The burden of command, p.18
The Burden of Command, page 18
part #14 of Empire Rising Series
As two more of his salvos attacked the alien vessel, Jake started to think his hope was no more than that, just hope. With their point defensive fire overlapping, all his missiles were shot down. Then, as the fourth Flex-aor missile salvo attacked Python, Python’s point defenses failed them. One missile almost closed enough to score a direct hit. Failing that, it detonated, bathing Python in thermonuclear fire. Jake was flung around in his command chair. Alarms blared all around him. “Damage report?” He demanded as soon as he was sure Python wasn’t about to completely break apart.
“We took the hit portside amid ships,” Lydia replied. “Several sensor blisters and point defense nodes are not responding. No indication of any hull breaches though.”
“Reactors and engines are still in the green,” Engineering Specialist McKay added.
Jake’s shoulders slumped in relief. “We keep fighting then!” He commanded. Just thirty seconds later, and another of Python’s salvos tried to attack the alien vessel. Once again, they were all shot down. Jake shook his head.
“Sending you a fuller damage report Lieutenant,” Lydia informed him.
Jake waited just long enough for another four missiles to be launched from Python’s tubes before accessing it. He grimaced when he saw just how many point defensive weapons were no longer operational. In desperation, he looked back up at the holo display. Three salvos were currently racing across the distance between the combatants. There was a chance some of his missiles might cause more damage to the alien ship. Yet it seemed now there was a much greater chance that the Flex-aor missiles would get Python. We are not going to win this, Jake realized. Not unless we are extremely lucky. “It’s time to go to Plan B,” he said, barely above a whisper.
“What was that?” Lydia called out as she looked up from her station.
“It’s time for Plan B,” Jake repeated more loudly. As he spoke, he tried to add more conviction to his voice. “We are not winning this missile duel. We’ll shoot ourselves dry before we destroy both of those ships. We’ve planned for it, now we’re going to have to use it. Execute the turn.”
“Aye, Lieutenant, turning onto a direct intercept course,” Lydia replied.
“Powering up the heavy plasma cannons,” another officer reported.
“McKay, your charges are ready?” Jake asked his senior engineer.
“Ready for your command Lieutenant,” McKay replied.
Jake nodded and turned his gaze back to the holo display and the two alien vessels. In moments, Python’s nose turned to face them. Then her engines went to one hundred and ten percent thrust. Alarms began to go off warning of the danger. Lydia silenced them. To all intents and purposes, it looked like Jake had given up winning with the missiles and was trying to close to heavy plasma cannon range. It was a desperate move. It would give the unknown alien vessel more of an advantage with their weapons, and the Flex-aor freighter could be armed with laser cannons as well. Yet if Jake managed to get into range, the result would almost certainly be mutual destruction.
Jake had something else in mind, however. First though, Python had to fight her way through two more Flex-aor missile salvos. To his relief, she managed to do that without suffering any additional damage. Then, as the third and final salvo from the Flex-aor freighter closed in, Jake looked around at his officers. “Everyone ready?” He asked.
They all nodded or replied in the affirmative. “Wait until we get the last missile. McKay, you have permission to detonate as soon as we strike it. Don’t wait for me.”
“Understood Lieutenant,” McKay responded.
His orders given, Jake could do nothing more but watch. The final Flex-aor missile broke apart a minute later. Then, it’s four smaller missiles raced towards Python. When defensive fire reached out towards them, two were snuffed out. The final two twisted and weaved, dodging everything fired at them. Jake started to fear that he wouldn’t even get a chance to see if his plan would work. Yet eventually one more missile was destroyed. Then, as all of Python’s defensive weapons focused on the final one, it was struck. As it blew apart, McKay detonated the charges that had been placed on Python’s hull.
