Black Dawn (35 page)

The
Rook
sped through C-space. Tension on the bridge was
high, but Rebel noticed that people were holding it together. He spoke
to each bridge officer in turn, assuring them that they would all succeed in the coming battle with the satisfaction true BlackFleet tradition
brought. Now
if someone would just give him the same little peptalk…

“
Bring us to a relative stop,” he ordered the pilot.
“Aye, sir.”
Rebel took up position to coordinate the battle from the
Rook’s

tac room. This was finally it. Although he had already proven his right
to command, now would be the time to really justify everyone’s faith
in him. He’d been trained, and he was determined to now put that
training to optimum use. But that didn’t mean that he wasn’t terrified.

“
Get me the Commodore, please,” Rebel said, speaking with a
calm he didn’t feel. In only a few seconds, Coy’s face appeared on
the screen.

Coy bowed its head in a moment of… what? Thought? Prayer? When it looked back up, its face was also calm. It’s eyes, however
were anything but.

Operation Mongoose.
”
“Aye sir,” Rebel said. He cut the com and spoke to his bridge
team.
“I want shield power, life support and engines reduced to 1/5
^th
power the moment we cross back into normal space. Scott, “ he said to
his pilot, “take us forward at half speed, put us in a slow spin, and then
transit into normal space.”
“Aye, sir.”

A flash of light appeared in the void of the Nebula. A transit
point was held open just long enough for the
Rook
to tumble through
it. It spun, obviously out of control, and proceeded to broadcast a distress call toward the planetoid close by. They were rewarded within
moments by a terse communication from the planet.

“
You are in restricted space. Leave immediately or suffer the
consequences.” And with that, the message ended abruptly.
“Don’t send a response,” Rebel ordered. “Keep the automatic
distress call going. Let’s see how far they’ll let us in.”
They didn’t have to wait long. Ten minutes later Bard noticed
definite movement on his scanners.
“Captain,” he said. “Three destroyer-class ships, leaving orbit
and coming this way.”
“E.T.A.?”
“Eight minutes.”
“Okay, everyone stay sharp. Timing on this is everything.”
“Aye sir.”
The moments ticked down. The bridge crew peered into their
stations, focusing on the job and on their part of the plan.
“ 100,000 kilometers and closing,” the navigator called out.
“Still not firing missiles?” Rebel asked.
“No sir. No missile launch.”
“Fine. Let them keep coming just a little further.”
“Yes sir. Now at 80,000. 75,000….60…40…”
“Get ready,” Rebel said, gripping the railing in the tac room
like a vise.
“30…2
0,000!
”
“Now!” Rebel barked. He watched with pride as his crew executed the pre-arranged set of orders with speed and precision. Jordan
flattened out the
Rook’s
spin and pointed her bow first at the approaching ships. Bard, with the touch of a button, brought all the weapons
online, and brought the shields up to maximum power. Palo fired up
the reactor and engines to full capacity. And Trevor sent a single,
tight-beam message into C-space. That signal acted as both a message
in itself, and as a precise location finder.
Immediately after the signal was sent, a rift was torn open in
space, just astern of the
Rook
as it raced to meet the enemy ships. The
rift opened wide and held, as the patrol ships, destroyers, heavy cruisers, the battleship and the
Karasu
, all poured through in a tightformation charge. And they came through firing.
Hidden panels and doors on the
Rook
slid open, and it too
joined the barrage. The enemy destroyers attempted to return fire even
as they sent out an alarm to the main base. They were at least successful in the second action.
The particle beam energy of twelve ships beat their shields
down to nothing in a single stroke. The next volley of energy smashed
into the ships themselves and finished them off. The
Rook
,
Karasu
and their companions raced past.
Just as planned, all of the violence of the attack group’s arrival
riveted the attention of the base scanner team to the onset of action.
No one noticed two lowly hyper-capable shuttles and two smaller
companion craft opening up a transit point far in the other direction
from the attack. Just as quickly as they appeared, the four craft shut
down all power and vanished from the screens.

Space opened up ‘above’ the asteroid field outside the
DeGaulle system to let ten spacecraft enter, led by the
Nighthawk
, and
the Servati battlecruiser
Rapier
.

Captain Mara Hendricks leaned forward expectantly in her
command chair, more like a fan at a ball game than a ship commander
heading into deadly battle. The ‘
Hawk
roared into the system
with
the
Rapier
at her side and the rest of the ships following in tight formation . Hendricks waited several more seconds, her grin broadening
with each moment, until she unexpectedly pounded on the armrest of
her command chair in a display of pure glee.

“
Nighthawk
to
Rapier
,” she said over the com channel. “It
worked! We’ve slipped inside their outer ring defense platforms with
no engagements. Well done, Captain.”

“
To us all,” the Servati replied. “But we still have the second
and third ring defenses to deal with.”
“True. Still, we’ve hopefully avoided outright one third of the
damage they’re planning on throwing at us. I’ll take what I can get.
But you’re right, Captain. The rest of the defenses should only be another few seconds away. Get ready.”

