A Faded Star (34 page)

 In the four days since the crab fleet had been moved
by the alliance, she had barely slept, eaten virtually nothing and had spent
all of her spare time in her cabin hammering at the problem. The crab fleet had
begun moving within hours of being sent away by the alliance. All two thousand
ships were massing for a strike on Lashmere. She'd taken the time to watch the
Behemoth railgun fire. A large asteroid had been blown into trillions of tiny
fragments no bigger than the tip of her finger. The energy released at the
center of the explosion was more like the fusion reaction inside a star than a
simple transfer of kinetic energy. Even she had been impressed with the
potential for destruction the Behemoth held in reserve.

 Shaking off her suddenly distracted thoughts, she
returned to the issue of energy, or lack of it and why it was so hard to move
mass over large distances. Mass... Marli's head snapped up with a suddenness
that made a joint in her neck scream in protest. Wincing and massaging the
tormented disk, she used her free hand to pull up the drive specifications for
Aeternum. The Aeternum used a system that essentially nulled the relationship
of mass and space-time so that a ship could effectively 'skip' over the surface
of a deeply distorted area created by the faster than light generator. The
system allowed a ship to travel at speeds hundreds of times faster than the
speed of light relative to the rest of the universe, but inside the field
generated by the ship, it was moving along at a leisurely pace far slower.
Somehow, the alliance had adapted the mass nullification field used in their
form of faster than light travel and used it to reduce the amount of energy
needed to send a ship through a jump ring or whatever variant of it they'd
managed to reverse engineer from their sensor logs of Rampart's encounter with
the crab destroyers.

 She worked feverishly, her fingers going numb from
rapid and ongoing contact with her computer terminal. With a start, she
realized the theoretical model had made a few assumptions about things she now
knew were incorrect. She knew how to resolve these errors now that she'd struck
on the idea of using a mass nullification field to decrease the energy
requirements of a point to point drive. The mathematical calculations needed to
solve the problems were just too complex to rely on the small standalone
computer she used earlier, and she had to use the main computer on Loki to
solve most of the problems. A slow smile started on her lips when she looked up
and saw she'd been sitting in her chair for fourteen hours, having missed any
possibility of sleep and also breakfast. As a matter of fact, she was late for
her duty shift by a few minutes.

 She tugged on her uniform and copied the new
calculations to her standalone computer before erasing the simulations from the
main computer core. Her eyes were grainy and blurry from lack of sleep and
extended use of the computer, but her heart was flying. She had her answers,
and she knew what she needed to do to get the information she so desperately
wanted. Despite the scolding her captain was about to give her, she couldn't
help but grin as she left for the bridge.

 The crab fleet arrived at the outskirts of the
Lashmere system early in the morning. Stokes, having seen the rough arrival
time had ordered all crews to take the last day and get lots of sleep and to
maneuver their ships into various formations designed to make the crabs think
the Lashmere Navy planned on making a line defense at the edge of their system.

 The Lashmere Navy moved into a formation with the
battleships arrayed behind rows of assault cruisers. Destroyers and corvettes
ranged out ahead in screening patterns. All of the ships had their point to
point drive ready for activation at the designated times. With the crabs coming
in full force, they were hopelessly outmatched in a stand-up fight. Stokes had
worked hard to get the board of admirals to approve a variant of Patho's plan.
The crab fleet would never be without a flanking force harrying its formations,
never giving the crabs the opportunity to truly turn and attack.

 Stokes watched the main plot impassively as the crab
formation moved into their position, almost as if they were in on the plan.
There was no way the plan would stay together once they started using the point
to point drives to maneuver, but at least the crabs cooperated for the first
stage of the battle.

 “Mister Bendel, time for crab formation to be in
position alpha?”

 “Thirty seconds, Admiral.”

 “Initiate first wave torpedo launch as planned. Order
all ships to jump as calculated.”

 “All ships jump as calculated, aye, sir.”