Again, Jake was jostled about in his command chair. Then, according to his plan, systems all across the ship began to power down. Within seconds, Jake felt weightlessness take him as even Python’s inertial dampeners were switched off. The last to go out were the bridge’s lights. They flicked off and were replaced by emergency lighting. Though he couldn’t see it, Jake could easily picture what McKay’s explosives had done. All the spare parts and junk they had been able to scavenge had been laid around Python’s engines. McKay’s explosives had flung them out into space to give the appearance of debris. It was Jake’s hope the Flex-aor would either think the missile had scored a proximity hit, or Python’s engines had overloaded from being overstressed.
As everyone around him stayed in their seats and looked around at each other in silence, Jake could feel their apprehension growing. Python was dead in the water. They were at the Flex-aor’s mercy. One missile or alien energy beam now could slam in and destroy the pirate ship. Jake felt the hairs on the back of his neck begin to stand up. He couldn’t help it as his body tensed up. An attack could strike home at any moment. There was only one thing that might keep the aliens from finishing Python off. Jake was betting his life and the lives of his crew on it: the alien’s curiosity. The Flex-aor and their partners had to have been surprised when Python appeared. They would be worried that Humanity had discovered what they were doing. Jake was betting everything on the belief they would want to investigate Python to find out if she had been operating alone, or if she had sent word back to Earth before being destroyed. It was a last-ditch tactic; playing dead to lure them in. But it was the only card Jake had thought of to try and play.
For several minutes, everyone on Python’s bridge sat in total silence. It was as if they were afraid to even move for fear of giving themselves away. As the minutes continued to pass by, however, and Python’s hull wasn’t suddenly rocked by an energy bolt or a missile impact, Jake started to hope. Around him, the rustling from people moving started up again. When Lydia looked around at Jake, he nodded.
“Switching on our reserve capacitor,” Lydia informed everyone. Moments later, a new light source appeared as the holo display reactivated.
The image of the alien ships that it projected was nowhere near as clear. Only Python’s passive sensors were being operated, and even then, at a very low power level. Jake felt the tension in his shoulders slacken when he saw them. There were no signs of any additional missile launches. And seeing as Python was still intact, the unknown alien ship had obviously ceased fire. Instead, both ships were slowly approaching Python. When several shuttles launched from both ships, Jake actually smiled. The aliens were resuming their cargo transfer! They must be in a hurry to get out of here, he thought. Moments later, he froze. One of the shuttles was coming towards Python. “When will it get here?” he asked at once.
“Fifteen minutes,” Lydia answered. She answered Jake’s next question as well. “We’ll just be outside energy weapon’s range.”
Oh crap, Jake thought to himself. A sinking feeling engulfed him. If the shuttle figured out Python wasn’t really disabled, the unknown alien ship would blast them into scrap with their longer-range energy weapons. That meant he would have to shoot it down. But that would have the same result. His plan was falling apart.
Chapter 16
Sometimes it takes an Imperial Marine’s touch.
-Excerpt from Empire Ascendant 3015 AD.
“What do we do Jake?” Lydia asked, fear written across her face.
Jake didn’t have an answer. He had frozen. One thought had his mind trapped. He had led his people to their deaths. Worse, they would take the information about the Karacknid freighter with them to their graves. Suddenly, he saw his bravado for what is really was: Utter foolishness. What was I thinking? He asked himself. Why did I think I could win a space battle? How could I have been such a fool? When he didn’t immediately answer Lydia’s question, more of the bridge crew turned to look at him. Jake opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out.
“I hear we have a problem,” a new voice said. Her tone was so different from the mood on the bridge that everyone immediately turned towards her.
Jake didn’t know whether to groan at Becca’s overconfidence, or smile at the fact that she at least wasn’t defeated yet. “We’re in trouble,” he said as he found his voice again. “That shuttle is going to give away our ruse.”
Becca turned to look at the holo image of the shuttle. She then shook her head. “You navy types are always overlooking us marines. That shuttle will only rumble us if you open fire on it. What if you let it dock? Will that not buy us the time we need?”
Jake swung around to Lydia. She was already doing the calculation. When she looked up, she was nodding. “You think you can hold them off?”
Becca glanced at the approaching shuttle again. “It’s a Flex-aor one, isn’t it?”
