Waking the Sleeping Giant: The First Terran Interstellar War 2 (Founding of the Federation Book 5)

by Chris Hechtl

  He was still fearful of their losses, though the anesthetic of time had numbed some of the pain. He had lost one great defender, the Romeo bull's, as well as two of his three lesser defenders. He was down to seven of the eight defenders as well as the four cruisers he'd had with his force. Fortunately, the support ships and dispatch ships had been untouched.

  The same could not be said of his other surviving ships. Every warship had taken damage to varying degrees. The great defenders were the worst hurt.

  He was certain now that the Beta bull's task force had been obliterated. There was no way the enemy would have been there, waiting for him if he hadn't been.

  One of the first things he did when the fleet had settled down was to transmit his logs and orders to the nearest dispatch ship. The ship moved out smartly after it had been refueled. The dispatch boat had the furthest to go, she would be going to the first captive alien world but then from there onward to the home herd worlds.

  One by one he transmitted logs to four other dispatch ships and then had them refueled and sent off. Three of them would go to a conquered alien colony while the fourth would go to the hyperbridge picket he'd left behind that led to the alien demon's home. There were only two cruisers and support ships from the Gamma bull there but any help was needed.

  Each of the dispatch ships carried a word of warning as well as orders for any ship to rally to his position. He would need them, of that he was certain, though he wondered at night if he was not leading them to the slaughter.

  He couldn't help but be alarmed by the loss ratio. His herd's ships took many eight of years to build. The largest took nearly eight to the power of four years of hard work. There were only eight and two ships under construction in orbit of the home herd worlds that he knew of. If Dreamer's speculations were right, it meant those small demon warships had been built in a very short time, less than two years! He shook his massive head at the thought of what else they were building in the time it had taken for his forces to flee.

  If he was right about the timetable based on the last set of dispatches from the home herd worlds, there should have been a delivery of colonists, with a support ship and another task force. That task force would be critical if he had any hope of getting his damaged ships functional again as proper warships.

  If the colony ship was on time, it might have dumped its load and returned for another. He was heartsick over that. His people were so intent on finding new worlds that he might have led them into a trap.

  They needed time. Time to make repairs and learn from what they had experienced. He'd had plenty of time on the way home to think about how to redress the balance. He knew Dreamer had ideas, and he'd heard a few. He had authorized the young bull's group to work on a few ideas in their free time, but they had so little to begin with.

  On the other hand, the new aliens had an unknown number of ships available to them. They were small and somewhat crude, but they were surprisingly effective and getting better.

  What bothered him the most was that their latest translation of the alien colony ship's database had said that the enemy lacked defenders. That was obviously in error and out of date. Had it been a deliberate act to leave it out? He wasn't certain. He wasn't certain of a lot of things at the moment.

  (@)()(@)

  Dreamer rolled his aching shoulders and then clenched and unclenched his hands. After a moment he wiggled his fingers in a vain attempt to get some of the soreness out of them before he tried cracking his knuckles. The nicks, burns, and cuts on his fingers hurt, but they were a distant pain. He'd felt such things before; they just added a little to his misery.

  At least some of that would be lifted soon he knew. With the ships out of hyperspace, they could finally resupply. Which was good; the food they had available was terrible. Getting fresh food and potentially a few new faces to help fill in the voids in the crew might make a world of difference with morale.

  He, like everyone onboard, was overworked from making as many repairs to the ship as they could while in hyperspace. But he was also overworked from being pushed by the Alpha and ship's Alpha to find answers in the copy of the alien database. He had yet to find the answers they were looking for. Sometimes there was none, he had come to realize.

  The alien weapons had astonished him. That such small ships could fire that many missiles and that they could do so much damage to opponents far larger and greater than they were spelled potential doom for the herd. He realized glumly that the aliens were most likely putting such weapons into whatever form of mass production they had available.

  And soon, all too soon, they would come for the herd. Of that, he was certain.

