On the plus side, the crew used the time efficiently and as the end of the voyage approached, they’d learned much about the alien tech carried by the Vengeance. Armed with the knowledge, Recker felt confident that he could challenge any single Daklan warship – not that he expected to be given the opportunity.
The only certainty about time was that quick or slow, it never stopped flowing and the ten days became nothing more than memories.
“Ten minutes!” yelled Eastwood.
“Twenty-seven days away from base,” said Aston. “And now we’re back.”
“Nervous, Commander?”
“Same as the rest of us, sir.”
Recker nodded. “Part of me wishes the journey would never end.”
He saw in Aston’s face that she felt the same. She smiled without much conviction.
“Two minutes!” called Eastwood. “Get ready!”
Recker didn’t think the Vengeance would re-enter local space any more than a second or two either side of the predicted arrival time. He held tightly to the controls and waited for it to happen.
Chapter Twenty-Five
The transition nausea faded and Recker called for a status update.
“Scans underway,” said Burner.
“All systems green, sir,” said Eastwood.
“We’re five million klicks from Lustre, sir. I’ve put it up on the screen.” A disc representing the planet appeared on the bulkhead feed with a surprising level of detail, given the distance.
Recker didn’t spare it more than a glance. “Talk to base and make them aware of what we’re carrying.”
“Yes, sir. Five million klicks means there’s a short comms delay.”
As he waited, Recker’s attention returned to the feed showing Lustre. He recognized the main land belt which covered the equator. The Adamantine base was on the visible side, meaning a lesser delay when it came to setting down. A pinpoint of light appeared and vanished. Recker frowned, then swore.
“They’re under attack,” he said.
Burner was just learning the same thing. “Sir, the comms channels are all busy. The Daklan showed up less than an hour ago. They’re bombarding our surface defences.”
“What? How?” asked Eastwood.
Those were questions for later. “I need details, Lieutenant Burner,” snapped Recker. “Numbers, ship types, attack patterns. Where’s our fleet?”
“On it, sir,” said Burner.
Recker was raging and he struggled to show outward calm. He could hear Burner talking softly and quietly into his headset, but the words were lost.
“Precise numbers unknown, sir. Adamantine estimates we’re facing thirty-five ships, including two annihilators and eleven desolators. The local defence force is engaged, but they lack the numbers to prevent the Daklan striking our ground launchers.”
“Casualties?”
“We’ve lost five warships, sir. All Teron class cruisers.”
Lustre was usually defended by twenty-five warships, with a variation of two or three in either direction. Against the Daklan fleet, they were outnumbered and outclassed.
Over the next few minutes, Recker obtained a picture of events, such as they were known, and it wasn’t good. The planet was ringed by a network of surface launchers that should have been tipping the tide of the conflict, but the Daklan were sitting high in a cluster and picking off the defensive installations using what were thought to be modified Odan missiles, capable of locking at a much greater range.
Soon, the surface launchers would no longer present a significant threat to the attackers, and the local fleet would be neutralised. When that moment came, the planet’s fate would be in the hands of the Daklan.
“We’ve got to help,” said Recker.
“What about the tech we’re carrying, sir?” asked Aston. “Can we risk losing it?”
“Can we risk losing an entire planet, Commander?”
“I don’t know, sir.”
For once, Recker was confronted by a decision he didn’t want to make. The local battle network showed the position of the Daklan fleet – almost a million kilometres above the planet and travelling slowly clockwise. In about twenty minutes, they’d be above the Adamantine base.
Meanwhile, the local fleet made a series of in-out strikes, before scattering in the hope of fragmenting the enemy and drawing them into range of the surface launchers. Up to now, the tactic was failing badly.
“We’re nearly fifty minutes away on the sub-light engines,” said Recker. “Lieutenant Eastwood, warm up the lightspeed drive – aim for 600 thousand klicks clockwise of the Daklan fleet.”
“Yes, sir.”
