Empire in Crisis (18 page)

“No questions, but I do have a recommendation. Since you’re
going to have to transfer to a faster ship, I recommend Thunderer. She’s the
squadron flagship and her CO, Commander Wolfe, knows what she’s doing.”

“Okay. I’ll take that advice. You might give her a heads-up
that I’ll be transferring over to her as soon as I pack my gear. Please arrange
for a shuttle to be ready to leave as soon as I get to the Hangar Bay.”

“I’ll take care of that personally, Admiral. I won’t say
good hunting, but I will say good luck.”

“I understand. Carry on, Commander.”

Logan checked the chronometer one more time. There were
less than 60 seconds until the 107th would emerge from the last wormhole into
the AA03 star system, and he would then have a pretty good idea of whether he
was too late or just in time. If the answer was just in time, then he and
Santini would find out who was going to blink first. Logan wasn’t sure about
the answer to that question. There hadn’t been as many battlecruiser squadrons
waiting for him at TE21 as he had hoped. The 107th now had nine battlecruiser
and twelve heavy cruiser squadrons totalling 168 ships. That sounded like a
lot, but Santini had four dreadnought squadrons and two super-dreadnought
squadrons, along with six battlecruiser squadrons and six more heavy cruiser
squadrons. Did his having three more battlecruiser squadrons and an extra six
heavy cruiser squadrons offset Santini’s six squadrons of capital ships? Logan
was inclined to think not. If Santini wanted to make a fight of it, and if he
could convince his squadron leaders to obey orders to fire on other Empire ships,
then the 107th, with its thinner armor, would suffer badly. Logan did have one
ace up his sleeve, but he hoped he wouldn’t have to play it.

As the countdown timer hit zero, the main display suddenly
switched from a computer-generated image of travelling through the wormhole to
a tactical representation of the AA03 system and almost immediately pinged to
call attention to a status change due to warp drive detections. A yellow icon
with the number 144 inside it appeared. The sidebar showed that it was travelling
at 4.2C, which would be the maximum speed that the 787th’s capital ships could
manage.

“All ships are ready to engage warp drive. Commencing warp
acceleration in three…two…one…now!” said the FAO.

Logan checked the geometry of the two fleets and the
wormhole leading from AA03 to AA02. The 787th was closer but not by much, and
the 107th was faster but not by much. It would be close, too close for comfort.
Logan had hoped he could position the 107th at the entrance to the wormhole,
essentially blocking Santini’s path. It now looked as though both fleets would
get to the wormhole at the same time. Even if the 107th fired its weapon
turrets at Santini’s ships, their built-up momentum would still carry them into
the wormhole and eventually to the AA02 system. Somehow he had to get them to
stop all forward motion before they reached the wormhole, and he had less than
10 minutes to figure out how to do it. Firing warp missiles at them might get
them to stop, but it also could enrage them to the point of firing back, and
that was an outcome that he desperately wanted to avoid if possible. There was
one thing he could try now and that was an FTL message broadcast to every ship
in the 787th urging the CO to abide by his or her oath to the Emperor and to
drop back to sub-light velocity.

“Fleet Group Admiral Logan to the men and women of the
787th Reserve Capital Fleet…”

Santini uttered a curse under his breath as he read the
text message now scrolling across his main display.

[…men and women of the 787th Reserve Capital Fleet. Your
Fleet Commander, Jorge Santini, in conjunction with his cousin, Admiral Iruku
Hiakawa, intends to commit treason by overthrowing Emperor DeChastelaine.
Hiakawa’s fleet, the 987th, has already been intercepted. Admiral Hiakawa has been
relieved of his command and has been arrested. If you continue to follow
Admiral Santini’s orders, you will also be committing willful treason and will
face the same justice. Those who are loyal to the Emperor must make that clear
by disengaging your warp drives and holding your current positions. Ships of
the 787th that continue toward the wormhole will be considered in rebellion. My
fleet, the 107th, has more than enough firepower to stop rebel ships from
entering the wormhole, and I have the authority to use that firepower if
necessary. Officers on board the 787th fleet flagship are hereby ordered to
place Admiral Santini under arrest. If he resists, you are authorized to use
deadly force. Make no mistake. If you continue with this attempted coup, you’re
risking not only your careers but also your lives. I WILL NOT let the 787th
enter this wormhole. Don’t throw your lives away to satisfy the power-hungry
ego of a traitor. End of message.]

Santini looked around the Flag Bridge and saw the shocked
faces of the personnel. He hadn’t told the crew of the reason for this
unprecedented withdrawal from the fleet’s assigned star system. His intention
had been to join forces with his cousin and then issue a fleet-wide statement
that the Emperor had been assassinated by rogue elements within Capital Fleet.
By the time the crews learned the real situation, the coup would be an
accomplished fact. But now every Bridge crew in the 787th would be seeing this
message, and every ship’s CO would be wondering what to do.

“Get me a fleet-wide channel now!” shouted Santini to his Comm.
Technician.

“Channel open, Admiral.”

“This is Fleet Commander Santini. All officers and crews of
the 787th Fleet will ignore the false message from the 107th. They are the
traitors! We are on our way to Earth to put down a rebellion. Maintain your
present vectors and disregard any orders unless they come from me. Santini
clear.” Turning to the Comm. Technician again he said, “Record a message to
send to the 107th via FTL.” When the technician pointed to him, Santini began
speaking in a low voice.

The FTO turned to Logan and said, “Two ships have dropped
to zero warp, Admiral.”

Logan nodded as he checked the display. He’d been hoping
for far more ships responding to his message than that but it was a start. He
was still pondering his next move when the display pinged to announce an
incoming FTL message.