“
Roger that, Captain.” The Servati nodded and cut the com.
“Keep us on course, Gil,” Hendricks said to the J P. “The field
will start to get more dense soon, so stay alert for asteroid debris in our
path.”
“Aye, sir.”
“Time to target?” she asked the navigator.
“Nine minutes,” Nathan replied.
“Good. We have only…”
““Defense platforms ahead to port and starboard, powering up
and targeting!” Nathan interrupted.
Two elements in the defense net which had been invisible to
scanners only moments before came online and fired their particle
beams.
“All Alliance ships, return fire,” Hendricks ordered.
The
‘Hawk
and the
Rapier
were taking the worst hits. The defense platforms hit them twice before the speeding Alliance craft returned fire. The exchange went back and forth. Then the platforms
were obliterated as the ships sped past.
“Missile launch dead ahead!” Nathan called out.
“Target incoming missiles!”
The leading ships’ forward guns blazed, picking off the swift-
approaching missiles with expanding spheres of energy. Still a few of
the missiles got through. The
Nighthawk
rocked once more as hits
were made on her shields.
“Reinforce forward shields,” Hendricks
ordered. “Take it from life support on the non combat-essential decks.
And find those missile platforms!”
“Got ‘em!” Nathan shouted. He fed the coordinates to the other ships in the group, and they struck out at the new threat in another
coordinated strike. One volley smashed them. Gil dodged the ship
around a pair of asteroids, and the rest of the group followed his path ,
momentarily hiding the next threat from their view.
“New source! Laser platforms beneath us, and to port. They’re
firing!”
“
Nighthawk
to
Rapier
, target the threat to port. We’ll take the
other.”
The ‘
Hawk’s
shields were battered once more from missile attack and by the laser defenses, before those threats were eliminated.
Ezra Nathan’s hands flew over his board, assessing threat sources of
suddenly appearing platforms, and returning fire with one set of guns
or another.
“Time now to target?”
“Six minutes, eighteen seconds.” Then, “Another particle
beam platform to starboard.”
“
Rapier
, you take that one.”
“Acknowledged.”
“Captain!” Nathan cried out in sudden alarm, “Three mobile
defense platforms moving to block our path!”
“Target them and…”
“Sir! They’re nuclear mines! Point blank range!
Detonating
!”
“Full power to forward shields!” Hendricks ordered as three
miniature suns exploded just ahead of her.

The
Raven
flew through C-space at the head of its task force.
Ken wondered once again, not only why Captain Zachary and the
Starwind
were assigned to his attack group, but why the Commodore’s
former merc “friend” was here at all. Butler shifted his thoughts away
from that nagging question, and counted down the seconds.

The strain in Hoffman’s figure was apparent as Ken watched
the JP from behind. The pilot’s shoulders were hunched, and beginning to shake. Butler could also see past Hoffman to the virtual grid of
C-space, and the representation of the star at the heart of the Tai Han
system. The star that he plunged them closer and closer to.

Butler remembered
Bon’s comments in the first days of the
Fleet about the lack of trust some had in Hoffman. Even being ‘worried every time Hoffman made a jump’. Ken saw nothing now but
courage, as all the pilots sought to get them in as close as possible. Despite their sacrifice, Ken forced himself to wait until the pre-arranged
numbers on the nav board lined up.
“All ships, prepare to transit back into normal space on my order,” he said just as the last numbers fell into place. “Now!”

“
Course holding. There seem to be twelve destroyer class ships
in orbit around the target. No reading yet on fixed defenses.”
“Time to intercept?”
“Twenty four minutes.”
“Keep an eye on them. I need to know the second they begin to
move.”
The ships sped on in tense silence, broken only by Ken asking
for updates nearly every thirty seconds as they approached the moon.
Finally Parker said, “We’ve got movement Captain. Ten of the ships
gathering together. Looks like they’re preparing to leave orbit. And I
have two other destroyer class ships, a cruiser, and two patrol ships
coming in from another direction.” Parker gave him the coordinates.
“Looks like they were waiting until the other ships could intercept us at
about the same time.”
“Time to intercept?”
“Seven minutes.”
“Okay, crew it’s time to start the show.” With that, he stood
and went to the tac room. The room was dark, lit only by individual
screens and by the holographic display which was already online. The
officers seated at the stations were in contact with the BlackFleet ships
participating in this battle. They were also in contact with the two light
cruisers in the attack group, and two of the other participating destroyer ships. Ken stood beside the screen linking him to the
Raven’s
bridge.
“All ships: begin braking. Maximum spread.”
At his command, the other nine ships in their group began to
slow down in their approach to the moon in order to make a relatively
low speed pass. Each ship also spread out so as to not be easy targets,
yet remained more than close enough to support one another’s lines of
fire.

“
Approaching ships also beginning to decelerate, Captain.”
Parker announced. “They’re forming up into a defensive sphere to
block our approach to the moon.”

