Chapter 63

"Our choices are limited" began McCock over Tabes to his other Captains and the com was being piped throughout each ship.

"We don't have enough bunkerage to be confident we would all reach Hebrides. We have enough between us for one to probably return to Mountserrat.

So one – do we send one or two ships with everyone on board out to Hebrides, hoping we are not detected while transhipping bunker mass and crews.

Two – send everyone on one ship to Mountserrat.

Three - surrender to the Harbourians or

Four - attack the Harbourians".

""Vance","Vector", Aggy despite what Brown Hollow and his clowns did to us, those Harbourians are my enemies and those are my friends on Gorgipest, so what's your plan of attack? Over."

There was silence over the coms.

"Charley, charley, my plan is going out now. You have two hours to consider it and comment – use Tabes in two hours not before. "Vance" clear."

The plan was constrained by the bunkerage.

The planet's major moon was coming around. In six hour's time the squadron would move from the estimated position it would be in, hole-in-space, at two eighty gravities on the track shown heading towards the approaching moon with the initial movement in the shadow of the orbitals. Adjustments to line up the track would be made in the orbitals' shadow.

The squadron would sling shot around the moon in a line abreast parallel to the moon's surface and at a given point go ballistic; see plan. At the designated point, the squadron would individually turn over and at a point slightly further into their trajectory a timed thrusters burst would break them free of the moon's pull. Still travelling ballisticly the ships of the squadron would pass across the sterns of the BCs and put a broadside of energy torpedoes into their sterns at eight kay klicks. Go to defensive shield, full power and roll ship to have other broadside turned to enemy and there might be a chance to get the crew across to fire the second broadside if needed. Both broadsides were to be on line before departure this point.

The plan called for "Shriek" to move back to an observing point to report any change of enemy position. The enemy was stationary and had no emissions suggesting recent activity other than maintaining half shields. Scrutiny of "Shriek's" tapes gave an estimate of no movement in past two days which correlated with estimates of duration of the fluxes from the Navy Yard, the civilian yard and that area off to the north east. With "Shriek" in place to warn of enemy movement up to the time of lining up of the moon orbit it would be possible to break off and orbit the planet. Any later into the orbit and there was diminishing change of successful attack but there was a prospect of avoiding the BCs if they were moving and abandoning in the boats.

At two hours, the discussion was very brief and pointed.

"Let's get some sleep, Aggy, four hours rest would be a help," and that was it. Felix moved off with "Shriek" making its hole in space and, at five hundred gravities at the peak of the run, going dirtside of the moon with the squadron, the moon and the enemy all in sight of Period just as the squadron began its move.

The BCs were in their line abreast parallel to the planet's surface in a high orbital with the transports in low orbital. Irregularly the CL was doing a figure eight orbit varying in three planes. The BCs and the transports were holding their positions and there was no other activity apart from shuttles from dirtside joining and leaving the transports in no set pattern. No com transmissions detected on listening watch of the usual Harbourian frequencies.

Just over two hours later the squadron passed behind the moon. Felix had time to consider all the variables. He was noting that CL turned at the far leg of its orbit and if he did a straight path and not something fancy would bring it close to level with the passage of the squadron. Felix warned his crew he was moving in as soon as the squadron appeared over the top of the moon, and had the graser on line and the missiles receiving information on the CL's position...

As the squadron came over the top of the moon, the positions of the BCs and the moving CL were continuously passed from "Shriek" to the squadron. The squadron flipped out of the moon's gravitational pull to hurtle ballisticly stern first towards the orbitals. Felix worked his screens to show the estimated trajectories.

"Tav Nav, put us on that CL just as the squadron passes by its level."

"Shriek" began moving slowly.

"Captain, that's going to be bloody close to everything" came the protest.

"OK, explanation, that CL is going to know exactly just where each of our friends are as soon as those torpedoes are fired; then to further expose them is the flare changing from hole in space to defensive shields accompanied by a full power burn right in the CL's face. Our DDs will be defenceless and each one of those tin cans can be singly wiped out by that CL. There ain't the crew to fully man the defences. We are the only ship in this fleet fully manned and so we are elected!"

"Shriek's" crew watched their screens as the DDs swept down to almost the attack point.

"Deity help them" came from the EW position.

The CL appeared to have reached its turn point and was starting a slow turn which would present a broadside towards the DDs as they passed at point blank range with no time for defensive shields to be fully up. None of the squadron altered their tracks. It was going to depend on how sharp and ready that Harbourian was.

He was sharp and ready.

The squadron line passed across the BCs positions, one on one. The flare signatures of the energy torpedoes streaked across to reach their targets, followed by the flare of the transition from hole in space to defensive shields with the massive flares of full power; and the middle destroyer disappeared.

The Harbourian had a half broadside on each side at full readiness and his gun and missile mounts responded as only a well disciplined and trained crew could. The CL was continuing its turn towards the other destroyers as the energy torpedoes crashed into the unprotected sterns of the BCs; two disappeared instantly, the uppermost a few seconds later and the last two lost shields instantly and large fragments of their hulls accompanied with secondary explosions rapidly making them into lifeless drifting hulks.

The turning CL was just under maximum graser range when "Shriek" moved into firing position.

"Commence graser continuous fire; missile salvos as soon as on line."

He had not completed the firing order when the graser went to rapid cycling. The side of the CL was ripped open as if by a tin opener, the light speed weapon exploding the shields and slicing open the CL's hull. A fusion bottle let go just as the first missiles salvoed.