Tethered Worlds: Star in Bankruptcy Page 21

  “Apparently the Consortium,” Janus said.

  The schematics flashed before them. The ornate ship encircled by a huge ring was originally fielded by the fledgling Vallum Corps during the Sojourners' Crusade. It disappeared from the records after the war until sporadic sightings began some 50 years previous.

  A cruiser, frigate, and a number of corvettes of similar type and vintage also added to the flotilla's unusual roster.

  “They're two centuries old,” Thaine said. “Relics.”

  “In this case,” Janus said, “that only makes them more dangerous.” He looked up. “Intercepts.” The ship AI painted lines across space. Five hours for the Aventicia Security escort fleet to arrive. Over six for the Trade Union. But only two and a half for the Svals. The flag bridge grew quiet. “And ours.” It appeared. Ninety minutes.

  “Surely—” Thaine stuttered. “Surely you're not considering engaging yourself, with only this diplomatic envoy?”

  Janus ignored him, posing thoughtfully for a few seconds. “Intercept course. Best speed, captain.”

  Gimmelstau appeared extra squinty. “May I remind the Prime Orator that the First Cruiser isn't at one hundred percent.”

  Janus ignored him too. “Put our back to Aventicia's infrastructure ring. Maybe we can get some help from their static defense. Inform AvSec of our intent.”

  The ship erupted into chaos rather than orderly military preparedness, but Janus didn't mind. His strong portrayal of the commander's role was the important thing, and didn't go unnoticed. Behind him, Confederated Comm shill, Keats Keating, began recording a report in front of a VAD backdrop.

  The comms filled with frantic cross talk. While the Perigeum Starmada escort moved with the proficiency for which they were known, battle stations took everything the current First Cruiser crew could muster.

  Janus sub-whispered commands and surveilled communication between the starkeelwright, chief engineer, and captain. Gimmelstau let loose with language unbecoming his rank. The engineer was angry and sarcastic.

  The starkeelwright seemed worst off, practically reaching through the screen. “Battlestations? Smelting hell! Isn't this a diplomatic envoy? I am still tuning the starkeel. Did you hear me? I've taken the buffers off all the port hull reactors! Radiated—”

  Janus muted that one. “Perhaps the Consortium has lost all confidence in local governance and seeks to reestablish law and commerce themselves.” He turned, allowing his cape to flare. “But first things first. We can't allow the Svals uninhibited blackmail. The Banking Confederation isn't Perigeum, but a cataclysmic loss of infrastructure would cost us all.” He furrowed his brows. “For the sake of humanity, we must push forward.” He looked afar off. “Sadly, war is but politics stripped of every civilized facade.”

  Parium's eyes darted in confusion. “Who are we at war with?”

  For the first time in a long while Janus was caught up short. He had no slick answer, no polished response. The loss flickered across his face for only an instant. “Orator, why don't you take the flag admiral's chair?”

  Parium shuffled to the flag command station looking dazed.

  I'm trying to give this dolt warrior chops and he's not at all cooperating! Are you even trying to beat Braksaw?

  As they approached the fateful intercept, Janus appraised the situation from his command chair. He shot only a few queries at Leisel, and ignored the still dazed Parium altogether. The Svals, of course, vectored toward the infrastructure ring where the static defenses were weakest.

  “Status of Jetty launched galleons?”

  “Still lacking maneuver control,” the ship AI said.

  Janus stood. “Inform the Capital squadron that if they want to save their world, form up on me.”

  Despite a wall of Svals closing in on them, Aventicia Security's answer was still delayed.

  “We finally have acknowledgment,” Gimmelstau said, “they're coming over.”

  “Aggressive formation, captain.”

  “Prime Orator, we've no Aegis ships to cover us. Our forward placement combined with less maneuverability only makes us an easy target.”

  “Order our squadron to rotate through covering positions. Have AvSec cover them when they rotate back.”

  “Were still going to be looking at high attrition.”

  Janus put on his icy tone. “You have another suggestion, captain?”