“
Roger,” Ken replied. “We go with strike plan alpha,” he said
to the other ships. Then, a few seconds later, Parker reported, “Now in
missile range.”

The
Raven
and both of the cruisers spat out a group of missiles. The approaching pirate destroyers did so as well. Both sets of
them sped across space, crossing one another’s paths, and found their
targets.

Butler felt the jarring motion, and so didn’t need the notification when Parker said, “I have multiple missile strikes on the forward
shields.”

“
Shields down 11 percent and holding,” Bon said from his station.
“Reinforce the forward shields; they’re going to need it.” Butler ordered. “Launch the next set.”
“Aye sir, launching.”
Missiles again flashed through space, taking far less time to
reach their targets, as both groups of ships sped toward each other as
well. Ken felt himself being jarred again.
On the tac grid, he saw at
least three of the approaching ships beginning to get dangerously low
on shield power.
The task force still made directly for the center of the defensive sphere of destroyers. Butler waited as the two groups continued to
close with one another.
“We are… now in particle beam range, Captain.”
“Fire!” Ken ordered.
All ships on both sides let loose a barrage of energy. Beams
crisscrossed space, smashing into shields. The tac grid showed one
pirate destroyer fall out of action, its shields all but gone. Two more of
them showed the same signs. Five out of the ten defending ships were
out of the fight or close to it. But there were the other five pirate ships
approaching from the outer system yet to deal with.
Two of the Alliance destroyers were getting dangerously low
as well.
And still they headed for a head-on collision with one another,
playing a high-speed game of chicken. The tac room shook with another impact. And now they were only seconds from intercept.
“Go to full speed,” Ken ordered. “And…vector to starboard!”
At the order, all ships pivoted together like a flock of birds,
turning just a few degrees. Now, instead of heading toward the heart
of the defensive sphere, they flew at one of its edges. The defenders
began shifting position, moving to block them in their new course.
And just as all of them began doing so, Ken barked out, “Back to original course!”
The Alliance ships shifted back now, too late for the destroyers
to adjust.
The ships crossed with one another. The pirate destroyer closest to them blew apart as the
Raven
and two of her companions concentrated fire upon it. And another of the defenders fell out of the
fight. Then they were through, and racing toward the moon. The pirate destroyers began a long sweeping turn, preparing to give chase.
The other five ships coming in changed course to come after them as
well.
Butler looked to his group disbursement. “Zachary, Pollard,
Freeman, and Patel, you’ll act as rearguard. Keep those enemy destroyers off my back while we get this job done.”
“Aye, sir,” the acknowledgement came back from all four
commanders.
Butler shifted uncomfortably in place. He still was not at all
sure that he trusted Zachary. His showing up when he had seemed just
a little too convenient. Assigning him a role that would keep the questionable captain out of the forefront of his overcrowded thoughts
seemed the best idea.
“Begin decelerating again,” he said to all ships. “Maintain
course for the pirate base.”
“The two destroyers that remained here at the base are on attack vector,” Parker said. “And there are two large defense platforms
in high orbit sending out a jamming signal. They’re firing!”
“Jamming us?” Ken mentally questioned as he ordered the last
light cruiser he had left, and the shield-weakened destroyer to take the
platforms. Then he said to his remaining four small ships, “Target the
closest destroyer, we’ll take the other one. Kensie, hit it with all
broadside cannons.”
The
Raven
pivoted to show its side, as it continued to move
forward toward the base. All broadside guns opened up and scorched a
path across space, slamming headfirst into the pirate destroyer. The
ships fired at one another again and again as they approached. Then
the pirate ship’s shields failed, and the next round of fire tore it to
shreds. The other pirate destroyer met the same fate just moments after.
The base now lay before him. This was the moment he’d
waited for. Ken said sharply, “
Blackbird
and
Talon
attack wing,
launch!”
The ‘
Bird
, and the
Raven’s
two
Talon
squadrons burst forth
from the ship with all the speed and coordination gained in many practice drills. They flashed toward the moon ahead of the flagship, weapons already targeting ground defense guns. And Butler also saw on
the tac display the instant that the light cruiser and the destroyer took
out the orbital defense platforms.
“Good work,” he commended them. “Rejoin the…”
“Captain! Parker shouted from the bridge. “Multiple missile
launch!”
Butler watched in horror as the same crew members he’d just
commended were suddenly swamped with fire. The destroyer exploded .
“Parker! What’s launching those…” he stopped, and his horror deepened as two ships resolved themselves on the tac display from
where they been hiding behind the defense platforms. Now that they
were no longer jamming his scanners, he could see them and see what
they were.
“Are those what I think they are, Kensie?”
“Yes sir. Two of the ‘Vega’ style advanced heavy cruisers that
we met in the battle for the
Raven
.”
“Bring us about! Fire dorsal cannons!” he said just as the
weight of the pirates’ combined attack overwhelmed the light cruiser.
Just after, it too exploded before his eyes.