Chapter FORTY-FOUR
The opposing fleets maneuvered warily. It wastoo late for either side to safely fire long-rangethermonuclear warheads. The battlefield wouldbe a tight arena.
Brad and Hodak matched up to Admiral Selvin'sflagship Ruthless. Without altering formation theRuthless extended a mag-beam and drew the fightersquickly to the flight deck one following the other.
Wasting no time on boarding formalities, Bradmotioned his colleagues to follow as an escort ledthem at a run to the command deck. Selvin waswaiting impatiently. A debriefing officer tookHodak in tow, and an another escorted Drummerto the VIP lounge.
At a sign from Brad, Myra trailed after him.
The fleet command center was fifteen meters acrossand ten deep. View tanks, consoles and displaysalong the bulkheads glowed and portrayed themultidimensional battle zone, updates on readinessof the fleet and whatever had been consideredrelevant in defeating the enemy. Specialists andback-up technicians studied displays, recapped realtime data, checked results and sent them on in anongoing process. The place hummed with muted voicesand the almost silent clicks of an organized combatops center.
Selvin waved Brad to join him at a plotting table.A globe-shaped view tank, suspended close overheaddisplayed the three-dimensional battle zone. Thecommand center's communicator hovered closeto Selvin, his head encased in a helmet linkedto all ships in the UIPS fleet, fleet headquarterson Earth, and the conference site. A hard-copydispatch remote on a shoulder harness extendedforward waist-high.
Selvin hastily exchanged handshakes with Bradand Myra. Brad talked fast pointing to the capsuleMyra held in her hand. Listening, Selvin's Executivesignaled the communicator to open the secure linkto Commanders on all ships in the fleet. A nod fromthe grizzled Fleet Commander and Myra insertedthe capsule into a slot on the view tank's base.The Exec motioned the battle staff to observeand listen. Taking turns, Brad and Myra reeled offdetails on the enemy fleet's new Order of Battle.
Brad pointed to locations in the view tank,suggesting potential UIPS tactical options toexploit the enemy's vulnerabilities. He added howCaptain Yargoul might respond, and how the UIPSfleet might use them to advantage.
As Brad spoke, a microphone picked up his wordsand fed them into the computer to bring currentthe fleet's, now by-passed database. Selvin and hisstaff, even as they listened to Brad, observed theeffects on the plotting screen. A superseding fleettactical formation spread before them.
There was no time for discussion; the opposingfleets were too close. Selvin, eyes on the tank andplot, took over and spun out orders to his ships'Commanders.
"Your view tank has a copy of what I havehere," he said. "The enemy fleet is down tofour battle cruisers, sixteen destroyers, threefighter-bombers, seventeen fighters, four gunboats,and three attack transports with troops aboard,plus a tagalong pack of armed support ships.
"Consider the destroyers are in their bestscreening positions. We are totally committed.Launch fighters as soon as the INOR fleet is inoptimum range. Target priorities are cruisers,destroyers and gunships. Take the offenseimmediately against all enemy ships thatpenetrate our outer defenses.
"Avoid contact with transports or support ships.If an enemy vessel is disabled, engage in rescueif your situation permits; especially should theyretire from the arena and present no hazard to theSlingshot construction site. In such circumstances,do not pursue. If they do begin to approach theTerminals, pursue at max and take them out. Keepthe construction site command center informedso that they can take defensive actions.
"Engage the enemy. Attack. Attack. Attack."
##
The INOR Commanders facing Captain Yargoul on hisview screen appeared apprehensive. They had notclosed with the enemy fleet yet lost two cruisers,three destroyers and a dozen fighters. Thethermonuclear warhead launched at the enemyfleet had been faulty or sabotaged into prematuredetonation. They had taken savage blows.
Captain Yargoul rallied his forces.
"The battle has just begun," he exhorted hislisteners. "Our surveillance of the enemy fleetshows we are in a strong position. Form up forpenetrating the enemy fleet. Destroyers tightenscreens. As soon as the enemy gets within rangelaunch fighter-bombers and fighters. Gunships andattack patrollers take the point. Attack. Now."
Optimum range was closing for particle beamers.Fighter-bombers, gunships and patroller-fightersfrom each side sped and dodged toward firing points.
A Jovian fighter-bomber plunged through a gap inthe UIPS shield and came at the bridge of the UIPScruiser Implacable. Arrayed to fire for effect theImplacable cut loose with successive volleys ofits forward laser-quads. From a turret above thecruiser's upper structures a molecular disrupterflashed a cascade of energy that coalescedinto twisting, jagged bolts. The fighter-bomberdissolved as its guns fired a short burst.Fragments caroomed off its target's hull.
Two thousands kilometers distant, a Titaniangunboat evaded the UIPS defensive screen andslashed in at Selvin's Ruthless. The flagship'sguns set up a withering fire, but couldn't matchthe lightning speed of the closing gunboat. Araking laser-doubles knifed through the Ruthlessamidships, opening ten meters of hull. The vacuumof space sucked at storage bays, shops andwardrooms; dozens of bodies floated through therupture. The gunboat, caught in a crossfire oflaser-quads, exploded silently.
The Ruthless' internal safety doors had slammedshut immediately, isolating the damaged bays andcompartments.
Suddenly, the main bodies of the two fleets werewithin range of each other's heavy weapons. Atangled circus of cruisers, destroyers, gunshipsand fighters careened through space, sweepingthe battle arena with their guns. Battle craft, fromboth sides, blossomed into clouds of wreckage,shards and debris in the first minutes of combat.
