Chapter 26

Captain Joseph Briggs sat in the captain’s chair aboard the Dominant. It was a Federation battleship, Arbiter class, which had been slated for decommission. It was because of Briggs’ contacts within the Federation, which allowed him to purchase the frame of the ship. It was mostly panels and old wiring when he had acquired it. But he had the time and resources to refit the ship into a fearsome vessel once more.

Briggs listened to the voice who had told them to fuck off. She had refused to identify herself, but he knew who it was, as he’d heard her dulcet tones many times before. It was Inari Sunara, who was once his Wing Commander aboard the carrier, Maelstrom. He hadn’t seen her since the day she had nearly beaten him to death.

“Communications?” he called out, getting the officer’s attention.

“Yes, sir?”

“Triangulate where that transmission came from. I want to keep a lookout for the ship that told us to ‘fuck off’!” the pot-bellied man growled.

“Aye, aye, sir!” the comms officer replied.

The rotund man thought about how he’d nearly had that woman once. She’d taken much of the drink she’d offered, and she was feeling the effects of the drugs. But the batch of Devil’s Kiss hadn’t dissolved fast enough, so instead of talking her into doing what he wanted, he tried to force her. That was a horrible idea, because him getting physical had woken her up, kicking the effects of the drugs.

She’d fought back fiercely, showing the man who’d been her commanding officer no mercy. Inari had stopped shy of killing him, which he was thankful for, but he’d made that woman pay. More than half the ship was in his pocket and they’d done an admirable job of dancing as he told them to. It had been a bit of a stretch in some ways, but he’d fabricated enough falsified evidence to have Inari dishonorably discharged from the Federation Navy.

If he hadn’t acted as quickly as he’d did, she might have caught onto the fact that she wasn’t the first. Inari wasn’t the last either, but he had to be careful right after her discharge. It was a while before he felt safe enough to start up with his games again. He used drugs to seduce women in his command, turning them into doped up sexual playthings of his. It was something he’d done since his days at the academy. That was before he’d caught wind of a Federation investigator sniffing around.

He would have tried to do something about the investigator, but removing her would have been a dangerous move. Especially since his latest plaything was a senator’s daughter, which he didn’t know about until after he’d broken her. The girl had used her mother’s maiden name, wanting to get ahead on her own merits, rather than her father’s laurels. He knew that getting out while he still could, was his only option.

Briggs hated to leave behind his cushy life, but he hadn’t gotten to where he was by taking risks. There was no way he’d be going to a Federation prison colony, especially not when he had important work to do. His employers had been generous and had moved him to his new command early. It wasn’t ideal, but he still had many of the comforts he was afforded under the Federation.

Briggs turned his attention to the rest of the ship and how the crew were handling their stations. Many of them were former military, disgraced and thrown out of an organization they had served with pride. Just because they wanted some fun on their own terms is what got them thrown out. Many had turned to piracy and criminal activities to get by, after being ejected.

Like him, they were men who would make those who spurned them, pay dearly. This place, Veldhern, was just the first step. It was risky, but they had timed things perfectly, and had their own little game going. The first fleet which was the most powerful and well-seasoned group, was in drydock for repairs and maintenance, several systems away.

The second fleet, under Commodore Williams, was busy chasing a squad of decoys. Williams was a formidable and strong-willed commander but had an incessant hatred for pirates. That didn’t mean that she was an utter fool though, as she required confirmation of a pirate settlement or base before acting. The squad was playing things up, doing what they could to keep her occupied, while his fleet slipped into the Veldhern system.

Ana Williams was the kind of woman Briggs would have loved to have made into one of his playthings. That was before he’d learned of how she dealt with anyone who tried to take ‘liberties’ with her. Last guy who’d put his hand on her uninvited, nearly had his arm torn off. She broke the arm in several places and destroyed his tendons. The officer required several surgeries just to use it again.

Afterwards, there had been a court martial and witnesses came to her defense, stating that the officer acted in an untoward manner. He was her direct superior and as a result, because of overwhelming evidence, they acquitted her of all charges. The officer, however, was prosecuted and stripped of both his command and his rank. By the time the Federation was done with him, he was shipped off to penal colonies.

