The Black Guardians: Book 4 in the Black Guard series, page 11
Olsen now looked concerned, but before she could say anything, Jacabe laughed. "A new pilot would win that exercise nine out of ten times."
"We found simple exercises are the best. No complicated rules to remember and distract you," I said as I climbed into the fighter's cockpit, ran through my preflight checklist, started the engine, and was pushed out of the bay. I rose a few kilometers and slowly accelerated away.
Several minutes later, Jacabe's fighter left the bay and raced toward me. As soon as my radar indicated he was searching for a lock, I dove to my right, going through a series of corkscrew maneuvers which he was slow to duplicate. Then I went into a backward loop, which he followed hesitantly. I continued to tighten the loop, increasing the g-force in an attempt to get behind him. He followed, but not smoothly. As my indicator neared a g-force of 5.2, he broke off, either because he was unable to take the g-force or blacked out. I maneuvered behind him, got a target lock, and headed back toward the War Horse.
Jacabe showed up ten minutes later. When he exited the fighter, his face was beet red with anger.
"That was cheating," he growled.
I shrugged. "My instructors told me you couldn't cheat in war, since there were no rules or referees. The winner is the one who survives."
"Commander Quinn, would you mind one more exercise? Lieutenant Jeanette Babson would like a try."
"Love to. I haven’t gotten the chance lately to fly fighters anymore," I said, nodding to the curly redhead who was observing me like a hungry shark.
I climbed back into the fighter and was off again. Five minutes later, she was hot on my tail. When the system warned me of a potential lock, I went through a series of corkscrew turns, performed a backward loop, then into a forward loop, which she executed relatively smoothly.
Then, I accelerated hard forward, banked left, then right, then cut the engine, which caused her to streak by me. I followed her with my targeting radar on. Although I could have locked on her several times over the next five minutes as she tried to lose me, I didn't until she slowed, acknowledging defeat.
"Once the commander gets behind you, it's like you have a chain attached to her fighter. I swear she knew my next move before I did, and chasing her is comical. I just knew she was playing with me and could lose me any time she chose," Lieutenant Babson said when we reached Olsen.
Olsen looked hard at me, as if seeing me for the first time.
"The advanced fighter training school will teach you lots of things that can save your life, but it's only worthwhile for those that go with an open mind. If you already think you know everything you need to know, don't go. You wouldn't learn anything useful."
Just then, Hwang walked over to us. "Interesting demonstration, Commander Quinn. What did you think, Commander Olsen?"
"I have a new respect for the Black Guardians and Admiral Noam. They are definitely not what they appear."
30 - Unexpected Company
"Captain Hwang, there are ships exiting the Wave," Lieutenant Commander Amedee said as his eyes bore into his radar screen. Three…four…five…
"Hendrix!" Hwang shouted at his communication's officer. "Initiate Battle Stations and notify the Crouching Tiger that we are at Battle Stations and preceding toward the unknown ships entering Jax space. XO, get us underway. Amedee, I want to know the number and types of those ships.”
"Eight ships, Captain!" Amedee shouted. "Five look like mercenary cruisers. Three are heavily armed merchant ships. I've identified three of the ships as belonging to the League of Skulls."
"Hendrix, connect me to Commander Quinn,” Hwang said, hoping the Besra were as effective as they appeared and that Kat and her crew were ready for war.
"Commander Quinn is on channel three," Hendrix said.
"Kat, where are you?" Hwang asked, not sure what to do with the three very small cruisers.
"The squadron is ready to launch, Captain." Quinn’s voice sounded calm.
"Kat, eight mercenary cruisers have entered Jax space," Hwang said, cursing himself for not having discussed tactics with her. She was an unknown weapon he had ignored. "What do you suggest?" He shook his head in disbelief when he heard her laugh. Damn woman…girl thought this was a training exercise, and he was getting ready to scream that this was real when she spoke.
"Sir, you have three Tyrannosaurus rex ready to cause havoc. Just let us go." Kat's voice sounded like a jockey in the starting gate.
