Flagship (24 page)

The
Teddy R
emerged into normal space in the Deluros system.

"Sir, the Rubino fleet is approaching from Deluros VIII," announced Christine.

"Tell Pilot to do what I told him to do," said Cole. He turned to Jacovic. "They've got to be on their way home. They couldn't know we were going to come out of the wormhole. I don't think they'll follow us."

"I'd better get back up to the bridge," said Jacovic. "Just in case."

"Yeah, go ahead. The crew needs to see someone in authority."

The
Teddy R
shot between Deluros I—a small, unwelcoming ball of rock—and its sun, and soon positioned itself on the far side of the star as the Rubino ships entered the Stutz Wormhole in a tight formation.

"The last of them has entered the wormhole, sir," said Christine some fifteen minutes later.

"Okay," replied Cole. "Have Pilot take us to fifty thousand miles from the hole and hold that position."

"Yes, sir."

"Now see if you can connect me to Aloysius Chang."

Chang's image appeared a moment later.

"Good to see you," said Cole. "I half expected you'd be dead by now."

"Our ground batteries destroyed about fifty of their ships," said Chang, "and when they found out that part of the Third Fleet was racing to Deluros, they decided they'd done enough damage and retreated." He frowned. "Where were you? I tried to contact you three different times."

"Visiting their home system," said Cole. "If I told you they were from Rubino V, would that mean anything to you?"

Chang frowned. "Rubino V," he said. "Rubino V." He shook his head. "I don't think I've ever heard of it. What did we ever do to them to precipitate this attack?"

"Nothing lately," said Cole. "This particular wound has been festering for half a millennium." He paused. "Before we get into the next phase of this thing—did Wilkie ever sign that paper?"

"No."

"Let me speak to him."

"I'm afraid you can't," said Chang.

"You didn't really throw him out the window?" said Cole.

"Of course not," said Chang noncommittally. "That would be illegal. He was merely a victim of the battle." He paused. "Anya Kranchev is the Secretary now, but she'd already signed, and says she'll honor it even though her position has changed."

"Then we're still in business," said Cole. "How many ships am I expecting in the next few hours?"

"Only about four thousand," said Chang. "We can't take any more away from the front." He smiled. "It might interest you to know that more than thirty of them have already checked to make sure that they are taking their orders from you. I think the last four years have conditioned them not to like you very much."

"They'll have to live with it," said Cole, declining to comment on the idiocy of a front that encompassed half the galaxy. "How many Class Ms and Class Ls have we got?"

"I have no idea."

"All right," replied Cole. "We'll have to make do with whatever shows up."

He cut the transmission, then went to his cabin. A moment later Sharon's image appeared.

"Am I seeing this correctly?" she said incredulously. "You're actually lying down on your bed?"

"You'd prefer I lie down on the floor?"

"Damn it, Wilson!"

"Why not take a nap?" asked Cole. "We won't be entering the hole for a few hours, and I may not get another chance for the next couple of days."

"I don't know how you can sleep at a time like this!"

"I can't," he replied. "Not while you keep talking to me." He ordered the lights to dim. "Wake me in about three hours."

She broke the connection, and woke him about eighty minutes later.

"I said three hours," he complained, staring at his watch.

"I know, but we need you now," said Sharon.

He sat up instantly. "We're under attack?"

"No," she said. "But Chang told the Navy that they're taking their orders from you, and some of them refuse to listen to Mr. Jacovic."

"Shit!" said Cole, getting to his feet. "I should have thought of that. Most of them have been fighting the Teronis since they joined the service. Have Christine patch me through to all the Navy ships."

"Comb your hair while I'm doing it," said Sharon. A brief pause. "You're connected."

"This is Wilson Cole, the Captain of the
Theodore Roosevelt.
As you've been told by Aloysius Chang or one of his surrogates, there have been some changes in your chain of command. Deluros VIII has just undergone a devastating attack, and we will be going to Rubino V, the attackers' home world, to mete out retribution for their actions and make sure such an attack never happens again. The
Theodore
Roosevelt
will serve as the flagship of this section of the Third Fleet, and you will take your orders from us. My second command is Commander Jacovic, a Teroni. When he issues an order, it is done with my full knowledge and approval, which means that you will be expected to obey it. The fleet that attacked Deluros is neither human nor Teroni. They are currently half a galaxy away, but they can be reached through an unstable wormhole that will only remain in this system for another day. Have your pilots program Rubino's location into their navigational computers.
That
is our destination."

"Captain Mellinara of the
Silver Flame
here, Captain Cole," said a voice. "What kind of weaponry and defenses have they?"