“That’s just within our missile range,” said Aston.
“Lieutenant Burner, you’ve got six minutes to get Admiral Telar on the comms. Make sure his team are aware of what the Vengeance represents and advise that we will join the defence of Lustre if we do not receive a direct order to the contrary.”
“The Admiral is busy, sir,” said Burner. It was the least surprising announcement of the mission so far.
“He needs to hear the message, Lieutenant.”
“I’m awaiting confirmation, sir.”
With two minutes remaining on the lightspeed timer, Admiral Telar came onto the comms.
“Captain Recker,” he said, no trace of anxiety apparent in his voice.
“Sir, how are our efforts to negotiate with the enemy progressing?”
“The same as they ever do, Carl. We speak, they don’t listen.”
“So they’re just planning to destroy us?” asked Recker bitterly. Somehow, he’d always imagined that when it came to the crunch, the Daklan wouldn’t commit mass murder.
“Judge them by their actions.”
Recker wished it were otherwise, but the unfolding events left little room for misunderstanding of the Daklan motives. “What about reinforcements?”
“Inbound. They won’t be in time, and if we lose the entire defence force, the first wave of reinforcements might not be enough to challenge what’s left of the Daklan.”
“The reinforcements might have to sit off world and do nothing?”
“We’ll see, Carl.” A tiredness had crept into Telar’s voice.
“Did you receive the details from my comms officer, sir?”
“I did. I understand the Vengeance is fitted with technology the HPA will benefit from.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Technology we can’t afford to lose.”
“No.”
“We can’t afford to lose the billions of people on Lustre either, Carl. How am I to weigh up so many unknowns and choose the path which leads to our salvation?” It seemed that Telar wasn’t expecting an answer, and he continued. “Can you sway this conflict in our favour, Captain?”
Recker closed his eyes. “Yes, sir.”
“Then do what you must.”
“I will do what I can. Permission to act independently of the HPA fleet, sir? Our commanding officers are unaware of the Vengeance’s capabilities and therefore incapable of making the best decisions on its use.”
“I’ll take you at your word, Carl. Permission granted.” Telar wasn’t done. “And should we win here, this is only the beginning.”
“I don’t understand, sir.”
“Later. Goodbye and good luck.”
The channel went dead, leaving Recker staring at the timer.
“Ten seconds,” said Eastwood.
Recker’s grip on the controls hadn’t lessened and he readied himself. “Let’s give them hell.”
With a shudder from its lightspeed drive, the Vengeance completed an in-out jump towards Lustre. Recker was prepared for the nausea and he gritted his teeth, forcing himself to ignore the pain and discomfort.
The tactical re-populated, filling with dozens of red and green dots, each with an overlay giving pertinent data. Counter-clockwise of the Vengeance’s position, the Daklan fleet were at the extremes of range, while the nearest member of the HPA fleet
was the battleship Granite – about a hundred thousand kilometres away - along with an escort of two new Teron cruisers named Stalwart and Resolve. All three had suffered minor damage without losing operational capabilities.
A glance at the bulkhead screen presented Recker with an image of Lustre that was like a perfect model – so realistic as to be indistinguishable from the real thing. On the other screens he saw darkness and unfocused feeds of enemy warships to which Burner fought to bring clarity.
“Got a sensor lock on the closest desolator, sir,” said Burner. “No sign they’re looking our way.”
“They soon will be. Lock and fire, Commander Aston,” Recker ordered.
“Missiles locked and fired,” she shouted above the thumping noise of multiple propulsions.
Recker piloted the Vengeance in a tight circle, allowing each of the ten clusters to launch. When Aston was done, 120 missiles raced towards the desolator at a speed vastly in excess of anything possessed by the HPA.
“Eighteen thousand klicks per second,” said Aston. “Thirty-three seconds travel time.”
“Let’s not sit around gawping,” said Recker, flying the Vengeance away from the launch position.
