(Mercenary Vessel Fall
of Theramore, Interstellar Space)
“Message received from the advance scouts, milady! The
target has left Dimiya, heading for Nania as planned.”
Lady Proudmoore nodded to the technician. “Very well. Assume
that they have military drives. These are freighters, not military, so they
won’t waste their precious time on maneuvers without reason, and for some
reason the local pirates aren’t doing enough to discourage them.”
The Captain of the Theramore
shook his head, but didn’t go against the leader of the Kul’tiras Mercenary
Group in front of everyone. The haughty woman had a reputation for blowing up
at such things, and with her extensive psy powers, the explosions could easily
become more than verbal. Still, he wasn’t sure whether the Lady had actually
read the reports that the intel group had been providing. The reason the local
pirates weren’t ‘doing enough to discourage’ their target company is because
the company had killed the majority of the pirates in the entire sector, and
there wasn’t a major criminal group on Dimiya that would touch a member of the
company on purpose. Responding to an attack on his people that, by all
accounts, did very little actual damage with the destruction of almost every
installation in the system the pirates came from, and killing or enslaving all
the pirates they captured gave them a reputation for retaliation with
overwhelming force. They were the kind of group that would answer the death of
one with the death of a thousand.
Unfortunately, Lady Proudmoore’s Father was the Lord Admiral
of Kul’tiras, and the leader of their little world in the Free Worlds Alliance.
As such, she was in control of this group, and there was nothing a mere Captain
of a heavy cruiser could do to talk her out of this job, especially once the contracts
had been signed. Her ‘honor’ wouldn’t let her back out of the deal.
When the proper time came, Lady Proudmoore ordered, “Deploy
the tarpits! The Theramore and her escorts
are to attack any ships belonging to the Black Star Navy immediately, but open
a channel to their freighters. We’ll have their technology, and the money from
the contract, and become the most sought-after mercenaries in the Alliance!”
(BSS Starlight Raven,
Interstellar Space)
It felt good to be back at the controls of my ship again,
even if I knew that I was flying into a trap. This was something I had missed
in the weeks and months of building a business and running Black Star. Sure,
fleet-level conflicts were awesome, but the thrill of having a single ship at
your command, fighting those who would try and take it from you. When this
little diversion was over, he really was going to have to try and get back in
the field more.
For now, though, it was time to put the recently upgraded Raven through her paces, and teach some
Mercenaries a lesson they would not soon forget. If they lived.
Alarms went off as the ship fell out of warp. With a look at
Raven, she nodded. “Tarpits in our path, Captain. We are picking up three
ships. Make them as one Heavy Cruiser and two frigates, Kul’tiran make.
Transponders claim they are the Fall of
Theramore, Lament of Arthas, and Culling of Stratholme. They are all
registered to the Kul’tiras Mercenary Group. In other words, they’re Kul’tiras
Navy in all but name, so their forces can get experience in conflicts outside
the Alliance without declaring war.”
I scoffed at that. “I guess the greedy little Senators
couldn’t get anyone closer to home to agree for merc work against Black Star
even with Confederate Intelligence giving away our exit path.”
“That is true, but the ships are formidable, and they are
standard warships, not converted merchantmen like pirates.”
“Very well, have they opened communications?”
“Wait one… coming through now, language is Alliance trade
standard.”
“This is Lady
Proudmoore of the Kul’tiran Mercenary Group. On orders of the Confederate
Senate, you are to heave to and prepare to be boarded while our forces search
your hold for contraband.”
I looked at the blonde-haired woman on the screen, and said,
“Oh, so you’re playing it that way, hmm? Well, that’s really too bad, Lady
Proudmoore. I’m not feeling in the mood for surrender today. But if you ask me
really nicely, I can accept your surrender to me. Perhaps I’ll add you to my
harem of slavegirls. Doesn’t that sound like a much better use of your assets
than trying to play pretend that you’re a warrior? Or perhaps you’ve been
hoping for this all along, hoping a nice, strong man would come along who will
conquer and ravage you again and again in front of your crews, before turning
you over to them to use until their hearts’ content?”