Such a fate was one that Briggs had wanted to avoid, which was why he’d been careful. He wasn’t careful enough though, as he recently heard that there was a bounty on his head. Briggs had checked back and saw that it had been posted by the senator and someone had smeared his name because of what the investigator had unearthed.

That wasn’t the worst of it, as many other officers, all women who had been his playthings at one point, had come forward. It was a complete media scandal, one which the Federation had done an admirable job of containing. They had got out in front of the media frenzy and downplayed the scandal. That didn’t mean that they abandoned the victims, though.

The ramifications of this resulted in a complete reorganization of the Federation Navy and Army. Briggs hadn’t been the only who had slipped through the cracks and fooled the psychologists and psychiatrists. There had been dozens more, many of whom were in positions of command. The Federation quietly had those individuals removed, making it appear as though they’d taken early retirement.

In truth, they’d all been sent to one of the worst hellholes humanity could have conjured up. One of the worlds in question was called Tartarus, which was a hellscape, and that was putting things mildly. The world had once been a mining colony of humanity until the war between the Federation and Confederacy flared up again. It was called Phaeron back then and was on loan to the Federation from the UCW.

The Confederacy, seeing how well the Federation prospered from the resources of it, decided to take it for itself. What resulted was one of the longest and bloodiest battles in their histories. It was an even fight to begin with, but once the UCW got involved, the Confederacy executed one of the worst crimes in living memory. On orders, the entire fleet was to ram the planet’s surface.

Ordinarily, that would have done little to the planet, but each ship made for active volcanoes. They fired upon them, sending every piece of ordinance they could into them, trying to make them erupt. It worked and once the ships were close enough; they dove straight into them. The resulting explosions set off a chain reaction in the planet itself, forcing every dormant volcano to become active in a matter of hours.

The amount of ash and toxic gas that was spewed into the air killed thousands before the world could be evacuated. That was well over seventy years ago and much of the ash and volcanic activity had settled since. But the world, which was being terraformed into a Gaia class planet, hadn’t recovered. Since reclaiming it, it had become a prison world and a forced labour camp for prisoners.

To this day, it was the single greatest atrocity the Confederacy had ever committed. The Confederacy was required to cede at least ten percent of the territory they owned to the Federation. They initially balked at the idea, but violating a world in this fashion had not only attracted the ire of the UCW, but every member and empire in the galactic community. Reluctantly, they did as they were asked, and since then, relations with them have been strained.

“Captain?” the comms tech asked, breaking Briggs out of his thoughts.

“Yes?” the round man replied.

“We have a location on that signal. It came from a ship known as the Darkstrider, a registered merchant vessel,” the tech told him, handing him a tablet.

“Excellent!” Briggs responded.

He looked over the pad, and a pensive look overtook his features. The Darkstrider, which had been an old Pioneer class exploration vessel, had been upgraded. It was more like a military frigate, with substantial upgrades made to it as a whole. Inari must have been doing well for herself as a merchant, if she was capable of affording such upgrades.

He’d have to question her directly once he had her begging for his mercy. The round man grinned, as he relished the thought of finally snatching the one that got away. He stroked his goatee, with lascivious thoughts running through his head, about what he’d do to her, once he had her. Briggs then started barking orders left and right, getting the fleet into attack position.

“You going to answer that?” Priya asked, looking Inari’s way, as the comms system beeped.

“I guess I’d better,” the middle eastern woman mused. “Hello?”

“Pilot of unidentified frigate, identify yourself and state your business!” a deep and slightly raspy voice demanded over the comms.

“Captain Inari Sunara of the merchant vessel Darkstrider. We were here on business to purchase supplies and goods for trade on Veldhern when this fleet showed up. We are here in our vessel, ready to render assistance. To whom am I speaking?”

“Commodore Arcan Saubath, of the Third Veldhern Defense fleet. Any assistance you could lend us would be welcome, captain. Fall into formation and standby for your orders,” the Commodore told her.

“Acknowledged, Commodore. Falling in!” Inari replied, committing them to the battle. “Is help on the way? That’s a damn big fleet!”

“We’re trying to send a signal out to reach the second fleet, but they’re jamming all communications!” the commodore replied.

