Destroyer (Expansion Wars Trilogy, Book 3) Read online

  "Well," he said impatiently, "may I please have it?"

  "Certainly," the Cube said. "The ship that attacked the orbital habitat was a new class of Darshik ship previously unseen by Starfleet assets to the best of my knowledge. In addition to being larger, accelerometer and radar data from the ships in the region indicate its gravimetric drive system is at least as capable as the one that propels this vessel."

  Jackson swallowed hard at that. He'd been operating under the assumption that the Darshik's RDS drive was an adaptation from the Gen I pod that Celesta Wright had jettisoned.

  "That's … unwelcome news," he said. "Go on."

  "The higher power output of the enemy's plasma lance also suggests that they've made significant advancements in the electromagnetic fields that direct and confine the plasma flow as well as a marked increase in the powerplant's maximum sustained output. Intrasystem warp flights look to be more accurate and with a less pronounced transition flash as well."

  "What about the failure of our Shrike missiles?" Jackson asked. He'd already had his own analysts working on the issue as well as letting the Cube have the same data to work in parallel.

  "I can say with eighty-three point zero four percent certainty that the Darshik have developed a way to interfere with the guidance and control electronics on the Gen II Shrike. The sensors of this ship picked up high-powered RF bursts from the Darshik. The transmissions had the same header and encryption routine as your own targeting updates at low-power initially before the high-power burst that follows."

  "Which ensures the C&C antennas are still coupled on the missile's guidance avionics," Jackson sighed. "They're supposed to be impervious to a barrage-jamming technique like that … the antennas will decouple if they're hit with a signal at a power level that can cause damage or can't be shunted to a dummy load. If they transmitted the correct encrypted packet first, the missile would be vulnerable while waiting for an update.

  "So … how tough do you think this new ship is? How does it stack up against the Nemesis?"

  "I have to make certain assumptions about the alien ship based on remote observations," the Cube said. "But given what we've seen, I think the new Darshik cruiser is an even match for the Valkyrie-class destroyer in subluminal speed and maneuverability. Taking away the advantage of your missiles, the enemy ship has a more powerful close-quarters weapon in the plasma lance, but your vessel can cause more damage over a larger area with the nine independent laser cannon batteries at your disposal.

  "To answer your question simply, Captain, I would have to say that neither ship has a clear overall performance advantage over the other."

  "At least there's a simple fix to our missile problem."

  "Indeed," the Cube agreed. "And doing so will increase your ship's odds dramatically. Perhaps I can be of assistance in developing a new encryption for your missile target update protocols."

  "Your help would be greatly appreciated," Jackson said, somewhat surprised. The Cube had always been helpful, but not necessarily forthcoming. If he had asked it to develop a new encryption routine it would have done so cheerfully, but this time it had volunteered.

  "Was there anything else?"

  "I wish to remain aboard the Nemesis until your mission is complete, Captain."

  "There is no mission currently," Jackson said.

  "There is a high probability that you will be deployed on a mission to hunt the rogue Darshik cruiser in secret, likely by Admiral Celesta Wright," the Cube said. "I believe that with me aboard the chances of your success increase by a factor of five point one. Furthermore, with the destruction of the Pontiac, and the obvious fact the Federation and CENTCOM currently has a high-level saboteur, I believe I would be safer here with you."

  "What if I'm ordered to turn you over?"

  "You have ignored such orders in the past," the Cube said. "I believe it is in the best interest of the Federation that you do so again. There is much I can do to help."

  "Such as?" Jackson asked, knowing he'd likely be sorry he did.

  "I can predict with a high degree of certainty where the Darshik cruiser will likely flee to," the Cube said. "There is also the fact that the warp drive on the Valkyrie-class destroyer is safely capable of the same intrasystem warp flights that have given the Darshik such a tactical advantage in the past. I can provide the necessary equations for your computers to perform the maneuver."

  "Why are you just now bringing this up?" Jackson asked in exasperation.

