Destroyer (Expansion Wars Trilogy, Book 3) Read online

  "Nose up ten degrees, all ahead flank, aye."

  "Range?"

  "Two hundred and twenty," Accari said. "Closure rate is—"

  "Fire forward laser batteries, full spread," Jackson interrupted. "Put the beams right on his nose."

  "Firing," Accari said, sounding doubtful.

  "I know we're out of range, Tactical … I just want to give him a light show when the beams hit his forward sensors," Jackson said. "We can't let him score a direct hit with that lance and we're too close to break off and open the range. Helm! Prepare to come hard starboard and go to full emergency acceleration on my mark."

  "Aye, sir."

  "Tactical, bring the mag-cannons to bear," Jackson ordered. "I want the shells heading straight for his bow."

  "Targeting enemy ship's nose with both turrets."

  "Lateral stagger pattern, sixteen shots at half-second intervals. Fire!" Jackson said.

  Accari executed his firing script and both mag-cannon turrets gimbaled over and began pumping out ferrous shells at a rate of one every half a second. The cannons spit out a wall of iron death that wasn't easily overcome with countermeasures or point-defense fire. Jackson knew that at the current range the enemy commander could easily dodge the incoming fire, but he would be limited to moving up or down relative to the engagement. Jackson had already angled the Nemesis up, so he was now dictating the terms of the opening shots by forcing the Specter to dive under.

  "Missiles one and three have been defeated by—Missile two scored a hit!" Hori said. "CIC battle damage assessment coming through now. Missile four has gone offline."

  "Damage was minimal to moderate," the Cube said. "The Shrike hit at an angle and wasn't able to penetrate. It bounced off and exploded, damaging missile ports along the enemy's starboard side. No hull breaches."

  "At least we know your new encryption routine works," Jackson said. "Tactical, stand by for the next salvo. Two missiles. Helm, disregard previous instructions. Reduce engine power to zero and when I give the word go to full emergency power along our current course."

  "Engines to one-half, aye. Standing by."

  The ships had crossed the one-hundred-thousand-kilometer mark and the gap was shrinking fast.

  "Enemy ship is angling down relative," Hori called out. "All mag-cannon shots will miss."

  "Fire Shrikes!"

  "Shrikes away!"

  The closure rate was so fast Jackson could barely keep up. The Shrikes streaked away from the Nemesis and then dove down towards the enemy ship.

  "Helm, now!" Jackson said.

  An instant later he was slammed back into his seat as the RDS surged to full power, sending the destroyer rocketing away from the engagement.

  "Enemy ship is rotating," the Cube said. "Brace for impact."

  Jackson knew what it meant. The son of a bitch was rotating around and would angle up as the ships crossed so he could put that lance right into the ass end of the Nemesis. He felt like he'd—

  BOOM!

  "Impact!" Hori shouted over the blaring alarms. "Direct hit on the aft quadrant. Damage control teams are—"

  "Missile impact!" Accari yelled out over top of her. "Single Shrike made it through, impact on the port side … unknown damage."

  "I'm losing engine power!" Healy called from the helm.

  "Engineering says we only have forty-percent drive power right now," Hori said, killing the alarm.

  "Enemy ship is still moving under power along their original flight path," Accari said. "CIC reports one secondary explosion and venting atmosphere from the port outrigger."

  "Where's the second ship?" Jackson asked.

  "It left the area," Accari reported. "Still tracking it as it moves off towards the outer system. No change in velocity or course."

  "Do we have a damage estimate yet?" Commander Chambliss asked.

  "Aft RDS array was knocked offline, power systems to aft point-defense and missile launchers is degraded, three minor outer hull breaches," Hori read off her updated list. "No casualties, nine injuries, three of them serious."

  "The enemy only scored a glancing shot with the plasma lance," the Cube said. "The Shrike missile impact occurred before the ship could continue to adjust its attitude to put the beam fully on the Nemesis."

  "Any idea what we hit in that outrigger?" Jackson asked.

