Defiant (Lightship Chronicles) Read online

  “They’re being kept busy by about a dozen automated ships, sir. Eight HuKs with heavier weaponry and at least four suicide drones, although I can see enough evidence in the battle debris to account for at least two more destroyed drones. They’re facing off against Vanguard and three Wasp frigates, sir, as well as the High Station,” Karina said.

  “That’s a containing force, not an attacking one, unless they didn’t expect Vanguard to be here, which from their recent exhibitions I highly doubt. Are the High Station’s armaments up and running yet?” I asked my wife. Karina nodded.

  “To a degree. Hoagland Field is active, coil cannon arrays are in use, but no torpedoes or defensive missiles installed yet, sir,” she said.

  “And no dreadnoughts?”

  “None sighted in-system as yet, sir,” she concluded.

  “Thank you, Lieutenant.”

  “What’s their tactic?” It was Babayan, calling in on the private command com line.

  “Most likely to take out the High Station, make resupply of Sandosa more difficult from here. Probably just a chance that Defiant, Impulse, and Vanguard all showed up at once,” I said. But now they were heavily outgunned and likely to change strategy.

  “Keep your eyes glued to your console, ’scopeman,” I said to Karina. “Any hint of dreadnought-sized displacement, and I want to know immediately.”

  “Aye, sir,” responded Karina.

  “Helmsman, take us into the battlefield. Propulsion, best estimate of our arrival time?” I asked Longer.

  “Eleven minutes and fifteen seconds at best speed, sir,” Longer replied.

  I sat back in my chair and said, loud enough for all of the bridge to hear, “Let’s hope Captain Zander leaves us something to blast.” There were nervous chuckles at that, but inside I was worried—not at what we faced, but at what might come now that the battlefield had tilted so strongly in our favor.

  I had Layton “slam on the brakes”—a metaphor for our extreme deceleration—three minutes from the battlefield. We came about and turned in on the HuKs buzzing High Station Pendax. Impulse followed our line, though she couldn’t match our maneuvers or speed, needing the repairs that she did. On her trail were the remaining six HuKs, who had given up their picket line defense of the jump point and were pursuing, hoping to at least catch the wounded Impulse II. Vanguard was dug in at the High Station, pounding away at the HuKs with her pulse coil cannons as they swept past. I was almost embarrassed at how much firepower I had at my disposal, even if most of it was massive overkill against such light attack forces.

  We had so much speed to our advantage that I relied on this as my first tactical weapon. Foregoing missiles and torpedoes, I ordered us to make a pass straight through the battlefield, broadside, firing our coil cannon arrays at will. When we were done with the maneuver two minutes later, five destroyed HuKs lay in our wake. Zander’s Wasps eagerly moved in and finished off the drones. Then Vanguard started to move, pounding at the remaining wounded HuKs to finish them off. I had Layton turn us again, still at high speed, so we could intercept the trailing HuK flotilla. Dobrina had the same idea and was already engaging them with long-range missiles.

  I pushed Defiant into the battlefield again, crossing between Impulse II and her targets, her missiles’ smart warheads thankfully avoiding our path so we didn’t get caught in a friendly crossfire. I had Babayan target three HuKs in a stack formation, our attack angle extreme but just acute enough to get them all. She didn’t miss. When we were done, there was HuK debris everywhere. I sent a quick congratulatory signal to Dobrina for her three kills, then turned my tactical attention back to Vanguard and High Station Pendax. There was no need. Zander and his Wasp frigates had cleaned their zone of enemy combatants as well. The whole battle had taken seven minutes.

  I ordered Longer to complete our deceleration and then went to the briefing room with Babayan to conference with the other captains.

  “Good work, Captains,” I said. Zander grunted.

  “Good work yourself,” he said. “Seems to me some of our ships have been left off the upgrade list.”

  “I second that,” said Dobrina. Both of them were speaking from large UHD projections hovering over the conference table.

  “Do either of you have a problem with me taking command of battlefield operations in this system?” I asked as I sat down. They both shook their heads.