“Jaesa, can you confirm the comms lines are being jammed?” Alex asked the AI once the line was dead.

“Checking now, sir. Wait one!” the AI replied. Her eyelids vibrated as she was scanning all available frequencies. “Confirmed sir. All available lines of communication are jammed. There is no way we are getting a transmission out.”

“Fuck!” Inari cursed. “Is there any way you can find a signal that they’re not using, so we can send a distress call?”

“Even with our advanced systems and protocols, we won’t be able to get a signal out. Though I have identified two possible ways for the comms lines to be opened,” Jaesa replied.

“What’s option one?” Priya wondered.

“That would require us to get close enough to the enemy fleet to bring down or disable the enemy communications ship. Sensors indicate the jamming signal is coming from there,” Stanley stated, focusing on the bulky frigate festooned with receiver dishes.

“Unless we get lucky, or an opportunity presents itself, no way we’ll get close enough to bring that thing down. It’s too well protected,” Alex told everyone, as he zoomed out from the ship and focused on the phalanx of frigates, cruisers and destroyers surrounding it. “What’s option two?”

“Option two requires both Stanley and I to find a workaround to disrupt the jamming signal. If we can disrupt it long enough for the lines to clear, we might be able to get a transmission out before the pirates can intercept it,” Jaesa replied.

“That’s our best option, unless we get a shot at that comms frigate. Get on it! Alex, you have the Darkstrider. I’m getting into the Banshee. Jaesa, prep the drones and ready them for lethal combat! Everyone else, battle stations!” Inari ordered.

Everyone exploded into action, with Alex taking the pilot’s seat, while Korsa and Priya rushed for the drone control nodes. Natalya charged to engineering while Kasumi hopped into the copilot’s chair, handling the tactical aspect of the engagement.

“Where are you two headed?” Inari asked as they raced for the elevator.

“Drone control. We can help in dealing with those bastards,” Priya replied, saluting.

Korsa was right behind her, saluting with both right hands. It looked a little odd, but Inari nodded, saluting both women back. The elevator deposited her on the first deck in seconds and not even ten seconds later; it opened on deck three. Korsa and Priya raced for the pods and booted them up, before getting their headsets on. They then stepped into the pods, adjusting their seats to be ready for combat.

“I also will help during combat,” Jaesa replied, surprising both Korsa, Inari and Priya.

“Aren’t you going to need every bit of focus to find a way through the jamming field?” Inari questioned over the comms.

“No, because on top of the drone programs, I also wrote a subroutine into my programming. I will be able to control the drones better than the programs I wrote, and in doing so, the programs will learn and adapt the new tactics and directives I will employ,” Jaesa responded.

“We need all the help we can get love! If Jaesa can do both, I say let her do both!” Priya vocalized.

“I agree. It’s a sizable fleet we’re up against, so we need to pull out every stop if we’re going to walk away from this,” Inari replied. “Finishing preflight checks and getting ready to detach from the Darkstrider.”

“Standing by on your mark, Captain,” Alex’s baritone voice came in over the line.

“Bulkheads sealed and cabin pressure is stable. Detaching in three ... two ... one ... initiate!” the Iranian woman stated.

The detachment could be felt, but only as a tiny reverberation through the ship. Inari had cleared the Darkstrider and powered up her engines, coming up on the ship’s port side.

“Drones, form up on my wing!” Inari called out of the comms.

“We’re on your port side,” Korsa replied.

“I’m on your starboard side. Ready to engage on your mark!” Jaesa replied, her drones taking position.

The pirate fleet launched its main offensive of frigates and destroyers, backed up by corvettes and fighters. The initial exchange saw some casualties on both sides, with multiple fighters and corvettes exploding. The Third Veldhern Defense fleet shifted its position, taking a higher point in the battle, making it easier to spot errant ships.

“Veldhern Defense fleet, we have incoming! A group of fighters are making a beeline for the station,” a frantic voice crackled over the comms lines.

The Commodore checked tactical and saw that an additional threat had jumped in, separate from the fleet. It was a carrier, with a small frigate and destroyer escort, that snuck in while they were busy with the main attack fleet. They had already launched their whole compliment of fighters and corvettes for the station. The Takharian soldier cursed as he replied to the call for help.

