-10-
About twenty minutes after the initial strike, we began breathing again. Phobos hadn’t taken out another vessel—not yet. Maybe firing such a long range shot had taken all the ship’s power and it had to build up again. Maybe Tolerance had some other surprise in store for us. Really, we just didn’t know. But at least the enemy hadn’t been able to take out every engine on every big ship we had in rapid succession. That had been my fear from the start of this new attack.
The bustle around the command deck had settled down to a continuous shuffling. The first fighters escaping the Gatre caught up with us and landed, including the one with Captain Sarin aboard. It had turned out they had a much greater capacity for acceleration than the larger ships and were thus able to reach us.
I was happy to see Jasmine’s face as she came directly to my command table. She didn’t look happy to be here, however. I stepped close to her as she logged into the console and settled in.
“You lost your command,” I said, “but it wasn’t your fault. I want you to know that.”
“I do know that, but it still hurts.”
“Of course,” I said. “Fortunately, you can be instrumental in getting some revenge right here helping me.”
She gave me a confident nod. “Thank you, Colonel.”
I looked at the big board, and I didn’t like the situation. I didn’t like it at all. We had a huge ship with largely unknown capabilities chasing us. What we did know about it made it appear to be unbeatable.
My staff had assembled and everyone was at their stations. The B-team, the staffers I usually left on duty when my top officers were busy or sleeping, had all been shuffled to side jobs or off the deck entirely. Now was not the time for them to get “hands on training”. We were in trouble, and I could tell by the looks on every face in the room that the rest of them knew it as well as I did.
I tapped into the overall command channel and hailed all my higher officers in the fleet. After giving them twenty seconds or so to tune in, I addressed them.
“I want all my command personnel to listen up,” I began, dropping formalities for now. “We’ve got a serious situation as you all know by now. The enemy ship we’ve named Phobos is apparently not as toothless as we all thought. I think the fact that we’ve been able to easily outrun the ship up until now has given us an unrealistic sense of security. But Tolerance, the enemy captain, has just given us all a gentle kick in the ass to wake us up. We’re going to have to make some hard and fast decisions. Be ready for anything. Riggs out.”
I disconnected and looked at the ring of serious faces circling the command table. This unit was newly designed with a three-D holotank hovering above the table. It was a good setup as I could see the two dimensional layout on the table, which was easier to absorb, while the more precise arrangement of forces was displayed in the tank. The table was laid out along the local plane of the ecliptic for whatever star system we were in at the moment. Usually, that was good enough to accurately place things since most planets, and thus our own ships, were more or less lined up with each other in two dimensions. The tank was better, however, when we got in close. When ships were all over the place in orbit around a single world, for example, two dimensions didn’t really do the job.
I tapped at my screen, highlighting the enemy ship.
“What kind of range are we at now?”
Sarin answered first, as I knew she would. Really, it was Commodore Miklos’ job, but she’d been my exec for so long she was in the habit of giving me such info, and we all knew she could work the screens better than anyone.
“Phobos is about twenty light seconds behind the last ship in the fleet, sir,” she said.
“Which is Gatre?”
“Correct.”
“Could you give us a status report on Gatre, Captain?”
“We lost seven crewmen and two fighters. She’s crippled, but the ship itself is repairable if the enemy doesn’t destroy it on the way by.”
I tapped at the casualty list, feigning a professional interest. I found Dr. Kate Swanson’s name again. Her name no longer had a question mark by it, and there wasn’t an “X” either. I nodded in some relief. She was still alive, at least. I closed the list and looked back up to Sarin, who I now realized was watching my actions carefully. She had to have seen the name I was checking up on.
Under different circumstances, I might have given a guilty start. But what was wrong with wanting to know if a friend was dead or alive? I had nothing to be ashamed of, so I pressed on with the business of the day.
“So far, that one hit was it. We can debate why Tolerance hasn’t continued to destroy our ships, but I suspect he can’t reach us. Maybe Gatre was at the extreme edge of viable range, and now that all the other targets have slipped away, the enemy has to wait for another shot.”
