Birthright: Battle for the Confederation- Turmoil Read online

  Rese had decided to follow along, because if she'd been a Priman, with their much harder to detect ships, she would probably have tried to coast in undetected as well. Soon after, the 'cold' Lemurian destroyers had run up their drives and charged at Cobalt, which was now caught in a pincer between forces fore and aft. It was a well-planned maneuver. She still had a few cards to play, however.

  "Helm," she commanded, "hard to port, ninety degree heading change." She heard the crewwoman repeat her commands as she complied, but Rese's attention was already on the viewscreen by her captain's chair. "Captain Sosus," she said to the image of Cory on the screen, the picture of eagerness, a coiled spring ready to pop. "You're free to engage; separate by taking a ninety degree heading change to starboard. Let's gang up on the destroyers behind us, shall we?"

  "Living the dream," Cory replied with a smile and signed off.

  "Helm," Rese called again, "as soon as the destroyers stabilize on our new course, begin a minimum radius turn back to our port; we're going to engage the destroyers that were chasing us."

  "Aye, Captain."

  Captain Rese smiled. It wasn't quite as rewarding as blowing up Primans, but there were definitely worse ways to spend an afternoon.

  "Ready to break on my mark," Cory commanded over the comm net. As the CAG, she was in charge of both Avenger’s squadrons, though in a few seconds she'd hand off control of the Vipers and their twelve Talon fighters to Commander Merritt Elder. Merritt planned to further split into two elements of six, with Commander Web Exeter taking the other half dozen. Cory had decided to keep her Intruders together even though this was a wargame designed to aid the Lemurians more than the Confeds. In a real battle, her Intruders would always stick together, for their Quick Strike torpedoes held the greatest advantage when launched in large numbers. Even though they weren't simulating those weapons today, she still wanted her pilots to train the way they fought; close together, supporting their wingmen.

  "Mark!" she called, and all twenty-four fighters scattered in a chaotic but beautifully choreographed motion. Twelve Intruders went for the first destroyer, while six Talons each headed for the other two destroyers.

  "The captain of that cruiser is a crazy person going head-to-head with us like that," muttered the XO of the Lemurian destroyer Watcher to her captain.

  "Well, she needs to even the odds quickly," the captain replied without taking her eyes off the main tactical plot on the forward viewscreen. "Making a raking pass down our sides puts her in our crosshairs, but I do believe we as the first ship and Captain Still in the last ship will bear the brunt of extended fire." Captain Lacer knew her ship was outgunned and that only by working together could they achieve victory. However, her ships had to survive the opening salvos to make good on that plan. "She's got her fighters ready to pounce as well."

  "Maneuvers?" asked the XO.

  "Definitely," replied the captain. She turned to look at the helmsman, only a few steps away on the much smaller bridge of the destroyer in comparison to the Confederation cruiser. "Helm, plot orders for all three ships in our element and send on my mark. Take us nose-up eighty degrees, second ship down eighty degrees, last ship port eighty degrees. Concentrate fire on engines and weapons batteries; all six of us will regroup for pursuit and protection."

  The helmsman worked madly at his station, tapping controls, swiping and making gestures with his fingers, hands dancing over the board. A second later he nodded at the captain.

  "Mark," the captain replied emotionlessly. She knew she'd lose one, quite possibly two of her three destroyers in this initial skirmish, which was why she sent out extended orders for the rest of her ships. If her ship was ruled out of the exercise, at least her captains will know what she wanted them to do.

  The Confed cruiser adjusted course slightly, to keep itself equidistant from her destroyer as well as the last one, which had stayed on the same plane as the initial encounter. Low-powered laser blasts flashed across space; instead of the separate packets of magnetically contained energy the the batteries fired normally, they just used their targeting lasers adjusted to appear in the visible spectrum.

  Damage began to pile up on the Watcher, and Lacer grimaced. Her ship was losing combat effectiveness fast as her ventral hull was opened up to space and her engines sustained hits that reduced reactor power by half. The last destroyer took laser hits as well as two simulated torpedo hits; she was ruled destroyed by the computer in charge of the exercise.

  Next came strafing runs by the two dozen Confed fighters. The Intruders especially, with their twin autocannons and armor-piercing rounds, chewed up another destroyer and earned a mission-kill. Down to four destroyers now, the Lemurian destroyers had finally reformed in a coordinated formation to chase down the Confed ship. The Confed captain knew it, as well, as she accelerated and changed course again, refusing to allow the Lemurian destroyers to take any meaningful angle towards her and close the gap. In a tail chase it was anyone's game; the Confed ship's engines were vulnerable, but she also sported two aft-facing torpedo tubes.

  "Helm," the captain barked, "program in a series of S-turns for us so we can uncover our main batteries better and let me know when you're ready to send." As it was, her destroyers could only fire with one gun each while they were pointed nose towards the Confed cruiser. If they showed their broadsides more, they could fire with their side batteries as well.

  "Ready!"

  "Send it and execute!" commanded Captain Lacer.

  The Lemurian destroyers swung to the right, doubling the number of shots going towards the cruiser. The Cobalt answered with another torpedo volley. Countermeasures and point defense combined defeated one, but the other scored a glancing blow amidships on Watcher. The bridge lights dimmed to nothing for a second, then came back up to half.