“Can you get your defensive shielding online before they reach you?” Commodore Saubath responded.

“Negative sir! Four waves are coming at us, two of which are corvettes and bombers!” the man on the other end shouted out.

“Damn it! Theta squad, break off from the main attack and intercept those fighter waves!” the commodore ordered.

“We’ll do what we can, sir, but we won’t make it there before those bombers do!” the commander of the small squadron of ships responded.

“Commodore sir, we might be able to catch them,” Inari’s voice broke in over the line.

“Captain Sunara? How did you break in on our channel?” Saubath growled.

“Worry about that later, sir! The point is, we can reach the station before those bombers do! Let us try to reach them, at least!” Inari begged.

“Do what you can, Captain!” the commodore stated.

“Aye, aye, sir!”

“Pedal to the metal, Alex!” Inari called out, as their small group changed course.

“Already there, Inari! Speed’s at Flank!” Alex responded, cranking the Darkstrider to maximum power.

“Jaesa, what’s the composition of the fighter waves?” Priya asked, readying the Darkstrider’s weapons.

“Scanning ... the first two waves are composed of Interceptor and Scout class fighters. The station’s defenses will be lucky enough to hit a few of them, much less all. The third wave is mainly light corvettes, with a few heavier ones mixed in for reinforcement. The last wave lagging behind them is nothing but bombers,” Jaesa replied.

“Bog down the station’s defenses with hard to hit targets and heavily armored ones. Then break said defenses with torpedo strikes, with no genuine threat to the bombers,” Alex growled, seeing that the commander of this pirate fleet was no idiot.

“The first wave has hit the station, sir! They are taking damage, but it’s minimal, as the fighters aren’t making any real concentrated effort to hit them,” Stanley reported.

“How long before those bombers are in range?” Alex demanded.

“Fifty seconds, sir!” Jaesa replied.

“How long before we’re in range?” Inari called out.

“Thirty-five seconds!”

“Think you can decimate the entire bomber wing in fifteen seconds?” Priya asked, hoping that they could.

“Let’s find out!” Inari stated over the comms as they closed in with their targets. Their group had left Theta Squad behind, as there was no way they could reach the station before the bombers completed their attack run.

“Almost in range...” Alex said a few seconds later. “Open fire!”

The Darkstrider opened up all its batteries and fired its torpedo tubes, laying into the squadron of bombers. There were twenty bombers total, more than enough to cripple the station with one pass. In ten seconds, half their number were smoldering wrecks, drifting slowly in space. The other ten tried to scatter, but Inari and the drones cut through another four, while Alex vaped three others.

“Seventeen bombers in fifteen seconds! That must be a new record!” Korsa enthused, happy to have brought them down.

“We need to down the last three before we can celebrate!” Alex reminded her.

“Damn it! We have incoming!” Inari cried out.

“Confirmed! Half the corvette wave has broken off their attack run and are coming for us!” Jaesa stated.

“I see them! They’re trying to cover those bombers!” Kasumi growled, angered that their prize was being stolen from under them.

“Nats, full power to forward shields! Kas, target those bombers! I’ll get us through this mess! Inari, you and everyone else, keep those corvettes busy!”

“On it!” came the harried reply.

Alex kept his speed at maximum, focusing on catching those bombers. A corvette tried to get in his way, but he just flew right at it, not caring what tried to stop him.

“Sir?!?” Kasumi called out in fear.

The corvette then saw that the Darkstrider wasn’t changing its flightpath and tried to get out of its way. It wasn’t fast enough and was clipped by the frigate, the force of the blow enough to send it colliding with another nearby corvette. Both ships went up in a spectacular explosion which rocked the attacking ships.

“Are they in range?!?” Alex shouted.

Kasumi then jumped and turned her attention to the bombers, which were trying to avoid the firefight around them. They had finally escaped the melee of ships and were targeting the station. One of them fired a few torpedoes, which raced for the station, but the bomber was annihilated seconds later. Its compatriots tried to pull evasive maneuvers, but didn’t move fast enough, as they joined their wing mates in oblivion.

