Chapter 11: Pirates

“There’s very little admirable about being a pirate. There’s very little functional about a pirate. There’s very little real about a pirate.”

—Will Oldham

The alarm blared. Jason dragged himself out of bed, battling to rouse himself.

Alert, enemy attack warning, attack imminent in seventeen minutes; this is not a test.

“Jason, report to the weapons console on the bridge. Prepare for transport. This is not a simulation or an exercise.”

Jason looked at his watch—3:00 a.m.

Jason walked to the battle dresser and put on his ship armor.

He stretched and braced himself.

“Transport to bridge”—He jumped, then looked at his watch. It was 03:02.

Jason was a meter from his combat workstation, dressed in his ship armor and helmet. Stan placed a large mug of coffee in front of him.

“You must fight them, Jason. I don’t know what to do. This isn’t a drill. Mob pirates are attacking the ship. We came out of hyperspace, a small distance from where we predicted we would be, then began reorienting ourselves for a jump.”

“How do you know they are pirates?” Jason asked.

“Ships of Mob origin showed up on our sensors. As soon as they sensed us, the Mob ships sped up, heading toward us. The ship identified them as hostile. The Mob fleet would have surrounded us if we came out where predicted.”

Stan dimmed the lighting to reduce glare and make seeing the controls, instruments, and holograms easier.

Jason strode to his console and looked at his holograms. He eased into his seat as the weapons console refreshed.

“There are seven ships out there, and the ship is reacting sluggishly. She’s struggling to perform,” said Stan. “Jason, I don’t have battle training. I piloted cargo ships!”

“Stan, we will both do our best with our limited experience. We can do no more. Please take over the steering manually.”

How can I work around Ship?

Jason glanced around the luxuriously equipped bridge. Stan had taken over and steered the battleship manually. Stan smiled, “The controls are responsive.”

Jason’s second hologram gave him a spherical view around the ship. His primary hologram provided information on the ship’s condition, weapons status, and controls. He could rotate, enlarge, shrink, or change perspective on both holograms.

He zeroed in on seven circles the sensors had identified as hostiles/pirates. The ship AI predicted with ninety-nine percent certainty that the vessels were of Mob origin and hostile. It even recognized the ship models.

“Jason, those ships are of Mob origin,” said Ship, her voice slow and slurred. “They are in attack mode; their weapons are hot.”

Jason swallowed and slipped into his battle routine. Up came his checklists. They were invaluable when preparing for combat in simulations. Jason opened the third hologram to display his lists. Checklist habits saved him many a time in battle. “Time to missile launch and time to first cannons in range?” Jason asked Ship. “I can’t see our weapons on my console.”

“You have no available missiles and only four long-range trans-dim plasma charges. Your cannons need recharging. The alarm blared. “The first ships will be in the range of your plasma cannon in seven minutes. I will start a countdown after you decide on your target priority,” said Ship slowly and laboriously, slurring her words.

Jason’s stomach lurched. He was in serious trouble. The ship carried four thousand long-range missiles, one hundred fifty-thousand short-range anti-missile missiles, and tens of thousands of loads for the medium and short-range defensive cannon. Reactors work furiously during battle to prepare reloads. The ship had a thousand heavy guns and howitzers and could fire these continuously. Now he had virtually nothing.

This was incomprehensible. Where were the missiles? The standard ship’s armament included long-range multidimensional shield-penetrating ship killers that traveled faster than light. He should have medium and short-range defensive anti-missile and anti-fighter weapons. He had no charge for his shield-damaging cannon and no shield-killer missiles. It was all there previously. On tours, he had seen thousands of tightly packed missile-loading containers in the storage. The reactors worked perfectly. The weapons crew demonstrated how they worked.

Jason felt his fear rising and tasted his bitter reflux. He raced down the lists item by item. His ingrained habits had saved him in several simulations, but now he had little with which to work.

“Load and launch fighters with anti-ship missiles. Boarding pods; board and immobilize the destroyer in the rear. Fighters engage pirate frigates and neutralize them. I confirm there are seven hostiles, six frigates, and a destroyer. They are of Mob origin. Our ship has no missile defenses and minimal weapons loads.”

As far as he knew, there were no fighters or fighter pilots. The only gunship boarding pods he had seen were in his simulations. The ship had thousands of gunships, shuttles, and tanks, but there was no time to warn and prepare the existing crew to fly them.

Jason remained resolute and followed his routine.

So, what happened? It was obvious. The enemy had set up a trap, and the priests sabotaged the ship’s weapons and the AI. The priests doomed them all unless he found a way out. He was not going to become Papa Zora’s hostage.

Jason fought to control his growing panic. His mind raced. He had many guns, from long-range artillery to ultra-short-range anti-fighter and missile defenses. He knew from his tours of the ship that it was fully equipped and ready for battle. Now he had no ammunition and no projectiles. The crew loaded the ship’s munitions in port. After fighting, the ship built missiles and collected dark matter and energy for the weapons reactors. The reactors produced the charges. The Empire fully equipped the ship to repair and arm itself wherever it was.