  "Spectrometer readings of the vented gas indicate it was not Darshik atmosphere," the Cube said. "It was mostly ammonia vapor."

  "Maybe an auxiliary cooling system?" Chambliss guessed. "It's an antiquated but effective way to do it."

  "Cube, continue your analysis and give me a report of what we might have hit," Jackson said. He was watching the display as both Darshik ships continued to fly away from the Nemesis. It was obvious that the Specter wasn't accelerating as hard as it was capable of, nor was it circling back for another shot at them. They were safe for the moment as the Nemesis limped along at less than half her engine power.

  "Let's disappear. Tactical, passives only and shut down all laser emitters. OPS, we're now under strict emission security. Tell Engineering that I'm on my way down to look at the damage. XO, go ahead and plot us a course out of the area and preferably away from those two ships. We'll go lick our wounds and try this again."

  "Aye, sir."

  In the opening round he had scored an unanswered hit on the Specter. In this second engagement they had bloodied each other's noses, but nobody landed a crippling hit. He felt he could have performed a bit better by not continuing to follow the decoy into what became an obvious trap, but he now knew a lot more about what the enemy's new ship was capable of. Frankly, it was impressive, but he didn't feel he was overmatched in a one-on-one fight. The trick would be to try and keep it that way.

  20

  "It's not as bad as it looked at first, Cap'n," Commander Walsh was saying as he waved at the crews clambering around the massive drive components. It was unbearably hot within the chamber and there was a pervading smell of ozone.

  "The aft field emitter array went into thermal protection mode when the hull was heated by the plasma shot the enemy gave us. The system worked as it should have, so as far as we can tell there was no actual damage to the array … we just need to complete our inspection procedures and then bring it back online."

  "How long?" Jackson asked, having to shout to be heard over the sounds of electric power tools and groaning machinery.

  "Six hours, tops," Walsh said.

  "You have three," Jackson said firmly. "Are we clear to fire the MPDs if we need the extra push?"

  "Yes, sir," Walsh said. If he was flustered or frustrated by Jackson cutting his time budget in half, he didn't show it. "Powerplant is still purring like a kitten … plenty of juice to run the RDS in low-power mode and start building up plasma in the MPD chambers if you want.

  "I have crews assisting the armament backshop getting power restored to the aft weaponry. It was another thermal overload issue that blew out two power distribution modules. We have spares coming up and will be in place within the hour."

  "Excellent," Jackson said, nodding with approval as they sidestepped to avoid a distracted technician coming past them wrestling with a high-pressure coolant line patch that was as big around as the young man's leg.

  "And the hull breaches?"

  "Structure backshop is prepping to head out now with the patch kit," Walsh said. "The breaches are small and close together where the outer hull thins out near the heat exchanger ports. The resin kits will do a fine job of patching her up until we get back to port."

  "Very good, Commander," Jackson said with one last look around. "I'll leave you to it."

  As he walked out of the chamber that allowed access to the aft drive emitter array, he heard Walsh fill the air with an obscenity-laced tirade and had a pang of nostalgia for crewmembers lost. His best friend and one of the finest starship engineers he'd ever met, Daya Singh, had been killed in action during the Phage War. There wasn't a day that went by when he didn't feel t
he weight of the guilt he carried for the man's death. It had hit him especially hard during his wedding when Daya hadn't been there to stand with him and then again at the birth of his twins.

  Another man they’d lost recently was Master Chief Green, a salty, no-nonsense old-school spacer that didn't subscribe to the newer, gentler Fleet philosophy regarding motivation. If spacers weren't diving for cover to hide when he approached, he felt he wasn't doing his job right. Green had died planetside in a hospital bed after a climbing accident; a more unfitting death for the career spacer Jackson couldn't imagine. At his family's request and per Green's will, there was a small urn with some of his ashes with Jackson's personal effects in his quarters. It was because Green "wanted at least a part of him to still fly with the toughest son of a bitch to ever dare call himself a destroyerman" and "he'd be fucking damned if Wolfe left port for adventure without him aboard." Jackson had accepted the plain urn, fittingly made of starship hull alloy, barely holding back the tears.

