Starbound (Lightship Chronicles)

by Dave Bara

  “The remaining dreadnought is bugging out, making for the jump point. She’s ceased all communication interference,” he said.

  “And the HuKs?” I asked.

  “There’s only one left, and Zander won’t let it escape,” said Maclintock.

  “Understood, sir.” I couldn’t blame him. He’d lost four ships today. “What’s your status, sir?”

  “We have fifteen dead here, Peter. Our Hoagland Field was penetrated by some sort of vibrational frequency fluctuation weapon they were using. It cut small holes in the field, but when you’re fending off atomic weapons and coil cannons . . .”

  “Understood, sir. Do you need assistance?” I asked.

  “No, Captain. But I do need you to parallel that dreadnought to the jump point and make sure it goes through. This is no time for complacency and we’re still picking up the pieces here.”

  “Aye, sir,” I said. “I will report when she’s gone, sir.”

  “Carry on, Captain. Maclintock out.”

  With that I ordered us to parallel the dreadnought at 60,000 clicks distance, just to be safe. Thirty minutes later we were still tracking her and she wasn’t showing any signs of changing her tack. Perhaps the Imperial fleet had learned their lesson. At her slow pace we were still another thirty minutes from the jump point. It looked like the Battle of Pendax was over, but looks could be deceiving, I reminded myself.

  Right on schedule, things changed.

  “Captain, detecting hyperdimensional displacement wave signatures coming from the dreadnought,” yelled Marker from his weapons console. “She could be arming a weapon.”

  “Hoagland Field to max,” I ordered, then checked the tactical display. She was indeed resonating with a higher dimensional frequency, but was showing no signs of turning to attack Starbound.

  “What’s she doing?” said Babayan, looking at the same data I was.

  “There’s only two reasons why you’d match frequencies with a higher dimension. One would be to charge an energy weapon. The other would be to jump,” I said.

  “But she’s not close to the jump point. We’re still half an AU out,” said Babayan. At that instant the dreadnought winked out of our existence and into hyperdimensional space.

  “Exactly, XO,” I said. “She already had coordinates to jump to. She didn’t need the jump point. She’s just showing us what she can do,” I said.

  “Jumping without needing a jump point?”

  I nodded. “Turn us around, Mr. Layton, back to the battlefield,” I ordered.

  “Sir!” It was Marker again. Something in his voice brought me to full alarm. I looked down to his station.

  “What is it, Master Chief?” I said.

  “If I’m reading this correctly, sir, the whole damned Carinthian Navy just came through the jump point,” said Marker.

  I looked at my tactical board. Three Lightships. Ten heavy cruisers. Destroyers, scouts, even battlefield auxiliaries. Thirty-two ships in all.

  “Ensign Layton,” I said to the young com officer. “Get me Commodore Maclintock back on the longwave, now!”

  “Keep your distance, we’re coming to you,” was Maclintock’s last order. That had been ten minutes ago. Behind us the Union fleet was closing to 300,000 kilometers. In front of us the Carinthian fleet was coming at us at .0005 light from the jump point, but decelerating all the way to establish a battlefield. We were maintaining a cushion of just ten thousand clicks from the Carinthians as we retreated toward our own forces.

  The Carinthians were arrayed in a tight “I” formation, with Impulse II, and Dobrina, on the forward point, a second Lightship, Avenger, close behind, and the third, Vixis, trailing the formation. The rest of the ships formed flanks on either side with their heavy cruisers outside and the weaker destroyers and scouts inside.

  We were outnumbered three Lightships to two, and we had only eight battle-damaged Wasps in our support flotilla. We did have our enhanced Hoagland Fields and higher-powered coil cannon arrays, but no one wanted to use them on our own ships, or at least ships that had been in the Union Navy only a few days ago. My best guess was that Prince Arin was commanding the attack from Vixis, as she’d been the Lightship docked at High Station One in the Carinthian system.

  We had our engagement rules: only fire if fired upon, no use of mass-destruction weapons unless either Valiant or Starbound was in imminent danger of destruction. It wasn’t perfect, but it would have to do.

