Scout Force (56 page)

      
After the K’Rang Fleet passed, the Vigilant pulled out of the nebula just far enough to send a tight beam transmission on the approaching fleet’s order of battle.
 
It would give the 6664 system defenders a chance to adjust their forces before the enemy closed contact.
 
Once their report was received and acknowledged, the Vigilant proceeded to carry out its combat mission.

* * * * *

      
The senior intelligence officer in the New Alexandrian Defense Forces reviewed the Vigilant’s report.
 
The K’Rang force was smaller than they anticipated, but more than they could manage on their own.
 
He hoped that the Fleet’s plan to trap the K’Rang force worked before the K’Rang could do too much damage to his home world.

      
He reviewed the placement of defensive satellites and the path of the approaching enemy.
 
He could see several adjustments of position and programming that could result in higher K’Rang losses.
 
He surmised they could do the most damage by concentrating on taking out the fleet carriers and lighter carriers.
 
He put his recommendation in a message to the Planetary Defense Commander, General Holcomb, and hit send.

* * * * *

      
Onboard the Planetary Corvette, NAS Rutherford, the captain concentrated on getting his cargo of defensive satellites properly placed in accordance with the master defensive plan.
 
On his tactical display, he could see the kill zones his cargo would create.
 
The small planetary missile ships would hide on the flanks of these kill zones and wait inside the asteroid field.
 
Once the K’Rang fleet got tangled with the defensive satellites, they would be easy pickings for concentrated salvoes as the missile squadrons pounced.

      
The large K’Rang ships would stand out as massive targets in the asteroid field, while the small missile ships and their missiles would be almost impossible to track and fire on.
 
The Rutherford’s captain estimated that the satellites and missile ships in this sector alone would take out or cripple three to four major combatants or escorts.
 
His task, and that of the rest of his squadron, would be to move in and plant more defensive satellites after the K’Rang moved on and finish off any stragglers.
 
He imagined painting the silhouette of a cruiser or destroyer on the side of his ship.

* * * * *

      
The Vigilant moved a distance from the nebula to gain full effect of their sensors.
 
They scanned the space around them and picked up the K’Rang fleet behind them, the two closest K’Rang worlds and a small gathering of ships deeper in K’Rang space.
 
The Vigilant closed in to investigate.
 
Moving slowly to make maximum effect of their stealth abilities, they closed with the group of ships.
 
On long-range sensors, it appeared to be a battlecruiser and two frigates.

      
As they got closer, they realized that the battlecruiser was actually one of the new K’Rang command ships and two escorts.
 
The captain gave the order to close with and engage this group of ships.

      
“Exec, find me a way we can sneak up on these guys.”

      
Kelly checked the star charts recently loaded from the K’Rang merchant ship the Vigilant had engaged on their second patrol.
 
“There is a gas giant planet in an uninhabited system at 192 degrees, mark 47 from our position.
 
It’s on the outer orbit of the system and about twice the size of Sol’s Jupiter.
 
If we can back off, circle around the planetary system, and line up behind the planet, we can get within easy missile range.
 
We might even be able to hide in the upper reaches of the planet’s atmosphere and pop out to fire.”

      
The captain called, “Helm, come to course 180, mark 40, then take us wide around this planetary system and line us up with the gas giant.”

      
“Aye aye, sir.”

      
Kelly came up on the intercom, “Chief B, watch the planetary system to make sure there aren’t any bad guy ships hiding in there.
 
We don’t need some K’Rang prospector or planetary surveyor stumbling onto us.”

      
Chief B keyed the intercom and said, “Aye aye, sir.
 
We’re scanning it.”

      
LCDR Timmons was in no hurry.
 
He directed a wide course around the planetary system, just in case Kelly’s hunch was correct.
 
As they moved off to starboard, Chief B’s sensor crew detected laser comms between the invasion fleet and the command ship.

      
Timmons called Kelly over to his position.
 
“Exec, I want to time our attack so that we hit them as the 1st Combined Fleet falls in on the K’Rang invasion fleet.
 
If we can hit them at the moment our guys pounce, we can probably delay any reinforcements being called in.”

      
“Got it, Captain,” Kelly replied, “I’ll have one of Chief B’s folks monitor the battle in the 6664 system to let us know when the Fleet jumps in on them.”

      
Kelly passed his instructions to Chief Blankenship.
 
The first report came in shortly.

      
“Sir, the K’Rang are all tangled in the space mines and defensive satellites.
 
They are backing out and trying to find a clear path into the system.
 
They’ve lost two frigates and a lighter carrier to the mines.
 
Two destroyers and a frigate were taken out by coordinated attacks from planetary missile ships and corvettes.”

      
Timmons smiled.
 
“Good,” he thought, “we’re whittling them down.”

      
The Vigilant completed the wide sweep around the planetary system.
 
Chief B’s people completed a sensor sweep of the system and declared it clear of ships and life signs.
 
The ship lined up on the planet and made a sub-light dash into its orbit.

      
“Sir, we probably shouldn’t just barge in there.
 
We aren’t the only folks that can hide in a gas giant.”

      
“Another hunch, Exec?
 
I take your point.
 