  “I don’t know what we did to end up working for you, but it seems to be our lot,” said Zander. I smiled, then started in.

  “First order of business, what’s the communications situation? Does the Admiralty know of this attack?” I asked.

  “Likely not,” said Zander. “Those HuKs jumped right on our tail, almost like they knew we were coming. The first things they took out were the longwave ansibles and the Historian network probes.”

  I nodded. “Which is what I would do. Pick one of your Wasps, Captain Zander, and send it through the singularity to Carinthia. Let them know about the attack and that we have Pendax secured. And I want reports on any ongoing action in other Union systems. Tell them I recommend that the entire Union Navy go to high alert status,” I said.

  “As you say,” replied Zander. I looked up at Dobrina’s image.

  “Captain Kierkopf,” I said. She had a tiny hint of a smirk on her face. I couldn’t help myself; I still loved rattling horns with her.

  “Captain Cochrane,” she replied.

  “Since your ship needs repairs from the battle at Drava, I think Impulse II should replace Vanguard as the primary defender of High Station Pendax. But keep a loose lock on the station. If Imperial units come back here with more firepower, we’re going to need you quickly,” I said. “Any estimates on how long you’ll need to be in dock?”

  “Well, you blew a pretty big hole in my ship. Having said that, we’re fully operational with suspension fields, and I’ve put the damaged sections on life support until repair crews can get working. Repairing the ship’s mechanical and electrical systems will be more difficult to give an estimate on, depending on what High Station Pendax has on hand,” she replied.

  “She’s fully stocked with spares and replacements, and there’s no shortage of good technicians. I’m sure you’ll be back on track in hours, not days, Captain,” interjected Zander.

  “Thank you, Lucius,” said Dobrina. The next part was going to be a tougher sell.

  “Lucius,” I said, looking up at Zander, “I’ll need you to guard the ingress jump space in case more Imperial units come through.” Zander bristled a bit at that suggestion.

  “My boss won’t like me straying too far from home,” he said, referring of course to Admar Harrington, still ensconced in the Sandosa system.

  “I understand the political situation, Captain. But the fact is that Defiant is faster than Vanguard in normal space and able to jump at will without needing interdimensional jump space to do it. If you’re needed elsewhere, I want you close to jump space so you can get to the battlefield in a hurry,” I said.

  “Understood, Captain. And where will you be?” Zander asked. I thought about that for a second.

  “Near Pendax itself. Any attack now could come from dreadnoughts equipped with the same jumping capability Defiant has. Now that they know where our defenses are, they could jump right over this position and attack the planet directly. We can’t allow that,” I said.

  “We certainly can’t,” Dobrina agreed quickly. No doubt the attack on Carinthia was playing on her emotions. I looked to Zander for confirmation, or at least grudging agreement.

  “It’s the opposite of how I’d do it, but I let you have field command, so I’ll have to live with it,” he said.

  “Thank you, Captains. Let’s get that Wasp out to Carinthia and back so we can get our tactical update,” I said.

  “Aye,” said Zander, who was looking offscreen at a console, obviously giving the o
rder to the Wasp. I turned to Lena Babayan.

  “Have Layton plot us a course inbound to the planet, and tell Longer I want best possible speed. We have the advantage for now, and I want to keep it,” I said.

  “Aye, sir,” came her reply. Then she was up and gone to the bridge.

  “I’m signing off,” said Zander. “I’ve got to haul my scow out to jump space.”

  “Of course,” I said with a slight bow of my head, a sign of respect to my more experienced comrade. At that I stood, looking up at Dobrina. “Was there something else, Captain?” She smiled down at me.

  “I just wanted to formally thank you for your assistance at Drava,” she said.

  “I blew a hole in the arse of your ship.” Now her smile grew deeper.

  “I seem to remember a similar injury on the fencing court,” she said. Now I smiled.

  “I do remember that.”

  “You keep cutting holes in my behind. Some would say that’s a pattern.” My smile got wider.

  “Perhaps it is,” I said. Then things got silent between us. She spoke much more softly this time.

