All six Covenanter ships were making for us, but I could see we were pulling away. Captain had dropped the power shields and funneled all power into the drives. Didn’t want to think what the gravs would have been without internal gravity control. We had the angle, and the power.
Looked like we might get clear—of those six. Could see some distortions ahead of us, but the plot I had didn’t discriminate. Hoped we could clear the others, but there wasn’t much I could do at the moment.
I went back to one of the chairs. Must have drifted off. Woke up with a jolt when Lerrys touched my shoulder. Least I got a nap. Checked the time—zero five-forty-one—another stan.
“We cleared the first bunch,” he said.
He didn’t look happy.
“And?”
“There’s another flotilla—five fast frigates between us and the Gate.” He gestured toward the wall screen.
Morgan appeared there.
Everyone in the ready room sat up.
“Those of you following the plot have noticed that we’ve been able to outrun the first attackers. Unfortunately, the second flotilla was not a flotilla, but a full Covenanter battle fleet. While the majority of those ships have moved to engage the CW flotilla…”
CW flotilla? Morgan had said the flotilla was Covenanter. What had happened?
“Five of their new class of fast frigates have moved to intercept us. In about one stan, we will be launching all needles. Please check the briefing consoles. After you’re briefed, all needle pilots will don armor and stand by for launch.”
I checked the middle console.
Tactics in space depend entirely on the relative motion of the ships. In-system combat has slower velocities. That’s for lots of reasons, but mostly because really high speed in a system increases fatalities—even without combat. Out-system combat is rare. Generally, you can escape in one direction or another—except in a case like ours, where the Covenanters knew where we had to get. That was the Gate.
We had high absolute and relative velocity compared to them. Morgan and the captain were counting on that. The frigates would attempt to use that speed against us. If they could overload our shields—at our velocity even something like a grapefruit or a chunk of ice, any kind of debris, would be catastrophic if we impacted it. If our shields went, a single torp would reduce a vessel the size of the Magellan to dust and insignificant chunks of metal and organic glop.
The needles would accelerate ahead of the Alwyn and the Magellan, building on their absolute velocity. We’d attempt to use the kinetic energy of our speed to boost the power of the torps. The objective was to create a hole in the linked shields and torp barriers thrown up by the frigates. The frigates would accelerate and attempt to concentrate their torps and the torps of their needles on one point on the shields of the D.S.S. capital ships.
The primary task of the four needles from the Magellan and the five from the Alwyn was to eliminate the opposing Covenanter needles in order to reduce the pressure on the shields of the two ships. The secondary task was to fire any remaining torps at the Covenanter frigates. Simple strategy, but frigging tough execution.
Looked up from the briefing console. None of the other pilots looked at me, except Lerrys. He just gave me a thumbs-up. Liar! Close to a frigging suicide mission. Idiot that I was, I’d volunteered.
Took my time getting into the armor. So did Lindskold. Tuala and Shaimen were out in the boat bay long before we were.
“Covenanter fleet? What do you think?” Lindskold asked as we walked toward the needles. “Why would they send a fleet?”
Wondered that myself. “Maybe they think we found more than we did.” Laughed. “Like their Morning Star or Spear of Iblis.”
“They’d fight for holy objects. We know that. But for devices of an ancient demon? One that probably never existed?”
“They believe it did,” I pointed out.
“So we’re fighting because they want to keep us from obtaining non-existent mythical devices used by a nonexistent mythical demon?”
“Sounds about right.”
“Maybe, but how would they even know that was a possibility? Even the Covenanters would have to have some information that would lead to that conclusion.” She shook her head and turned to her needle.
Good question. It’d have to wait.
Needle Four was the last one in the bay.
Patel was standing by it. “It’s a good needle, lieutenant.”
“Glad to know it. Thank you.” The preflight walk-around was quick enough, and I made it into the cockpit before the link message.
Ten minutes to null grav in the needleboat bay. Ten minutes to null grav.
Donned the armor’s helmet. Pilot’s armor was different. Wider field of vision and internal heads-up displays. Hadn’t needed that with the shuttle, but it was necessary with a needle. I settled into the couch. Made sure the comm connections and the habitability connection at the hip were both secure. Needles didn’t have ship habitability. It all came through the armor. Then I tightened the harnesses and ran through the checklist—shorter than the shuttle’s. Needle was pretty much drives, shields, and torps. Internal grav control was rough at best. Three torps, two preloaded in a launch tube, third one had to be shuttled after one was fired. Frigging poor design. I’d thought that before, not that it changed things.
Navigator Control, this is Needle Tigress, standing by for launch.
Wait one, Tigress. Estimate ten plus to launch.
Stet.
Wasn’t that long before null gee hit the bay, and my guts lurched. Still hated that initial feeling. Swallowed and waited. Watched as the bay doors opened.
Needle One—Lindskold—was first out Then Shaimen and Tuala. I was last. Wasn’t sure I liked that, either.
Once I was clear of the Magellan, I formed up on the left of the other three needles. Lindskold had us oriented in a wedge outboard on the starboard from the ship. Farscreen showed the Alwyn directly ahead of us—far enough that I had no visual. Yet, at the speeds we were traveling we were covering the distance between the two ships in microseconds or less.
Screens showed the five Covenanter frigates ahead in an inverted wedge—formation designed to concentrate max power on the Alwyn. Our own courier—the Bannister—
was tucked up tight behind the Magellan. Made sense, but I’d have bet the junior major commanding her hated it.
The Alwyn had more needles than we did—eight—and they formed a tight wedge ahead of the big cruiser, close together, but not close enough for their shields to overlap.
Readouts showed less than two minutes to closure. No visuals. Relative speeds so quick, it’d all be by displays.
Navigator Needles, two zero starboard. Now!
Immediately brought the needle onto the new heading. Magellan followed.
Just before the Alwyn reached torp range, the battle cruiser turned toward the rightmost frigate of the five screaming toward us. Because of the course change, we were already directly behind the Alwyn.
The frigates reacted, turning their inverted wedge to envelop us. Torp tracks flared from all the frigates—then from the Covenanter needles.
After an instant, torps flashed from the Alwyn and its needles, all concentrated on the one frigate.
The Covenanter’s shields went amber, bright red, and dropped. A wave of energy replaced the ship.