Part 15

"When it's time, when it's time oh say when it's time.."

The 'Fire and the 'Chance had drifted slowly back to their points in the formation. The way ahead for the moment was clear, no ships nor mines nor missiles in the way. Nearby lurked the presence and threat. It kept it's distance. Close enough to freely strike. Not yet doing so. So far though that it's preparations and actions were unseen and unknown. It was just there.

The ex-admiral had transferred back to his ship. To oversee the state of the 'fire. To oversee the state of the convoy. Captain Freddie wasn't implicating himself in that role. Van Gehan had the management of the freighter crews under control, he didn't need to speak to them and that was about right. it wasn't appropriate in his mind that was the age old role of the convoy leader not the escort ship. It had worked like most of Fleets traditions for centuries now. If it works, Freddie like to let it work.

It was a time to wait.

True enough crews and machines slaved away at repair and rearmament. There was more than enough work to do there, and the continual reports needed looking at, just so he knew what he was commanding but for the moment everyone was waiting. The question on Freddies mind, his crews mind, the admiral' mind and those throughout the convoy was would they be ready for another attack and could they survive it.

That would of course depend on the attack and when it came.

Nobody knew that.

What Freddie knew was that the freighters still hadn't finished charging up their compression engines and without those they could not run. Without running they could not help but fight if it came.

Waiting.

Waiting

Waiting

Like an endless musical rift they were stuck in the mantra of waiting. Work a little, think a little, worry a little and wait.

Wait a little more and worry.

Part 14

“Ah Dah Dah Dah Do!
Do Dah Dah Dah Do
Say Dah Dah Do
Say Dah Dah Do”
Red is not a warship captains favourite colour. Any shade is wrong, perhaps the worst of all is flashing crimson; and right now it was highlighting the area map set to track the Sterateel support vessel. There was activity and there was movement.
Captain Freddie and Van Gehan were out into the bridge stones in hand without being called. Barely a note of the alarms sounded before Ko-on knocked them off. The point was made. That awful noise was not needed. Instead Freddie grabbed his performance mike.
“All crew to combat ready, repeat all crew to combat ready”
All the information they needed was displayed on the front cinema and the tactical table.
There were eight contacts moving at speed, at very great acceleration for the convoy.
Cotolo made the confirmation.
“They are fighters, can’t tell you the load.”
“Thanks Cotolo” said the captain.
“Well”, said Van Gehan, “they don’t want you to get any rest”
“I expect you’re right. We did well on the first attack. Now they harry us and wear us down” said the captain.
The bridge was paused. Waiting for command. The fighters closed.
“Missiles rig to fire chasers. Main Cannons, open fire and keep firing. Put everything you can towards those fighters. Point defence, set long and close as they approach. Again, fill the sky with fire. Fighters to stand by. Don’t launch yet”, the captain looked round. The bridge was active, his orders being followed. “Cotolo - how long ?”
“Three minutes and twelve seconds on .. mark! sir”
“Thanks Cotolo, well Van, I think I’d better show you the guest cockpit”
“Thanks Freddie”
“Ok everyone, seal in for the fight”
One minute elapsed as the bridge crew, last as usual locked themselves in.
Another minute elapsed.The big guns opened fire. The point defences opened fire.
“Sir”, said Cotolo, “it looks as if they mean to by pass us this time and head for the freighters”
“Jolo, get us in their way”, said Freddie
“Moving us now sir”
The ship lurched and the familiar pressure of movement pushed into the crew.
The oddly powerful guns of the Smoking Fire opened up. She too started moving.
The chaser missiles, nearly fighters in their own right ripped out of their bays. Diving for the Sterateel.
The Sterateel were spiralling and flipping all over space, ellipses opening out spheres at there centre and each again with flaps and panels and protuberances that were all unique. Neither was identical. Although their shields flashed bright with impacts.
The chasers were firing close range pellets. The Sterateel were shooting blue dollops of spreading plasma. Space was alight with bright.
Then the fighters turned, broke formation and ran for home in eight different ways.
The chasers followed.
The Golden Chance and Smokeless Fuel did not.

