Eagle (Jacob Hull) (11 page)

The docks themselves were not in much better shape. In many places, the impacts of the torpedoes had made it impossible to tell where the shattered remnants of the docks ended and the ships the dock had once sheltered began. As Jacob studied the results, the entire cloud of debris began to fall out of orbit, slowly beginning to rain down into the gravity well of the gas planet that had served as the backdrop for the bombardment. He watched the steady descent and nodded in approval. Every piece of dreadnaught, cruiser, or shipyard that made the final journey would be much more difficult for the Odurans to recover and put to use.

At a more immediate distance, the shooting had finally died down. Only two Oduran cruisers had managed to escape the carnage, one a
Scythe
-class ship that had barely managed to evade Isaac’s plasma lance, while one of the
Scythe
-class cruisers which had weathered
Eagle
’s missile barrage had struggled out of the engagement range. Every other cruiser had been reduced to a battered ruin. Only a bare handful of frigates and corvettes were scattering away from the battle, leaving the wrecks of their fellows behind. Jacob watched to make sure all of them were running, and then he touched his controls.

“This is Admiral Hull to all units. Cease pursuit of the enemy craft and begin recovery operations around the site of the battle. I want every escape pod collected and any useful wreckage salvaged.” A tardy torpedo slammed into the docks, accelerating its descent into the planet below. Jacob couldn’t help the satisfaction creeping into his voice. “Our mission here is complete. Once recovery operations are finished and the ships of our fleet are secure, we will leave this system and return to the Union.” He paused, feeling a swelling burst of pride.
“All ships, well done. Our nation will remember this day.”

Chapter Ten

Jacob sat at his desk and waited for the fleet to riftjump again.

It would have been nice to think a hero’s welcome would be waiting for his task force when they returned home. After all, for the first time in decades, the Celostian Union had struck back at the all-powerful Oduran League, and as a result, their homes would be safe at last. The losses at Kryshaen would cripple the Oduran military for years. Six dreadnaughts could not be easy to replace, even with the League’s resources, and the massive losses among their garrison force would not be welcome either.

He’d manage to destroy more than just hardware. Before they’d left the system, a few Oduran escape pods had been recovered and their crews interrogated. Over and over, the Odurans expressed awe at how the Celostian ships had absorbed battle damage. Jacob had heard more than awe in their voices; he’d heard fear. No matter what happened, the Odurans would never again be able to move against the Union with complete confidence. The memories of Tiredel and Kryshaen would always be there, and Jacob hoped they would last long enough to bring peace to his people at last.

For now, however, his fleet was coming home. Certainly not unscarred—far too many ships had taken damage during the brief battle, and there would be many funerals when they finally reached Celostian space again—but the ships were all returning. Not even a corvette had been lost, and best of all, the
Eagle
had proved herself beyond any reasonable expectation. Jacob smiled. The euphoria among the crews was almost palpable.

Jacob had to admit it was hard not to join in the enthusiasm as well, but he had some idea of what would likely be waiting for them at the end of the road home. Fortunately, while everyone else had been celebrating their victory for the past three weeks, he’d taken Al-shira’s advice and come up with a plan to deal with the challenges ahead. All he had to do now was get back.

The disruptive feeling that accompanied every riftjump told Jacob the
Eagle
had entered Tiredel, and a few minutes later, his console beeped at him. Jacob tapped a button. “Yes, Captain Martino?”

“Sir, we’ve returned to Tiredel.” The officer paused. “There may be a problem.”

Jacob grinned. “Is that so? Has the situation in Tiredel changed since we left?”

“Not entirely, Sir.” Captain Martino’s voice conveyed confusion, as if the man didn’t quite understand why Jacob sounded so cheerful. “Merchant traffic, salvage operations, and resettlement efforts are continuing as normal, but there are quite a few more warships in the area than before. Admiral Siddiqui appears to have brought several cruisers with her, and is currently facing off with a small group of militia vessels. There does not appear to have been any fighting, however.”

It was more or less as Al-shira had predicted. Jacob felt his heartbeat speed up. “The militia vessels, is one of them a frigate called the
Defender
?”

“The
Defender
?” Captain Martino paused, likely giving his sensors officer time to work. “That is correct, sir.”

