Liberation, page 6
part #3 of Tribari Freedom Chronicles Series
Earlier, he hadn’t picked a side. Now, Velk and Lenksha had left him with little choice. For his own sake, for the sake of his officers and crewmen, he hoped the revolutionaries won. If they didn’t…well, there was going to be hell to pay.
If we even survive the next few minutes, that is. His inner musings were doing him no favors at the moment, so he pushed them aside. “Alright,” he said aloud, “tactical, status?”
“All weapons systems primed, sir. Deflectors at maximum strength. We are ready.”
He nodded. “Good. And the fleet? What’s their status?”
“Most of the ships are still acknowledging our hails, sir. The Dreadnaught and Seven have gone silent. Red Whale is pulling into position alongside the Night Dragon. Looks like she’ll be backing the Dragon up.”
“So all we know for sure is we’re two to one so far.”
“Yessir.”
“Possibly four to one.”
“Yessir.”
He forced an easy air. “Well, hope you’re all ready for a hell of a good fight. Looks like we’re about to get one.”
Lt. Vaki at tactical grinned. “It’s what we signed up for, isn’t it, sir?”
“Damned right. Alright, tactical, I want weapons lock on the Dragon’s engines and weapons grid. The Whale too. This old bird can take a beating, more than anything those two can dish out, but only for so long. We need to disable them sooner rather than later.”
“Roger that.”
“And I want secondary locks on the Dreadnaught and Seven, just in case they make the wrong choice once the torpedoes start flying.”
“Already done, sir.”
“Good.”
“And I’ve got a predictive scan going on the rest of the fleet, to anticipate aggressive action.”
“I’m also monitoring interfleet comms, sir,” Vor put in. “So far, other than a fleetwide broadcast from the Dragon demanding they back Le up, there’s been no chatter between the ships.”
“Well hell, this crew’s so damned efficient,” he said, “you don’t even need a captain. If we live through this, drinks are on me.”
The promise of drinks more than the compliment drew grins from his officers. There was a nervous energy on the bridge that was palpable, but it had taken on an edge of excitement, of anticipation even. He was glad of that.
This was a hell of a thing he was asking them to do. Now was not the time to have them questioning the morality of firing on other Tribari ships, on their fellow officers. If they were going to survive this, they needed to focus on survival; not ethics.
That could come later.
“Sir,” Vor called, “we’re getting another signal from the Night Dragon.”
“Put it through.”
Captain Le’s face filled the viewscreen. It was smugger and more controlled than earlier. Something about the expression rankled Elgin, and he sat back in his chair and smiled calmly at the disembodied head before him. “Captain Le, what an unexpected pleasure. Have you decided to honor your oath of service after all? I’m ready to accept your surrender.”
Le’s eyes flashed, but he maintained his composure. “Amusing, Elgin. I am giving you the opportunity to spare your crew. I see some of them have fled already. I have no desire to kill good officers. And I think you are not so vain as to sacrifice the flagship of the Tribari fleet, and all her crew, for your own ego.”
“True enough,” Elgin nodded. “Which is why, if you insist on a fight, I will win it, Captain.”
Le smiled. “You’re four ships to one, Drake. And once the rest of the fleet sees how badly, how decisively, you’re losing, it’ll be one to all of us.”
Well hell. So the Dreadnaught and Seven picked a side, then. Aloud, he said, “You should have more faith in your people than that, Le. Not everyone’s willing to turn their back on their duty.”
Now, Le laughed. “Fine words from a traitor. You’ve got three minutes, Elgin. Three minutes before the blood of everyone on that ship is on your hands.”
The screen went dark, and Elgin frowned. “Interesting. Vor, did you pick up any noise from the Dragon while Le was on the line?”
The ensign glanced at his console, and his eyes widened. “Actually, sir, yes. I didn’t see it at first because…well, I was watching the screen.”
“What’d it say?”
“It’s encrypted. It’ll take a few minutes to decipher.”
