by G J Moses
A good many of the sensors on the starboard side of the ship were melted into uselessness by the heat of its passing. Even their shields could not fully stop something of that magnitude. Based on the readings they were getting, if the laser had hit them directly on, they would have been seriously crippled. The energy numbers were the highest he had ever seen fired from a ship. Only on a ground-based laser had he seen power readings like that.
That was not all, now the Lucky Strike had to deal with the missiles heading straight for them. The counter measures, point defense, ECM’s, and lasers went to work again with their usual efficiency. But it was not enough, as before, the enemy was learning, several got through and detonated.
The ship tumbled end over end, and anything loose, went flying. Breach alarms were blaring, and it was obvious the ship had been hurt. To what extent, no one knew, and now they were in the range of the cruiser’s lasers.
Just as they stopped tumbling from the missile blasts, the lasers from the enemy cruisers hit their shields and flung them over again. Jax’s skipping program caused some of the lasers to miss their target but not all. More klaxons sounded and it was obvious the damage was bad.
But Will and Hawke, secure in their harness, had been ready and let loose with four of the primaries at one of the cruisers.
Meanwhile, three MK-XIIs raced towards the battleship. It was more of a distraction while they lined up their two remaining primaries on the battleship’s oversized laser. Missiles at this range did not have the time to build up to full speed and were much easier to destroy, just as the Lucky Strike was doing to the subsequent Chohish volleys. That is, if the point defense was not degraded by enemy fire
The battleship then added their lasers to the fire storm impacting the Lucky Strike. A good many were making it through the shields.
The smoke and electrical fires were overwhelming and making it difficult to see their consoles. The harness held them secure, but they were being buffeted around like rag dolls. Most, if they survived, would have bruises over a good portion of their bodies.
Visibility on the bridge was now very limited. When suddenly, Caspian’s harness snapped, and he went flying across the bridge to hit the opposing wall. Unfortunately, there was no time to check on him and he would have to wait until they got through.
Suddenly, the main screen centered on the battleship, under the guidance of Hawke. Everyone watched as the enemy laser was hit by both primaries. The primaries melted the front end of the enemy laser into a solid slab of metal.
Barely able to keep his seat with all the buffeting around, Zeke noticed that the laser was hit just as the front tip had started turning white again.
The battleship disintegrated in front of their eyes. It looked like it was expanding like a balloon before exploding with great force outward in all directions. It was then the command screen dimmed to lock out the bright explosion of the battleship. There would be few survivors, if any at all.
And then they were through! They raced away and neither of the two remaining cruisers followed, with only a few missiles still tracking them.
The AI registered that one of the cruisers had air escaping from a large rupture near the port engine along with other damage that spewed debris and bodies. The other cruiser did not look to have taken any serious damage.
Why they did not send any additional missiles after they was a mystery, but Zeke was thankful as their point defense was seriously degraded. They were slowly knocking off the few missiles following them, but if there were any more, he doubted they would be as successful. They used the two rear primaries to continue firing on the damaged cruiser until out of range.
The crew erupted in cheers until it sunk in how badly they had been hurt.
The Lucky Strike was in bad shape. The panels around the bridge had few, very few, green lights. System failures and warning lights were lit on almost all the panels.
The crew, once they had a moment to look around, became quiet, very quiet. Then one by one, being the professionals that they were, went back to work. Checking the status of their primary systems or if needed, the backup systems, rerouting power, and so much more. A good many started helping injured crew members. Several of their crew members were beyond help. Three had died still strapped into their seats, slumped over their consoles.
Once they were at a safe distance, Jax’s damage crews started to take stock on just how bad they were hurt. Medics arrived to get Caspian and several others that could barely stand. The rest of the crew were ordered to stay on alert and out of the way. All watched silently as three crew members were unstrapped and taken away on a stasis gurney.
Watching as the three gurneys were being pushed into the elevator, Zeke, unbuckled and rose from his seat. It was then that he felt sharp ripples of pain through his chest, and shoulders. One or two ribs felt bruised and was constricting his breathing. But he now needed to do what he does best. Bring hope and resolve to his crew.
Slowly he walked around the bridge patting shoulders in reassurance. Then after making sure Will and Hawke were okay, he took his leave and made his way around the ship.
The crew were upbeat even after the beating and the losses they had taken. Most had not expected to survive and we’re proud of the damage they had unleashed upon the Chohish. Where Zeke expected to see despair, he saw pride and confidence. Even through the smoke and debris.
Keeping track of reports through his earpiece, Zeke walked around the ship. Everywhere he went showed some type of damage, and regrettably, injured crewmen. Repair robots were swarming around being given their priority by the engineering team still dressed in their armored suits.
Finally, he made his way to the infirmary, where he dejectedly saw a steady stream of patients arriving. As he walked through the main doors, he was at his lowest. So many bore grievous wounds, some he knew would not recover.