  "I have addressed this issue before. It was included in the initial design brief I provided for CENTCOM when the Valkyrie-class ship was being designed," the Cube said. "Apparently Starfleet wished to utilize the inefficient, antiquated field equations with the new drive systems I helped design."

  "Mother fu—you can actually make this ship do an accurate intrasystem hop?" Jackson asked.

  "I can," the Cube assured him.

  "Please get to work on all of that but keep it to yourself for now," Jackson said. "I'll do what I can to make sure you're left aboard, but I feel I'd be remiss if I didn't tell you that I have no intention of letting you be captured by the Darshik. Do you understand what I mean by that?"

  "I do. It's a risk I am willing to take."

  "Very well," Jackson said. "We'll talk again soon."

  He nodded to the Marines guarding the cargo hold as he walked through the hatchway, hearing it slam shut and lock behind him. In his gut he knew that keeping the Cube aboard was dangerous, but what it was dangling in front of him as incentive was extremely tempting. His crew could handle reconfiguring the Shrikes, but being able to hop around within a system like the Darshik did would give him one hell of an advantage. If the Cube wasn't bullshitting him and could actually predict where the enemy would flee to lick its wounds, they might have a chance to end this quickly and decisively. As he was contemplating just taking the Nemesis back out of the system on his own before CENTCOM could protest, his comlink chirped.

  "Go ahead, XO," he said when he saw who was contacting him.

  "Admiral Wright is on a high-speed transport on her way to us from New Sierra Platform," Chambliss said. "She's ordered us to adjust course for a rendezvous."

  So much for sneaking back out of the system.

  "Go ahead and handle it, XO," Jackson said through gritted teeth. "I'll be up shortly."

  "Aye aye, sir."

  "Impressive ship, Captain," Admiral Wright said, sitting at the head of the large table in the upper observation lounge. "I walked through the Nemesis's sister ship earlier right after the hull had been pressurized, but seeing one of the Valkyrie-class ships finished is something."

  "Thank you, Admiral," Jackson said. It was still slightly odd for him to have to defer to Celesta Wright as he had once been her mentor and superior officer. But she'd stayed in and had continued to impress the civilian leadership while he had skulked off into obscurity. He certainly wasn't resentful of her promotion, he couldn't think of a single officer more qualified to manage Black Fleet operations than Celesta and he was equally sure that he didn't want to be a flag officer at all. All of that aside, however, standing and saluting her as she came aboard and seeing the gleaming star on her shoulder boards was a bit surreal.

  "I appreciate you meeting me, Captain Wolfe," Celesta said, as if Jackson had a choice in the matter. "I had to come out here personally because, to be blunt, we have to assume even our short-range communications have been compromised. Agent Pike informed me that he has strong circumstantial evidence that the Tsuyo board is in bed with the Eastern Star Alliance."

  "The ESA?" Jackson asked, perplexed. "What the hell are they up to? My understanding was that they'd basically walled themselves off."

  "That's the general assumption," Celesta said. "They've been quite active behind the scenes, however. Given that it was a Tsuyo board member that convinced the President to stand down your mission, I refuse to believe that it's purely coincidence Pike intercepted an ESA operative meeting with the same person."


  "Which brings us to?" Jackson asked, not wanting to get sidetracked with the capital's ever-present political intrigue.

  "Admiral Pitt and I are asking you to take on the mission of finding and destroying the Darshik ship, codename Specter, on verbal orders alone," Celesta said somewhat formally. "You have the right and the ability to decline this mission and no punitive action will be taken. If you decide not to accept, the Nemesis will remain in the DeLonges System and then we'll simply hope that a go-order shakes loose from the civilian oversight."

  "Which we know it won't," Jackson sighed, seeing where the meeting was going. He was being asked to be the rogue again … to go off alone and do it himself because, despite the horrific losses during the last two wars, human politicians seemed incapable of putting aside their games.

  "I think you and I both know what my answer will be, but the blowback could be considerable, Admiral. After Jillian was caught up in that last attack it could look like I've gone off the reservation looking for revenge, and when they find out that you came out here … well, I think you can fill in the rest of the blanks."

