Sixteen enigma warships, six of them bearing significant damage, curved back around toward the human formation.
Marphissa seemed to hear Bradamont lecturing her. “When the enigmas get hurt, when victory by conventional means suddenly slips from their grasp, that’s when you have to worry about ramming tactics. You can’t outmaneuver them. But you can hit them hard enough to knock them off a collision course.”
“All units in Midway flotilla,” Marphissa ordered, “pivot zero eight zero degrees. Maintain current velocity.”
“What are we doing?” Kontos asked, not frightened at all but intrigued.
Marphissa answered him with another transmission to everyone. “Assume the enemy intends to attempt to ram our largest warships. Set fire control systems to prioritize enemy ships on courses with smallest intercept distances.”
Kontos nodded. “I see. That’s why we’re holding this vector. The enigmas will accelerate and catch us, but at a much smaller relative velocity, so we will have ample opportunity to destroy them on their approach. Did Captain Bradamont tell you of this enigma tactic?”
“Yes.”
“That woman is an angel of death,” Kontos said in admiring tones that made the label sound strangely seductive.
Marphissa gave him a startled glance, wondering if President Iceni now had a rival for Kapitan Kontos’s chaste, martial admiration.
The flotilla was pivoting, every ship continuing along the same course at the same velocity, but facing nearly backward toward the enigmas who were coming out of their turn and lining up for another charge at the human formation.
About thirty light minutes behind the enigmas was the other enigma formation, tangling with Imallye’s flotilla. The pirate queen had not let up, using the agility of her battle cruisers to hammer the enigmas on pass after pass until only a dozen now remained of the armada that had launched from the planet. Marphissa hesitated, then angrily touched another comm command. “Imallye, this is Kommodor Marphissa. Be advised that according to experience with the enigmas, when facing defeat they are likely to engage in suicide tactics including ramming of the largest human warships within reach. For the people, Marphissa, out.”
“Let’s hope the warning reaches her in time,” Kontos said.
Marphissa turned a scowl on the young Kapitan. “She tried to kill me. She tried to destroy Manticore. And I have to warn her anyway. But I don’t have to like it.”
The enigmas came in at full acceleration, which was significantly better than any human ship could manage. But with Marphissa’s flotilla moving away from them at point one light speed the alien ships were still exposed to human defensive fire for an unusually long run in.
Two of the remaining enigma ships blew up, a third broke in half, the two halves self-destructing as they tumbled away to prevent anyone from learning anything from the wreckage.
One of the smaller enigma ships suddenly veered toward the light cruiser Falcon, which had only moments to react. Fortunately, Falcon’s commanding officer did the only thing that could have saved the ship, putting the main propulsion on full and abruptly beginning to brake the light cruiser’s velocity. The sudden change in vector threw off the enigma warship’s approach so that it slid past a bare hundred meters from Falcon’s stern. Before the enigma could turn again, it was blown apart by fire from Falcon, the light cruiser Eagle, and the Hunter-Killers Scout and Defender.
Midway and Pele unleashed a stream of missiles that tore into the advancing enigmas and destroyed four more. Kraken and Basilisk each accounted for another.
And that was enough. The eight surviving enigma warships broke off, changing vectors rapidly so that the human defensive fire failed to hit. The remaining aliens kept accelerating for all they were worth, heading away from the star.
“They’re going for that new jump point of theirs,” Kontos said. “Shall I pursue?”
“No,” Marphissa said. “Even Pele couldn’t catch them if all they want to do is run.” She looked to where Imallye had been fighting the other enigma group. As of thirty minutes ago, one of Imallye’s heavy cruisers was limping away from the fight, but five surviving enigma warships had been tearing away in the same direction as the six fleeing from Marphissa’s flotilla. “Let’s hope we don’t have to fight Imallye now that we’ve dealt with the common enemy.”
“Another flotilla arrived at the jump point from Ulindi!” the senior watch specialist cried. “Three hours and twenty minutes ago. A heavy cruiser and two light cruisers!”
Bradamont had just begun muttering a curse when the specialist spoke again, this time sounding puzzled.
“I can’t identify the unit recognition codes they are transmitting. It’s not Syndicate.”
Diaz swept his hand through his own display, peering intently at the data. “They’re calling themselves Ulindi? It must be a trick. Ulindi doesn’t have any warships.”
“Incoming message from the new flotilla,” the comm specialist reported. “It’s addressed to the commander of Midway’s flotilla, as well as President Iceni and General Drakon.”
“At the moment, I’m the commander of Midway’s flotilla,” Bradamont said. “Let me have a look.”
The man whose image appeared looked oddly familiar to her. Along with a satisfied smile, he was wearing a CEO suit that had been modified enough from its Syndicate origins to look distinct.
“I know him,” Diaz said. “From when he was with the Reserve Flotilla, and when he commanded the Syndicate flotilla that Black Jack drove away from this star. That’s CEO Jason Boyens.”
“He was taken prisoner by Admiral Geary after the fight at Varandal and was most recently a prisoner of President Iceni,” Bradamont said. “She told me she had released him not long ago and sent him to Ulindi. Why is he back and with those warships?”
“Another betrayal,” Diaz said bitterly.
But Boyens’s first words were unexpected. “Greetings from the newly independent star system of Ulindi to the people of Midway Star System,” he said with a broad grin. “And to President Iceni and General Drakon as well. I wanted them to know that their… what’s the word? Oh, yes, their trust in me was well deserved.”
Boyens indicated the heavy cruiser whose bridge he was on. “These three warships were part of the forces the Syndicate had been massing for a coordinated attack on you. With help and encouragement from covert agents I had sent out, the crews of this heavy cruiser and the two light cruisers mutinied against the Syndicate while in jump to Ulindi Star System, which they were to transit before jumping to Midway to hit you along with a couple of other flotillas. They didn’t like that plan, because Syndicate ships sent to attack Midway have a tendency never to come home again, but were happy to tell us all about it when they arrived at Ulindi and requested asylum. We were in turn happy to grant them a place to stay in exchange for their becoming the first of Ulindi’s own mobile defense forces!”
“I don’t believe it,” Diaz said, looking stunned.
“I’m not sure I do,” Bradamont said. “But President Iceni said that Boyens might do some real service at Ulindi.”