Loyalty to the Cause (TCOTU, Book 4) (This Corner of the Universe) (42 page)

Two-second
old laser fire reached each ship an instant after newly created turmoil was
released from barrel and lens.  This incoming volley of destruction, purely
from GP turrets, splashed against rebuilding shields and screens. 
Courageux
coped better, her defensive suites withstanding all but the final burst from
Thomas’ laser turret.  The shot expended sixty-four percent of its energy
vaporizing duralloy armor before destroying a workshop along the perimeter of
the ship.

In
contrast,
Elathra’s
screen absorbed only two of her adversary’s six
laser bursts before collapsing.  The remaining four torrents of ruin engraved
crooked scars along her decimated, ventral radiator.  Computers controlling
Elathra’s
automated cooling systems noticed the obliteration of five of the six ventral heat
sinks along with the primary heat exchanger and alerted both particle cannon
gunners and the ship’s bridge of the damage.

Despite
the new mural of destruction covering
Elathra
, only four seconds had
elapsed since the decompression of her bridge.  Heskan, finally clear-headed,
looked around eagerly to his companions and breathed a sigh of relief when he
found them uninjured.  Judging from the scorch marks on the bridge bulkheads,
the shot had entered high along the wall and gouged the ceiling.  No
containment fields had yet appeared and the frightening knowledge of operating
in a vacuum took hold over him.  The only noises Heskan heard came through his
helmet’s speakers as expressions of dismay spewed from his bridge team and Vernay’s
predacious growl preempted her belated firing of
Elathra’s
port particle
cannon.  The range between the two ships expanded back to 5
ls
when they
launched their last GP salvos of the pass.

As
each gunner blew their final kiss, the third volley of GP laser fire, issued
seconds ago, reached the ships.  Shields and screens remained offline and the
charged energy touched naked duralloy with token resistance. 
Elathra
gained a matching blemish down the length of her port hull and a grouping of
slashes over her port wing radiators.  Additional hits cleaved impressive
chunks from the snow’s already devastated ventral radiator but had little more
than cosmetic effect.  The standout barrage was inflicted to
Elathra’s
portside Argus VSP-14 sensor suite.  The array, bulging from the snow’s hull
like an eye, erupted in a shower of metal and heat.  On the bridge, Heskan
watched the tactical display begin to flicker and update in fits and spurts as
the ship’s sensory capability was cut cleanly in half.

The
next, brutal laser barrage smashed into
Elathra
two seconds after its
predecessor.  The assault was abated, somewhat, by damage inflicted to
Courageux’s
dorsal quad laser turret seconds earlier in the pass and the slow, ten-second
recycle period of her heavy laser.  Only twin streams of energy from the
fourth-rate’s forward turret splashed across
Elathra’s
weakened AIPS
screen, partially absorbed by the system’s efforts to recharge.  As the
remainder of the pulse struck duralloy armor, a mere twenty percent of the
residual energy burned through to Briefing Room – M1 and Navigation Control. 
No witness was present for the calamity of decompression inside the briefing
room; however, three of the four occupants in the Navigation Control compartment
endured the visceral experience.  The fourth crewmember, Spaceman Darren Cooper,
laid motionless, victim of a direct hit from
Courageux’s
forward lasers.

Elathra’s
and
Courageux’s
momentum
finally extended the distance between them beyond 5
ls
.  Each ship’s final
GP shots, just fractions of degrees out of alignment, missed their targets, giving
Elathra
an additional three seconds of respite before
Courageux’s
heavy laser struck.  The AIPS screen, provided a full six seconds of relief to
regenerate, absorbed forty-three percent of the Maclex energy burst, but the
excess battered through the screen to pound unmercifully upon
Elathra’s
port wing.  The stream gashed through the duralloy armor a scant two meters
from the port linear accelerator.  In the blink of an eye, the “barrel”
superheated, warped and finally melted from the nearby energy transfer.  Ensign
Daily, safely seated eleven meters behind the point of impact, watched his
weapon’s control panel indicators shift from green to a universal red.  After a
short appraisal, he quickly reported the loss of the weapon to Lieutenant Hall.