“We don’t have a few minutes.”
“No sir. I’m sorry, I don’t think I’ll be able to break it in time. But I can see that it was sent to the Red Whale.”
Elgin grinned. “That tells me what I need, Ensign.”
“It does?”
“It means he’s bluffing. He’s got the Whale on his side, but the Dreadnaught and Seven haven’t committed one way or another yet.”
“How can you tell, sir?” Vaki wondered.
“He knew I wasn’t going to surrender. The call was a distraction, to keep us occupied while he sent orders.”
“And he only sent them to the Whale,” the lieutenant finished. “Not any of the other ships. Ergo they’re not part of his plan.”
“Precisely. Captains Mercer and Rel are waiting to see how this plays out.”
“Cowards,” Vaki said.
“Perhaps, but…” His grin broadened. “Let’s give them a show, shall we?”
“Sir!” Kerel’s voice broke in. “The Epsilon is powering up her engines.”
“Confirmed,” the tactical officer nodded. “She’s breaking off from the main fleet.”
“Direction?”
Vaki frowned. “She seems to be heading away from the planet.”
“Hail her captain.”
“Roger that,” Vor answered. In a moment, he added, “No response, sir.”
“She’s going to full power, Captain. And, she’s gone.” Vaki shook his head. “Looks like she’s leaving the system.”
“Dammit,” Elgin swore. This was no time to be defecting. “Well, that’s one less ship to keep an eye on, I guess.”
“One less to back us up, too, sir.”
“Good thing we weren’t counting on her, then.”
“Yessir.”
Chapter Twelve
“Alright, we’re down to one minute, but do not take Le at his word. I want you on full alert. The instant he fires, I want us returning fire. Full fire.” Elgin was pacing the deck. “I won’t draw first blood, but I will draw last.”
“Aye-aye.”
“Yes sir.”
“Okay. Let’s do this.” Elgin took his seat, and waited as the seconds ticked by.
“Thirty seconds,” Vor noted as the time wound down.
At the same time, Vaki called, “Sir, detecting weapons fire from the Whale and Dragon.”
He’d anticipated nothing less. Le was hoping to get the drop on them, even if it was only a few seconds’ worth. In a fight like this, a few seconds could make the difference between victory and defeat. “Return fire.”
The whine of launching torpedoes sounded before he’d finished speaking. He’d meant what he said earlier: the crew had gotten so adept at anticipating his orders that, sometimes, it felt like this ship could run without him.
“Brace for impact,” Vaki called. “In five seconds. Four. Three. Two.”
The Supernova rocked with the impact of several direct hits. “Defense grid status?”
“Holding, sir. Nothing got through.”
His ship was equipped with top-of-the-line energy shields. They could absorb quite a bit of damage before buckling. So, though, were the Whale and Dragon. “How are we doing on their shields?”
“About to find out.”
“Onscreen, Lieutenant.”
The display flickered to life, showing the two battle cruisers a second before the Supernova’s torpedoes reached them. A sequence of flashes of light appeared, but the ships seemed undamaged.
“Minimal impact, sir. We hit one of the bow deflectors on the Dragon, and took out two of her cannons. Otherwise, no damage.”
“Keep firing.”
“Copy that.”
“Captain,” Vor put in, “the bridge is being hailed from hangar deck eight. It’s Lieutenant Dagir. He’s asking to speak to you.”
“Put him through.” He was trusting that the other man’s timing indicated he had something to bring to the table.
“He’s on, sir.”
“Captain,” the fighter pilot’s voice came over the comms, “Lieutenant Dagir here.”
“Elgin here.”
“Requesting permission to scramble the squad, sir. We’re ready – all we need is your sign off.”
“You don’t mean to go toe-to-toe with the Dragon?”
“Yessir, I do. We can get close, and hit those shields a lot quicker than the torpedoes and cannons will do.”
“Fighters aren’t meant to take on cruisers, Lieutenant.”
“No sir. That doesn’t mean they can’t.”
