by Ryk Brown
“Captain!” Ensign Souza called from the comm station. “Message from the Aurora. Ring base is intact. Heavily shielded. Laser weapon on top pole. Kent is down. No survivors. Attack center point of ring base nearest Nor-Patri.”
A solemn look came over Cameron’s face. They had lost a ship…a crew. “Mister Hunt, put us on course for that ring base.”
“We are not getting through,” the Jar-Benakh’s tactical officer reported in frustration. “That damned shield of theirs is too strong!”
“Have we made any headway?” Captain Roselle asked.
“The shield section over that laser weapon is down to ninety percent, sir,” Ensign Marka replied.
“Then we just have to keep pounding her,” the captain insisted.
“The laser weapon is targeting us again, Captain,” Ensign Marka added. “The weapon is charging.”
“Damn it! Escape jump!”
“Escape jump, aye!” the navigator replied.
“Comms, message to all ships!” Captain Roselle barked. “Screw the ring base! Attack that damned laser first! Once we kill that thing, we can take down that ring!”
“I’m detecting several ships coming out of the ring base, sir,” Ensign Marka reported. “Cruisers, frigates, and gunships.”
“Bring us about again,” the captain ordered. “We’ll do another pass standing on our heads, firing our forward tubes as we pass over the weapon. Kes, put as many of our forward guns as you can on the shield section covering that laser. Sugar… Flash… Use the rest of our guns on anything coming out of that ring base.”
“Message from the Celestia,” the comms officer announced. “They’ve received the Aurora’s update and are going to attack the center point of the ring.”
“Raise them and tell them to go after the laser weapon instead,” Roselle ordered.
“Too late,” Ensign Marka interrupted. “The Celestia just jumped into Nor-Patri’s first gravity point!”
“Firing all forward torpedoes,” Luis reported from the Celestia’s tactical station. “Firing forward plasma cannon turrets.”
“Captain! Multiple ships coming out of the ring base!” Ensign Kono reported with urgency. “Cruisers, frigates, and gunships.”
“Hit as many of them as we can with the rest of our guns,” Cameron ordered.
“Message from the Jar-Benakh,” Ensign Souza announced. “They want us to attack the shield section protecting the laser weapon from above. Jar-Benakh is making lateral passes. Aurora is making forty-five-degree dives from Nor-Patri’s side. They want us to come from the opposite side, on even minutes only.”
“Helm, pitch up forty-five and prepare to jump five light minutes out,” Cameron instructed. “We’ll then pitch up more and to port, so we can jump over to an apex point.”
“I see where you’re going, sir,” Ensign Hunt replied.
“I knew you would,” Cameron said. “Lieutenant. We’ll dive in on our port side, sliding by Zhu-Anok at twenty clicks. We pitch in, put a few rounds of triplets from all forward tubes, then hold attitude and slap them with the port broadsides before we jump.”
“Understood,” Luis replied.
“First turn complete,” the helmsman reported.
“Jumping five light minutes,” Ensign Sperry announced as the jump flash washed over the Celestia’s bridge. “Jump complete.”
“Executing next turn,” the helmsman announced.
“Aurora just jumped for her attack run,” Ensign Kono reported. “She’s picking up some fire from the ships that just came out of the ring base.” The ensign turned to look at her captain. “If they launch any more ships, it’s going to get awfully crowded around Zhu-Anok, sir.”
“Turn complete.”
“Executing next jump.”
“Just keep your eyes on those ship tracks,” Cameron told the ensign. “If you think our jump line is about to get blocked, speak up.”
“Yes, sir,” Ensign Kono replied.
“Executing final turn,” Ensign Hunt announced from the helm.
