Time Commander (The First Admiral Series) (13 page)

With the five remaining Star Cruisers dropping out of stealth, Colossus opened fire with the first of her Trionic Cannon. The Trionic Cannon Stream seethed through the debris field, cutting and clearing a great swathe of destruction through the twisted, tumbling and rolling remains of Cruisers, Destroyers and Axe-Blades. The Stream also cut seeped through and annihilated any operational Ganthoran warships in its path. Seconds later, whilst Colossus spun slowly on her axis to bring the second of her four Trionic Cannon to bear, Olympus opened fire. Olympus’ Trionic Cannon Stream seared across the right flank of the Ganthoran position, with the characteristic flattening and annihilation of everything in its path. In the meantime, the five Star Cruisers made a slow and deliberate progress between the two debris fields to the rear of the Ganthorans trapped in front of Third Fleet. With their left flank physically blocked by Colossus, the two Fleet Carriers and two Star Cruisers, along with the right flank being cordoned by Olympus’ Trionic Cannon, there was no escape for the Ganthorans. In front of them, the Star Cruisers of Third Fleet would tear them into ribbons, whilst, behind them, five new Star Cruisers had appeared, as if by magic, to cut off their retreat.

In less than a minute, Colossus had turned sufficiently to fire another Trionic Cannon Stream into the heart of the debris field. And, once again, the Trionic Cannon Stream had cut through the metal debris like a hot knife through butter. Operational ships and debris alike flattened for that split-second, before erupting in massive and cataclysmic blasts. Having been fired at by Trionic Cannon twice, four Ganthoran Destroyers tried to make an escape from the rear of the debris field. With no warning, the Destroyers burst out of the gently tumbling and spinning debris and tried to make good an escape towards the positions of the “Six-Cigar” Carriers.

Whether it was bravery, or simply the actions of a crew who could no longer tolerate being treated as sitting ducks, the Destroyers bolted for the assumed safety of the Carriers. Like grouse having been scattered on moorland by beaters, the Ganthoran Destroyers exploded form the relative safety of the debris field at high speed. And like grouse, they were driven into the waiting line of guns, in the shape of the five Star Cruisers prowling to the rear of the debris field.

With weapons blazing, the Destroyers emerged, and scattered in different directions to try to confuse the Alliance pulsar-gunners. However, the Force Shielded Star Cruisers were able to deflect the Screaming Death with ease. The Alliance gunners, well experienced in combat, were unfazed by the abrupt appearance of the Destroyers. Having been allocated a Firing Solution by the Tactical Computers within moments of the emergence, the high-yield pulsar-cannon, with the pitiless precision of a machine, let loose with ten guns. Within seconds of firing, the pulsar-bolts had closed the range on the Destroyers, and in a few seconds of savage violence,  had smashed all four of their hulls to oblivion. As the four Destroyers exploded in yellow and dark red flames, Olympus sent another burst of Trionic Cannon streams through the right flank of the Ganthoran line. With the prospect of another Trionic Cannon Stream from Colossus smashing through their position from the left flank, the Ganthoran ships began to signal their surrender.

There was a spontaneous outburst of cheering in the War Room of Aquarius, and throughout Third Fleet. With the Ganthorans to their front capitulating, Third Fleet was now able to stand down. The surviving Star Cruisers of Third Fleet would be useful in extracting the surrendering Ganthorans from the debris field, but as an effective fighting force, they were almost useless. Not a single surviving vessel in Third Fleet had escaped undamaged.

With the first blow delivered, the second and final blow fell upon the Ganthoran “Six-Cigar” Carriers. This was to be where the final part of the battle was fought, and Billy Caudwell wanted it over quickly. Too many lives had been lost in what Billy considered to be a needless and pointless battle. The quicker he brought it to a conclusion, he hoped, the fewer lives would be lost.

The thousand Alliance Eagles from First Fleet that had attacked the “Six-Cigar” Carrier formation had been split into two groups. Five hundred Eagles had been ordered to keep the Ganthoran Axe-Blades and Destroyers; that should have been protecting the Carriers, away from the formation. In this mission, the Alliance Eagles were being entirely successful. From the first salvo, and bone-jarring impact, from the Alliance Eagles, the Ganthorans were flung onto the back foot. The first salvo from the Alliance Eagles had torn into the fragile looking Axe-Blades, sending hundreds to oblivion in a red, roaring tempest of flame and destruction. Before the Ganthorans could respond with their Screaming Death weapons, the Alliance Eagles had flown through the rough straggle that was once their proud formation.

