First Strike (17 page)

Leaving most of the crew onboard to guard the ships, Joshua took Karla and boarded the asteroid, wearing encounter suits that should have concealed their origins. Like most multiracial structures, it looked larger than necessary to the human eye, a giant’s house simplified almost to the point of insult. No experienced spacer would complain, even if most races found the asteroid slightly disconcerting. Few races would have problems visiting or even living within the asteroid, and those that did could hire representatives or send remote-controlled machines in their place.

Each of the asteroid’s giant chambers held a place for visiting crewmen to get drunk and spend their booty. Joshua rolled his eyes when he saw the virtual brothel, boasting about sexual programs from all over the galaxy, with a long line of clients awaiting their turn in the booths. It was cleaner than regular brothels, and they didn't have problems supplying precisely what the client wanted, but it still struck him as silly. There were people who became addicted to VR simulations and never wanted to leave and return to the mundane world. On Shadow, there were no precautions to prevent a customer from remaining so long in VR that they lost their mind.

“Look,” Karla said. “Funks!”

Joshua followed her gaze and saw a pair of Funk females heading away from them. Both of them wore dark tunics rather than the golden scales that represented the Funk aristocracy, nor were they escorted by small armies of males, showing off their power to their fellows. They were either political refugees or travelling incognito. It would be interesting to find out what they were doing on Shadow, but one of the few rules the asteroid’s operators did enforce was privacy. The Funks would be left alone as long as they didn’t threaten other patrons.

“Ignore them,” he said, as they reached a particular booth. The entrance was blocked by a solid hull-metal door, forcing him to press his hand against the scanner to inform the occupant that they were waiting. There was a long pause, just before the door slid open, revealing a darkened chamber illuminated by a faint light shimmering in the distance. He stepped inside, followed by Karla, and the door hissed closed behind them. “I have come.”

Water moved in the distance, revealing a sheet of transparent metal holding in the liquid and keeping them from drowning. The alien – no one could pronounce what they called themselves – lived in a giant fish tank, breathing water as naturally as humans breathed air. It – Joshua didn't want to even
 
think
 
about the details of their sex lives – reassembled a giant crab, complete with sharp claws and unpleasant-looking tentacles. The Association had given them the stars, but their limitations meant that they rarely participated in galactic politics. He had no idea why one of them had come literally thousands of light years to live on Shadow, but there was no better fence in the galaxy. Perhaps its race had started to spread themselves across the galaxy, hoping to ensure their long-term survival. Most races did the same when they realised how easily they could be exterminated if they remained on one single planet, orbiting a single star.

“I have reviewed your message,” the alien said. The voice was completely atonal, betraying not a hint of emotion – if they felt emotion. No one knew for sure. “You have obtained valuable goods.”

There was a pause. Joshua waited. The water-born aliens had their own sense of time, regarding most of the land-dwellers as hasty mayflies. He’d once asked around and discovered that this particular crab was over two hundred years old, unless another of its kind had replaced it when the first one had died. No one cared enough to ask.

“I am prepared to deal for them,” the alien said, finally. Unlike most of its kind, it liked bargaining. Maybe that was why it had travelled so far to find a place it was happy. Joshua wouldn't have wanted to be separated from the entire human race, but the crabs took a different view. “My first offer is twenty thousand credits, in cash or kind.”

Joshua smiled and got down to haggling.

“The scouts have returned, Admiral,” Commander Sooraya Qadir reported. “The only new Hegemony ships are a trio of light cruisers. They’re running an eccentric patrol pattern around the planet.”

Tobias frowned. The Galactics had had thousands of years to dream up tactics for their militaries, but the pattern the Hegemony ships were following made little sense, unless they were hunting for cloaked ships. But any cloaked ship with passive sensors could have carried out its work far away enough from the planet to remain safe, no matter how determinedly the Funks searched. Unless…

He smiled as it suddenly clicked in his mind. “They think that our quantum drives are much more precise than their own,” he said. “We came out of quantum space right on top of the fleet defending Terra Nova. Maybe they think we did it deliberately.”

“We did,” Sooraya reminded him.

“Yes, but we could only do that because their fleet was in a fixed position,” Tobias said. “We knew exactly where it was when we jumped in, but if they haven’t realised that we surveyed the system first…”

He tapped his console. “It’s either an attempt to prevent us hitting them before they see us coming, or a first attempt at building an anti-gunboat doctrine,” he added. “Either way, it won’t save them from us. Alert the fleet. We jump into the system in five minutes; endpoint” – he tapped a position on the display – “here.”

Sooraya started speaking into her headset, leaving Tobias alone with his thoughts. Deploying the gunboats had been a risk, giving the Funks – and the rest of the Galactics – a look at them before they could be deployed in overwhelming force. But there had been little choice. By the time there were enough gunboats to tear apart the entire Hegemony Navy, Earth would have been occupied for years. If they’d had more ships, or enough time to develop weapons far superior to anything the Hegemony possessed…

And if wishes were horses, beggars would ride
, he firmly reminded himself.
 
