Alpha strike, p.18
Alpha Strike, page 18
That was good. In fact, it was great.
“Thanks for the update, Tina. Keep giving everything in orbit as much attention as you can. Any details might be critical when we get there. Romanoff out.”
He turned his attention to Amanda and Ahmed. “When Force Alpha gets to us, we want to keep them away from our engines. The better we can thrash them at range, the less damage we’ll take. Hit them and hit them hard, but hold our missiles in reserve.”
“We’ve got more laser batteries online, so while we’re still going to take some chewing, I think we’ll come out of this with less damage overall,” Amanda said. “The one thing we can’t predict is taking hits around the engines, so we’ve made sure as many lasers back there are operating as we can. If they try to come around, they’re going to regret it. Briefly.”
“Let’s hope so.”
Time seemed to drag as they waited for the enemy to come into range. Then as soon as they were able to open fire, everything seemed to speed up and happen almost all at once. That was just the nature of combat.
This was his third battle against the Locusts, and he now had a decent idea of what to expect, so he was ready when a large chunk of them entered sprint mode and charged ahead.
Amanda was ready for it, too. She shifted her fire to them even as they entered range to start firing back. Their lasers wouldn’t be the primary threat unless they got lucky. The fact that they’d decided it was preferable to ram his ship made them dangerous, even in small numbers.
The few that survived to get into range to ram had to do so from the front because those that tried to slip around and get his engines became fodder for the lasers at the rear, which cut them down.
Having dealt with the lead elements of Force Alpha, they then had to manage the remaining drones and motherships as they poured down on them like water. Once again, their lasers managed to thin the enemy ranks, but they couldn’t stop them all this time.
Amanda seemed to target the motherships more heavily, and he supposed that made sense. If they decided to ram, their fusion plants were larger and would cause more damage. But she couldn’t stop them all. No one could.
The swarm engulfed Hunter, and even though they did everything they could to protect themselves, a lot of drones and even some motherships rammed the ship almost at the same time. Alarms blared from the damage control station, and he knew they’d taken a significant hit.
“Status?” he asked.
“It’s all over the ship,” the damage control officer said. “Two of our fusion drives are offline, and we’re losing air in four separate areas. Damage reports are still coming in.”
“We’ve lost a significant chunk of our operational laser batteries in that wave, sir,” Amanda said. “We’re down to less than fifteen percent. We’re not going to be in great shape when Force Bravo arrives.”
“We’re not going to be able to get out of the system before they catch up with us either,” Derek said. “Without those two fusion drives, we’re fully committed now. We either take the orbitals and get as many missile batteries online as possible, or they’ll blow us into little bitty pieces.”
“Then we’d best make this work,” Jack said.
He opened a channel to Mac Turner. “I hope you’ve got everything ready because we’re committed now. Are you going to be able to leave on schedule to secure your objectives?”
“We’re ready, Commodore. Give us the word, and we’ll take care of everything for you. All you have to do is clear the road for us.”
“We’ll do the best we can. We’re still more than ninety minutes away from orbit now that we’ve lost some of our drives, so be ready to go when the signal comes. We’re counting on you and your people, Major.”
“Understood, sir. We’ve got you covered.”
Jack killed the connection and considered the tactical map. He hoped the Marines could deliver. If they couldn’t, his ship was dead.
22
Everything felt normal for Connor right up until the ship shook. It wasn’t a big movement, but it felt as if they’d run over something, so that had to be significant. That also made the people refurbishing the missiles look up in confusion. They didn’t seem to realize the event’s significance and got back to work.
The missiles were being unboxed at one end of the compartment and wheeled across to the other on moveable platforms. Teams of people would check every component and replace those that tested outside spec or failed.
By the time a missile made its journey across the compartment, it was supposedly functional. If not, it was shunted to an adjoining compartment with others that needed more attention than they were prepared to give it at the moment.
He hadn’t been keeping a firm count on the number of missiles they’d worked on, but now was the time to make sure. He walked over to the engineer supervising the process and waited for a moment to interrupt him.
“How many missiles do we have ready?” he asked, pitching his voice low enough that only the two of them would hear.
“Two thousand, seven hundred, and five-five,” the engineer said. “We’ve rejected about the same number. Based on how long it’s taking us to do each missile and the time it will take us to get to orbit and begin receiving the munitions, I’d wager we’ll have around three thousand by the time we’re done. That’s more than we’d expected to get ready.”
“Will that be enough?”
“That’s a drop in the bucket for a ship like this, but what can we do? We’ve got a team in the next compartment ready to receive the nuclear warheads and do what they can to make them functional. We’ll move everyone over there to help with the installation process when the time comes.”
“Do you think it’s going to be a problem?” Connor asked as he watched the people work, their movements fast and economical. They understood the stakes and were knuckling down to get the job done.
