by James Rosone
Hunt hadn’t thought it was possible to take the ship apart as they had, gut out what needed to be gutted, replace it with new alien technology, and put it all back together in nine months. But somehow, someway, they had. It did help that they’d had a drydock prepared and an army of both human and Synth workers ready to go.
Now, two months later, they were at the Jupiter test range, doing a final check of the weapon systems. They’d already checked the FLT and propulsion systems. They all worked—better than their old systems. They could now move inside the system four hundred percent faster with their MPD drive, and the FTL drive could propel them at speeds of up to one light-year per day, fifteen times faster than their old system.
Breaking into his thoughts, the weapons officer, Lieutenant Cory LaFine, anxiously announced, “Pulse beam capacitors are now at full power. Ready to fire, sir.”
The young lieutenant and the engineers standing near him were visibly nervous about the test. It was an enormous amount of energy they were going to transfer through the power junctions to the forward laser banks. They were all hoping it wouldn’t blow up or melt something as the power traveled to the front of the ship.
Looking at his crew, Hunt could feel the excitement, the tension building. This was a dangerous piece of alien technology they were testing. He knew he should probably say something to calm their nerves. But what…?
“OK, people, we’ve tested everything up to this point, and it’s worked. Our Sumerian guests and engineers have been top-notch so far. Let’s not doubt them now. Let’s acquire one of those asteroids and give it a try. Weps, find us a target and engage,” Hunt ordered nonchalantly like this was an everyday occurrence, doing his best to convey a calm demeanor for his crew—the image of a smooth, stoic captain, confident in his weapons and his people’s capability.
“Firing!” announced the weapons officer loudly, almost causing everyone to jump.
A second later, a pulse beam shot out and hit the asteroid they had been aiming at. Everyone on the bridge saw it bore a hole right into the rock before the entire thing exploded into a million smaller pieces.
Hunt snorted. Well, I’ll be damned. It worked…
“Target destroyed,” Lieutenant LaFine said excitedly. Others on the bridge let out an audible sigh of relief that the test had worked and they hadn’t blown themselves up in the process.
“Excellent job, Lieutenant. Did you engineers get the data you needed?” asked Hunt. The weapons engineers had been analyzing the amount of power each pulse used, how fast the capacity bank could be recharged, and how soon the laser could fire again—all pertinent information they’d need to know in the heat of a battle.
“We got our initial set of information, Captain. We now need to test the system under a sustained stress test. Can we begin that test now?” asked one of the engineers.
“Weps, please find us a few more targets and continue testing the weapons as the engineers requested,” Hunt ordered. He then pinged his engineering chief. “Commander Lyons, how are things holding up down there?”
A few seconds later, his chief engineering officer, Commander Jacob Lyons, responded, “It appears to be going well. One of my guys reported that the starboard power relay spiked to above normal levels when we fired, but it didn’t cause any problems.”
Hunt pushed his lower lip out in a semi-pout. “Lieutenant LaFine, check fire on the test. There’s an issue in the power relay on the starboard side I want to be checked out first.”
Several of the engineers perked their heads up at the news. One of them walked over to him. “Captain, can you tell us what section? We’ll send a team over there now to check on it. We may need to beef up the system if it’s spiking beyond tolerable levels,” the man replied.
Nodding, Hunt gave him the relay junction location, and a group of them headed off to inspect the section. This was one of the things that concerned Hunt about adding all this new technology. His ship hadn’t been built initially with the needed tolerances or systems to use the alien tech, so everything they were doing was being thrown together in hopes that it would work.
Four hours later, they determined what the problem was and found a solution. It took the engineers a full day to correct the problem. The next step was to test the laser banks again and see if it had worked.