As he walked through the doors, he saw Caspian, who was propped up and watching him, as he made his way around. Stopping by his bed, Zeke saw Caspian was heavily bandaged over a good portion of his body. You could imagine Zeke’s surprise when he saw the tech smiling with his eyes crinkled. “I guess we showed them, Captain, no?”
“I guess we did Caspian, that we did. You get well, I need you back at your station, and that’s an order!”
Patting him gently on the head as it looked to be the only place not bandaged, Zeke resumed walking around the infirmary. The ship had taken some serious damage and it showed on the crew who manned it. There were some who had lost limbs with others just barely hanging on. But, no surprise to himself as he had experienced this before, it was them that comforted him.
The injured, instead of being depressed, smiled and spoke of how proud they were on making it through. And this was uplifting to Zeke as a good many of the injuries were horrific to behold. Thankfully, medicine has come a long way, most of those he saw here would fully recover. Damaged and missing limbs can now be regrown in the regeneration tanks, although that would take the patient out of action for months.
Just as he finished touring the sick bay, the damage report from Jax came in.
The news was not good. The port side of the cruiser had taken the brunt of the damage and even though personnel had been moved away from the skin of the ship, the damage breached several layers in. Over seventy-five were dead or missing. Close to another hundred were injured with forty-two of those seriously.
All the MK-XIIs launchers required some work before they could be used again. Four of the missile tubes could be repaired within several hours. Another two would take close to half a day. Unfortunately, the last two could not be repaired without a Navy Repair docking facility.
Three of the primaries were undamaged. Another three had minor damage that could be repaired in an hour or two. The last two, would require up to six to eight hours before they could be brought back online. That was in question though, would they have the time.
Of the secondaries, almost a quarter were destroyed, and they barely h
ad enough spares for replacing those. A good many required some type of repair before they could be operational again. It would take anywhere from two to six hours before they would have most of the lasers available again.
The skin of the ship looked like a moon with all the craters across its surface. They were fortunate that the skin of the ship had been constructed with the new process where the spaces between the molecules were greatly reduced allowing for an unheard-of strength. This toughness was one reason they were still around. But even so, it was not indestructible, and it showed. There were many places that would be open to space, until they returned to a Navy yard.
But there was some good news. The engines were undamaged and the fighter bays along with all the fighters and shuttles were untouched.
Grateful for that at least, Zeke contacted Gunner and Khaleesi, asking on their readiness while he made his way back to the bridge.
Surprise
It was close to half an hour after the battle that the RGN transponder notified the Lucky Strike that the Jackal transitioned into the slipstream. Even though the Lucky Strike was still coping with understanding their death toll and damage assessment, the bridge erupted in cheers for a few seconds as their gamble had paid off. Now they just needed to get to the largest planet in one piece.
The engines showed none of the symptoms that are usually reported after executing a “Jericho” and Jax’s crew’s reputation only became stronger.
During the trip, repair crews worked feverishly on repairing the missile tubes, point defense, secondaries and primaries. They knew their survival depended on having active weapons. Others worked on sealing breached hull sections as best they could while also trying to repair what they could of the many thousands of items that had been damaged.
Some had the rough job of cleaning up the mess left from where a body smashed into the wall or ceiling. Others had an even rougher job of collecting their dead and taking them to the infirmary.
During the trip, Isolde used every trick she could think of to reach anyone on the planet. Wiping sweat off her forehead in exasperation, she felt like throwing a control pad across the room in frustration when a crackly voice came out of the speakers. “Zzt… zzzt… is Governor Titus Muldane of Niflhel. Who are you?”
Startled, Isolde grabbed the sides of her chair. Quickly, she used one hand to tap the volume up control on her earpiece before replying. “This is Lieutenant Isolde Iverson of the RGN-Cruiser Lucky Strike. Can you give us an idea of your situation?”
“Thank heaven! How did the RGN hear of the attack so soon? We are under siege from some new alien life form. We were attacked without warning. We severely need your help. Can you provide any? What is your situation? Please, we are desperate!”.
In a wretched voice, Governor Muldane continued. “We are holed up in the emergency stations built to protect us from cosmic storms and the rare thieves attack. They are deep underground and well-fortified. But we cannot hold out forever.”
Signaling Zeke that she had contact, she sent the call to his command chair. “Governor Titus Muldane of Niflhel on the line. Looks like the Chohish attacked the planet and are still there.”
Shaking his head in understanding, Zeke took the call and placed it on the speakers. “Governor Muldane, this is Captain Zeke Kinsley. We have a few hours at most before they come after us. We smashed our way through one fleet but there are multiple fleets in the system. We have taken a considerable amount of damage and loss of personnel. Can you let us know if there any ships in orbit? We would not fare well in another battle until we can repair some of the damage we have taken.”
“No, they left several days ago. Where they went, we have no idea. But we do have some local surveillance still working on our moons, for the moment anyway. They were put in place in case of thieves, who the hell knew we would need it for this.”