“The Granite is moving in for an attack, sir,” said Burner. “Captain Sams asks what the hell sort of missile we just fired and she’s also invited us to shelter beneath her mighty wing.”
“She said those exact words?” said Eastwood.
Recker had met Sams once before and she definitely fell into the category of eccentric. “Pass on our thanks – we’ll take her up on the offer.”
He adjusted course and aimed the Vengeance towards the accelerating Granite. His eyes kept going to the tactical, where the recently launched missiles were streaking towards their target. So far, the enemy had not retaliated and continued to pelt Lustre’s surface defences with Odan missiles. Something about the situation struck Recker as odd, and he couldn’t immediately put his finger on what it was.
This is a limited force to send against a planet.
The ongoing demands of combat prevented him from pursuing the thought.
“The enemy have launched countermeasures against our missiles,” said Aston. “That’s too late, surely…”
A flash of white on the sensors indicated the desolator had taken multiple strikes from the Vengeance’s missiles. The warheads travelled which such velocity that Recker suspected they fooled the Daklan track-and-respond countermeasures.
“Did we score a kill?” he asked, pulling the Vengeance alongside the Granite. The battleship’s flank filled the starboard feeds, like a scarred, impenetrable wall of alloy.
“Negative kill,” said Burner. “No, wait! I think they’re breaking apart!”
The plasma fires which gripped the heavy cruiser didn’t diminish and the damaged warship split into two equal-sized pieces. The debris burned fiercely and began drifting.
Burner punched the air. “Take that, you bastards!”
“One down,” said Eastwood.
Recker was glad, but it wasn’t nearly enough and he hoped to send a few others the same way before this was over.
“Get me a sensor lock on one of those annihilators,” he said.
The battle network data made it easier for Burner to find a target and obtain a sensor lock. “Got one, sir.”
The Daklan battleship was a mean-looking craft and the sight of it reminded Recker of the annihilator which had recently pursued him across what seemed like half of the universe. Knocking this one out would be a positive development for the HPA.
The Granite fired its charge cannon and a sphere of blue energy rumbled through space towards the enemy. At the same time, the cruisers let their Hellburners fly, whilst launching from every available Ilstrom cluster. In a split-second, more than two hundred missiles and a charge cannon bolt were heading for the Daklan.
“Commander Aston, help them out,” said Recker. “Target the annihilator.”
“Forward missile tubes launched. Let’s hope they’re too slow this time as well.”
Once again, the bridge became filled with sound, which faded rapidly as the missiles accelerated towards their target. As the tactical became busy with an ever-increasing quantity of targets, Recker thought hard about how he could maximise the impact of the Vengeance’s weaponry. So far, he hadn’t come up with method that didn’t involve suicide.
The Granite and its escort are focusing on a second desolator, sir,” said Aston. “They don’t have the range to hit the annihilator. Looks like the enemy were prepared for the charge cannon attack – they’re accelerating away from it.”
Recker swore, though he was aware of the charge cannon limitations. The weapon had its uses, but at long range and against an opponent who was expecting the attack, the energy spheres were easily avoided.
“Waiting for enemy retaliation,” said Aston.
Although the Daklan were dividing their firepower between surface targets and the defence fleet, the aliens weren’t stupid enough to allow the Granite to approach unopposed. In response, the ships on the edge of the cluster fired dozens of Feilar missiles and when Recker turned to the starboard feed, he saw a huge furrow suddenly appear in the Granite’s flank. A moment later, a second one appeared above it, already glowing from the impact heat.
“Terrus cannons,” Recker said. He was gambling that the Daklan would think of the Vengeance as a lesser target and thereby concentrate their firepower on the Granite. Judging from the tactical, the enemy were only too happy to aim their missiles at the battleship. However, the Vengeance hadn’t entirely escaped notice.
“I’m tracking twelve Feilars heading our way,” said Aston.