  "Mission-kill," replied the XO sullenly as she studied her chair-mounted display. "Torpedo detonated amidships opening Engineering to space and disabling power distribution."

  "We're humped," Captain Lacer stated to the bridge crew, who chuckled grimly.

  "That's the technical term for it, at least," added the XO.

  "Well," Lacer continued, "unfortunately we can't get our hopes up too much against a battle-hardened cruiser and her crew. You all fought well; you didn't leave anything on the table and performed just as I'd hoped. Now let's see how the rest of our force is doing." She looked at on of the conn officers, who took the cue and placed the battle telemetry and tactical model on the main screen.

  The Lemurians lost a total of two ships destroyed and two mission-kills, but eventually the Confed ship had broken off after soaking up some impressive damage of her own. The fighters had hacked away at the destroyers the entire time, losing five of their number. Overall, it was technically a success for the Lemurians since the Confed ship broke contact and withdrew. It was a Pyrrhic victory though, because the entire Lemurian defensive force was essentially wiped out as a fighting unit.

  The ships all returned to normal settings as far as computers and weapons went and started to regroup. They were scattered all over a good chunk of the outer solar system where the ships had been ruled destroyed or disabled, and it would be another ten minutes before they were all back in some semblance of formation again.

  "Good work out there everyone," Cory said over the Avenger Air Wing frequency.

  "Next time I'd like to blow something up for real, though," stated Web over the comms.

  "You say that about everything, Web," she replied with a laugh. "Why don't you take your element and head out on a zero three five heading relative to me and go shepherd in that last Lemurian destroyer."

  "On the way," he said crisply, and took the five other Talons he was leading with him as he rode off at maximum acceleration.

  That night found Captain Elco and Commander Stone sitting in the Aft Quarter, the huge casual mess hall at the aft of the main gun deck of Avenger. It looked out through two-story windows over the aft dorsal area of the ship, over point defense/AA t
urrets, four torpedo tubes, and the aft main laser batteries. Even with all the firepower present in the scene, it was still a beautiful sight because of the view it offered. The stars sparkled, pinpoints of bright unfiltered white light in the vacuum of space; the planet Lemuria filled up much of the viewport on the ship's starboard side, and Loren was allowing himself to be distracted by it as he and the captain ate their meals in silence.

  Lemuria wasn't the prettiest world in the sector, but it had its charms. Though the equatorial region was too hot and swampy, the upper and lower latitudes were quite pleasant for most humanoid life. As he gazed out at the planet, he could see the capital city where they'd spent the last week, surrounded by fertile plains on one side and edging up against a snow-capped mountain range on the other which stretched across almost the entire continent.

  "You think that planet's worth all those people suffering or dying for?" asked Elco as he followed Loren's gaze and deduced what he was thinking.

  "To them, it is," Loren said without thought. "I thought that about Toral when the Primans captured it; I would have fought and died for my home and family."

  Elco just nodded thoughtfully, the only sound between them the sound of the captain's fork scraping the last remnants up off his plate. "I said that to put some perspective on what I have to tell you." The captain's demeanor wasn't usually chipper and carefree, but now he was especially somber.

  "Governor Broadbent has informed me that they'll be officially asking us to leave the system. They figure if the Primans come calling and they see our ships in orbit they'll assume we have some sort of pact with the Lemurians. The governor is set on trying to negotiate something between them, along with just barely a majority of their Parliament."

  Loren was at a loss. He looked harder at the planet out the viewport, as if he could see the governor and the other decision-makers in their chambers through the swirling clouds of the upper atmosphere. He wondered what they told themselves in order to try and convince each other that standing there and waiting for the worst to happen was a serviceable idea.

  "I assume you tried to explain to them how horribly wrong they are," Loren added as he looked Elco in the eyes.

  "I did, with some examples and a chart I had on my data pad," Avenger's captain replied. "Here's the great part; they still want the transports."

  Loren only shook his head. "They can't have it both ways," Loren argued. "If they want to appear unaligned, what will the Primans think when they show up and see Confed transports evacuating the population?"

  Elco only shrugged. "There's a few paragraphs in the starship command training manuals where it tells you to always have the answers, even if you really don't. It's bad for morale, you see, if the crew thinks that I don't have a plan ready for any situation. Can't let anyone think we're fallible people. Well, Loren," Elco leaned conspiratorially across the round table to his XO, "I have no idea what to tell them." He leaned back in his seat again, pulling down on the cuffs of his uniform sleeves. "I said we could stick around for a while out of sight, just a short jump out of the system, but I don't know if they even want that."

  Loren's mind raced as he tried to foresee the repercussions. "So will the navy let them keep the transports even if we're not there?"

  "I'm waiting on the reply to that right now," Elco admitted. "The first round of transports is away and should get back late tomorrow for the next wave. I think, operationally speaking, we could spare them for a while, but I'm not sure what the Governing Committee will do when they hear the news. That's the hangup; Admiral Bak has to pass that onto the politicians. It's not an entirely military matter because of the possible political fallout."

