Badger (38 page)

Along with the dreadnaughts were twelve
Crown
class cruisers and three of their newer,
Knight
class brethren. Over forty
Arrowhead
and
Minister
class corvettes swarmed around the larger ships as lesser numbers of
Defender
class destroyers,
Knife
and
Lance
class frigates swept through space nearby. At the center of it all was the
Badger
, an odd addition to the fleet with its sensor banks and communication towers. It was a stunning, impressive display of military might, and Jacob wondered if his ships would even contribute anything to the incredible firepower already present.

Those numbers paled with comparison to the horde of ships behind them. The news outlets had emphasized the gigantic nature of the refugee ships, but even their exaggerated claims fell short of the truth. Thousands of ships orbited the formerly forlorn little world, their ships spread far enough from the surface to avoid blocking out the light. Newly mobile space stations, disarmed cruisers, and all sorts of other hulks drifted alongside the world as it moved through the system, and Jacob could see the beehive of activity continuing as shuttles brought refugees down to the cold surface of their home.

The High Admiral had arranged the Navy ships to orbit between the planet and the nearest edge of the system facing the Frontier. While it would have been easy to jump to the edge of the system and then calculate a second jump closer in, such a maneuver was usually avoided with larger formations. Space, while normally empty of truly harmful things to a warship, always had the occasional asteroid or bit of debris that could cripple an unsuspecting craft, and those objects were more difficult to predict during a riftjump, and especially so during an intersystem jump.

So odds were the Odurans would be jumping in at the edge of the system and coming in under their own power, as Jacob was with his squadron. No doubt they would look far more impressive than a meager four-destroyer flotilla, however.

Jacob shook his head at the thought, and then a buzz from his collar signaled the Communications officer was attempting to reach him. He tapped it to allow the call through. “Captain Hull here.”

Al-shira’s voice came over the com link, surprising him. “Captain, we have a signal from the flagship. We’re to join the current formation and send a shuttle to the command ship with you on it. That way High Admiral Nivrosky can include you in the plans for the defense of the system.”

“Confirmed, Commander.” Jacob paused. “Naomi, how did they sound?”

She responded carefully. “When we first got here, the nearest patrol contacted us. They wanted to know what we were doing here and where we came from; I guess our modifications have changed our sensor profile enough they thought the Odurans were using a batch of shot up
Defenders
to scout the system. After we answered, the High Admiral actually communicated with us personally. He sounded the same as ever, but he did seem a bit surprised we were here.”

“Well, let’s hope we surprise the Odurans just as much. Thank you Al-shira. Hull out.” Jacob broke the link and started to busy himself for the trip to
Badger
. There was a flicker of hope inside that his visit would turn out better than the last time the High Admiral invited him aboard, but he pushed it aside. Such things could wait until the threat to the system had been dealt with. Afterwards, he would see what exactly the future would hold for Captain Jacob Hull.

“Our scouts have not been able to establish a completely accurate count of the enemy ships, but we do have some rough estimates of what they will be bringing to Tiredel.” The nervous-eyed lieutenant commander seemed intimidated by the solemn faces of all her superior officers facing her, with good reason. There were very few smiling faces in the sea of captains, admirals, and commanders. Of course, the fact the High Admiral himself sat off to the side as she gave her presentation likely didn’t help much either.

Still, the lieutenant commander gathered her pluck and labored on. A few fumbles with the projection controls brought up a few projections of the warships the Odurans had been observed using the most. Jacob’s stomach tightened as he recognized the smooth lines and sharp edges of those ships.

“To our best estimates, the enemy force contains at least seven dreadnaughts, all
Banner
class.”

Jacob sucked his breath in through his teeth. It was nearly double the heavy ships in the Celostian force, and that would have been bad enough if the lieutenant commander had not continued. “There are twenty eight enemy cruisers, a mix of
Scythe
and
Brute
class ships. We know there are nearly thirty enemy destroyers as well, ranging from
Crossbow
and
Claw
class vessels to a pair of Telosian
Bloodthorne
class ships. Escorting those heavier ships are well over fifty frigates of various types, and between seventy and eighty corvettes.”

