Valor At Vauzlee (9 page)

* * *

On the twenty-fifth day out of Vinnia, all Space Command officers with the rank of lieutenant and above, were ordered to the ship's largest conference room. During a presentation by Captain Gavin, they were informed of the pending action. They already understood that something major was in the works because of the communications blackout.

"We know a little about how these Raiders operate," Gavin said as the conference began. "They have an incredible intelligence network, and when they know the flight path of a freighter, they position a few cargo containers filled with electronics that can generate a plane of false contact information for tens of thousands of kilometers across the path. Collision avoidance systems sense the electronic ‘debris field' and shut down the ship's Light Speed drive. While the freighter's bridge crew looks for a clear path through or around the nonexistent debris, the Raiders strike. They try to incapacitate the freighter's temporal field generator so it can't escape into FTL and then demand its surrender. If the freighter captain refuses to capitulate, they destroy the main ship, killing everyone on board, although there are sometimes survivors in airtight sections.

"In the case of escort vessels, they don't even ask for surrender; they just attack to keep them from putting up a fight, and then repair them later, if economically feasible, and place them in service for themselves. They do a pretty good job of cleaning up afterwards, so we only know of their tactics because Commander Carver was able to defeat two of their attack ships and capture about a thousand Raider crewmembers. Planners at the Space Command War College expect the Raiders to follow an attack strategy consistent with their modus operandi, two days from now. Computer, display the holo image ‘WC 03 — Stage 1.'"

Although it appeared to be an ordinary conference room table, the large table in the center of the roam was actually a holo-table. A detailed holographic image immediately appeared above it. An inordinately large group of tiny ships seemed to be hovering there, as they would in space. A few were larger than others, but the majority of ships were fairly uniform in size. Regardless of size, there was no doubt that all were warships because of their exterior configurations.

"We expect them to deploy their ships in a loose ‘U' formation, as you see here," Gavin continued, "and then close it to a circle when they move in once the convoy is halted. Computer, advance the image to Stage 2."

Twelve small warships, arranged in cuneal form around a lengthy freighter, appeared and moved into the center of the previously displayed group of ships before coming to a stop.

"Raider fighters will deploy from every ship, while the main ships circle the convoy and remain out of easy laser weapon range at a thousand kilometers distance. Computer, advance the image to Stage 3."

Hundreds of miniscule ships seemed to emerge from the Raider warships as the twelve escort destroyers moved to surround the freighter protectively. The fighters proceeded quickly to the center of the holographic image where they began to attack the escort ships like a swarm of angry wasps.

"We'll hold off, well beyond extended DeTect sensor range," Gavin said, "until they've stopped the convoy and begun their attack. Then we'll move in and ambush the ambushers, while the Chiron and our other ships do the same. It should be pretty crazy for a while, so make sure that your gunners are careful not to hit any friendlies. The weapons computers of all GSC ships will be synchronized with the ‘Alpha-Thirty-Six' rotating frequency ship protection code, so the guns won't lock or fire on our own ships, but we need to be careful about the Peabody destroyers and the freighter.

"The hull on this new ship is comprised of three layers of reinforced tritanium armor, with self-sealing membranes between each, instead of the usual two layers with one membrane, so it will take a really serious hit to hurt us, but we're certainly not invulnerable. All airtight sections will be sealed off prior to our attack in case we're damaged. If anyone must travel through the ship during the fight, use Corridor 0 on any deck between five and eighteen. The airtight emergency doors in those corridors should respond to local keypad commands unless a hull breach has caused pressure to drop in the corridor, or if some other hazard exists. If the door doesn't respond to commands, coordinate your passage with Damage Control Central. Are there any questions?"

"How many enemy ships are you expecting, sir?" Lieutenant Kerrey asked.

"This is the single largest operation ever attempted by the Raiders. There were twenty-three large warships at the Raider-One space port designated to participate in the attack, and they were tasked to join an equally large complement of ships from a different Raider base. With the destruction of Raider-One and its full complement of ships, we expect that ships from a third Raider base have been sent to replace them, so we're still anticipating between forty and fifty. Knowing what we do of the Raider fleet, most will probably be destroyers, but there will undoubtedly be some frigates or cruisers, and perhaps even a battleship or two."

The conference room went silent, even more than it had been. It was as if everyone had suddenly stopped breathing.

"Uh— and how many GSC ships will be there, sir?" Lieutenant Kerrey asked.

"Ten ships have been tasked to this operation, but I'm not sure how many will reach the rendezvous point by the time the shooting begins. The timetable is being governed by the speed of the convoy. We can definitely count on three ships being there, the Chiron, the Song, and ourselves. The rest are still underway to the RP at their top speed. Since all of our ships must remain outside the DeTect range of any possible Raider picket ships, lest we frighten off the Raiders before they engage the convoy, the War College Planners have designated a location near the planet Vauzlee for our RP. We'll wait there until the Raiders actually launch their fighters and commence their attack. We'll then deploy all available resources at the top speed of the slowest ship so that we arrive in force. Any of our destroyers that haven't yet reached the RP will proceed directly to the ambush site and upon their arrival join the battle, if we're still engaged."

"That means that we could be outnumbered possibly fifteen to one," Lieutenant Kerrey said more to himself than to the staff at the table, "—at least initially." Everyone had computed the odds long before he stated them.

"Don't forget the twelve Peabody light destroyers. They're going to be throwing everything they've got at their Raider attackers. They'll be handicapped in that they'll have to remain in fixed position around the freighter to protect it, but they'll make a considerable difference. If all our ships make it to the battle on time, we'll only be outnumbered about two to one. This is the first time we've ever had an opportunity to engage the Raiders in a real fight. If they show, then I'm willing to allow them the advantage in numbers. We have the advantage in training, skill, and ship construction. Their Uthlaro built warships only have titanium armor. Granted it's especially thick, but it's still just a titanium alloy. Thanks to Commander Carver, the Raiders don't have any GSC tritanium armored battleships to throw against us, but
we
have these two new battleships to use against
them
."