The Ganthorans, once again caught out of formation, and with nothing like the numerical superiority they were used to, scattered, turning the battle into the one-on-one fighter dog-fight that favoured the Alliance Eagles. With astonishing skill and cunning the Alliance Eagles were driving the Ganthoran Axe-Blades and Destroyers further and further away from the Carriers.

The great scratching and snarling melee that made up the fighter-on-fighter dog-fight became increasingly one-sided, as the Alliance Eagles took the initiative and decimated what remained of the defensive screen that should have protected the Carriers.

With the defensive screen being driven off, the other five hundred Eagles were still running riot throughout the Carrier formation; like angry wasps, they buzzed and darted through the massive hulls of the Ganthoran “Six-Cigar” Carriers. The Eagle pilots strafed along the entire length and breadth of the Ganthoran hulls, virtually unopposed with the six low-yield pulsar-cannon of their fighters. At point blank range, the fast, agile Alliance fighters could hardly miss the slow lumbering and vulnerable Carriers. It was what First Admiral Billy Caudwell would have described as a “turkey shoot”.

Individually, or in groups, the Alliance Eagles flew over and around the huge Carriers, blasting away with every pulsar-cannon they had, and scoring hit after hit on the massive hulls. The pulsar-bolts peppered and pitted the hulls of the Ganthoran Carriers endlessly, sending gouts of metal and superstructure out into the cold, empty vacuum of space. The self-defence capabilities of the Ganthoran Carriers fought valiantly, and vainly, to try to stem the overwhelming tide of Alliance pulsar-bolt fire. This did not mean, however, that the Alliance Eagles had everything their own way. Of the five hundred attacking Eagles, almost fifty had been struck down by the Ganthoran defenders.

With the Eagles still hammering pulsar-bolts into the Carriers, Billy Caudwell could see that six Carriers were badly damaged. As they started to fall out of formation, the Eagles zipped and dived amongst the huge hulls, Billy was preparing to deliver the final blow in the drama.

On the three-dimensional image on his War Table, Billy could see the seven Star Cruisers, that he had detached from First Fleet to attack the Carriers. The single-file line of Star Cruisers was still in highlighted yellow, indicating that they were approaching their objectives still in stealth mode. From the left flank of the Carrier formation, the Star Cruisers were moving slowly to attack the flank and rear of the final Ganthoran position.

In a few moments, Billy expected them to move slowly, almost majestically, behind the Ganthoran Carriers and turn their high-yield pulsar-cannon onto the vulnerable enemy ships. The Ganthorans, distracted by the swarming Eagles around their Carriers, and with scanners that were either malfunctioning or were too primitive to pick up the stealthed warships, fought on as best they could against the Eagles.

Watching the action unfold closely on the War Table, Billy Caudwell saw the Star Cruisers begin their slow and deliberate attack run. Having positioned themselves to the rear of the Ganthoran Carriers, the Star Cruisers moved forwards to cut off the final escape avenue of the Ganthoran Carriers. Almost in unison, the Star Cruisers swung their five pulsar-cannon turrets around to face the rear of the Carriers. The Tactical Computers aboard Aquarius had sent the final Firing Solution to the Star Cruisers, outlining which of the Carriers they were to fire upon, and in which order. Billy had instructed the Senior WATO to generate a Firing Solution that would get the attack over, as quickly and bloodlessly as possible.

The Tactical Computers had crunched the numbers and provided an Optimal Solution. Bill had looked at the figures, and although they were alarmingly high, they had to be better than having to wipe out the entire Ganthoran Carrier formation.

Making their final approach, the Star Cruisers dropped out of stealth mode. On the War Table image, the Alliance cruisers changed from yellow highlights to light-blue, and aboard the Ganthoran Cruisers, the scanners would be registering this new threat. For the Ganthoran crews, it was already too late. The Alliance Star Cruisers were already pulsar-cannon prepared and making their attack run.

The Alliance Star Cruisers were slowly and deliberately targeting the Ganthoran Carriers as they approached. The Ganthorans, seeing this new threat, were powering up their huge electro-magnetic drive engines, and beginning to slowly break station in their formation. But, unfortunately for the Ganthorans, it was all way too late. The electro-magnetic drives would never be able to respond in time to the demands from their commanders, and even if they did generate sufficient power to move, the Carriers would never be able to avoid the pulsar-cannon of the Star Cruisers as they passed behind the Ganthoran formation.

