Cradle of War (A Captain's Crucible Book 3) (23 page)

“Fire when ready,” Jonathan said.

“Valor is firing,” Barrick replied.

Jonathan waited a few moments. “Tell me we got them.”

“We did,” Barrick said. “The
Talon
split the closest vessel in half. The other two ships fired at the incoming missiles but didn’t get them all. They attempted to dive out of the way, but instead flew right into the path of the incoming slugs. One of the dart craft appears to be completely disabled, while the other is limping away, struggling to change its trajectory. Looks like it’s trying to make a run for the 1-Avalon Slipstream behind us.” He paused. “Valor is turning us around, and ordering a pursuit.”

“What, why? They’re done. We don’t need to waste any more time on them. Show some mercy, man.” He glanced at Barrick. “Tell Valor to show some mercy.”

“He says,
it is my ship,
” Barrick replied.

Jonathan knew he couldn’t expect to win every command struggle with the Raakarr captain, and he would have to grant Valor leeway at some point. It just didn’t sit well with Jonathan to allow the massacre of a helpless foe.

“Tell him the United Systems frowns on the destruction of disabled enemy craft, and it could affect the peace negotiations,” Jonathan ordered the telepath.

“Valor says he doesn’t care,” Barrick answered.

“Tell him if we capture them, and tow the ships back to United Systems space, that would definitely go over well, and improve his bargaining position.”

“Valor says the Elk will never accept capture,” Barrick replied. “He says they’ll self-destruct before they ever submit, and he is giving them the death in battle they desire.”

Jonathan sighed. He knew Valor wasn’t going to budge on the matter.

There was no point in maintaining radio silence, so Jonathan ordered Dragonfly 1 to reactivate its comm node and that of the telemetry drone, as well as the captured node in Barrick’s quarters.

Jonathan tapped in his two captains. “Rodriguez, Rail. Recall any remaining missiles out there. Our enemy is done.”

“We just passed the disabled ship,” Barrick said. “Valor had the
Talon
fire from almost point blank range. There’s nothing left of it.”

Jonathan exhaled sadly. Perhaps Valor was doing it to spite him. If he had kept his mouth shut...

No. I refuse to believe I’m responsible for Valor’s summary execution of that crew. He’s right, anyway: in the past, whenever we’ve had a chance to capture one of their ships, they’ve always self-destructed.

With radio silence broken, Jonathan tapped into the 3D display from the corvettes; the lag was annoying, and units flickered in and out of existence, but any sort of battle space representation was preferable to none at the moment.

“So the first part of the operation is complete,” Jonathan sent to his two captains, well aware that the 3D display would increase the communications lag thanks to the bandwidth requirements. “I suppose congratulations are in order. We pulled through that one with zero casualties.”

“The battle isn’t over yet,” Rodriguez replied. “Looks like your Valor friend is hellbent on inflicting some enemy fatalities.”

“I tried to talk him out of it,” Jonathan said. “He wouldn’t listen.”

“I suppose we should escort you to the target,” Rail sent.

“That would be appreciated,” Jonathan responded.

“By the way,” Rodriguez said. “The admiral of Task Group 80.3 is eager to talk to you.”

“I’m sure he is,” Jonathan transmitted. “But tell him he’ll have to wait until we’re done here.” Because the truth was, Jonathan wasn’t all that eager to talk to the admiral in turn.

Jonathan continued to watch the events unfold on the lagged tactical display. The fleeing ship apparently had engine damage, and couldn’t compete with the maximum speed of the
Talon
. The Zarafe vessel soon caught up and mowed down the enemy—the dart ship didn’t bother to fire back. Apparently their particle cannon had taken damage in the attack, too.

At least Jonathan had confirmation that the aliens weren’t merely pretending to be from different factions: it seemed very obvious to him that they hated each other.

“Ask Valor if we can set a course for the remaining enemy fleet now and proceed with the second part of my plan,” Jonathan told Barrick.

“Valor agrees.”

“Generous of him,” Jonathan said. He tapped in his two captains. “It’s time for phase two.”

J
onathan switched his comm channel over to Dragonfly 1. “I want to send a message to the admiral of Task Group 80.3, audio only. Use the comm nodes in the corvettes as repeaters, please.”

“Yes, Captain,” Dragonfly 1 replied. “I’m ready to record the message.”

“Begin recording.” Jonathan cleared his throat. “This is Captain Jonathan Dallas, formerly of Task Group 72.5. I trust the
Galilei
and
Artemis
have filled you in on our situation, and the strategy I propose? End recording and send.”

Because of the distance, it would take seven minutes for the message to reach the admiral. The commodore would spend a minute listening, perhaps another half minute to compose his thoughts, then the return message would take seven minutes to reach the
Talon
.