Jacob shook his head, and a discontented mutter rumbled through the assembled officers. From what he’d heard, the last enemy assault this big had been the raid that had wiped the face of Rigannin clean of human habitation. In truth, it was likely far larger than that fleet had been. He pictured all that firepower closing on the mass of refugees now clustered around Tiredel, imagined railgun shots and missile fire wiping away ships from space and cities from continents. Rigannin had been so thoroughly bombarded and savaged, even now Celostian colonists were reluctant to live there. Would the same thing happen here, even with the might of the Celostian Navy gathered to stop it?

The same worry was clear on the faces of the other officers in the room as the lieutenant commander stepped down and the High Admiral stood to take her place. His face was solemn with concern, but his eyes remained as hard and determined as they ever had been. When he spoke, that same iron will showed clearly in his voice. “I know you are all concerned about the size of the enemy force which will shortly come against us, but I remind you we have turned back the Odurans before. We will do so again.”

He turned his attention to the controls. “Our initial formations will be simple, and we will then adjust our plans as we advance to contact with the enemy. The main battle line will consist of our four dreadnaughts, eleven cruisers, and assorted escorts. We will deploy three cruisers with assorted escorts to make up the vanguard to protect the main line, as well as another cruiser and various escorts to take up a chasing position. The flagship will remain behind the main battle line to coordinate our efforts.” A holographic representation of the formation appeared, with notes showing the location of each ship.

Jacob noted his own squadron’s position, in the lower force, with approval. It was common for battles involving dreadnaughts to assume that sort of battle line; the dangers of taking fire from the front, where the relative velocities of the projectiles would increase the damage, or the rear, where vulnerable DE sails were typically located, meant the usual tactic was for the heavier craft to form opposing parallel lines, while lighter craft tried to worm away behind the enemy to disable their sails, or slip around ahead of them to rain fire on their bows. Given his ship’s lack of speed, the chasing position made the most sense.

Of course, that did nothing to prevent his memories from Wayward, the last time his ships had engaged dreadnaughts in a chase, from haunting him.

The High Admiral continued. “Squadron 43 is most likely the last of the nearby friendly forces which we will be able to draw on for the coming battle. Any other ships are either already committed to the defense of critical systems or are otherwise unable to reach us in time.” The High Admiral’s mouth quirked. “In fact, Captain Hull and his crews may have rushed things a little in order to arrive, which I am sure we will all be grateful for.” There were a few officers who turned and gave Jacob appreciative nods. Captain Upshaw, sitting some distance down the table, settled for a resentful glare instead.

Nivrosky switched the projection off and swept his hard grey gaze across the assembled officers. “We have a responsibility to stop the Odurans here. If we do not, the refugees will not be the only ones to suffer the consequences.” His eyes grew hooded. “Our families, our friends, all we hold dear, depend on us for strength and guidance in this time of trials. I expect all of you, to your utmost ability, not to let them down but to show them how an officer fulfills his duty. Thank you for your service and your sacrifices on behalf of the Celostian Union.” He paused as if to say something more, and then shook his head. “Dismissed.”

Around Jacob the officers came to their feet and saluted the High Admiral. He joined them, feeling a burst of determination and pride. After Nivrosky returned the gesture, the officers filed out of the room. When Jacob tried to follow, however, the High Admiral caught his attention and motioned for him to stay. Jacob, feeling a little intimidated, waited until the room was almost empty before he approached his chief commander. “Yes, sir?”

Nivrosky studied him for a moment. “Captain Hull, I appreciate the eagerness that led you to bring your squadron here, but I have to know: are your ships ready for battle?”

“Of course they aren’t!” Captain Upshaw’s blustering tone cut short any reply Jacob could have made. “They’re barely out of the docks. Their crews haven’t even fired on enemy craft since they were brought together. The Odurans aren’t going to hesitate to blow the lot of them out of space.” Upshaw glared at Jacob, his face flushed. “You should never have brought them here, Captain Hull. You’re leading them straight to the slaughter.”