You knew the risks when you devised the operational plan. It’s a little late to complain now.

“All ships report ready, Captain,” Sooraya reported. The gunboats had had to use the quantum gate, which might have been why the Hegemony had towed a number of OWPs to the gate and positioned them to block
 
Formidable
 
if she returned to the system, but his cruisers weren't so limited. “Quantum drives are online and ready to take us out into normal space.”

Tobias took one final look at the last images recorded by the scouts. Most of the vast numbers of freighters observed by the gunboats had departed, but a number remained; ONI reported that some of them had been ordered to observe the battle and report back to their owners. It was difficult to trace public opinion among the Galactics, particularly among the races that had less open governments than humanity, but their military forces would be very alarmed by the Battle of Terra Nova. Five invincible superdreadnoughts had been destroyed or captured by a handful of mere cruisers. And with the superdreadnought the yardstick - the
 
former
 
yardstick - for measuring galactic power…

“Take us out,” he ordered, quietly. He’d already issued orders to his crews, reminding them to make damn certain they were shooting at the Hegemony before opening fire. There were too many neutral ships in the system for his peace of mind, even if most of them were in orbit around the planet, keeping their distance from the Hegemony ships. “We’ll aim right at the quantum gate and engage the OWPs as soon as they come into range.”

He smiled at the thought. Charging transit fees was considered bad form among the Galactics, but placing actual defences near the quantum gate was almost taboo. There was too great a chance of the automated defences accidentally engaging friendly or neutral ships before they realised their mistake, if only because a hostile ship could engage the defences before the defences decided that they were allowed to open fire. Most planetary systems placed their quantum gates well away from anywhere that needed to be defended, giving their militaries time to react if the shit hit the fan. The Hegemony was
 
not
 
going to make itself popular by putting hair-trigger defences in the midst of a vital system.

The display altered rapidly as the fleet slid back into normal space. Irritatingly, they’d emerged some distance from the Hegemony starships, which gave the enemy some time to react to the new threat. Tobias wouldn't have been too surprised if the Hegemony cruisers simply opened up gates of their own and jumped out; even without the advanced weapons, his ships overmatched their squadron. Instead, they seemed to be playing a cagey game, watching and stalking his ships outside weapons range.

“At least they won’t be trying to support the orbital weapons platforms,” he said. The recorded message was already going out over the system, warning the Galactics that they were in the midst of a war zone – and that humanity intended to take the planet. Tobias had already planned the occupation, ensuring that the Galactic shipping lines would still be able to use the planet – and reducing transit fees by more than half. “The fleet will advance to clear the gate.”

Galactic OWPs weren't that heavily armed, individually. Each of them mounted antimatter torpedo launchers and phase cannon, but they were almost defenceless compared to orbital fortresses and superdreadnoughts. Few Galactics would consider striking an inhabited planet deliberately – it would have alienated the entire galaxy – leaving the platforms more intended to deal with pirates and rogue starships rather than attacking fleets. Other Hegemony worlds were more heavily defended, but Garston had always been something of an oddity. Besides, the gunboats had already obliterated the system’s main defence.

“Enemy platforms opening fire,” Sooraya reported. “They are combining their fire against
 
Perry
 
and
 
Jellicoe
. Their commanders are deploying countermeasures now…”

“The remainder of the squadron is to move to cover them,” Tobias ordered. Concentrating fire against his ships was a smart move, another reminder that the Hegemony’s commanders weren't stupid. Unlike a standard ship, his ships could lose one aspect of their shields without losing them all, but the enemy could shoot through the holes and burn into their hulls. “All ships are to continue firing.”

Jellicoe
 
flipped over and evaded a spread of antimatter torpedoes, which flamed out before they could lock onto a second target. Moments later, the torpedoes detonated as their confinement chambers lost power, seconds before their launcher was obliterated by a phase cannon burst from
 
Cunningham
. The remaining OWPs started to fire wildly as their command and control systems broke down, before they were swiftly wiped out by the human ships. Tobias smiled in relief as the fleet spun around and headed away from the quantum gate. No ships lost; only one mildly damaged.

“The Hegemony ships are starting to draw away from us,” Sooraya reported. “They must be redlining their engines just to pull that kind of speed.”

“Looks that way,” Tobias agreed. Human engineers were sure there was a way to reduce the time necessary for a superdreadnought-massed ship to reach cruising speed, but so far none of their experiments had produced anything workable. Ironically, without heavy ships of their own in the system, the Hegemony would be able to pull a faster rate of acceleration than their enemies. “Are they just trying to make a good show for their superiors...or are they stalling?”

“Stalling?” Sooraya asked. “What for?”