 The Victorious, along with the other seven
battleships, their assault cruisers, and destroyers all moved through their
jump rings into a preplanned formation in virtual synchronous movement. The
crab reaction was instantaneous, but, ultimately, futile. Three thousand
torpedo launchers, seeded throughout the area where the fleet had been,
launched simultaneously. The torpedoes were much faster than the crab ships.

 Stokes watched in silence as the target markers for
their torpedoes started vanishing well short of the crab fleet. Their defensive
fire was better than when Rampart had initially engaged them, but not as good
as the simulations had predicted. As the ships took damage, sensors told a tale
of massive destruction. Crab ships detonated, some taking nearby neighbors with
them. The stealth corvettes had engaged their sensor masking systems just as
the rest of the fleet had jumped out. They planned to insert mines directly in
the paths of the largest crab ships. The effort wasn't likely to destroy all, or
even most of the crab battleships, but each one that could be disabled would be
one less the separate battle groups needed to engage.

 By the time the first wave of torpedoes had run its
course, over five hundred crab ships were destroyed. The fleet moved inward in
the system, turning to avoid the outer gas giant and moving into a location
Stokes had marked on his plot as 'kill zone charlie'. The fifteen hundred ships
moved as one, making turns and formation changes with machine like precision.
Stokes couldn't help but admire the skill the crabs showed in handling their
ships. The crabs were headed for the formation led by Victorious herself.

 “Launch drones, Mister Lokin,” Stokes said.

 Marli Simmons watched as the fleet scrambled to
organize the defense of her home planet. She glanced at the chair next to her.
Her commanding officer, Captain Gina Foster, engrossed in watching the details
of the unfolding battle, never noticed the small data pad Simmons pulled from
her uniform pocket.

 With a final glance at her captain, she tapped the
button. Warning alarms began blaring from every speaker. Red warming lights
sprung up all over the main plot. Foster sprang from her command chair, looking
for the cause. Simmons had to admire the coolness with which Foster had reacted
to the situation. A part of her hoped her career would survive what was coming.

 “Report the situation,” Foster said in a completely
calm voice, standing in front of her command chair.

 “Looks like a containment variance, Captain,” the lieutenant
assigned to operations said. “Level six. Full containment breach in thirty
seconds.”

 “With no warning? Impossible.”

 Simmons cringed inwardly. If Foster figured out the
containment failure wasn't actually occurring, she could kiss her plans for the
future good-bye forever. “Captain, this is a brand new ship. If there was some
kind of manufacturing defect in the point to point drive, a containment
variance like this might occur.”

 The captain gave her an appraising look and started to
say something just as the computer droned out, “Engagement failure in ten
seconds. Full breach in two minutes.”

 “All hands abandon ship. Computer, alert the flagship
we have a containment failure and to move all nearby ships to a safe distance,”
Foster said.

 “Acknowledged,” the computer said.

 Simmons hustled off to where the escape pods for the
bridge crew were located. This was the riskiest part of her plan. She had to
have an escape pod of her own. She watched as the captain verified all hands
were in their pods before giving Simmons a level look. “Get into a pod,
commander. I'll see everyone else off.”

 Simmons risked a glance at the pod roster by the
captain's chair before making a brisk move to the aft most port pod. It was
listed as unoccupied.

 “Leave that one for me, commander. Meet up with
Davidson and Freely in the forward pod.”

 “Yes, ma'am.” Simmons moved forward and entered the
open pod hatch. She stepped in, seeing the two officers looking at her
expectantly. She tapped her code into the roster pad inside the pod and nodded
to them. She waited for the five second countdown to begin, knowing it would
only be initiated once the captain was in a pod herself. Simmons risked a
backward glance and saw the door swinging shut before leaping out of the pod.
She felt the ship lurch as the pods began launching. She had less than ten
seconds before she would be evacuated into the vacuum of space behind the pod
she'd just jumped out of. She clawed at the door override and scuttled back
through. Slamming the door shut, she whirled to look around the bridge. The
remaining escape pods were all launching. She ran to the command chair and
checked the crew roster. She was the only assigned crew member still aboard.