Helm, hold us 100,000 km out from the planet until Chief B gives us the all clear.”

      
 
The Vigilant approached and slowed to a halt.
 
The sensor section scanned deep into the planet’s atmosphere and gave the all clear.
 
The Vigilant moved into the charged gas cloud and waited.

      
They waited for less than half a day.
 
Chief B came up on the intercom and informed them that the K’Rang fleet had worked through the mines and satellites.
 
It had cost them eight major combatants, but now they were directly engaging the New Alexandrian defense forces.

      
Timmons looked up from the display of the K’Rang command ship.
 
“Exec, I’m firing six missiles at the command ship and three each at the two frigates.
 
That will leave us eight for anything that may come up later.
 
We’ll fire nine missiles in one salvo, three at each ship, and save the second salvo of three to make sure we take out the command ship.”

      
“Good plan, sir, nine missiles should overload their defenses.
 
All it takes is one to do the deed per ship.
 
Don’t forget that command ships have a squadron of fighters on board for dealing with folks just like us.”

      
“I don’t want these guys to get word out of our little surprise.
 
We go in ten minutes.
 
Program the missiles.”

      
Kelly gave targeting instructions to Chief Pennypacker.
 
He watched on his display as each missile acknowledged its instructions.
 
They were ready.

      
The Vigilant assumed battle stations and slowly moved out of the forward edge of the planet’s atmosphere.
 
The three K’Rang ships resolved sharply on the sensor displays.

On order, nine missiles streaked forward, like death‘s fingers reaching for the K’Rang ships.
 
The K’Rang were slow to react.
 
The missiles had closed to half the distance before defensive fire started from the two frigates.
 
The fire was ineffective.
 
What was more effective was the two frigates moving into the path of the missiles.
 
Both smaller ships moved to protect the command ship.

      
The two frigates absorbed the impact of seven of the nine missiles.
 
The effect was spectacular.
 
The matter/antimatter explosions looked as if holes had been ripped in the universe.
 
The two ships just ceased to exist.
 
The sacrifice of the two ships was mostly for naught.
 
The two remaining missiles continued homing in on the command ship.

      
The command ship’s defensive fire took out one of the missiles, but the last missile found its mark.
 
The missile hit just aft of the bridge and took out the defensive fire capability of the command ship, but the ship was still under power and was preparing to move away.
 
Sensors called up to say that the ship was powering up its FTL engines.

      
Timmons ordered the second volley of missiles.
 
The second set of missiles made their way to finish off the command ship.
 
All three missiles homed in and took out the K’Rang ship, unfortunately not before the command ship had launched six of its twelve fighters.
 
They were forming up and accelerating rapidly toward the Vigilant.

      
“Exec, we’d better warm up the turrets and get ready for some company.
 
Helm, turn us around and take us 1000 km back into the atmosphere, then make a 90 degree turn straight up for 1000 km and another 90 degree turn out of the atmosphere.
 
Let’s see if we can come back out and hit these guys when they least expect us.”

      
“Exec, I want you to control the forward guns.
 
Take the helm.
 
If we can catch these guys off guard and knock a few of them off, it will even out the odds in our favor quickly.
 
Let’s make one run at these guys, then make a beeline for the nebula we were in earlier.”

      
Kelly replied, “Aye aye, Captain,” then turned the ship to punch out of the planet’s face.
 
If the enemy wasn’t fully up to their game, he was about to ruin their day.

      
The Vigilant came out into open space at speed.
 
The six fighter were 1000 km directly below them.
 
They had evidently stopped just short of the planet, uncertain about following the Vigilant into an area where their sensors would be blind.
 
It was only the Vigilant’s highly sensitive sensors that gave them the ability to wander through gas clouds with relative ease.

      
Kelly turned the Vigilant to come down on the top of the K’Rang fighters.
 
He lined up the cross hairs on the center fighter and passed the three around it to the turret gunners.
 
He goosed the throttle to close the distance quicker.
 
His first shots caught the fighters completely unaware.
 
He took out one fighter, then a second.
 
The turret gunners took out two.
 
He passed behind the two remaining fighters and turned back into the planet’s atmosphere.

      
The two remaining fighters reacted quickly and followed the Vigilant into the gas giant.
 
They were trying to stay in close behind where they could visually acquire the Vigilant.
 
Kelly turned on the rear sensor view and caught one of the fighters in the nose with a burst from the rear guns.
 
The blast threw the other fighter into a spin and away from the Vigilant's track.
 
Kelly took advantage of this to loop the Vigilant to come up behind the fighter as he regained control.
 
A quick burst of the forward plasma guns and number six dissolved into a cloud of fragments.

      
Kelly turned to the captain and asked, “Sir, do you still want to head over to the nebula?”

      
“You know, Exec, one more fighter kill and you’ll be an ace?”

      
“You forget, sir, I was an ace with the second fighter.”

      
“Oh, yeah, I forgot.
 
You came to us as almost an ace.
 
Nevertheless, I’m impressed.
 
Yes, let’s head to the nebula.
 
Keep the sensors busy.
 
We still have eight missiles left.
 
I’m thinking that we should place ourselves where we can catch any stragglers coming back from the K’Rang fleet.”