Jonathan left the bridge and the combat robots and Raakarr guards escorted him to the berthing area. Inside his tent, he removed his helmet, rubbed his eyes, then slid on his aReal spectacles.

What a day. Hard to believe I’m nearly done here. It’s almost time to return. Yes, the dreaded return.

His heart rate and breathing abruptly increased. If he had been aboard the
Callaway
, Maxwell would have been asking if he was all right. But he was as far away from the
Callaway
as was humanly possible. There was no AI to comfort him, not anymore.

I’ve done this to myself. I should have stayed in the Elder galaxy. And let Robert or someone else return in my stead.

He couldn’t believe that he was more afraid of the inquiry than the upcoming battle. Then again, he knew the
Talon
and her corvettes wouldn’t be involved in any major combat role during the next fight. Assuming the admiral agreed to his plan.

He forced himself to clear his mind. He concentrated on his breathing, using a relaxation technique the navy psychologists had taught him in his rating school. He had his aReal project the hologram of a candle onto the floor of the tent, and he stared into the flame.

Dragonfly 1 interrupted his meditation. “A message from the admiral of Task Group 80.3 has been received. Would you like to review it?”

“Not really,” Jonathan said. “But put it up. And please route any future correspondence between the admiral and myself directly to my inbox.”

The AI agreed, and the message began a moment later.

“This is Admiral Wade William Yale of the
USS Ptolemy
, Task Group 80.3. Yes the
Galilei
has sent your plan, Captain Dallas, along with two days worth of data documenting your previous encounters with the invaders. I have reviewed much of that data, and it’s consistent with our own observations. It’s good to have independent confirmation that they
are
actually alien. Some of the stuff in there defies belief however, but you’ve definitely been on an incredible journey, and made some interesting new friends, I’ll give you that. The United Systems is glad to have you back. I look forward to a longer debriefing when we are within range.”

There was no mention of Jonathan’s mutiny attempt against Admiral Knox. Good. Perhaps Yale hadn’t reviewed that part yet.

“Now, on to your plan,” Admiral Yale continued. “I have considered it in detail, and I believe it’s something workable. I agree to follow it, with some modifications. You see, unfortunately my sister destroyer-class starship, the
Pharos
, was heavily damaged in the last encounter: she’s basically out of action. The same is true of the
Cleopatra
, one of our corvettes. The other two corvettes are moderately damaged, with half their laser turrets inactive, and some point defenses offline. The
Ptolemy
itself is fully operational and undamaged, of course.”

How convenient,
Jonathan thought.

“In any case,” the admiral continued. “Here are the modifications I propose...”

Jonathan was somewhat surprised Admiral Yale had agreed to his plan so readily, but as the man rattled off his modifications, Jonathan realized the admiral wasn’t agreeing after all. Jonathan hadn’t had the best of luck with admirals in the past. It looked like that trend was destined to continue.

“Dragonfly 1, prepare to record response,” Jonathan said when the message ended. He took a deep breath. “Begin. Admiral Yale, thank you for agreeing to my plan. But I believe two corvettes won’t be enough to hold the Slipstream 2-Avalon. You’re placing the
Ptolemy
,
Cleopatra
and
Pharos
too far back. At the very least the
Ptolemy
must be moved forward, if not the latter two as well. Please reconsider. End.”

Fifteen minutes later the reply arrived. “I’m the commodore of the fleet, and as such my destroyer cannot be allowed to enter the line of fire.”

But that’s the whole point of a destroyer!
Jonathan thought.

“And as I already stated,” the admiral continued. “The
Cleopatra
and
Pharos
are out of action. With all the missiles and mortars we’re going to mine the entrance with, I’m sure the two corvettes will be more than enough. Plus you forget the
Ptolemy
will still participate with its long range weapons.”

Jonathan cleared his throat and recorded the next message. “Even with your long range capability, those two ships will be overwhelmed. I guarantee you. If you insist on this course of action, I hope you have the decency to transfer the crews over to other vessels. Let the AIs run the corvettes.”

The reply: “The crews will remain aboard, as per their duty. I find it outrageous that you would suggest otherwise. That you would address me so informally by encouraging dereliction of duty shows that perhaps you have spent far too long away from civilization. You’re in United Systems territory now. We do things a little bit differently here. Captains obey their superior officers. And starships are run by people, not robots. If events fare poorly for the corvettes, the crew can simply resort to the lifepods.”

Jonathan sighed.
If there’s time to use them.

“I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised by your attitude,” the admiral carried on. “Given your mutinous actions aboard the
Callaway
. I hadn’t meant to bring that up, but you’ve forced my hand. And while I intend to overlook your actions for the time being, once this battle is done, I’m going to have to give you over to the appropriate authority.”