 Her breath caught in her throat. Adrenaline surged
through her, making her thoughts fuzzy and her movements imprecise. Taking a
second, larger tablet out of her pocket in a shaking hand, she executed the
command override sequence she'd put in place. The false sensor readings
immediately stopped. The point to point drive began to spool up, a predestined
twenty-one light year jump was preset to take her to an adjacent star system.

 Glancing over the readings, she saw her program was
performing flawlessly. Jubilation started to wash over her. She was going to do
it. Her face stretched into a smile like she'd never had. Hundreds of years of
life, waiting just beyond her fingertips. She could sense the potential already
around her. She was just starting to ponder what she'd do first when a comm
request came in. She ignored it, but a remote override allowed the main plot to
turn on.

 Stokes' face was grim, almost skull like with the
features pulled taught in worry and stress. “I don't know what you think you're
smiling about, commander. You will release control of that ship immediately and
report to Lashmere Naval Headquarters for arrest. Do you understand me?”

 Simmons dropped all pretense at maintaining military
bearing. “Look, Admiral, I don't give a damn about your orders. When I come
back and offer the people of Lashmere lives that stretch on for hundreds of
years, you won't be able to touch me. You'll be lucky if they don't throw me a
parade in celebration.”

 “We're in the middle of the fight for the survival of
our people, here. You choose now to take this action? I can't believe even you
could be so self-centered.”

 “No! I'm not self-centered. You are. You refused to
see the value in my proposal.” She glanced at the countdown. “Five seconds.
I'll show you I'm right.” The display cut off suddenly as the ship maneuvered
automatically through the jump ring it had formed.

 Bendel started at the main plot in horror as their
stealth ship was stolen by one of the foremost scientific minds on Lashmere.
“Is... I mean, she can't be serious, sir?”

 “No time to think about it, right now, Mister Bendel.
Concentrate on keeping those drones between us and those four battleships. Miss
Woodard, what's the status of Behemoth?”

 “Fully loaded. All five million civilians are aboard.”

 “Good. I want you to send to Commodore Erickson to
maneuver to the far side of the planet. The crabs are spilling around the ring
system and are moving outside our program area. If they realize we don't have
torpedo launchers on both sides of the planet, they'll make a run straight at
Lashmere rather than engage us.”

 “Aye, sir. Behemoth is moving into position now. ETA
is seven minutes. Sir, Commodore Erickson sends she has a shot with the
railgun. A concentration of ships near Admiral Brand's formation.”

 “She's clear to engage at her discretion.”

 “Aye, sir.”

 “Put that formation up on the main plot, Miss
Woodard.” The plot shifted to show Brand's battlecruisers standing behind a
moon. A crab force was moving to pincer him on both sides, but his point to
point drives were already spooled up. His ships should be able to jump before
they were truly in danger. A line of ships vanished from the crab formation.

 Startled gasps went up all around the bridge. All crab
ships started moving inward towards Lashmere. Their ruse had run its course.

 “Looks like we have to make our stand, now. Order
Mister Patho to engage his mines.” The mines should be on most, if not all, the
crab battleships by now. Hopefully, most of them would be disabled. A band of
warming signals began to stream across the main plot. Dozens of battleships
exploded or were crippled by mines attached to their hulls. “Mister Patho saves
the day again. Mister Lokin what's the crab fleet count?”

 “They're at just over eight hundred, Admiral.”

 “What are our losses so far?”

 “We lost almost all of Misato's formation. The crabs
caught him out of position, and he got trapped trying to steady up for a jump.
Most of his drones retreated to the second fleet with Admiral Brand.”

 “Did his flagship make it out?”?

 “It's adrift. No word on survivors so far.

 “Very well. Put me through to Captain Kri.”

 Kri's long face appeared on the main plot a few
seconds later. “Admiral, what can I do for you?” The image shook, and Kri said,
“Get a damage control team on that. Redeploy our drones to cover our weakened
flank!” He glanced around his bridge for a few seconds before returning his
attention to Stokes. “Sorry, sir, we're right at the tip of the sword here.”