A Faded Star (19 page)

 When Hanlon returned to the bridge, Drogue was sitting
just as she'd left him, slumped and nearly asleep in the command chair. Despite
his obvious weariness, he was still giving out orders in a firm voice.
Lieutenant Watkins was still on the bridge as well. Unlike Drogue, however, he
was animatedly working at his console.

 Hanlon relieved Drogue, and once he'd left the bridge
to turn in, she addressed the young science officer. “Mister Watkins, what are
you still doing here? Isn't tonight your turn for midnight shift?”

 “Yes, ma'am, but I'm still working on the simulation
computer. I've set it up to make it look like we've been cheating all along. If
the alliance is truly responsible for nearly destroying the human race, I want
them to underestimate us at every turn. A bit of extra misinformation may make
the story more believable.”

 “I see. What specifically have you done?”

 “I set up the simulation computer to accidentally send
the alliance flag ship a data packet that shows pre-modification values for our
hull strength and weapon power. Then a second data packet will be sent with our
actual values. I did this in a way that makes it look like they were meant to
be the same data packet, but one was accidentally sent out instead of the
other. To any alliance system technician or operations officer, this should
stick out immediately when they run a post exercise analysis. I think they'll
seize on it as a way of 'proving'-” he actually made air quotes before dropping
his hands back to his console, “-that we've been cheating all along.”

 “Excellent work, Lieutenant. I presume Admiral Drogue
is already aware of your efforts?”

 “Of course, ma'am. He approved the plan while you were
off watch.”

 “Understood. What else have we been working on?”

 “Well, the admiral wanted to make sure everything we'd
done so far was something we could blame on some kind of misinformation. We
also worked out a way of making the main guns fire, so they appear to be giving
off much more destructive energy than they really are. This makes the test shot
against the Dirk look like a sham. It's as though the ship was never in any
real danger, and we just hit it with a low power shot from the forward guns.”

 “That covers everything except for our enhanced hull
strength. Any plans to lead the alliance to a false conclusion there?”

 “No need. So far the only thing they've heard about
our hull strength is what we've told them. Without any active sensor reads or
demonstrations of the concept they probably won't be able to reproduce it from
the communications we've had. All we do before we leave is put the demo beams
back in their original configuration. A physical inspection will show the
systems were messed with a lot, but there won't be any way to figure out exactly
what we were doing. If we do have to answer any hard questions, I think we can
just say we were conducting systems analysis to backward engineer how alliance
technology worked.”

 “So when do you pull a rabbit out of your hat,
lieutenant?”

 “Ma'am?”

 “Never mind,” Hanlon said and shook her head slightly.
While Watkins was a highly capable officer, his sense of humor needed some
help. Hanlon was rusty herself after so much time in Drogue's stifling company.
Where had that man learned to hate humor so much? Perhaps that was an unfair
thought, she reproached herself. Drogue just ran a very tight ship. “Are we on
track for tomorrow morning's exercise?”

 “Yes, ma'am. The system assault parameters are what
I've been working on all this time. The program should be ready well before
we're in position.”

 “Make sure you give yourself time to get some rest as
well, Lieutenant.”

 “I will, ma'am.”

 The next morning, just at the beginning of first watch,
the crews of the offensive squadron were sent to battle stations in
anticipation of the exercise. Hanlon watched most of the bridge crew, stifling
yawns and blinking to clear sleep deprived eyes, man their posts. She observed
status board by her command chair. “The ship is at battle stations, Admiral.”

 “Very well, Captain. Are we in position to begin the
exercise?”

 “Yes, sir. Mister Watkins has reported all
preparations to the simulation computer are complete. We should expect to be
thoroughly trounced on this one, sir.”

 “Excellent. Signal Commander Ktenu's formation that
we're prepared to begin the exercise.”

 “Aye, sir,” Hanlon said and worked on her console for
a moment. She received a chime of acknowledgment from the console and said,
“Ktenu reports he's in position and ready to begin at the scheduled time. Three
minutes, Admiral.”

 “Very well. Did you have time on your third watch last
night to check over the changes Watkins made to the simulation computer?”