He had no missiles. Could the priests have hidden the missiles? If so, the crew didn’t have the time to find them. The battleship was a sitting duck and a fat prize for the pirates. They would hold him hostage. Jason desperately went through his available resources.

“Colonel Phoebe Harris reporting: Fighter Command confirms we are preparing one-hundred-forty fighters for launch. Five boarding gunships debarked from hanger 49 carrying special forces Marines. We’ve loaded the fighters with trans-dimensional missiles. Sir, I appreciate your patience with this. Before the alarms, we had no warning of an impending attack. Someone blocked our outside sensors and communication with the bridge. We tapped into the ship systems and rectified the situation.”

Jason saw the fighters, close defense gunships, and boarding gunships appear on his assets panel. The boarding gunships were much more spacious than conventional gunships, were nimble, and had significant firepower. They had dense shields and thick armor. They carried Marines and carried heavier guns and missiles than the fighters. The fighters and gunships gave them a chance. Four shots with his heavy cannon could do real damage, but he depended on AIs to aim the long-range artillery at the distant ships. The ship AI was not up to the job. He racked his brain.

“Ship open collectors and fire up the reactors.”

“I am opening our collectors. The current position has rich potential,” said Ship slowly and laboriously, sounding pleased.

Jason fought down panic and nausea.

The ship had particle and energy collectors that fed reactors and prepared charges which it transmitted to loaders to arm the cannon.

Jason couldn’t rely on Cherie to help him manage the ship’s defense.

“Ship, how many communications probes do you have.”

“Admiral, I have twenty-four. We used two when we visited Earth.”

“Ship transfer guidance and cannon aiming control to the battle AI, Patton.

“Ship, prepare to launch fourteen communications probes and confirm you have transferred control.

“I am ready to act on your commands, Admiral,” said Patton.

“Patton, please strike each ship with two communication probes. In the case of the frigates, aim one at the bridge and the second at the power plant. Hit power and weapons control on the destroyer. I intend to capture the senior officers on the destroyer.”

“Acknowledged, I am preparing to guide the probes. The probes will launch in 24.3 secs.”

“Confirm probes preparing for launch,” said Cherie, slurring her words.

“I have full control of weapons and missiles. Missile launch in 4... 3... 2... 1 launch two missiles. Two missiles will launch every four seconds,” said Patton, the simulation and battle AI. Patton was responsible for the battle simulators, but during a war, Admirals and Generals relied on him to help them manage actions in space and on the ground.

Patton was an excellent teacher and was upgraded seven times since his involvement in the first Mob War. Jason liked and trusted Patton and had spent many hours with him. After the first month on board, Jason asked if he could call him Patton and provided the history of the original Gen. Patton. The military called Patton, JJXC486-739-123224499. Jason explained that he couldn’t recall Patton’s proper name without a crystal. JJXC486-739-123224499 laughed and accepted the nickname.

“Open communication with Col. Phoebe Harris.”

“Communication confirmed.”

“Colonel, we are dealing with seven pirate ships. I’m targeting the six frigates with two missiles aimed at power and control. I’ll target two at the destroyer to knock out its power and weapons control. Please disable and board the destroyer. I’d like you to capture and return the Captain for interrogation.

“I expect them to launch small boarding pods from the destroyer. I have negligible short-range anti-missile capability. I have four heavy weapons loads. Confirm.”

“I acknowledge your orders. We launch in 25 seconds. We’ll neutralize the first six ships, disable them, and board the destroyer.”

“Colonel, please inform your fighters of our defensive limitations.”

“Thank you for informing me about the ship’s defensive limitations. We will act accordingly. We’ll launch our cyber warfare and communications probes. Likewise, we’ll attempt to intercept missiles and boarding pods.”

“Ship, when we eliminate the threat, replace all missiles and munitions. I want us to prepare fully for future threats.”

When he visited engineering, they proudly showed him hangers full of raw materials. The engineers had enough material to replace anything on the ship. They had mining drones and small freighters that supported their efforts. They mined mineral and metal-rich asteroids while waiting for Jason to board.

“Patton, intercept all communications and decrypt what you can,” commanded Jason.

“Ship, where are the Marines and pilots located?

“Jason, for reasons I can’t explain, I cannot answer. I can’t see any Marines and their support people. This is unusual and inexplicable. I’m puzzled and concerned. My combat efficiency is twenty-three percent,” said Cherie, “and I feel fogged and slow.”

“Patton, please let the probes go trans-dimensional through the shields and impact within the ship.”

“Weapons control, please send personnel to the missile storage magazines, and check to see if we have available missiles.”

“Sir, we have a full complement of missiles on our consoles, but I’ll do as you ask. I was the one who showed you the missiles.”

Jason could only fire weapons if they were shown on his screen.