“Veldhern station, you have incoming torpedoes! Brace for impact!” Alex called out over the comms.

“We see them, Darkstrider! Concentrating fire!” came the reply.

Several defensive cannons broke off from trying to shoot down the pesky fighters and focused on the incoming torpedoes. The shots weren’t precise, but the volley of laser fire was more than enough to detonate the projectiles before they reached the station. A whoop of triumph sounded over the line as the cannons went back to going after the fighter wing.

“Thanks for the assist, Darkstrider! We could use a hand with these bastards harassing us!” the station called back.

“Already on it! Dealing with the wing of corvettes!” Alex called out, moving the ship to assist Inari. She was deftly dipping and dodging some incoming fire while shooting back. Four more corvettes lay wrecked on top of the two Alex had smashed, which was a testament to Inari’s piloting skills.

“Darkstrider, we could use an assist right about now!” Inari shouted, as three corvettes were on her tail.

“Keep leading them along, I’ve got them!” Kasumi replied, as she focused the Darkstrider’s batteries on the closest ship. Laser fire lanced out and punched through the corvette’s shields in a matter of seconds. A few seconds more and it was a fiery ruin, joining the flotilla of wreckage that was filling up their sector of space.

“Still got two more back there!” Inari growled.

“I’ve got a lock! Firing!” Jaesa’s voice called out.

After a few seconds, two of the fighter drones screamed in, firing torpedoes and pulsar cannons. Their shields had dropped seconds before the torpedoes hit, further damaging the corvette’s armor. The explosive blasts of the ordinance threw the ships off their pursuit long enough for Kasumi to lock on and finish the job.

“Thanks, Jaesa!” Inari replied thankfully. “I appreciate the assist!”

“Not a problem, Captain, but we should finish off what we can!” the AI reminded her.

“Aye! Let’s finish these bastards!” Kasumi agreed over the comms.

The ships turned their focus to the remaining fighters, which were still harassing the station. Some fighters had enough sense to bug out when the Darkstrider and Banshee approached. Those fighters turned tail and put full power to their engines, regrouping with the carrier and its escorts. Between the defense cannons, the Darkstrider, the Banshee and her drone wing, the remaining fighters were soon reduced to scrap.

“Not so brave now, are they?” Priya cackled gleefully.

“No, they are not. But when behind those guys, they’ll be much bolder,” Alex pointed out, gesturing to the holograms of its escort group. The fighters and few corvettes that remained moved to dock with the carrier. The carrier and its escorts, consisting of six frigates, three destroyers and one cruiser, fired up their engines.

“Looks like we pissed them off!” Inari groaned.

“Theta squad have taken up defensive position around Veldhern station!” Kasumi grinned.

“We should withdraw and reinforce Theta squad,” Priya suggested.

“No,” Alex stated.

“Alex, it’s the one move we have! We can’t fight those bastards! We’re outgunned!” Kasumi implored.

“Yes, we can! Nats, how’s our power levels look?”

“The reactor’s stable and power drain so far is minimal!” Natalya reported.

“Time to break out the new toy!” Alex grinned.

“New toy? What new toy?” Inari asked, both concerned and curious.

“Kas, you see that console right next to you that is dormant? Wake it up,” Alex told his co-pilot. Kasumi looked confused but did as she was ordered and booted up the console. It took a matter of seconds before it powered up and the moment it did, the woman’s confusion was wiped away.

“Is this...” Kasumi gasped; her face awed by what she was seeing.

“Yup! Had it installed in case we ever found ourselves in a situation like this!” Alex told her. Kasumi’s hands flew across the console as she initiated the sequences to ready the weapon.

“Stanley! Bring the Hades Cannon systems online!” Kasumi called out.

“Hades Cannon?” Priya yipped.

“Routing power to the dormant subsystems ... Hades Cannon, online!” Stanley reported.

“Nats, full power to thrusters!” Alex ordered.

“You got it!”

“Inari, ladies, on me! I need to you to watch my wing while I line up the shot!” Alex told them.

“We’re on it!” Inari shouted, which was echoed by the others who were flying the drones.

“Target, sir?” Kasumi queried.

