Empire in Crisis (24 page)

“Yes, Admiral, but just barely. As long as…”

The FAO’s voice drifted off to nothing as the speed
indicator pushed past 4.6C and continued to climb. Logan was now sure of two
things. That alien fleet, now designated as Zulu2, was not an Empire fleet, and
he was also certain that it wasn’t a Gorgon fleet. If the Gorgons had been able
to find and recover that many faster ships, they would have done it long ago.
As the 107th finished its pivot to the new heading and began accelerating at
warp speed, Logan held his breath. He didn’t have to hold it long. Zulu2’s
heading suddenly changed to an intercept vector that crossed the 107th
projected path well before reaching the RG25 wormhole. Zulu2’s speed was now
4.9C and still climbing. Estimated time to intercept was 23.3 minutes.

Why are they going to intercept us at a point
when we’re still travelling at warp speed? Energy weapons are useless in that
kind of situation.
There was no known weapon technology that was
practical when the target was travelling faster than light. The answer suddenly
hit him.
They don’t know about the RG25 wormhole! If they did, they’d get
there ahead of us and block our path.
He checked how long it would take the
107th to get to the wormhole: just over an hour. Transiting that wormhole took
slightly less than half an hour. If there was an Empire fleet on the other
side, then there was a chance to improve the odds if Zulu2 turned out to be
hostile. Logan quickly went to the Communications Station.

“I want to record an FTL message, Lieutenant,” said Logan
to the surprised officer.

Burke was in the middle of a conversation with his FAO when
he heard the two-tone sound of an incoming FTL message. He rolled his eyes in
exasperation. What the hell did Anakova want now?

[FGC Logan to any Empire fleet in RG25. The 107th is
attempting to return through the RG25 wormhole but is in danger of interception
by an alien fleet consisting of 366 ships. As FG-R Commander I order you to
bring your fleet through to RCP01 asap. All other fleets belonging to FG-R are
ordered to move to RG25 immediately and stand by for further orders. Do NOT
reply by FTL. End of message.]

The Flag Bridge had gone dead quiet as the shock of hearing
that Fleet Group Admiral Logan was alive and well entered everyone’s
consciousness. Burke couldn’t help chuckling. Temporary Fleet Group Commander
Anakova wasn’t going to like hearing that she was no longer in command of the
Rift group of fleets.

“FAO? Get the 997th moving to the wormhole. Logan needs the
cavalry to come to the rescue and we’re it!”

“With pleasure, Admiral!”

Burke nodded his acknowledgement. It was time to compose a
message to Her Nibs. In hindsight, she shouldn’t have pulled the 337th back
behind her 3-fleet ‘skirmish line’. This development just proved how valuable
it was to lead from the front.

Anakova was asleep when Burke’s FTL message arrived. She
hated being woken up like this. It always put her in a bad mood. If Burke was
sending an unexpected message, then something must have happened. That meant
that she would have to respond, and THAT meant she would have to make what
undoubtedly would be a difficult decision. This prospect scared her, and it was
with some trepidation that she read the message on her wall display.

[997th Fleet Commander to Anakova. FGC Logan and the 107th
have made FTL contact from RCP01. They are attempting to withdraw back through
the RG25 wormhole, but are being pursued by an alien fleet of 366 ships. The
997th has been ordered to rendezvous with the 107th in RCP01 asap. The FGC
further orders all other Rift group fleets to move to RG25 nexus and await
further orders. We are moving at max warp speed for the RCP01 wormhole. End of
message.]

“God dammit!” snarled Anakova. She contacted the
Communications Station and recorded an FTL reply.

Burke checked the chronometer. In 155 more seconds, his
fleet would begin transiting the wormhole. The 997th was now at Battle Stations
and would remain that way until it emerged from the wormhole’s other end. He
was excited by the prospect of leading a fleet into battle. Six months ago he
was the Executive Officer of a battlecruiser, and now he commanded four
squadrons of them, plus another four squadrons of heavy cruisers, and all of
them had the upgraded warp drives.

“Incoming FTL message, Admiral.”

Burke said nothing. The message would scroll across the
bottom of the main display automatically. The verbal warning was just a
courtesy.

[FGC Anakova to Burke. Logan and the 107th must have been
destroyed. Any message to the contrary is an enemy attempt to lure the 997th
into an ambush. Disregard all messages purporting to be from Logan. I retain
command of FG-R. All FG-R fleets are ordered to maintain their current
positions. Acknowledge this order. End of message.]

Burke checked the chronometer again. He had just enough
time to record a reply and get it transmitted. Anakova wasn’t going to like it.

Anakova had calmed down by the time Burke’s reply arrived.

[Burke to Anakova. I believe the Logan message to be
authentic. The 997th is proceeding with the rendezvous. Will contact you again
after we emerge into RCP01. End of message.]

Anakova sighed. She now regretted her impulsive attempt to
retain command of the fleet group. If Logan really was back, her claim would
look like a selfish power grab. Now that she was calmer, she tried to understand
all of the strategic nuances of what Logan had ordered. Shifting all three
fleets over to RG25 seemed risky to her because it would leave two wormhole
connections to RCP01 undefended, although standing orders would ensure that at
least a few cruisers would be left behind as sentries. But if the Gorgons were
attempting to throw the defense off balance, then concentrating the bulk of the
defense assets in one nexus would do that very nicely. In her opinion, the
827th and 477th should stay where they were, and she would bring the 337th
forward to RG25 to plug the hole that Burke’s actions created. Logan would get
some backup at RG25, and the defense line would remain intact. That kind of
compromise she could justify to a Board of Inquiry if needed. She quickly
recorded a new message for the 477th and 827th fleets.

