“Moral support, Max, and good luck.”
Max grunted. “You think I’m some kind of warship mascot?”
Aaron snickered. “Not at all. Technically, it’s peacetime so we don’t call them warships. That makes you a starship mascot.”
“Judging by what’s about to go down here, I’d say warship might be appropriate.”
“No, Max, not if me and Quintus have anything to say about it.”
Aaron resumed racking his brain about the ship’s bizarre and elusive origins—and capabilities.
“Ensign,” he said, rising out of his seat, and approaching the helm. He leaned in close. “This ship has the ability to make short jumps within a system. Get with the XO and access the system in the computer. Run the simulations and let’s come up with something to help us during the engagement.”
“Aye, sir,” Flaps replied, moving to join Vee at the ops station near the rear of the bridge.
Aaron moved to the tactical station. “Lee, Phoenix is equipped with those nasty high-speed missiles which we faced back at Orion. Be ready to use them and more importantly, use your judgment in determining their best effective range. With near superluminal missiles, I don’t want to miss a hostile with a close shot and hit a friendly. I don’t think even the computer would be able to remotely detonate them fast enough.”
“Aye, Commander. I can tell you right now, however, at long range and within one light-second they will be ideal. Between four to five light-seconds, in a skirmish surrounded by friendly ships, is where it’s gonna get dicey. Of course if we fought this battle ourselves, we could spit them out and not worry at all.”
Aaron slapped Lee on the shoulder. “I’ll leave you to it, Lieutenant, that’s my thinking as well, but you’re the expert.”
Aaron returned to his seat pondering what Vee told him. If this ship destroyed Trident where was the original crew? And if the Supreme Commander controlled who had access why would he permit anyone to use the ship to destroy another United Fleet ship? It could only mean one thing—this ship was the unknown belligerent attacking United Fleet and Empire assets along the border—not a surprise no one survived. Trident likely survived long enough only because of a saboteur. Why would the Supreme Commander sanction using any Fleet assets in this manner? How did Rachael secure use of the ship? Did she aid whoever used the ship when it carried out its attacks along the border? This endless cycle of thoughts is what Vee likely intended to spare him from when he protested discussing what he’d learned about the ship.
Aaron shook his head, there’d be nothing left of them to get answers to these burning questions if they didn’t survive. “Status, XO?”
“All ship systems prepped and ready,” Vee said. “Kinetic barrier, reflective armor and our over powered combat thrusters energized and ready when the call comes.”
Aaron nodded. “Very well then,” he said. “Lieutenant Lee?”
Lee swung his chair to face the command seat.
“Ready, Commander,” he said. “Railgun magazines fully loaded, turret deployment is functioning and responsive, and I’ve programmed the PDCs with additional algorithms for those new Imperial stealth missiles. I’ve also prepared a data packet for transmission throughout the United Fleet. Good thing they shot them at us by the nebula. Those things could have decimated half our fleet before we knew what hit us. I’m also working on our side project and making good progress with my simulations.”
“Well done, Lieutenant,” Aaron said, turning to face the ops station behind and to his right. “XO, given the simulations you’ve run with the kinetic barrier and our other systems, what’s the likelihood of complications?” Aaron asked.
Vee hesitated. “Without further empirical data I can’t be certain and the ship’s logs have been wiped. All the systems should be easy enough to activate. They’re mostly controlled by the battle computer with some input from the operators. But be mindful of the power draw. We won’t be able to fire weapons, maintain the reflective armor and the kinetic barrier all at once. We’re as combat capable as we can be with only the handful of us.”
What Vee meant was the four of them could fly and fight the starship but without a full crew when it came to damage control and other battle-space conditions, they would be at a significant disadvantage. Although repair nanites sealed hull breaches, they took a varying amount of hours to do so based on the extent of damage. Damage control crews usually kept the ship sealed and fighting until nanites repaired the damage—after the engagement. From the call to general quarters, well-drilled damage control teams in vacuum suits, stood ready throughout the ship to apply emergency hull seals.
“Fortune favors the bold,” Aaron said, to no one in particular.
Aaron saw Lee smile. Only the Lieutenant and Max would appreciate the quote.
Flaps shook his head. “I swear you people love to say strange things at the weirdest times.”
“Well,” Vee said laughing, “stick with the Commander any longer and you’ll soon become a culprit.” His console beeped. “Incoming hail from the planet for you, Commander. Prime Minister of Atlas Prime.”
“Send to the ready room.” He hadn’t grown comfortable calling it his ready room yet.
Aaron slipped into the ready room and activated the screen.
“I feared the worst, son.” Patrick Rayne said. “We’ve tried warning off the Imperial fleet and even disseminating to them everything that’s happened. There’s been no response.”
“I don’t think you’ll get a response either. This attack may have been in motion for some time.”
“Elements of the Border Worlds Space Defense Navy are grouping and will join you. I won’t keep you son. Promise me you’ll not do anything reckless.”
“That’s the one promise you know I can’t make dad. I’ll see you soon.”
Chapter 26 – 70 Years of Peace
Phoenix
Aaron returned to the bridge and took the command seat. Over the next hour as the opposing fleets maneuvered, he studied the tactical notes on the systems unlocked by Alvarez. Miroslav informed he’d finished running simulations with what they now called the blink drive. Based on the range and time required to charge between each jump, they devised workable strategies for its use during the pending engagement. Lee had finished his battle simulations sooner since it was a matter of determining the best use for such high-speed missiles. The Lieutenant had a keen tactical mind.
Aaron then turned his attention to and studied the tactical situation on the holo-imager. The Imperial fleet held just outside Atlas. The United Fleet arrived soon after and Supreme Commander Shepherd divided the fleet into three wings and began a hard burn for the Imperials. He thought it strange Shepherd hadn’t sent a communication, but then he remembered with full stealth protocols activated, no one could detect Phoenix until she got within less than a few light-minutes.
The USSF ships’ deployment followed standard doctrine for large-sized engagements. There hadn’t been an engagement of this magnitude since the war ended seventy years prior.
The center comprised the majority of the heaviest ships, protected by a forward screen of frigates and destroyers commonly referred to as front-line or picket ships. The heavy cruisers protected the flanks. The Imperials deployed a similar strategy. Despite not commanding any major fleet actions in recent years, Shepherd didn’t rise to Supreme Commander without good reason. Oh no . . . “Mad Dog” Shepherd earned his nickname years ago when he rammed a Mercenary Alliance dreadnought with his crippled flagship. The daring maneuver broke the enemy formation and cleared the way for his battleship formation to pulverize the forward Mercenary formation. The lessons learned today would be taught at Fleet Academy for years to come.