Imperial Command

by D. J. Holmes

  Drake powered up her engines and accelerated into the system once more, the rest of the ships in James’ command followed suit. As expected, the Karacknid ships in the system detected the move immediately. James had his ships charging right towards the depot. This time however, he had ordered the safeties taken off his reactors and engines. More than one ship was probably going to suffer a reactor failure. But he needed the Karacknids to think he was serious. Of course, if the opportunity arose, he was indeed deadly serious. If he could get away with it, he intended to charge straight into energy weapon range of the depot. From his current line of attack he would be able to blast the remaining orbital stations and slip past the main Karacknid fleet. At least if they left him alone.

  Moments later it became clear they weren’t going to give him such an opportunity. The two hundred and fifty Karacknid warships defending the depot remained perfectly still. They weren’t going to be suckered out of position. If they had, Chen’s fighters had orders to swoop in and strike what was left of the depot. Instead, four hundred warships broke away from the main Karacknid fleet. They settled onto a course that would allow them to bring James’ ships into missile range before he reached the depot even with the safeties off his engines. “Let’s give them something to think about,” James said. “If they want to intercept us, they have to keep on their trajectory. That means no wide evasive maneuvers. Fire every multistage missile we have left. They are to go ballistic until they can engage both stages.”

  “Right away Admiral,” Anderson replied.

  After the first salvo was slung out of Drake’s missile tubes, James turned his attention to what was left of the main Karacknid fleet. There were just four hundred warships in formation with more than a hundred freighters and other support ships. If the freighters were full of fuel and munitions, the Karacknid invasion fleet would have at least enough supplies to push into Human space and conquer and raid a half dozen systems. If what was left in the depot was added to that, they could have enough to push on to Earth. Even the thought of what the Karacknids might do there made anger well up within James. Yet there was nothing he could do. He couldn’t fight past the five hundred warships attempting to close with him. Heck, he couldn’t even attack the depot again. Not really. If the defenders had any brains they would break orbit and engage him in open space before he reached the depot. No, Chen’s fighters were the only card he had left to play. And there’s no way to know for sure where they are, James thought as he stared at the shrinking space between the Karacknid depot and their main fleet.

  For twenty minutes, James had nothing to do but wait and watch as five hundred Karacknid warships tried to intercept his charging ships. Two ships in his fleet had fallen out of formation. One’s reactors had gone into an emergency shutdown. They were trying to restart them. The other had blown a series of power converters in their main impulse engine. There was no way to repair the damage without towing the ship out of the system. Ordering the ship abandoned, James had sent a rendezvous point for the ship’s crew to head to in their shuttles and escape pods. If any of his fleet survived long enough, he would dispatch a ship to get them. Unless the Karacknids hunted them down first. James wouldn’t put it past their enemy to do just that.

  “Our first salvo should be lighting off their engines now,” Anderson informed everyone.

  James, along with most of the bridge officers, looked up to the main holo plot. Seconds later twelve hundred new contacts appeared as the first salvo of multistage missiles ignited their engines. Technically it was actually the third salvo. Seconds later the second salvo lit off their engines and then the third did the same. James’ fleet had coordinated their missile salvos to combine with one another. “Alter course onto our new heading,” James snapped. Ordinarily such tactics didn’t work, most fleets carried out constant small course changes, making it impossible to target enemy fleets with missiles fired ballistically. Taking a risk, he hadn’t altered his fleet’s heading from the most direct route to the Karacknid depot. In return, the ships trying to intercept him had done likewise. If they wanted to, they could still break and force James’ missiles to expend a lot of their fuel trying to keep a lock on them. But then they risked James’ fleet being able to pass them by.

  “They’re going to take it on the chin and keep coming,” Fisher said when the Karacknid ships didn’t alter their course even slightly.