The seconds counted down and Captain Sams held the Granite on course. Recker understood what she hoped to achieve – to keep the enemy’s eyes on the HPA ship best equipped to defend itself. Unfortunately, a battleship and two cruisers weren’t packing enough countermeasures to destroy everything the Daklan had launched at them.
“Five seconds to Feilar impact,” said Aston.
“Ready our countermeasures.”
“Gauss turrets already locked. Switching to auto.”
It was the first time any of them had heard the Vengeance’s chain guns fire and the metallic savagery was enough to raise the hairs on Recker’s neck.
“Interceptors away,” said Aston loudly.
Suddenly, it was as if the Vengeance was in the centre of a lightshow made from lines of white and orange, each one beautifully etched into the purity of the void’s darkness. The Granite’s Railers spewed out hundreds of thousands of rounds, and interceptor missiles left curving trails of red as they burst from their launchers. The cruisers unloaded their own defences into space, to join with the chaos of warfare.
Anxiously, Recker watched the tactical. The Vengeance’s chain guns scored numerous hits and the interceptor storm wiped out dozens of Feilars. Dozens more were destroyed by the HPA countermeasures. Against the quantity of warheads inbound, it wasn’t enough and Recker watched two detonations against the Granite’s nose section and a third went off against the Stalwart, producing a crater deep enough to expose the duller ternium engine module underneath.
“A few of the Granite’s missiles hit the desolator, sir,” said Aston. “I’ve only received one successful detonation code from our own missiles.”
“Better than nothing.”
“Not much.”
“The Granite is breaking off,” said Burner.
Recker banked to follow, unwilling to expose his warship to concentrated enemy fire. “This is hit-and-run, Lieutenant and all it’s going to do is delay the inevitable. We haven’t even seen their lightspeed missiles yet.”
“Maybe these annihilators aren’t carrying them,” said Burner hopefully. “Why hang on to them?”
“I don’t have an answer for you, Lieutenant. With or without lightspeed missiles, we’re not going to win this one.”
Only a fool would think the engagement was going to end in
anything other than defeat for the HPA, though Recker couldn’t criticise the tactics too heavily. A frontal attack would also fail – it would just come sooner.
I told Admiral Telar the Vengeance could swing this. I promised and he believed.
He zoomed the tactical all the way out. Elsewhere, other HPA warships were attacking the Daklan from different directions. Recker could sense the futility of it – the Daklan were too strong and the HPA lacked a means to turn the battle around. As it stood, the defence fleet might as well have been building a wall of sand in front of the rising tide.
“Their Odans just took out our ground launchers four hundred klicks west of Adamantine, sir,” said Burner. “Projections indicate they’ll hit the base defences soon.”
“What about the base itself?” asked Eastwood. “Will they take it out as well?”
“We don’t know what they’re here for, Lieutenant,” said Recker. He cast a quick look at the sensor feed of Lustre. “They’ve neutralised the defences around three major cities so far but haven’t targeted our civilians.”
“It would require hundreds of Odans to level a city,” said Aston. “Why waste so many warheads when a couple of incendiaries would do the same job?”
“I wish I knew what the Daklan were planning, Commander.”
No sooner had the words left Recker’s mouth than the Granite was struck by several lightspeed missiles. The armour-piercing warheads buried themselves deep and the explosions which followed were catastrophic. Slabs of armour and whole engine modules were thrown violently into space and Recker instinctively threw the Vengeance down and away, to avoid the largest pieces of debris.
Seconds later, another two lightspeed missiles hit the Granite and the job was done. Thirty-five billion tons of HPA battleship was ripped apart, its crew incinerated or thrown into the vacuum. It was a loss which Recker had hoped never to witness and he shouted in cold, blind fury at his distant enemy.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Through his anger, Recker gave an order.
“Lieutenant Burner, activate engine mode 2.”
“Engine mode 2 activated.”
Fractured Horizons (Savage Stars Book 2) Page 21