  "We'll deal with that when it becomes an issue." Celesta waved off his concern. "The attacks have been more damaging than we've generally let on … six highly classified R&D sites wiped out, three of them before they could send out their data on a com drone. This ship needs to be stopped and we simply don't have the time to wait for Parliament to reach the same conclusion. Losing the Cube was the last straw for Admiral Pitt—what?" She broke off her train of thought at the look Jackson was unable to keep off his face.

  "I have the Cube," he said finally. It was a secret he wouldn't be able to keep from his friend and superior officer. "Danilo Jovanović was able to evacuate the device prior to the Pontiac exploding. We recovered his shuttle and then hauled ass out of the system. It's down in a secure area aboard this ship as we speak … it's also asked to remain aboard for the duration of this mission."

  "The fact everyone on New Sierra Platform that knew about it thinks it's lost could be a good thing given how high up the leaks have been," Celesta said thoughtfully. "Did it say why it wants to stay?"

  "It thinks it can help," Jackson said, leaving it at that. "So what are the mission specifics?"

  "I've already sent two resupply ships ahead to the Juwel System in anticipation that you would be coming here after the attack on the Arcadia System. They were sent under the guise of supporting Captain Barrett as he finalizes preparation for a live fire demonstration," Celesta said. "You'll be able to top off on provisions, consumables, fuel, and munitions there without CENTCOM wondering why a destroyer is being outfitted for a long-duration mission. What I can't provide, unfortunately, is an escort or contingency force. If you get in trouble, you're on your own. We don't know the strength of the remaining Darshik fleet, so this isn't a danger to be taken lightly."

  "When do you want us to depart?" Jackson asked after a moment of contemplation.

  "Immediately," Celesta said. "The sooner the Nemesis is out of this system the better. My movements are tracked, so it will be obvious that we're up to something, but by the time my runabout gets back to the Platform and someone in CENTCOM comes to inquire about it you'll be long gone."

  "Very well," Jackson said, standing. "We'll be departing the system as soon as your ship clears our wake, Admiral." It was an inaccurate term that had begun popping back up in the lexicon among spacers referring to the buffeting smaller ships experienced when flying near RDS-propelled starships.

  "I'll insulate you from my side, Captain," Celesta said. "You're acting in good faith on verbal orders from a superior officer within your direct chain of command. So long as you avoid any Fleet installations along the way to the Frontier, you'll have plausible deniability of any wrongdoing."

  "Here's to the both of us staying out of a Fleet brig," Jackson said, lifting his water glass in an ironic toast.

  While he was escorting Celesta back to the airlock, he called ahead and had Danilo Jovanović, his tech, and the shuttle pilot all escorted down as well. The ship was now heading into certain battle, and with his ability to talk to the Cube directly, he didn't need them aboard. Danilo protested bitterly, wanting to remain and be a part of the mission, but in the end Jackson was able to convince him to return to the New Sierra Platform with Celesta Wright.

  He genuinely liked his former assistant and knew Danilo was deeply hurt by Jackson demanding he be taken off the ship, but for all his outstanding qualities the man was a civilian and had no place on a ship of war that would be flying into the face of the enemy soon. Jackson assured him that his name would figure prominently when the history of the Darshik conflict was written, and that Admiral Wright would make sure he was given an opportunity to continue to serve in an administrative capacity.

  Jackson had almost requested that Amiri Essa and his NOVA team be taken off the ship since they'd had no use for the special forces operators after leaving New Sierra the last time, but something nagged at him that they might be needed before the battle was over, so he left them where they were for the time being.

  Even though Celesta's orders were a technicality, he did feel marginally better about flying out knowing he wasn't in full defiance of CENTCOM this time. He wouldn't have the support of a full squadron, but he was being given the chance to see if he could eliminate the Specter threat by catching the rogue ship out in open space alone. If he met up with the remainder of the Darshik fleet in one area, all bets were off. Even as capable as the Nemesis was proving to be, it was a fight that he wouldn't be able to take on and expect to win.

