My Life: An Ex-Quarterback's Adventures in the Galactic Empire (38 page)

“Incoming signals,” said Andrave. My time was up.

The main screen formed a window, within which appeared the image of a Srihani. He looked maybe ten Earth years older than I, although it was hard to be sure because of the strain that showed on his face. He wore, no surprise, the neutral gray tunic of the Fleet. There was no shoulder patch.

“I am Anson a Ywarcka, Lussern Squadron Command. Your IFF is not current.” Translated, that meant, “You’re not flying our flag, so come up with a good explanation or we start shooting.” I wished, not for the first time, that instead of their damned euphemisms, folks from the empire would just say what they meant.

I hadn’t even time to reply before a second window opened in the screen. The image in that one was a copy of Anson’s save for more gray hair and a shoulder patch that meant Carrillacki. His message was a blunt order to join the attack at Lussern. From the tone of both, it would have been impossible to tell that they were locked in a fight to the death with each other. They both sounded as though I should beg, on bended knee, for my life.

“Communications, open ship to ship and broadcast it.” I’d made my decision, so I might as well let the whole system know it. “I am Danny a Troy, freebooter Francis Drake Command. As for my IFF, hail Emperor and to hell with Carrillacki!” I could hear cheering over the intercom and saw approval all around the bridge. The screen showed the other freebooters following Franny in.

We drove straight into the battle in progress in the space around Gadjeen. Five ships, in formation to support each other, can have a devastating effect on isolated opponents. Either the wingman concept wasn’t in vogue, or the battle had become too disorganized for ships to keep together, but we caught a Carrillacki cruiser alone on that first pass. Beams and shot reached out from all five ships at once. There was no need of missiles at all. No ship ever built could stand a barrage like that for long. Gouts of red flame burst down at the hull while shot after shot flew past the overmatched defenses. Chunks of ship flew away and we could see explosions break out through the hull. The Carrillacki was junk as we swept past, headed for Gadjeen.

We had come roaring in at a high relative velocity. This carried us well past Gadjeen before we could change our vectors. Then we fell victim to the same disorganization that was afflicting the other forces. If I had kept all five ships together and made another run at Gadjeen, our combined firepower might have ended the battle then and there. Unfortunately, freebooters are accustomed to fighting independently. With a Carrillacki cruiser and two destroyers headed at us from Lussern, and targets of opportunity spread over half the sky, our cohesion vanished. Franny found herself alone, on course for Gadjeen. We were not alone very long.

“Command, enemy vessel on intercept course.”

The screen showed the picture and the numbers of the bad news. It was the cruiser we had noted before heading outward from the planet. The two destroyers had peeled off and were now engaged with Demril, all too far away to interfere. The cruiser by itself was at least an even match for Franny. From the readings it might have even been a more powerful ship. The course it had chosen left no doubt about its captain’s plans.

“Helm, maneuver for attack advantage.”

That was really all I needed to say. It announced that we would engage rather than evade. From that point, Helm would fly the ship and Fire Control and Space Defense would fight it, until I made some other decision. While they were doing that, I had to sit there without showing how much I was shaking inside.

Brilliant pinpoints of light sparkled around the both ships as beams picked up potentially deadly shot. Other beams shot up in fountains of purple and red as they struck the shields. The intercom gave a different view of the fight.

“Damage Control, sector eight. Minor burn through, one down.”

“Engineering, this is Helm. You may divert auxiliary units one and three to add shield power.”

“Space Defense. Incoming missiles.” The words I hate above all others.

The screen showed two of them, fired immediately after a beam volley. Maybe Carrillacki Fire Control thought he could blind us long enough to slip a missile in. Maybe he hoped to get lucky. There was a barely perceptible shudder as a volley of counter-missiles went off. A moment later, there was a bright flash, but only one.

“Defense Board Three, missile tracking and closing in your sector.”

“I have it, Space Defense.”

“Missile evading and still closing.”

“Defense Board Three, missile still closing in your sector.”

“Acknowledged.”

Suddenly, the screens flashed white. A beam had nailed the missile just beyond the shield.

“Thank you, Defense Board Three.”

