Coming Home (Free Fleet Book 2) (43 page)

Then the asteroids missiles reached them.

Blooms formed as PDS systems labored to clear the sky. The Syndicate ships fired in disarray, only a few working to protect one another, the rest looking after themselves as they launched everything at the incoming garbage.

Sensors labored over trying to get information as the asteroids cracked from strategic explosives placed in them.

Fifty pieces of asteroid turned into tens of thousands, each speeding as fast as a space ship and all larger than a car.

It was like using a shotgun against a pile of ants.

The Syndicate was close together so they didn't get caught out by Parnmal's weapons when they'd turned to face my incoming fleet. The planetary cannons had made some turn, others stayed where they were, firing from both gunnery decks.

Asteroids took out whole ships. Some still with the now exhausted missiles exploded like miniature shotguns, destroying anything in the immediate area and throwing more debris into the Syndicate fleet.

This is what happens when you mess with the Free Fleet,
I thought, looking at the chaos.

“Turn our weapons on them. Wait to fire on my command,” I said. My orders were carried out quickly.

“We're taking hits,” Krat said.

“Shields holding.”

“Walf, I need a better picture of what's going on in there.”

“Trying to, Commander, but with the nuclear interference, it's hard.”

“Very well.”

The second barrage of missiles cleared their launch tubes, accelerating for the fleet which was finally becoming clear of sensor blocking radioactive explosions.

The first barrage of missiles hit the Syndicate fleet, stopping them as they plunged further into the Syndicates formation.

The third, at full burn, hit them a few seconds later even deeper in their formation.

“Fire all weapons,” I said as the second barrage hit.

I felt Resilient rumble as her gunners fired into the heart of the Syndicate graveyard I'd made.

“Resilient, can you do anything to clear up these sensor readings?” I asked.

“I'm mapping which ships would have been caught in the waves you sent at them with possible flight paths. It will take me a minute,” she said, her voice harried for once. She was undoubtedly helping others throughout the fleet as well.

It took a few moments before a line sketch of where the ships were proposed to be filled the plot.

The force of two hundred and eighty-one ships had been hit, losing a supposed two thirds of their force, leaving them at still a rough one hundred ships, still seven times my own forces number.

“Super charge starboard shields.” It gave us more shields but weakened us in other areas, and we were prone to overloading shield circuits.

“Commander,” Krat said, making it so.

The planetary cannons stopped firing as we crossed into the area where our waves had hit the Syndicate. No one broke formation as we went in like a bowl with our sides presented.

The nuclear waste dissipated as gunners got clear targets, sensors updating at a rapid rate.

“Dear God,” someone said as we sped through a graveyard of cracked ships.

“Taking hits. Down to ninety-two percent,” Krat informed me.

I studied the oncoming Syndicate ships. They were in a ragged line formation—with their faster and smaller ships in front of the larger, slower heavy hitters—while it looked impressive I knew that it was one of the easiest formations for a group of unorganized ships to be in. It had little to no tactical advantage as, unless they moved on an angle to my own Free Fleet, then they could only bring their forward weapons to bear. They were also facing me head on now, and braking hard, making it so that I'd pass through them quicker. It also meant the massive firepower of their starboard and port batteries would only able to bear when the fleets intersected.

Then there was a good chance of them hitting their own ships if, say, I charged right down the middle—interceding my ships with their own.

 “Ben, lay in course five degrees over their formation.”

“Understood, Commander.” There was no question in his voice.

Whereas the Syndicate forces were taking potshots with their forward guns, mostly their corvettes, Marleen was guiding a systematic hand of death over the Syndicate forces, taking out those very corvettes.

“Flip!” she said. Milra did so, bringing the starboard side back around and letting port check their guns.

“We have launch of missiles!” a sensor operator yelled.

“Rein that in, Sensors,” I said with a warning, raised eyebrow, the now coloring operator turning back to his work.

Pandora and FengFang proved their worth with their simplified PDS systems, but they weren't the only ones with the Gatling gun systems now.

Lines of rounds spat out of every ship, reaching out to touch missiles with hundreds of rounds. Missiles bloomed around us. Resilient shook from the pounding.

“Forty percent,” Krat said.

“Just lost Ilmurta,” Rick said as one of our corvettes disappeared in a radioactive bloom.

“BC Mentr's just scrammed a reactor. They're holding position.”

Good, if they didn't they'd be easy pickings.

“Twelve percent,” Krat said as the missiles ended and we were on the enemy.

“Use the PDS,” I said as Marleen was bellowing orders, Vort relaying them to every other ship.

“We're hitting them hard. They're shields haven't had time to recover,” Rick said, none of his usually playful tone there, his face serious as he flipped from one feed to another to get more information from the fleet.

I could do nothing now, I just had to sit back and wait for the outcome, really.

“Redistribute stern shielding to the bow if needed.”

“Yes, commander,” Krat said as he waged a war against multiple energy sources.

“Whatever gunnery sector can get me a communications array gets a round on me at Parnmal.”

“Yes, sir!” Marleen said as I flicked my hand, closing the channel. I watched the battle on the holo projected from my seat.

“Down to thirty percent shields. We have spotting!” Krat said as the shaking was becoming more violent.

“Twelve percent.” We were finally within their firing envelope.

The Resilient rocked as incoming fire struck her hull.  There was nothing to do, we couldn’t roll to present another side as the other side was getting pounded as well, and it would take time for our gunners to re-organize themselves.