Hunt had them run through several test fires of the laser, each shot increasing in power until they reached their maximum. The engineers monitored the relay junctions throughout the ship with each pulse burst, checking to see if the cables were holding up and the relay boxes were functioning the way they needed to. After three more days of tests, they were able to certify that the ship was ready for combat—the first human ship fully equipped with the new Zodark and Sumerian technology.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Punch in the Face
Rhea System
RNS Rook
“We’re coming out of warp in ten seconds,” called out the helmsman, Lieutenant Donaldson. He’d been with Captain Hunt since their first visit to this system.
“OK, people, this is it. When we land, I want a full system-wide scan. Go active with everything we have. Understood?” Hunt ordered as he looked at his tactical officer, Commander Fran McKee. It would be her responsibility to coordinate with the CIC and the other sections on the bridge to generate the tactical picture of the system. This information was vital in determining what they’d do next. Tactical was a big department on the ship, and thus, Fran McKee was third in line for command.
McKee nodded, a serious look on her face. “Yes, sir, we’re standing by.” She’d been drilling her section hard, making sure everyone knew exactly what they had to do the moment the ship dropped out of FTL drive in any system, not just a potentially hostile one.
The Rook had been in transit now for twelve days, a much shorter trip than the six and a half months it had taken them last time. What they were unsure of was what would be waiting for them when they arrived. Prior to leaving the system the previous time, they had liberated a mining colony and wiped out the Zodark guards manning it. Hunt was eager to see if the Zodarks had noticed and, if they did, what they planned on doing about it.
Before Hunt’s mind could go any further down this rabbit hole, the ship came out of warp and stopped one AU from the planet New Eden, or Clovis to the Sumerians and Zodarks.
“Helmsman, transition us out of FTL and over to the MPD drive. I want us moving at one-quarter propulsion toward New Eden,” Hunt directed as his crew went to work.
Looking over at Fran, Hunt saw she had her folks getting things spun up, just like she had drilled them many times before. The various electronic detection antennas were being extended, radar domes raised out of their armor sheathing and brought online. Her department was gearing up the ship’s multiple targeting systems and electronic detection equipment. Their radar and lidar systems would blast the system with a full spectrum of radio waves. In short order, her team in the combat information center or CIC room behind the bridge would start analyzing the data returns and begin alerting them to what was in the area that posed a threat to the ship.
A few minutes went by with nothing significant happening. Visually, they couldn’t see anything yet. They’d have to wait until they started to get some electronic returns from their various scans to know what was in the system. Depending on how far away a Zodark ship was, it could take them a little while to get a picture of the system and who all was in it. In the meantime, they’d start heading toward New Eden and see what they could find planetside.
I hope the Voyager was able to slip in undetected, Hunt thought as he patiently waited for his tactical officer to start receiving some signal returns. He knew that it was an incredibly dangerous plan Space Command had thrown together, but he also knew that it needed to happen before they sent a more significant force to New Eden.
Two hours later, they started getting their first picture of the system. Sure enough, a Zodark ship was in high orbit over New Eden. It appeared like i
t had detected their presence and was in the process of breaking orbit.
“Tactical, how long until we’re in weapons range of the Zodark ship?” Commander Asher Johnson asked. Hunt’s XO was just as eager as he was to get things going with the Zodarks.
McKee calmly replied in her usual measured voice, “Commander, it would appear they are still in the process of breaking orbit. I’ll have a better answer once I know how fast their propulsion system is. However, at their current speed, they’ll be in weapons range in six hours.”
Hunt turned to Lieutenant Commander Robinson, his EWO or electronic warfare officer. “Start monitoring the enemy ship for electronic signatures. I want to know what type of targeting sensors they’re using. Once you figure that out, get with the guys in CIC and figure out if we can jam them or degrade their effectiveness.”
“Roger that, Captain. We’ll get right on it,” Robinson quickly replied.
Electronic warfare was an art form and a significant component of warfare on Earth. Space Command was hoping it would be just as useful in space combat as it was in the air, on the ground, and at sea with conventional forces. Space Command had been testing this capability in Sol with great success. Jamming an opponent’s target systems could render them inoperable when they needed them most. It might give the Republic ships just the time they needed to deliver a fatal blow.