  "Great," Loren muttered. Then his head popped back up as he thought of another problem. "Does this mean all our joint exercises are over?"

  "I'm afraid so," Elco replied somberly. "We're only here because I'm waiting on the response to the issue of letting the transports keep running here. As soon as that's settled, we're supposed to break orbit and head out. I don't have much of a feel for what the military is capable of doing against the Primans. Can they handle themselves?"

  "They're brave and capable with what they've got," Loren stated proudly, "but they won't last a half hour against a Priman force." Gears turned in his head as he tried desperately to think of a way to give the Lemurians a chance. "I could head back down and make a case to Captain Renner," Loren finally said.

  "I thought about having you do that," Elco admitted, "but unless the Governor wants our help or lets his military fight, there's not much for you to do."

  "Why don't I go anyway," Loren said in as compelling a tone as possible. "I'll tell Renner we'd love to stay on station if they want help. Then when you talk to the Governor, you can make the same offer. Maybe we can convince them to at least let us hang around the sidelines in case they need help."

  Captain Elco grinned as he took in Loren's determination and drive. "With a team like us," Elco said, "who could resist?"

  Chapter Five

  Loren had felt better about his chances before he'd actually met with Captain Renner, who'd done him the favor of flying up to Avenger to have the meet Loren had requested.

  They sat in the small living area of Loren's cabin over small glasses of some amber colored liquor Loren had offered. While the captain of a ship had quarters that were meant to host crew and other VIPs, the XO's quarters were more utilitarian. Still, it was a private space with a few touches that made it more personal, a place where two officers could have a drink and discuss the fate of a planet. "It's called a Brandy Burner," Loren explained. "The highlight of the drink is to have it delivered on fire, naturally, but there are some ridiculous rules about open flames aboard a starship or something to that effect," he said dismissively with a wave of his hand. "It's silly, I know, but it doesn't change the flavor of the drink, so just imagine you've blown out the flames and enjoy."

  Renner tilted his glass in salute, and Loren did the same. "Not bad at all," Renner said appraisingly after he took a sip. "Is this your usual, then?"

  "No," Loren replied with a straight face. "I'll drink whatever's free or cheap; this was a gift from my wife and since we don't often have much cause to celebrate these days, I'll settle for commemorating a meeting of two successful, handsome, great-smelling guys building a tiny bridge between their governments."

  Renner held up his glass in salute again. "Don't forget 'charismatic'."

  "Of course," Loren agreed.

  "So," Renner began, "I passed on your suggestion for staying within the vicinity- but not in the actual system- in case the Primans appear."

  Loren raised an eyebrow expectantly.

  "General Horle loved it, of course," admitted Renner. Then his gaze darkened as he glanced down at the decking to try to conceal his feelings. "He said Governor Broadbent offered to take it under advisement." Renner looked up at Loren again. "That means it's not likely to happen."

  Loren only nodded. Badgering the man across the table from him wouldn't solve anything, so he simply said nothing.

  "I have the suspicion that if things with the Primans do go bad," Renner continued, "he'll wish he could contact you in a hurry, though. That's the way he's always been; talks strongly, but is never afraid to change his mind at the last second." Renner set the glass down on the table before continuing. "If you were to stay just far enough away from the planet so the Primans wouldn't be able to detect you, how would we get hold of you if we needed to?"

  Loren paused. Renner wasn't exactly advocating rebellion against the Governor, but he was definitely willing to risk laying the groundwork for an operation that his government didn't know about. "And how much trouble could this get you in?" Loren asked.

  "Doesn't matter," Renner replied instantly, "if it's what needs to be done. Look, I've been assigned to one of the destroyers; we're supposed to keep them all gathered over the northern pole of Lemuria, weapons, deactivated, when the Primans arrive. If they start blasting everything and we're up ag
ainst a wall, how can we contact you?"

  The number of ways this could be used against Loren if it went badly were huge, but he wouldn't turn the man away, either. "Send a message to this location on regular narrow-band long-distance frequencies," Loren said without any further hesitation. He got up and stood by his desk, tapping and swiping on the surface for a few seconds. He grabbed a data chip from a drawer, placed it on the desktop, and watched it glow for a second as data was transferred. He then picked it up and underhand tossed it to Renner, who caught it.

  "That's the location of our inner-system relay satellite that we use to consolidate the feeds from all the sensor platforms we have around your system. If you send a message there, we'll get it in real time. I'll have to see what Confed allows us to offer, though, but I'll let you know as soon as I have something."

  Renner got up and walked over to Loren, hand extended to shake. Loren took it. "Thank you, Commander," Renner said. "I'll do my best to make sure General Horle gets a chance to use this."

  The next morning, Captain Elco was summoned to the Governor's residence for their daily meetings. This was different from his usual practiceof meeting in some random administration building, but he was sure it had everything to do with the fact that he’d told Governor Broadvent that he had an answer from the Confederation’s Governing Committee.

  "This is definitely a change," Elco had told Loren before he'd stepped onto his Freedom class transport in Cory's Warbirds' hangar bay. "I don't know if it's good or bad, but it definitely isn't the status quo."