Talosian Chronicles 3: Talosian Alliance Page 23

  “Major, at this point if they can see us, we are dead anyway. Once we leave the surface of this rock, they’ll have us on their scanners.”

  “You’re right. Do you think we should just stay here then?”

  “I do not know. I think our chances are about the same either way. But if we stay here, and play dead, we may have a better chance if we need to surprise them. I also feel that we should at least report in. Command will think we are destroyed,” Sasha replied.

  "Did the boys get the transmitter fixed?" Cindy asked.

  "Da, Sam replaced the antenna array before going out to help Lissa with the Sensor Pod. Jerry had to replace the amplifiers and attenuator circuits. The self-tests show it as fixed," Sasha replied. "However, the IFF system is completely fried. It'll have to be replaced."

  “If we call anyone, it’d be like sending up a flare,” Cindy said. “I wonder... Hurry, come up out of there! We don’t have much time!”

  “Huh? Okay, what are you planning?” Sasha asked. But Cindy had already hurried back to the main cabin.

  Mumbling to herself about crazy women, Sasha hurried after her. Cindy was already calling up images and asking the computer for data.

  “Sasha, what’s the E.T.A. on our visitors?”

  “About nine minutes, Major. Whatever you do, it better be fast,” the woman said after checking the clock on the bulkhead.

  “Okay. Computer: Record the following and compile with ships logs for burst transmission to Star Dancer. Notify when ready. Okay folks listen up: Sam, Jerry, You two unpack that class 6 nuke, set it outside, and get it armed. The rest of you, battle stations, and strap in tight, once I send this transmission we will be blasting out of here as fast as this buggy can go. Move!” Cindy said.

  “Transmission ready.” The computer announced.

  “Stand by.” Cindy said as her crew scrambled to carry out her orders. She followed Sasha and Lissa to the cockpit.

  Three minutes later the men reported ready.

  “Damocles; emergency acceleration on my mark. Transmit message now!” as she launched from the surface under full throttle. The Raptor shook and shuddered but quickly broke free of the gravitational pull of the planetoid.

  “Transmission complete.” Reported the computer.

  “Enemy is changing course to intercept. E.T.A. now one minute!” Lissa called out.

  “Full emergency acceleration - NOW!” Cindy ordered.

  TDF Star Dancer

  System entry/deceleration vector

  Rataac sector, Beta Hydri system

  Commander Jennifer Williams, Commanding

  "Communications, try to hail the Damocles. Operations, let's get the search craft launched," Jenny ordered. "John, please contact the Summer Dawn, let them know we have arrived, and will be beside them shortly. I'm sure Chief Dommer would appreciate a situation report too. Yellow alert!"

  Ian walked out on the bridge as she had been giving orders, and Jenny stood to offer him her chair. He waved her back to it. "Time to see what happened to our lost sheep!"

  "I am not detecting their IFF module, however, I am detecting an active AI unit," Star replied. "I am continuing to scan."

  "Thank you Major," Ian said nodding to her. "From the information we got, the IFF module could be burned out."

  It was a little known side effect of the powerful computer systems that they could always detect if one of their own was near-by, but could not get direction or distance.

  "AI connection is being blocked, which is in accordance to Raptor protocols," Star replied. "It is possible that the transmitters on the ship are damaged as well,"

  "If it didn't outright destroy the ship, which we know it didn't, what would be the type of damage it would take from direct hits by ion weaponry?" Ian asked.

  The Engineering officer, turned to answer Ian. "Sir, we are still learning the nuances of the Enigma armor developed by Dr. Benson. However, from what we do know, ion weaponry would severely load the armor, potentially to the point of overload. However, since we know that did not happen, a near overload condition is the next, most likely outcome. That could, and should, have an adverse effect on every system connected to the armor as a secondary power supply.

  "The list of unaffected systems would be shorter; basically just life support and core power for the AI. However, with no way to control the life support, it would be undamaged, but taken offline. The AI core would retain integrity, but also would be put in stand-by mode. It would be like it was knocked unconscious.