  Reading between the lines from his conversation with Celesta, he knew that in order for them all to walk away from the mission politically unscathed he had to come back with a victory. He understood her orders to mean that he wasn't to get himself overextended and into a no-win situation. As he walked onto the bridge, he had to admit that it wasn't likely a shipmaster as skilled as the Specter would allow Jackson in close enough without having backup or an easy escape route.

  "Report," he said, walking onto the bridge.

  "Admiral Wright's runabout has cleared the area, sir," Commander Chambliss reported. "We're clear to maneuver."

  "Very good," Jackson said. "Nav, plot a course to the Juwel jump point. Helm, all ahead full when you receive it."

  "All engines ahead full, aye," the helmsman said, pushing the throttle up once the new course came up on his display.

  "Juwel System, sir?"

  "I'll explain it all in good time, XO," Jackson assured him. "But for now, rest assured that we're operating under orders from Black Fleet Chief of Operations and it would be in our best interests to get out of this system as quickly as possible."

  16

  "That's the last of it. The resupply ship reports they're beginning decoupling procedures now."

  "Thank you, OPS," Commander Chambliss said. "Inform the captain that we're about fully loaded and will be able to get underway within a few hours."

  "Aye, sir."

  The Nemesis had been flying along a wide arc within the Juwel System for nearly two full days as three separate resupply ships performed the delicate rendezvous and docking procedures, unloading all the fuel, munitions, air, water, food, and spare equipment the destroyer would need for a long duration mission.

  Chambliss wasn't especially excited about taking a relatively untested new class of ship on such a long cruise, but the chance to try and take out the rogue Darshik ship was one he didn't want to miss out on. He would be second in command to one of the most decorated combat captains in the history of Starfleet and riding aboard the most powerful destroyer-class starship humans had ever built. It would be a mission for the history books.

  During the flight out to Juwel, Captain Wolfe had disclosed the nature of their orders to his senior staff and bridge officers as well as introduced them personally to a machine he called the Cube. They learned what it was and where it came from and, more importantly, what it was capable of. Some of th
e officers were understandably leery of a piece of alien tech being onboard at all, much less providing direct support to the munitions and engineering crews.

  "Sir, I have a video channel request coming in from a Black Fleet assault carrier … the Aludra Star," Lieutenant Makers said.

  "Put it through, Lieutenant," Jackson said, startling Chambliss slightly as he stormed onto the bridge.

  "Coming through now, Captain," Makers said. "Seven-second com lag."

  "Captain Barrett!" Jackson said once the video resolved. "I'd heard you were out here … it's good to see you. What's my old ship and former tactical officer doing out here on the Frontier?"

  "Captain Wolfe," Barrett said a few seconds later, smiling from ear to ear. "That is a truly vicious-looking ship you're flying. The Star is out here conducting the final live fire trials for the Starburst system. The drone sleds have proven themselves in simulations and with dummy missiles, so now we're firing live Shrikes."

  "They're letting you fire off hundreds of Shrikes for a test?" Jackson was incredulous. The Federation had a serious shortage of refined, fissile material since most of the old Confederate enrichment plants were in what was now the ESA. The nuclear warheads in the Shrike ship-buster missiles were so precious that they had standing orders to recover any that didn't hit their targets and went back into safe mode.

  "No, sir," Barrett said. "CENTCOM provided us with Shrike II missiles loaded with H.E. warheads. The explosions will closely enough mimic a nuke detonation that our sensors will be able to track hits and misses."

  "And what are you shooting at?" Jackson asked.

  "A lot of the wreckage in the outer system from the Battle of Juwel has been pushed onto random vectors. We'll be engaging that. What brings the Nemesis out this far?"

  "You probably don't want to know," Jackson said with a humorless laugh.

  "Ah … I see," Barrett said knowingly. "It's always a pleasure to speak with you again, sir. Happy hunting … Star out."