During
the conversation between Daily and Hall,
Courageux’s
finishing heavy
laser burst reached for
Elathra
.  The shot, fired eight seconds ago from
a range of 8
ls
, flew true and slammed against a nearly rebuilt AIPS
screen.  Absorption levels jumped from nominal to overload in an instant before
Elathra’s
computers disengaged the screen.  As the remnant of the
parting shot traveled into the snow, it retained little more than twenty-one percent
of its energy.  That ostensibly insignificant amount, compared to the
incredible sum the snow had already withstood, seemed almost trifling.

It
was not the quantity of energy that caused the destruction along much of
Elathra’s
port wing but its precise application.  The laser burst lanced duralloy armor
just one meter in front of the previous shot.  The internal structure and its
underlying support, crippled from the earlier blow, failed completely under the
second assault and caused the first third of the port wing to fold “upward” as
maneuvering thrusters fired to reduce the snow’s relative plane.  Nearly four
hundred tonnes of wreckage broke free and raked down the length of
Elathra’s
wing, demolishing the port particle cannon control room and the entirety of her
portside radiators.  As the debris struck the blister turret of the already
destroyed carronade, it bounded upward marginally and cleared the balance of
the ship.  By the time the mutilation of
Elathra’s
port side was
complete, the two combatants sailed a further half light-second apart and out
of direct fire range.

Out
of immediate danger, Heskan glanced away from the stuttering tactical plot to
his shocksuit’s status display on his left arm.  The bridge still registered as
a vacuum.  “Gables,” he barked over the bridge comm frequency, “where’s our
compartmental integrity?”

Lieutenant
Gables’ voice rang over his helmet speakers.  “Working on it, sir.  The problem
is that shot not only cored the bulkheads but also the ceiling.”  She shook her
head in frustration.  “Captain, we’ve also lost both the port particle cannon
and dual GP mount.  Damage reports are pouring in from all over.”

Heskan
felt his frustration boiling over but nodded acceptance.  “Report to Vernay when
you can.”

To
his left, Commander Vernay’s concentration on her chair arm console seemed
unbreakable.  “Jack,” she called over the network, “focus what’s left of the
Fisheye on that fourth-rate and give me a damage estimate on its propulsion
capabilities.  Pruette and I nailed her, and I don’t think she’s able to
maneuver.”

Heskan
looked forward.  The center wall screen updated the tactical situation in
drunken lurches and the right side screen had been destroyed by the shot that
deprived them of atmosphere.  Only the left wall screen seemed to be
functioning well.  The status of his section was updating while the main engaged
its Saden counterpart.  Farther behind, the rearguard braced for its pending
skirmish.

His
own vanguard, minimally damaged in its first, stunted pass as the rearguard now
openly displayed the rigors of combat.  Every Colossus-class snow had suffered
at least moderate damage. 
Anakim
and
Ravana
, squaring against
fellow snows, escaped brutal harm and the trailing corvette,
Honor
,
managed well against her opponent, an already damaged snow.  However,
Rindr
,
forced into conflict with a brig, had been nearly as mauled as
Elathra
.

Heskan
glared at each update as more and more damage was reported.  Though the reports
were serious, he saw nothing that should retire any of his section’s ships from
battle. 
Still, we can’t go up against a superior section again,
he
thought. 
That will be the end of us.
  His eyes moved to the status of
the other sections but no additional information was yet available
.  It’s
too early for damage reports from them.  The rearguard has barely begun their
pass.
  Heskan’s stomach churned as he awaited the results of the other two
combat runs.  The Seshafian main, already mangled, was facing the same section
as before.  He shuddered as he contemplated the possible results. 
At least
Ajax’s section should do better against Wallace’s undersized rearguard.

“We’ve
got a problem,” Gables stated soberly.

Both
Heskan and Vernay swung their heads toward the Operations officer.

“Everything
on the port side is gone except for a single carronade and now, we’re getting a
heat exchange error from the starboard wing radiators.”  Gables paused to look
gravely at the command officers through her visor causing Vernay to gesture
hastily for her to continue.