"Good hunting, Kat," he said and cut the connection, hoping he had done the right thing letting her go with no orders, but he had problems of his own.
The Crouching Tiger had a third of its crew on standard shore leave this week as the cruiser was undergoing maintenance work on its environmental system, which meant it would be four or more hours before there would be sufficient crew for the cruiser to be considered operational, and the Deathstalker was off with General Lerman visiting another system. Consequently, the War Horse would have to attempt to slow the Skulls' fleet to give the Crouching Tiger time to get battle-ready, not that it would matter.
Two Jax cruisers were not going to stop eight mercenary cruisers. It would be a miracle if they could stop four, which meant four were going to reach Jax free to rape, kill, loot, and destroy. He wanted to scream, to break something, but he knew he needed to stay focused if the War Horse were to be the most effective.
He managed a snort, thinking of Kat's response. Yes, that was also the War Horse's objective – to create as much havoc as it could. If nothing else, to reduce the amount of carnage the Skulls' ships could cause, and to reduce the number of Skulls cruisers for the Jax navy to fight when they crushed their home systems.
"Hendrix!" Hwang barked. "Get me a line to Colonel Wolfson."
"Colonel Wolfson is on channel two," Hendrix said, only seconds later.
"Colonel, we are being invaded by eight Skulls war ships," Hwang said, feeling calm now that he knew his fate. "I think your battalion will be more effective on Jax. We aren't going to stop them all from reaching the planet. Take no prisoners."
"Thank you, Captain Hwang. I agree. It has been an honor serving with you. Good hunting," Wolfson said and cut the connection.
31 - UNTESTED TEENAGERS
I sprang out of bed, taking my bedding with me as I heard the klaxon blaring in the hallway. I shouted, "Lights on!" as I threw my blanket and sheet onto the bed, dressed, and was out the door and running for the fighter bay within two minutes. I ignored the elevator and took the stairs.
When I arrived, I was pleased to see my Besra squadron personnel there, thankful that their quarters were closer to the fighter bays than mine. Ryan was already running his weapons checklist when I finished my walkaround inspection. Inside, I strapped in and began my checklist. When I finished, I saw that Ryan had established our internal communications link.
"Teressa?" I asked.
"All systems operational and online, Kat," Teressa’s alto voice replied, sounding excited and confident.
"Chika?"
"All systems operational and online, Kat," Chika’s soprano voice replied, equally excited.
"Ryan." I looked over at him and smiled when he winked then nodded. I wasn't sure if I should wait for the captain to contact me or me him or just wait. I decided I would have to discuss my specific responsibilities and duties after this current crisis was over.
My dilemma was solved a minute later when the captain contacted me. He sounded distracted. Obviously, he had more important things to worry about than my squadron's tactics, which suited me perfectly. As far as I was concerned, any plans we made would go to shit when we made contact with the enemy, and therefore a waste of time. I preferred to make it up as we went along and, therefore, was delighted when Hwang was willing to release me from my leash to the War Horse. I suspected he thought we would all die no matter what he or I did.
A minute later, I was pushed out of the fighter bay. "Ryan, go active long enough to get us a picture of what we are facing and the enemy's current configuration. Hopefully, the enemy will interpret the blip as an unexplained anomaly. Our mission is to be a pain in the ass while the Crouching Tiger tries to get its crew together and enter the fight, since I understand a third of her crew is currently on shore leave."
"That will take at least six to eight hours," Ryan said as his fingers flew over his sensor suite.
"Well, then I guess they are going to miss the fight, " I said, smiling as I peeked at the radar display. "I expect our squadron to teach the Skulls their plan didn't survive contact with the Black Guardians."
"All right, Kat," Ryan said. "They are in a four-by-two formation, heading full speed towards Jax. I would estimate we will meet them in about four hours, at which time we will be six hours from Jax and about ninety minutes ahead of the War Horse."
"That's perfect," I said while deciding on a strategy.
"What is so perfect about having no support?" Ryan asked, clearly confused.
"They won’t get in our way," I said, "but will be close enough for us to borrow some missiles if we run dry. What attack strategy would you recommend?" I asked, hoping he had some clever strategy I missed.
