Ep.#5 - "Rise of the Corinari" (44 page)

“Captain!” Ensign Yosef reported. “She’s launched a comm-drone. It’s headed out of the system.”

“Course?”

“I’ll give you three guesses,” Jessica said.

“It’s headed for Takara, Captain. It’s accelerating rapidly.

“Comms, hail Tug,” Nathan ordered. “Tactical, lock a full spread of missiles onto that comm-drone and fire!”

“Loading missiles, firing in five seconds!” Jessica reported.

“The frigate is starting to take hits from our rail guns,” Ensign Yosef reported.

“Keep pounding her with our guns, Jess.”

“Twenty-five kilometers and closing,” Ensign Yosef reported.

“Missiles locked and loaded,” Jessica announced. “Firing four!”

“I have Tug on comms, Captain,” Naralena reported.

“Put him on,” Nathan ordered as he watched the missiles streak away from the Aurora on the main view screen. “Tug, are you in position to intercept that comm-drone before she goes to FTL?”

“
I am already at full power and turning to intercept,
” Tug reported. “
If the drone takes the time to accelerate to maximum subluminal velocity before it goes to FTL, I might be able to destroy it.
”

“Thirty seconds to missile impact,” Jessica reported.

Nathan watched the tactical plot on the main view screen as the four missiles headed toward the accelerating comm-drone. The longer they could keep word of Corinair’s rebellion a secret the more time they would have to build up their forces. That comm-drone could ruin everything.

“Comm-drone just went to FTL, Captain,” Ensign Yosef reported.

“Damn it!” Nathan felt his heart sink.

“It was at half-light when it did so. Best guess is fifty times light.”

“Tug,” Nathan called, “did you hear that?”

“
Yes, Nathan. I tracked it as well.
”

“Can you catch it?”

“
I will do my best,
” Tug answered. “
but I do not have the capability to transmit the dropout signal.
”

“Do what you can,” Nathan told Tug over the comms.

“Five kilometers,” Ensign Yosef reported. “The frigate is taking heavy damage.”

“Tug has jumped away, Captain,” Jessica reported. “Sir, if Tug can’t get that drone to drop out of FTL, how’s he going to shoot it down?”

“He’ll just have to make a guess at its position and fire blind,” Nathan answered.

“Captain! New contact! Ninety degrees to starboard, fourteen down,” Ensign Yosef reported. “Transferring track to tactical.”

“Got it,” Jessica reported. “Pretty sure it’s the Wallach. Range one hundred thousand kilometers and closing.”

“Helm, hard to starboard and pitch down,” Nathan ordered. “Put us on an intercept course for the Wallach.”

“Aye, sir. Coming to starboard and pitching down,” Josh answered.

“What about the frigate, sir?” Jessica asked.

“Can we fire a torpedo from the aft tubes?” Nathan asked.

“On our current trajectory, no, sir. And by the time we line up, she’ll have enough room to take evasive if we do fire at her.”

“Load four missiles and prepare to fire at the frigate.”

“Aye, loading missiles and deploying battery,” Jessica answered.

“The Wallach is raising shields and charging energy weapons, Captain,” Ensign Yosef reported.

“She’s joining the fight,” Nathan muttered.

The ship vibrated and shook as it was struck by hundreds of small objects.

“We’re taking rail gun fire from the Loranoi!” Jessica announced. “Damage to the number one heat exchanger.”

“Helm, roll us back over so we don’t take any more damage to the exchangers.”

“Rolling,” Josh announced. “We’re passing the Loranoi’s flight path now, Captain.”

“Range from the Loranoi is five hundred meters,” Jessica announced. “We’re still taking fire, but it’s hitting our undersides now. No significant damage reported.”

“Turn will complete in thirty seconds, Captain,” Josh reported.

“Bring the missile battery to bear on the Wallach,” Nathan ordered. “We’ll worry about the Loranoi later.”

“Yes, sir,” Jessica answered.

“Turn completed,” Josh reported. “Now on intercept course with the Wallach.”

“Missile battery ready, Captain,” Jessica reported.

“Fire four and reload.”

“Firing four,” Jessica announced.

“Mister Sheehan, new jump,” Nathan ordered. “I want to be five kilometers off the Wallach’s starboard side.”