It was a battle of strengths; our shields, hull, guns, and people against theirs. They had more of everything, but we had better trained and actually better repaired ships than them. Hopefully, it would make a difference.

“Communications relay taken out on the dreadnought. We have secondary explosions,” Rick informed me, Marleen too busy working her crews.

“Get the gunnery section that took out the array to target engines. The rest are to focus on the battle cruisers.”

“We have breaches in the bow. Plasmid and atmosphere venting. Gunnery Ring Bravo on port side has two guns down, Delta one. Starboard is reporting Charlie is down four,” Krat said, his voice emotionless as he focused on facts without thinking of the reality that we'd just lost fifteen people.

“We’re having blow outs!” Marleen yelled.

“Keep up the fire, only change out rails and targeting crystals when at five percent. Increase rate of fire!” What I was saying was strictly against what every gunner chief said. I wonder what they’d say to my instructions.

Chapter From the Belly of the Beast.

Chief Brusk spat out the side of his mouth as Marleen yelled out the new orders.

“You heard the lady, Commander Salchar wants us to ruin these damned pretty boys ships! Resilient is not about to disappoint! Have replacements and burn treatments ready. More than one of you’ll get your gunners badge today!” He put his head to the aiming sights as he selected the highest rate of fire the rail gun he was manning could take. As he hit five percent he ejected the rails, hitting the recovery button as the mantle came inside the ship. Quickly, new rails were slapped into place and he was given the thumbs up. He hit the recovery button as he spat into his collector, the targeting computer locking him onto his last target as he depressed his trigger. Three other linked rail guns, through Resilient's massive processing power, fired into the same space.

Brusk couldn’t help but grin at the firepower he and the gunners in his command actually controlled as the shielding of the battle cruiser he was firing at began to spot.

“Spotting!” he said as he hit a targeting laser. Firepower from other ships in the main body added to Resilient's own gun deck’s, causing the battle cruiser to roll after a few seconds of punishment then, as it cleared the Resilient, a rail cannon hit the engines. The laser cut through it as if it was butter—its lack of shielding its downfall.

“Change targets!” Brusk said as fusion reactors were ejected by the ship and her weapons went silent as she tried to pull away.

He heard sirens in the background as a crystal failed, ejecting the gunner backwards, the loaders already out of the way. As the blast shield dropped, the atmosphere drained from inside and the crystal was ejected. The gun recovered. He put his gun on auto as he glanced over. The blast shield went white hot, one of the loaders yelling in pain as the gunner ran over with a burn kit, spraying the burn victims wound with white foam. The gunner helped the loader up as they ran to another sealed blast shield.

“What are you doing!?” he yelled to them.

“Chief, it caught a round, the crew of this gun all got severe burns. We’re going to take it over.” A woman turned—still running—as she yelled her response over the firing, a testament to her lungs.

“Good work, boys!” he yelled, the woman in the crew not even noticing his use of words as he spat, turning to his gun. The crew had just reacted, he doubted they had even understood that if their crystal hadn’t nearly overloaded and ejected itself, they would’ve been cooked crispies. Not many had been so lucky. He stopped himself from looking around the gunner deck with all too many blast shields closed. There was a reason their nickname was the tombstone. Once they closed from a blast, no one was coming out from behind it alive.

He let his anger out as he took his gun off of auto and picked out the battle cruisers thrusters he was hitting and raked them with rail gun rounds, whooping as he saw one of them sputter and die.

“I want closer groupings! Link up with another gun crew to rake their thrusters!” Brusk yelled, not looking away from his screen as he spat into an intake.

“Follow my lead,” he said to the gunner to his right as he fired into the thrusters of a new battle cruiser passing his screen. The gunner did so. Their lasers caught the massive rail gun bolts and super heated them as they sliced into the battle cruisers hull like the molten metal it was.

“That’s the ticket!” he said as the thrusters manifold buckled and gave way, the ship shaking from the loss of thrust.

Eddie rushed into a group of Commandos and earth troops.

“Out of the way!” he yelled as the Commandos did, automatically pulling the Earth troops with them as Eddie rushed through on his way to fix the starboard shield generators.

He felt another Kuruvian bump into him, making him balance on one foot to stop falling over. The Kuruvian grabbed his arm, righting him.

“Well, you little… Shrift! Goodman, follow me, we have a shield generator to fix.”

“Yes, Chief,” Shrift said, thumbing his work belt. Eddie turned, muttering under his breath. “Thought you could escape to the armories, did ya? The hum of a star cruising warship will always be your call, mi boy.”

“What are you muttering now?”

“Wondering if you remember how to fix a shield generator any more.”

“I think I can handle it. I’ll go for the alpha ring.”

“Bah!” Eddie kept looking ahead as he ran so Shrift couldn’t see his smile as he turned for beta.

“Now, don’t muck it up or I’ll have you repainting thruster manifolds!”

“Aye aye, Chief!” the young Kuruvian said, touching a wrench to his head as he ran backwards, turning and running forwards again.

“You’re damned everywhere, aren’t you!” Eddie said as he ran into another group of the Earth troops and their minders.

“Damned bugs”

“I might be a damned bug, but I’m the damned bug keeping you alive and this beauty running even after the way you’ve treated her!”

The man about to make a retort got a clap to the back of the helmet! “This is not the foucking time for arguing, get fixing, cause your life does foucking depend on it. Excuse them, Chief,” The other human said, nodding his head in respect as the other one went back to replacing power lines.

“No worries!” Eddie yelled, already down the corridor and turning, closing in on his shield generator.