  Jackson had barely known Walsh before the Nemesis left port, but he saw that there was something about his casual competence around the machinery that made the ship go, coupled with his unrefined, often coarse nature that seemed to embody both departed friends. At first he’d found the casual profanity from a senior officer nerve-grating and unprofessional, but now he actually seemed to take some comfort from it.

  "Bridge, Wolfe … we have an update on either bogey?" Jackson asked into his comlink after he'd walked far enough away from the workspace to hear himself think.

  "Still tracking the first ship along the same course," Chambliss's voice came back. "We've lost track of the Specter, but CIC reports they may have detected a transition flash out along the perimeter. The Cube is analyzing the data now."

  "Copy that," Jackson said. "They may have left the system or this could be another ruse. Keep sharp … I'll be up shortly. Wolfe out."

  Jackson took a left, went up two decks with Sergeant Castillo in tow, and made a line for the secure hold the Cube was sitting in. He could just as easily talk to the machine over his comlink, but there was something about face to face communication even when one party didn't technically have a face.

  "Hello, Captain," the Cube said as he walked in. "Is there something I can help you with?"

  "You're still helping CIC with sensor data analysis?" Jackson asked.

  "Yes. However, I can still talk to you at the same time without difficulty.”

  "What are your thoughts on the engagement? I want an unvarnished opinion."

  "You realized that the Nemesis was likely flying into a trap too late," the Cube began. "Once you did, you took fast, decisive action … but it was also predictable. Attacking the ship you were already bearing down on was the most likely thing you could do. It seems likely that the two lesser ships we fought were not crewed given that the first flew directly into your missiles and the second seems to be flying aimlessly out of the system without a thought to running or hiding."

  "And when we blew up the first, the second one didn't bother coming to investigate," Jackson said. "We assumed the radio transmissions we picked up were from the second ship, but that's probably not the case."

  "Agreed," the Cube said. "There's a ninety-two point—"

  "Just round up to integers, please," Jackson interrupted.

  "Ninety-two percent probability that the signal originated from the Specter or a remote transmission site," the Cube went on. "Once you closed with the enemy, your unorthodox tactics of screening the Nemesis behind mag-cannon shells while angling up seemed to confuse the Specter, but it recovered quickly and was still able to bring its primary weapon to bear. Luck was on your side and the Nemesis suffered only a glancing blow that still caused significant, but repairable damage. We now know not to underestimate the plasma lance this ship carries."

  "Conclusions?"

  "The Specter commander seems as skilled and imaginative as you," the Cube said. "The ships also appear to be an even match overall. This will not be an easy or quick victory for you, Captain Wolfe."

  "Fair enough," Jackson said. "Now … the real reason I'm down here. How certain are you that you can safely implement the new field equations into the warp drive controllers to perform intrasystem warp-hops?"

  "One hundred percent," the Cube said immediately. "The caveat is that number uses a normal warp transition as a baseline. The intrasystem jump will be at least as safe as any other warp flight this ship would perform."

  "Which is inherently unsafe. I get it," Jackson said. "We need an edge … something this enemy has never seen before from a Terran ship. Go ahead and get the modifications packaged up and ready … I'll let you know when and if to load them."

  "Of course, Captain."

  Jackson turned and left without another word. The idea of being able to implement the new warp-hopping ability as a software patch was so very tempting, but his enthusiasm was tempered by the risks. Implementing a new, untested change to a starship's warp drive was a good way to get all of its—and its crew's—molecules extruded out into space as one long stream. While it would certainly be a painless death, it would also be a pointless death.

  "CIC confirms that the transition flash belonged to the Specter, Captain," Commander Chambliss said as Jackson walked onto the bridge.

  "And the other ship is still moving along the same course?"