"We know they didn't use Level 5 cannons against Deluros," answered Cole. "But that doesn't mean they don't have any. We also don't know anything about their planetary defenses. We do know that our ground batteries destroyed about fifty ships in the air above Deluros VIII, so their defenses are not up to our Class Ms and Class Ls—at least, not the ones we shot down."

"Commander Bainshank here," said another voice. "Are we just going after their fleet, or their home world as well?"

"We'll start with the fleet, and any ground units," said Cole. "We're not here to kill civilians if it can be avoided. If it can't be avoided, we'll worry about it when the time comes."

"I notice they didn't have any such compunction about killing
our
civilians," said another captain.

"Our missions are different. If you don't feel you can obey my orders, stay behind."

"Why are we taking orders from you anyway?" continued the captain. "We've been hunting you for four years."

"Because circumstances change. A century ago the Molarians were your enemies; now they're your allies. Today the Teronis are your enemies; next month or next year or next century they'll be your allies."

"So who
are
we fighting?"

"The natives of Rubino V," said Cole.

"Where the hell is that?"

"Just beyond the exit of the Stutz Wormhole, which we'll be entering in a few hours, when we're up to strength."

There were no further questions, and four hours later almost all of the ships had arrived. Cole divided them into eight groups, lettered A through H, put a ship in charge of each group, and had Christine program the eight group leaders into her computer. He noticed that she was almost falling asleep at her station, and he summoned Domak to replace her.

"But I don't want to leave!" she protested. "This is my post!"

Cole stared at her. "You really want to stay on duty?"

"Absolutely, sir!"

"All right. Report to the infirmary, and get yourself a shot of adrenaline and some kind of pep pill that won't affect your judgment. I'll see you back here when the doctor assures me you can function rationally and responsibly."

"Thank you, sir," she said, heading off to the infirmary.

Cole gave orders to put him through to the entire makeshift fleet.

"This is Wilson Cole again. We're still missing a few ships, but the Stutz Wormhole is unstable and I don't want to waste any more time. The area around the wormhole's exit was totally unprotected when the
Theodore Roosevelt
visited it a few hours ago. I don't imagine that will change, but be prepared, just in case they do anticipate an attack."

He paused, ordering his thoughts. "We know that Rubino V possessed a small empire of just under thirty planets about five hundred years ago. Some may still be allies, so we will have to be aware of that possibility. Also, since they've had spaceflight for at least that long, and we know there are other inhabited planets within their reach, there is every likelihood that commerce exists between the planets. I want you to make sure you are only attacking military ships. Passenger and cargo ships are
not
targets. We will begin by softening their military, and when we know the extent of their strength, we'll decide upon our next steps."

Cole waited for questions. There weren't any.

"All right," he said. "The
Theodore Roosevelt
will go first, followed by Groups A through H in that order. The time for talking is over. Let's go to work."

He nodded to Wxakgini, and a moment later the
Teddy R
plunged into the mouth of the Stutz Wormhole.

There were no Rubino ships waiting for them when they emerged. Cole waited until his entire fleet was out of the wormhole, then contacted his eight appointed leaders.

"Rubino V is about two light-years from here. If anyone has trouble finding it, let me know now."

There was no response.

"We're going into this blind," he continued. "We
think
they don't have Level 5 thumpers or burners, but we don't know it for a fact. We think they are not expecting us or we'd already be targets, but we don't know that for a fact. All the ships that attacked Deluros VIII were of the same general design, but that doesn't mean they don't have bigger and better ships they didn't want to risk, and it doesn't mean they don't have allies positioned all the hell over the area.

"For that reason, we're not going to attack in full force, at least not at the start. Groups A, B, C, and D, I want you to approach Rubino V. When they see that you've got two thousand ships and recognize that you're from the Republic, they're not going to wait or offer to talk. They'll start shooting. You have eleven Class L ships between you. I want them to make the closest approach, because they should be able to stand up under anything that Rubino can throw at you, at least for a short period. Once you analyze the strength of their weapons, you can go on the offensive. We'll try to pinpoint all ground batteries and feed them to your ships, but most of your battle is going to take place against their fleet. I have no idea whether it's in orbit around the planet, or possibly in orbit around one of the moons or another planet in the system. Once they show themselves, and they'll do it before you fire a weapon, we'll have a better idea of what we're up against.

"Group E will target any ground batteries that are harassing us during the battle and take them out. Groups F and G will remain in high orbit as backups until we know we're facing their entire military, and will then fill in at any spot where they're needed."

"What about Group H?" demanded the leader of that group.

"You stick with the
Theodore Roosevelt"
answered Cole.

"Doing what?"

"It will depend on things we can't know now."

"We came here to fight!" growled the leader.

"You came here on my orders, and you're still subject to them," replied Cole. "Group H stays in formation behind the
Theodore Roosevelt.
I promise you'll see your share of action."