  James nodded. Clearly the supplies left in the depot were of vital importance to the Karacknids. “Three thousand six hundred missiles isn’t too scary for a fleet that size.” With five hundred warships, the Karacknids had a fair chance of taking out all of his multistage missiles before they could get into attack range. As the Karacknid defenses opened fire, James’ words were quickly confirmed. Hundreds of missiles disappeared off the gravimetric sensor display every second. To his surprise, seven missiles managed to detonate. Three Karacknid warships were destroyed and two more fell out of formation. “Well, at least we accomplished something,” he said to his officers. “And we kept their attention firmly fixed on us. That’s all we wanted.” After several officers nodded, James gave his next order. “Bring the fleet onto course Beta-one. Slow to maximum military thrust. We’ve done all we can.”

  As she reduced her acceleration, Drake fired her maneuvering thrusters to turn her nose away from the Karacknid depot and towards the second gas giant in the system. The Karacknid ships trying to intercept her altered course as well. Then half of them flipped end over end. “They’re going to reverse course!” Anderson called out. “The rest are changing course as well,” he added moments later.

  “They know what we are planning,” James concluded. The Karacknid commander was clearly no fool. Using the third gas giant’s gravity well, James intended to slingshot his ships around the planet and back towards the system’s mass shadow. There was little to no chance the Karacknid fleet pursuing him would be able to catch him in time. Realizing James’ attack had been a feint all along, the Karacknid commander was covering his two most important assets. Half of his fleet was decelerating hard to join the rest of his warships and the freighters still crossing the system. The other half was turning towards the depot. Now it’s over to you Chen, James thought. The orders he had given the Wing Commander had been very flexible. Chen was free to interpret them as he wanted depending on the situation.

  *

  Captain Black lightly tapped out a tune on the armrest of her cockpit. Fanned out to her left and right were the other seven Corsairs left in her squadron. Cruising along in stealth, they were all pointed at the heart of the main Karacknid fleet. Or more accurately, at the freighters at the heart of the fleet. Somewhere behind her the rest of Wing Commander Chen’s force was following them. Gently, she grasped her flight stick and gave the wings of her interceptor a slight wobble. On either side of her, her pilots mimicked the maneuver. Black nodded in approval. They were all alert and ready for action. It was just a matter of waiting. Starting up with her finger again, Black tapped out another one of her favorite tunes.

  Fifteen minutes later a beep from her gravimetric sensor told her their part in the attack was soon to begin. Admiral Somerville’s ships had just slingshoted around the system’s third gas giant. Wing Commander Chen had obviously taken that as his cue to begin, for ninety contacts had suddenly appeared behind Black’s interceptors. They were all accelerating as fast as they could towards the main Karacknid fleet. Black fixed her attention on a strange looking Karacknid ship that was slightly larger than their dreadnoughts. Analysis of the earlier engagement suggested that that ship was where the forty Karacknid fighters had come from. Without her active sensors on, she was unlikely to actually detect any fighter launches; but she wanted to see them as soon as they announced themselves. If they have the guts to come out for a second engagement, Black thought with a smile. Scarlet Squadron’s Spitfires had just about held their own with the Karacknid fighters. Her interceptors had gone one better. She was now the first official fighter pilot ace in near
ly a century and half. Three of her other pilots were just two more kills away from matching her number. And it looks like they’re going to get the chance, Black thought as eighteen contacts appeared accelerating away from the Karacknid fleet. They were on a trajectory to intercept Chen’s Spitfires and Lancasters.

  Taking another glance left and right for her own comfort, Black reassured herself that the interceptors were all in formation. She knew she didn’t need to give them any orders. They knew exactly what to do. No doubt their fingers were all itching on their accelerators, just waiting to go. Forcing herself to be patient, Black waited as the Karacknid fighters came closer and closer. Their active sensors were filling space around them with electromagnetic energy. But Black had confidence in her interceptor’s stealth abilities. She waited until the very last moment she thought she could get away with sneaking up on them. As soon as the moment came, she flicked on her COM unit. “Engage engines,” she ordered. Her left-hand slammed forward her acceleration controls while her right hand gripped her flight stick.

