“Then there were the fortified moons,” he continued, “Two of ‘em. I didn’t get to see ‘em, of course, but it turned out that our pilot liked to talk. They’re armed with mass drivers, lasers too big to mount on ships, particle beams, and missiles. Not to mention a string of armed satellites. I couldn’t find out how the satellites are armed.
“Finally,” he said grimly, “There was a Destroyer in an orbiting repair dock. Gyrfalcon. I dunno how bad off she was, but workers were swarmin’ on her like ants. I figger the base has some defenses, too, but I didn’t get to see ‘em.” He shrugged again. “I dunno, Admiral, it’s your decision, but I gotta tell you, it won’t be easy. Or cheap.”
I dismissed him, and thought. The scout captain didn’t realize it, but what he’d told me made it essential for me to attack Thaeron. With that much firepower concentrated in the system, I had to go there while I still had all my forces. What if the Captain's courier didn’t make it back? Or if the elderly Captain died? Who would command then, and would he be as reasonable?
Oh, the hulk at the jump point wouldn’t be too much of a problem, and I could use the boats to clear a path through the mines. However, it would take everything that I could muster to deal with fortified moons and armed satellites, especially since they'd have days to get ready for us.
And I was already on borrowed time. As soon as that scout skipper got talking to the privateer captains, I’d begin losing them.
I called Shar. “I want you to send that scout ship back to Haven immediately, to report to Cord. Tell him I want him to boost in an hour, and I’ll have dispatches for him to take. And, Shar,” I continued, “if you can keep him busy until it's time to boost, I’d appreciate it.”
Shar grinned. “Palming aces again, Admiral?” He didn't wait for an answer. “I’ll take care of it.”
I cursed as I signed off. I hated manipulating people. But I needed every ship I could muster — as well as a lot of luck.
I taped a message for Cord, detailing the scout’s report and the actions I was planning to take. I also explained why I was sending the tramp, and asked Cord to keep close tabs on the scout captain until it was over, one way or another.
I rang for my aide. “Give this to the scout ship captain for delivery to Viceroy Cord.”
“Yessir,” he replied. “The scout ship skipper’s with Captain Tan-Li.” I suppressed a grin. Shar had found a way to delay the man’s departure.
I called a Captains’ conference for the next hour, and then got busy drafting orders. I put most of the boats aboard Valkyrie, so they could use her huge cargo doors to get into action quickly. The rest clustered on the destroyers.
Jumping a fleet is a delicate business. Unless the ships jump precisely at the same moment, they may emerge hours, or even days apart, and be cut up piecemeal. We slaved all the ships’ jump comps to Valkyrie’s, and boosted for the jump point. Suli could have used at least one more pair of hands as she tried to juggle all the variables in the jump computations, but she began counting down just as we approached the jump point. We jumped.
The absolute worst part of being a commander is jumping into a battle. You know the battle is coming, but you have to wait days for it to happen. You constantly second-guess yourself, but since comms don’t work in null space, you can’t make any changes to your battle plan. Luckily, I didn’t clearly remember the agony when we attacked Jonas at Haven, but this time I knew it would stay with me forever. If it hadn’t been for Suli, I think I’d have expired from anxiety exhaustion.
Suli devoted herself to distracting me from my doubts and anxiety. It didn’t work completely, but it helped a great deal to watch her try.
An eternity later, I stood on the bridge as Suli counted down. 5.. 4… 3… 2… 1… We emerged.
My first action was to check for my fleet. A quick look at my screens seemed to suggest that we’d all made it together. I breathed a huge sigh of relief. Shar had already depressurized Valkyrie’s holds. Now he opened the cargo doors, and boats began zipping to battle stations. It was almost heartbreaking. What had been a cloud of dots on the screens was now only a pathetically few discrete blips.
Suddenly the comms came alive. “Forlorn Hope to unknown vessels. DO NOT FIRE! I say again, do not fire! We are not hostile! Do not fire!"
I keyed the command channel. “Flag to all ships and boats. Hold fire. I say again, do not fire! Take up battle positions, but stand by. DO NOT FIRE!”
I looked at Shar. “What do you think?” I asked.
He shrugged. “Forlorn Hope? Someone has a sense of humor. That.. thing out there was obviously a decommissioned battle cruiser being salvaged. When the Captain or whoever decided to tow her out here, he needed a name.”
I snorted in exasperation. “Not that, you idiot! Do you think they’re just trying to delay us while they get to battle stations?”
He shrugged again. “I doubt it. It wouldn’t make much difference in the ultimate outcome, and would just make us angry. I think he’s trying to surrender.”
“Then why doesn’t he just say so?” I muttered, irritated. Just at that moment, the com ceased its pleading not to fire. The voice was replaced by one with much more authority, and the Ensign's face was replaced by that of an elderly man with Captain's bars on his shoulder boards.
“Forlorn Hope to commander, unknown ships. Please respond.” He didn’t repeat himself. He knew I’d hear.
I flicked the switch to intership. He straightened slightly as my image formed on his viewscreen. “You’d be Kedron,” he began. “I’m Captain Chard Danought. It seems patience isn’t one of your virtues.”
I nodded. “I’m Vice Admiral Val Kedron. Are you surrendering?”
He grinned. “No need, now that you’ve held fire. No battle, no surrender!” He waved a hand. “Welcome to Thaeron, Admiral. Feel free to kick the cat and drop ashes on the carpet.”
I chuckled. I liked this man. “Thank you, Captain,” I replied dryly. “Am I to assume from this that you’ve heard from your courier?”
He shook his head. “Nope. Not yet. However, I did come across a couple of interesting prisoners in the brig on the base. Two officers from JAG. Together with that tape your spy left, I knew my duty.” He sobered and his voice went soft. “How many Fleet people did Jonas kill, Admiral? How many ships?”
I shook my head. It wasn’t a pleasant memory. “ Nemesis and Dauntless died with virtually all hands,” I reported grimly. “But over three thousand were saved from Relentless, and Raptor surrendered intact.”
He blanched. “That’s more than eight thousand people!”
I shrugged. “I couldn’t take chances with a dreadnought.”
He sighed. “I know, Admiral. But it’s still a tragedy. All because of one man’s greed.” He straightened. “Well, Admiral, I’d ask you aboard my ship while we proceed to Thaeron, but my ship, such as it is, lacks a few amenities like engines.”
I chuckled. “Captain, I’d be honored to offer you a ride on my flagship, such as it is!”
We secured from battle stations. The boats returned, and we buttoned up and headed for the planet.
Captain Chard Danought was excellent company. Urbane and witty, he captivated everyone he met. There was more to him than a sense of humor, however. His chest held an impressive display of ribbons. I recognized most of them, and they weren’t for good attendance.
We had almost reached planetary orbit when he received an urgent message from his headquarters. He took it in my cabin. When he emerged, his normally cheerful face was grim.
“We have a small problem, Admiral,” he began. “You may get your battle after all.”
Uh oh. “What is it, Captain?”
He shifted uncomfortably. “Uh, perhaps we’d better go to your cabin, sir,” he replied. Captain Danought was back on duty.
In my cabin he continued. “It’s one of the moon forts. Admiral Jonas pretty much stripped the system to get his fleet underway. I was left with responsibility for the defense of the system, but without much in the way of real firepower or battle-ready personnel.