There were no further comments or questions.

"All right. Groups A through D can begin their approach. Remember: I want those Class L ships out well ahead of you."

Two thousand ships began approaching the Rubino system.

"Any sign of activity there yet?" asked Cole.

"No, sir," said Christine, who had returned from the infirmary and replaced Domak.

"Figures. It won't come from the planet. What's the point of having a fleet of space ships if they're not in space?"

"Got them, sir!" said Briggs. He frowned. "Well, some of them. Maybe twelve hundred. They were orbiting the second moon. But there should be more."

"There will be," said Cole.

The Rubino ships began gathering in a defensive formation between the planet and the Navy ships, but they didn't move out to meet them. The eleven Class L ships accelerated ahead of the rest, and when they got within range the Rubino ships began firing.

"This is Bainshank," came a group leader's voice. "So far they haven't got anything we can't handle—or, rather, that the Class Ls can't handle."

"Let 'em know it," said Cole. "Don't fire back. Just keep moving and let them see they can't harm you. Maybe we can convince them it's not worth the effort."

"Right," said Bainshank. "We're within about ten thousand miles now and—"

Suddenly there was a brilliant flash of light on the viewscreen.

"What the hell was
that?'
asked Cole.

"I don't know," said Jacovic. "Some form of pulse torpedo, but nothing I've ever seen before."

"I can't raise Captain Bainshank," said Christine. "Do you suppose that was his ship?"

"Probably," said Cole. "Broadcast this to all of them: We've just lost Group Leader Bainshank to an unfamiliar weapon that instantly destroyed his ship. Go on the offensive immediately. Don't wait for them to prove it wasn't a fluke. If any of you can spot anything that will help us identify which ships are carrying that particular asset, let us know instantly."

"There can't be too many of them," said Jacovic. "Otherwise, they'd have used it on Deluros."

"Let's hope you're right," said Cole.

The Navy opened fire, and the results were devastating. More than one hundred Rubino ships were destroyed in the first three minutes. Then there was another brilliant explosion, and another Class L ship vanished.

"I've spotted the source of that weapon," said Mellinara's voice. "It's on the second moon, but we can't break through to get to it yet."

"How the hell can they shoot so accurately if their ships are shielding the weapon from your attack?" asked Cole.

"I saw that energy bolt or torpedo or whatever it was," said Mellinara, "and crazy as it sounds, it seemed to thread its way through the Rubino ships. There's got to be something in or on their structure that repels it . . . well, that sidesteps it, at least. I've sent the coordinates to you."

"Got them," said Christine.

"We'll take it from here," said Cole. "Mr. Briggs, feed those coordinates to the leaders of Groups F and G, and tell them to attack from opposite directions, get this weapon in a crossfire and hit it with everything they've got."

"Just F and G, sir?" said Briggs. "Not Groups E and H as well?"

"Just do what I tell you," said Cole.

"Yes, sir."

"I wish to hell I knew where the bulk of their fleet is," said Cole.

"Watching," answered Jacovic.

"Why aren't they fighting?"

"Why aren't your Groups E and H fighting?" replied the Teroni. "They're doing the same thing we planned to do: testing your strength and your defenses with that weapon. It's kept us occupied. We haven't fired a single shot at the planet."

"You're not suggesting this is a ruse?" said Cole, frowning.

"No, sir. But I have a feeling that once we destroy this weapon, as I'm sure we will, they'll find other ways to draw our attention away from the planet, to lead us where they want us to go."

"Where do you suppose that is?"

"I don't know," answered Jacovic. "But wherever it is, that's where we'll find the rest of their fleet."

"I agree," said Cole. Then: "Let's not play in their ballpark."

"I beg your pardon, sir?" said Jacovic, looking confused.

"Let's choose our own battlefield and make our own rules of engagement," said Cole. "Christine, get me the leader of Group E."

"Captain Gimanji here," said a strong female voice.

"This is Cole. Don't wait for the forces on the planet to shoot. Pick a couple of legitimate targets on the surface, either military or something showing major industrial activity if you can find them, and take them out. If you draw any fire, and I'm sure you will, then go after the weaponry."

"Yes, sir."

"We destroyed the weapon, sir!" announced Rachel excitedly.

"If they could make one, they could make more," said Cole. "Let me think." He was silent for a few seconds. "All right. Have Groups F and G start searching for more weapons on the moon. With the instruments they have, and a thousand ships sharing the job, we should know what's there inside five minutes. If there
is
another one, coordinate their efforts and take it out. If not, have them report to me." He turned to Jacovic. "There won't be any, not there. If they wanted to draw us farther away from the planet, they wouldn't do it by giving us a reason to keep searching that moon."