  “If you were here, I’d kiss you to give you a proper thank-you.” I looked down at the conference table.

  “I don’t think my wife or your new woman would appreciate that,” I said, looking up at her again. Dobrina took a deep breath.

  “I’m sure they wouldn’t. Until next time then, Captain.”

  “Until next time,” I agreed. Then I shut off the display, hoping there wouldn’t be a next time.

  The trek inbound to Pendax proper was uneventful, taking just over two hours. I placed us at Pendax’s L2 Lagrange point, facing outward toward the jump point and High Station. Pendax’s large but surprisingly light (in terms of mass) moon orbited at about four hundred and fifty thousand kilometers from Pendax itself, and we were well positioned for any incoming attack from a dreadnought—or any other vessel—that could direct-jump into the system. Trying to jump in closer than either an L1 or L2 Lagrange point would take serious balls on the part of a ship captain or some of the most precise astrogating ever seen. I was confident we were positioned well enough to defend the planet.

  I took us down from battle stations to high alert status while we waited for word from Zander’s Wasp or for some other action. Frankly, it was boring work, but I made sure Defiant was ready.

  After four hours of just sitting in my captain’s chair or walking from station to station reviewing things I had no business getting involved with—that was XO Babayan’s job—I went to my office and activated the aural shield, then called up Zander and Dobrina on my desk display.

  “I was just about to com you,” said Zander. “My Wasp captain just called in. She says it’s chaos out there. Imperial drones and HuKs jumping into every system. Then we scramble and they scurry back through the jump point.”

  “Testing our defenses, trying to draw us out,” I said. Zander nodded.

  “Or wear us out,” said Dobrina. “Constant alerts like that will take their toll on ship crews.”

  “It could be one flotilla of smaller vessels doing the jumping from an uncataloged system, then jumping straight back home and into another system. The flotillas always vary in size and makeup, so there’s no telling if it’s a single unit or not. Smallest incursion has been three ships, the biggest fourteen,” said Zander.

  “How many HuKs?” I asked.

  “The most they’ve seen is nine. Wesley has ordered all his Wasps and a good many of the local navies out to the jump points in the three systems: Quantar, Carinthia, and Levant. Each has a single Lightship defending the planet. The problem is that our Lightships can’t move away from their home planets because of the threat of dreadnoughts jumping in behind them and hitting their home worlds,” Zander said.

  “And here we sit with three Lightships and no activity at all,” Dobrina said.

  “Essentially, we’re immobilized by our own tactics,” I said. “All of our mobile firepower is stuck in one system. What’s the current Lightship distribution, Lucius?”

  “Well, the three of us here, of course, Resolution at Levant, Starbound at Quantar, and Fearless and Avenger at Carinthia. Valiant has even been recalled from Jenarus for backup,” he said. I contemplated the situation. Staying where we were was no good, but they were obviously trying to antagonize us into making the first tactical move.

  “Lucius, prepare Vanguard to move in-system and swap positions with Defiant,” I said.

  “And then where are you off to?” This time it was Dobrina asking.

  “Home,” I said, “to Quantar via Carinthia. All this sitting around . . . They’re obviously waiting for us to make the first move, so I’m going to make it. Levant will be the least defended system once Defiant has jumped. If we can force an attack there—”

  “You can’t guarantee that’s how it will go,” Dobrina said. I looked up at her image.

  “You’re right, I can’t. But sitting here isn’t doing any of us any good. So ordered. Thank you, Captains,” I said, then cut off the communication.

  I stepped out of my office and ordered Lena Babayan to get us moving again.

  “Back to the jump point, sir?” she asked. I nodded.

  “My mistake, XO. We can’t just sit around and wait forever. Time to get Defiant into this scrap.”

  “Aye, sir,” she said, then made the call on the shipwide com. I took my chair again, anxious to get home to Quantar, balance the scales, and hopefully force our enemies’ hand.