  (@)()(@)

  Captain Ferdinand Knox swore viciously as he tore onto the bridge of Zephyr at a full run. He took one look at the readings, then the terrified expression on the face of his XO. “Message to all ships. We're going to do a random jump to get clear of the area ASAP. Once we do, rendezvous at point Baker,” he ordered.

  “Aye aye, sir,” the XO said. She turned to the helm. “Begin plotting a course now. Engineering, warm up the hyperdrive!”

  “Sir, how will the scout ships find us?” the helmsman asked.

  “They know about Baker,” the captain replied as he took the hot seat from the XO.

  “But, if they come here and …,” she indicated the alien armada helplessly.

  “We can't do anything for them, Toni. We've got to save ourselves,” the XO said.

  “Yes, ma’am,” the helmsman replied with a nod as she began to settle down into professionalism to plot the course.

  “Hyperdrive coming online. Hyper capacitors are charging at 10 percent. They are well outside our range. The enemy is reacting … it looks like they noticed us.”

  “Time to intercept?” the captain asked crisply.

  “Six hours. We'll be long gone by then, sir,” the XO said, checking the clock.

  “Good. Not what I was hoping for; I hate being bounced out but better than being caught,” the captain replied with a nod.

  “I'm a bit envious of Jackalope right about now,” the XO said with a shake of her head as she crossed her arms. “They were lucky to carry the message home,” she said.

  “If they got past the blockade, ma'am,” a tech murmured.

  “Oh, I think they did,” the XO said, turning to Charlie and then away. “Magellan passed on the warning when she resupplied and sent Jackalope off. The blockade is only good if we don't know it's there. Once we did it was easy enough for Jackalope's navigator to pick a different spot to enter the hyperbridge for home,” she replied.

  “True,” the captain replied absently as he checked the readings.

  “Pity Magellan isn't here to see this. Why did they go back to Pyrax again?” the XO asked, turning to the captain.

  “To coordinate with Eden. We were supposed to go there too once the other scouts returned. I think old Jack Lagroose has something cooking there. Captain Cooley wants to be in on it. Or, he's going to scout south at the point of their original contact to see if he can find where the enemy is coming from,” he offered.

  That made the bridge watch turn to him in surprise. He shrugged the looks off. “As you were people,” he said with a nod to the main plot and view screens.

  Slowly the crew returned to their duties.

  (@)()(@)

  “Ship hyperdrive charging detected. Two sources in close proximity,” a cruiser's sensor tech reported.

  “Are they ours?”

  “No.”

  “Can we get to them in time?”

  “No. Based on these readings and the distances involved they will be gone before we get there.”

  “Plot their course. Pass on the order to the other cruisers to do the same. Update the Herd Leader,” the cruiser's Alpha bull ordered.

  “Yes, Herd Leader,” the communications bull replied dutifully.

  (@)()(@)

  “So, they are gone?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “It
was good then. Spies, but at least they fled. For a moment there, I was truly worried of another ambush,” the Alpha bull replied with a shake of his head.

  “Herd Leader, a cruiser has reported the sighting of an alien beacon. It is broadcasting a warning message,” a communications bull reported.

  “Order them to destroy it,” the Alpha bull replied absently. “No, wait.” He turned back to the tech. “Order them to pick it up if it is safe to do so. Have them transport it to the support ships. They need more material for repairs. We might as well take the offering, however small it is.”

  “Yes, Herd Leader.”

  “Was there any more thought given to the alien weapons?” he asked.

  “Dreamer's herd has come up with a few ideas,” the sensor tech admitted. “I read the brief when they asked for me to give more detailed sensor readings. I did what I could.”

  “I haven't seen the brief. What did they say?” the ship's Alpha bull asked.

  “The shaped charges look as if they used a force emitter of some sort to direct the energy of the weapon to the target,” the sensor bull said slowly. He pulled up the image files and put them up. “See, just before the weapon went off we detected a gravity pulse from each warhead. That is the current hypothesis.”