“Um,”
Gables started, “that means our last particle cannon can’t fire without melting
and the dual GP turret’s recycle time is going to at least double.”

“Unacceptable,”
Vernay stated.  She turned to face Heskan.

On
the tactical plot, Heskan’s rearguard concluded its pass. 
I must command
the fleet
, he thought. 
I’ve got to start planning our next maneuvers
. 
The bitter memory of the ships of CortRon-15 scrambling to assume formation
because he had fallen behind on issuing orders haunted him briefly.  He locked
eyes with Vernay.  “Handle this, Commander.  I have to focus on the fleet.”

Heskan
watched Vernay nod determinedly and then release the restraints on her
shockseat.  She walked quickly over to Gables’ station while stating, “That
repair gets priority.”

Heskan
heard gasps wash over the fleet command channel followed by an “Oh, no.”  On
the tactical display,
Diomedes’
symbol flashed briefly before disappearing.

“ELTI
from Diomedes,” Truesworth announced grimly.

Heskan
blinked hard, refusing to believe in the loss of his fleet’s strongest ship. 
When he reopened his eyes, the news grew worse. 
Malabar
had followed
her flagship into extinction.  The main’s new lead ship, the brig named
Falcon
,
was highlighting so rapidly with damage updates that it was clear the ship was
lost as well.  The snow behind
Falcon
appeared to be heavily scarred but
still in the fight.  Only the last ship in the section, a snow named
Fame
,
had avoided heavy damage.

I’ve lost nearly the
entire main section
,
Heskan realized in shock.  From behind him, Chief Brown entered the bridge
wearing a blackened shocksuit.  He immediately headed for Vernay and Gables. 
The pair had obviously formed their own channel to keep the main bridge comm
clear.  Vernay was pointing viciously at Gables.

*  *  *

“The
longer you wait, the worse the chances will be, Denise,” Vernay stated
savagely.

“Commander,”
Brown said over the subchannel as he reached out to grab Vernay’s arm.  “You
can send someone down the wing to reset the heat exchanger but they ain’t
gettin’ back.  There ain’t no chance.”

Vernay
batted away the chief’s hand and looked fiercely at him.  “I don’t care.”  She
pointed toward the status display on the weapons station console.  “That board
will
be green before our next pass.”  She returned her attention to Gables.  “I
don’t care how you do it but it must be done.”

Gables’
expression was pure horror.  “Who do you want me to send to certain death,
Commander?”

Vernay
looked ready to explode but took a breath and softened her stance.  “Look,
Denise.  I can order someone to go but that’s
your
job.  You’re the Operations
lieutenant.  I’m doing
my
job by telling you to get it fixed.”  She
tapped her own chest.  “Blame me, if you want to, but someone is going down
that hall and resetting the exchange.  Otherwise, we’re all dead.”

The
junior officer deflated but acquiesced.  “Aye-aye, Commander,” she said
hollowly.  Gables stared at the deck for several moments and then turned to
Brown.  “Chief, you’ll take my place on the bridge while I go down and order
someone’s death.”  Before Brown could protest, the damage controlman turned
aviator turned executioner left the bridge.

“Let me know the
instant it’s been fixed, Chief,” Vernay ordered before returning to her seat.

*  *  *

Heskan
guided the fleet into a slow turn designed to buy much-needed time.  He noted,
with satisfaction, that Wallace had ordered a similar maneuver for his ships. 
Maybe
we hurt them as bad as they hurt us
, Heskan thought optimistically. 
Courageux
had failed to complete the maneuver and had strayed from the enemy’s formation.

The
damage to Heskan’s rearguard had been significant but not the utter devastation
of the main. 
Ajax
could respond to her helm but had struck her lights. 
Commander Nguyen in
Hawk
, the brig that sailed directly in
Ajax’s
wake, followed her example and darkened his running lights as well.  
Tigre
,
the snow trailing in the formation, had also capitulated.  Of the five original
ships in the section, only the corvette,
Fly
, remained willing to fight.