  “No, Prime Orator.”

  “I won't have the First Cruiser bringing up the rear,” Janus said with unnecessary volume. “Not now. Not against the Svals. Not with their behemoth out front.”

  Panicked calls from the planet and infrastructure ring increased as Aventicia Security formed up with the Perigeum Starmada. The combination was unprecedented, but so was the situation. Still, banking worlds were proud and independent.

  How far this one let itself fall.

  “Why are the Svals still coming?” Thaine asked. “We outnumber them.”

  When it came to destroyers and frigates, the combined force had about twice as many as the Svals. In big guns the combined force only mustered one Aventicia Security galleon, two Perigeum Starmada cruisers, and the First Cruiser. The latter being a bit of an unknown in its current state.

  Against them were four of the new, heavy Thunar class cruisers the Svals were building on their own lines. The capital class engineering endeavor was quickly gaining respect in starmadas across space. And at the fore, their own unknown, the battleship galleon.

  “The prize potential is too great,” Janus answered. “If we can't stop them they may be able to extort significant funds for a coin-starved sovereignty. And no doubt this would boost the Blacksea Corporation's reputation, and that's good for mercenary business.”

  “Barbarians,” Thaine scoffed.

  “That's what I've been trying to tell you, Orator.”

  Leisal turned to them. “They're firing before effective range.”

  “It's coming right at us,” Gimmelstau said.

  “Begin the rotation. Concentrate firepower on a Thunar when they come in range.”

  The First Cruiser wasn't a nimble ship, which made hypergun fire effective at a greater range. But it also gave more time for intercept guns to break up incoming rocks. Still, it was a level of coordination for which Aventicia Security was not trained. Some chunks began to get through.

  When the range closed to T-Beams, the space between the squadrons lit up with pink and yellow lines. The latter from the Thunar class, one of which was pounded by the defending combined force. After minutes of withering fire it finally relented its offensive spot in the formation, pulled back, and took cover behind the battleship galleon. But still its firing continued.

  “How are their ships so tough?” Thaine asked.

  “How indeed. Focus on the next Thunar, captain” Janus ordered.

  Aventicia Security were not as diligent when it came to defending the group. Perigeum units took up the slack, but at a cost. The front end of a Perigeum frigate exploded right in front of the flagship. It tumbled back for short time before regaining enough control to limp away from the Svals and avoid the fate of the Aventicia Security galleon.

  “The damage is starting to pile up,” Gimmelstau said.

  Janus could see the readouts. The ship AI was programmed to keep him quite informed, but for the sake of the entire endeavor, he had to say it aloud.

  “What about AvSec's escort fleet?”

  The intercept was added to the VADs. It was an eternity away at the rate damage was accumulating, and everyone knew it.

  “Respectfully, Prime Orator, I don't think we're going to last that long,” Gimmelstau said.

  The VADs showed a First Cruiser in decline. Janus brought up internal communications again to see how bad it really was. The ship AI quickly found the chief engineer running through passages flanked by two bots and two serious crewmen. The engineer was covered in soot and surrounded by ship schematic VADs flashing an alarming amount of red.

  “You moni
tor it here,” he ordered a bot. Then he jumped into a maintenance tube his crewmen pried open. The ship's internal tech-eyes were everywhere, showing the engineer slam something with a heavy tool. “How about now?”

  The crewmen at the bottom of the tube looked to the maintenance bot and then yelled up, “Better, but barely.”

  The engineer let out some choice language.

  The man was reasonably competent, apparently, under fire. Janus opened a comm VAD. “How much longer can we last, engineer?” He figured the man was of a sort that would appreciate the direct approach.

  “Prime Orator. About 10 minutes at this rate.” He turned around. “Shut up down there!”

  “Keep monitoring, engineer.”

  Janus tuned to the starkeelwright. The man was literally throttling a maintenance bot.

  “You stupid flux-jerk! I told you to leave that primary system alone. If you can't get the secondary online we might as well jump into space right now! But that. Won't. Kill you, will it!”

