Starbound (36 page)

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,
Starbo
und
,” 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,
Starbo
und
. 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
Imp
ulse 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
Imp
ulse 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
Va
liant
. “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
Im
pulse 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!
Imp
ulse 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
Im
pulse 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
Vali
ant
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 I
I
slipped by us, barely forty meters off our bow. I watched as
Valiant
closed, then held her position relative to
Impuls
e 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
Imp
ulse 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
Vix
is
?” 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

W
e were twent
y minutes behind
Vix
is
when we started o
ur pursuit, but that
vanished, along wit
h
Vixis
, before we r
eached the jump poin
t. She had the jump
point generator tech
nology just as the d
readnoughts did, and
it was now clear th
at 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
Vixis
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.

“Almost all military space platforms have been destroyed, sir, along with most of the civilian satellite communications array. The atomic weapons used by the dreadnoughts have matched their yields with Union specs, sir, likely in order to blame the attacks on us by masking their Imperial origin.
Vi
xis
remains stationed over the capital, broadcasting on emergency channels, the only source of information for the populace, claiming she is defending Carinthia from us, sir,” she concluded.

“Bastard,” said Babayan. “Why hasn't he attacked New Vienna?”

“Likely because he plans on ruling from there, at some point,” I said to my XO without turning.

“But three dreadnoughts and one Lightship can't hold off the entire Union fleet, sir, not with our new weaponry,” she said. I turned to look at her. Her eyes were rimmed with red but she otherwise maintained outward composure.

“Then it seems likely he doesn't plan to hold Carinthia for now, but abandon her to us and return later, likely with an overwhelming force,” I said.

“But where would he go?” she asked. I shook my head.

“That we don't know, but what we do know is that this was well planned in advance, as I'm sure is his escape,” I said.

I sat back down in my captain's chair.

“We can't wait for the rest of the fleet to arrive. They don't have
the added benefit of the hybrid drive, so they're too far out to help. We have to act now, try to save what's left of Carinthia.” Babayan took her station next to me. “Status of the closing dreadnoughts, XO,” I said.

She looked to her screen. “They're tracking between us and
Vixis
now. We'll have to go through them to get to her. We'll be within firing range of the gravity weapons in nine minutes, coil cannon in twelve, missiles and torpedoes in fifteen,” she said.

“Distance to
Vix
is
?”

“Twenty-two minutes max at flank speed, Captain.”

“Mr. Longer,” I looked down at my propulsion officer. “Flank speed. Everything we've got.” I ordered.

“Aye, sir!” replied Longer.

I looked down at George Layton at the helm. “Mr. Layton, plot best course to intercept the
Vixi
s
,” I said.

He hesitated, then said, “It will have to be through those dreadnoughts, Captain.”

“I'm aware of that. As I've ordered, Commander.”

“Yes, sir,” he replied. A few seconds later and the optimal course was up on our tactical display. I turned to my longscope officer.

“Ensign Layton, prepare the enveloping gravity plasma weapon. Signal me when she's ready. I'll take the longscope station at that time,” I ordered.

“Aye, sir,” she said, and made for the 'scope.

“I'll be relying on you to command the deck while I'm under the hood, XO,” I said, turning to Babayan. “As soon as we're free of the dreadnoughts, I want
Starbound
to make straight for
Vix
is
.”

She nodded assent. “Understood, sir. Will we have the Historian's support for this attack?” I looked to his dark and empty bridge station.

“Unlikely.”

“And if he tries to block the attack from his quarters?” she asked. I looked at her dead on.

“Then eject the yacht from the primary hull, XO,” I said.

She didn't waver. “Understood, sir.”

Then I got the signal from Ensign Layton at the longscope, and took her place there.

The scale of the attack I was planning was unprecedented. I had gauged up the gravity projector to envelop all three dreadnoughts at once with a plasma field almost ten kilometers across. I could see from my display that Serosian was monitoring my station, watching as I calculated the needed power outputs, but he hadn't communicated with me and I didn't expect him to.

The dreadnoughts maintained a close stack formation. This made no sense to me as it made them vulnerable to a multiship attack. My only thought was either they had a secret attack plan that I couldn't begin to guess at, or they were under orders from Arin. The latter scenario seemed most likely: protect
Vixis
at all costs.

Using the power curve I was planning on would drain the ship for several minutes, even with the replenishing power of our hyperdimensional systems. We would be vulnerable for as much as two minutes, but we'd be out of range of
Vixis
's weapons during that time. At least the ones we knew of. I forwarded the battle plan to the XO.

“This consumes all of our system power, even reserves. Everything but the emergency batteries,” she said to me through the command com channel.

“We'll only be vulnerable for two minutes, Commander. An acceptable risk. And
Vix
is
is out of range to attack us,” I replied.

“What if we don't get all the dreadnoughts?”

I hesitated a second before answering. “We will,” I said. “Call battle stations, XO.”

“Aye, sir.”

My longscope tactical display showed an eighty-seven percent
predicted success rate, and that was good enough for me. Babayan announced to the crew that they were to stand by battle stations, and that the attack would be only my responsibility. I waited as she counted down precious seconds to the minimum range of the gravity plasma. When she reached zero, I didn't hesitate.

“Firing the gravity plasma weapon,” I said to her over the command com. I watched as
Starbound
's coil cannon arrays rose to firing position and ejected the glittering silver plasma from their gun ports. The drain on the ship's systems was immediate. When I came out from under the hood, the bridge was dark and dim with the blue emergency lights the only illumination. I watched as system displays slowly came back up one by one as we replenished our power reserves. Then the main tactical display lit up.

The gravity plasma was enveloping the helpless dreadnoughts. They were almost completely enclosed when . . .

“Sir, I'm reading a weakening of the gravity plasma field,” said Babayan.

“Weakening? How?” I watched her scan her station monitor quickly.

“Uncertain, sir, but they appear to be punching holes in the plasma. Currently five percent dissipation, sir,” she said.

I went to my display station and pulled up the tactical telemetry. She was right. The dreadnoughts were piercing the plasma. I checked the power wave signatures.

“They're using the frequency modulation weapon to punch holes in the plasma,” I stated. I watched for a few more seconds.

“Can they disperse the field?” asked Babayan. I looked at the rate of penetration. Then I sat back down in my chair.

“They don't have enough time,” I said simply. Babayan joined me in sitting. We watched in near-silence, only the quiet hum of our operating systems as ambient sound. The gravity plasma made contact with the first of the dreadnoughts. In quick succession all three of the
behemoths warped and imploded under the massive gravity field, then a quick succession of three bright white explosions, like fireworks, filled the screen.

Three dreadnoughts destroyed. Thirty thousand men and women. Human beings.

I found myself devoid of feeling for them. They were just the enemy now, an obstacle in a greater, much larger battle.

“Mr. Layton,” I said. “Recalculate and optimize our course for
Vixis
.” He responded immediately.

“Done and done, sir,” he replied. “Seventeen minutes to intercept, sir.”

“Good,” I said, then silently resumed monitoring my personal tactical panel.