Book 2: Chapter 22: Fog of War (2)

Book 2: Chapter 22: Fog of War (2)

USD: ~15 days after Tears of Fire arrival to 92 Pegasi, 5 minutes after lighting off the main drives

Location: IND Tears of Fire, Half-burn toward out-system

They are bracketing us. Elis pointed out.

Alex nodded, she had watched as the ships chasing them had spread apart slightly, the destroyer still bee-lining straight for them while the three frigates curved away slightly forming a triangular bracket. It was the right thing if they had been running the Tears down and her acceleration was what they thought it was. No matter how she tried to evade at their current speed, at least two of them would get close enough to hit them hard with close range weapons now.

Alex felt more than a little sorry for them. She acknowledged that she had kicked the nest as it was due to her impatience.

Next time we will fly back.

A confused look appeared on Eliss face, What?

Nothing, never mind.

She didnt really want to kill them, although they seemed to her to be exactly the type of low-life scum that wouldnt hesitate to rob or kill if they had the power to do so. She was sure there was at least one good person aboard those ships who didnt deserve to die. That wouldnt have been enough to stay her hand, but it would have made her feel at least a little guilty.

No, it was Namelesss revelation that those ships had been moored at or around the station for as long as they had been collecting data. That hinted to her they might have connections with people on the station, or in the system. People who would be very angry and want to come after her if she blew them all up. So, she had modified the plan, there was only one small detail that could be a problem.

Nameless, can you look over these calculations, and see if this is possible?

A few seconds ticked, before Nameless answered.

[Notice: While the calculations are sound and course of action seems possible, this appears to be a serious waste of limited ShipCore resources that will have little to no effect.]

So, its possible.

[Notice: These resources are not renewable under current circumstances. Wasting them is not advised.]

It is a little pricey, yes. But I think it will have a devastating effect.

[Informative: That is highly unlikely, analysis concludes a 99% chance for no major or critical damage to be dealt.]

Alex smiled, Perfect! Thank you, Nameless!

Elis frowned, What are you planning?

Alex happily transferred her data pad contents to Eliss screen.

It took the marine a few moments of study to understand what she was reading, and then an incredulous look appeared on her face.

Seriously? You know this isnt a game, right?

Dont worry, I will let you off when we get to the station.

A slight frown creased Eliss face and she shook her head slightly.

[Informative: Hostile task group has entered maximum missile range.]

Ok, its show time. Alex blanked the extra screens and put the tactical screen on the largest monitor in the CIC.

She waited. Then waited more.

Nameless, they are in missile range? They havent fired anything?

[Affirmative: No missile launch detected, however IND Iron Horse has multiple signatures dispersing from ship.]

Wait, what? Things are coming out of it? Are they deploying drones or dumping cargo?

[Notice: No analysis of high enough confidence is available.]

A second later they got their answer.

[Warning: Missile launch detected! Vampires 1, designated, 20 count, light missile acceleration profile, ETA: 2:34]

Nameless, you said that destroyer probably only had 4 tubes!

It was Elis who figured it out first, a bit of respect in her voice, They cold dropped them. They didnt fire them out of the tubes but dumped them out of cargo. Then remotely fired them all at once.

Alex felt her mind racing, Holy shit, thats genius.

If they had done that with A-3123Y, even if it had just doubled the weight of their first volley, they would have won. She bit her lip in frustration at the sour thought.

She didnt have time to admire the hostile squadrons commander.

Nameless, prepare to go full active. Even with their trick, they dont have enough saturation to get through, and if those little ships had missiles, they would have fired with the first salvo. Its time to throw off our disguise.

[Notice: EM analysis of hostile missiles suggest a non-standard guidance package.]

He squeezed the arm rest of his chair. But that girl of a captain had unnerved him. He had replayed the Tears of Fires transmission twice, and he couldnt figure out why, other than she looked much too young for her position, and he hated the idea that reckless youth had doomed the other ship to destruction.

Popup! Hostile launch detected, 48 slow movers, designating Bandits 2-9.

Thraker stroked his beard. They were deploying defense drones. They were a Ertan design that had been pushed to improve PDC for single ships, so their launch made sense, but the reason the tech had not caught on was due to how poorly they performed in real combat.

Designate Bandits 2-9 low priority, focus on Bandit 1, Thraker ordered.

Time slowly moved forward, and crewmen fidgeted nervously while Thraker tapped the arm of his chair.

Suddenly the officer at the sensor console was yelling, Spike! Spike! Spike! Bloody shit!

Sir! Missile Control reports telemetry loss, all birds!

What? Thraker glared at the plot in mild disbelief that all missiles were now on a dead ballistic course.

Severe signal degradation, and comm lasers are blocked! EM analysis shows billions of reflective particles spreading out."

Thrakers gaze ripped over to SIGINT, a startled Emmet turning to face him.

