Merkiaari Wars: 04 - Operation Breakout Read online

  Colgan nodded as he scrolled through the list displayed on the compad. Names of systems and the dates of arrival slid by. He paused as more data appeared. Ship names? He nodded as he realised it was a list of ships Tait had pirated.

  “What’s this last one?”

  “That’s the real prize,” Anya said eagerly. “Tait visited that system multiple times, and there’s a pattern.”

  Colgan frowned. “Pattern?”

  “Like I said, this was all encrypted. The rest of the stuff we got from Tait’s ship was left unsecured. I think the reason for that is what he did in these systems in particular. I’ve managed to match a system for each of the ships he jacked, but that one pops up again and again. I can’t link it to any missing ships. He only jumps there after a successful attack. What does that say about his reasons?”

  Colgan’s eyes narrowed. “He was making a rendezvous for offload.”

  “Exactly, but not with a ship. I’m guessing that system is where Tait got paid, but if he was meeting another ship he would’ve needed to do it on a set schedule. He didn’t. The dates are pretty random. No pattern I could detect there. So what’s the alternative?” Anya said and quickly answered her own question. “Pirate base. Either a station or planet that buys the stolen ships and fences the cargoes.”

  Colgan whistled silently. If Anya was right, they had a fantastic opportunity to put a major dent in the raider activity in this sector. Without customers and a way to resupply, pirate ships would suddenly find it less attractive to hunt here.

  “Do we have anything on the base itself?”

  Anya shook her head.

  “Nothing in the sensor logs?”

  “Nothing. I’m guessing again, but I bet whoever runs the place frowns on ships going in with sensors trawling and weapons hot.”

  Colgan laughed. In their position he would more than frown. He sobered at the thought of what he would do in their place. A base was an asset for all who made use of it. They would want to keep it safe. It would be well hidden and protected. He would have anti-ship defences on the station itself, or if it was a planetary installation, anti-air lasers and missiles. On top of that, he’d want ships patrolling the system for defence as well as a way to escape if it all fell in the pot. If he jumped Warrior into that, he could find himself seriously outnumbered.

  He frowned in thought. Warrior could take any raider one on one. Even two on one seemed doable. She was a modern heavy cruiser after all. Most raider ships were antiquated older ships that were sold off by their governments to become trader vessels, or they’d been diverted somehow from the breakers. Warrior could take them, he was sure of it, but a system containing a pirate base could have dozens of ships visiting in addition to whatever defences it had put together. He couldn’t risk his ship against an unknown threat of the magnitude he might be facing.

  “We’ll need some help on this one,” Colgan said and Anya looked relieved. She must have feared her data would convince him to attack alone. “Collate everything you have for the drone. We’ll launch it the moment we arrive in Helios. Work up a really good report, Anya. I want command drooling over your presentation. Get some possible scenarios in there,” he mused trying to think of everything at once. “Make some assumptions. I want an attack plan based upon a station assault and one on a planetary base. Look up the last few times Fleet hit one of these things and work something up. I know you can’t be sure what we’ll actually face, but that isn’t the point of this. I want Sector to send us reinforcements ready to kick raider butt and take names, not attack independently. This operation is ours. With reinforcements we can recon the system in force and work up a proper attack plan.”

  Anya nodded. “You want it tempting enough that they’ll bite, but risky too, so they’ll send decent firepower.”

  “Exactly. I have no doubt this op will give us a proper workout no matter the ships they send us. I’ll need heavy backup.” Colgan handed the compad back as Anya stood to leave. “I’ll want to review what you come up with before the drone launch.”

  “Understood, sir. I’ll make it tempting, but I don’t want them arriving thinking they’ll have it easy.”

  Anya left then and Colgan went to freshen his coffee before turning back to his comp and the reports he still needed to review.

  Aboard Warrior, in the Zone, Helios System

  Colgan racked his helmet beside his station and turned his attention back to his monitors. So, Helios again. The last time arrival had been a little too exciting for his peace of mind, but this time empty space greeted them. No jacked ships, no raider ships, and no collision alarms.