“Plotting,” Loki answered.

Four missiles shot out of their tubes on the face of the Aurora’s missile battery. As soon as they cleared, the launch block tilted straight up and sat down against its base. Four more missiles slowly slid up into their respective launch tubes and locked into place. A moment later, the launch block rose back up and quickly tilted downward until it was level with the ship once again, pointed forward.

“Missiles reloaded,” Jessica reported.

“Fire four more and reload,” Nathan ordered.

“Firing four. Missiles away.”

Nathan watched the forward view screen as the four missiles streaked overhead, disappearing into the blackness of space ahead of them.

“Range to target, ninety thousand kilometers and closing.”

“They’re spinning up their point-defenses, Captain,” Ensign Yosef announced.

“First round of missiles should reach their target in ten seconds,” Jessica reported.

“Jump plotted,” Loki stated.

“Very well. Stand by,” Nathan told him. “Let’s see what the missiles do first.”

A wall of small explosions began to form about twenty kilometers away from the Wallach, directly between her and the incoming missiles from the Aurora. Within a few seconds, the wall had grown in both depth and density. One by one, the four missiles reached the wall and were torn apart by the shrapnel from the Wallach’s fragmenting point-defense rounds.

“No joy, Captain. The Wallach’s point-defenses are too good. She took the first four missiles down without breaking a sweat,” Jessica reported.

“Anything you can do about their point-defenses, Mister Willard?” Nathan asked.

“No, sir. She is already jamming. Our missiles will not be able to lock on to her now. To the missiles’ sensors, there is nothing out there.”

“Second round of missiles has also been destroyed,” Jessica reported.

“Update your jump plot,” Nathan ordered. “Jess, stand by to fire all forward tubes. Same as before, full nuclear, staggered snapshots.”

“Yes, sir,” Jessica replied. “Setting one through four, full nukes, snapshots, staggered firing.”

“Captain, I wouldn’t recommend jumping through their point-defense screen,” Abby warned.

“No choice, Doctor,” Nathan responded.

“Jump plot updated,” Loki reported.

“Execute jump,” Nathan ordered.

The bridge again filled with the blue-white jump flash as the Aurora leapt forward more than ninety thousand kilometers in a single instant, coming to her new position five kilometers away from the second Takaran warship.

The entire ship shook violently as she came out of her jump. Sparks flew from one of the newly repaired consoles on the starboard side of the bridge, showering that side of the room and quickly filling the entire bridge with a pale, acrid smoke. Nathan held on tight to the arms of the command chair to keep from sliding out of his seat. Jessica nearly lost her balance, falling forward on to the tactical console.

“Shit!” Josh exclaimed, “What the hell was that?”

“Jump complete,” Loki reported. The violent shaking subsided just as suddenly as it had begun.

“FIRE!” Nathan yelled, pointing at the starboard console between Mister Willard and Doctor Sorenson. Mister Willard immediately grabbed a nearby fire bottle and doused the burning console with a fire suppressant powder, quickly extinguishing the blaze.

“Range to target, five kilometers and closing fast!” Ensign Yosef reported.

“Damage reports coming in from all over the forward section,” Jessica reported.

“Vent the bridge!” Nathan said as he coughed. He did not look at Abby, wanting to avoid the ‘I-told-you-so’ look that was undoubtedly adorning her face at the moment.

“The Wallach is firing!” Ensign Yosef reported. The entire ship shook as the Wallach’s massive energy pulse cannons began to pound away at the forward most sections of the Aurora.

“Snapshot one through four!” Nathan ordered

“Firing one through four,” Jessica reported. “One away. Two away. Three away. Four away.”

“Helm, pitch down under her, full speed ahead. I want to blow past our torpedoes,” Nathan ordered. The ship continued to shake from the Wallach’s continuous barrage from her energy pulse cannons.

“Pitching down,” Josh acknowledged. “Bringing the mains up to full power.”

“Arm all aft tubes, snapshot, full nukes, simultaneously fired.”

“Should I start another jump plot, sir?” Loki asked as he held onto the handrails along his console to steady himself.

“Negative, I want to dive under and shoot from the aft tubes as we come out the other side,” Nathan explained. “As soon as we pass under her, plot an escape jump, one light minute ahead.”