 “Yes, sir. The idea is ingenious. With any luck, when
we return these ships to the alliance, they won't be able to make heads or
tails of what we were really doing here.”

 “I've been giving that some thought, Captain. While I
would not condone theft of their property, I may sanction some kind of
sabotage. There could be some value in making it even more difficult to discern
what modifications were made to these ships. We might suffer some 'accidents'
en route back to the base once we complete our raids.”

 “You mean to go through with the raids then?”

 “I do, Captain. When we return to the alliance base, I
also mean to commandeer the ship containing the resources obtained from the
raids. We'll have fought and probably died for them. We can make a reasonable
argument they're ours. If the alliance forces our hand, we can offer them some
of the resources in exchange for allowing us the use of their ships.”

 “I believe that may be a violation of the mutual
protection pact the Lashmere government signed with the alliance, sir.” Hanlon
felt a knot forming in the pit of her stomach. While she believed it was a good
idea to get away from the alliance as soon as possible, she was unsure of how
she felt about taking the resources the alliance was expecting. She felt theft
and deceit were morally wrong and avoided such actions whenever possible. “The
move may force them into a hostile action against Lashmere before we're ready,
sir. Perhaps we may want to just give them the resources and leave?”

 “Although I haven't explicitly ruled out that
possibility, I plan to do what I can to bring those resources back to Lashmere
with us when we leave.”

 Hanlon suppressed the urge to make a joke about the
situation and instead said, “I don't suppose it would be possible to waylay the
salvage ship before it makes the return trip to the alliance base. The only
problem then would be how we get aboard the salvage ship in the first place.”

 Drogue nodded slightly. “That's a good idea, Captain.”

 Their conversation was cut short by an alert chime.
Hanlon said, “Time to begin the exercise, Admiral.”

 “Very well. Make course zero-seven-three by
zero-zero-zero, ahead two thirds.”

 The formation turned onto its new heading and moved
toward the outermost planet in the alliance system. The planet was simulating a
crab outpost and offensive weapons emplacement.

 Drogue said, “Begin attack on enemy installation, Miss
Kelper.”

 “Aye, sir.” Kelper turned her attention to the weapons
array and began firing the forward energy canons.

 Watkins said, “Simulation responding as programmed. Error
packets are already being sent along the data network. It'll be impossible for
the alliance systems engineers to miss them. Crab defensive force is moving
into our sensor range from behind the planet. Six ships, corvette class.”

 Hanlon said, “Detach the Poniard, Dirk, and Saber to
meet the defensive force per our plan.”

 “Aye, ma'am,” Watkins said.

 The battle unfolded in excruciating detail on the
forward display. While the alliance didn't place the kind of emphasis on
weaponry or defensive systems as humans did, their sensors and tactical
displays were excellent. The three destroyer formation moved out to meet the
alliance ships simulating crab defenders. The trio of ships drove straight in
towards the simulated crabs, completely exposing their bows to the full
armament of the opposing force. Even alliance tacticians couldn't miss the
opportunity to meet a fraction of the offensive and defensive capacities
presented by a bow on aspect compared to the angled approach the alliance ships
were optimized for. Without the changes to the energy canons, there was no need
to approach the force bow on. The seconds ticked by slowly until simulated
damage reports began coming in from the destroyers.

 “Sir, Poniard disabled, Dirk is destroyed, and Saber
is retreating with heavy damage and casualties,” Watkins said.

 “Understood,” Drogue said. “Looks like the first step
is in place. Lieutenant, once Saber is back in formation, turn all three ships
to optimal aspect and let's punch the alliance in the nose one more time before
we're destroyed as well.”

 “Aye, sir,” Watkins said.

 “Miss Kelper, what's the status of the enemy
installation on the planet?” Drogue asked.

 “Their armor and defensive fire are still highly
effective with our current parameters, admiral. I estimate two point one hours
until we can defeat their defenses at this time.”

 “Time until Saber returns to formation?”

 “Thirty-three minutes, sir,” Hanlon said. “It's going
exactly to plan.”