  The man was beyond the verge. His breakdown had begun. Janus opened a comm VAD, admittedly, with the sadistic anticipation of seeing the starkeelwright's reaction in the middle of his meltdown.

  “Trouble?”

  The starkeelwright jumped back from the appearing VAD, pushing the machine away. His face was a comical mix of surprise, embarrassment, and frustration.

  “Prime Orator.” His face contorted and his eyes darted to the side. “I respectfully ask you pull us back from whatever's slamming us. I'm a starkeelwright, not a fission man. These reactors aren't ready for battle!”

  “Keep doing what you can, starkeelwright, and continue monitoring.” His only confidence in the man was that he would roll down the same path unto the end.

  A shudder ran through the bridge, and red flashed on his tactical display. A doomed destroyer was holding station on automatics to guard the First Cruiser while the crew abandoned ship. Escape pods blasted away in a torrent, and then a trickle. Under continued fire the destroyer lost its shields and crushed in multiple places. A gasp of escaping plasma jetted it out of formation. The Svals ignored the darkening ship as it was not even worth salvaging.

  The Perigeum squadron was holding together by discipline alone. They had to break the will of the Svals now, or never.

  “I'm going to need the gun,” Janus said.

  Gimmelstau's squinty eye twitched. “Ah, that may not be possible.”

  “The gun, Gimmelstau.”

  The captain sighed in a way that, under other circumstances, would be disrespect. “You heard the Prime Orator, engineer. Prepare to fire.”

  The engineer shook his head in open incredulity. “You might get one shot of less-than-full-power. It's going to make a mess down here.”

  Panels sparked behind a running starkeelwright. “We have to get off this deck!”

  “Sir, are we evacuating?” A trailing bot asked.

  “I am you corroded ingot! You go back down there and try to hold it together.”

  Normally a paragon of Perigeum Starmada order, every deck of the First Cruiser instead broke into various levels of pandemonium.

  Janus glanced at the starkeelwright's VAD and allowed himself a measure of disgust. He activated privacy mode around the command chair and initiated a confidential, sub-whispered communication.

  “Dysig, I have a little, last-minute job for you.”

  In a moment he opened his command chair for all to see, and stood, showing a brave face. The media shills were near panic, although he expected that from them. Light and displays grew bright across both bridges as the Artemis cannon powered up. The cruiser rumbled despite grav weaves.

  The ship's schematic transferred to the main display. Entire sections flashed blowouts as the front section of the main hull threatened to break apart. Aventicia Security ships pulled away without orders, and for the first time the Svals slowed.

  A couple minutes of horrendous internal damage later was all the current crew and ship could handle. More energy was building than its battered conduits could take.

  “Better fire that thing while you still can,” Gimmelstau said.

  The ship jarred with frightening intensity. Janus stood and pointed dramatically to the opposing fleet. A reticle appeared where he indicated on the center of the battleship galleon.

  “Target and fire!”

  Thrust rings gushed a last-minute aiming sequence even as emergency plasma releases fought against it. Rainbow geysers of superheated matter surged from every angle of the ship.

  The reactors in the left hull weren't at maximum, but even partial power was more than they could handle. Automatics were keeping the fission reactors from destroying themselves where the starkeelwright had disengaged the buffers. However, inexplicably, the automatics failed and the reactors suddenly revved to full power.

  On the center hull the cannon emitter flashed like a white star. A stuttering beam burst from the First Cruiser. Small explosions dotted the surface of the emitter, and major ones erupted along the length of the left hull. Distortions of curling energy, like solar prominences, peeled off along the length of the beam's space-distorting path. It drew a line of fraying color.

  The smaller Sval ships dodged with haste, but there was no dodging for the battleship galleon. A great expanding ring of plasma indicated where the Artemis beam plunged through its shields like an ammo nut through gelatin. In the short few seconds the broken beam managed to exist the battleship was holed from bow to stern.

