Battleship Destroyer (121 page)

"Yes Captain."

Jack turned back to Pan. "Do it. Have them strip the damn ships as much as they can in the time they think they can survive in this heat. Hopefully we will have a hole punched through this shell by then…. Ah and they don't need to know our problems. Is that understood Pan." Taking a breath.

"Captain
, hatch blasted." Came the marine Commanders voice over the comm.

"And the crewman Commander. Did
she…"

"The crewman did not have a helmet Captain. The first torpedoes are on their way to the launch bay. We have cleared a fairly direct path back up to the bay."

Jack sat back in his chair. "Why the hell have I been seeing and hearing about so many frigging HELMET LESS bodies around this ship and the damn fleet." Turning to the Executive Officer. "From now on Exec. Any crewmen found without their helmet on during GQ gets flogged is that clear. I have had enough deaths from stupidity. I don't care if they have to start carrying the damn things around with them 24-7 when we are not at GQ is that understood." Jack turned to Pan, who was busy scribbling on her pad as she rapidly whispered into it with her head turned down. "Pan!" Jack practically shouted getting her startled attention. "Blow the damn Spider ships up as soon as they are clear of them, got that. I don't want any surprises later. And don’t worry about leaving anyone behind to try taking another ship out. Just put a timer on the switch and get out of there."

"Captain, Torpedo ready to launch sir." The Weapons officer turned to Jack with a smile.

"Well launch the damn thing already using maximum armor piercing detonation program on the warhead. Launch the rest as soon as you get them loaded."

“Captain, Damage Control, the boat bays are practically open to the 3,000 degree space around the ship. They are heating up faster than the rest of the ship.”

“Yes Exec. That is why I ordered everyone into the Core hull.”

“Ah. Sir with the Core hull cut open into the Boat Bay that heat is rapidly penetrating into the lower core and up to the first armored deck below Engineering Central Control.”

“Very well Exec. At least heat penetration is stopped there.”

“We are only a few decks above the boat deck sir.  The bridge is below that armored deck sir. We need to abandon the bridge before we are cooked sir.”

Jack looked around at the damage control screen. It showed the boat bay in red and the heat creeping up through the core decks from the open boat bay. He had to admit it was getting damn hot on the bridge. “No Exec. We can button up in our suits but we are not abandoning the bridge.  Start cutting down the oxygen in the ships atmosphere to keep down fires in the abandoned compartments.” Jack pulled his helmet on and took a deep breath of the suits cool relatively sweet air. He had not noticed how smoky the air on the bridge and in the screens showing the compartments throughout the ship was getting.

The last of the missiles were just impacting target Alpha as the Ensign turned around. "Jack the missiles have produced a molten 22,000 degree caldron
bubble most of the way through the shell with a little spray splashing back out that has created a small pocket. The cauldron is slowly expanding as it melts the diamond shell around it. I suggest we hold off with the torpedoes for a few minutes to see how far it will spread as it slowly cools."

Jack watched the first of the torpedoes making its run for the targeted
caldron. "Ah. Just how big of a caldron are we talking about if we let it percolate?"

"Ah.
Probably 50 to 75 feet in diameter but it will be all the way through the shell." The Ensign said with a big smile. "Once it melts through to the other side of the shell, it won't take much for the torpedoes to punch the hole through."

Jack watched the torpedo pass the half-way point to the shell
, tight lipped.

"Jack, you need to put the torpe
do into mine mode diverting it to stand by until we need it."

Jack sat back taking a sip of his tea as he watched the torpedo without saying anything.

"Firing second Torpedo Captain. Third shot is being loaded now. The marines have set up a chain gang passing a torpedoes up it every couple of seconds now. Faster than we can load and fire them sir." The Weapons Officers voice was astonished as he watched the screen of the marine armored suited chain gang passing the torpedoes hand over hand over their heads up the chain.

"Jack! You have to divert the torpedo or we won't blow a hole
through the shell."