Logan felt a grudging admiration for the commander of Zulu2.
He was certain that Zulu2 was now able to detect the wormhole leading to RG25
based on the range that had triggered the alien fleet’s course change. His
admiration stemmed from the fact that Zulu2 hadn’t reacted at all to the
knowledge that the human fleet was heading for a wormhole. That told Logan that
his opposite number didn’t want to reveal how good their warp detection gear
was at detecting wormholes that were in what the astrogators described as sleep
mode, in other words, inactive. Zulu2 was just about to intercept the 107th,
and Logan was watching the tactical display intently now. Would Zulu2 fly past
the 107th, run parallel to it, pull in behind it, pull ahead of it? He soon got
his answer. Zulu2 slowed down to 4.4C and pulled in beside the 107th at a range
that was far enough to make beam weapon attacks difficult even if both fleets
weren’t moving at super-light velocities. It didn’t seem to Logan to be a
hostile kind of maneuver, but then again, he wouldn’t have described it as
overly friendly either. Cautiously neutral seemed to be an appropriate
description. Sending an FTL message was technically possible, but even if those
were Gorgons over there, the 107th didn’t have the translation matrix for the
Gorgon language yet. And if those aliens were someone else entirely, trying to
communicate would probably be a waste of time and could potentially lead to
misunderstandings and negative consequences. His gut was telling him not to try
to communicate.

“Admiral! The wormhole’s spiking! Something’s coming
through! It has to be one of our fleets!” shouted the FAO in triumph.

Logan reminded himself that it didn’t HAVE to be an Empire fleet,
but it probably was. “As soon as the wormhole calms down, I want a message…”
Logan didn’t finish the sentence, because Zulu2 was reacting. It was slowing
down, but very gradually. That meant that the 107th was pulling ahead, which
was fine with Logan.
If they’re willing to let us have the high ground by
arriving at the wormhole first, I won’t object.
He got busy recording a
message.

Burke expected his fleet to drop into a tense situation
after emerging from the wormhole, and he wasn’t disappointed. No sooner had his
flagship re-entered normal space than the warp detection system signalled two
groups of ships travelling at warp speeds. The group with 366 ships was lagging
behind and slightly off to one side of the other group with 144 ships, the same
number that the 107th had when it disappeared from this nexus. He was in the
middle of recording a message when an incoming message appeared on the main
display.

[Logan to Empire fleet. Hold your position. Identity of
alien fleet is uncertain and may not be Gorgon. Hold your fire unless
explicitly ordered otherwise by me. End of message.]

His reply was equally concise.

[The 997th under A. Burke is at your service, Admiral.
We’ll back your play. It’s nice to be working with you again. End of message.]

Logan couldn’t help chuckling at the reply. So Akoni was a
Fleet Commander and still the same cheeky bastard that he’d been at the
Academy. The odds were less daunting now. Instead of almost three to one in
terms of number of ships, the two combined Empire fleets made the odds at just
under two to one. Still not great, but better than before. And unless Zulu2 had
technology that the Empire didn’t, they wouldn’t know how many ships emerged
from the wormhole, because they were too far away for visual confirmation. It
was time to get ready for the confrontation.

“FAO, keep us at maximum warp until the last possible
moment for a least-time deceleration. As soon as we reach zero warp, swing the
Fleet around ninety degrees so that we can either pursue Zulu2 or withdraw
through the wormhole with equal ease. Any questions”

“No, Admiral. I understand what you want, sir.”

With less than two minutes until they would reach the
wormhole, Logan was surprised that Zulu2 was still decelerating at a slow rate.
It was falling further and further behind, but Logan had no doubt at all that
Zulu2 would end up close to the wormhole and the two Empire fleets. When the
107th did drop out of warp drive, Logan initiated video contact with Burke in
order for Burke to see that it really was him.

“Good to see you again, Akoni. When this is over, you’ll
have to tell me how you managed to go from battlecruiser CO to Fleet Commander
in less than eight weeks.”

Burke smiled and shrugged. “I wish I could take credit for
it, but it just seemed to happen by itself. I suspect that Corrine had
something to do with it. What should I know about that approaching fleet,
Tyler, ah, Admiral?”

“I can’t tell you much for certain except that those ships
are faster than the Gorgon ships we’ve seen so far. If they have Gorgon crews,
they’re playing this very cagey. Just in case this is someone new, I want to
hold our fire. If they do fire first, I want you to send at least one ship back
through the wormhole immediately to warn the rest of FG-R. Who assumed command
of the group while I was gone?”

Burke laughed. “The Emperor put Anakova in temporary
command. I’m afraid it’s gone to her head. She ordered me to disregard your FTL
message by claiming that it was a Gorgon ploy to ambush the 997th. I don’t know
if the 477th and 827th will obey your orders to rendezvous at RG25. Anakova
tried to countermand that order too.”

“Dammit!” Logan had been afraid of something like this. If
Zulu2 turned out to be hostile, both his and Burke’s fleets would suffer a lot
of losses before they could withdraw through the wormhole into RG25. And if no
other fleet was on its way to that nexus, Zulu2 could potentially slip through
the gap in the defense line and threaten the Empire with its superior warp
speed. He checked Zulu2’s estimated time of arrival at the wormhole. Not long
now. In less than a minute, all three fleets would be within both standard
communication and beam weapons range.

“Not much time left before we find out what the deal is. I
want you to send a message to all three Rift fleets right now confirming that
I’m back and that I’m re-issuing my order for all three fleets to rendezvous at
RG25 asap. Got that, Admiral?” said Logan.