Part 13

Ex Admiral Van Gehan sat. Mug steaming to his side and stone placed on the table in classical fleet position, directly in front of him. Captain Freddie faced him, same kind of mug and of course his own stone in the same position. Off to their side stood the big displays of the Golden Chance. Ko-on had placed the battle map directly in their view. They could see the alignment of ships, more information could be sent to their stones and around the corner the ships command crew were organising the repairs.
Van Gehan smiled at Freddie.
“You’ve done well, the freighter captains want me to convoy their thanks, and they want to help holding a memorium to the men you’ve lost”
“Thanks Van, it’s appreciated. Thanks for transferring over”. Freddie smiled, at his old captain.
“So what’s our condition?”
“the freighters and your ship are unhurt. That’s good. You’ve still got four Maringers, each armed with a Kruger. That’s powerful. The ‘Chance has a lot of exterior hull scorching. Three minor storerooms have been incinerated. The aft repair hatch and workshop has been blown out and our main shuttle hatch has been melted shut. We had a fired in the landing bay, but not too serious. Four fuel lines however have been burned open. We didn’t lose that much accelerant, but our top acceleration is down 17%. For’ard the main armour is brittle, so I can’t expect to do much against a direct hit and we’ve got a lot of noise in the communication array, So long range conversation is going to be limited. We expended 32% of our missile stores, but cannons are O.K. and that’s just the overview. There’s a lot of fine detail but the crew are working on that.”
“Ok Freddie. Well you broke the rules and we destroyed one Gunship, it looks like you damaged another - so big commendations in my view on great tactics. The trouble is”
“That we’ve still got the fighters and a fully working gunship to face”, interrupted Freddie.
“Yes, that’s it. We’re not sure how many fighters they’ve got, or the capacity of the damaged gunship, or the missile load on support ship.” finished the Admiral.
“Or when the next attack will come”
“So”, said Van Gehan “What next”
“How long to the your next Compression Jump?”
“Soon, the freighters have nearly finished their charge cycle. inside of a day before they’re all ready”. said the admiral, drinking from his cup.
“Good, so how about we look at buying some time by running away”, Freddie played with his cup.

“And there we go again
And then and then and then then then”

Part 12

A quiet command deck is a deck in crisis, or at least preparing for one
“Do you have a plan
An A or B for me...”