Unfortunately, the fireball from the explosion nulled the shield in that area, long enough for the Carrillacki beams to penetrate. Franny bucked as particle beams hit the hull and Helm tried to change our vector quickly to minimize the burn-throughs. Big spaceships do not change direction fast. The comm filled with damage control reports.

“Command, vessel on intercept course.” Just what we needed, I thought. Then Andrave added, “IFF is of the Fleet.”

That was more like it. But the Imperial ship on an attack course against the Carrillacki was a half-wrecked ship. Even as we watched on the screen, an explosion blew out the hull in one of the rear sectors. Still, she held her course and opened fire. Beams from the Imperial and from Franny splashed against the Carrillacki shield. The Carrillacki struck back at the Imperial and easily tore through its weakened defenses with shot and beams. A tremendous explosion almost split the Imperial in two, but some of her beams continued to fire. The added firepower paid off with a red flare at the Carrillacki shield that burned through into the ship below. The Carrillacki began to roll, trying to turn her damaged area away from Franny.

“Helm,” I ordered, “match his roll.” The damage must have been significant because the Carrillacki was sacrificing his aim to try and hide it. Our beams and railguns hammered away at the area where the burn-through had taken place, while Farad, at the Helm, strove to keep it in sight. Something had happened to the shield in that area, because beam after beam sent red fire into the ship. Abruptly, the Carrillacki engines powered up. He started to turn away. What had we hit?

“Fire Control, you may fire missiles in barrage.”

“At your order,” Ruoni snapped out and released the missiles to his subordinate controllers. Franny jumped as six missiles took off at once.

Three white flares erupted in a line, just short of the Carrillacki. A fourth flare burst at the shield. Red lightning shot off parallel to the shield, but also down at the ship. And then, the screens went white again. When they cleared, there was an expanding cloud of gas lit by a yellow-red core where the cruiser had been. The Imperial, who had created this chance for us, was no longer under power and didn’t answer a hail. Alone, Franny continued in to Gadjeen.

Seen up close, Gadjeen looked like any other airless moon. The terrain could easily have been copied from Earth’s moon. Seen by the reflected light of the sun, its colors ranged from light gray to dark gray. Meteor craters and mountain ranges were prominent features. Where the horizon met the black of space, there was a sharp line.

Space above Gadjeen was quiet as we moved in. The instruments showed that the fighting had moved away as ships shaped their courses based on the exigencies of the moment and the maneuvers of an opponent. In fact, without the instruments, it would have been hard to know that a battle was proceeding at all. You would have to watch carefully for the flashes when a beam hit a shield or a shot, or even for the bigger flashes when a missile detonated. In spite of the fact that two dozen ships were still trying to kill each other within a small planetary system, space was vast enough to swallow them up with nothing visible.

I mentioned that the space around Gadjeen was devoid of ships. I don’t have a degree in military science, my education was strictly on the job and devoted to single-ship combat—but this was a big mistake. The primary purpose of the Carrillacki strike had been to take the base or, failing that, destroy it. The destruction of Lussern’s ships, and whatever elements of the Fleet were present, was secondary. Whether the Carrillacki had also planned to devastate Lussern itself, in spite of their compact with us, or whether they were just carried away by the success of their earlier diversionary move, I don’t know. Regardless, they had lost track of their primary objective. There was no evidence they had taken the base or destroyed it and there were no Carrillacki ships in the vicinity.

The base included the repair depot, and many small surface installations. Some of these had been destroyed, others appeared intact. The main base was underground. It housed the command and control center for the space defenses and it was where the Carrillacki had staged their ground assault. The information I had been given put the number of Imperial troops in the base at about one hundred. There would be another hundred or so service personnel and they would fight if they had to.

“How much of a force did Carrillacki put down there?” I asked.

Ruoni said, “Not more than one hundred fifty to two hundred, based on the boats that landed. My bet is that it’s an even fight and they’re still at it.”

I agreed.

Jaenna had been looking at the schematic. Now, she said, “I could take the strike force down in the landing boats. That’s another seventy-five troops. If Ruoni’s right, and if the situation in the base is what we think, the strike force should be enough to take the base. If even part of the base weaponry is operational, it could be the difference in the battle.”