“Good.” Jacob pushed himself up and out of his chair. “Send messages to the
Defender
and the
Percival
. Invite both Captain Al-shira and Admiral Siddiqui to come to the
Eagle
. I imagine they will both be interested in what we’ve been up to.”

A hint of humor crept into Captain Martino’s voice.
“Yes, Sir. I imagine they would be very interested in that information—and probably not the only ones.”

Jacob grinned again. “True. Send reports to First Shore on Tiredel as well. No need to keep the rest of the Union wondering anymore.”

The messages went out, and while he waited for a response, Jacob brought up a projection of the system. He studied the pattern of merchant traffic, noting  the Oathbound ships seemed to be giving both Al-shira’s ramshackle collection of former pirate ships and Admiral Siddiqui’s sleek, modern cruisers a wide berth. Given the hostile postures of both formations he couldn’t blame them.

An answer came back from Admiral Siddiqui first. Since
Percival
, her flagship, was stationed relatively close, it made sense the flag officer would get his message before Al-shira. Her reply consisted of a terse acceptance and a general time when Jacob could expect her and her staff. Al-shira, near the planet and farther away from
Eagle
, took long enough to respond Jacob began to worry, but when the message came it was a full hologram transmission.

Captain Al-shira was a beautiful sight after the long cruise through the Frontier, but her expression was extraordinarily formal. “This is Captain Naomi Al-shira to Admiral Jacob Hull. We report there have been no Oduran incursions at Tiredel since your departure.
Nearby systems have had no incidents either. No pirate sightings, no lost ships. Everything has been quiet here.”

Al-shira paused and a flicker of irritation showed through her professional expression. “We are hoping your mission was a success, sir, and both you and your crews have returned safely to Tiredel. As you sent no messages ahead of your arrival, we will continue to assume that to be the case,
Admiral
.”

Jacob winced at his oversight; he’d simply allowed the communications blackout that he’d begun at the start of their journey to continue on the way back. Al-shira continued in a more neutral tone.

“I will transfer from my current command at the soonest opportunity and return to
Eagle
, per your orders. Commander Miguel sends his support, as do all the citizens of Reefhome. The Reefhome Defense Force will continue in their duties until you formally relieve them of their responsibility to defend the system. Clarification of their current duties has involved several very…complicated…discussions with Admiral Siddiqui and her officers. I hope your return can help simplify the issue.”

Then Al-shira paused, and her eyes fixed on Jacob’s face. “And Jacob…welcome home.
Captain Al-shira, out.”

Jacob finished his description of the results of his attack in Kryshaen and turned back to face Siddiqui. She stared at him across the table of the conference room—Jacob had decided not to use the main briefing room for security reasons—and her expression was completely blank of emotion. Her fellow officers seemed far less capable of shielding their growing horror. Neither her chief of staff, Captain Odell, nor her second in command, Captain Deleon, seemed capable of speech. The only other person Jacob had brought was Al-shira, and she didn’t seem inclined to comment. Thus free of interruption, Jacob pressed on.

“As a result of our attack, I believe there is very little chance of an Oduran offensive within the next two years. Their lack of dreadnaught support—along with the political and morale consequences of a defeat in their own territory—should prevent any effective raiding actions either. By the time they recover, the Navy should have enough time to rebuild and rearm. We should be more than ready for them.”

Siddiqui did not seem impressed. “So you say, Admiral.” She gestured to the projection that showed the final results of the engagement. “They could very well be motivated by their recent defeat to take revenge, rather than cower. If so, they could very well be here much sooner, could they not?”

Jacob met her gaze with a level look. “That is possible, Admiral, but they would have to have the ships, the stability, and the support. I intend to give them no opportunity to gain any of those things. Continued offensive missions against their support bases can maintain their current difficulties.”

The other admiral cast him a humorous smile. “Those missions would need to be sanctioned by the Admiralty Board or the High Seat, correct?”

Holding in a flare of irritation, Jacob nodded.
“Of course, Admiral Siddiqui. Just as this one was authorized. In case a more…restrained…approach is decided on, we still have options available to use.” He tapped another control, bringing up a wide view of the stars along each nation’s border. Arrows lanced across the neutral space on the frontier, heading from the Oduran League to spots along the Celostian side of the map. “According to our information, these are the routes which the Oduran League uses for its major raids. They are also consistently traveled by Oduran raiding parties.”

Siddiqui’s gaze sharpened. “This information came through the Intelligence division?”