“I have another theory, Colonel,” Miklos said.
“Let’s hear it, Commodore.”
“I think the Blue held his fire until now. I think he wanted us out of the Eden system for the same reason we want their ship out.”
I stared at him for a moment, then nodded slowly. “They want to protect their civilians? You think that’s the motivation?”
“I do. Think about it. Star Force has six inhabited worlds in the Eden System, but the Blues have only one—their homeworld.”
“And we’ve bombed it in the past. You think Tolerance wanted us to move out of the system before he continued the fight?”
“Yes. Because now he’s positioned between us and the ring. If we lose the fight, we might want to send some fire toward their gas giant as a form of revenge. This way, we can’t do that without passing them by and giving them plenty of opportunity to destroy our fleet.”
The more I thought about it, the less I liked it. I’d figured I was leading Tolerance around by the nose. Now, I wasn’t so sure.
“What’s that ship doing now, Captain?”
She shook her head. “Nothing special. Phobos is coming close to the Gatre now. The energy readings are stable, its speed...” She looked up at me suddenly. “The enemy is slowing down, sir.”
I tapped the screen and zoomed in, frowning. The situation was clear. They were within easy range of the Gatre now. Suddenly, the carrier registered some kind of change of status. A glowing red halo appeared around the ship’s display.
“Phobos is firing again,” she said. Her voice wavered slightly, then steadied. “The enemy has crushed Gatre, sir.”
Jasmine zoomed in, displaying a close-up via long range optics. It had happened over ten seconds ago, but the evidence was clear enough: The Gatre was a wad of metal, like a soda can stomped flat.
I nodded, understanding the situation better. “Tolerance held his fire until the target was close. What we aren’t sure of is his next move. Will he chase us or linger at the ring and wait for us?”
“With all due respect, Colonel,” Miklos said. “I don’t think we can wait around until the enemy decides what he wants to do. We have to either run to get out of range or attack him now while he is recharging.”
“Run the numbers on an attack. Can we get there in time?”
Fingers tapped madly all around me. There were many variables, but at last the verdict was in.
“We can’t really do it. Even if the enemy power system connects the defensive weaponry with their main, offensive systems, we can’t get into range in time. They are too far behind us and we’re moving at high velocity in the other direction.”
I heaved a sigh and examined their work. The numbers didn’t lie. The enemy ship would get at least two shots in on us if we attacked with our heavy ships. I knew from the last time that if I sent in only fighters, Tolerance would hold his fire until they got in close then destroy them all with some kind of sweeping field.
“Such simple weaponry, but so effective,” I said. “All he has is one weapon with two modes. I think I’ve underestimated the enemy in this case.”
A few people silently exchanged glances. I wondered if I’d won someone a bet—or I’d lost it for them.
“The question remains: what is our response going to be?” Miklos asked.
“There are really only two clear options,” I said. “Either we press ahead and hope they follow, or we turn around and charge them.”
“I agree. Those are the two choices.”
“But I’m not interested in either of those solutions. I’m going to try something different. Marvin, connect me up with the enemy fleet. And the rest of you, keep us gliding away. Not as if we’re escaping, but enough to keep us out of range and to give us some maneuvering room.”
Orders were shouted and relayed all around us. I ignored them all while I stared at the screens, deep in thought. The Blues had proven themselves susceptible to manipulation in the past. Maybe I could work that angle again.
“Colonel Riggs?” Marvin asked. “What ship should I relay the signal through?”
I looked at him for a second. Everyone around me tensed. No one wanted to be aboard the ship with Colonel Kyle Riggs, at least not today.
“Have we still got a pinnace in the fleet?”
“Yes sir, several of them in fact.”
“Release one, have it fly on automatic pilot to a position a few miles away and behind the rest of the main line ships. We’ll relay all conversation through that vessel. If the enemy hits it—well, at least we’ll know he cares.”
“We’ll also get another indicator as to his real maximum range, sir,” Miklos said excitedly. “An excellent idea.”
We delayed opening a channel until the pinnace was in position. Before I gave the order to call up Tolerance, I asked my staff to do one more thing.