  The Karacknid pilots showed the efficiency of their training by reacting at once. In pairs they broke formation, peeling away in separate directions. Yet it didn’t save all of them. As soon as her missile achieved a lock, Black squeezed her trigger. When it just missed and flashed past a turning Karacknid fighter, she swore. Four other explosions told her that some of the missiles had scored hits. Black didn’t have any spare mental capacity to worry about her missile for Karacknid fighters were zipping past her from all directions as the engagement turned into a deadly dogfight. Twisting and turning, Black did her best to throw off the fire of the two ships on her tail. As a third Karacknid appeared in front of her she released a hail of laser beams but failed to get any of them on target. Sweat ran down her brow as the Karacknid weapons fire came closer and closer to her interceptor. With no other way out, she braked, then pulled up on her flight stick and accelerated again as she threw her interceptor into a tight loop. The Karacknid fighters could basically match her interceptor for speed, but they didn’t quite have the same maneuverability. Holding the loop, Black did a four hundred and fifty degree loop before she broke it off. Frantically she searched for the two Karacknid fighters. When one appeared off her left still trying to mimic her loop, she spun her fighter around and blasted her laser cannons. Six laser beams struck, burning away half of the fighter’s right-hand engine section. It spun away from Black’s line of sight out of control.

  “Four Karacknids have broken away,” Razor-two called out over the COM channel. “They’re heading for Chen’s fighters.”

  Black checked her sensor display. Her squadron had destroyed seven Karacknids. Though Razor-Nine’s transponder was no longer reporting the interceptor’s location. Her ships were still engaged with seven enemy fighters. There was no way they could disengage to pursue. “Chen will have to deal with them. Focus on finishing the rest,” she said to her pilots. Following her own orders, Black sought out another Karacknid fighter. The nearest one to her was chasing Razor-Eleven. The Karacknid ship was peppering space all around Razor Eleven with laser beams. Turning her interceptor, she maneuvered to slot in behind the Karacknid. As soon as she got a half decent shot she opened up on the enemy fighter. When it didn’t swerve away from engaging Razor Eleven, Black swore. The Karacknid pilot was good. Or extremely cocky. He was not giving up on taking out Razor Eleven. Black zoned out everything else around her as she concentrated on lining up the enemy fighter. She needed to take it out before its pilot got Razor Eleven. For nearly twenty seconds her enemy dodged and weaved in and out of her targeting receptacle as the Karacknid pilot carried out evasive maneuvers and kept firing bursts of laser beams at Razor Eleven. Finally, Black got the shot she had been waiting for. With a shout of rage she held down her trigger. Her shout quickly turned to one of victory as the Karacknid fighter disappeared in a mini explosion. Then it was cut off. Razor Eleven had just disappeared off her sensors as well. The Karacknid had hit Eleven just as she had hit it.

  Cursing herself, Black threw her interceptor into an evasive turn as she sought out another target. Eleven had died because of her. In a rage she blew away another Karacknid fighter. As soon as it was dispatched, she turned, looking for another target. Moments later she was confronted by another Karacknid fighter chasing one of her interceptors. This time she didn’t hesitate. Twisting her flight stick she fell in behind it. Holding her trigger down until her capacitors ran out of juice, she filled space all around the fighter with laser beams. Seconds before she ran out of power, the fighter was blown apart as a couple of beams hit home. With anger still roaring within her, Black glanced at her sensor readout to find another target. She was caught off guard when there were no Karacknids left in range. Two were retreating as fast as they could back to their mothership. The rest had been taken out by her squadron.