  "On a Raptor, virtually every other system has the armor as a redundant or tertiary power system. Damage would range from complete destruction of the system in question, to simple fried circuit boards. Provided the replicator system was undamaged, the crew should be able to make most repairs, given enough time to do so," the man finished.

  Star agreed with him. "Lieutenant Joslin is correct, Admiral. Currently, Imperial ion weaponry is the most damaging weapon that can be used against a craft equipped with the Enigma armor. Laser weapons are higher energy, however, it is 'deflectable' by the armor. Ion weapons, which are little more than a lower power, unfocused, energy beam, are not as easily deflected."

  "According to my briefing on Imperial tactics, they tend to use ion weapons extensively. Has there been any research done to counter this effect?" Ian asked.

  "Research is being done into various types of energy sinks and supplemental storage units. However, the armor was originally designed to be used on larger ships that would have the ability to absorb and use the extra influx of power. On the smaller craft, there is simply no place for the energy to go that will burn it off quickly enough. It is quite possible that had a shadow fighter been hit by these beams, it would have been destroyed instantly," Star replied.

  Ian opened a channel to his aide. "Mel, issue a general grounding order for all Raptors effective on the completion of their current missions. All currently unassigned craft equipped with Enigma armor are to be placed on hold until there is an acceptable counter to the overload issues derived from Imperial ion weaponry. I'll have to think up a way to get the deployed Shadow fighters taken care of, but for right now, we need them to be deployed."

  "Understood, Sir, Do you want me to issue a stop work order to Pleiades and Mars where they are installing the armor?" Mel asked.

  "Good idea, yes, do that, please. I'll get back with you on this as soon as we get out of here," Ian replied.

  "Ten minutes to rendezvous, Commander," Chekhov said, making minor corrections to their course. "Do you want to dock, or just come along side?"

  Before Jenny could answer, Ian did. "Just alongside, Chekhov, I want us to be able to break away and fight if we need to."

  "Aye Admiral, alongside it is." Chekhov replied, while Ian winked at Jenny in apology for stepping on her toes.

  "Message received from Damocles! Damocles located!" one of the tracking officers reported excitedly. "Her IFF is offline!"

  "You want to check out the message while I call her?" Ian asked.

  "Sure, but let me know she's safe and okay?" Jenny asked.

  Ian nodded, and moved over to an extra console. Bringing up the Raptor command channel, he couldn't help but smile in relief. "Guardian to Damocles, we see you! What's your condition?"

  "Star Dancer??" Cindy called. "Oh fuck! Sasha! Disarm that nuke! Star Dancer, recall your ships! Hurry!"

  Ian quickly changed channels. "All ships, this is Guardian, emergency recall! Get back to the ship now! I repeat, emergency recall!"

  No acknowledgment of the order was needed, or expected. It was simple, each fighters computer knew where 'home' was at all times and maintained a jump plot for it. All a pilot had to do was tell it to jump, which all of them did. It was an emergency protocol in the event a fighter had to get back to the ship in the shortest possible time. The Centurions turned around, but would have to plot a jump before it could return. They were close enough that by the time the plot was finished, it would be useless to jump.

/>   "Okay, we cleared the ships, Damocles, care to tell me why?" Ian asked.

  "We explained it in the data burst, Guardian. But we thought you to be hostile, and looking for us, we left a present for you on that little planetoid," Cindy explained.

  Ian thought about it, an explosion of sufficient size would have been devastating to the fighters 'chasing' the Damocles.

  "Good plan. I hope you understand when I tell you I'm thankful it wasn't needed," Ian replied.

  "Me too, now I don't have to fill out the paperwork justifying the use of a nuke!" Cindy replied.

  "What's your status, Damocles?" Ian asked.

  "Moderately fucked up, Guardian. Sasha took some eye damage, but the autodoc got her fixed up. Lissa was knocked unconscious, but has since recovered. The Raptor took damage to almost every system. We managed to get enough repaired to get our asses back in space, but we can't jump. We managed to replace the laser generators, but the replication/reload system for the mass drivers is completely destroyed. We had to patch the engines, but they seem to be working pretty well. Care to give a girl a ride home?" Cindy reported.