Jacob felt anger start to freeze in his heart. “With all due respect, Captain Upshaw, my squadron is ready to fight.”

“Your squadron is ready to die, Captain.” Upshaw turned to Nivrosky. “High Admiral, I plead with you to move the squadron back by the flagship. At the very least include them in the central formation, so the other ships can cover them better. Otherwise, they are guaranteed to be destroyed.”

The High Admiral looked from Upshaw to Jacob and back again. “Your suggestion has merit, Captain Upshaw. Captain Hull, you are the only one familiar with the…peculiar…capabilities of your squadron. Do you feel your ships would fare better in the central formation?”

“No, sir.” Jacob put as much force into the words as he could. The High Admiral’s eyebrows climbed, and Captain Upshaw’s mouth opened to respond. He continued before the pompous oaf could get a word out. “My ships are designed to operate best as a unit and are more heavily armored and armed than other vessels of their class. They would be best deployed with one of the flanking units.”

“That’s insane!” Upshaw managed to interrupt after all. “These are half-built experimental designs! There could be any number of design flaws that won’t stand up under fire. Besides, Captain Hull, even you have to admit the additions to your ships have slowed their acceleration. A chase element needs speed in order to achieve its objectives, and your ships will slow the whole formation down.”

Jacob’s jaw clenched. “Then we can start further forward to compensate. Sir, the difference in firepower more than justifies including us in the chase element.”

Upshaw leaned forward, his face darkening. “Start farther forward? That would guarantee your squadron would be the focus of enemy fire! Even if they were a fully functional unit, that would risk their total destruction from the outset. High Admiral, surely you understand how foolish this is?”

With as much self-control as he could muster, Jacob cut Upshaw short. “High Admiral, my units have the heavier armor that would allow them to weather that kind of fire if they had to. Placing us further forward will allow us to draw fire that would otherwise be used to destroy other units in the fleet. In any case, no matter where they are they’ll run the same risk of destruction in combat no matter where they are.” A small smile twisted his lips. “And once the Odurans see what my ships can do, they’ll be the focus of fire no matter where you place them, so you might as well put us where we can do the most good.”

Captain Upshaw opened his mouth for another retort, but Nivrosky held up a hand to stop him. The High Admiral’s gaze pierced Jacob and held him where he stood. “Captain Hull, can you guarantee me Squadron 43 can do what you say it can? Are you certain about where you have requested to be positioned?”

Jacob nodded. “Yes, sir. We can do this. It’s what we were made for. Let us.”

A silence stretched between them. Nivrosky continued to stare straight into Jacob’s eyes, as if trying to peer into his very soul. Jacob tried to avoid anything that would betray nervousness, and he met that stare for what seemed like eternity. Then Nivrosky nodded. “Your ships will be moved forward, Jacob. You’ll have your chance.”

Upshaw looked at the High Admiral in flabbergasted horror. “But sir—”

Nivrosky met Upshaw’s gaze coolly, and Upshaw broke off his half-formed protest. “Captain Upshaw, your input on this matter has been noted, but my decision in this matter will not be questioned. Are there other matters you would like to address with me?”

For an instant, Upshaw had to struggle to repress his desire to continue the argument. Then he shook his head, a frustrated expression on his face. “No, sir. If you will excuse me.” The High Admiral nodded, and the captain walked a short distance away. As the captain departed, fists clenched, Nivrosky turned back to Jacob.

“Now, Captain Hull. I believe you have a question for me.”

The statement took Jacob by surprise. He faltered for a moment under the High Admiral’s steel-eyed gaze, and then recovered. “Yes, sir. I suppose I do.” He drew in a breath to steady himself. “Sir, when you gave me the assignment to run those simulations before Wayward, you didn’t give me situations I could beat. They were impossible because they were based on previous military disasters.”

Nivrosky did not immediately respond; a flicker of something like amusement touched his eyes.