Fool's Gold (The Wandering Engineer) (64 page)

The
holo field projected the probable course, speed, and attack range of the enemy
ships and the mines. Firefly updated it every second. As ships drifted closer
to the mine's final acquisition range the mine's sphere turned red to  show
they were locking on.

"Target
lock lost on to bogies five and seven on the enemy fleet's port side covering
the freighters," Harris said softly. "We'll hit them with KEWs and
grapeshot then finish with beams if we have to. Keep a running plot on
them," he murmured.

"Mines
attacking. First detonations detected." Irons winced as the first mines
erupted. They were detonating in a blinding flash just shy of the hunter
killers. "Enemy point defense is hitting them too fast... wait, we got
one!" the tac officer smiled.

“Engineering
warm up the reactors and engines. Lets keep the wedge and shields down and see
how close we can get,” Irons growled.

 "Maneuvering
execute helm order one," Harris called. The ship lurched as it lunged
forward and down under the enemy formation then arched up to slash at them...

"KEWs
fired, KEWs on target. Firing second volley at secondary targets in range.
Grapeshot fired. Missiles one and two fired," Harris intoned. “One minute
to impact.”

"Helm
pitch up twenty degrees port three point four degrees. Then give me a lazy
roll," Irons said. “Shields on standby.”

"Aye
aye. Pitching up twenty degrees yaw three point four degrees then rolling to
port," Janice replied.

“We've
been detected. Kew's incoming.”

“Raise
shields. Drop stealth protocols. Full battle alert,” Irons said. Dan nodded.

"Hits
on bogies one and two. Their shields are down. One looks like it is out of
control," Firefly reported. "Entering beam range... firing. Bogie two
destroyed. Secondary targets disabled," Firefly reported. Irons nodded.
That was one civilian freighter disabled.

"Good
firing guns!" Shelby called exuberant.

Harris
didn't even acknowledge the compliment. "Think they'll stick around to try
to recover the freighters?" he asked. The other freighters had been
disabled by the KEWs of the other ships by now. Harris waited then shook his
head. "No, either they'll abandon them or they'll destroy them," he
grimaced. Irons did as well. Maya disabled the factory ship with a single burst
into her drive then jinked up, rolling around the massive ship to take on the
bogy three frigate trying to run.

"Let's
see if we can keep that from happening," he studied the plot. "Helm
jink up two degrees with emergency thrusters then yaw eight zero degrees to
starboard." Firefly and Sun-Yat were scissoring up and down through the
enemy formation slashing at them while the gunships scissored on the X plane.
They couldn't remain on the same course bearing for long, it made for an
inviting target. The corvette and gunships were detailed to take out the HK's
and frigates, leaving Damocles to Firefly.

"Missiles
detonated. Looks like they have some additional point defense and ECM. I'm
updating the threat profiles now," Harris said.

"Destroyer
is rolling to port now. She's trying to come around for a broadside,"
Firefly reported.

Harris
grunted. "She can try. We're already there. Helm roll twenty degrees
starboard. Starboard batteries prepare to fire." He looked up from his
holo projectors with a tigers grin as the pie shaped firing arch closed to the
destroyer then changed to red. "She's toast. Fire!" he called.

Firefly's
broadside missile tubes each fired a missile volley, then a second, then the
beam weapons fired. "Helm take her to one hundred eleven percent emergency
power and pitch down twenty degrees. Then roll to keep the destroyer on our
flank," Irons called. The grasers and gravity beams lashed out, slashing
at targets of opportunity on the destroyer's hull.

"Aye
answering helm order." He watched as Janice executed the maneuver.

"She's
slow on the helm Admiral," Firefly said. The avatar watched the enemy
ship. "Dazzlers are up. Deploying defensive drones," Firefly
reported. On the plot they could see the destroyer fuzzed out by the intense
flares of the first broadside. Harris had fired most of the dazzlers to bring
their plot down. The destroyer tried to jink down and away, clearly trying for
maneuvering room. Some of the late grasers dug into its flanks away from their
target locations. A few missed all together.