*******
Several hours went by as the Earthers moved steadily toward the Zodark ship.
“Coms, hail the Zodarks on all known frequencies. Use our preprogrammed message in their language and let’s see if we can open a dialogue with them before we get in weapons range,” Hunt ordered.
He crossed his fingers. Maybe, just maybe, they’ll want to talk this time, he hoped. Their last attempt hadn’t gone very well.
Twenty minutes went by with no response. Hunt had to keep telling himself there was a lot of distance between the Rook and this Zodark ship. He needed to stay patient and wait. In the meantime, he had the CIC analyzing what they knew of the enemy ship in comparison to the ship that had been in the system the last time they were here.
What they knew thus far was that this ship was larger than the last one—about twice the size of the previous ship they had encountered and fifty percent larger their than own ship. This Zodark ship also appeared to be a straight-up warship, given the appearance of several laser pulse batteries on the vessel. Looking back on it, Hunt wasn’t sure if the other ship they had encountered their last time in the system had perhaps been a transport. What was clear was that these two ships had very different purposes.
After thirty minutes, Lieutenant Molly Branson, his coms officer, announced, “Captain, we’re not getting a response from the ship.”
Before Hunt could say anything, Commander McKee jumped in. “Captain, we’re detecting a targeting radar or sensor attempting to paint our ship.”
Hunt turned to his EWO officer. “Commander, see if you can jam that signal. No reason to let them get a perfectly good lock on us if we can avoid it,” Hunt directed. He then brought the ship to general quarters. This would lead the crew to begin sealing the vessel up and rouse everyone out of their beds to man their battle stations.
“We’re jamming their signal. It looks like they’re unable to maintain a lock,” called out the EWO officer excitedly.
Hunt smiled at the news. One of their critical tests against the Zodark ships was successfully completed.
“Captain, the enemy ship is picking up speed. They’re heading toward us at a much faster pace now,” announced Commander McKee, her voice moving up an octave with excitement.
This was precisely what they had thought would happen. Once the enemy realized their targeting radar was being jammed or degraded, they’d close the distance between their ships and try to break through the jamming.
“How long until they’re in weapons range?” Hunt asked, trying to do some quick calculations in his head. The tension on the bridge picked up noticeably as the realization that they would be in combat in a few minutes began to sink in.
“At current speed, five minutes. They’re still close to four hundred megameters[1] out,” replied Lieutenant Cory LaFine, his weapons officer. He looked at Hunt, anxious about what to do next when they reached their weapons envelope.
“Weps, if that Zodark ship fires its lasers on us, I need you to deploy the SWs. Don’t ask for permission, just do it. We won’t have much time if they attack. Understood?” Hunt ordered.
Lieutenant LaFine nodded.
The SW missiles were a combination of sand and water packed into a little high-speed missile that would explode between them and the enemy ship, creating a cloud of sand and water crystals. The belief was that this cloud would dampen the force of the enemy laser before it hit them. It was a completely untested theory, though.
Turning to look at his coms officer, Hunt asked, “Are we continuing to hail them?”
“We are, sir. They’re still not replying.”
He shook his head. Well, if they want a fight, we’ll give ’em a fight.
“Helm, bring us up to full speed. Prepare to swing us to their starboard side so we can get a good broadside with our magrails. Weps, prepare missiles one through six to fire. Power up our forward pulse beam batteries and let’s get our magrails ready to go,” Hunt ordered as a flurry of activity started to take place on the bridge.
While the ship had a large magazine of ship-to-ship missiles and four pulse beam laser batteries, two on each side of the ship, the Rook’s primary ship-to-ship weapon was her three magrail turrets. Like the dreadnought ships of a few hundred years ago, the Rook had three forward gun turrets. Each turret had two twenty-four-inch magrails that would fire a five-thousand-pound projectile at speeds approaching thirty megameters[2] per hour. The armored tip of the penetrator was designed to punch through up to six meters of advanced composite armor before detonating a two-thousand-pound high-explosive warhead inside the guts of an enemy vessel.