“I don’t want to wait around and find out,” Tobias said. Without a gunboat element of their own, the First Strike Fleet would only be able to overrun the Hegemony ships after a long chase – assuming, of course, that the Hegemony cruisers didn't jump into quantum space and escape after forcing Tobias to waste time chasing them down. Chasing them was pointless at best and, if they were trying to lure Tobias into a trap, deadly. “Order the fleet to reverse course and take us back to the planet. I want Marines ready to deploy to the orbital installations and the surface if necessary.”

Intelligence had sworn blind that the five superdreadnoughts at Terra Nova had been the only heavy combat element available to the Hegemony for a hundred light years – but they’d missed the ships at Heavenly Gate and they might well have missed others. Tobias knew better than to take anything Intelligence said for granted, no matter how closely it agreed with what he wanted to see. It was quite possible that something nastier than a trio of light cruisers was waiting in quantum space or even normal space for their chance to take his ships by surprise. Or perhaps they were just stalling before they had to return home. The Hegemony wouldn't be kind to anyone who returned reporting defeat, no matter how badly outmatched they’d been.

Or maybe they’re gathering intelligence
, he thought sourly. The distance between the two squadrons was widening now that the human ships had reversed course. Absently, he wondered if the Hegemony ships would dance closer now that they could do so safely. He considered using the new ECM drones and cloaking devices to ambush the enemy ships if they risked coming closer, but it wasn't worth it for three minor cruisers. Giving the other Galactics warning of what the Federation had developed over the last fifteen years would give them a chance to pass the information on to the Hegemony. Even with a bloody nose, the Hegemony was still intimidating – and really, all they’d need was a considerable bribe. A few million credits would be a small price to pay for accurate sensor data.

“A number of freighters are spinning up their drives,” Sooraya reported, flatly. “Some of them are signalling and requesting permission to leave through the gate; several others have started to head out into the outer system.”

Tobias shrugged. There might be nowhere for the freighters to go without a quantum drive, but their commanders would probably be glad merely to get away from the fighting. Freighters had no business in the line of battle, even the few but increasing number that carried weapons to deter pirates. In theory, the ships were supposed to remain in orbit until his Marines had had a chance to intercept them, but few freighter commanders would want to take the risk of having their ships confiscated. Besides, it wasn't as if they could do any harm.

“Let them go,” he ordered. “The gate is unlocked?”

“Not yet,” Sooraya said. “The Marines would have to board the station and capture the control system.”

“Detail a Marine unit to capture the station intact,” Tobias ordered. “Broadcast a general message to the fleeing freighters; inform them that they have permission to leave and that we will unlock the quantum gate as soon as it is in our hands.”

“Yes, sir,” Sooraya said. “The Marines are on their way now.”

Garston had been settled for hundreds of years. Even though it was a minor system even to the Hegemony, the system had hundreds of mining and processing nodes scattered throughout the asteroid belt, with dozens of industrial production satellites orbiting the planet itself. The Funks weren't the only power to have invested in the system, even though they owned it formally; they couldn't afford to simply destroy other investments without risking serious repercussions. Earth would make use of the Funk industry if it were captured intact – the supply base on the moon had already been targeted by a couple of Marine companies – but the remaining industry would have to be rented, or left alone. Besides, even if Earth lowered the fees and taxes, the system would be a nice source of Galactic currency for Earth’s war effort.

The Hegemony cruisers continued to hold position, watching from well outside weapons range. Tobias kept glancing at the three red icons, unsure what – if anything – they had in mind. Intelligence had already noted tachyon-burst transmissions from the massive arrays in orbit around Garston, no doubt sending updates to the Hegemony’s Empress. By now, it was certain that she knew what had happened, even by the most pessimistic modal of galactic communications. And then the Hegemony would start plotting its counterstroke.

“The Marines report that they have secured the weapons dump,” Sooraya said. “They haven't been able to draw more than a handful of files from their computers yet, but what they have found suggests that the Funks pulled the antimatter torpedo launchers and weapons from the dump and transported them out-system. The antimatter generators have been destroyed.”

“Smart thinking,” Tobias noted. The Hegemony could have destroyed the entire dump, but instead they’d chosen to pull out the most important weapons and abandon the rest. Maybe it was a trap… but the Marines would have known to search the base carefully. Even so… “Tell the Marines to check again for unpleasant surprises and then find us a manifest. If there’s anything we can use, I want to use it.”

The Hegemony could trade space for time indefinitely. Tobias knew that Earth couldn't afford the same luxury. The further the fleet advanced into Hegemony space, the harder it would be to keep maintaining and operating the fleet’s systems, even if the Hegemony didn't start slipping raiders in behind their lines to take out the fleet train. If they could capture and use Hegemony supplies, advancing further would be easier, at least until they ran into something so hard they had to stop. The Hegemony had to know that too. A human commander, left to his own devices, might accept the loss of unimportant systems, knowing that they could be recovered once the counteroffensive began. But his political masters might have different ideas.