Dark Deeds and Black Flights - Part IV
20 Sep 2017Jellicoe
Electra System, Deep Space"So what did we get Claude?" Stannis Jellicoe asked his first officer as the senior personal of the Resolution gathered in the ships briefing room. The first half of their mission had been a success, they had carried out an armed reconnaissance of the apparently deserted Communications Hub Zeta despite determined opposition, the question now was whether what they had recovered justified proceeding with a a further reconnaissance of an unknown base in the nearby Celeano system. Claude looked uncomfortable as he stroked his upper lip and prepared to speak.
"There's a message hidden deep in the data streams, very deep, even with the kit we've got I only just found it. Someone wanted to get this out but couldn't risk it being found by, well you'll see. They picked up a signal, an unidentified one and if they're right one that was not of human origin." He paused to let his words sink in. "The log describes it as 'alive', I don't know what it means either." He answered the question before it was asked. "But withing days the base was taken over by armed men claiming to be from the company's head office but this seems to have been a cover story, whoever left these logs overheard a conversation and these men were from what he describes as a private military unit." Jellicoe shifted uncomfortable thinking back to what the mysterious Commander Hyford had claimed. "The last entry claimed that all data regarding this signal had been confiscated and station personnel were being assembled in the docking bay to be sent home, the man leaving the log clearly didn't believe that and feared for his life. None of them have been heard of since, one hundred and twenty three people all vanished without trace and our only lead on what happened to them is in Celeano."
"Whatever is in Celeano took out one of Craddock's , Pythons." Harry Soames put in.
"I think they will find the Resolution a tougher nut to crack." Vik growled.
"We could take what we've got back to Craddock now?" Mira suggested. "He might want to look at it before deciding what next."
Jellicoe steepled his fingers as he thought. "No, we go. We need as much information as possible and Craddock expects his officers to show initiative."
"Except you're no longer an officer and whatever Craddock is he sure aint no Fed admiral anymore." Mira countered.
Jellicoe forced a smile but his eyes flashed. "Very well I want to know what's in Celeano and I'm not going running for anyone's help until I'm damned sure we can't handle it ourselves."
Celeano System, Super-Cruise
"Got a contact skipper, one that shouldn't be there." Claude announced as they pulled clear of the Celeano star. "Showing a Relay Station PSJ-17, it's not on any of the maps. Location tallies with the coordinates Craddock gave us."
"Let's go and see then." Jellicoe murmured, then on ship wide coms. "Commander to all hands, battle stations repeat battle stations."
Relay Station PSJ-17 in orbit of Celeano 1
With a rumbling boom of dissipating energy the Resolution returned to normal space and as the usual visual distortion of the enormous amount of power unleashed cleared a huge structure became visible a couple of kilometres ahead. Relay Station PSJ-17 was clearly a significant one, dwarfing Communications Hub Zeta.
"Picking up multiple contacts skipper. Four ships, no five, six, seven." Claude reported.
"Anaconda, two Pythons, four Diamondbacks. They've deployed hardpoints." Vik added the details from his tactical station.
"Same alpha-numeric code instead of a pilots name as the ships in Electra, it's definitely them." Claude added. "Picking up some coms."
"Unauthorised vessel detected, deadly force authorised. Commencing attack run." A disguised voice boomed through the Resolution's bridge.
"Deploy hardpoints." Jellicoe ordered. "Power to shields and weapons, Mira scramble the alert fighter."
"Hold that order." Claude said urgently, Jellicoe turned to him fury in his eyes. "Skipper we can't win against these ofdds." Claude hurriedly explained. "But we might be able to scan a couple of their up-link points, it could give us something to go on. Think skipper."
Jellicoe thought momentarily, the Resolution registering the first stinging volley from the wing of rapidly closing Diamondbacks. "You're right." He replied. "Deploy datalink scanner, power to shields and engines.
"Roger that." Claude answered with considerable relief. "Closest uplink locked." The ship rocked as a concentrated blast from the Anaconda and here Python wingmates hit home.
"Shields at 70%." Vik warned. "Souped up weapons again at a guess, they shouldn't be hitting that hard."
"Still two and a half kliks from the uplink." Claude warned.
"Boosting." Jellicoe replied. "If we can get close in to the structure it should give us some cover from that Annie at least." For its size the Resolution was a fast ship and the sudden burst of acceleration momentarily caught her assailants off guard, the chase soon resumed though along with the punnishing volleys of fire, stinging lasers from the Diamondbacks backed by plasma accelerator and railgun shot from the bigger ships.
"Shields at 17%, cell banking." Vik called above the noise of repeated heavy impacts.