“Weapons control, engage antimissile systems. I see none on my screen. Target medium-range missiles to boarding pods when they appear.”

“Sir, someone is jamming our consoles. I’ve lost control. I’m rebooting the computer and AI. We’ll be down for four minutes.”

Jason was worried. He might not have any fighters or gunships. The priests could be fooling him. He would believe they existed when he saw them. Did the Colonel exist? He was barely keeping his anxiety in control. He swallowed. His throat felt parched. He could hear his heart beating, and his chest was tight. He rolled his shoulders and moved his head in a circle. Jason stretched his arms upward and backward to relieve the tension.

The ship would have a remote chance if he had the fighters and gunships. Destroyers only carried small boarding pods and didn’t have many Marines.

Jason looked down at his weapons console. The ship could not defend itself against enemy missiles. He needed medium-range dark plasma energy rail howitzers and defensive missiles to disable boarding pods. Someone had switched off the collectors, and the existing charges had degraded. The collectors were operating, but it was too late for this encounter.

Jason dragged himself back to his list.

“Marines, prepare for boarding. Tell me your available assets; I do not have you on my board. Respond.”

“This is Col Malone, sir. I confirm you have four thousand Marines, excluding those allocated to boarding parties. We can deploy a thousand dedicated ship-boarding Marines. My Marines are assembling to repel boarders. After you informed us of the situation, I deployed combat drones and two Marine gunships close to the ship. That is sufficient to deal with destroyer boarding shuttles. Thirty Marines are on the way to the bridge, two hundred are heading for engineering, and a thousand are to prearranged positions around the ship. The balance will be in reserve staging areas until we know the boarding locations and targets. I have asked all crew to remain at their stations. I will supply escorts for mission-related tasks. We are accompanying weapons specialists to locate our missiles.”

“Thank you, Colonel.

Jason would believe it when he saw the Marines. His doubts dominated his thinking. The priests had done a real job on the AI and the ship.

Patton’s voice came through his implant. “The communications drones are operating as expected. I am targeting two for each ship. I am delighted to inform you the launching tubes for fighters have been activated.”

Ship’s voice then announced in a slurred but happy voice. “My sensors detect dense fields of dark matter and energy around us. The collectors are active and harvesting resources. One full charge for the heavy trans-dimensional cannon will be available in 7.2 minutes and twenty minutes for a hundred charges for the medium-range rapid-fire antimissile systems.”

“Jason cruiser-sized boarding pods separated from the pirate destroyer. I repeat the enemy is deploying heavy cruiser-sized boarding vessels. The destroyer’s mass hid the large boarding vessels until separation,” said Patton.

Jason looked at his console. These were large, heavily armored boarding pods carried by heavy cruisers but smaller than the ones the battleships deployed.

“That implies at least one cruiser nearby,” said Jason. “Can we see the cruiser, and how long before the pods reach us?”

“The cruiser is not within sensor range. The boarding pods will impact the hull in twelve minutes. Forty fighters and two gunships emerged behind the ships to protect the boarding craft. Two gunships and ten drones are defending the ship. I cannot achieve control of the regeneration reactors. They are operating at three percent of capacity. Do you wish me to direct particle and energy collection to our hull defenses, medium-range howitzers, or heavy artillery?” Ship asked.

Jason updated the Colonels on the incoming boarding pods.

“Concentrate ninety percent of the collection to the hull defenses and ten percent to the medium range cannon.”

The protection of his ship was his priority. He wanted to maximize his ability to reduce the boarding pod numbers. One minute of collection at the current rate would increase his hull defenses by six percent. He would make good use of five medium cannon shots in seven minutes.

There was a large explosion on the bridge of the first pirate ship.

“Precise target impact on the first and second pirate frigate,” said Patton. There was a second explosion on the first ship, followed by eruptions on the second.

“Power failed on ship number one.”

Five fighters left the battleship, rapidly followed by two more, then a further five, followed by a large gunship. Within seconds, Jason saw seventy-five fighters leave the ship. This would not be a one-sided battle.

Jason asked the Colonel to increase the number of gunships defending the hull.

Jason felt enormous relief. The ship could fight back. He was determined to do everything he could to frustrate the attackers.

Four explosions on two more pirate frigates followed in quick succession. The first lost all power, but the second was operating but severely damaged and began to veer away. Three frigates and the destroyer remained as yet undamaged.

“Missile warning; three medium anti-ship torpedoes are incoming.

“Targeting missiles, engage ship defenses.”

Two fighters turned to intercept the missiles.

The hologram showed one hundred forty fighters, two gunships, and three large boarding shuttles heading for the frigates and the destroyer.

The enemy projectiles moved erratically to avoid interception.

They were Jason’s favorite target in simulations. He studied the erratic patterns of these missiles and could predict their computer-directed pseudo-random movement. The AI could lock on to the projectiles for long enough to hit the anti-ship missiles thirty percent of the time, but it reduced Jason’s chances of success. He would do better.