“The nearest destroyer. Stanley, how long before we’re in range?” Alex asked.

“Thirty seconds, sir!”

“OK everyone, buckle up! This is going to get bumpy!” Alex told them.

“Are they ... attacking us?” Captain Lourdes scoffed, thinking the pilot of the frigate was out of his mind.

“Looks like it, sir! Should be easy enough to bring down, with our battle group reinforcing us,” the Falchion’s tactical officer replied.

“They still could do considerable damage, if we let them get too close, sir,” the XO told him.

“Why do you think I have three of our frigate’s forming a defensive line in front of us? You worry too much, Raymond!” the captain told him.

The XO stared at the incoming ship and had an uneasy feeling in his gut. Logic dictated that the ship was no real trouble and would be summarily destroyed. Yet, something else was niggling at the back of his head. It was almost like it was something was warning him about ... something. The man left the bridge and headed down to an escape pod.

The last time he’d had a feeling like this was when he decided against doing a job running a shipment of Neurocaine. The drug was a top shelf psychoactive stimulant, easily three times more powerful than cocaine. It looked like everything would go easy, both shipment and delivery, as his friend had told him. Ray thought better of it and turned his friend down, despite repeated pleas to go with him.

It turned out that Raymond’s instincts were correct on the matter. He’d heard later that the gang the Neurocaine was delivered to, had taken the shipment, kept the money and enslaved his friend. The gang themselves were hunted down, as it was a Takharian war band they’d crossed. They were not pleased when they’d learned they were double crossed and they were not kind to them.

The war band made it their personal mission to break this gang for their transgressions against them. Not only was the power of the gang broken, but the war band had gone and made an example of them. They tore the bastards to pieces, literally, as the Takharians were supremely pissed. They not only broke the gang but also assumed all their possessions and contracts.

Of the slaves they had taken, Raymond had heard nothing about their fate. At least not for a while. He ran into his friend, Harold, nearly a year after the incident. The poor guy wasn’t the same as he used to be. The way he moved, the way he spoke and the light that was in his eyes every time Ray would talk to him, it was gone. Since that incident, Raymond learned to trust his instincts and always would.

“Five seconds, sir!” Stanley told Alex.

“Kasumi, is the Hades Cannon charged?” Alex asked.

“Aye, sir!” she replied as the Darkstrider vibrated against the oncoming fire. “Cannon is charged and ready on your order, sir!”

“Stanley, effective damage range?” Alex called out.

“Eighty-three percent effectiveness, sir!” Stanley responded.

“Destroyer sighted in! It’s now or never, sir!” Kasumi told him.

“FIRE!”

A loud thrumming sound built up just beneath the ship, before a brilliant yellow-white beam shot out from beneath the Darkstrider. The incandescent beam moved fast, faster than anyone could track, and it hammered into the destroyer, less than twenty kilometers away. The destroyer’s shields held, for all of three seconds, before they wilted away, overwhelmed by the sheer power of the Hades cannon.

The bow of the ship melted almost instantly, the beam coring right through it. Not even ten seconds later, the beam exited out of the rear of the ship. The remaining vessels stopped firing for a split second, awed by the raw power they had witnessed. No one there knew that such weapons existed and were staring in disbelief at the destroyer which had been effectively, skewered.

“Inari, drop a pair of torpedoes in there and pull up hard!” Alex told her, already bringing the Darkstrider into a vertical climb.

Inari snapped out of her daze and locked onto her target, before launching a pair of torpedoes. The projectiles flew true and sought the central point of the destroyer before detonating. Inari was already in her climb by that point, not even five seconds behind the Darkstrider.

“Inari, ladies, pull ahead of me! Your shields won’t hold!” Alex called out.

Seeing what the man was getting at, they did as he asked, pulling in front of him just seconds before the derelict destroyer’s reactor went critical. The resulting explosion rocked the surrounding vessels, sending several of them off course. The Darkstrider, Banshee and drones were far enough away where the explosion buffeted them some but did minimal damage to their shields.

“Kas, scan the pirate ships, tell me which ones have their shields knocked out!” Alex called out, reversing half the engines, so he literally turned on the spot. Inari was right behind him, familiar with the maneuver.