“Jam the ring back to Eden,” I told them.
“We’ve already been doing that, sir,” Miklos said. “Ever since we passed through the ring with Phobos on our tail.”
“All right, good. Hook me up, Marvin.”
“Channel open, Colonel.”
“Tolerance,” I said. “One of my nicknames in my younger days was Empathy. I was good at understanding the emotional states of others.”
Jasmine coughed lightly, as if she’d choked on something. Everyone looked at her except for me. I pressed ahead, determined not to let her distract me from my plan.
“Do you know what I’m sensing about you today?”
There was a delay as we were at a significantly long range now. Finally, the returning transmission came in, translated and relayed by Marvin.
“You have intrigued me. What is your assessment of my mood?”
“I think you’re feeling relief,” I said. “In fact, that would be a good name for you about now.”
“Relief? That is an odd appellation. I expected you to say, Exulted or Triumphant or perhaps even Certain-Of-Total-Victory.”
“Ah, but you and I both know your true goals. You wished to remove my fleet from the Eden System. You’ve accomplished that. Temporarily, many of my ships are no longer threatening your homeworld. We’ve been chased from the system allowing your people to relax. Now, you’re slowing down. You’re hanging back. You have only to guard the ring and keep my ships from returning to your home system.
“You’re right to rejoice—for now. Today will not be the final day, the hour of total destruction for your people. That inevitable event has been postponed! Tomorrow, however…well, that’s another matter. But at least for this single day, your people are safe. I know what a relief that must be for you, and therefore I rename you Relief.”
My statements didn’t sit well with Tolerance. As soon as the messages had made their round-trips through space, his voice came back on the speakers: “I’ve destroyed your ships without effective response. You’ve run from me like high winds in the distance. But still you persist in speaking as if my people are the ones who should know fear. I would rename you as well, Kyle Riggs, but your new name will be different. I would call you: Foolishness.”
People snorted and squirmed at that. I even thought I heard a snigger somewhere near the engine consoles, but I didn’t mind as this game wasn’t over yet.
“Very well,” I said. “You give me no choice but to order the home fleet into action. You might notice that communications with your homeworld have been cut off. My orders have been sent, and now we’re jamming the ring. You won’t be able to warn your people, which is why it’s safe to tell you this now. We left half our ships behind, hidden within the atmospheres of the inner planets. They will reach orbit over Eden-11 within hours. I’m sorry, but bombing will commence upon their arrival.”
My staffers, who a moment earlier were all grins and giggles, looked stunned. They nudged one another and spoke in hushed tones. Miklos in particular waved for my attention. I had Marvin mute the channel with Tolerance. I had time to converse with my crew before the response came in.
“Sir?” Miklos demanded. “What home fleet? We’d left behind a dozen or so obsolete ships and a battle station.”
I smiled at him.
“Has Riggs gone mad again?” I asked. “That’s what you really want to ask, isn’t it?”
I chuckled at his whitening face. Miklos was such a straight-man, he rarely appreciated a good joke. Fortunately, the joke wasn’t on us this time.
“I know we don’t have much left behind, but Tolerance doesn’t know that. This monster ship is the first thing the Blues have launched above the atmosphere in who knows how long. They haven’t been watching our fleets.”
Miklos looked pale, but he nodded. He’d never liked it when I bluffed. Really, the man ought to loosen up and live a little. I signaled for Marvin to unmute the channel.
“Colonel Kyle Riggs,” Tolerance said moments later. “Your threats to escalate this conflict are unacceptable for any civilized being.”
“Fortunately, we’re not all that civilized,” I said. “You’ve pointed that out on countless occasions.”
“I will turn this ship around. I will defend my people.”
“You can’t make it in time. We’ve done all the math. Your ship is too slow, and you’re out of position. The extermination efforts have already begun, I’m afraid. They began moment you passed into this system. I hate to be the one to tell you, but you are screwed.”
The delay was longer than usual this time. Everyone on the command deck was white-knuckling it and sweating. I’m pretty sure I was the only guy on the ship who was having fun.