"Just do what you can with them." Jellicoe replied sounding much calmer than he felt. "I need to keep her steady while I scan the uplink." The barrage intensified as the Resolution slowed and stopped, holding position a literal sitting target as she scanned the uplink node open to the full fury of her antagonists.
"Down to 18%, cell banking again." Vik yelled over the constant simulated noise of weapon strikes. "We can't take this for long."
"Nearly there..." Jellicoe replied through gritted teeth. "Got it." With a surge of power the Corvette boosted away, her commander pulling a series of evasive manoeuvres only possible thanks to her heavily customised thrusters, the barrage of incoming fire lessened slightly but was still witheringly intense.
"Where the bloody hell are they getting their pilots from?" Jellicoe spat as the bridge rocked from another plasma accelerator strike. Nobody's this good."
"Next uplink six hundred meters to starboard." Claude said. "Want to go for it?"
"Got it." Jellicoe replied pushing the throttle forward and bringing the ship round while twisting on he keel in a vain effort to stem the merciless tide of incoming fire.
"Cell banking again, last heat sink." Vik called as the ship bucked and rocked under under the bombardment.
"Scanning..." Jellicoe said needlessly, watching the blue progress bar crawl along all the while his ship sat helpless beneath the ceaseless pounding.
"Got it now let's get out of here."
"More hostiles incoming. Two more Annies and three D-backs." Claude's voice dripped with worry. "And we're mass locked."
"New wings moving to cut off our escape routes." Vik added from tactical. "They're penning us in."
Jellicoe screwed the ship around and boosted for the gap, the new arrivals were just coming into range but were not yet a physical barrier.
"Shields failing." Vik again. "One bank left but we'll cook."
"Then we cook." Jellicoe replied. "Punch it." Vik punched it, power surging into the shieldsas unvented heat overwhelmed the cooling systems.
"Warning - Temperature Critical." The computer warned as sparks flew and equipment shorted.
"Where are my shields Vik?" Jellicoe called as the dim blue ring on his display barely brightened.
"Taking too much fire, they're going."
"Shields Offline - Taking Damage." The computer broke in.
"Power too engines." Jellicoe barked. "Now we find out if Selene did her stuff with the armour." The Resolution surged forward as Jellicoe boosted again.
"Lead D-back's crossing our bows. Evasive, Evasive!" Claude yelled, Jellicoe heaved on the stick but it was much too late, the Resolution shuddered and shook as her unshielded superstructure powered into the Diamondback at full burn.
"Hull at 83%, multiple forward hull breaches, emergency bulkheads deployed." Vik reported. "Taking heavy fire aft."
"Two more D-backs coming in, they're trying to ram us." Claude said his voice rising in pitch and volume as he shouted his warning. Jellicoe boosted and flung his ship to port, the first Diamondback flashed past narrowly missing the Resolution's forward section but the second had enough time to adjust and slammed into the Corvette amidships just below the bridge. Warning klaxons blared and red lights flashed on every console while from the bowels of the ship came the scream of tortured metal, the thuds of airtight doors sealing and the buzz of emergency force-fields activating.
"Hull integrity down to 63%." Vik for the first time anyone could remember sounded worried. "Major hull breach in the cargo bay, port gun batteries offline, fighter launch bay out of action."
"We're still mass-locked." Claude yelled over the noise. "And the collision's cost us speed, if one of those Annie's hits us...." He didn't need to complete the thought.
"Boosting again." Jellicoe said and she ship resumed its headlong dash for freedom.
"Hull at 49%." Vik reported. "FSD integrity at 34%, if it malfunctions we're dead."
"We're clear of the mass lock." Claude said.
"Engage jump drive." Jellicoe ordered before adding, more calmly than he felt. "Start praying gentlemen." and prayed harder than he ever had before.
"Frame Shift Drive Charging." The computer trilled and the sound of three men exhaling in relief was clearly audible across the bridge.
Asterope System, Deep Space
"Exit Super-Cruise." Jellicoe ordered as soon as the jump was complete.
"Are you mad?" Claude asked in astonishment, "We have to put as much distance between us and them as we can."
"We can't outrun them, not with the jump drive shot so we need to make the trail go cold, if we're very lucky even make them think the damage got us. Commander to Chief Saunders, emergency drill is jettison everything that'll generate a heat trace - fighters, SRV's, ammunition, spare power cells anything."
"I think I get it." Vik said with a smile.
"I don't." Claude replied. "What the hell are you thinking?"
"Space is big." Jellicoe replied with a half smile. "We need to get far enough away from our low wake to make us pretty much unfindable so we delay their search be giving them something to find and search through."
"It's done skipper." Kwame Saunders the cargo deck chief reported.
"Thanks Chief." Jellicoe answered. "Full power to engines, main drives to maximum. Claude find us a bolt hole close enough but not too close where we can sit tight and get the old girl patched up."