Captain! Something blew off Bandit 1s hull and it's lit up like an Ertan Turkey! 43 active radars, its giving the computer fits!

Its a nannie! a frightened crewmen shouted, before an angry officer walloped him, None of that!

Thraker considered for a moment. It wouldnt have been out of place for a nannie ship to have that many radars, but the mans ravings were hysteria. There was no conceivable notion for a nannie ship to be in 92 Pegasi.

Larger cruisers and battleships only carried three to four high-powered arrays, so 43 was a ridiculous number. And while no one mounted that many active radars on a ship because they were extremely power hungry and nearly the most expensive component of a warship, an idea started to form in Thrakers head.

Eyes narrowing, Thraker stared at the plot, suddenly seeing the fleeing ships game. Had the Ertans arrived in this far away backwater to test out new, advanced weapons in action? His stomach turned, if that was the case, that ship was more than capable, and would likely turn around and hunt them down to make sure there was no one to report the specifics of the engagement.

Hostile laser emissions from Bandit 1! Uhh Simultaneous laser strike on all twenty birds, confirmed destroyed. A at .7ls!

Thrakers knuckles turned white as he checked their closing distance, and he cursed as he realized that the entire squadron was already in the Tears of Fires close combat range, as ridiculous as that might seem.

This game was over, and he knew what he needed to do to try and salvage something from the situation. Comms, priority packet to the squadron: Bugout, Bugout, Bugout.

As the startled comm operator turned to send the message a beleaguered SIGINT officer called out, VAMPIRE! VAMPIRE! VAMPIRE! Railgun!

Thraker ripped his attention back to the plot, they were still well over .6ls from the Tears, well outside of railgun range, unless

Time suddenly stopped as Thrakers mind went into overdrive, finally realizing what about the young female captain had triggered his caution. Her uniform was one he had not seen in over 80 years. A Federation Captains jacket, minus the fruit salad of medals that usually adorned them. A further revelation flashed through his mind: that her apparent youth was likely because she was a rejuvie, like him, who could have been on ice all this time.

They werent facing a modified Ertan ship or a ship from any other living faction. It was a bonafide Federation warship, and not one like his that had been run roughshod and abused over eight decades of inferior replacement parts and refitting.

If the railguns were shooting Federation smart munitions, then they had been in the Tears firing range since before they entered missile range!

Thraker slammed a yellow key on the left hand of his chair, the lighting across the ship switching from white and red to a vivid amber as klaxons across the ship began to wail the collision alarm.

Brace for impact!

He was proud of his men, who did not question the order, instead doing their best to strap themselves in or grab hold of whatever sturdy thing presented itself to them nearby.

A railgun shell at .6ls would have taken less than ten seconds to arrive, had it really been that short of time?

Suddenly the ship lurched underneath him, an utterly loud screech of metal cutting vibrating through the ship as the railgun shell dug a divot in the weary armor.

Thrakers heart pounded in his chest, shock at the fact that the railgun round had missed at such close range. The smart shells had been one of the deadliest medium range weapons the Federation had ever developed, reshaping the way fleet combat had been conducted at the time. Until the collapse.

Damage report! Crews report visual outer hull breach, but the armor held! Rachel, Silver, and Shark reporting minor damage but no casualties!

The officer paused, listening to his earpiece and then shock covered his face and he turned to pull the boarding alarm. A recorded voice blasted an announcement across the ship, Prepare to repel boarders! Prepare to repel boarders! This is not a drill!

Seaman rushed to the weapons lockers to have the small company of ship marines distribute rifles and other firearms.

Captain! Unknown object entered through the breach, its powered and putting on main screen now!

Captain Thraker watched as the visual flipped to a helmet mounted camera, and the sailor pointed toward the middle of the hull.

Seaman, zoom in and hold still! The comm officer ordered.

As the visual panned in, Thrakers blood turned cold. The railgun round hadnt been a near miss.

The smart munition was slowly thrusting its way through the ship, and then it stopped at one of the larger compartments, then pushed itself toward the inner hull, thumping against it with a resounding clang that the Captain could hear in time with the video. The projectile bounced off, then powered up and banged against the inner compartment a second time.

Captain, High Band transmission from the IND Tears of Fire!

Thrakers kidneys ached from the adrenaline of the preceding few moments, and he waved at the comm officer with a grimace, On screen.

The same young face greeted him with an infuriating smirk, her CIC was still empty except for one enlisted marine sitting at the comm console. A half eaten MRE packet sat on her console in a seeming disregard for discipline. Their ship wasnt even on combat alert. IND Iron Horse, I recommend you stand down, cease pursuit and modify your course as instructed. Failure to comply means I will put the next round in your CIC with a 100-kiloton charge.

Thraker had to grip his chair to keep his arm from shaking. He didnt know whether to curse or scream, instead he let out a laugh. The absolute cheek of this girl!Read latest chapters at nov(e)lbin.com Only