“Captain, the gun ships are in main battery range”, said Ko-on.
“Hold on to fire control Ko-on, we want them in close and they’re about to do it for us”
“Done sir”
Space held it’s breath.
The three gunships burst forward, each flying a spiral, each madly accelerating and each aiming for the ‘Chance.
“All crew this is the captain - here they come”
An orange blast of continuous pulses leapt from each gun ship. Pulse of the same came again and again, several times every second, marking three solid waves impacting on the ‘Chance. The shields on the Chance flared, whipping the blasting energy away from the bow and back all around the ship, changing the colour with movement, crackling with intensity and glowing like a sun.
“Captain we can’t use main weapons under this” said Sandro.
“Stick with the close combat plan, we don’t need guns yet anyway”
“Sir, forward hull is heating up, radiation is a bit high”
“Ko-on, extend the shields to dissipate the impacts, Jolo, move us ahead of formation, let’s give that shield some room to breath. Telolo, bring the shuttle reactors online, Hanj-on how are we looking?”
“Sir, reactors have ramped up to 75%, 90 plus in the next minute or two, shuttle power should see us through we’re shuffling everything to keeping the shields running. Biggest problem will be overheat. That’s limited’
“Thanks Hanj-on”
The gun ships had slowed their acceleration. Forming up into a triangular formation. Wide enough to place the Golden Chance within them.
“Sir, they’re going for a three way broadside, they’ll fire in 32 from mark” shouted Cotolo
“Telolo, fighters away, full missile attack now”, the Captain said, urgent, quick yet still calm.
Calm did not describe the movement of the fighters. Each engine blasted on blazing white hot. Leaving long trails of exhaust behind him the fighters unveiled their missile load. Moving wide of the Chance and then firing again and again.
Captain Freddie saw the streaks of the missiles and the bodies of the fighters.
“Telolo, make sure they don’t directly engage, make sure your fighters follow the plan and get get back to the Admiral.”
“Done Sir” came the reply from Telolo heard by Captain Freddie who was on his next order
“Jolo, full power, break formation”
A smiling “Yes sir” from Jolo. He was about to have a chance to really fly.
“Admiral we’re going top break their formation” said the Captain”
“Good luck Freddie” came the simple reply from the Smokeless Fire
The blazing orange attack on the Chance stopped, losing it’s footing the moment Jolo turned the big ship into an imitation of a space fighter. As that happened close cannons on the Gunships littered space with sparks trying to fend off the incoming missiles. The three way broadside never happened as the ‘Chance nearly clipped the Gun Ship top most to the formation and somersaulted into position behind the gun ships.
“Reduce shields to firing capacity. All guns on that ship” said the Captain. Marking a gun ship in gold for this crew.
Space roared and coloured up with brilliant luminosity with the brightness of cannon and ranged defence guns on a single target. Immediately it attempted to dart away - pulling away from formation. It’s shields burning under the heavy fire.
“Telolo, fighters to this mark, close attack”, said the captain colouring a second gunship in red.
“They thank you sir” came the reply from Telolo.
“Jolo, watch out for ships behind us, Sandro, dump the missiles onto this ship” said the Captain, colouring a target in green.
One gun ship rolled through space, it’s outer shields radiating bright, perhaps even chunks of it’s armour obliterating under pressure. Behind came the ‘Chance balancing on every engine it had. Guns fire forward and missiles being pushed out of silos, spinning, seeking and dropping behind to one of the chasing gun ships. That ship came up behind, firing with opportunism at the ‘Chance but focussing on the missiles. The third ship, engaged by fighters fought to defend, and also to dive towards the convoy. It saw a way in. There were not enough fighters to stop it.
“Captain we have fires starting, damage controllers are responding but we can’t withstand much more action at this level” came the report from Hanj-on in the bowels of the ‘Chance.
“Just do what you can” said Freddie
One of the fighters exploded.
Then another.
Up off the Smokeless Fire popped four small Maringer pods. Each fired a Kruger.
The Krugers blurred with speed towards the closing gunship. The Chances two remaining fighters left their engagement and turned towards the ‘Chance - the Admiral having issued his fire warning.
Space ahead and around the Krugers bowed, and bulged and rainbowed coloured. The distortions hit the gunship. There was a tide. A ripping tide that lasted for a fraction of the moment. It went through shields, through structure and space. Life went out of the Gunship, sections broke off and it’s course curved wildly away from true.
“Break off attack Jolo, get us out of here” said Freddie
“Ok sir” came the pilots reply.
The Chance shuddered under a series of small explosions.
“Jolo - take us wide” said Freddie
“Ko-on, get me reports” said Captain Freddie.
The firing on the Chance stopped. The remaining two gunships headed past their fallen comrade. They didn’t remain in station long. For the moment there was no attack on the convoy.
Smoke poured from the Golden Chance.

Part 11

“This is the way we see
Riding over heavenly”
Three forms, nightmare clouds forming up and solidifying. Barrels emerging, armour hardening, dread exotic parabola becoming visible. The stuff of the Sterateel gunship was moving from willow the whisp flimsiness to harsh rockiness. Each different, that was the hallmark of standard Sterateel. Mass produced, rolled out a production line and unique in form and colour. Absolutely identical in function. That was Sterateel.
These three, those approaching the convoy and the ‘Chance were formed to have heavy forward weapons backed up with rapid fire turrets of opportunity. Maestros of the hit and run. Hit heavy, keep moving, carve up and still keep moving and shooting as often as possible.
That was all there was to it.
The convoy was placed. The ships ready and the gunships on the cusp of the ‘Chances big hitting long range guns; focussed back to react quicker at closer ranges. Timed to work with the rapid fire shooters of it’s defence network. This was not going to be a long range slug of a fight. Sudden and violent was the way forward.