would fight that policy—Anna wants so Anna gets. Why, Anna?"
"I don't believe rounding up the merchants and Controllers will stop the remaining raider or maybe raiders. So, I would like to know how they're going to change or not change their current methodology. If we can't figure it out, we still have the option of shutting them down." I wanted to ensure the solution wasn't only a temporary fix.
"I'll run it by Rawls. In the meantime, take some time off while we wait to see what they do. But don't relax your security." Stauffer looked to the ever present Pannell, who nodded agreement.
* * *
"I hear the Vulcan destroyed one of the raiders without getting hit even once, a unique situation. You'll receive a battle ribbon without having to endure the usual trauma," Alexa said as she entered my home office. I had retired there when I went home early—to think, not work. I knew the raiders were going to change their methodology, the question was—what were their options? They could try another code, but that seemed risky given we had cracked the current one. They could involve the merchants more, but that would mean exposing their agents, the Controllers, who they had been scrupulous about keeping anonymous. Of course, they could decide to kill us first.