by Kal Spriggs
Of course, if they had a carrier... then things would be different.
“Either way,” Marcus said, “I need to figure out these weapons systems.” He didn’t look at Mel, but she recognized the set to his jaw. He’d already made his decision, and she didn’t need to guess what it was. Something inside her ached at the thought that he’d kill others to protect her.
Mel looked over at Swaim. Lace had taken out the medical kit and treated the burn on his back. “You okay?”
He winced as Lace poked at a sore spot. “Uh, yeah. Like... chicks dig scars, right?”
Mel rolled her eyes, she looked over at Brian. “Uh, are you okay?”
He smiled, “I haven’t had this much fun in ages.”
She frowned, “You’re not afraid to die?”
He snorted, “At my age, death is just another adventure.”
“How old are you?” she asked.
Brian pointed at the screen, I could be wrong, but that looks important.”
Marcus started cursing. Mel took a moment to study it. “Yeah, they just launched missiles.” She looked over at Bob, “Can you get targeting information?”
He nodded, “I’ll try. I think I’ve found how to activate the jammers…”
The screen went to fuzz briefly. When it cleared, several of the missiles had obviously lost track and veered off. “All right, give me a second… there!”
Marcus growled as targeting information appeared on the display. “We’ve got… one minute before they’re in engagement range.”
Mel went to the helm. Experimentally, she spun the ship through a couple quick maneuvers. She’d never flown anything this big; she’d given up her dreams of being a warship captain when she left the Academy, months before graduation.
The warp drive allowed instantaneous maneuvers in three dimensions. It also made it possible for the ship to outrun its own weapons. The larger a ship's drive, the deeper the warp field. The battlecruiser had a massively deep warp drive, which made it faster than smaller ships. If the drive could operate at full capacity they could outrun the enemy ships.
A deeper drive also meant more effective defenses, particularly in combination with the defense screen. The enemy would use high-energy weapons, such as antimatter warheads and particle beams to attempt to destabilize the warp drive. Once they destabilized it, the ship would be vulnerable to normal weapons fire. The Fenris would be unable to maneuver or escape, particularly with the damaged strategic warp drive.
She remembered from her Academy days that most warships used their strategic warp drives in conjunction with their standard warp drives. Battles often became chaotic brawls where ships bounced all across a star system battering one another with weapons fire, straying into their own fire as often as they hit their enemies.
The best naval tacticians managed that chaos, lured enemies into traps and controlled the entire battle like a ballet where the dancers were multi-megaton detonations and beams of charged particles moving near the speed of light.
She looked over at Marcus, “Ready?”
He nodded. Sweat beaded his head, and there was a slight quiver in his fingers. He was nervous, she realized. He was afraid for her.
She repeated his words to her. “It will be all right,” Mel said, “I promise.”
***
“Those bastards just launched missiles!” Rawn said.
“What?” Frost asked, distracted. He looked over at the boy.
“They’re firing on the Fenris. Just missiles right now, but there’s a couple squadrons of fighters that’re forming up for an attack run.” Rawn’s face twisted in desperation. He looked torn, as if he still wanted to go back.
Frost looked at the sensors. He massaged as much information as he could. “Huh,” he said, “They’re using Prima-class bombers. That’s good for your sister anyway.”
“Why?” Rawn said, hopefully.
“It means if they can use the guns, they’ll be able to take a few of them down before they drop their munitions,” Frost said.
“But the Fenris is tough, she’ll be fine right?” Rawn asked. Frost could hear the desperation in his voice. A part of him wanted to let the kid down easy, but Frost knew what lay ahead.
“No, Rawn,” Frost said with a sigh. “Those two squadrons of Prima bombers will have forty antimatter bombs. They'll drop them in a staggered formation, each wave will be only milliseconds apart. So the first wave will detonate against the warp field and destabilize it. The second wave will take down the particle screen. That will leave two waves of antimatter warheads to detonate against the vessel itself. I doubt even a dreadnought could survive that.”
***
Mel watched the inbound missiles close, murmuring a silent prayer. She hoped that even if she didn’t make it out, her brother did. She hoped he learned his lesson about Guard Free Now.
Knowing him, he’s probably too bullheaded to give up on them though, she thought.
She input a number of course corrections and evasive maneuvers into the console. The ships computers, even without the AI, could take simple commands and whip out complex algorithms, which were applied as slight variations in course and heading.
She didn’t know how it compared to Guard Fleet’s targeting systems, but she had the feeling they were going to learn soon enough.
“Okay,” Marcus said. He looked around, “Here goes nothing.”
The missiles flashed across the remaining distance faster than human brains or hands could react. The ship’s computers took Marcus’ firing solutions and applied them in the fraction of a second the missiles flashed through the engagement zone.
At the same time, the ship spun through a corkscrew maneuver that would have been impossible without a warp drive.
The ship lurched sharply. Mel stumbled, but Marcus caught her.
“Did they hit us?” Swaim asked, suddenly panicked, “Are we going to die?”