Cameron studied the tactical display as it updated the status of all known targets in the Jung’s home system. Where there had once been mostly red triangles, there were now red Xs with growing circles around them to indicate the dead ships’ expanding debris fields. By all indications, the attack was already an overwhelming success. The joint JKKV and jump missile strikes on the six battle groups alone had scored nearly forty-eight kills, with the combination strikes on the groups of Jung ships in closer to Nor-Patri resulting in at least thirty more enemy ships being destroyed. But it still wasn’t enough. They had to destroy that ring base, or, at the very least, do considerable damage. Otherwise, the message that they were trying to send the Jung would not be as strong as they desperately needed it to be. The leaflets had provided a simple message: ‘The Alliance and the Jung can live in peace together, or we can all die together.’ They had to prove to the Jung that it was not a bluff.
“Turn complete,” Ensign Hunt reported.
“Attack jump plotted and ready,” Ensign Sperry added.
“Roll us on our port side, and yaw us twenty degrees in, Mister Hunt,” Cameron instructed.
“Roll to port, and yaw twenty to port,” the helmsman acknowledged.
Cameron waited, watching the ship’s attitude display before her on the pedestal between her navigator and her helmsman. Once the attitude change was complete, she gave the order. “Execute attack jump.”
“Jumping in three…”
“All forward tubes are charged and ready,” Luis reported.
“Two…”
“All forward turrets are ready.”
“One…”
Cameron glanced at the mission clock, verifying that they were still in an even minute.
“Jumping.”
The jump flash washed over them. The Zhu-Anok asteroid appeared on the main view screen, sliding from right to left as they passed over it.
“Firing all forward tubes,” Luis reported. “Firing forward turrets.”
Cameron watched as waves of plasma torpedoes poured out of her ship and headed for the upper pole of Zhu-Anok.
“The laser weapon is charging,” Ensign Kono reported.
“Is it targeting us?” Cameron asked.
“No, sir. It’s pointed twenty degrees off our departure course. I think it’s trying to anticipate the Aurora’s next attack line.”
“Losing our angle on the bow,” Luis reported, “switching to quads and port broadsides.”
“Pitching back to course,” Ensign Hunt reported.
“Captain!” Ensign Kono shouted in warning. “Two cruisers! Dead ahead! They just came out of the ring base! They’re trying to block our path!”
“Evasive!” Cameron ordered. “Get us a clear jump line!”
“The laser weapon is moving!” Ensign Kono warned. “Toward us!”
“Get us out of here, Mister Sperry,” Cameron urged.
“Taking evasive,” Ensign Hunt confirmed.
Cameron looked to the tactical display as the ship started to change course to get a clear jump line. There were two cruisers, one behind the other, moving from left to right in an attempt to stay in front of them as they turned. There was insufficient space to pass between them. To make matters worse, yet another ship was coming out of the ring base behind them.
“The laser has a lock on us!” Ensign Kono warned.
“Pitch up!” Cameron ordered.
“They’re firing!”
“Snap jump!” Cameron ordered.
“Our jump line isn’t…”
“NOW!”
On the main view screen, Cameron could see the pale blue light as it quickly poured out of the emitters and spread across the hull. Within a second, it solidified and began to flash. Then there was a sudden red flash of light that encompassed the entire screen. Jump emitters started exploding all over their forward hull, as well as shield emitters.
“We’re hit!” Ensign Kono reported.
“Cascade shield failure!” Luis warned.
“Jump drive is offline!” the system’s officer added.
The main view screen flickered twice and then went black.
“Do we still have maneuvering and propulsion?” Cameron asked urgently.
“Yes, sir!” Ensign Hunt replied.
“Full power to the mains!” Cameron ordered.
“Full power, aye!” the ensign replied.
“Those ships are still in our path!” Ensign Kono warned.
“Ram them if you have to!” Cameron replied. “Just get us below the asteroid’s equator and out of that laser’s firing line! We can’t take another hit like that!”
“Captain!” Mister Navashee called from the Aurora’s sensor station. “The Celestia’s been hit!”
“How bad?” Nathan asked, rising from his command chair.
“She’s lost all shields! She’s got dead emitters all over the place! She may have lost her jump drive as well! She’s in a full power run for Zhu-Anok’s equator!”
“They’re trying to get out of that laser’s firing line,” Jessica realized.