“Well, that is some good news. Not sure what we can do for you. But at a minimum, we should be able to supply a few Marines to assist with defense, but that is about all. We can evacuate a limited number of personnel, but they must know we plan to harass the enemy with hit and run until larger friendly forces can arrive. Being with us may be more dangerous than staying with you. You can make the judgment call on who should be evacuated.”
“Captain, thank you, any assistance would be greatly appreciated. Do you know who these invaders are? Why are they attacking us? We gave no cause for such an attack.”
“Governor, they are known as the Chohish. Why and what will have to wait as we have no real answers now. Time is of the essence. We will be making orbit in several hours. What type of forces is arrayed against you? Any that we should be wary of? Any word from Nocuous?”
“No word from Nocuous. All satellite communications between the planets have been taken out. As far as these… what did you call them… Chohish…? There are several large land type battalions, but a good many have been killed. I am having whatever data we have on these Chohish sent to you now.”
All could hear the torment in the Governors voice. “They attack in waves and do not seem to care about casualties. We were fortunate that several ships from the planet Tortuga out of New Providence were in the system when we were attacked. They held off the attackers long enough for most of our civilian population to be evacuated into the emergency station’s. But we still lost many thousands.”
Isolde looked at Zeke with puzzlement on her face. “New Providence?” she mouthed. Before she could say more, Governor Muldane continued. “Captain…”
“Governor, do you know…” was all Zeke could get out before the Governor interrupted him.
“Yes, Captain, I know where they are from. But I cannot express properly to you the debt we owe these folks. They lost three ships and hundreds of personnel to buy us time. They gave us our fist warning when they could have left us to the invaders mercy.”
It was obvious the governor was having trouble relaying the events. In a cracked voice he continued. “But they stayed. They knew they could not stand up to the size of the fleet detected. But they did anyway, and we are grateful for the time they bought us. It cost them dearly though. Captain Jeanne de Clisson, of the now destroyed ship ‘The Black Doubloon’, is here by my side with the remnants of her surviving crew. Captain de Clisson has asked to be allowed to join you. Something about time for ‘une vengeance sanglante’ whatever the hell that means”.
“Governor, it is your call. We can use anyone who can assist in our repairs and man some stations. We lost a good amount of people ourselves. Let me pass you onto Lieutenant Commander Jamie Chandler, Lieutenant Gunner Morison and Major Khaleesi Richards, who will coordinate the Marines and fighter escort. Meanwhile, have the person commanding your defense get on the line with Lieutenant William Farren and Hawke so we can understand what we are going to encounter as we make orbit. Time is short Governor, so let’s make the best of it.”
With that, Zeke signaled Isolde to transfer the Governor on.
Both Will and Hawke, who had been checking on the damage, came walking onto the bridge at that time. Will had his ‘how much stranger can it get’ look on his face so Zeke knew they had heard at least part of the conversation. The officer in charge of the ground forces was quickly connected to Will and Hawke. Both sat down at their workstations.
It was a good half hour before Hawke with a thoughtful expression on his face stood up. Getting the feeling he was being watched, Hawke was surprised to see a good many on the bridge were watching himself while others were doing the same for Will. “Everyone is anxious for any type of information concerning the crazy situation they now find themselves in. I wish what I have learned could alleviate some of their concerns, but it won’t. It is worse than even I could have imagined.”
Moving next to Zeke’s side, he saw that Zeke was reviewing the data being sent to him from the planet on one of his chair’s side monitors. Hawke asked. “Now that was a surprise about who was in the system, huh? What are your plans for handling the forces from New
Providence? We cannot trust them, can we?”
With a wistful tone in his voice, Zeke responded while still staring at a grassy field dominated by a strange looking camp. “Hawke, we are all going to have to work together if we are going to survive the next few days. Our prior mission has no relevancy anymore. We may find that these individuals may have some information that could become key in our strategy. They have operated on the fringes of space and in this area for a long time. Their experience and knowledge could be quite useful in the coming days. We will see.”
“On another subject, thoughts about when we make orbit? I have been reviewing data on the planet, trying to see our options are. I imagine the Chohish will have a warm welcome waiting for us.”
With a thoughtful look on his face, Hawke replied. “After talking at length with Governor Muldane, I do not expect any large craft. Before he was injured, Caspian could not track any ships near the planet, large or small, unless they have a method of evading our scanners. Nothing new since then.”
“Could they be hiding behind one of moons?” Zeke asked with concern. “We are not in any shape to take on anyone right now. Later, perhaps, but not right now.”
With a sigh, Hawke replied. “I will check with the ground, again, to see what they know. Hopefully they can help there. Otherwise, though, unless notified otherwise, I believe it will be only fighters and missiles. Quantity unknown, but we should be able to get a good estimate from Will after he completes debriefing the ground operator. We should have most of the primaries, secondaries and point defense lasers back online by the time we reach the planet. The MK-XIIs are too unwieldy to use for this type of action, even if we get some back in action by then. Of course, we have the fighters, but they could be overwhelmed by the numbers.”