With a brief pause—necessary to contain his annoyance—Jacob answered. “No, Admiral. This information came directly from the interrogation of Oduran prisoners and what we were able to recover from some of the abandoned facilities at Kryshaen. I believe you can contact Captain Meriweather if you have further questions about the majority of the data, but we are relatively sure it is accurate. Given the troubles Intelligence has had in securing that sort of intel, it isn’t surprising they haven’t been able to confirm it.”

Siddiqui settled back, apparently amused by the comment on the competence of Admiral Yeseti’s department.

Al-shira drew Jacob’s attention. “Would it be possible to set ambushes along those routes? I know we might not be able to beat an Oduran task force directly, but perhaps with limited engagements we could wear them down.”

Jacob fought the urge to smile. It was the perfect way to open up the discussion he wanted to have. “That is a possibility, Captain, but it would run the risk of being caught with a large portion of our forces dispersed across the Frontier instead of guarding our borders. Instead, I want to send a small force of scouts to monitor those areas and destroy any supply caches the enemy might try to use to support a major advance into our territory. Given enough warning, we could then move
Eagle
and any other appropriate forces into position to intercept the raiders.”

Captain Deleon spoke next, her voice incredulous. “And how can we be sure those scouts would not be intercepted and destroyed? A single ship is extremely vulnerable alone on the Frontier.”

“A fact I am very familiar with, Captain.” Jacob gave her a half-smile. “I would also remind you a Celostian warship is very recognizable. If local traders or Telosian pirates catch sight of them, they could warn the Odurans and throw off our plans.” He tapped another button and the stars were replaced by wireframe images of ships. “That is why I would rather use a force of irregulars for our scouts, drawn mainly from reliable militias.”

At those words, Admiral Siddiqui sat bolt upright in her chair. Surprise could not have been plainer on her features. The same shock reflected in the members of her staff. Captain Odell’s jaw dropped, and then the man looked back at his superior, expecting some sort of dramatic response. To Jacob’s disappointment, Siddiqui recovered her composure quite quickly. Suspicion soon took the place of surprise. “Admiral, I thought you were of the opinion militia forces would be rather useless in battle.”

Jacob gestured at the border. “As a response fleet against Oduran incursions? Definitely. The hulls of most militia vessels are based on patrol craft or merchantmen; the corvettes and frigates of the Oduran fleet could cut them to ribbons. A professional military crew would also be far better trained for combat, while militias generally are not.”

“Militia
do have plenty of strengths however.” Jacob tapped a control, and the image of Tiredel replaced the schematics for the converted merchant craft. “They can protect territory not actively threatened by Oduran forces and prevent Telosian pirate incursions. They can even prevent light Oduran raiding parties—and they would definitely be able to slip past Oduran scouts much more easily than an official Celostian warship could. Their converted hulls could still pass as civilian craft at range, and even if the enemy discovered they were armed, they would not be certain they were anything more than a heavily armed merchant hauler.”

Siddiqui nodded slowly. “And as scouts, they would be required to avoid an engagement, which would keep them out of the Odurans’ sights.”

Jacob watched her carefully. “Correct, Admiral.”

She didn’t respond immediately; instead, Siddiqui continued to study the image of the system. Odell leaned forward, his expression contemplative. Deleon was obviously far less convinced than the other two. She frowned. “Sending out these patrols would mean the local militias would have fewer ships available for local defense. How could we ask them to abandon their homes?”

“They could count on a stronger Navy presence while their ships are on patrol.” Al-shira spoke slowly, and an approving smile grew on her features. “The Navy’s better suited to major defense operations anyway, and the militia would actually know just as well as the Navy where the Oduran’s heaviest strikes would hit. They might have fewer ships available at any one moment, but we’d be better able to cover them when the Odurans do show up.”

Deleon speared Al-shira with a scornful look. “That assumes the militia involved trust the Navy to do the work of defending them. Why should they be forced to depend on the Union for that?”

Jacob shrugged. “They won’t have to. If they prefer, they can continue to defend themselves. The Odurans would slaughter them in any stand-up engagement, so their losses will be rather heavy. There’s nothing the Navy can do to prevent it if we don’t know when the attack is coming.” He spread his hands. “We can do a much better job if we trust each other enough to work together. Our people will be safer and more secure than they have in the history of the Union. Isn’t that the ultimate goal for us?”