“They’ve got three cruisers making a run to block their path and force them to turn before they get clear,” Mister Navashee continued. “It looks like they may collide.”
“Helm, turn into the lead cruiser and jump us in,” Nathan ordered. “Jess, be ready to fire everything at that cruiser.”
“Turning to intercept,” Mister Chiles confirmed.
“I’m on it,” Jessica assured him.
“Jump ready,” Mister Riley reported.
“Snap jump,” Nathan ordered.
“Snap jumping,” the navigator responded as the jump flash washed over them.
The Jung cruiser suddenly appeared directly ahead of them, with the Celestia to the far right of the spherical screen, practically to Nathan’s side, firing desperately at every ship around her.
“Fire!” Nathan commanded.
“Firing all forward tubes!” Jessica replied.
“The laser has a lock on the Celestia,” Mister Navashee warned. “It’s firing!”
Nathan turned his head to the right, and watched in horror as the laser cut into the top of the Celestia’s stern section, just forward of her antimatter reactors. The laser energy tore through her unprotected hull, setting off secondary explosions that tore her in half, sending her forward section into a slow tumbling motion as both sections continued to drift across the asteroid’s landscape on their way to the ring station at the asteroid’s equator.
“The laser is still tracking the Celestia!” Mister Navashee warned.
“First cruiser destroyed!” Jessica announced. “Give me five to port for the second target!”
“The laser is charging again,” Mister Navashee added.
“Five degrees to port, aye,” Mister Chiles confirmed.
Nathan felt a sick feeling in his stomach as he stared out the right side of the main view screen at his friend’s mortally wounded ship.
“Lock on the second target!” Jessica announced. “Firing!”
“Jump flash!” Mister Navashee reported. “It’s the Jar-Benakh! She’s moving in to shield the Celestia!”
“Second target destroyed!” Jessica announced.
“Helm! Slow us down and match the Celestia’s course and speed! Then bring our nose back around so we can fire torpedoes into the third cruiser!”
“Incoming missiles from two frigates!” Mister Navashee warned.
“Point-defenses are spinning up to intercept the missiles,” Jessica reported.
“The laser is charging again!” Mister Navashee warned.
“How long until the Celestia is out of that laser’s firing line?”
“One minute!”
“Captain! The Jar-Benakh is swinging her nose to starboard,” Jessica reported.
“The laser is firing!” Mister Navashee announced. “Holy shit! It hit the Jar-Benakh in her stern!”
“How bad?” Nathan asked, his eyes wide.
“You don’t understand. Her angle! She deflected most of the laser’s energy away. Her stern starboard shields are down to twenty percent, but she suffered no real damage.”
“Can she do that again?” Nathan wondered.
“She won’t have to, Captain,” Mister Navashee exclaimed. “We’ll be across the equator and out of that damned laser’s firing line in twenty more seconds.”
“I’ve got a shitload of incoming here,” Jessica warned. “I don’t know how long I can keep up with them.”
“Jump flashes!” Mister Navashee reported with excitement. “Dozens of them! Jump missiles! Oh, my God! They’re hitting everything!”
“It’s got to be the Tanna!” Nathan exclaimed.
“Damn right it is,” Jessica commented proudly.
“She just took out every ship in the area, Captain!” Mister Navashee shouted gleefully.
“How long until the next closest ships get within attack range?” Nathan asked.
“Assuming no more come out of that ring, about ten minutes!”
“Comms! Raise the Celestia! Green deck! Launch all SARs and shuttles! And tell them not to bother bringing anyone back here, just jump straight to the departure rally point! Then contact the Jar-Benakh and ask them to do the same.”
“Aye, sir,” Naralena replied.
“And dispatch a jump comm-drone to the launch boxcar,” Nathan added. “Tell them to launch the second KKV! Target is Zhu-Anok! Impact in ten!”
“Captain!” Jessica objected. “That KKV will…”
“You have your orders!” Nathan demanded.
“Aye, sir!” Naralena replied. “Dispatching jump comm-drone.”