  Good.

  “Prepare for drone launch,” Colgan ordered.

  “Aye sir,” Mark said from the comm shack. “Updating the drone now.”

  Colgan nodded. “Launch when ready, Sector HQ and 80%.”

  Mark worked his board, adding Warrior’s log to the drone so that her safe arrival in Helios was reported along with Anya’s analysis and the proposed assault on the pirate system. “Update complete. Destination Beaufort. Drive set to 80%. Launching... drone away... drone has entered fold space.”

  He nodded and turned his attention to Janice. “Helm, new course to Helios Station. I promised Captain Perry he could switch out the marine guard we left here.”

  “Aye aye, Skipper,” Janice said, already working her controls and bringing the ship around. “On course to Helios Station. ETA around midday local at standard in system speed.”

  He checked the ship’s chronometers and noted they’d already been synced with the beacon, part of Mark’s job as communication’s officer. It was a little after 0900 local time, so they had a few hours flight plus the usual docking shenanigans any ship had to undergo. 0.5 light was standard in system speed—approximately two thirds of Warrior’s maximum. They didn’t need to dash about.

  “Very good. There’s no need to stress anything.”

  The bridge settled down to normal daily operations for only a short time before Commander Groves reported unusual activity around the station. Sensors, like communications, had light speed limitations and although Alliance scientists continued to research other methods, nothing had yet been found that could circumvent those limitations in normal space.

  “Unusual, Francis? Unusual how?” Colgan said.

  Groves brought her sensor data up on the main viewer and overlaid it with her system grid. Colgan’s number one monitor mirrored the results. He put Anya’s tactical plot piped directly to her from CIC on his number two monitor, but relaxed immediately when he deciphered the IFF ship designations. They were all Fleet.

  “A lot of heavy metal docked at the station, sir,” Groves said. The cool blue icons of the Fleet ships started blinking on the screen. “Those are all Excalibur class heavies same as us.” Two other ships started flashing, but alternating from blue to green and back to blue to make them stand out from the heavies. “Destroyers, Vanguard class.” Another ship blinked counterpoint in dark green. “A courier ship, and lastly the ship on final approach is another courier ship.”

  “Helios has become a busy little system while we’ve been away,” Colgan said and smiled ruefully. “I wonder what could have—”

  “Incoming message, Skipper. Timing suggests it was sent the moment we were detected by the beacons.”

  He nodded. Someone had been watching for them to arrive. This should prove interesting. “On screen please.”

  The sensor data was replaced by a woman in uniform. He recognised Commodore Walder and frowned. She should be overseeing operations at Beaufort, not here. The discovery of Merkiaari aboard Jean de Vienne might account for the ships dispatched to Helios, but a bunch of corpses no matter their origin didn’t rate the sector commander’s personal attendance in his opinion.

  “Captain Colgan,” Walder began her expression hard. “You are ordered to dock your ship at Helios and prepare to meet with me aboard Audacious at the earliest opportunity. Depending upon the outcome of that meeting a co
urt of inquiry may be convened to discuss your actions in this system, and the events leading to the deaths of Major Appleford and his marines. Walder out.”

  Stunned silence at the commodore’s abruptness filled the bridge.

  Colgan’s thoughts flashed to the discussion he’d had with Captain Perry aboard Tait’s ship. Commodore Walder had a personal interest in the outcome of any investigation, but pointing that out to her wouldn’t be in his best interests. She was his superior officer and the sector commander. As such, she not only had the right, but also the responsibility to investigate his actions. He could protest. He could insist another officer head the court marshal if it went that far, and he would, but he would much prefer it not come to that. He needed to think.

  “Contact Audacious and acknowledge the order, Mark. Give them our ETA.” He stood woodenly, knowing his face was showing too much but unable to help that. “XO, you have the conn. I’ll be in my quarters.”

  “Jeff...” Groves began but then changed what she was going to say when he didn’t stop heading for the elevator. “Aye, sir. I have the conn.”