He sighed. "I would circle them and come in from behind. But I'm sure you have a reckless idea that’s going to have me bone-white during the entire experience."
"Your strategy would take too long, and the War Horse would catch up and be involved," I said while pursing my lips in thought as I tried to weigh the risk versus reward. We had to make a significant difference as the odds of the War Horse and the Crouching Tiger stopping them were worse than poor. They didn't have the element of surprise or any fancy tricks. They were better than the mercenaries, but not four times better.
"Why is having the War Horse involved a bad thing?" Ryan asked, sounding frustrated. "The more support the better. There are eight fucking cruisers invading Jax. They’re going to kill anything in their way."
"Because they will split up the mercenaries nice four-by-two formations, and they could get in our way," I said, convinced I was right… Based on zero war experience, I mentally chided myself. "Ryan, send the following messages to the squadron." I couldn't help a snicker. "All two of them.”
Message One: Tag ships, 1 to 4 and 5 to 8. Where 1 & 5 are port most ships.
Message Two: Line up with 1TN2 2CQ3 3CG4.
Message Three: Cut engines OMC.
Message Four: Continue 5TN6 6CQ7 7CG8.
Message Five: TN 2 missiles on 5 engines and 1 on 6 OMC.
Message Six: CG release 1 missile on 7 engines and 2 on 8 OMC.
Message Seven: Overhead loop OMC.
Each message had to be short as they were embedded in the radar signal. Teressa would know TN was her just as Chika would recognize CG as her. So 1TN2 meant Teressa would fly between the mercenary ships tagged one and two then continue on between five and six. The messages were long, but the AI software would further shorten each message via its internal dictionary.
"I knew it, Kat," Ryan said. “You're crazy. You want us to go in between the mercenaries’ cruisers to get behind them, then send missiles into the last row, then loop back to attack the first row from behind! If we pull this off, I won't be white, I'll be translucent. You are making me old before my time. Why can't we shoot missiles at them as we pass? We have twelve missiles each."
"Because I don't know how many missiles it will take to disable them. If four each doesn't work, we will have eight very pissed off wounded ships. Besides, it could cause them to scatter. I know one in their engine compartment will do the trick."
"Messages sent," Ryan said. “Let’s hope this works and my heart survives."
"That would be good," I agreed. "I'm very fond of my weapons officer."
"You are crazy, Kat, but you are what we need. I doubt the Besra can survive more than a few direct hits."
I watched the two monitors as we raced towards the mercenary fleet. My three Besras appeared to be perfectly aligned, so when we reached one thousand kilometers from the lead row of ships, I spoke, breaking the silence. "Ryan, send Cut engines.”
Four minutes later, we ghosted into the fleet's formation.
A minute later, I said, "Ryan, send Fire," and two minutes later, "Ryan, send Loop."
I watched the front row of ships closely for their reaction to the explosions behind them. Before I felt it safe to enter the area of exploding cruisers, the front row began to scatter.
"Ryan, send Independent action, CQ guard the exit.” I looped to the rear, wanting to be in position to stop any ship from leaving Jax space, fearing they had too much information that we would be better off suppressing.
As I watched, three decided to stay and fight while one did appear to be circling back toward the Wave exit. "Ryan, give me an intercept vector to the wolf with its tail between his legs."
Less than a minute later, a line appeared on my monitor, and I adjusted course while I mulled over my options. I had eight missiles left, so I decided to test the effect of four missiles on a heavily armed merchant. I didn't have to worry about him getting away as my engine was much more powerful than his.
Five minutes later, I was within fifty kilometers of my target and fired four missiles. Although a long walk, fifty kilometers was only nine heartbeats away. Their ECM intercepted one, but the other three scored direct hits, and the ship shut down, leaking debris from multiple places.
Looking at my monitor, the war appeared to be over.
A look in Ryan's direction showed him with his head back and eyes shut. He laughed. "Kat, as I've said before, you scare the crap out of me, but I trust you to somehow keep us safe, if I can convince my heart to keep pumping."