Jack frowned as
he tapped a location on the plot screen. "Number One, back this beast out to a thousand miles from target Alpha at plotted location and hold please."

The Ensign looked at Jack getting very worried. "Jack!"

"Weapons, prepare the God Guns and 16(8)s for maximum power and rate of fire." Slapping the Comm. "Engineering we are going to need all the power you can give me on the guns in a few minutes."

"But Captain we are over heating now. I don't have much I can give you as it is without burning everything out."

"Well, figure some way to keep them cool long enough to get us out of this hell. Even if you have to feed the heat into the ship’s compartments."

"But sir we are having enough problems trying to keep the ship from turning into an oven now. As it is any work in the hull compartments require wearing a suit."

“Yes I know. Now that is a good Idea. Everyone will just have to suit up and use the suits air conditioning.  Got that. Start dumping the heat into the ship now and keep those generators going for the guns. Out." Turning around with a smile. "Exec sound the Vacuum alarm, get everyone closed up now and start taking the oxygen out of the entire ship."

The Ensign's mouth dropped open. "Jack
!” She pleaded. “The shell reflects damn near a hundred percent of the gun radiation. You can’t pump enough energy into the shell to cook with let alone melt anything. Let the kinetic induced heat of the missiles melt a hole in the shell so we can use the boats to get out before everyone dies." Taking a breath she was getting desperate. "Jack! Divert the damn torpedo."

Jack turned and smiled at her. "I love you Ensign but go sit your butt down now and put your helmet back on.
It is going to get hot in here." Jack turned around just in time to watch the first torpedo hit the molten caldron dead center. The torpedo disappeared into the pool and then the shinning pool exploded out into the void away from the shell in a cone leaving a steep sided crater.

"Godstar Jack, how stupid can you get
. I told you that hole is less than 20 feet across and even though the molten carbon will wick up the sides of the hole it, does not have enough mass to keep melting the sides. It will simply cool instead, making the hole even smaller each time a torpedo hits the hole blowing out more mass." The Ensign turned and stomped over to her acceleration chair and plopped down. "You keep it up and you won't even get a hole through the damn shell big enough to release a message torpedo telling anyone we are dead in here."

Jack watched the Ensign pouting in her chair and smiled as he turned back around. "How long until the next torpedo hits Tactical?"

"One minute Captain. The third will be 30 seconds after that and then roughly 15 seconds between the rest until we run out of torpedoes sir."

"OK… Jack…" The Ensign studied her screen
surprised. "That torpedo raised the temperature of the melt that is left to 26,000 degrees." She turned around with a smile. "At this rate of energy transference, if you hold the torpedo hits to one a minute we will punch through the shell easily."

Jack whipped around to face the Ensign. "You sure about that Ensign?"

"Yes Jack. It won't even take them all. A half hour and the temperature will be almost a hundred thousand degrees and we may even get wide enough to get a boat out."

"Let me see your figures Ensign." Jack turned around as the Ensign transferred her screen to Jacks.
After studying her figures a few seconds he looked up smiling. "Weapons, 15 seconds is too long. Shorten the intervals, I don't care what you have to do, just do it. NOW."

"Second Torpedo impacting Captain."
Tactical said as the Weapons Officer turned to see Jack's determined face then started speaking into his mike as he turned back around.

"Jack! What are you doing?" The Ensign said exasperated. "I said a minute or even longer not shorten to seconds. It has to be at least a minute
between torpedo detonations if we are going to get even the life boats out. It takes time for the heat to spread through the diamond matrix."

Jack turned around looking up from the sheet he was working on. "Damn it Ensign. I don't want to get a frigging boat out.
We don’t have enough boats for everyone. I am trying to get the whole damn ship out! Now shut up and start cooperating will you."

"But I don't see how…"

"Then shut the frack up. I don't have time to explain basic physics and I don't need your damn fracking bitching distracting me."

"I was trying to…"

Jack raised his hand pointing at the Exec and hooked a thumb back at the Ensign. The Exec punched his comm and talked into it. “Marine to the bridge. Detain...”