“Aye, sir,” Loki answered. He turned his head to his right and looked at Josh, who looked about as scared as he felt.

“We’re passing our torpedoes,” Josh announced.

The image of their torpedoes as they rushed toward their target slid backward over their heads as the Aurora accelerated under and past them. The image of the Wallach grew quickly in the uppermost portion of the screen as it came rushing toward them. The screen continued to flash in brilliant reddish amber with each strike by the Wallach’s energy pulse cannons.

“We are getting pounded,” Josh exclaimed as the ship took another hit. The entire bridge seemed to shift to port as a result of the energy blasts.

“Ten seconds to first torpedo impact,” Jessica reported.

The image of the Wallach slid over them on the spherical view screen that encompassed the front third of the bridge. As the passed under the enemy battleship, the incessant pounding from her energy pulse cannons subsided. But it was only for a moment as the bombardment continued as they came out the other side.

“Five seconds to impact,” Jessica updated.

“Stand by to fire aft torpedoes,” Nathan advised.

“Standing by,” Jessica answered.

“Plotting escape jump,” Loki reported as he struggled to plot the next jump with his right hand only. His left hand was holding firmly onto the side handrail along the left of his console to keep from being shaken out of his seat as the Wallach continued to pound them.

The bridge filled with light as the first torpedo struck the starboard side of the Wallach just after the Aurora passed under her.

“Torpedo impact!” Jessica reported. There were three more flashes of light that followed as the other three torpedoes also detonated.

“Range from target is five hundred meters and increasing,” Ensign Yosef reported.

“Escape jump plotted and locked, Captain!”

“Fire aft torpedoes!” Nathan ordered.

“Five and six fired,” Jessica reported. “Impact in five seconds!”

“Jump the ship!” Nathan ordered.

“Jumping!” Loki answered.

Blue-white light spilled out from the Aurora’s various emitters as she accelerated away from the Wallach. In an instant, the light enveloped the entire ship and intensified into a brilliant flash of light, after which she was gone. A moment later, the two torpedoes she had fired from her stern tubes struck the Wallach’s shields and detonated in a pair of blinding nuclear flashes.

“Jump complete,” Loki reported. The shaking caused by the Wallach’s barrage had ceased the moment they had jumped, leaving them in a sudden, eerie calm.

“Helm, come about to port, reciprocal heading,” Nathan ordered. “As soon as you finish your turn, start decelerating and bring us back down to combat speed.”

“Aye, sir. Coming about.”

“Start your scans, Ensign,” Nathan told Ensign Yosef. “I need a damage assessment on the Wallach.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Chief of the boat. Damage reports,” Nathan called over his comm-set.

“
Lots of hull damage to our forward section, Captain,
” Master Chief Montrose reported over the comm-set from the damage control center. “
Several breaches in the outer hull, starboard side. No inner breaches. Number one heat exchange panel in the primaries is offline. Number two is damaged and working at half capacity. If we do not open up the bottom and bring the backup exchangers online, we will have to start shutting down non-essential items very soon. I would not recommend another prolonged exchange, Captain,
” the master chief warned. “
You may not like the results.
”

“What about casualties?” Nathan asked.

“
Minor injuries at this point, sir. However, there were a few radiation burns from what little of the heavy stuff got through the hull from our nukes detonating. If the target had not been between us and those weapons, it would have been much worse. No deaths or serious injuries yet reported
.”

“Go ahead and open up the secondary exchangers, Master Chief,” Nathan ordered over his comm-set. “We can’t afford to take anything offline yet.”

“
Aye, sir
.”

“Captain, the Wallach’s shields are still up, sir,” Ensign Yosef reported.

“Damn. Did we at least weaken them?” Nathan asked.

“Marginally, sir.”

“How marginally, Ensign? Would more nukes do the trick?”

“Very marginally, sir,” Ensign Yosef admitted. “We could fire all our nukes and her shields would still hold. She’s just got too many redundant emitters on her. When one goes, there’s another four of them ready to take over.”

“Even if we had enough nukes, we can’t keep jumping in close to launch torpedoes at her,” Jessica reminded him. “A few more passes like that last one and we’re toast.”

“We need to get her to launch her fighters so she’ll be forced to extend her shields. Then, we can jump inside them and hit her hard,” Nathan exclaimed.