The engineer shrugged. “It depends on how the warheads were stored. We’re talking about millions of the things. Potentially as many as a hundred million. They’re not built to have a large blast, but they are weapons of mass destruction. The radioactive components might have decayed too much to be useful if they weren’t properly stored. Hell, if they left the things assembled, they might be unusable.”
He didn’t like the sound of that. An unusable warhead wouldn’t defend them when the Locusts came calling. “What do you think the odds are?”
“Low. Based on everything I’ve seen about the storage of the missiles and the rest of the parts, everything in these nuclear warheads storage areas should have been put away so they’d still be usable. Radioactive components decay over time, but everything I’ve read about the half-life of the elements in question indicates they should still be serviceable for a few more decades, even if they’re close to the official line.”
“If you’re looking to set up a new business, you might want to start prepping to replace all those warheads when the time comes. I’d imagine that’ll be a very lucrative Navy contract.”
Connor grinned a little and clapped him on the shoulder. “I like the way you think. Well, we’ve got time to worry about that after we’ve kicked the Locusts out of the cluster. You look like you’ve got this well in hand, so I’m going to see if I can get a bit more information about what’s going on. Carry on.”
Going to the bridge or auxiliary control wasn’t something he wanted to do, and he doubted the Marines on duty would allow him in anyway.
He’d had an opportunity to see the bridge in operation and had been impressed. It looked like where people tasked with defending the Confederation would work. It gave him confidence that this might have a chance, even though they’d undoubtedly suffered a setback.
The only place he could get information and make a contribution—if it was warranted—was where Tina Chen and her husband were set up in the operations area. The guards there had been told to allow him in, so he passed by without incident.
The clever woman who had tried to sneak aboard Port Royale was busy working at one of the large consoles, and her husband—a man who came across as a bit too formal for Connor’s taste—was working beside her.
Half a dozen other consoles were in use by people trying to parse the sensor data and read the tea leaves about what was happening in front of them. Once they arrived at New Copenhagen, they’d have one chance at getting everything right. If they missed some important detail, it could end up being the death of them.
Now that he was here, Connor found himself a little concerned about interrupting them. While he wanted to know what was happening, they were doing important work and didn’t need him jostling their elbows.
Nevertheless, he’d been to New Copenhagen many times over the years, and it was always possible he’d have some bit of information that might make a difference. It beat standing around with his hands in his pockets.
“Is there any way I can help?” he asked as he stepped up beside the console. “Or, barring that, might I ask what the hell just happened?”
David Chen glanced at him before returning to his work. “We ran into the first group of Locusts coming out of New Copenhagen. Pretty much literally. A lot of them rammed the ship, and we lost pressure in some sections. We’re still combat capable, but we’ve taken a beating. The bad news is that we can no longer escape. If we don’t get the nuclear warheads to arm the missiles, there’s a much bigger force of Locusts coming to kill us.”
“You can give me a hand if you’d like,” Tina said. “I’m trying to parse what’s going on in orbit around the planet, and I want to know if any of this was there before.”
Connor stepped over to her console and looked down at the images. He could see two massive stations with lines snaking down to the planet and up to what looked like asteroids. He’d been told that the enemy was building space elevators, but he hadn’t been sure if he believed it.
“Those were not there before, not the stations or the asteroids. It’s all new.”
“I suspected so, but it’s good to get a little confirmation. What do you know about the planet itself?”
“A significant amount,” he said, leaning up against the console. “I have contacts in both the government and the underworld that work to provide me with both information and supplies. They don’t know where I’m based, but when one provides things of value, the right people will step up to get what you need.”
“That’ll be useful if we can ever talk to them.”
“I’m told you’re not getting any radio signals from the planet. We’ve gotten quite a bit closer, and there should be some ground stations that could reach us. The problem before was likely because the strong transmitters were in orbit. None of the radio signals from below would’ve made it to your position simply because they weren’t powerful enough.”
Tina shrugged. “If they’re there, I’m not picking them up. Frankly, I’m not sure I’d want to draw attention to myself in their position. We have a specific area of the planet that we’re going to be dropping on. If we can’t find out what’s happening before we arrive, the Marines are going in blind, which could end badly.”
Connor nodded and examined the outline of the continents on the screen. “Where are the Marines going down?”
“There is a rather large volcanic island about two-thirds of the way up into the northern hemisphere on the other side of the planet from most of the major cities. It’s a cold place and off the beaten path. That’s where the facility holding the nuclear warheads is located. We haven’t got any idea what defenses it has, other than its isolation. There’s no indication the place was attacked, so I’m betting it’s intact.”
“Seems reasonable.”
“As soon as we get into orbit, we’ll drop the pinnaces down to secure the area and then send the cargo shuttles to pick up everything we can grab. Time will be of the essence.”