  The once invincible “poor man's galleon” exploded spectacularly having never fired a shot. Energetic shockwaves and debris expanded, pelting the rest of the Sval squadron. The damaged Thunar saw its shields completely ripped away on one side.

  The First Cruiser heaved, throwing many to the deck.

  “We've got ruptures everywhere, she won't hold!” Gimmelstau said.

  Janus gripped his chair. “Give the order, captain.”

  Abandon ship sounded across every deck. Emergency VADs popped into existence indicating the closest means of escape.

  The comm VAD dedicated to the starkeelwright showed the man running to the escape pods in a panic. The maintenance bot he once choked caught up to him.

  “I've got to get you to safety,” the bot said.

  “No drak! I'm heading for the escape pods you food-jerk!” the starkeelwright said.

  The bot grabbed a hold of him and yanked him back in the opposite direction. “I've got to get you to safety.”

  “Is your brain fried? Let go of me!”

  “I've got to get you to safety.”

  The man pounded against the machine to no avail and continued screaming at it until visuals cut out.

  The port hull of the First Cruiser, split down its length by explosions, cracked in two with a violet wrenching. Its halves spun from the rest of the first cruiser like a sparking pinwheel.

  Bridge personnel weren't clearing fast enough to stay ahead of the destruction. Janus stayed rooted to his chair with his hand on the escape control.

  “Leisel, make sure that idiot Parium and the media shill Keats what's-his-name reach an escape pod.” The bridge shook and the main display winked out. “And hurry back.”

  He glanced at his command VADs. Gimmelstau was gone, as he expected. And there was no sign of the engineer.

  Maybe he made it. So there was at least one worth keeping.

  The bridge filled with smoke out of which Leisel appeared. Janus hit the switch and his chair sunk into the deck as breach warnings burst into view.

  Small explosions continued along the Artemis cannon before major explosions cut the hull apart in thirds. Torque tolerances between the central and starboard hulls were exceeded causing explosive fittings to blow. The starboard hull spun away from three massive chunks of central hull as they spewed plasma, atmosphere—and bodies.

  ▪ ▫ ▪

  In the darkness of the drifting captain's yacht, two cold lights blossomed. They were set apart at the height of eyes. The colo
r morphed into something warmer. Far from the blue of Leisal's, it was the reddish brown of a woman light years away.

  “Leisal is a moron, but I saw it all,” she said.

  Janus smirked, although no one was really there to see it

  Chapter Seventeen

  Equisterra. Suspended in the sky of an abandoned world like a jewel whose fire had gone out. A moonlet sworn to silence.

  At least that's what Rewe thought, for he detected no active mystic there. But his newfound, fledgling abilities were far from mature. Even if they were, could they detect Sojourner level activity created to be stealthy?

  Across Neumanus's horizon a new construct also hung, but this one sprouted activity displays on Auscultare's viewport. It was a change from the usual featureless window mode he favored.

  Perhaps I'm growing hungry for information.

  The Archivers latest staryards, about which they were so proud, were assembling the new hybrid ships with meticulous care. Similar in tonnage to conventional vessels, the mixed scientum and mystic hybrids were half again as formidable. They gave the Perigeum Starmada something to boast about.

  Oh how the original Sojourners would laugh at the state of our mystic starmada tech.

  The viewport suddenly zoomed, without orders, onto one of two completed ships heading his way. A hybrid aegis destroyer. The aegis models, a rush job for Janus, were the first destroyer class out of the yard. Lines grew off the ship showing every capability.

  Rewe did not grow alarmed. He was getting used to another party sharing the ship. Looking at the aegis destroyer's numbers, he thought them fairly impressive. They weren't all mystic ships, and certainly not Sojourner ships of old, but they were better than scientum, and Archivers had built them.

  “Are you really satisfied with these pathetic numbers?” a smarmy, resonant voice said.

  “I don't see you offering up process techniques for mystic enhanced granix, or anything else of practical use.”

  The bridge hatch opened to a shiny new combat bot, its gait almost human and disturbingly confident.

  “If my master thought I needed shipwright skills, he would have given them to me.”