“YOU INSOLENT BASTARD!
I WILL HAVE YOUR HEAD FOR THIS INSULT! YOU WILL DIE A THOUSAND DEATHS BEFORE I
AM THROUGH WITH YOU!”
Seeing the communications cut off, I looked over at Raven,
and said, “Was it something I said?”
Raven sighed, and said, “Maybe, just maybe, Captain.” The
laughter from the ship’s intercom was loud and riotous, however, since everyone
aboard had heard the conversation piped through the speakers.
“Boss, you do realize
that she’s soon going to send pretty much everything she has at us, right?”
Raven looked over, and said, “Jaynie is correct. Scanners
detect they are preparing to fire their weapons.”
“Well, looks like the party is getting started! All hands,
get ready, we’re going evasive! Jaynie, Cali, focus on taking down incoming
missiles, but leave the ships for our other weapons. Shearah, drop our own
tarpit to keep these idiots from escaping. Sheila, Carissa, Sana, prepare to
repel boarders, just in case. Also prepare for combat if we get one of those
ships in a big enough of a piece to take prisoners. It is time for our first
weapons test of the new Dragonbreath torpedoes.”
“Wait, you’re going to
test that on a Heavy Cruiser and a pair of Frigates?”
“Yes, Sheila, I am. Perfect testing conditions, actually.
Nice and isolated so no one is around to see what happens. So thoughtful for
the prey to prepare the test site for us.”
“Well, I guess it
sucks to be part of the Kul’tiran Mercenaries today.”
(Mercenary Vessel Fall
of Theramore, Interstellar Space)
“DAMNIT! WHY IS THAT SHIP STILL IN ONE PIECE?!?”
Lady Proudmoore was not pleased. The arrogant man in that
freighter had publicly humiliated her in front of her crews! As if she would
ever lower herself to being some freighter captain’s harem slave, or sleep with
her crews! This man was a disgrace, and the universe would be better off
without him in it. Their contract included killing or capturing Black Star
ships, so they didn’t need this fool alive to complete their mission.
Unfortunately, the ship was extremely fast and far more agile than any ship that size had a right to be. It was clearly a smuggler’s ship, and it was using its speed to best effect, keeping the gap between her forces and the freighter open, and getting slowly wider, giving her crews a more difficult job of attacking him due to range. And his own tarpit trap had forced her ships into the same problem, not allowing them to maneuver in FTL and take him quickly.
The damnable man had some skill piloting a freighter, she
would give him that. Perhaps if he was captured, then they could make use of
him, if he could be properly broken first. Yes, she would take her time breaking
the man’s mind, teaching him to respect and fear her. He would pay for his
insolence in front of her crew.
“Enemy vessel coming about! Milady, it looks like they’re
preparing an attack run!”
“All ships close and open fire! A freighter doesn’t have anything
strong enough to harm ships made by Kul’tiran hands! It is a trick in order to
do a flyby of us and decrease the engagement time enough that they hope to get
past us and free of the tarpit! I’m not letting this bastard get away from me
now!”
Suddenly, the Culling
of Stratholme exploded in a light show bright enough to be blinding on the
bridge of the Theramore, half a
light-second behind the faster frigates. There was a moment’s shocked silence,
and then, “REPORT! Sensors, what the hell happened to the Stratholme?”
“Unknown weapon system, Milady! We don’t know what they hit
them with, but the explosion was off the charts!”
“Tactical room is going over the scans. Evidence of a launch
from the freighter’s forward-facing tubes. Believe they have replaced standard
missile launchers with torpedoes.”
Proudmoore growled, “There is no way in hell a simple
torpedo did THAT!”
There was another flash, equally blinding, as the Lament of Arthas disappeared in light
and fire as well. “Sensors! Did you get a read on the weapon this time?”