“I’m afraid so,” Jake replied. He knew from the accounts he had read that Flex-aor troops were formidable. Not the equals of Karacknid warriors, but not to be taken lightly either. If at all possible, Jake had no desire to let any of them on his ship. Yet what choice did he have?
“Then we can take them. Just how much time do you need us to buy you?” Becca asked.
“Four minutes,” Lydia answered.
“Alright then, here’s what we do. Everyone who is not essential to your plan needs to move into the service ducts. That’s the last place a boarding party will search. We’ll let them dock with us and explore the ship for the four minutes you need. Then as soon as you can spring your trap, we’ll engage them and kill them or drive them off the ship. How does that sound?”
“Unbelievable risky,” Jake said. “They could figure out our systems aren’t really damaged. Or they could find the fully charged capacitors hooked up to our energy weapons. But I don’t see that we have any choice. I’ll move to the forward gunnery position to launch our attack. Everyone else should go with Sergeant Samuels. The bridge is the first place any boarding party will make for.”
“I’m coming with you,” Lydia insisted. “If they send a party to check out our weapons, you may need help.”
Jake wanted to protest, but Becca cut him off. “I’ll be there too; we’ll station a squad of marines there to launch our counterattack from. Major Onoda will have his own ideas of where to place the rest of his marines.”
“Then we have a plan,” Lydia said quickly. With a couple of taps on her command console, she switched off the holo projector, then the emergency lightening on the bridge, plunging everyone into darkness. “Let’s get going,” she added. A new light appeared as she activated a flashlight built into her flight suit and unbuckled herself. Standing, she activated her grav plating on her boots to lock her in place.
All around Jake, the other bridge officers did the same. “This way,” Becca said as she began to lead them out. He was the last to unbuckle himself. He hesitated before standing. It felt wrong abandoning his command chair. Like he was giving up. This is where your plan has brought you, he berated himself. However foolish, you have to trust Becca will bail you out. You need to see this through.
“Coming?” Lydia asked as she paused before exiting the bridge.
“Right behind you,” Jake said as he jumped to his feet. They were committed now, there was no turning back. As he left the bridge and made his way forward, he passed a number of crew making their way with their flashlights to the nearest service ducts. The ducts ran between Python’s decks, giving engineers access to her systems. Jake hoped they would all be ok.
“I’ve transferred flight controls to the forward gunnery station,” Lydia said as she walked in front of him. “That way, we can power the engines back up again if we need to try and charge into weapons range. I’m going to go and seal and vent several of our outer sections. I’ll open one of our hangar bay doors slightly as well. That will give them something to ponder about. I’ll go to engineering and meet you at the forward gunnery station.”
“Good thinking,” Jake said as he looked around him. With Python’s inertial dampeners powered down, bits and bobs were floating all around him. His crew had done their best to tidy up the pirate vessel, but it was still nowhere near where an Imperial Navy ship should be. But that will work in our favor, Jake thought. The more mess and sections open to space, the better.
When he got to the forward gunnery station, Jake was surprised to find a petty officer still sitting at it. He was hunched over a small holo display. “Lieutenant?” he said as Jake approached, startling him.
“Weren’t you supposed to go to the service ducts with everyone else?” Jake asked.
“I couldn’t leave Sir; I’m keeping a live track on the Flex-aor shuttle and the two enemy ships.”
“Very well, you can stay with me,” Jake replied, not having the heart to argue with him. Moving in to sit beside the gunner, Jake joined him in watching the approaching shuttle. Understandably, as it came closer, it began to slow. Jake mentally crossed his fingers. Python was damaged from the energy beam and proximity missile hit she had taken. He hoped that would be enough to convince the shuttle pilots she really was disabled.
Lydia arrived just as the shuttle began to swoop down and around Python. “How are they getting on?” she asked.