Marcus laughed. The relief on his face was plain. “No,” he said, “Just a near miss. The drive field caught most of it; we just got a little nudge through the particle screen.”
“Oh,” Swaim said.
“Bob, do we have any new crises?” Mel asked.
“Yeah, the fighters with them just put on speed and they have an intercept course,” Bob said. “I’m not sure what kind of craft they are, but they look like light bombers.” He brought up a mess of contacts on the main display. “Looks like twenty or so.”
Mel looked over at Marcus, “Can we shoot them down?”
He didn’t look at her, “If I knew what I was doing… yes, maybe.” He sighed, “Frankly, Mel, I need training wheels, even with the computer’s help. I can’t stop those bombers. I may not even get the chance if they’re carrying missiles.”
She nodded.
She set her face in an emotionless mask. She wouldn’t give up, not now. She decided her last minutes wouldn’t be spent in despair. Even so, she couldn’t help but say a few bitter words, “Looks like Rawn was the lucky one, after all.”
***
“It won’t even defend itself, huh?” Commodore Webb asked. “They shot down those missiles quite readily.”
The jamming, though poorly timed and implemented, had still caused several missiles to go to waste. The counter-missile fire hadn’t been spectacularly effective, though the use of the main batteries had upped the number of kills significantly.
The evasive maneuvers suggested they had a skilled man in navigation, at least.
“It appears that the situation isn’t as fully under control as I was led to believe,” Agent Scadden said.
Webb looked at his repeater, “Message to fighter squadrons: form up for an attack run. All other ships prepare to go Attack Plan Delta.” He looked over at the Agent. “Anything you’re not telling me?”
The Guard Intelligence Agent looked… conflicted. Finally he spoke quietly, “There is a possibility that the terrorists could have shut down the AI. If that is the case, they have control of the ship. However,
I doubt they’ve had time to familiarize themselves with the ship’s weapons systems.”
Webb nodded slowly, “So they’ll have decent equipment but they won’t use it as well as they should.” He chewed on his lip in thought. “That changes things a bit. If they aren’t ready for a serious fight, if we hammer them with the fighters all at once, they won’t have a chance to react.”
“Message to all bombers: close to strike range with approach pattern gamma. Await my orders to commence attack run.”
***
The bombers drew closer far more slowly than the missiles. Their warp drives, like those of the missiles were capable of far greater velocity than all but the largest warp drives, Mel knew. It was a function of their warp drive geometry, which allowed them high linear velocity and almost instant acceleration but far more limited maneuverability. It was clear that they closed slowly in order to prevent the Fenris from escaping. The forethought they used did not reassure Mel at all.
But there was nothing they do anything about that. As it was, the drive field seemed far to fragile to try to push for a higher velocity or even any kind of fancy maneuvers.
“Bob, is there anything—”
The lights flickered.
Mel’s console went dead. The display blanked, and then the icons reappeared.
“What was that?” she asked, startled.
“Mel, I am back,” a familiar voice growled.
“Fenris?” she said carefully. “Are you… you?”
“I am no longer under Frost’s control… and my sanity is restored,” Fenris said. The gravelly voice sounded cautious, somehow. “I wish to apologize for trying to kill you before.”
“It wasn’t you, Fenris,” Mel said. “You don’t need to apologize.”
Marcus opened his mouth, but Mel stomped on his foot before he could protest.
“Thank you Mel. However, I must apologize again, for what I must do,” The ship altered course. It reversed, headed straight for Vagyr.
“Fenris, what’s going on?” Mel said, as Marcus started to curse next to her.
“I’m sorry Mel. My mission remains unchanged. As my communications array was destroyed when I went irrational, I cannot request new orders from the appropriate authorities.”
Fenris sounded extremely apologetic: “I still must complete my mission to destroy Vagyr.”
CHAPTER XX
Time: 0300 Zulu, 18 June 291 G.D.
Location: Fenris, Vagyr System
“That’s odd,” Commodore Webb said. “They’re closing.”
“Isn’t that what you want?” Agent Scadden asked.
“Yes… but it’s a total change. Either something significant changed on that ship, to make them decide to attack, or they’ve been dallying with me all along.” Webb shook his head, uncertainty gnawing at him. The Agent was holding something else back. The spook didn’t think it was important, but the damn spook had no military experience to base those assumptions on.
The held-back information might be causing Webb to send pilots in to die pointlessly.
He shook his head, “Message to bombers: maintain separation, let’s see what he’s got planned.”
Agent Scadden looked over, “You’re not attacking?”
“He’s likely running a bluff, your terrorist friend over there,” Webb said. He frowned as he tried to put his vague concerns into words. “I need a better grasp on what he’s doing. If he’s got something sneaky planned, I’ll need to know.”
“Will the ship be able to get around you?”
Webb rolled his eyes, “Doubtful, at best. The velocity they've shown thus far is a fragment of what a ship that size should be capable of. Moreover, the one hit we got through from the missiles nearly destabilized the drive field. They can't maintain a drive field we can't outrun with our fighters, which means we can easily overtake them with our cruisers.”
