22
Back on Antietam, Clement and Ori took their places again and Clement asked Captain Kagereki to stay on at the XO console. He started in immediately with status reports from his officers. Clement called down to Hassan Nobli in the reactor room.
“Do you have everything you need, Hassan?” he asked.
“That depends on what you’re going to ask of me, Admiral,” Nobli replied.
“Fair enough, Engineer. I need a fifteen-minute countdown for one last in-system LEAP jump. Can you be ready?”
“Aye, sir, we can, but once again the reactor might not hold together with this many jumps in such a short time. We saw that with the Beauregard, God rest her soul.”
“Yes, God rest her soul. I need that reactor to stay together, Hassan. After the jump I’ll need the MAD weapon as soon as possible or we’re doomed.”
“So the mission to Camus was a failure?”
“We don’t know that, but we have to plan accordingly.”
“Of course, sir. Please understand, I can’t guarantee the ship will survive that kind of energy expulsion, especially in such close proximity to the jump.”
“What about the nanomaterial Mary put into the pipes? Will that hold?”
“Not with a cracked reactor, but you might get a chance at one shot. From the tests I’ve run the goo should hold. It’s stronger than Tech Reck’s stuff, but it’s still an untested alien technology.”
“I’ll take that as a yes. Start the clock, Hassan.”
“Yes, Admiral.”
Clement looked to Ori, who put the countdown clock up on the main display and made the ship-wide announcement of the impending jump.
Next he went to Pomeroy. “Lieutenant, send a longwave com to our ships at Alphus and order them to start back to Bellus. If we’re going to get our people off the surface we’ll need those transports. If we fail in forcing an armistice or at least a cease-fire, their orders are to surrender to the Solar League forces. And tell them to stay ahead of that flotilla chasing them.”
“Aye, sir,” she said, and started the com.
Next was the navigator. “Ivan, as usual I’ll need a miracle. Get us as close as you can to the Solar League fleet, especially that ark ship, but far enough away from the rest of their forces to ensure we don’t end up on top of one of their cruisers.”
“Of course, sir, the usual,” he said, smirking at his captain. “No problem.”
He didn’t have to tell Mika her orders; she knew her job.
Last up was Captain Kagereki at the XO station. “I’ll need you to be my weapons officer through this battle, Jim. I want you to know I’ll do everything I can to protect your ship, but I can’t guarantee we won’t be blown to bits in a few minutes.”
“I’d prefer that didn’t happen, Admiral, but I understand the circumstances. My people know what we’re up against. They’ll be ready,” he said.
“Thank you, Captain.”
Then Clement sat back and looked up at the clock.
Thirteen minutes to their destiny.
Clement found himself remarkably calm as the countdown slipped to under a minute to the jump. He was resigned to fate now. Either everything would work out or they would be destroyed, but either way his biggest hope was that they could deal such a huge loss to the Solar League that they would withdraw from Trinity. That was a slim hope, but it was something.
At thirty seconds to jump he got on the ship-wide com. “All hands, this is Admiral Clement. In the next few seconds Antietam will be undergoing her third and final jump inside the Trinity system. By now you’ve all experienced what short LEAP jumps are like. I ask you, now of all times, to recover from the jump effects as quickly as you can and attend to your stations. Reaction time will be critical to our survival in the next few minutes. I know you will all give me your best. I believe in all of you. Admiral Clement, out.” With that Mika Ori took over the com and completed the countdown. The universe blurred around them all.
As fate would have it, Antietam reappeared in normal space just a few thousand meters off of the massive, cylindrical Solar League ark. The only advantage they had was that even their navigator was surprised at how close he came to their target.
“Ivan! For Christ’s sake, we’re right on top of them!”
“Sorry, Admiral! I can’t help being over-accurate.”
“Mika, full reverse on the plasma thrusters, get us out of here!”
“Aye, sir!” She did as instructed, powering up the plasma thrusters, but when she looked up at the tactical display the tiny Five Suns gunship was right in the middle of the Solar League fleet, surrounded by enemies on all sides. “Where to, sir?” she asked frantically.
“Anywhere! Just get some distance between us and that ark!” With the thrusters warm she put the ship in motion and they began accelerating away from the ark ship.
“We’re backing right into a group of cruisers and destroyers!” warned Kagereki from the XO’s station. “Fortunately they’re all facing toward the planet and not us.”
“Noted, Captain,” replied Clement. “It will take them time to get turned and attack us, but we’ll have to worry about the clusters of ships that we’re in the line of attack with.”
Almost on cue a destroyer volleyed a compliment of six missiles at Antietam, while others in the line of sight opened up with DEW fire. “Antimissile torpedoes!” ordered Clement, and Kagereki responded quickly.
“Torpedoes away, flak and chaff countermeasures active,” he said. “Static shields engaged against incoming Directed Energy Weapons fire.”
As the missiles streaked in toward Antietam Clement called down to Nobli. The MAD weapon icon on his command console was still dark. “Nobli, what’s your status?”
The line was silent.
“Nobli, report!” After a tense few moments the engineer responded, but it was not good news. “Admiral, Tech Reck and I barely made it out of the reactor room before the hull cracked wide open and exposed her to space.”
“Is the reactor still on line?” He prayed the answer would be yes.
“Well, yes, but I can’t operate her from out in the hallway.”
“Then get on an EVA suit and get back in there! I need a green light on my board for the MAD weapon in thirty seconds or we’re all dead.” The com line stayed open and Clement could hear Nobli arguing with Tech Reck again, but couldn’t make out what they were saying. “Nobli!” he demanded.
“Reck’s on her way in now, sir! While I was jabbing with you she was slipping in to her environmental suit. She’s opening the airlock now . . .” The line popped and crackled, but he got no further communication from Nobli. Any hit that was powerful enough to open a hole in the reactor room hull would likely have damaged communication as well.