“They’re carrying out a close flyby now,” Jake said as he waved her over. “Get ready,” he said to the gunner. “Fire on them on my command.” He held his breath as the shuttle closed in and flew around Python twice. Her active sensors bathed Python’s hull in electromagnetic energy. As far as Jake knew, the Flex-aor didn’t have sensors capable of determining if his crew were alive or dead. Yet he didn’t know for sure. When the shuttle began a third flyby, Jake didn’t know whether to be happy or concerned. Being more cautious was buying more time for his plan, but if the shuttle had found something, then the first warning they would get would be a handful of energy bolts from the unknown alien vessel. When he heard more movement, Jake glanced over his shoulder to see Becca and two marines had entered the compartment. He nodded to her and quickly turned back to the shuttle.
“Look, they are closing with us,” Lydia said as she placed a hand on Jake’s shoulder.
Jake shook his head as his shoulders slumped. The tension was getting to him. It wasn’t over yet, however. Setting his shoulders again, he turned to Becca. “Okay, this is happening. It looks like they’re moving to our rear hangar. The one Lydia left open.”
“I have my people in position. Don’t worry Lieutenant, we’ll protect this ship. You just focus on your task.”
Jake nodded to the special forces marine a second time, and then turned back to the holo display. Not for the first time, he checked that the pirate ship’s plasma cannons had his updated targeting information. The design of both ships were unfamiliar to him, yet he had targeted his plasma bolts where he hoped they would do the most damage.
A slight vibration, followed by a distant thud, told Jake the shuttle had attached itself to Python’s hull. “They’ve entered the hangar,” Becca reported seconds later. “Twenty and counting have exited the shuttle. They are all armed.” Jake listened but didn’t turn from the display of the two pirate ships. “They’re splitting into separate parties. The largest one is heading towards the bridge. Another is going to engineering… Crap, one looks like it might be heading this way… How long do we need to wait now?”
“One minute,” Lydia answered.
“They could be here before that,” Becca said slowly. “Get ready.”
Unconsciously, Jake’s right hand fell down to the plasma pistol holstered at his side. Only when he felt his palm wrap around its handle did he realize what he was doing. Taking it out, he glanced down at it to make sure it was fully charged and the safety was on. Then he holstered it again. “I will take the shot,” he informed to the gunner.
“Yes Lieutenant,” he replied.
“Thirty seconds,” Lydia updated.
Jake moved his hand to hover over the button. Currently, each of Python’s three twin plasma cannons were pointed away from their targets. As soon as he activated them, their fully charged capacitors would pivot them to where he wanted and release a volley of plasma bolts. Then, the additional capacitors engineer McKay had jury-rigged to them would quickly recharge the weapons, giving Jake a second volley. After that, he’d have to jumpstart Python’s reactors to charge the weapons a third time. If his first two shots didn’t work, he doubted they would get the chance to fire a third. In his head, he counted down as the timer in front of him marked off the seconds until Python’s ballistic course brought her into effective plasma cannon range.
“They’re coming this way,” Becca hissed when Jake got to eleven.
When he got to seven, he heard the familiar sound of the hatch into their compartment opening. Jake couldn’t help but turn to see. He was just in time to see three Flex-aor peer into the compartment. Though he had never encountered the aliens in person before, the way they recoiled told him they were just as shocked to see him as he was them. For what seemed like an eternity, both groups stared at one another. Then Becca broke the spell as she screamed and unleashed a stream of plasma bolts from her rifle. The other marines did the same and then the Flex-aor replied. As laser bolts exploded all around him, Jake swung back round to the gunnery station. The countdown was at two. Even as the gunnery petty officer screamed beside him, Jake smashed the firing button.
In less than a second, the three twin plasma cannons’ servos activated, rotating them into position. Then, the capacitors discharged all their power. Six plasma bolts shot out towards the two alien vessels. They covered the distance in two seconds. Four targeted the unknown alien ship. Each struck home. They burnt through its hull and ripped into its insides. The other two bolts also hit their target. They too melted holes in the Flex-aor freighter. Laser beams and explosions were still going on around Jake. He winced as a beam nearly blew out the gunnery station. Despite the firefight, he didn’t take his eyes from the track of the two alien ships. He ground his teeth together when the Flex-aor freighter suddenly exploded. His shots had hit something vital!