I skirted the massive debris field while watching for signs of functional ships. "Ryan, call the squadron back to the War Horse and warn the War Horse their babies are heading back to the nest."
32 - Debriefing
Captain Hwang had assembled his staff, which included me, and the staff of the Crouching Tiger, choosing to remain in the area of the battle to ensure none of the mercenary ships were not playing dead and planning to leave after we had left the area. Hwang did release his and the Crouching Tiger's fighters to search the area.
"I think we and everyone on Jax owes Admiral Noam a debt we can never repay. Not to mention the Besra squadron. I have to admit I was thinking this was a Jax Take No Prisoners moment. Their timing was perfect. The Deathstalker was out of the system as well as all the other cruisers. Only, the Home fleet and the Crouching Tiger weren’t operational." He laughed, looking at me. "Only Kat appeared to look forward to engaging the mercenaries. I almost shouted at her because I thought she was assuming this was some kind of an exercise. At the same time, I was mad that I had not devoted the time to integrate her squadron into the War Horse's command structure. Now, I'm glad I didn't." He turned to look at Captain Blatt. "I think the best strategy is what Commander Quinn suggested. Take the leash off your Tyrannosaurus rex and let it run free." He gave another genuine laugh. "I still can't believe I'm alive and that not one raider reached Jax."
Captain Blatt also laughed. “When I finally got the Crouching Tiger under way and saw the explosions, I could not believe it. I knew you had a Besra squadron on board but dismissed it as a non-functional experiment, especially after hearing they had a teenager in command.”
"What I would like to know is how are we going to pretend the Tyrannosaurus rex is a cute bunny rabbit after this?" Commander Olsen asked no one in particular. "No one with a working brain is going to believe the War Horse defeated eight mercenary ships alone and survived with only some chipped paint."
Fortunately, Noam was on Jax and was able to get on board within six hours via marine shuttle. Both Captain Hwang and Blatt had left their entire marine contingent on Jax in the hope the commandos could limit the carnage of the raider landing forces. Someone shouted, "Attention!” as Noam entered. To my surprise, Captain Hwang saluted Noam, who returned it.
"At ease," Noam said, then turned toward me. "Commander Quinn, you were supposed to keep the Besra’s real capabilities a secret. You clearly failed spectacularly. Do you have anything to say in your defense?" He looked serious, although his eyes were bright and alive.
"Sir, I'm young and inexperienced," I blurted out. I was on a high no drug could match. The remark caused Noam and everyone in the room to begin laughing.
Noam spent the hour listening to my account of my squadron's action, then having me repeat it in all its glorious details. Finally, everyone ran out of questions.
"I don't know what to do with you, Commander Quinn," Noam said. "I'm tempted to haul you back to Sky Lake, but you can't teach judgment. Commander Liqin did say you might be certifiably crazy, but you weren't stupid. I'd like to give you a bigger squadron, but we need to get Besras on every ship as fast as we can, and a small squadron is better than none. The good news is we won't have to worry about Outpost causing problems for a couple of years when they hear two Jax cruisers defeated eight Skulls. The problem is that no one is going to believe that, which makes keeping the Besra's functionality a secret close to impossible."
"Sir, in my experience growing up with two older brothers, the simpler the lie, the easier to remember and to sound believable," I said, comfortable talking to my senior officer because of the relaxed atmosphere at Sky Lake.
"That is going to be difficult as we have over four hundred people to convince," Hwang said, frowning.
"Yes, sir. What if we say it was only four mercenary ships and the War Horse managed to defeat them?"
Noam nodded, and a smile appeared on his face. "I like that idea. Only those on Bridge duty and a few of your direct reports know it was eight, and we can swear them to silence with a threat of a lifetime jail sentence if leaked. The War Horse did engage three of the enemy ships. Although winning even against three would have been close to a miracle, it's theoretically possible." He laughed. "And no one saw a Besra during the battle. We can say the three Besra destroyed one mercenary ship that tried to run. We can give out lots of medals, including a special battle medal for saving Jax. That should make everyone happy heroes and distract them from worrying about the details."