  "We sure will, Damocles. We are currently assisting the Summer Dawn to complete repairs and can't leave yet. Can you make it to us?" Ian asked.

  "I think so, we've already adjusted course. We should be there in just over an hour," Cindy replied.

  "That should work, see you then, Damocles," Ian replied. "We'll set a place for you at dinner."

  "Thanks Guardian, I'm looking forward to it. Damocles, out."

  TDF Star Dancer

  High orbit, sixth planet

  Rataac sector, Beta Hydri system

  Commander Jennifer Williams, Commanding

  "The Summer Dawn should be repaired enough to make the jump home in about twenty minutes," Jenny reported as she entered Ian's ready room. "The Damocles will be landing in about ten minutes."

  Ian nodded, "Excellent. We should be able to get out of here shortly after the Benesian's jump."

  "Good, I'm getting a bad feeling the longer we stay here," Jenny replied.

  Knowing that she shared Janet's precognitive ability, that got Ian's attention. "How so?"

  Jenny shook her head in frustration. "It's not a vision, or anything like that, just a feeling that something bad is about to happen."

  "Do you think a heightened defensive posture is warranted?" Ian asked.

  "I would if I had any idea where the threat is coming from," Jenny said. "It's frustrating as hell, knowing something bad is going to happen, but not knowing what or where!"

  Ian could only nod in agreement, since he had no idea what she was feeling. "Let's stay on Yellow alert then. Have operations arm the Centurions for ship to ship combat and send them out to monitor the system. Swap out the Wasps for Shadows, but warn the incoming pilots that they might be called back."

  Jenny nodded and left the room. Ian knew better than to dismiss what Jenny told him, but he made damn sure she didn't see how much her admission had bothered him. Of course, she had not been with him when Admiral Goya called him back and they discussed the current situation and the possible reasons for the Imperial ship to have been in the system to begin with.

  Goya agreed with Ian's belief that the Summer Dawn had not been that ship's primary mission, but could not believe that the Empire was up to anything major in that system. But Ian knew they had been. Why would they even care about Alliance troop movements this far from the fight?

  Twenty minutes later, Star Dancer was escorting the Summer Dawn to her jump point when Ian's fears were realized.

  "Sir! Multiple inbound jump points forming in the inner system! Computer is still calculating it, but we're looking at an enhanced fleet in size, probably larger," the operation's officer monitoring the scanner reported. Ian knew the message was for the bridge, but they had included him so he knew what was going on.

  Ian opened a channel to the Summer Dawn. "Captain, we have a lot of company arriving, and I don't think their friendly. You need to leave, now."

  The Benesian Captain looked surprised, and then scared as what Ian told her registered. "At once Admiral! Thank you again for your assistance. Summer Dawn is jumping in ten seconds."

  "Safe journey Summer Dawn, Star Dancer out," Ian said. Jenny had called red alert and all of the great ship's battle systems came online.

  He gave her a quick call. "Jen, I'm going to call ARC and see if they want to do something about this. I'll be out in a minute!" ARC stood for Alliance of Races Command. Since this was happening in Benesian Space, ARC had responsibility for protecting this sector.

  "Good luck! I'm telling the Centurions to just watch and wait for now. They'll see us and the Summer Dawn when she jumps, but it'll take them some time to get to us out here," Jenny replied.

  "Actually, tell the Centurions to jump back. I want us to get the hell out of here as fast as we can," Ian said. "Thank Bob for your intuition!"

  "Well, while you're thanking him, tell him to get our asses out of this!" Jenny said.

  "Do we have any readings on what's come a-callin'?" Ian asked. "I'm sure the powers that be will want to know."

  "Oh yeah, we've got readings that'll give you nightmares for a month. Four battleships, two carriers, nine heavy cruisers, over twenty light cruisers and destroyers, a shipyard, and another massive monster that scans as a really big ore refinery and processing facility. There's still more jumping in. It looks like you were right, they're going to turn this into a supply/support base. They certainly have the firepower to support it," Jenny said. "I'll make sure the data feed is available to you."

  "Thanks Jen." Ian switched channels. "Mel, I need to speak to someone in Operations at the Alliance of Races High Command. Priority Immediate."