"Ok I am helping just give me a few seconds to figure out what you are doing OK?" she said as she turned back to her screens.
“It doesn’t make any fricking sense.”

A few seconds later a marine came in
through the hatch fully armed and armored and headed for the Ensign. Jack held his hand up to the Exec palm out. The Exec turned to the marine. "You can stand down marine and wait by the hatch if you please." The marine stopped next to the Ensign and turned around going over to the hatch. Turned around again he backed into and plugged himself into the bulkhead to keep from being thrown around with a weapons hit as he waited.

The torpedoes started hitting
the bubble every ten seconds and then every 9.

Jack watched his screens intently for
a minute then ordered. "Torpedoes high explosive now." Then a few minutes later. "Weapons, Divert torpedoes now to stand by at 50 miles. You may cease launches."  Studying the screens for another minute Jack smiled as the hug cavern in the shell calmed down. "Ok Ensign now we see if it is going to work or you are going to spend the rest of our short lives telling me You Told me So.  Weapons, I am sending you a gun firing plan. You will need to follow it exactly." Tapping the Comm. "Engineering, we are about to commence firing the guns. You need to keep the power to the guns no matter the cost. I don't care how hot it gets in the ship, maintain the power. If you don't, we all die. Got that? Number 2 you are going to have to move the ship and keep it orbiting that hole at exactly the orbit I have put on the plot at the exact course and velocity I have programed or we die."

Jack tapped the Comm again a
ctivating the ship wide broadcast. "Your attention please. As you may already know. We are trapped in a bubble from that last massive ship explosion interacting with the cloud after the plasma blast wave passed us by. The temperature outside the ship is over a thousand degrees and getting hotter as the fusion core continues to transfer its heat into the bubble we are in. We are about to attempt the final step in cutting ourselves out of that diamond bubble but it is going to be close and very hot while we are doing it. We must keep the ship running and our systems working no matter how uncomfortable or down right painful it gets. We are only going to get one chance at this so good luck to you all and may Godstar bless us and help get our sorry asses the hell out of here if he or she sees fit to do so." Jack took a deep breath and sighed.  "That is all." And tapped the comm off.

Looking around at the Ensign who tried to give him a weak smile Jack turned back to the main screen showing the
small hole blown into a huge cavern half way through the shell. "Ok, weapons you may commence firing plan Delta 2 when ready. Just don't frigging stop after you do start until I order you to."

The lieutenant checked his screen several times but
finally reached over to his master firing key, hovered over it for a few seconds and then tapped it firmly.

The God guns started the barrage. The 4 beams streaking
through the small 20 foot hole into the cavern beneath where the 4 beams crossed in the center to create a huge explosion that did not seem to leave the cavern as the dozen 16(8) beams started rapidly flashing down through the hole. Then half a second later a wide beam shot straight out of the hole across the bubble and into the fusion core fireball still too hot to look at.

The
God gun beams continued to streak into the hole in the shell every few seconds as the column of energy continued to shoot out into the core at the center of the bubble in a steady stream.

"Captain, Engineering. We are dumping the heat from the old generators into the ship as fast as we can but it is well over 300 degrees in the engine rooms already. We can't keep them on line much longer."

Jack glanced over at the engineering board and noticed the old inefficient cell lined generators that relied on massive amounts of heat to generate power. He suddenly realized why they were on at full power because of their reliability and track record even though the new plasma coiled generators where a hundred times more efficient. Taking a deep breath and mumbling a short prayer to himself. Hoping that the new little tested and unproven generators would continue to work long enough. "Shut down all the old heat cycle generators Chief. We have to have someone alive when we get done or it is a waste of time anyway. I am confident the new generators will do fine." Looking at the shield coils. "Chief, you may as well as up the power to the shields. We don't have to worry about the point defense weapons and the more of that damn plasma atmosphere we keep off the hull the less heat we have to fight."