“Negative. We do not have scans of the weapon. Initial
analysis suggests some kind of high-energy weapon focused along the freighter’s
length, like the guns of their Assassins.” The sensor technician paused, and
then said, “Target is turning to engage us directly!”
The Captain stepped in, blatantly disregarding Lady
Proudmoore’s presence and authority. “Emergency evasive! Helm, full speed, full
maneuvering, keep us out of line with that ship! Random course changes at your
discretion! Full retreat until we escape the limits of their tarpit, all
shields aft, double strength! Close all blast doors, reinforce structural
integrity fields! The moment we are free of the tarpit, drop to warp, do not
wait for orders! I want us a full light-day away from here the moment we are
able!”
Lady Proudmoore growled as her eyes flashed at the Captain,
and she opened up her Psy talents to crush his mind for suggesting they run in
the face of the enemy, but then the sensor technician called, “OH SHIT!”
Then the whole world became light and sound and pain, as the
Theramore was thrown violently about,
sending Lady Proudmoore flying into a bulkhead.
(BSS Starlight Raven,
Interstellar Space)
I whistled appreciatively as we reviewed the results from the
new Dragonbreath 2.0s. Well, I’d probably have someone rechristen them as
Starbolts. Yeah, that worked nicely. “Raven, make a note to change the name of
the new torpedo design to ‘Starbolt’. Inform the design teams that their
initial prototypes have been properly tested, and found to be up to the task of
wiping away Black Star’s enemies. Add a twenty percent bonus for the quarter to
the one who suggested disabling the safeties.”
I paused for a moment, and said, “And get them to figure
out a way to do IFF targeting, so that
we don’t accidentally hit our own people, or planets, with the things if it
comes to a fight.”
Raven nodded, and said, “Recommend that we restrict Starbolt
use to the warships and Ravens, as they have the adequate maneuverability, and
will find it easy enough to set up shots without presenting too large a profile
or endangering friendlies, including planets in the launch path, and require
multiple authorizations for Starbolt use, akin to old Nuclear Missile Keys on
blue-water navy ships. At this time I see no reason to have these weapons on
the bombers. The Dragons’ mission profile is more than adequately served by the
current Dragonbreath torpedoes.”
“Agreed. Status of the enemy ships?”
“Frigates Culling of
Stratholme and Lament of Arthas have
been destroyed utterly. The energy was far too high for their shields to deal
with. The Heavy Cruiser Fall of Theramore
survived, barely, but is a wreck. Sensors indicated that the cruiser turned and
began evasive maneuvers, coupled with throwing full strength to aft shields in
an attempt to flee the engagement zone. The forward third of the ship appears
to be mostly intact, but the aft sections of the ship have been destroyed.”
“Hmm. And the extra shields were enough to get it off with
just that much damage?”
“No, the random course changes meant that the torpedo missed
the timing, and reverted to its extramassive state too soon. Resulting in a
slight deviation from projected course and speed.”
“Very well, life signs on the Theramore?”
“Twenty-five life-signs. Large portions of the remaining
ship have been opened to vacuum, naturally, and there are radiation concerns in
other areas.”
“Well, have everyone suit up so we can go welcome our new
slaves on being the first survivors of a successful superluminal weapons test
in history.”
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Be sure to read my published works!
Frozen Soul series (Sci-Fi Supervillain story):
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Tales of the Void Traveler https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06ZZ52G37
Rules-Free VRMMO Life (Dark Fantasy GameLit):
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Book I - Game Start https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071LT5WGL
Omnibus I - Books 1-4 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B077X2KR7Y
City of Champions Online (Superhero GameLit):
Issue I - Origin Stories https://www.amazon.com/dp/B075SHXQS1
Lewd Dungeon (Dungeon Core GameLit):
Book 1 - Welcome to the Apocalypse https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07BB34DHF
Omnibus 1 - Books 1-4 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07FBPF6HR
The Kalipshae Affair (A First Contact Short Story): https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0739V6R6T
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