  He entered the elevator and turned to face the doors. He didn’t see the worry on his crew’s faces as the doors slid closed. He was already going over the battle in his mind’s eye, and trying to imagine what he could have done differently.

  * * *

  9 ~ Commodore

  Helios Station, Helios, Border Zone

  The marine guards at the bottom of Warrior’s ramp snapped to present arms as Colgan’s party walked by and onto the docks. Captain Perry eyed them and nodded in apparent approval at what he’d found. Colgan’s lips twitched into a smile. Perry was very aware that his marines had some competition here on Helios. All the boarding ramps had marine guards except two. There were a good many fleet ships docked. The unattended ramps led aboard the two courier vessels.

  Helios Station was a busy place this week. Vehicles and loaders hurried to and fro moving cargo to resupply the ships with food and other supplies, while other dockworkers monitored the pumps as the station refuelled so many ships at once. No captain would pass on such an opportunity to top off his bunkers. Helios might pump an entire month’s production of LH2 (Liquid Hydrogen) and D2O (Deuterium) in the next day or so.

  LH2 was critical to spaceflight no matter the ship concerned. It was the main component in the fuel that all n-space drives used. Such drives were based upon the principles found within magneto-plasma rockets, and required great quantities of cryogenically cooled liquid hydrogen to produce plasma for thrust. A ship’s fusion reactors produced the other component necessary for the drive to function, namely the electrical power used to create the intense magnetic fields required to both convert the fuel to plasma and direct its thrust. Luckily, DT fusion reactors used deuterium and tritium for fuel in much smaller volumes; they didn’t need the same scale of bunkerage as the drives did. Warrior’s reactors bred their own tritium, and Helios supplied deuterium as its second most important product. Deuterium could be refined from any form of water, which of course Helios had no problem producing. It was a hydrogen gas mine after all. All of which meant that Helios’ industry was booming with so many ships docked.

  Colgan and his party made their way along the docks taking in the bustle. The slip next to Warrior was empty, the telltale above the sealed hatch dark. The next was occupied by one of the courier ships, and the board was lit but no departure time was listed. They past another two empty slips, boards dark again and ramps fully retracted into storage, before reaching a ramp with marine guards. The board above the ramp announced the docked ship as ASN Trojan. If Colgan recalled correctly, it was one of a pair of Vanguard class destroyers in the system. They walked on by and Colgan grinned at Perry’s satisfied smirk.

  Perry explained when he noticed Colgan’s raised eyebrow. “Slovenly.”

  That would be the day! No marine was slovenly in Fleet.

  The next two ramps also had guards. ASN Fury—another Vanguard class destroyer—and ASN Crusader, an Excalibur class heavy cruiser the same as his own Warrior. Perry grudgingly acknowledged that the marines were competent.

  “I hope you aren’t planning on a critique when we go aboard Audacious, Shawn,” Groves said.

  “No ma’am,” Perry said but then grinned. “But word will spread.”

  “Scuttlebutt does tend to do that,” Colgan agreed. “I would really appreciate it waiting to spread until just before departure. This is going to be touchy enough without petty rivalries getting in the way.”

  Perry nodded. “Do you think the Commodore was serious?”

  “She wouldn’t have said it if she weren’t,” Groves said. “Anya here will put her right. Won’t you, Anya?”

  Lieutenant Ivanova didn’t look confident, Colgan noted, but she nodded. “With all the data I’m bringing, it will take her a week just to get up to speed on what really happened out here.”

  That was assuming she cared about what really happened. He wasn’t confident that was the case and he cursed Perry silently for putting that doubt in his head. If he hadn’t known of the Commodore’s personal attachment to Major Appleford he would have considered this meeting routine, but he did know and his traitorous imagination insisted upon supplying all kinds of disastrous scenarios. That was why he’d armed himself with Anya and Perry, neither of whom had been invited to his meeting with the Commodore. Both had brought the data they needed with them.