Elgin considered. It was a hell of a risk, but Dagir knew that. “Alright. Anyone who wants to go with you can, but it’s not an order.”
“Copy that. Thank you, sir.”
Tal’s teeth were chattering. They’d finally found the garage. “Alright,” he said, his voice loud to carry over the howling wind. “When I give the signal, press his palm against the reader.”
He’d dropped Protector Baltir by the door, and he and Tig had swapped places – him in the lead, gun at the ready, and Tig to the side, where he could duck out of the way at a moment’s notice.
“Okay.”
“You ready?”
“Ready.”
“Go!”
Tig pulled back the ice shield and slapped Dre’s palm against the reader. The door buzzed open, and Tal stepped in, sweeping side to side looking for other people.
There was a protector at the far end of the garage, patrolling at a slow step. Tal drew in a breath, steadying his shivering form. He loosed a shot just as the other man looked up. A moment later, it found its mark, and the protector collapsed, unconscious.
He moved in further, ducking behind vehicles as he went. So far, he heard nothing – no shouts, no alarm, nothing to indicate that they’d been spotted. He had no idea, though, how many protectors were stationed here. Was it just the one he’d taken out already? Were there half a dozen scattered throughout?
He didn’t know, and so he moved quickly. His training came in handy as he cleared the building, one section at a time. He’d done this many a time on Central in pursuit of a dangerous criminal, or in training exercises. Now, it was protectors, not lawbreakers, he was hunting. But the tactics were the same.
He found another patrolling officer in a hall off the main bay, and dispatched him with a single shot. A few offices down the way, a protector lay asleep at his desk, his face resting on a pile of forms.
Tal put a bolt of energy into him just for safe measure. He didn’t want him waking up at an inopportune moment.
The building now was cleared, and he returned to the bay. Tig was there, having dragged Dre’s unconscious body out of the blizzard and taken up hiding behind one of the rovers. “Tal,” he called.
“Tig, we’re clear. Let’s get supplies, and find the keys to one of these machines.”
The other man laughed out loud. “Son of a gun. You did it.”
“Yeah. But we’re not clear until we’re clear.”
Tig’s expression sobered and he nodded. “Right. Supplies and keys.”
They turned back to the halls and offices he’d just cleared, stripping each of the protectors of their weapons and ammo. “Get the boots, too,” Tal said. “Even if they don’t fit well, they’ve got to be better than what we’re wearing.”
In the locker room, they acquired a few more coats and two sets of heavy gloves. “These’ll come in handy,” Tig decided. “I don’t know about you, but I’d like to keep my fingers.”
“We should check all of them for supplies we can take with us, but the keys are probably in the head office.”
“You search there. I’ll scout this one,” Tig nodded, ducking into one of the offices.
“Sounds good.” Tal was operating on a level of adrenaline and anticipation he hadn’t felt in months. He didn’t dare entertain expectations about how this would all turn out. And yet, here they were, gearing up and about to steal a rover.
He slipped into the larger office, which sat unoccupied now. A great desk with a large leather office chair sat in the center. A few armchairs occupied space at the corners of the room and in front of a fireplace. Despite the room being empty, a fire still burned, casting tendrils of light and flickers of shadow throughout. It was more evocative of a den or library in a fine house than an office off a garage, from the rich, heavy rug to the comfortable seating.
Tal rifled through the desk drawers. In the first few, there were parts requisition forms and use slips and personnel reports, but nothing of use to him. The middle drawer held what he needed: a dozen key fobs, all labeled with a numeral to represent the vehicles they were fitted for.
Tal grabbed number five at random, then hesitated. A new thought had crossed his mind. Why take only one key? Why not take them all? It’d mean they could have their pick of vehicles. But more importantly, it would slow the protectors down. They’d have to call in to another camp, and by time a vehicle from one of the other sites arrived, their tracks would be long buried.
He grinned at the idea of leaving the protectors stranded, temporarily though it was, and scooped all the keys into his new coat.