When the admiral finished, Jonathan sent his reply: “My apologies, Admiral. We will proceed with the modified plan, as you suggested. And when the battle is over, I will readily go to whatever authority you deem appropriate. I do have one question. What’s the status on the Tau Delta Avalon VI colony? Were the residents successfully evacuated?”

Fifteen minutes later: “That would be two questions, Captain.” There was a pause, and Jonathan guessed the admiral had deleted something nasty, like:
you impertinent little shit
. “The residents were evacuated, but the colony itself, and its military base, were completely destroyed.”

“Would you mind telling me how that came about?” Jonathan sent.

In answer: “While the
Ptolemy
remained behind to guard 2-Avalon, I dispatched Task Unit 80.3.2 to intercept the enemy. The battle occurred between the colony and the second gas giant in the system. The task unit tried to repel the enemy, but they were forced to perform a tactical retrograde. The survivors joined the
Ptolemy
at 2-Avalon while the aliens continued onward to the colony. The brutes razed the place. Afterward they moved into the orbits of the inner planets, assuming a position two hundred million kilometers from Delta Avalon itself. We’ve been sitting here orbiting on opposite sides of the star ever since.”

Jonathan sent one last message of thanks, and repeated his intention to proceed with the modified plan. He tapped in Barrick and the two captains, and gave the order for the
Talon
and her two escorts to proceed at eighty percent speed toward the four remaining enemy ships. They would reach firing range in two days. Jonathan could have reduced that by allowing the
Talon
to achieve full speed, but that would have meant pulling away from the
Galilei
and
Artimus
.

“The enemy fleet is accelerating away from us,” Barrick announced shortly thereafter. “According to Otter, their trajectory lines up with Task Group 80.3 and the Slipstream 2-Avalon beyond. We’ve forced their hand. They’re making a run for it.”

Jonathan had expected as much. If their positions had been reversed, with Jonathan’s fleet surrounded by enemies on two sides, he would have chosen a similar course of action.

“Task Group 80.3 is retreating to the Slipstream, as planned,” Barrick said.

Jonathan had the lagged tactical display active on his aReal, and over the next few hours he watched as the human task group reached the Slipstream and mined the entrance with mortars and missiles. When that was done, two of the corvettes, the
Renaissance
and the
Giza
, assumed defensive positions on either side.

As part of Admiral Yale’s modifications to the plan, the
Ptolemy
led the
Pharos
and
Cleopatra
to a position fifty thousand kilometers behind the Slipstream, forming a smaller task unit that would participate with long range weapons, but would otherwise avoid taking part in any close fighting.

Jonathan shook his head. He was still convinced that two corvettes at the entrance wouldn’t be enough to hold back the enemy. At least some of the enemy ships would still punch through the blockade, regardless of any long range support from the
Ptolemy, Pharos
and
Cleopatra
.

Well, there was nothing he could do about it. Admirals would be admirals.

He removed his aReal, lay down, and shut his eyes to get some much needed sleep.

T
WO DAYS PASSED. The
Talon
and her escorts were two and a half days behind the fleeing enemy vessels by then, thanks to their slightly slower speed.

Jonathan had only just returned to the bridge when the opposing fleet braked to a halt, six hundred thousand kilometers from the Slipstream.

Also as Jonathan predicted.

The laser ship proceeded forward, escorted by fighters from the pyramid vessel. At the five hundred thousand kilometer mark, it separated, leaving behind a trailing lens segment.

“The
Ptolemy
and
Pharos
are scrambling Avengers,” Barrick said. “And the rest of the fleet is launching the first wave of missiles and mortars.”

It was a bit soon, but Jonathan always felt that way in regards to long range weapons. He supposed the slightly early launch wouldn’t matter in the overall scheme of things.

The laser continued to separate into segments every one hundred thousand kilometers. In the meantime, the
Ptolemy
launched three more successive waves of missiles and mortars.

Jonathan shook his head once more.

He’s going to expend everything to take down that laser ship, leaving nothing for the three behind it.

The lead segment was two hundred thousand kilometers from the Slipstream when the Avengers approached to within one hundred thousand kilometers. The fighters and missiles were behind the mortars, obviously intending to use them as shields against the laser weapon. Though as the range closed, those “shields” would rapidly lose effectiveness.

“The lead segment is opening fire,” Barrick said. “So far, all missiles and Avengers remain intact.”

The laser continued to fire as the final segment detached. When the Avengers closed to within fifty thousand kilometers, the laser began to drill through the mortars, eliminating the sheltering human fighters and missiles in turn.

At the twenty-five thousand kilometer mark, Barrick announced: “Enemy fighters are breaking away from the laser to intercept the incoming wave. Meanwhile, the lead segment is coming to a halt.”