Nathan stared at Jessica.
“I hope you know what you’re doing,” she muttered.
Me too, Nathan thought.
The Celestia’s bridge was dark, lit only by the dim emergency lighting and the occasional sparking of electrical arcs from behind consoles. An acrid haze filled the air, and the sounds of alarms filled the bridge. Cameron looked around. Without the main view screen, the bridge seemed remarkably cut off from the rest of the universe. She had a flashback of the bridge of the Aurora, nearly two years ago.
“Any contact with engineering?” Cameron asked.
“No, sir,” Ensign Souza replied frantically. “We’ve lost contact with everything aft of midship.”
“I’m not getting any data from main propulsion or power generation,” the systems officer said. “I’m barely getting any data at all, Captain.”
“Sensors are dead,” Ensign Kono reported.
“I’ve lost all propulsion and maneuvering,” Ensign Hunt added.
“All nav and jump systems are down as well,” Ensign Sperry said. He looked at Captain Taylor. “We’re dead-stick, sir. Dead-stick and blind.”
“Captain! Fighter Launch Control!”
Cameron tapped her comm-set. “Go for Captain.”
“Sir, I’m looking out the aft observation window! Our whole drive section is gone! We’ve been cut in half just aft of midship!”
“Oh, my God,” Cameron exclaimed.
“We’re done, Captain,” Luis realized.
“Can you see the aft section?” Cameron asked over her comm-set.
“Yes, sir, but barely. We’re in a slow end-over. She’s battered, but intact. She looks dead as shit, though.”
“Understood.”
“I’ve got the Jar-Benakh on ship-to-ship local,” Ensign Souza reported from the Celestia’s comm station. “They’ve launched rescue shuttles. So has the Aurora! They’re on either side of us, trying to cover our evac!”
Cameron took a deep breath. “Give the order. All hands, abandon ship. Send everyone aft of the forward primary bulkheads to the port and starboard flight decks. Everyone forward, go to the bow escape pods. They’re set to auto-jump to the departure rally point.”
“Aye, sir,” Ensign Souza replied, as the evacuation alarms began to
sound.
“Two more cruisers coming out of the ring base, far side,” Ensign Marka reported from the Jar-Benakh’s sensor station. “They’ll have range on us in two minutes.”
“Tanna reports she’s all out of missiles, Captain,” Ensign Jullen reported from the comm station.
“Be ready to pound those cruisers,” Captain Roselle ordered.
“Aye, sir,” the tactical officer reported.
“Our first wave of rescue shuttles is on its way back, Captain,” Ensign Marka reported.
“Ring base is launching fighters!” the tactical officer reported.
“Mas! Recall all Eagles and Falcons from orbit! Tell them to fly cover for the Celestia!”
“Aye, sir.”
“Tactical,” Captain Roselle continued. “Until there are more missiles headed our way, put our point-defenses on those fighters. I don’t want them harassing our SAR ops. Understood?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Shoot and scoot! Shoot and scoot!” Loki instructed. “Don’t stay in one place long enough for them to get a lock on us!”
“I’m scootin’!” Josh replied as he executed his fifth single-kilometer jump in the last two minutes, ever since they had jumped from orbit over Nor-Patri to cover the Celestia’s evacuation.
“Two more, ten high!” Loki warned. “They’re firing!”
“And I’m scootin’!” Josh said again, activating the jump drive. As the windows cleared, he pulled their nose up hard, bringing it around to face aft as he pressed the trigger and fired his plasma torpedo cannons. He waved their nose back and forth, spraying the flight of fighters behind them, destroying three of the five pursuers in the process.
“Four more, four high!” Loki warned. He glanced at his tactical display, looking for friendlies. “Eagles at one one four by twenty-eight, Falcon One! Attack the guys to your left and get them off our ass, so we can go after the guys to our four high!”
“Falcon One, Blue Leader. Engaging.”
Josh pushed their nose back around and fired the main engines again, steering toward the gap between the Celestia’s forward section and the Aurora to her left.