Star Crusades Nexus: Book 09 - The Black Rift (29 page)

“No. They will have to manage for now. Get a squadron of Hammerheads out there to assist. Keep hitting the selected targets. This is a war of attrition. Keep at it, and one by one we’ll wipe out this damned fleet.”

The great ship shuddered, and for the first time the breach alerts sounded. Admiral Anderson looked at the damage display. An entire section the size of a Mauler had vanished from the port stern.

“What happened?”

Captain Decker barked orders to the engineering team before turning to him.

“Triple volley of atomics, Admiral. They must have entered through a breach in the space armor. It could have been a lot worse.”

* * *

ANS Conqueror, Micaya Shipyards, Helios Sector

A grinding sound reverberated throughout the entire ship as they pushed themselves out from their hiding place. At the same time, the rest of Admiral Lewis’ fleet activated their engines and advanced from where they had been waiting. Dozens and dozens of Alliance warships emerged like ghosts from the very heart of a graveyard.

“All ships focus your fire on any Biomech ship targeting friendlies. Hit them hard, and don’t stop till they are all burning.”

He looked over his own tactical display, just as so many Alliance commanders were doing at that very moment.

Where is he?

His hand moved and then stopped at the gray shapes.

General Makos. You had better be ready for this.

There was no need for him to micromanage the alien and his own retinue. The plan was prearranged, and already his force of beautiful looking Dragonfly vessels were extending their solar sails and opening their gun ports. Three of them flashed green, and a volley of spheres blasted out and into the path of an unsuspecting Biomanta. The impacts tore through the hull and left a burned out husk spinning uselessly.

And the others?

There were contingents from the Helions under the command of T’Kron, as well as the small force from the Klithi. Just as intended, the aliens were staying together and moving back to the burning shipyards to engage the scattered Biomech ships not currently involved in the colossal capital ship battle with Admiral Anderson and ANS Warlord.

His first view of a pair of Klithi traveler ships reminded him of deep-sea creatures from Earth. Like the Byotai, their craft looked heavily inspired by vessels of the deep ocean, though whereas the Byotai were large and complex with great wings and masts, the Klithi were more like whales. The alien ships moved much faster from their hiding places and were quickly beset by large numbers of fighters. At the same time, the gantries throughout the shipyards continued to break apart and burn. Two Biomantas trapped a single Crusader, and as they tried to eliminate the vessel, the Dragonflies too struck them. Energy blasts ripped them apart, leaving multiple sections crackling with energy.

“Sir, we have a Ravager bearing down on us. Our capacitors have failed. The main guns are…”

He scratched at his head while yelling.

“What the hell do you mean our primary guns are offline?”

The ship vibrated heavily as a double burst of gunfire clattered amongst the wreckage. The Battlecruiser had been safely nestling between two defunct Helion cruisers, but even that extra layer of protection was proving useless against the swarm of Biomech fighters and the single Ravager moving in on them. The ship moved out of the wreckage one meter at a time, and with a great, painful grinding sound that could be felt through the hard material of the ship.

“Sir, the capacitors are refusing to take the charge. I need to purge the system and do a full restart sequence. It must be the long exposure to the cold.”

Admiral Lewis couldn’t believe what he was hearing. The system should work in a near sub-zero environment, but now wasn’t the time to argue about the science of the problem.

“And how long will that take?”

“Six minutes, maybe seven.”

“Then do it, and get my guns online fast or we’ll be dead.”

He then looked to his XO.

“Get us into the fight. I don’t care if we have to ram them. We need to hit them and hit them hard. If we don’t, we’ll be leaving Anderson to do all the heavy lifting.”

“Yes, Sir,” said Captain Marcus.

The engines detonated with a rumble, and they were out of the debris and moving toward the enemy ships. Five Liberty destroyers joined them, and more and more of his fleet emerged from their slumber.

“Sir!” said Lieutenant Vitelli, “The Ravager is changing course. It’s General Makos.”

He nodded, and the mainscreen changed to show the battle around the Ravager. It wasn’t just that ship; there were eleven capital ships and hundreds of fighters, all of which had been heading directly toward him. Now they were changing course to meet the General head on.

“What are those?”

He pointed at spherical objects hurtling toward the Biomech fleet. There were hundreds of them, and they were moving at incredible speeds in a straight line. Every few seconds one would vanish, but plenty made it within range of the enemy.

Lieutenant Vitelli smiled when six of them changed course at the last moment and accelerated right into the engine vent of an already damaged Ravager. The right-hand side of the ship tore off in a massive blast and was quickly followed by many more.

“Klithi mines, Sir. They are self-homing and very powerful.”

The expression of excitement on the tactical officer’s face quickly faded; the very blood seemed to run from his skin to leave him pale and nervous.

“No. No way, they can’t be.”

“What is it?” asked the Admiral.

“The ships, they are all changing course, every single one of them. Even the Ark is using its engines to make a course correction.”

“To where?”

The young officer simply pointed at the single most important ship in the entire fleet.

“ANS Explorer, Sir, they must have detected her energy signature.”

He looked for and then grabbed his intercom.

“All ships, they’re making for Explorer. The protection of this ship is the only consideration. Protect the ship! All other assets are expendable. Put up a screen around her.”

The next four minutes were the most tense and violent minutes in Admiral Lewis’ life. All the Alliance ships were on an intercept course; the majority forming up in a layer defensive wall less than a hundred kilometers from the ship. Hundreds and hundreds of fighters, Maulers, and drones plugged the gaps, and more arrived by the minute. At the same time, the engineering vessel continued its mighty energy buildup.