  "Yes, sir," Accari spoke up. "No change in course or speed. Scratch that, it is being affected by the pull of the small gas giant it’s crossing paths with."

  "Ignore it," Jackson said. "That all but confirms that it's an unmanned decoy. OPS, has Engineering reported in?"

  "They're getting ready to begin testing, sir," Hori said. "Commander Walsh said that he expects to meet your deadline."

  "Nav, plot course to the Epsilon jump point," Jackson said. "Helm, all ahead one-quarter until we get the rest of our engine power back. We'll be at a crawl, but we'll be moving in the right direction."

  "Engines ahead one-quarter, aye."

  "By the time we reach the jump point we should be back to full mission capable," Jackson said to Chambliss. "We have to assume that the Specter is heading back to his last stronghold. It's worth a shot to go there and try to dig him out."

  "Agreed, sir," Chambliss said. "We didn't come all this way to run home when we scrape a knee. How much fleet strength do you think the Darshik military has left?"

  "Sadly, we know less about their numbers than we do about the ESA fleet," Jackson said. "CIS tells me it could be as few as a handful of cruisers or up to a few dozen consolidated within that single star system."

  "Typical," Chambliss snorted.

  "We do have something that may give us an edge, but I wanted to discuss it with you first," Jackson said. "What would you say if I told you there was a way the Nemesis could perform the same intrasystem warp hops the enemy does?"

  "I'd ask if you'd been drinking and why you're holding out on me, sir," Chambliss said, his joke falling flat. "But that isn't possible … is it?"

  "The hardware is designed to do it," Jackson said. "But for some reason, likely timidity, Fleet stuck with the antiquated field equations and just upped the power output to achieve a higher stable warp velocity."

  "That doesn't really—"

  "The Cube has the new, updated field equations for our warp drive that would not only increase our drive efficiency and speed between systems, but would also allow us to jump around accurately within a system."

  "That's quite a risk, sir," Chambliss said carefully. "You haven't authorized this yet, have you?"

  "No … nor will I on our flight out to the Epsilon System," Jackson said. "But it's something to keep in mind. If we get our back against the wall, it would be something we could use that would be completely unexpected."

  "Indeed it would … especially for Starfleet," Chambliss said.

  True to Commander Walsh's word, the Nemesis had full engine power back within three hours and her aft weaponry back shortly after that. Jack
son cancelled general quarters but kept the bridge and CIC on a heightened state of alert. He'd learned early on that the stress of prolonged combat engagements, even during the long pauses where the ship was being repositioned, wore a crew's proficiency down to a nub. The Nemesis was faster and able to get in and out of engagements quicker than his previous commands, but the reality of space combat was that it took days and weeks to cross the billions of kilometers even once you arrived within a star system.

  While the Nemesis continued her half-speed crawl towards their jump point, Jackson used the time to get his crew calmed and rested, make sure the ship was at one hundred percent, and talk to his chief engineer and XO about implementing the new software into their warp drive control avionics. Commander Walsh surprised Jackson by being the most open of the pair to the idea. He requested that he be able to review the new equations and control algorithms on the flight to the Epsilon System and promised Jackson that by the time they transitioned in he'd be able to give his approval or protest for the plan.

  By the time they were ready to leave the system, Jackson, while not particularly liking the delay, felt the crew and ship were as ready as they could be. Not for the first time he wished that it wasn't left up to this crew to try and eliminate the Specter threat singlehandedly. If CENTCOM, and by extension the civilian oversight, would have taken things more seriously they'd have already invaded the Epsilon System with a full taskforce led by their battleships with all of the accompanying fleet that came with it. They could have smashed the Darshik war machine in one decisive move once they found out just how depleted they were from the Ushin. Now? Now it was up to one destroyer crew to run the gauntlet and try to knock out a single ship that was causing them so much trouble. To make matters more grim, their return to Terran space wouldn't be a hero's welcome and the senior staff would likely face severe disciplinary action.

  No good deed, as the saying goes.