  “It sounds possible,” the ship's weapons bull replied. “I've seen their brief and hypothesis. The write-up is crude though and lacks foundation. It works a lot from supposition.”

  “Not good, but when that is all we have available, we use what we have,” the ship's Alpha bull rumbled.

  “Dreamer believes we can replicate the weapons easily enough given the right resources and time,” the sensor tech ventured. “It would take some testing to get it right.”

  “We lack the resources,” the ship's Alpha bull replied.

  “At this time,” the herd Alpha bull interjected. “I wished I'd known of their findings sooner; I would have sent them off to the home herd worlds,” he mused.

  “My apologies,” the weapons bull said, ducking his head. “I told them to work on refining their proposal before they pitched it to you.”

  “Unfortunate,” the Alpha bull ground out. The weapons bull rolled his eyes and exposed his throat with a lift and twist of his head. He waved a hand dismissing the token of apology. He waited a moment, then cocked his head. “What of the other weapons they used?”

  “They are quite busy with their other duties. The small craft we can replicate given time and resources. I don't see the need, the small robotic craft would be better in larger numbers,” the weapons bull replied.

  “And the last weapons they used?” the ship's Alpha bull asked.

  “I don't know. They do not know how it was constructed, other than the shaped charge. What sort of nuclear fire was used is beyond them. They have drawn in some reactor engineers to help but …,” the weapons bull again shook his head.

  “I see,” the Alpha bull rumbled. “That is how to replicate the weapons. What of defending against them?”

  “They came to me with the idea of jamming the alien's signals,” a communications bull suggested. All eyes turned to him. “I said it is possible, but it would hamper our own sensors and communications unless we could isolate their signals.”

  “And can we?” the ship's Alpha bull asked.

  “It is possible. I have the recordings. What we lack is the material to build the transmitters and the opportunity to test them,” the bull replied.

  “Pull Dreamer off of whatever he is working on at the end of his shift. I want everything written up and all relevant documents included in the files. Everything from our battle should have already been sent, but the documents will help the thinkers and tinkers with their own efforts. When he is finished, I want it sent out by dispatch ship. It is to be done within two days,” the herd Alpha bull ordered.

  The weapons bull opened his mouth to object but then closed it. Instead, he nodded once.

  “Have them pass on everything they've learned to the other ships as well. And anything you had them working on, pass on as well,” the herd Alpha bull ordered, turning to the ship's Alpha bull.

  “As you order Herd Leader,” the ship's Alpha bull replied, making a note of the orders.

  (@)()(@)

  The following day once the repairs were well underway, the Alpha bull ordered the other herd leaders and ship leaders over to his flagship to discuss the problem. The Delta bull and Papa bull were the only two that had survived the conflict. The Papa bull had spent months recovering from his injuries. He had lost one leg below the knee and a hand when his ship had taken the second set of hits. The stumps were glaring reminders of how badly the herd had been mauled. His crippled ship had been the reason the herd had taken so long to get home.

  “They will follow,” the Delta bull said, eyeing Dreamer curiously. His presence made them all wonder what was going on. “We can be certain of that.”

  “Then shouldn't we retreat?” a cruiser ship's Alpha bull demanded. “We are wounded like never before. We need more repairs than what can be done in the field,” he turned hopeful eyes on the Alpha bull.

  “No,” the Alpha bull rumbled. “Like it or not we are it. We do not know what will come or when. For the time being we must stand.”

  “It will take time for the enemy to come to us. Reinforcements may yet arrive in time,” the flagship's Alpha bull rumbled.

  “I have already sent out word for any in the area to return to us. The Gamma bull should be on station at the other jump point. His forces should come to relieve us first,” the herd Alpha bull stated.

  There was a slight trace of relief in the room at that news.