  Maclintock hailed us again on the voice-only com.

  “Stand by, Starbound,” he said. “I want you to slow your retreat to us. We’re closing fast, faster than they are. But we need to see their intentions before we act.”

  “Aye, sir,” I said. “We’ll have to let them get within three thousand clicks for coil cannon range, fifteen hundred for torpedoes.”

  “Understood, Starbound. Those are my orders. We’ll be three minutes behind you,” said Maclintock.

  “Starbound out,” I replied, then took my seat and strapped in. I called battle stations over the shipwide com, then ordered Duane Longer to slow us to .0005 light to match our speed and timing with both fleets. We’d be in firing range of Impulse II for three minutes before Valiant arrived on the scene.

  I started to sweat as the clock wound down to contact with Impulse II. The last thing I wanted was to do battle with Dobrina and her world, which was my world now, too, by virtue of my marriage to Karina.

  “Thirty seconds,” called out Babayan.

  “All weapons on hold. All defenses on maximum. We’ll be able to absorb Impulse II’s first volley without damage, so hold your stations, regardless of how hard she kicks us,” I said, trying to encourage the crew.

  At ten seconds I gripped the arms of my safety couch.

  At five seconds I dug my nails in.

  At zero the ship rocked from the impact of Impulse II’s coil cannons on our Hoagland Field, our inertial dampers kicking in as she readied a second volley. The support ships weren’t close enough to us for an attack, so for now it was just one-on-one. Just like it had been on the fencing court so many times, I thought. I had always lost.

  Her second volley really jolted us and we lost our longwave com to Valiant. “Get it back,” I yelled at Ensign Layton. Then an internal alarm claxon went off.

  “Sir, we have a hull penetration, deck nine, amidships,” said the XO.

  “How is that possible through our Hoagland Field?” I demanded of Babayan.

  “They must be using—”

  “The vibrational frequency modulation weapon,” I said. “Ensign!”

  “I’ve got the longwave back, sir! Voice com with Commodore Maclintock!” Lynne Layton said.

  I hit the button for the fleet com link. “Jonas, Impulse II is using the vibrational frequency modulation weapon you talked about. They’re able to penetrate our Hoagland Field in small localized areas,” I said.

  “Goddamn it!” came his angry voice over the com. “Somebody out there wants a full-scale war.”

  “Commodore, under the rules of engagement—”

  “Granted, Mr. Cochrane. Defend yourself at all costs,” said Maclintock.

  “Aye, sir,” I said, then cut the com. I looked to my console and brought up the weapons display. The gravity weapons were offline. I thought about calling Serosian, then thought better of it. We were going to have to win this on our own.

  “Seventeen seconds to mutual torpedo range, sir,” called Marker from the weapons station.

  “With that frequency modulator they’ll be able to pierce the hull with an atomic blast,” warned Babayan.

  “So we won’t give them that chance,” I said. “Arm the coil cannons. Full force burst on my mark, Master Chief. Target their torpedo tubes.”

  Marker responded affirmatively and I watched as the power curve on the coil cannons loaded.

 
“There’s no guarantee we’ll break through their field with the first volley,” Babayan said.

  “I’m aware of that, XO,” I replied. The weapons display went all green. “Fire the cannons, Mr. Marker.”

  He did.

  The orange coil energy lanced out at Impulse II from both port and starboard. They cut straight through her hull and destroyed her torpedo launchers. Then there was an internal explosion, which was undoubtedly one of her own torpedoes detonating inside the hardened protective shell.

  “What the hell?” said Layton.

  “Was her field activated?” I demanded. Babayan searched for the answer.

  “Her power outputs are at minimum, Captain. Just enough to fire the cannon. No defensive fields engaged, minimal life support. And . . .” she trailed off.

  “And what, XO?”

  “Our attack has pushed her off vector. She’s not in a position to hit us again, sir, drifting further off course every second,” said Babayan.

  “Confirm, helm!” I demanded of Layton.

  “Confirmed, sir. She appears to be drifting,” he said.