  We cruised past High Station Pendax at a considerable speed, passing her just closely enough to wobble our tail at Impulse II. Repairs and replenishment of her weapons stock were ahead of schedule, and Captain Kierkopf estimated her operational ability at 85 percent. That was good enough for me. I had confidence Dobrina and Zander could defend Pendax more than adequately. It did leave our First Contact team at Sandosa exposed, but they had no real value as a strategic target just at the moment, saving the value of Admar Harrington or the Princess Janaan as hostages, which was high to me personally but minimal to the Union overall.

  We made for the egress jump point space of Pendax, there to make our first transitional jump to Carinthian space, then home to Quantar, where we would join up with Starbound and I would fall under the command of Commodore Maclintock again. In many ways it would be a relief to turn situational command over to someone else for a while. I’d had my fill lately.

  We could have used our instant jump capability to make the transition to Carinthia, but Gracel had informed me this technology could be tricky, causing us to miss our targets by considerable margins, and thus she had asked me to use it sparingly. I complied, ordering us to the jump point to make the transition, which had already been well defined. It was tricky to cut new pathways through space, where planets and star systems were always moving, and jump space allowed us to keep our bearings consistent rather than risk calculating our own new pathways from star to star.

  Twenty-eight minutes from jump space, the battlefield shifted under our feet.

  An alert klaxon sounded throughout the ship, echoing in my ears. “Hyperdimensional displacement, Captain, 1.3 AUs astern of our current position,” reported Karina in a calm and professional manner.

  “Identify,” I demanded of my longscope officer.

  “By mass and configuration . . . it can only be a Lightship, sir.”

  “We’re the only Lightship that can jump without using jump space,” said Babayan.

  “No,” I said, “there’s one other.”

  “Vixis?” said Babayan.

  “Vixis,” I replied, then quickly got to my feet. “Call battle stations, XO!” Babayan made her call as I ordered us to turn back the way we had come, toward our enemy. Toward a man I had promised my wife’s father, the grand duke, that I would destroy.

  Prince Arin of Carinthia.

>   “How long until we’re within firing range?” I asked Karina.

  “At current speeds relative to each other’s movement and inertia, about seven minutes, Captain,” she said.

  “Next time just give me the number, Lieutenant,” I said without looking at her. She was trying to do her job, perhaps better than it needed to be done. I just needed the raw data. I wanted this man badly. I turned as Gracel entered the bridge and took her station.

  “Have we engaged them yet?” she asked me.

  “Not yet,” I replied, then looked at the tactical clock. “In six minutes and thirty seconds.” At that Gracel motioned me closer. I went to her station.

  “You must be aware that Prince Arin will have many of the same weapons at his disposal that you have,” she said.

  “I suspected as much.”

  “He may also have weapons that you do not, and you may have some that he doesn’t.”

  “Noted, Historian. Any tactical advice before we join the battle?” I said. She shook her head.

  “No more than this, Captain: he wants your hide as much as you want his, and he’ll do anything to win, short of suicide,” Gracel said. I thought about that.

  “Then we’ll have to be prepared for anything,” I replied, then went back to my chair and the tactical display.

  “Recommendations, XO,” I said. Babayan came and sat next to me.

  “Highly suggest a proactive posture, Captain. Don’t let him take the first shot. Use anything we can to take him out,” she said.

  “My thoughts exactly. Prep the weapons station for conventional, atomic, gravity, and torsion weapons. Stock the launch tubes with tactical atomic missiles and torpedoes. I want as much firepower as we have on hand ready to go by the time we engage Vixis,” I said. I watched as Babayan went to the weapons station and keyed her tactical plan into my display. Basically it was an ever-accelerating use of weaponry. Tactical missiles first, mixed with the enhanced coil cannons with their Hoagland-Field-busting properties, then heavier-yield torpedoes, all in the first thirty seconds. I added in a push-pulse from the gravity weapons array just to throw Vixis off guard, followed by a volley from the anti-graviton disintegration weapon to test her Field, then rinse and repeat, escalating the yields as we hammered each other. I hit send to update Babayan’s tactical plan as we hit the one-minute mark.