  In Anya’s case, she had Warrior’s logs, Jean de Vienne’s logs, and MV Astron’s logs detailing the battle and the time either side of it. She also had her analysis so recently dispatched via drone to Beaufort with her. Perry had a sampling of the recordings taken from his marine’s helmet cams and his personal account of what happened that day. He had witnessed the ambush that killed Appleford and his marines. He had nearly been a victim of it.

  The departure board above the next ramp announced their destination. ASN Audacious. The guards snapped to attention as they presented themselves, and the formalities were taken care of. It took less than a minute for their escort to arrive, Audacious’ XO, Commander Healey. Handshakes were exchanged and Healey escorted them into his ship.

  “Everything is set up in the briefing room,” Healey said.

  Colgan nodded, and assumed he meant the Commodore wanted to use the holotank and screens to help her understand the battle. He didn’t at all expect what awaited him when the hatch slid aside to reveal her already seated with the senior officers of all the other ships. Francis shot him a worried look, and he tried not to return it, but knew he had failed.

  He entered the room and came to attention. He saluted the Commodore as did those with him, but held the salute when she failed to return it, noting the disapproving looks Walder received. Whether she noticed or not, she suddenly stood and returned the salute. He lowered his hand and introduced his officers.

  Walder nodded to each of them and gestured to seating. “Give Commander Healey your data. He’ll see it uploaded for presentation.”

  Anya reluctantly handed Healey the case she’d brought, and took a seat on Colgan’s left. Groves had the seat on his right. Captain Perry sat next to Anya after passing his case to Healey.

  “Before we begin,” Colgan said suddenly unable to wait any longer. “I would like to know whether I need council.”

  Walder’s eyes flashed. “That remains to be seen.”

  “No, ma’am. I meant here, today. If I’m not on trial here, why have you convened five senior captains to hear my report?”

  There were seven captains present, but two of them were junior grade and wouldn’t sit on a panel of judges when the defendant was senior to them. To be absolutely scrupulous, Walder should rule herself out of any hearing, even when she could easily sit as president of the court, because she had links to Warrior. She had been her previous captain and known or not, she had a relationship with the now deceased Major Appleford.

  Walder leaned back in her seat, as if at her ease, but her words wer
e clipped. “I arranged this gathering for a number of reasons, none of which concern you directly. However, should a court be necessary, I find it convenient to have the components available.”

  “And so I repeat,” Colgan said carefully. “Do I need my advocate for this meeting?”

  “No you do not!” Walder snapped.

  He surveyed the others at the table and nodded. “Thank you for the clarification, Commodore.”

  Captain Vardell of Shannon leaned forward and braided her fingers on the table. “While Commander Healey arranges the presentation of your data, could you give us a brief overview of what we’ll see?”

  Colgan looked for permission from Walder, being careful never hurt. She nodded for him to go ahead. “My tactical officer, Lieutenant Ivanova, has brought the logs of the battle from all three ships involved. In addition, her analysis of the data retrieved from Jean de Vienne—that was the name the raider ship was using at the time—has identified a possible pirate base—”

  Walder sat up straight. “There was nothing about a pirate system in your earlier report.”

  “The data came to light only recently, Commodore. Anya has been working on decrypting the astrogation logs in her off time. She reported her findings to me while we were in transit to Helios. We have identified a system that may contain a base. I launched a drone to Beaufort with my updated report and logs upon emergence, Commodore.”

  Captain Narraway of Audacious nodded. “We detected the launch.”

  “In my report I requested reinforcement and permission to recon the system Anya found, but now...” Colgan waved a hand at the captains. “I’m sure there’s enough firepower in system to deal with anything we’re likely to find.”

  The captains looked eager and hungry for action, but when they turned hopefully to the Commodore, they didn’t receive the reaction they were hoping for. Walder was glaring. She hadn’t been distracted from her goal of lynching him over Appleford’s death. Well, no reason she should be. The pirate system could be dealt with by her after the court marshal. Colgan could almost see that decision crystallise in her thoughts as her face smoothed and she nodded.