[Santini to Logan. I do not recognize your authority to
give me orders. I also do not believe that the 987th has been intercepted. The
787th is going to transit this wormhole and if you intend to stop us, you’ll
have to order your crews to fire on other Empire ships. I doubt if they’ll do
that. Once I link up with the 987th, nothing will stop us. End of message.]

Logan nodded and looked at the FTO. “Did we pinpoint the
ship that transmitted that message?”

The Fleet Tactical Officer smiled a feral grin and said,
“Yes, sir! We’ve identified the flagship.”

“Very good. Record this message.” After getting the go
ahead, he said, “Logan to Santini. I was hoping you’d reply. I had my FTO
scanning for your transmission. I now know which ship you’re on. Unless you
order the 787th to stand down and relinquish command of that fleet, I’ll order
every ship I have to fire a full broadside of warp missiles and all of them
will be aimed at your flagship. The 787th might still manage to transit the
wormhole but your flagship won’t. I guarantee it. End of message.]

When Santini saw that message scroll across the display, he
turned to his FTO. “I want that bastard’s ship pinpointed, FTO!”

“Yessir! If he sends another message, I’ll be able to do
that but it’s too late to try for this last message, Admiral.”

Santini wanted to chew the officer out for incompetence,
but he knew the officer was right. Trying to pinpoint the source of an FTL
transmission after it was received was impossible. The scanning algorithm had
to be set up ahead of time. Maybe he could goad Logan into replying again and
then both flagships would be pinpointed. He was just about to order another message
recorded when the display pinged for attention. Six more of his ships were
decelerating. As he watched, the display updated to show another five ships now
decelerating as well.

Logan leaned back and read the incoming message.

[Santini to Logan. I’m willing to order the 787th to stand
down, but I need some assurances from you that my officers will not be arrested
or charged with treason. End of message.]

He quickly checked the display. Half of Santini’s ships had
now decelerated to zero warp velocity and were therefore no longer showing on
the warp detection system. At the rate that others were decelerating, Santini
would soon be down to a handful of ships and perhaps only his flagship.

“I’m ready to record another FTL message if you’d like to
reply, Admiral,” said the Comm. Technician.

Logan shook his head. “That’s just what he wants so that he
can pinpoint this ship for his own missile barrage. I’ll record a message, but
I don’t want it sent to the 787th flagship. Can we focus the FTL carrier wave
so that is misses his flagship?”

“Can do, Admiral. You can go ahead with your message.”

Santini wiped the palms of his hands on his uniform. No
reply from Logan, and now the only ships still moving towards the wormhole at
warp speed were his own super-dreadnought squadron. Every other ship had gone
sub-light.

“INCOMING FTL MESSAGE!” The shout from the Comm. Technician
was unnecessary, but everyone on the Flag Bridge was on edge now.

[Deputy Fleet Commander Hoskins to Santini. We have
received FTL message from Fleet Group Commander Logan that he will fire on
787th flagship in five minutes unless the 787th stands down and you formally
relinquish fleet command to me. Your attempted coup has failed, Jorge. Give it
up and save your crew. The 787th will not participate in this lunacy any
further. End of message.]

“Fucking bastard!” Santini was about to follow up his
outburst with more words of defiance when the doors slid open and the ship’s CO
accompanied by half a dozen armed marines entered the Flag Bridge.

“Admiral Santini, You are now under arrest for attempted
treason against the Emperor. These marines have orders to shoot you if you
resist.”

It only took a second for Santini to recognize that he had
lost and there was no longer any point in resistance.

“Will you let me formally transfer fleet command to Admiral
Hoskins?” The CO nodded.

Logan checked the five minute countdown timer. Time was
almost up. With seconds left, the display pinged. A new message scrolled across
the screen.

[Hoskins to Logan. Santini has given up command of the
787th and is under arrest. All remaining ships are now decelerating to zero
warp. The 787th will obey your orders. End of message.]

Just as he finished reading the message, the display pinged
again. The last eight ships still travelling at warp speed were decelerating
too. With his mission now accomplished, Logan leaned back and considered what
to do next. The message from the Emperor hadn’t addressed that issue. The 987th
was on its way to AA02, which was on the other side of the wormhole that
Logan’s ships were still warping towards, but stopping Iruku Hiakawa and the
987th was the mission of Capital Fleet. By the same token, he now had
effectively two fleets under his control. Staying in this system until the
Emperor ordered him to do otherwise seemed like a terrible waste of time. The
sooner this rebellion was quashed, the sooner he could get back to prosecuting
the Rift war. He also had to be careful about the 787th. It was just possible
that Hoskins was in cahoots with Santini and was only pretending to have
arrested him. If Logan sent a reply by FTL, thereby identifying which ship he
was on, Santini could order a missile barrage aimed at Logan’s flagship when
his guard was down. Logan decided that the 787th could wait in this star system
for a while. The 107th would soon be decelerating to arrive at the mouth of the
wormhole. He would contact Hoskins then.

Hoskins checked the chronometer again. Almost five minutes
had passed since he had sent his message notifying Logan of the change of
command, and still there was no reply. The 107th was now sitting right in front
of the wormhole. The 787th’s ships were still strung out in a ragged formation
almost 23 light minutes away. Hoskins decided that he would wait another
minute, and if no word from Logan was received by then, Hoskins would send
another query. No sooner had he made that decision when the display pinged and
an FTL message scrolled across the bottom.

[Logan to Hoskins. Under the circumstances, the 787th will
have to stay in this star system for the time being. Do not approach any
wormhole unless specifically ordered by me to do so. The 107th will transit the
wormhole to AA02 leaving one ship behind to monitor your status. If you attempt
to leave this system without orders, that will be interpreted as confirmation
that the 787th is still supporting the rebellion. As soon as both threats to
the Capital have been confirmed as quashed, the 787th will receive further
instructions. Do not reply to this message. End of message.]