“Show me the system’s other tramlines,” he ordered, slowly. If they were trapped, and it certainly looked that way, it was time to gamble. “And then compare them to the data we pulled from the alien battlecruiser.”
There was a long pause as Lopez worked her way through the data, then forwarded it to the analysts to check and double-check. “There’s one tramline that leads here,” she said, bringing up the star chart. “And that star has, we think, a link back to Target One.”
We think, Ted mused. Tramlines were normally predicable, but there were odd hiccups from time to time. He vaguely recalled a gravity specialist predicting that the tramline network would sometimes shift configuration from time to time, upsetting all of humanity’s trade networks. But in over a hundred years of exploration, no tramline had ever been noted to vanish or shift to a different star. No one really took the threat seriously.
He stared down at the display, calculating the odds. There was no way of knowing what they’d encounter along the way, or what the aliens would do when they realised that the humans weren’t planning to risk engagement with Force Two. No, Ted shook his head; he had a very good idea of what the aliens would do. They’d mass their forces and then advance against the human fleet. Their speed would make it possible to catch up with his fleet sooner rather than later.
Or they’d head back to Target One and wait for us there, he thought. Cold ice ran down his spine as he realised just how easily the aliens could thwart them. All they’d have to do was return to Target One and set up an ambush there, which meant… that he’d have to defeat at least one of the alien forces here before it could ambush them for the second time.
“Alter course,” he ordered, using his fingers to trace out a course on the display. “Let them come after us, if they dare.”
It was a hell of a risk, he knew. In order to disable or destroy the alien fleet, he had to tempt them with the prospect of actually crushing his fleet. And yet, if they refused, he would have to either challenge them directly or take the risk of passing through the other tramline without damaging the alien fleet, which would merely move the decisive battle to Target One.
“Aye, sir,” Lopez said.
Ted sat back in his chair, silently cursing the sheer… slowness of space battles under his breath. It would be nearly an hour before Force One entered engagement range, assuming the aliens took the bait, and longer still before he knew if they’d won or lost. He would have plenty of time for second-guessing himself, or working out possible alternatives to a direct confrontation. Maybe they could simply break contact completely…
Unlikely, he thought. He looked down at the display, thinking hard. The aliens presumably had a solid lock on his fleet. They might well have scattered stealth platforms around the tramline, taking advantage of their rough idea of where his fleet would appear. No, he couldn’t hope to break contact easily. It was much more likely that the aliens would be able to keep tracking him anyway.
“Program some of the drones for multiple images,” he added. The aliens wouldn’t lose their sensor lock, but maybe he could spoof it. “And stand by to deploy mines.”
It was rare to use mines in space combat. Normally, the enemy could pick one of any number of approach vectors and mining them all would be staggeringly expensive. But now, the enemy fleet was advancing on a predicable vector. They’d run right into the mines, if they were laid properly.
“Aye, sir,” Lopez said. She paused, inspecting her console. “The analysts want us to beam the First Contact package to the alien ships.”
Ted snorted. It was alarmingly clear the aliens had hostile intentions, even if they hadn’t been fighting a war for the past year. Their fleet deployments were intended to trap or destroy the human fleet. Maybe it was possible to open communications… but it was also possible that the aliens would use the exchange of signals to try to convince him to stand down, perhaps as a prelude to more formal talks. And then, when he was helpless, open fire.
But it had to be tried.
“Send the package,” he ordered, reluctantly.
He thought, suddenly, of Prince Henry. The Prince had wanted to be in danger, he’d wanted to be treated like a normal pilot… and he’d gotten his wish. Ted had to smile at the thought, even though he knew it would open a huge can of worms back home. At least one of them was going to be happy when the aliens finally entered engagement range.
“Nothing, sir,” Lopez said, after twenty minutes had ticked past. “They didn’t respond at all.”
Ted nodded. He wasn’t surprised.
“You’re suiting up?”
Kurt nodded as he zipped up the flight suit, then motioned for Rose to check that he’d sealed it properly. “We have a spare starfighter without a pilot,” he said, “and the odds are pretty damn bad out there. I’m needed out there, not in here.”
Rose eyed him for a long moment. “Are you sure you’re not just trying to get out of the paperwork?”
“Yes,” Kurt said. He laughed. She’d heard him complaining about the paperwork more than once over the last month, although half the time he’d used it as an excuse to be in his office, away from prying eyes. “If we get blown up today, there will be no paperwork ever again.”
He reached for his helmet, checked it carefully, then inspected her suit. It was impossible to avoid noticing how it fitted against her body, revealing the curve of her breasts, but he forced down the reaction it aroused in him. It always happened when he was about to go to war, he knew; the sudden erection, the sudden desperate desire to sow his wild oats one final time, even though they both used contraception implants. Angrily, Kurt forced his eyes down to the deck, then away from her. They were alone, but not in a private compartment. He didn’t dare get caught doing something that would get them both in very deep shit.
Rose gave him an odd look. Perhaps she’d caught something of his emotions.
“Don’t worry,” she said, finally. “We’ve been in bad situations before, sir.”
Kurt nodded. Ark Royal seemed to have a habit of blundering into bad situations, from the raid on New Russia to the capture of the alien battlecruiser. He couldn’t help noticing the similarities between their current situation and the latter, although he could also see the differences. This time, the carrier wasn’t alone. There were four other modern carriers with her, each one crammed with the most modern human technology…
And thin-skinned enough that a single flame on a message forum will burn through their armour, he thought. If the aliens made one good strafing run, those carriers are dead.
“Yes,” he said. “And we’ve managed to get out of them too.”
He found himself flushing and looked away, swallowing hard. He’d known, after the raid on New Russia and their desperate attempt to escape enemy pursuit, that they were dead, that it was only a matter of time before the aliens killed them. It was why he’d started sleeping with Rose in the first place, knowing that he would never have to face the consequences. But now… they’d survived, against all odds. And if they survived this battle too…
“I’m sorry,” he muttered, although he wasn’t sure what he was apologising for. Rose had been the one to start things, not him. Maybe he should have said no. But then, he’d been attracted to her and he’d known they were about to die. And now… he thought suddenly of Molly and wondered, bitterly, just who she was fucking. If she was fucking anyone…