  Taking a couple of deep breaths, Black fought to get her emotions under control. Along with Razor Eleven, Razor Seven was no longer reporting in. That left her with just five interceptors, including her own. “Okay Razors, good shooting out there. Form up on me,” she ordered. As her interceptors acknowledged her command and moved to join her, Black checked her sensors to see how Chen’s force was getting on. Six Spitfires had boosted ahead of the main group of fighters. They were now dueling with the Karacknid fighters. From the transponder codes, Black saw Chen had sent half of Scarlet Squadron to deal with the Karacknids. She wasn’t surprised when two of the Karacknid fighters quickly disappeared from her display. Over the next two minutes Scarlet Squadron dealt with the rest of the Karacknids, though they lost two of their own Spitfires. Even as they were fighting, the rest of Chen’s force flew past them and towards Black’s interceptors.

  After watching them for a second, Black’s attention shifted to the Karacknid fleet. The freighters and other support ships were moving to the back of the fleet and every warship was moving to face Chen’s force. Black couldn’t help but shake her head. It would be all but suicide to try and fly through the point defense fire so many warships would put out. And yet Chen’s force was continuing resolutely. Its course hadn’t deviated by even a little. As Black looked out her cockpit, the gaps left by the interceptors that were missing from her squadron weighed heavily on her. Then she looked at the Karacknid fleet. The mission Admiral Somerville had given Chen was of vital importance. Taking a deep breath, she flicked on her COM unit. “Razors listen up. Chen’s force has to get through those warships to release their missiles. The way I see it, the more targets the Karacknids have to shoot at, the more of Chen’s Spitfires will get through. We know those pilots are good. But they’re not as good as us. What do you say, you think we could show them a thing or two?”

  For a second or two Black thought none of her pilots were going to respond. She began to fear she had already asked too much of them. Then Razor Two broke the silence. “If they buy us a drink or two once we get back to Prometheus, then I’m game if you are Captain,” she said in her usual jovial tone.

  “As am I. There’s a couple of pilots in Vanguard Squadron I’ve been looking to impress,” Razor Four quipped. “I was hoping to buy them a drink, but if they are buying, that would be even better!”

  When the three pilots all affirmed they were up for it as well, Black worked out a flight path that would allow them to catch up and slot in beside Chen’s fighters. After transmitting it to her pilots, she gunned her interceptor’s engines. They were committed now.

  Chapter 41

  Many systems exchanged hands between the Alliance and the Karacknids during the course of the War of Doom. None more so than the Mindus homeworld of Jaranna.

  -Excerpt from Empire Rising, 3002 AD.

  Seconds after she lit off her engines, Black’s COM unit beeped to let her know Wing Commander Chen had opened a COM channel. “Captain Black, your interceptors have proven their worth once again,” Chen said. “I see you’re not heading on to the bulk carriers.”

  “We thought we’d see this throug
h to the end Commander,” Black responded.

  “Well, we’re happy to have you with us Captain. I’ll see you on the other side,” Chen said.

  “On the other side,” Black agreed as Chen ended the COM channel. Taking her fingers off her flight stick she flexed them back and forth. Her hand already felt stiff from the stress of the dogfight. As bad as that had been, she knew what was about to come would be far worse. With Chen’s force still five minutes out from the Karacknid point defense weapons, Black forced herself to look away from the enemy fleet. Instead she tried to distract herself with the beauty of the system she was in. The white dwarf gently lit up the three gas giants that were all very close to one another. The image would have served well as a 3D display in someone’s quarters. Black stared at them for as long as she could before having to turn back to the Karacknid fleet. When her interceptor was thirty seconds out from the range of their point defenses she gripped her flight stick again. Following Chen’s orders, she joined the rest of the force as they began evasive maneuvers.

  Though she had been expecting it, when the weight of fire from the enemy ships opened up on her, she struggled to catch her breath. With all her skill and focus she twisted and weaved as best she could. Here and there explosions told her Human fighters were being destroyed. She didn’t have the time or focus to check if any of her interceptors were among them. The next evasive maneuver was all she could focus on. A sudden shadow passing over her cockpit made Black look up. She was passing between two Karacknid dreadnoughts! The momentary distraction made her hand delay ever so slightly on her flight stick. Two Karacknid laser beams blasted through the cockpit of her interceptor, frying her body instantly.