“I will go back and erase your worlds one by one,” Tolerance said at last. “There will not be a single world that will support life within a year.”
“Yeah,” I said, in a tone that indicated I barely cared. “Those worlds don’t mean much to us in any regard. They aren’t our homeworlds, just outposts. Our population centers are far from here.”
“We’ve carefully monitored you for years. We know of Earth. Your homeworld is not safe from our vengeance.”
“We’ll see about that. We’ve been building up our defenses. Earth’s fleets will stop you. We have ten more ships like this one waiting.”
“Ah-ha!” boomed the Blue. “Only ten? Such a small force could never overcome this vessel. My course has been set for Earth. Your primary population-reefs will be destroyed without delay. You will be crushed—quite literally crushed—without mercy. Vengeance shall be my new name, not Relief. Due to your unrelenting savagery, I refuse to speak to your kind further. I will scour you from the cosmos, a legacy that other species will thank me for afterward, throughout eternity.”
With that flowery finish, the gasbag closed the channel. My command people were all looking at me and one another in shock. I was surprised to see that I was the only one still smiling.
“Come on,” I said, “don’t you guys get it? He’s going to go for Earth now. That’s exactly what we wanted.”
“But sir, we’re in the way,” Jasmine said.
“So? We’ll just outrun that barge of his and get out of the way. Navigators, give me a course that sends us around that big red sun once then back into position behind Phobos. I’ll bet anyone ten bucks that ship will sail right by us and head directly for Earth.”
They were all quiet, subdued.
“But,” Jasmine said, looking very worried, “what if Crow’s fleet can’t stop that monster? What if Tolerance breaks through and really does it?”
“What? You mean that business about erasing humanity? Yeah, sure, he’s going to try it. But not because of anything I said. That was his plan all along. Don’t you remember their threats from last year? The Blues have been talking Armageddon ever since I first bombed them. Touchy bastards.”
Jasmine licked her lips and stared at me with her big brown eyes. I was a sucker for that look. “Kyle, I think what has everyone worried is the fear we might not be able to stop them.”
“Look,” I said, leaning on the command table and eyeing them each in turn. I lowered my voice, but I was pretty sure everyone on the deck heard me anyway. The crowd was pretty quiet. “I figured it out when this ship first showed up. They mean to wipe us out. All of us. This isn’t a matter of talking them down and getting them to land on Eden-11 again. They were never going to turn their moon-sized goliath into some kind of natural history museum.”
I stared at my staff. I don’t know what I expected, but it wasn’t glum rejection. These people had faced the Macros time and again and won through. Maybe it was the fact this was a new enemy with new terror weapons to worry about. Maybe that had them rattled. I sighed quietly, figuring they needed a pep-speech.
“This is it,” I told them. “It’s them or us. Or at least, it’s that ship or us. You all have to understand that’s how this was destined to play out. It’s only been a question of tactics since they launched Phobos. Right now, I have to say I’m feeling pretty good about our odds. They’re better than they were yesterday, I’m certain of that. I laid out the bait and Tolerance ate it up. He’s going straight to Earth to get his righteous revenge.”
“This was your plan?” demanded Miklos. “To fool Tolerance into thinking his homeworld was doomed so he would do the same thing to Earth immediately?”
“Uh-huh. Pretty neat, isn’t it? The Blues aren’t the best at trickery. Oh sure, they can withhold information, but when it comes to elaborate fabrications, forget it… You know, I’m beginning to think that’s our special calling in this universe. If you want a fancy lie told well, you need a human. Anyway, I’ll tell you the best part: after we take Phobos apart in the Solar System, the Blues back home will never know what happened to their ship! It’ll be just like one of those Flying Dutchman stories where some boat sailed away in Earth’s history never to be heard from again. Since we’re jamming the rings, we can make up any whopper we want and scare the Blues with it when we go back to Eden.”
A few nodded, but most of them looked stunned. I wasn’t expecting whoops and high-fives, but I’d counted on a smile and a handshake from someone.
I guess a sly man who expects praise for pulling a fast one should expect a long, long wait instead.