  "Yes Sir, I'll see who I can get," Mel replied.

  "When you’re finished, you might want to come in here for a bit. Things are going to get a little hairy," Ian said.

  Mel nodded, and cut the call. Ian knew she was already placing the call to Alliance Command. Moments later, Mel walked in the room. "Sir, I have Fleet Commander Alisair ip Ree on the comm for you." She moved to his conference table and began setting herself up to carry out his orders.

  Ian opened the channel to see a dark skinned humanoid with a big nose and bark like skin. Remembering his manners, Ian bowed. "Greetings Force Commander, thank you for taking my call."

  The being also bowed. "I return greetings of my own to you, Admiral. What can the Alliance do you for this day?"

  "I must apologize, but I am calling with grave information for the Alliance. An Imperial task force has arrived in the Beta Hydri System of the Rataac Sector. I am forwarding a data feed to you for your analysis," Ian replied.

  The being bobbed his head. "We had heard you had responded to the distress of the Benesian liner. This is most troubling information, Admiral. If possible, could we trouble you to remain on station long enough to record everything that arrives? In this way would be better informed in our response,"

  Ian nodded. "We'll remain as long as possible, Fleet Commander. If possible, we will also leave monitors in this system."

  "That would be very much appreciated, Admiral. For information purposes only, can you confirm that you are armed with gravimetric weapons?" the being asked, shocking Ian. Across the room, even Mel looked up from her work to stare at Ian.

  "Yes, Fleet Commander, we do carry those weapons. However, we are very loath to use them. I would have to do some checking, but, considering the proximity of several inhabited systems, I believe the use of one of those weapons would be, at best, inadvisable," Ian replied.

  The being made a face that Ian could assume was a smile. "It is never good to use one of those weapons, Admiral. I asked so I could get a feel for the type of person you are. I apologize if I have offended you."

  Ian sighed inwardly. "I understand, no offense was taken."

  "I will alert the appropriate commands as to this move by the Empire. May we call on you again if more informat
ion is needed?" Alisair ip Ree asked.

  "I will assist as I can, Fleet Commander. This is very close to my own home system," Ian replied.

  "Agreed, the proximity to yours as well as the Benesian home systems is very troubling," the being said. "We will act on this shortly, you may expect to hear from us on this in short order, Admiral. On behalf of the Alliance, I thank you for bringing this to us."

  "It is my duty, Fleet Commander. I'll look forward to the call," Ian replied.

  The being again bowed and ended the call.

  "That was interesting," Ian replied.

  "Not as interesting as it is going to get if we have to stick around here much longer," Mel said. "I think they need you on the bridge, Sir."

  Chapter Seventeen

  Phoenix Base

  Admiral Goya's Quarters

  Selene, Earth's Moon

  Sol System, Sol Sector

  Goya answered the door to a very agitated Brekka.

  "Is there a problem, Captain?" he asked.

  "Sir, I'm sorry to bother you, but it looks like Admiral Williams was correct. A huge fleet has just dropped out of hyperspace in the Beta Hydri System. The Star Dancer is seriously outnumbered," the young woman replied. Using her tablet, she made the data she was getting come up on the big monitor in the living room.

  "Oh shit!" Goya exclaimed. "One of these days, I'm going to learn to listen to that man!"

  "He has followed protocol and informed ARC of the situation. They are acting on it," Brekka replied. "Mel is sending this to us."

  Goya nodded. "Where are the Pegasus and the Zephyr?"

  She accessed something else on her tablet, and answered him. "Twenty nine hours from the sector boundary, thirty-one hours from arrival here."

  "Would it help Ian at all if we diverted them to Beta Hydri?" Goya asked, talking mostly to himself.

  "Sir, Alliance Command asked Admiral Williams to stay in-system as long as possible to monitor what arrives. As soon as it gets too hot for him, he will be leaving," Brekka replied.

  Goya nodded. "Okay, so we'll leave the Pegasus and Zephyr on course for now then, is there anything else we can do to assist?" He put his chin in one hand as was his habit when thinking. "Damn, the only forces we have that could move to support him are house ships. Did the Summer Dawn get out of there before the fleet arrived?"