He continued to study the ship, his eyes troubled. “Something’s odd. He hasn’t communicated yet.”
“Why is that odd?” Scadden asked.
Webb shrugged uncomfortably. “Well, it’s something I’ve noticed pirates, and the couple terrorists I’ve encountered, tend to do. Even when they’re stupid-brave, like this one, they want to… justify themselves. They want to make themselves the hero, so they’ll brag or they’ll bluster.”
He stroked his mustache. “This guy, however, hasn’t said a thing.”
Scadden frowned, “So what does that tell you?”
Commodore Webb snorted. “Not a damned thing. That’s the whole problem.”
***
“Those Guard bastards!” Rawn grunted.
“What?” Frost asked.
“They’re toying with her. They’re prolonging this. Can’t they see she hasn’t fired at them? Why doesn’t she just radio them?” Rawn looked pale. Frost hoped the kid wouldn’t go over the edge.
Frost stared down at his screen. He understood the enemy commander’s situation at a glance. More, he empathized with whoever it was. He had few doubts that Guard Intelligence pulled the strings. The other commander faced a battle with limited information from a source he wouldn’t trust.
“The Guard commander’s evaluating the threat before he sends his men in. He doesn’t want to throw them away for nothing,” Frost said. He glanced at the two forces and frowned: “Why would your sister start to close with them?”
***
“You won’t even defend yourself?” Marcus asked.
“I will not fire on Guard Fleet ships. My security protocols will not allow it,” Fenris said. The computer sounded depressed.
“But there’s no point to all of this!” Mel shouted. “You can see that Vagyr is in human hands! You can see that a Guard Fleet force is defending the planet; what more do you need?” She tugged at her hair in exasperation.
“He doesn’t have a choice,” Brian said sadly. “He only knows how to follow orders. His programming won’t allow him anything else.”
“Fenris, if you do this, you’re killing us, you realize that?” Mel asked.
“I know. I am sorry, Mel.” Fenris said. The AI sounded genuinely unhappy.
Mel looked over at Lace and Swaim, “Can you do anything?”
Swaim looked like he wanted to cry. “I can’t do anything. He’s locked us out of his system. I can’t even look at his code.”
Lace just smiled sadly. “At least I’ll get a nice paycheck out of this, even if I won’t live to spend it.”
“This is totally ridiculous!” Mel growled. “After all this… there was no reason for us to even board the ship! We should have shut our mouths and taken Mueller’s bribe money!” She kicked the bulkhead in frustration. “Then Strak would still be alive, and Giles, and—”
“No, Mel,” Marcus said. He rested his hands on her shoulders, “You made the right decision. Who knows what could have happened if we didn’t come? Frost could have taken this ship and killed hundreds of thousands with it. How could we have lived with ourselves then?”
“I’d be dead, and Giles too, without your help,” Bob said. “You made the right decision.”
Mel turned and put her arms around Marcus. She tucked her head into his shoulder. “I don’t want to die.”
“Everybody dies, Mel,” Marcus said sadly. He rested his chin on her head, “At least I get to do it in good company.”
***
Commodore Webb nodded his head sharply, “All right, that’s enough. I think whatever happened, it won’t have a significant effect on our attack.”
“You’re ordering them in?” Agent Scadden asked.
“Yes. I still think I’m missing something, but… yes. It’s time, I think.”
Webb took a deep breath. “Message to all ships, close up formation and prepare for an attack run. Bombers will precede the task force at extreme weapons range and will commence bomb run orders of the flag.”
He watched his formation change. The light cruisers formed up around the core of his heavy cruiser squadron, and the de
stroyers moved to become a light screen in front of that.
A force with actual capital ships would have closed in tight, but the lighter ships of his task force formed in a looser formation to take advantage of their smaller target profiles. Their shallower drive fields made for smaller but more vulnerable targets. Spread out, they lessened the odds that a single lucky hit might destroy one or more of them.
He brought up an image of the enemy ship. “What will you do now, I wonder?”
***
Mel raised her head from Marcus’s shoulder. “Fenris, have you read any mythology?” She didn’t want to look at the screen; she didn’t want to see her death approach. Even so, she hated how hiding her face away made her feel.
“Yes,” the computer said. “My library has a comprehensive section on mythology.”
“You know the origins of your name then?” Mel asked.
“Yes,” Fenris said. “I am named for the Norse wolf, chained for eternity. He was so powerful, only a special chain devised by the elves of Nelfheim could hold him. The Fenris of legend would only be freed at Ragnarok, the Apocalypse. He would devour Odin, the king of the Norse gods, and die shortly afterward.”
“Cheerful stuff, that,” Brian said. “Gotta love the Vikings, bunch of optimists.”
“You know, Fenris, the wolf you’re named for wasn’t evil. He was stuck in his circumstances like you. Maybe if he had a choice, he might have chosen not to start the end of the world.” Mel said. She felt Marcus chuckle.