As the first of the Star Cruisers drew level with the first Ganthoran Carrier, the high-yield pulsar-cannon began to fire. The Optimal Firing Solution, approved by Billy Caudwell, took account of the wheel-like formation that the Ganthorans had adopted. The first Star Cruiser opened up with the first pair of pulsar-cannon at the burning Cruiser stationed at the ten o’clock position in the formation. The Star Cruiser would then target the eleven, twelve, one, and two o’clock positions with both barrels of one of their turrets. The second Star Cruiser would target the Carriers from the nine o’clock position through the centre of the formation, to the three o’clock position on the opposite side. The third Star Cruiser would then aim for the eight, seven, six, five, and four o’clock positions. The fourth Star Cruiser would target the Carriers in the top half of the formation that had not been attacked by the first three ships. The fifth would attack those, still untouched in the bottom half of the formation.

Meanwhile, Star Cruisers six and seven would be fed the updated Optimal Firing Solution with Threat Potential Scores that would target the remaining Carriers that still had some manoeuvring capability. Billy Caudwell wanted these Carriers crippled, but not completely destroyed.

It was an easy order for Billy Caudwell to give. However, out on the battlefield, it was sometimes difficult to fully comply with. The first Star Cruiser unleashed two high-yield pulsar-bolts at the stricken Ganthoran Carrier at the ten o’clock position. One heartbeat later, the two pulsar-bolts struck the rear of the Carrier. To any observer, it looked as if the carrier had been kicked twice in rapid succession by an enormous boot. The Carrier lurched twice, and then began to break up. The first pulsar-bolt had smashed into the huge hole at the rear of the carrier, and shattered the already-damaged fans of the electro-magnetic drive. Meanwhile, the second pulsar-bolt had sheared through the hull; exiting from the other side, and breaking the back of the stricken Carrier.

As if someone had broken a biscuit in half, the Carrier began to divide along a diagonal line; left rear to right front. Slowly, the Carrier split and divided; the two halves, and moved slowly out of station in the formation. With a great tearing and shrieking rend, the Carrier broke her back. All along the line of the split in the vessel material, equipment and, worst of all, people, could be seen tumbling and cascading out into the emptiness of space.

This was not what Billy Caudwell wanted, but there was nothing he could do about it. Damaged vessels sometimes split apart after even the slightest impact from a low-yield pulsar-bolt. Stone-faced, Billy watched the unfolding tragedy and cursed the futility of it all. He hadn’t wanted this battle, but now he was determined to finish it off as quickly as he could.

As the first Carrier split apart and was blown from its station, one half of the vessel; carrying two of the “Cigar Tube” Landing Bays, fell slowly onto the Carrier at the nine o’clock position. With another tearing and shrieking rend, in an almost obscene slow-motion, the loose lump of debris slowly stripped away three Landing Bays from the left side of the second Carrier. The hull of the second carrier still remained intact. However, with three of the six “Cigar Tubes” being sheared away at the strut-like supports that held them to the hull, the vessel became unstable. Meanwhile, the first Star Cruiser, on its first pass, had fired upon the Carrier at the eleven o’clock position. The first bolt had grazed the left side of the hull about one third of the way along from the front of the vessel. Once again, a huge burst of superstructure, equipment, and people had been cast out into the frozen, airless vacuum. The second pulsar-bolt had hit clean and true on the rear of the hull. Once again, the great Carrier had lurched in its station as if someone had kicked it with a heavy boot.

The Carrier at the twelve o’clock position had somehow managed to engage its engines, and was starting to move slowly forward. The first Alliance pulsar-bolt grazed the right underside of the Carrier’s hull and tore off two Cigar Tube Landing Bays from their roots against the hull. The second pulsar-bolt, the Alliance gunner overcompensating for the vessels movement, struck the Carrier on the underside of the nose. The entire nose section slowly and painfully sheared away from the main hull with a large explosion, casting thousands of pieces of debris, and hundreds of crew members into space. The two Cigar Tubes fell downwards, narrowly missing the Carrier beneath. It fell through the formation; rapidly gathering momentum, until it struck the top of the Carrier stationed above right to the Carrier at the six o’clock position.