 Drogue nodded. He watched the plot silently for a moment
and then said, “Miss Kelper, break off the attack. Helm, begin maneuvering to
intercept Saber. We'll provide defensive fire and escort out of the combat
area.”

 “Aye, sir. Coming to two-six-nine by zero-one-five.
Speed, sir?”

 “All engines to ahead full, Drogue said.

 “Ahead full, aye, sir.” The young enlisted man who was
operating the ship's helm worked his controls smoothly and competently.
“Engines are now answering ahead full.”

 Hanlon watched the planet slide away from them on the
forward display and the formation of the Broadsword and Rapier move to meet the
stricken Saber.

 Hanlon said, “Miss Kelper, prepare a launch of six
torpedoes. One for each of the opposing ships chasing the Saber.”

 “Aye, sir,” Kelper said. After a moment she said, “Torpedoes
ready, sir.”

 “Launch at optimal range, Lieutenant.”

 Hanlon cocked her head at the order. A torpedo launch
was likely to destroy the opposing force, turning their current plan on its
ear. She wondered what the admiral was planning.

 Drogue said, “I think we've proved our point, no need
to completely lose the match. Don't you agree, Captain?”

 “Of course, sir.”

 Torpedoes were tremendously powerful, featuring
focused nuclear blasts that could penetrate all but the heaviest armor in a
single shot. The downside to torpedoes was that they were slow, easily tracked
and destroyed. Defensive systems designed to intercept shots from weapons fired
at up to one tenth the speed of light made short work of dispatching torpedoes
that flew far more slowly. The only way to make them effective was to launch
them in a way that prevented their detection. The weapons could then coast on
their inertia and only begin using their drives once they were too close to be
intercepted.

 “Sir, torpedoes away. I don't think the defending
force detected them,” Kelper said.

 “Very well. Put torpedo status on the forward
display.”

 Six orange lines appeared on the tactical overlay, all
tracking for a different ship. Hanlon watched silently for a few seconds when,
as one, all six defending ships turned their courses to avoid the torpedoes.

 Hanlon slapped the arm of her command chair. “If we
light off the torpedo drives, they'll pick them up and destroy them
immediately.” Hanlon sighed. “It was worth a try, sir.”

 Drogue said, “Don't worry, Captain. Even though we
lose this small skirmish, we've proved the strength of our modifications in the
previous two exercises. We know the systems work even if the alliance doesn't
believe us. Prepare for energy weapons engagement. Close to maximum weapons
range and turn to present forty-five degree aspect, starboard side.”

 “Aye, sir,” Hanlon said. “Saber is coming into
formation now.”

 The bridge crew watched as the Saber came towards
them. Suddenly, it flipped end for end and began thrusting along the same
vector the Broadsword and Rapier were on. Drogue quirked an eyebrow and said,
“Nice maneuver.”

 “We're at max firing range, now, sir,” Hanlon said.

 “Engage as ordered, Captain,” Drogue said.

 The three remaining ships turned and began firing.
With the Broadsword in the mix, the level of simulated offensive fire was much
higher. The corvettes, already damaged by the previous engagement were quickly
destroyed. The victory wasn't without cost, however. All six corvettes had
focused their fire on the Saber, 'destroying' the already heavily damaged ship.

 Drogue took the loss stoically. “Return to planetary
bombardment. We still have a system to pacify.”

 “Aye, sir,” Hanlon said.

 Broadsword and Rapier turned to re-engage the
planetary installation. Watkins said, “New contact coming from behind the
planet's third moon, sir. Looks like four destroyer class ships.”

 “Tactical analysis, Mister Watkins,” Hanlon said.

 “In our current state, they're more than a match for
us. I recommend we evade and escape.”

 “I agree. Come to course zero-six-five by
two-two-zero. That will drop us below the plane of the ecliptic and away from
any of the planetary bodies in the area.”

 Kelper said, “I'm getting a launch signal from the tactical
sensors, sir. Looks like they're trying to get us with torpedoes before we can
open range.”

 “Focus the aft point defense on them as they approach.
Alter our course to maximize run time before the torpedoes can catch us.”