"I don't mean to sound defeatist, sir," Lt. Algolwin, one of three weapons officers who had come aboard with Kanes, said, "but Commander Carver has shown everyone that even a tramp freighter with torpedoes can destroy warships."

Jenetta started ever so slightly at the use of the descriptive term ‘tramp,' but she maintained a staid expression because she was aware that every pair of eyes in the room had turned in her direction. The Vordoth had been her first command, and as such it occupied a very special place in her heart, even if it was more than fifty years old.

Lt. Algolwin, unaware of the veiled reaction that his choice of adjectives had evoked, continued with his statement. "Since the Raiders had possession of this ship for a while, they must have studied it for weaknesses and will be attempting to exploit that knowledge during any engagements. Do we at least have construction specs on any of the Raider ships so we can determine
their
most vulnerable points?"

"Everything we have is available in the enemy profile database. As I've indicated, we believe that the heaviest concentration of Raider ships come from the Uthlaro. Those mercenary bastards will sell to anyone with sufficient credits, but we also believe that some of the Raider ships are made by the Tsgardi. From what we know, or at least suspect, the Tsgardi ships are the most poorly constructed warships in the quadrant. We can only hope that most of the ships we encounter will be made by them. We've also heard rumors that the Raiders have secured ships from the Aguspod, the Clidepp, and the Kweedee, but we have no solid evidence of that."

"SCI doesn't put much faith in those rumors," Kanes said. "The Clidepp are totally occupied with the rebels trying to take over their territory, so all of their ship construction is needed for their own civil war. The Aguspod have been fighting the Raiders for at least half as long as we have, so they wouldn't be selling any ships to Raiders, and the Kweedee Aggregate isn't interested in trading with anyone from outside their systems. They barely tolerate diplomatic missions. So if the Raiders have any ships of Clidepp, Aguspod, or Kweedee construction, they're ships that were salvaged after a battle and repaired, or possibly that were sold to the Raiders by deserters. You should concentrate your planning on Uthlaro construction."

"When can we pass this information on to the noncoms and ratings, sir?" Lieutenant Brewster asked the Captain.

"As soon as this meeting is over, but— I think that we should keep the enemy numbers to ourselves."

"Yes sir."

After a minute of silence, Gavin said, "Are there any more questions?" When no one spoke up, he added, "then you're dismissed."

The officers filed out of the room in silence, each wrapped up in his or her thoughts. There would be a great many ‘final messages to home' recorded tonight, just in case, even though they couldn't be transmitted yet.

As the Captain prepared to leave, he said, "Commander Carver, would you join Commander Kanes and me in my briefing room."

"Aye, Captain."

~ March 24
^th
, 2268 ~

Upon entering his briefing room, Gavin said to the two officers accompanying him, "Fix yourself a beverage, Commanders, and have a seat." All three officers had a marked preference for different blends of coffee, but the beverage synthesizer was equally adept at preparing everything from ice water to latte to non-alcoholic ale. Jenetta's preference was Colombian, a mild Arabica coffee, served black with one sugar per eight ounces, while Kanes ordered a Robusta. Gavin selected a strong espresso.

As they settled into the overstuffed ‘oh-gee' chairs around the enormous desk, Gavin said, "Commander Carver, tell me about the strategies you employed against the Raiders in your engagements."

Jenetta had described her actions repeatedly at the court-martial, and in such detail that her presentation now seemed to have the polish of rehearsal. She spent the next ten minutes describing the way that she had handled the three engagements, beginning with the initial attack on the Vordoth by fighters.

The Captain interrupted to ask a number of questions as she talked. When she finished, he asked, "How would you handle this upcoming attack?"

Although she'd spent a not insignificant amount of time thinking about the upcoming engagement since learning of it on the day they left Higgins, Jenetta hadn't really prepared any sort of presentation. She thought for a few seconds before speaking, and tried to organize her thoughts as she took a sip of coffee.

"We're in an area of space that contains little or nothing of military or commercial value, so the Raiders would hardly expect to find even a lone Space Command vessel here, much less a task force. If our ruse has been successful, their intelligence network will have assured them that no one is going to suddenly drop by to spoil their little soirée. Since no reasonably safe means of attacking ships traveling faster than light has yet been devised, the Raiders will have to stop the convoy as you've suggested. Assuming they'll be lying doggo, without any energy signatures to betray them, the DeTect system aboard the convoy ships will simply record them as naturally occurring celestial matter, and if their position doesn't present a threat to the navigation of the convoy, the DeTect system won't even call their presence to the attention of the convoy's tactical officers. So the Raider ships probably won't move until after the convoy's anti-collision systems have canceled their envelopes. A freighter can't outrun warships, so I don't expect them to make a break for it using their sub-light engines. They'd be better off remaining behind the protection screen offered by the Peabody destroyers.

"It's reasonable, and even likely, that the Raider force will surround the convoy as your holographic projections show. But since they have the Peabody ships outnumbered by four or more to one, and believe that they have all the time in the world, they might simply demand the surrender of the freighter and destroyers before commencing their attack. They're more interested in preserving the artifacts than anything else, and they'd probably also like to take the destroyers intact to use them in their own operations."

"Thanks to you," Commander Kanes said, grinning, "they're probably a little short of warships these days, so I'm sure they'd love to pick up twelve light destroyers in excellent condition."