* * *

ANS Tempest, Micaya Shipyards, Helios Sector

They flew along the length of the Alliance engineering vessel and checked for signs of the enemy. Five more Maulers followed in a wide wedge formation; all that remained of the original eight. Every one of them now bore new scars from the fighting, from small bullet holes created by point-defense turrets through to the meter-wide hole in the flank of ANS Tornado caused by a thermite missile.

“Turn to my vector and begin tracking,” said Captain Garcia.

The small group twisted about and faced in the direction of the massive skirmish screen. Out ahead were hundreds of flashes from the Alliance and Biomech fleets fighting at close range. It was impossible to tell who was winning; both sides had now moved from a tactical approach to the battle and on to a high-scale dogfight, with the ships fighting whomever was closest. All Captain Garcia cared about was his new mission.

“Okay, all units form up on the bow of the Liberty ships.”

There was a squadron of nine fleet defense ships, and they had positioned themselves with their flanks toward the ongoing battle. Their gun and missile systems were optimized for tracking objects from the size of fighters right down to individual bullets. The Maulers went ahead of them and formed up. From the cockpit, it was possible to make out three more groups of Maulers, plus twice as many Lightning fighters, and a smattering of Hammerheads.

“Sir, I’m going to have to take engine number three offline. The shrapnel is causing the cooling system to fail.”

He nodded in answer. A message arrived from the lead Liberty destroyer, ANS Citadel. It was an automated message and contained targeting data and information for scores of targets on the way.

“Sir, what are we facing?” Lieutenant Takeda asked.

“Uh…not much. Maybe ninety missiles, a dozen torpedoes, and a few hundred projectiles.”

The computer tracked the identified targets and then began plotting firing solutions. Both of them watched as more and more appeared. What was much more disconcerting was the time it was taking for them to reach their targets. Captain Garcia reached out and activated the firing computer.

“All ships, open fire.”

Scores of turrets opened fire with deadly flechette flak rounds. Each was designed to split apart just before reaching their target and then showering the incoming weapon with chunks of razor sharp metal. The computer tracked the incoming fire, and the Mauler shuddered as the corner and nose mounted turrets emptied their ammunition bins. As each one ran dry, the robotic loading system changed to another box, and the shaking continued.

“Just look at that,” said Lieutenant Takeda.

Even a few minutes earlier they had been involved in the massed ducking and spinning through the debris. That great and deadly dogfight had changed into nothing more than a static shooting gallery. They formed part of the last line of defense, and right behind them sat the big fat target of ANS Explorer.

Captain Garcia hadn’t even noticed his officer was pointing to the massive Ark off to the right. It was only a bright dot this far away, but the very fact it was visible showed how much of a threat it was. At the same time, two of the nearby gantries from the shipyard vanished in a dull flash to leave only dust.

“Goddamned particle beams.”

The guns continued firing into the wide flak corridor, making a direct approach to the Alliance ship almost impossible. Even so, every few seconds a hardened penetrator round or missile would make it through and explode against the modest armor of the vessel.

“Sir, look,” said Lieutenant Takeda.

Captain Garcia looked to the overlay and the imagery of the fighter squadron. The computer had already tagged more than twenty, and the numbers were increasing.

“Great, they’re moving along that pylon to the right for cover. We need to stop them before they can reach the ship.”

With a quick nod of agreement, Lieutenant Takeda took over manual control and spun the vessel around. At the same time, Captain Garcia ordered six nearby Lightning fighters and a single Hammerhead to join them. The Mauler was slightly slower than before, due to the lost of the fourth primary engine. Even so, it was only a few seconds before they were moving along the pylon at the close distance of just a hundred meters. Captain Garcia sent an order to the rest of his squadron to stay and guard the approach.

“Here they come!” said Takeda.

With a quick tug, she spun the vessel about so that they slipped between two hulks and vanished from view while the other fighter spread out to fly over. Right above them moved a long column of small Biomech fighters. Captain Garcia tagged them and opened up with the turrets. Five vanished in as many seconds, and then they pulled up and went into a pursuit formation. The Lightning fighters were faster and moved in right behind them, quickly dispatching three more before they began to spin about to return fire. Two Alliance fighters were quickly torn apart, and then the Hammerhead was amongst them. Apart from its primary weapons, it was also equipped with turrets that fired continually in multiple directions.

“What the hell was that?” Captain Garcia asked.

A pair of Biomech fighters ripped apart and metal-limbed machines flew past them. He spotted one crash onto the Hammerhead where it proceeded to hack and smash into the outer skin.

“Help them!”

Lieutenant Takeda moved carefully behind the crippled Hammerhead and took as careful aim as she could manage. Though there was no atmosphere to shake them, there was the problem of the constantly jinking form of the Hammerhead. Each impact from the machine forced the maneuvering thrusters to move the craft off into the wrong direction. The Mauler was vastly bigger than the Hammerhead, and as they came in behind, their path was blocked by a Biomech fighter. This was a different design to the normal type. Instead of weapons, it carried four more of the Decurion machines.

“This is new,” said Lieutenant Takeda.

She pulled the trigger, and the entire rear section tore off and vanished from view. She didn’t hesitate and fired again, finally destroying the machine with a one-second burst. The debris scattered off to the sides but continued on in the same direction.

“This is Captain Garcia of ANS Tempest; I have multiple fighters on an attack vector to the prize. I repeat; we have another fighter wave coming on an attack vector. Triangulate a flank corridor on my position.”

He looked to Takeda, but she was far too busy trying to aim at the Decurion still smashing and tearing at the Hammerhead. Finally, it was in her sights, and she pulled the trigger. Two turrets had line of sight, and both poured armor piercing rounds into the target. Her first shots went wide, but the second burst struck the thing in one of its limbs. Something caught her eye. A chunk of plating just behind the cockpit ripped off and metal limbs appeared.