"Load
grapeshot and KEWs," Harris intoned. Damocles tried to spray sand along
her exposed flank.

"Grapeshot
loaded and ready," Firefly reported.

"Plot
their course..." He pointed to a plot ahead and slightly above where the
ship was going to be.

"Target
locked."

"Then
fire," Harris said.

"We've
got three hits on her stern Admiral. She's slowing down. Shields are
fluctuating," Harris announced after a moment.

"Good.
Keep up the good work guns." Irons turned to the plot. There were still
one frigate and two HK's out there on the other side of the formation, along with
the disabled ships.

"Sun-Yat
is moving, she's firing on one bogey one," Firefly reported. Irons pulled
up the CIC feed and nodded. “She's a manta. Good speed and she's got one heck
of a bow shield.”

"Which
isn't doing her any good since she's running from Sun-Yat right now. All enemy
units are turning. It looks like they're trying to run," Harris said.
"Damn!" He suddenly pounded his arm rest.

"Missed?"
Shelby asked looking over to him.

"Most
of them yeah," Harris sounded disgusted. "That's what I hate about
grapeshot and KEWs, you can't maneuver them." He shook his head.
"Take that!" he fired a second volley.

"Missiles
incoming. Ten missiles at zero point four by nine by twelve," Firefly
reported, highlighting the sensor feeds. "Drones deploying. We need to
move..eta to impact nineteen seconds and counting."

Irons
nodded. "Helm put us bow on to the missile spread. Engineering enhance the
bow shields. Defense..."

"We're
on it Admiral," Dan the ECM officer replied. "Firing point defense
missiles now. Grapeshot targeting. I doubt these are test shots or ECM,"
he said.

"Yeah,
but then again, we don't have much to work with," Harris replied. “I'm
getting low on missiles too.”

"First
missile detonated. Second... second is a spoof. Damn!” Dan snarled. “She's
sucked in three of my birds. Bringing up point defense lasers now."

"Admiral
one of those missiles has a gravity warhead," Firefly warned urgently.

"Are
you sure?" Harris said suddenly anxious. "Dan get that thing
now," he snarled.

"Can't,
too late," the ECM officer said sweating.

"Cut
all engines. Emergency blow RCS down and to port maximum burn! Reinforce the
shields. Sound collision!" Irons said.

"Roger."
The ship bucked and the crew jerked in their seats. They could feel an itching
sensation as the warhead went off, ripping at the ship's shields and sensors.

"Shields
down to ten percent. We've lost several of the defense drones, our wedge has
destabilized and the emergency cut outs have shut it down," Shelby said.
Irons nodded.

"I
think that was their best shot though," Harris said. "Entering
maximum beam range again in twenty seconds Admiral. Should we give them a
broadside?" he asked looking over to Irons.

Irons
shook his head. "No, helm give me a burn twenty percent above her plane
then pitch up and roll around her. Harris, shell game in twenty seconds,"
he looked over to the tac officer who whistled. Their shields fluctuated then
slowly started to climb as Firefly and engineering compensated.

"Right,
shell game." He tapped his  link issuing the commands. "We're
ready," he nodded.

"Launch
decoys. Helm execute that last order," Irons ordered. The ship's fusion
engines lurched forward then cut off. As she moved decoys launched and came up,
then started to mimic the ship, but going in other directions.

Each
decoy mimicked Firefly's neutrino and ion signature perfectly for a few
seconds. Just long enough for the destroyer to lose track of who was who.

"The
destroyer is rolling down, no she's stopped. She's trying to come back on her
previous course," Firefly stated.

"That's
all we needed. Helm bow on. Tactical..."

"Right,
beam weapons firing!" They watched as the ship thrummed, slamming energy
into the enemy ship. Her shields sparkled with impacts then went down. The
beams reached her armored hull and then began to rip into it. Plasma streamed
off in all directions. "Let's just see what a little grapeshot can do
too," Harris said gleefully as he added that to the mix. Ball bearings
burst from blunderbuss along the ships nose, slamming into the remaining dust
cloud, scouring it away. Follow up rounds tore into the hull or ablated when
they were hit by the beams. Panicked point defense fire from the destroyer
swept around then hit their shields.