  “Still, we have been crippled. The bugs may come into the sector to see what is going on at any time. We have been weakened. We should fall back until more forces can be brought forth,” the Delta bull persisted.

  “Why? They are targets with these alien weapons as well,” the herd Alpha bull replied, thoroughly disgusted by the situation.

  “Will the aliens attack them as well?” a cruiser Alpha bull asked.

  “Unknown.”

  A rumble of discontent made its way around the compartment.

  “I realize they are a problem. The long flight out here has given me much time to go over what happened and to find a way to counter the weapons,” the Alpha bull said slowly. All eyes turned to him expectantly.

  “The shaped nuclear weapons are mounted on their small robotic craft, missiles. We need to make certain they are interdicted. Second, their small craft need to be interdicted as well. We will need to find a method to deal with them.”

  “We know the distance they launched their robotic craft from,” Dreamer stated. All eyes turned to the engineer turned thinker. “We can create doctrine to maneuver and fire. It will be a matter of getting the timing right. We will still not be able to get them all I'm afraid, but the more we get during the boost phase, the better.”

  “We … can try a few things. Drills for the weapon teams,” the Papa bull said slowly. His herd had been far too busy dealing with the damage to do any sort of training. They were exhausted he knew. He had drawn down personnel from the support ships to make up for the casualties in his ships, but they were still undermanned. Morale was very low.

  “He is correct,” a ship's Alpha offered, nodding in support to the Papa bull.

  “Using what as a target?” another ship's Alpha bull asked curiously.

  “A shuttle will work. They will need to dry fire their weapons,” Dreamers suggested thoughtfully. Heads bobbed in nods around the compartment. “They will need to lead their targets, and we will need to find a way to handle their speed. Pass on their course to other mounts in their line of fire perhaps?” Dreamer mused as he rubbed his chin and played with the long hairs there.

  “Possible,” the Delta bull rumbled, equally engaged in thought. “We can use ships as well. Set up mock firing passes. Their speed is another issue,” he stated.

  “I've got some ideas on tha
t. We can cut some corners in engineering and with the motor mounts in the turrets to speed them up. They will reduce operational lifetime of some of the components, but facing destruction, we need all the edges we can get,” Dreamer offered excitedly.

  “We'll need to test them carefully,” the Papa bull stated. “Your other work has been effective for the herd,” he said with a head bow to Dreamer.

  More bulls rumbled in agreement.

  “What of their spoor jamming? How do we deal with that?” a ship's Alpha bull asked.

  “I saw different forms of jamming. For the one ball,” Dreamer said, pulling out a screen and showing them an image, “we simply target the center mass. They can vary the strength of their jamming to and move the signal on antennas around the craft, but somewhere in there is the enemy craft.”

  “We get clearer images as we get closer. Should we shift frequencies?” another bull asked.

  “An excellent idea. Rotating frequencies is also useful,” Dreamer suggested, making a note.

  Other bulls began to offer their own suggestions. Dreamer was hard-pressed to write them down fast enough, let alone answer questions or offer his own opinion.

  The Alpha bull watched with hooded eyes as he sat back. He was grateful that he'd brought Dreamer along and that the other leaders were now working the problem and forgetting their fear for the moment. He wasn't certain how long it would last.

  (@)()(@)

  The Alpha bull reluctantly sent off his empty supply ships with a minimum escort to the nearest alien colony, the water world with islands that the late Romeo bull had conquered. There was a thick asteroid belt there; they should be able to scavenge a lot of material for the repair ships to use to resupply the fleet herd. One thing of importance was fresh rounds for the rail guns. He didn't like that they had fired off nearly an eighth of their available stockpile in the short savage engagement.

  The herd Alpha bull consulted the ship's timetable. If all was going to what he assumed was the plan, reinforcements would have escorted a colony ship in to secure the first captured alien world at any time. They may even be at the planet now, or having dropped off their load, they might be on their return journey.