"Sir," said Rachel, "the planet is firing Level 5 lasers at Group E."

"All from one location?"

"So far."

"Christine, put me through to Gimanji."

"Done, sir."

"Gimanji, this is Cole."

"You didn't tell me they had Level 5 burners," she said.

"I didn't know."

"We'll turn them into rubble in about ninety more seconds," she promised.

"Good. Once you do, disperse your group around the planet. Fire at any likely target, and see what fires back. If it's anything above Level 2, report its location and knock it out."

"Will do."

He broke the connection, then concentrated on the battle around the moon. They hadn't been fired on by anything similar to the weapon that had destroyed Bainshank's ship, and their superior numbers were grinding the Rubino fleet down.

"They have to show up soon," said Cole.

"They may not like what they've seen," suggested Jacovic.

"That would make sense at Deluros, or the Inner Frontier," replied Cole. "But Rubino is their home. They won't stand by while we blow it apart. I just wish I knew what's keeping them."

"They're retreating to the vicinity of Rubino VII, sir," said Mellinara's voice. "Do you want us to pursue them?"

"Absolutely not," said Cole. "Hold your position, and tell the other groups to do the same."

"Yes, sir."

Cole looked at the screen, which was filled with the rubble of dead spaceships floating aimlessly, occasionally colliding with each other or still-living ships.

"What are our losses?" he asked.

"I can't be totally accurate, sir," replied Briggs, "but I'd estimate we've lost two hundred ships and they've lost, oh, it must be close to seven hundred."

"And nothing's taken off from the planet?"

"No, sir."

"Have Groups F and G finished hunting for another weapon on that moon?"

"Yes, sir. Results negative."

"Get me Mellinara." Cole waited a few seconds for the connection to be made. "Are they still retreating toward the seventh planet?"

"Yes, sir, they are," said Captain Mellinara.

"Okay. I want Groups A, B, C, and D to approach Rubino V. If no one tries to hinder you, ask Captain Gimanji what targets she's picked out and give her a hand with them. Try to hold collateral damage to a minimum."

"We're on our way, sir."

"Groups F and G," said Cole. "Take up orbit around the moon you've been searching. Those Rubino ships aren't going to stay away when they see we aren't following them. When they return, engage them."

The next five minutes consisted of reports from Groups A through E, which were hitting selected industrial areas on the planet and demolishing any ground batteries that fired on them.

"Here they come, sir!" Briggs suddenly announced.

"From the outer planets?"

"Yes, sir."

"How many?"

"Six thousand, seven thousand," he answered.

"Captain Mellinara, Captain Gimanji, you're about to get some company," said Cole. "The rest of their fleet is on the way. Groups F and G will meet them out by the moon, but they're badly outnumbered and they're going to need some help. I want groups B through E to withdraw from the planet and support our forces out by the moon."

"What about us, sir?" said a voice. "Captain Ramos, Group A, sir."

"Keep pounding industrial sites and ground batteries," said Cole. "I'll let you know if we need you at the moon."

"Seven thousand of them, a little less than three thousand of us," noted Jacovic.

"It'll be a fair fight," said Cole.

"Our weaponry is a little better, and so are our defenses," said Jacovic. "But the numbers ..."

"Weapons don't mean that much in these quantities. What counts is that we refused to play their game, and we've forced them to play ours."

"Could you explain that, sir?" said the Teroni.

"They wanted us to follow them; we didn't. We wanted them to reveal their full strength and come back to Rubino V; they did."

"Sir!" said a harsh voice.

"Who is this?"

"Commander Kristoff. I'm the leader of Group H. Are you
ever
going to use us?"

"When the time comes," said Cole.

"When is that?"

"I'll let you know." He signaled Christine to cut the connection, then turned to Jacovic. "I admire his enthusiasm, if not his discipline."

"When
are
we going to use them, sir?" asked Briggs.

"When the need arises," said Cole. "It shouldn't be long now." He walked over to Wxakgini. "Pilot, take us inside the orbit of Rubino V."

"How far inside?"

"Halfway to Rubino IV. What's that—about twenty million miles?"

"Eighteen million," Wxakgini corrected him.

"Mr. Briggs, make sure Kristoff and his group follow us."

"What are you expecting, sir?" asked Rachel.

"I'm not sure, but that was pinpoint bombing we saw on Deluros VIII. The whole planet is one single city, but they knew exactly where to hit the parliament and the court, and where the Secretary's office was. What does that say to you?"

"They had previously scouted out the territory," she said.

"Right. And if they scouted it out, they had to know how massive and powerful the Republic's military engine is."

"Maybe they thought the wormhole would move before the Republic could mount a counterattack," suggested Briggs.