He looked up toward the ceiling and pursed his lips. “If they still have some reception capability down there, I might be able to get you some information about what’s been happening. I’ve got some frequencies I’ve been using to contact various people there for years. I don’t know whether they’ll have any way to respond, but if they know we’re coming, they can at least transmit to us in orbit when we get there. I’d be willing to lend my credibility to contact those people on your behalf, though I’m sure Jack would disapprove of most of them.”
She laughed. “I think you’re selling Jack short. He’s willing to work with just about anyone to beat the Locusts, including you.”
That made him chuckle. “You’ve got me there. So, do you want me to record a message? It’s not like the enemy doesn’t see us coming. I understand they can translate our language, but I’ll bet I can phrase things in a way they’ll have difficulty understanding.”
“Can’t hurt to try,” David said as he stood up and gestured toward his chair. “Sit here, and we’ll make an audio recording. Once you’ve got it together, we’ll send it up to the bridge, and Jack can make the decision. Personally, I think he’ll run with it.”
Connor sat at the console and marshaled his thoughts while David set up the recorder. He needed to make his plea in such a way that wouldn’t clearly translate to something the aliens would understand. Most of the translations they’d gotten during the war would’ve been from military vessels and panicked civilian ships. He’d wager they never run into a character like him before.
Well, there was a first time for everything.
When he nodded, David pressed the button, and Connor leaned forward to make sure his voice went toward the pickup. “Greetings and salutations, my old friends. This is your compatriot Connor. I’ve come visiting with some friends and noticed you’re having a spot of trouble. We’d like to lend you a hand with that, but we need to know what your visitors have worked up for us.”
He paused a moment to let that sink in before continuing. “It doesn’t matter which channel you use to respond, but if you’d let us know what’s going on, we’ll show up with all the beer and salsa you desire. You’ll know where we are based on this transmission, but you only have a short time to send the invite before we show up dressed in togas and ready to party.”
Now for the tricky part. “Don’t tell anyone, but we’ll be picking up some party favors at the big cone in the deep freeze up north. Big party favors that the Locusts will find to be a blast. Do me a favor and give me a little warning about the hors d’oeuvres being served there, will you? Connor out.”
He grinned at Chen as he killed the recording. “You think they’ll know what that means?”
“Not a chance. I haven’t thought about togas in years. So, the secret here will be the channels we use to transmit this signal to the planet, right? We don’t care who hears it, but we want to make sure the people most likely to respond at least know about it.”
Connor nodded. “My contacts all use specific frequencies. I think you should send it on all the ones I give you first, and then after a few minutes, send it more broadly. Frankly, if someone else wants to come to the party, I’m amenable.”
Tina chuckled. “I hope they at least have good taste in beer. You might as well get comfortable. We’ll want you at hand once they respond in case they have questions.”
Connor stood and found a seat that wasn’t being used. This was the most dangerous thing he’d ever done, even when he’d been actively working as a smuggler. There had always been the risk of being captured or killed before, but now it seemed like a dark cloud was hovering over his head.
Jack was a resourceful man, and if he thought this mission had a chance of success, then Connor had been right to put his trust in him. The Locusts would have eventually found Port Royale, so Connor would have only been putting off his own death by ducking out. Far better to make a difference now.
Besides, the payoff, if this worked, was astronomical.
23
Alan looked up when Christine walked into the lab, then she stood and glared at him with her hands on her hips. “Just where do you think you’re going?” she asked.
He raised an eyebrow but didn’t stop packing his tools and equipment. Time was growing short, and he needed to get moving. “Gathering the equipment I’ll need to make certain we get what we need. I rather think we’d want the right stuff, don’t you?”
“Have you lost your mind?” she demanded. “You can barely get around with a cane, and you want to go down to a planet overrun by Locusts?”
“I’m sure I’ll have plenty of people to help me get to where I need to go. We need somebody with the know-how to locate the critical components for these missiles and make certain they’re moved safely, don’t you think? If we don’t get this right, we don’t leave this system.”
“There are other people that can do that.”
He smiled a little and shook his head. “No one aboard this ship has any experience working with nuclear warheads or their component parts. I’m sure some of the engineers are more than willing to make an attempt, but I’ve worked with these parts, though it’s been many decades. Undergraduates do some of the strangest things.”
“This isn’t safe!”
“Don’t think I’m unaware that you intend to go down there as well,” he said. “A little birdie told me that you have a slot aboard one of the pinnaces. I’m just reserving the seat next to yours, so save your lectures. Either we both come home, or neither of us do.”
She let out a huff and growled in frustration. It was very endearing.
“I’m a war reporter—at least that’s what I’m playing at now—and this is one of those times where someone needs to be along to record what’s happening because it’s never going to happen again. I can duck and cover. You can’t even walk fast.”
“So you’re saying you’re not going to hold my arm while we try to do this?” he asked with a lopsided smile. “Pity. I guess I’ll have to ask Lisa Gane to give me a hand. Oh. I mentioned she’s going along to help me, didn’t I? I hope that doesn’t make you jealous.”