  I unstrapped myself and jumped to my feet.

  “Stand down weapons! Get Maclintock back on the line!” We had one minute to avoid disaster. Valiant and the Wasps were bearing down on a defenseless fleet.

  “Maclintock here,” he said over the voice com.

  “Commodore, it is my belief that this Carinthian fleet has been automated for this attack in order to draw our fire! Impulse II has no defenses, repeat, no defenses active. We have to break off. They want us to destroy the fleet, sir!”

  There was no response for a few moments. I was close to panic.

  “Commodore, do you copy my last?” I said. Again no response. I looked to Ensign Layton at com.

  “The longwave interference has returned, sir. We’re cut off,” she said.

  “What do we do now?” said Babayan.

  “Propulsion officer, max on the hybrid drive,” I ordered, then turned to George. “Get us between Impulse II and Valiant,” I said. He nodded.

  “I’ll try, sir.”

  We used nearly twenty seconds positioning Starbound. There were less than thirty seconds left to attack range for the Valiant flotilla. If we didn’t stop them, they’d turn this engagement into a shooting gallery, and Dobrina and thousands of her countrymen could die.

  “Impulse II is coming right at us now, sir,” reported Marker.

  “Will she clear us?” I asked.

  “Perhaps by a hundred meters, sir. If we’re lucky,” he said.

  “All stop,” I ordered. “Stand down weapons. Stand down on the Hoagland Field.”

  “You can’t cut the field, sir!” protested Babayan.

  “It’s the only way to show Maclintock she’s adrift and not a threat, XO. The only way to save her,” I said.

  Commander Babayan and I stood together on the bridge as we watched Impulse II approach on the tactical screen, her vector varying only slightly from a direct collision. I ordered a switch to visual as she got closer. We watched, holding our breath. Then Impulse II slipped by us, barely forty meters off our bow. I watched as Valiant closed, then held her position relative to Impulse II. Impulse II didn’t move to attack or make any move off of her current course. Valiant let her slide by as well.

  A cheer went up from the crew.

  “Engage the hybrid drive, Mr. Longer. Match our course and speed to Impulse II, Mr. Layton. Mr. Marker, prepare shuttles for boarding and make sure you take emergency environmental support with you.”

  “Aye, sir,” said Marker, heading for the door.

  “Captain.” It was Duane Longer.

  “Hold it, John,” I said. Marker stopped his exit from the bridge. “Mr. Longer?”

  “Sir, it’s the third Lightship, Vixis. She’s under power and making for the jump point at max speed, sir,” he said.

  “Why?” asked Babayan. “I mean, why only one ship with power?”

  “Because that’s the ship that Prince Arin commands,” I said. “And he set this whole thing up. He tried to get us to destroy his own world’s fleet.”

  “Sir,” said Ensign Layton, “I have Commodore Maclintock again. The longwave interference is gone.”

  Maclintock’s voice came up on the com. “Good work, Mr. Cochrane.”

  “Thank you, Commodore. Request permission to lend aid and assistance to Impulse II, sir,” I said.

  “Denied,” he said. “Captain Zander has first dibs on that duty.”

  I crossed my arms. “Of course, sir. May I recommend we make sure the rest of the Carinthian fleet is disarmed?”

  “It’s my first priority, Captain. What about Vixis?” he asked.

  “My belief is that Prince Arin or his agents are aboard her, sir, and they set this whole scenario up,” I said.

  “But why?” asked Maclintock.

  “To destroy the Carinthian fleet, to weaken the Union. To make it seem like an act of aggression against Carinthia by the Union, to turn the people against us.”

  “What would they gain from that?”

  I thought about that for a second. “Locking Carinthia permanently out of the Union, and preparing the populace for alliance with the empire,” I said.

  “But if their fleet is destroyed, or worse, how will Arin be able to hold Carinthia?” asked Maclintock.

  “I can only assume he’ll have Imperial help, as he did here.”

  “Wait,” said Maclintock over the com. “New communication being patched in from Impulse II.” The line was scratchy for a few seconds, and then the unmistakable voice of Captain Dobrina Kierkopf came on the line.