“One minute till we’re in range of our missiles,” called out Lieutenant LaFine as he prepared to fire their first weapon system at the charging enemy ship.
“The Zodark ship is starting to reacquire us with their targeting radar. They’re burning through our jamming,” Commander Robinson announced urgently.
Hunt anxiously shouted, “Increase power to our jammers. Keep trying to jam their systems!” He wanted to keep them from getting a solid lock on his ship for as long as possible—he had no idea how powerful their weapons were or what kind of range they had.
“Enemy ship is slowing. They’re starting to position themselves to come across our starboard side,” called out the tactical officer. Sweat was now beading on her forehead and running down the side of her face.
“The Zodark ship is now one hundred and eighty megameters and closing quick. He’s got a lock on us…they’re firing!” Commander McKee blared moments later.
“Launching countermeasures!” Lieutenant LaFine announced.
A pair of SW missiles shot out ahead of them to create an antilaser barrier between them.
Fractions of a second later, the automated warning alarm blared “Brace for impact!” throughout the ship.
The high-energy pulse beam hit the sandy-watery cloud, dissipating some of its energy before it slammed into the forward section of the ship. The Rook shook violently from the hit as alarms sounded on the bridge, letting them know they had sustained some damage.
“Hull breach in section one bravo. Sending damage control teams there now,” called out Lieutenant Arnold, Hunt’s operations officer.
“Fire missiles one through six. Engage them with our laser batteries!” Hunt yelled over the alarms. “Someone turn those damn things off,” he added for good measure.
“Firing weapons now!” shouted Lieutenant LaFine. “Missiles away. Firing lasers now.” The thundering sound of the ship-to-ship missiles caused their pods to shudder, letting everyone know they had left for their targets. Moments later, the two starboar
d pulse beam batteries fired a three-second burst. The two lasers hit the side of the enemy ship, ripping a couple of holes in the armor but failing to penetrate deeper into the hull.
“Firing countermeasures!” someone shouted as they continued to throw more objects to defray the enemy laser’s potency.
“Brace for impact!”
The Rook shook violently again as it was hit with a second laser, ripping another gash in its armor. More warning alarms went off, letting them know a couple of sections of the hull had been breached.
“Helm, rotate the ship and engage maneuvering thrusters!” yelled the XO as he tried to get the enemy laser off the Rook’s armor.
Lieutenant Arnold yelled out, “We’ve got a hull breach in section three delta. We’re venting oxygen in deck two. There’s also a fire in section six.”
“Fire the main guns!” Hunt roared angrily, frustrated at the damage his ship was taking. He knew he’d lost people—he just didn’t know how many yet.
The ship shook as the hefty projectiles of the main guns started firing at the enemy vessel. The three front turrets fired their twenty-four-inch magrails, sending the massive armor-piercing slugs at the Zodark vessel. The turrets would continue to fire until their magazines were depleted.
Hunt ordered the main guns to keep firing. He wanted them to blanket the path of the enemy ship with slugs, hoping the AI targeting computer would be able to plot a thick enough smattering to ensure a good number of them hit the ship. It would take roughly six minutes for their slugs to reach the enemy ship.
The Rook shook hard again as they took another hit from the enemy’s pulse beam. Each time they took a hit, the helmsman would execute an emergency course change to get the enemy laser beam off their armor.
As the ship continued a series of twisting turns and dips to throw the enemy lasers off, Hunt watched as the first set of armor-piercing shells tore right into the Zodark ship. The initial volley punched right through its armor. The slugs penetrated deep into its hull, and then the two thousand pounds of high explosives went off. Jets of flame shot out the six holes the Rook had caused. Then a series of secondary explosions rocked the Zodark vessel further.