"Shields
down to nine percent and dropping," Firefly warned.

"Helm
keep us here," Irons said.

"Locking
position aye." He watched as the beams slashed into the hull of the
destroyer.

"Something’s
gotta give... Her shield pods are bursting like over ripe Menkalinan
melons," Harris said softly.

"Her
armor is thick," Dan said.

"She's
a destroyer, of course it is," Harris said never taking his eyes from the
plot. Tractors slashed at each ship. Firefly's delta shape was keeping her
perfectly on  the target though, the destroyer couldn't keep up. One by one her
weapons, sensors, and drive pods facing Firefly were scoured away.

"Hull
breach, she's been breached," Firefly reported. Debris vomited from the
ships flank. After a moment her ports blasted outward. Her fusion plant's
neutrino signature fluctuated wildly then fell like a stone. After a moment the
emergency panels covering her vitals blew open. There was a brief flash nearly
a kilometer from the ship. Most likely her power plant had been blown clear
just before it blew.

"Admiral
she's adrift. Engines and power are gone," Harris said looking up.
"Good." Irons turned to the plot. Damocles might have some charge
left in her capacitors but that was about it.

"We've
got a couple more customers moving off. Frigate and remaining HK are
running," CIC called. "Warthog and Maya are closest. Maya is firing
her missiles now." They watched the plot as the two surviving enemy ships
sailed on until they picked up the sensor ghosts of the missiles. Suddenly they
pitched up and down separating.

"They're
splitting up. No honor among thieves," Harris said.

“I
don't know where that HK thinks it's going. No jump drive,” Sprite commented.
“Just trying to get away?”

"No,
it means at least one will get away," Irons said watching the plot.

"Not
for the closest one, she's taken a hit, damn! Now that's what I'm talking
about!" Harris thrust his fist into the air as the Hunter Killer shattered
then exploded. "Now that's how it's done!" he grinned.

"Firefly
can we catch the other?" Dan asked.

"Helm
bring us about,  roll one hundred twenty degrees then pitch up four degrees by
three. Sensors and Tactical plot the course of that Frigate then fire KEWs
along its projected vector. Try to plot evasive patterns it could follow and
allow for them in follow up shots." Irons looked over to Harris who
nodded.

"Box
them. Shotgun at this range though... It's a long shot but I'm on it."
After a moment he looked up and nodded. "Rail guns ready Admiral," he
said.

"Then
fire. Keep a firing till we're dry," Irons said. "Helm adjust course
two degrees by one point three then go to maximum power. Let’s see if we can
give them a send off they'll never forget," he smiled grimly.

"What
about the civilian ships we disabled?" Dan asked.

"Right.
What is their current status?" He turned to the small image of the CIC.

"Two
of the Clydesdales are trying to maneuver, the rest are down. One looks like
her power is fluctuating. She's scramming her reactor now." Irons winced
as the fusion reactor detonated. "She's not going anywhere. Her stern is
toast." The CIC officer shook her head. "The factory ship is
maneuvering, or at least trying too. Sun-Yat is maneuvering to block her now
though," CIC reported.

“Warthog
has three other freighters on her side. She's accepting surrenders now. The
agro ship is down, she didn't take any hits, I think her crew got wise and
surrendered. Maya is chasing one other freighter down now.”

"Right,
tell them to herd her back away from the jump point." Irons sent a mental
command and after a moment a window opened. The marine major looked up and
grinned.

"We're
ready Admiral, just give us the word." He gave a thumbs up. "Sergio
is here with us Admiral, he's going to ride shotgun with the fighter." He
waved as the camera panned and then zoomed out to see the marine boat bay.
Marines were loading onto the shuttle in powered combat armor while Sergio
climbed into the cockpit.