Clement looked down to his board; the MAD weapon icon was still dark. Then he looked at the tactical display. It was bleak. The ship shook from multiple near misses and DEW hits on their shields. “Tactical report, Captain.”
“More missiles coming in, thankfully none of them nuclear, sir,” said Kagereki.
“We’re too close to the ark ship for them to use their nukes. That’s some small blessing.”
Ori turned from her console to face her commander. “About that, Admiral. We’re close to a kilometer off of the ark now, sir. We’re under the effective range for their weapons. If we go much further, we could subject ourselves to the ark’s forward coil cannon, sir.”
“That would be a negative development I hadn’t thought of. Reverse our course. Keep us under the belly of the whale.”
“Admiral”—it was Kagereki again—“cruisers are backing off. They’re forming up into a tactical team with their destroyers, sir.”
“Going after us with their smallest ships. More pinpoint accuracy. My guess is they will batter us with DEW until our shields fail and we crack open like fresh-cooked crab legs.”
“What do we do, sir?” asked Ori.
“Maintain course. Get us as close to that ark as you can, Mika.” Clement looked down at his tactical board. The MAD weapon was still off-line. He smacked the com button again. “Nobli, we’re running out of time!” There was no response. “Nobli, can you hear me?”
Everything was silent on the bridge for a second. Then the MAD weapon icon lit up green. “Everybody grab onto something. I’ve got a green light on the MAD weapon. Will commence firing in ten seconds.” Everyone on the bridge braced themselves as Clement’s finger hung over the MAD weapon icon. He tried to aim as best he could . . .
“Three . . . two . . . one . . . fire!”
The bright white MAD energy shot out of the Antietam’s DEW cannon ports and went straight up to the belly of the ark. The beam began splitting her from stem to stern, cutting a tight line, much more refined than the wild and uncontrollable energy from the first time they had used the weapon on board the Beauregard. Debris, metal, regolith, equipment and people were ejected into space as the ark was cut clean in half. Secondary explosions filled space with bright flares of red, orange, and gold as the ship broke apart, colliding with many nearby support vessels, including auxiliaries, cruisers, and destroyers. It was a devastating blow.
No one on the bridge cheered. They had just participated in the killing of thousands of their fellow human beings, something they had come to Trinity to avoid at all costs.
Clement looked down at his console. The MAD weapon icon was dark again. Likely the reactor was gone as well. They had nothing to fight with now, and when the Solar League fleet recovered its senses, they would be pursued and destroyed.
And with that went their last hope. Clement sat silently as the incoming missiles (and more to follow) were taken out by their torpedoes or misdirected by their countermeasures, but they would eventually run out of defenses.
Clement ordered a rescue team down to extract Nobli and Tech Reck from the reactor room, if they were still alive. He turned to his oldest-serving crewmate, Mika Ori. “Take us out of here, Pilot. Best guess as to which course we should take,” Clement said, subdued. This fight had cost him nearly everything he held dear; he hoped it wouldn’t cost him his friends and the crew of the Antietam as well.
Ori looked to him, a mixture of grief and sadness on her face. “Aye, sir,” she said as the ship rocked from nearby missile explosions and DEW-fire impacts. By destroying the ark they had lost their cover and the enemy fleet was attacking with renewed vigor now. They had regrouped and were closing in on them, and Clement doubted it would be with any mercy in their hearts.
Ori reached down for the thruster controls and pressed the activation button.
Nothing happened.
“Pilot?”
“There’s no power to the thrusters, sir; or rather, there’s power but no forward motion indicated.”
“What? Why?” Clement started out of his couch.
“Sir, the visual display!” The excited voice belonged to Laura Pomeroy. Clement reached down and switched the primary display to visual views. On the left view of the screen it showed the atmosphere over Bellus. The orange-beaded blanket was up once again, covering the large area over the Hill Place pyramid and the former Camp Alpha. A Solar League transport vessel struck the shield and disintegrated. The second display showed ships where the ark flagship had been. They were quickly being surrounded by small metal probes, as were many other ships in the Solar League fleet. The small probes were flowing and moving at frantic speeds, enveloping the ships and then engaging an orange-colored energy blanket around them, trapping them inside. The third monitor showed the exterior of the Antietam, also now enveloped in the protective field.
All the fire toward Antietam had now stopped and the battlefield was eerily silent.
Ori stood and looked at her commander. “Mary?” she said.
Clement looked to Pomeroy. “Use the longwave, try and raise . . . someone . . . in the direction of the planet Camus.” Before she could respond, a voice came over their ship-wide com, loud and clear.
“Admiral, no need for you to do anything more. I have the situation under control. Please stand down from your weapons.”
Clement hesitated. The voice was mechanical, if slightly feminine. “Mary?” he asked. The system hummed and buzzed for a few seconds, then responded.
“If that is what you wish to call me, I will try to respond as that persona if it eases communication between us.” The voice was now more feminine, and recognizable. “I am pleased to hear your voice again, Jared.”
“Mary, are you alive, or . . .” He spread his arms wide, looking for the source of the mysterious voice.
“Both, and neither. I am the protector of the people now, but I retain this personality, her thoughts and experiences, within me. I have communicated terms of surrender to the invading forces, and they have agreed to withdraw, but I will see to their retreat myself.”
With that the tactical display showed the Solar League ships being carried away toward the remnant of their fleet, out near the sixth planet, secured in their orange safety blankets. It was power that the Five Suns could never equal.
Antietam was soon alone over Bellus, and after a few hours, the defensive shield came down and the last remaining Solar League ships evacuated the surface of Bellus, trying desperately to catch up with their quickly retreating fleet. Mary had gone silent, and would not respond to their calls.
The last Battle of Trinity was over.