Tarizon, Conquest Earth, Tarizon Trilogy Vol 3

by William Manchee

  Chapter 33

  The Trap

  When Tam was advised that New Age and Relentless had arrived, he rushed to the bridge. Colonel Belmoht was at the helm with Rossi Sincini and Lt. Lamh. Specialist Grugger was advising them of the position of the two cruisers.

  “They’re together in stationary orbit around Earth,” he said.

  “We have to split them up somehow,” Tam said.

  “I doubt that will be a problem,” Lt. Lamh said. “The moment they detect us coming at them they’ll run, and probably in different directions.”

  Tam looked at Lt. Lamh thoughtfully. “You may be right. So, assuming you are, they’ll go FTL until they’re far enough away to feel safe and then stop and scan for our presence.”

  “That’s what I’d do,” Lt. Lamh said.

  “So, how do we anticipate where they will go?” Tam asked.

  Rossi raised his eyebrows. “If you chased them long enough, I could probably figure out their decision pattern and predict their next jump.”

  “Really?” Tam said.

  “Yes, people are very predictable, so once you observe enough of their behavior you can easily determine what they’ll do in the future. It’s just a matter of having enough data.”

  “Okay. So, how many jumps will you need before you can accurately predict them?”

  “At least three but it might take more,” Rossi replied. “The first jump will be pretty far just to be safe. Then they will probably head back toward Earth. They don’t want to get too far away in case they are needed.”

  “So, this could take a while,” Tam observed.

  “I’m afraid so,” Rossi said.

  “Does anyone else have a better idea?” Tam asked. He looked around at a bunch of blank faces. “Okay, then. Take us to the Fleet and we’ll chase a couple of battle cruisers. Rossi needs his data.”

  Earth’s Destiny started off with a navigation setting calculated to put them on top of New Age and Relentless. It was a short flight since they hadn’t been far away. When they stopped they were only five kylods from the two attack cruisers. For a moment the two cruisers just sat there motionless. Then they went FTL and disappeared.

  Tam shrugged. “Okay, the game begins. Where do we start looking for them?”

  Rossi looked at Tam thoughtfully. “Well, I’d jump to about halfway to the moon. Probably straight at it.”

  “Okay, sounds good.”

  Tam nodded to his navigator and the ship took off. A little while later it came to a stop. Everyone looked over at Specialist Grugger expectantly.

  “No sign of them, sir.”

  Tam looked at Rossi. “I’d cruise toward the moon,” Rossi said. “There’s a lot of empty space out here.”

  Earth’s Destiny headed for the moon, and several kyloons later, when they hadn’t detected the Fleet, Sincini suggested they fly a grid pattern over the area in which he was sure they must be. Finally, nearly six kyloons later, their patience paid off.

  “Sir,” Grugger said. “I’m picking up one of the attack cruisers on our long distance scanner.”

  Tam smiled and looked over at Sincini. “Okay, one down and three to go.”

  Again Earth’s Destiny jumped to a position near the attack cruiser and stood menacingly before it for a long loon until it repeated its disappearing act.

  “Okay, which cruiser was that?” Tam asked.

  “The scanner imprint shows it to be New Age, sir,” Grugger replied.

  “New Age, huh? Any sign of Relentless?”

  “No, sir. They probably split up to make it harder for us.”

  “All right, Rossi. Where to now?”

  “I’d head back toward Earth. The question is: toward what position?”

  Tam looked at Sincini and waited while the engineer thought.

  “They probably have an orbital position they need to be in to coordinate with their people on Earth, so I’d go back in that direction,” Sincini said. He wrote down the coordinates and gave them to the navigator. The ship jumped once again. This time, when they dropped below FTL, the New Age could be seen on the long distance scanner.

  “You are good, Rossi,” Tam said, smiling.

  “Like I said. People are predictable, particularly when you know what restraints they are operating under.”

  For the rest of the day Earth’s Destiny followed New Age and confronted them seven times, as Tam wanted to be sure Sincini had enough data for his algorithm. When he seemed to be confident he could predict their next move, Tam asked him what that move would be. Sincini told him.

  “Okay. Take us there,” he said, indicating a point on the navigational display. Tam gave the coordinates to his navigator.

  The ship took off and a few loons later stopped close by the location Sincini had predicted New Age would end up after its next jump.

  “All right, Lt. Lamh,” Tam said. “We’re going to drop your squadron here. When New Age shows up I want you to attack them from all sides and all angles. I want a tight web around them.”

  “Yes, sir,” Lt. Lamh said and ran off to the launching platform. Soon, fifty-nine fighters were dispatched into space to wait for their prey. Once they were off the ship, Earth’s Destiny set off to confront New Age one more time. When they appeared a few kyloons away, New Age seemed to linger, and Tam began to wonder if they had tired of running. Then the cruiser disappeared. Tam’s heart began to beat hard in his chest. His stomach twisted.

  “All right. Power up the laser cannon. Let’s kiss New Age goodbye!”

  The ship’s FTL drive roared into action, and within a few loons Earth’s Destiny was on a collision course with New Age, just as Rossi Sincini had predicted. When they were a kyloon away they saw Loyalist fighters swarming around the attack cruiser, pelting it with lasers and missiles. Purist fighters were pouring out to meet the unexpected assault. The sky around New Age was ablaze with laser fire and exploding fighters. Missiles were hitting its hull and bouncing the cruiser around like a seagoing ship in a hurricane.

  “Range two thousand,” Grugger advised.

  Tam held his breath, expecting New Age to go FTL. He wondered how he’d react in the same situation. Would he risk the laser cannon or go FTL and hope he could bully his way out of the swarm in one piece? Suddenly, he knew the answer as New Age plunged through the swarm of fighters engulfing her. There were explosions as the big cruiser collided with fighter after fighter, then its forward progress slowed as it was rocked by concussion after concussion.

  “Go after her!” Tam exclaimed. “Get us up close now before she picks up speed!”

  Earth’s Destiny accelerated until she was right on top of the swarm. “Fire!” Tam ordered. “Fire now!”

  Two orange jets of plasma shot out of Earth’s Destiny, engulfing New Age and all the fighters in between.

  “Get us out of here, now!” Tam exclaimed as the plasma encircled the attack cruiser and breached her hull. All the fighters encircling the ship began desperately fleeing the area. There was a flash of eerie orange light and then a blinding explosion. Earth’s Destiny was caught by the concussion and driven mercilessly away. The crew inside was knocked and jolted around relentlessly and pelted by debris tearing away from the Purist cruiser’s remains. There were screams of horror and cries of painful anguish. Finally, many loons later, the storm ended and Earth’s Destiny drifted. She was on a collision course with the moon.