It was an effort to keep to the forms when I said, “That’s a lot of ‘ifs’, Strike Force Command.”

“It’s our best chance,” Jaenna said.

I could see her point. By now, all but two of the Lusserani ships were gone. Tomao’s Avenging Sword had disappeared, so I had to assume he was gone too. That left nine ships, including the freebooters, to face eleven Carrillacki and Tomarillio, whose ships on average were superior to ours. Even without the firepower of the base, assuming that it remained out of commission, the Carrillacki were likely to win. We needed the base.

“The job’s yours. Only,” I paused, “be careful Jaenna.”

An expression of shock appeared on her face. The bridge crew who had been closely following the discussion were suddenly glued to their boards. I had committed a hideous breach of protocol and that had stopped her in her tracks. I had used her
name
instead of her position while we were in action.

When she spoke, her voice was very soft. “I will,” she said. “You take care too, Dannytroy.” With that she stood, slim and straight, her cloak as usual shrouding her from neck to knees. “Communications,” she said, “bring the strike force to the landing boat bays.” She strode off the bridge.

It seemed like only minutes before the boats departed. Jaenna had her team honed to a fine edge. I watched the screen track the boats down, watched also for any sign of defensive fire. It was bad enough taking the landing boats in on a raid when the ground defenses had been knocked out. Here, we knew they were dropping on a Fleet base with many weapons intact. One of these days, I thought, Jaenna would take too big a risk and I would be sitting there watching it happen. What would I do then?

It didn’t happen that time. Gadjeen’s batteries remained silent; no Carrillacki ships intruded. The boats landed and the strike force disembarked without incident. They formed up and trotted into the surface structures without resistance.

“Command, enemy ship on intercept course.”

It had stayed quiet just long enough. Once again we were caught up in a one-on-one dogfight, this time with the added objective of keeping the enemy away from the base. This combat was inconclusive. Franny took a few hits, none of a serious nature. She gave a few, too, but none of those was serious either. The Carrillacki finally broke off the engagement, doubtless in the hope of finding easier prey elsewhere. For a draw, the action had eaten up quite a bit of time, as I discovered when I had loosened up enough to look at the chronometer. As we had put the moon between us and the base, Andrave had no report of any communication from the strike force. Other than the retreating track of our recent enemy, there was no one nearby. It was time to head back to the base.

From up top, the base looked no different than before. I suppose that was something. There could have been a big crater in the middle of it.

“Command, I have contact with the strike force.”

“Good.” Great was more like it, but I couldn’t say that. My heart was pounding crazily. “What’s the report?”

“Strike Force Command reports progress stalled at the inner corridor, just before the command and control center. Casualties are heavy.”

“How heavy is heavy?” Then I had to wait while Andrave relayed the inquiry.

“Thirty down.”

Christ, almost fifty percent! I began to wonder if there would be any way of extricating what was left of the force if this plan went totally sour. Also, I was wondering if Jaenna was one of the thirty. The report had come from Strike Force Command, but that would be whoever was alive and in charge and I could not ask. Damn that protocol!

“Put the base schematic on the screen again,” I ordered, “and add in the positions reported by Strike Force.”

The situation took shape in front of me. The command center was shaped rather like a hockey puck and was situated at the deepest level of the base. Adjacent to it was a semicircular corridor that connected to the command center at three points along its central portion. The ends of this inner corridor, which because of the curve were not in line of sight of each other, led back into the base, as did two corridors that connected to it near the middle. Jaenna’s force had made their way to the juncture of these two central connectors with the inner corridor. There, they had been stopped by the Carrillacki. Fighting was also in progress at one end of the inner corridor, where it seemed that the Carrillacki were holding off some of the base garrison. The other end of the corridor had been sealed off when the roof fell in. This converted the corridor from a C-shape to a fish hook. The command center appeared deserted. Neither Jaenna nor the Imperials had enough force to break through and reach the internal entrances to the command center. The Carrillacki, however, were pinned to their positions in the inner corridor. The entrances to the command center corridors were in the line of fire of both Jaenna’s troops and the Imperial garrison.