More heavily armed, the INOR forces werenevertheless at a disadvantage. The fleet had notcompletely recovered from the disruptive effects ofthe haphazard redeployment that Adari had contrived.Drummer and Brad had deserted them; Hyk and theDragon were gone. The INOR forces lacked cohesion.Captain Yargoul had barely assumed command of thecombined fleet and needed to assess the situation.There was no time for that. They were face to facewith a powerful adversary who had appeared withoutwarning. An easy victory had become a struggle forsurvival.
Two UIPS destroyers made a run at the Joviancruiser Boulder. Four explosive-decompressors cutloose simultaneously at the cruiser, striking heramidships. A succession of explosions wrackedthe ship, hurling debris and bodies in all directions.The ship rolled and yawed wildly out of control.The UIPS destroyers cut away.
The Ruthless' damage assessments flashed to thebridge and the ship's Commander informed the fleetcommand deck.
"We've still got full power and most of our gunsare operative," Selvin announced to his staff aftera brief study of the report. "With another of theircruisers gone the big ships have evened out, butthey've still got the edge in destroyers. We've..."
"Fighter-bomber locked on to enemy cruiserEncounter." The communicator's voice cut in overthe loudspeaker.
"Put him on," Selvin ordered.
The pilot's voice filled the room, low and tense.
"...3000 kay starboard. Destroyer screen at 2000,kinda loose. Going in. Have incoming, lots of it.In evasive. I'm hit, but I'm through. 700. Moreincoming. Bridge in sights. Three seconds burst --a hit. I'm out of control. Encounter dead ahead...gonna..."
Silence.
Selvin turned away to hide the pain in his eyesat still another death.
"Cruisers three to two, in our favor." An officercalled out from his position at the battle monitor."New ball game."
Brad pointed, drawing Selvin's eyes to theconstantly changing plotting table and view tank.
The displays showed the struggle had become aseries of separate skirmishes spread across amillion kay in all directions. Fighter-bombers andfighters without a mother ship, and destroyersthat had lost their cruisers ranged the battlefieldsingly and in pairs, searching out and attackingthe enemy.
Not visible to the naked eye throug
h the swarm ofspace debris around them, the view tank's sensorsdiscriminated against displaying the laceworkof crossing beams from laser-quads, explosivedecompressors, molecular disrupters, and hereand there, a cruiser's particle beamer.
Admiral Selvin stared at the tank.
"Does he realize what he's doing?" He whispered.
The Jovian heavy cruiser Windstorm and itsscreen of destroyers had changed direction abouttwenty-five thousand kay distant and headedstraight at the UIPS fleet; the Jovian lightcruiser Assault and its escorts lined up behind.The UIPS cruisers Ruthless, Avenger and Implacablewere broadside to the oncoming enemy line. Most ofthe gun ports for the Windstorm's and the Assault'smost powerful long range weapons were alongtheir broadsides and out of position for returningfire at the UIPS battle fleet. Jovian vessels of alltypes that came within range of UIPS weapons wouldbe overwhelmed by UIPS concentrated broadsides.The Windstorm's escorts would not have the rangeuntil the two fleets were closer.
"They've inadvertently maneuvered themselvesinto an ancient sea battle formation," Selvin said."It was once known as 'crossing the T'. They intendedto cut straight through our defenses to optimizetheir broadsides but instead they opened themselvesto ours. That's how the game is played. I have nochoice, but I have to act quickly."
Selvin's battle computer counted down the enemy'sdistance and flashed estimates on when the enemyline would be optimally exposed to particle beamvolleys.
"Cruisers: ready your particle beamers," Selvincommanded, "sustained fire as soon as you havethe range."
Moments after he spoke, the Admiral's ordertransformed into action. Abruptly, the gun circuitssnapped shut. Lights dimmed and the Ruthlessthrobbed as the beamers sucked up massive amountsof energy. The Avenger and the Implacable joined in.
Indicators swung wildly. The technicians watchedthe dials and verified that a stream of highlycharged, invisible particles had erupted from thebeamer tubes. The lights returned to normal, andthe throbbing tapered off.
The bolts struck the leading INOR warship fulllength from bow to stern, and moved on the secondin line as soon as it came into range. The INORbattle cruisers shuddered, smitten as by agiant hammer. Their hulls collapsed and theships exploded into enormous, silent fireballs.Destroyers and support ships in close screenswere caught in the blasts and shattered.
The INOR fleet's will to continue the battle wasgone; they had disintegrated as a fighting force.
The battle ground to a halt. What was left of theINOR armada withdrew beyond the reach of the UIPSfleet's long-range weapons, careful to demonstratethat their retreat was in a direction away fromthe Slingshot Terminals. It was just as well, linesof UIPS destroyers and gunships had formed up asa shield between the work sites and any potentialattacker from the residue of the INOR CombinedFleet.
The arena quieted. UIPS search, rescue and medicalcraft searched the area, marking wrecks of bothsides with electronic signals, collecting the deadand treating the wounded.
Communications lines opened between the fleets.Admiral Selvin requested the INOR commanders toorder a stand down from all weapons. All PlutonianAssault Force vessels were ordered to form up andprepare for boarders.
Brad and Selvin stood in a corner of the commanddeck, heads close. Brad drew an object froma pocket as he spoke: the control for thecommunications barrier Zolan had erected.Selvin, hand to chin, stared at the device,listening. He pointed to it, and then in thedirection of the companionway.
"Notify Camari," he said. "Now."
Brad nodded and raced away.