Chapter Thirteen
Captain Elgin watched the screen intently. His squadron of fighters had reached the Dragon and the Whale, and were dodging a barrage of fire. Dagir had been right, though. They were able to get close, and that meant their shots were harder to stop. There was less time to anticipate them, and less time to protect against them.
Fighters from the other two ships had flown out to meet the Supernova’s, but they seemed to be holding back. There were a few dogfights ongoing, but the majority were staying out of the fray.
“Captain,” Vor said, “I’m reading chatter on the Dragon’s intersystem comms. Le’s laying into the head of his fighters, Lieutenant Wilk.” Vor frowned in silence for a moment. “Sir, he’s accusing Wilk of being a coward. Not pressing the attack hard enough. Saying he’s got ‘terrorist sympathies.’”
“Well let’s hope he’s right. Vor, see if you can open a channel to the lieutenant.”
“Copy.” Vor worked for a moment in silence. “He’s not picking up.”
“Well, try him –”
“Oh, he just did. He’s on, sir.”
“Lieutenant Wilk? This is Captain Elgin of the TS-Supernova.”
“Sir,” the lieutenant’s voice came over the line.
“I’m asking you to stand down, Lieutenant.”
“I’m sorry, sir. I’ve got my orders.”
“I know that. But I’m asking you to reconsider.”
“I won’t fire on my ship, Captain.”
“I’m not asking you to do that, Wilk. I wouldn’t ask anyone to do that. I’m just asking that you don’t fire on my men.”
“Your men are going to kill my crew.”
“No, they’re not Wilk. Le opened fire first. All I’m trying to do is stop him.”
For a long moment, he heard nothing but silence. Elgin feared the connection might have been lost, or terminated. Then, Wilk spoke, “Do I have your word on that, sir?”
“As I live and breathe, lieutenant.”
“Alright.”
“Sir, we – we lost him,” Vor put in.
“What?”
“The connection dropped. It looks like it terminated, on his end.”
Elgin frowned. What the hell?
“Sir, the fighters are falling back,” Vaki said. “I think they’re pulling out of the fight.”
“Confirming,” Vor added, “Wilk issued a stand down order to his squadron. He’s not taking Le’s hails, either.”
Son-of-a-bitch. That had gone better than he’d anticipated. “Issue a command to our fighters, halt all action toward the other birds. Engage only if engaged. Concentrate fire on the Dragon and the Whale. Remember, engines, weapons and shields only. No structural damage. We do not want to kill our own men.”
“Copy.”
“How are we coming on those shields, Vaki?”
“Working on it, sir. The Red Whale is down to thirteen percent on the forward shields. I think another good hit or two, and she’s done. Going to take a bit longer with the Dragon.”
“Keep at it. Sooner they’re gone, the sooner we can disable those bastards.”
“Yessir.”
Elgin tried to sit still in his seat. A captain fidgeting on the bridge during the heat of battle was hardly the most inspiring sight. But the fact was, these were the moments he hated most in a fight. He’d been a tactical officer once. For a stint, he’d been at the helm too. You didn’t call the shots then. But at least you got to take them.
When you were in command, you called the shots; but in moments like these, you sat on your ass while other people took the shots.
It was an exercise in trust – in trusting that those under your command could execute their duties, in trusting that you’d picked the right people for that precise moment long before you knew that moment would arise. It was an exercise in patience, waiting to find out how those orders would play out and if your trust was well-founded.
It was torture. Elgin was by nature neither trusting nor patient. These were the most difficult aspects of command for him. The pressure of making the right call, of staying calm under fire; the risk of consequences from decisions he’d made: he could take all of that well in stride.
But waiting patiently while his ship and his crew faced danger was hell. He tried to focus on the scene outside, and not the thoughts churning around in his mind.
The two cruisers were laying heavy fire into the Supernova, but the fighters had drawn some of their attention. More than that, the fighters were chewing their way through the shield generators, a piece at a time.