  “Commodore, Peter, you’ve got to go after Vixis! You’ve got to go now!” she said insistently.

  “Dobrina, why? What do you mean?” I said, responding before Maclintock could.

  “I mean he’s going to attack Carinthia, his own planet, and blame it on the Union! Arin and the empire—you’ve got to go now!” she said.

  And then it hit me. Attack the Union. Send in a fleet of powerless Carinthian vessels on preprogrammed attack. Blame their destruction on the Union. Attack Carinthia under a false flag. Instantly the Union would be ripped apart, both politically and militarily. It was brilliant.

  And evil.

  “Commodore, request permission—”

  “Go,” said Maclintock. “We’ll be right behind you.”

  “Mr. Longer, full max on the hybrid drive!” I ordered. Then I sat back down in my chair, seething inside at the people, known and unknown, who had plotted this, and vowing revenge.

  A Battle at Carinthia

  We were twenty minutes behind Vixis when we started our pursuit, but that vanished, along with Vixis, before we reached the jump point. She had the jump point generator technology just as the dreadnoughts did, and it was now clear that she had gotten it from the empire.

  We, unfortunately, had to wait another thirty minutes to reach jump space, even with our hybrid drive. Our transition was near-instantaneous, as Pendax was within the thirty-five light-year radius of Carinthia, so we could use our point-to-point jump capabilities and avoid traverse space. When we arrived in-system at Carinthia we found High Station Three still operating but in a shambles. They hailed us, begging for help, but we could only offer consoling words and a promise of greater assistance coming behind us.

  The trek inward to Carinthia proper was agonizing. I gave the crew breaks, but even with the hybrid drive at max it was still a six-hour journey. Two hours in we were able to detect the other Lightships jumping into the system one by one through the jump point. Impulse II came first, then Valiant and Avenger. Impulse II tried hailing us, but there was heavy longwave interference, most likely from automated Imperial probes along the path to the home world. We’d have to clear them out later, but for now, Arin and Vi
xis were my only goals.

  No doubt Vixis had avoided all the trouble of communications flak by simply jumping in to predesignated coordinates provided by Imperial forces. My anger seethed inside me when I thought about the level of betrayal exhibited by Prince Arin and the Regency forces, and what promises could have possibly motivated them to fall into league with the empire. But those were questions for another day.

  We passed High Station Two. It was in pieces. We couldn’t have stopped to offer help anyway. Our goal was to try to get to Carinthia to stop an attack. If we could.

  An hour from Carinthia we detected the attacking fleet in orbit.

  Three dreadnoughts were in equidistant orbits around the planet, performing crossing maneuvers, gridding the planet, doing Gods know what. Even with the longscope we couldn’t get reliable readings at this distance. Vixis, for its part, was in geostationary orbit above New Vienna. We could identify her easily enough because she hadn’t bothered to turn off her Union IFF—Identification Friend or Foe—beacon. It was the height of arrogance.

  Thirty minutes out and the dreadnoughts started moving in our direction, setting up a picket line between us and Vixis.

  “What do you suppose Vixis is doing, sir?” asked Babayan. Our target was still hovering over New Vienna, not moving.

  “Raiding the treasury, pretending to be protecting the populace, who’s to know?” I said to her. Then I turned to Ensign Lynne Layton at the longscope. “Give me a situation report on Carinthia, Ensign,” I ordered. We were now in close enough proximity to receive reliable data. I waited a few seconds while she updated her status checks under the hood; then she broke free of her station and reported to me at the captain’s chair. Babayan, standing to my side, watched her come with trepidation. Layton cleared her throat and I turned my attention to her.

  “Longscope scans indicate more than thirty atomic detonations on the planet’s surface, sir. At least ten civilian targets, port cities, industrial facilities, and large farming collectives have been hit. The rest are military targets, air bases, forts, and the like, sir,” she said. I heard Lena stifle a cry at this news, no doubt there were tears present as well. I gave her the dignity of what privacy she could muster on the bridge by not turning toward her. Ensign Layton continued.