Read Online Rumors of Honor (System States Rebellion Book 2) by Dietmar Wehr - Free Book Online
Authors: Dietmar Wehr
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can do now is 1.1G.”
Montoya
thanked her and sent her back to her station. A quick check revealed that while
internal communications were back online, he was still unable to contact any
other ship in the squadron, but the tactical display was working. It was clear
to him that all four ships of the squadron had been hit hard since all of them
were now coasting on a ballistic trajectory. Continuing the mission and getting
away was going to be difficult. The Helm Officer was already calculating
possible trajectories with the ship’s reduced acceleration, and all of them
involved running a long gauntlet of potential missile fire from the FED ships.
If the FEDs had more of those fission warheads, and he had to assume that they
did, then the chances of surviving long enough to micro-jump away were slim. On
the other hand, if the FEDs did fire more missiles, he would definitely use his
AMMs to stop them. He wondered if the FEDs knew that Union ships carried
anti-missile missiles. If they didn’t, then maybe there was a chance to survive
this, but the key was restoring communications with the rest of the squadron.
“Montoya
to XO.” He had to repeat the call twice before the XO responded.
“XO
here.”
“I
still don’t have contact with the squadron, XO. Tell the damage control people
that’s their top priority now. We have to co-ordinate our actions if we want to
get through this.”
“Understood,
Skipper. I’m on it,” said the XO.
Makassar
Defense Force:
Remington
looked at the tactical display sidebar data carefully. All four bogeys were no
longer maneuvering, just coasting and on a new trajectory too. The fission
warheads had been powerful enough to knock the ships off their previous vector.
She looked at the Weapons Officer. He returned the look and shrugged. He didn’t
know why they weren’t firing more missiles either. She decided to ask the CO.
As she stepped up to the side of the Command Chair, the CO took notice.
“What’s
on your mind, Commander?”
Remington
bent over and spoke in a low voice that only her CO could hear. “I’m puzzled
why we’re not firing more missiles, Captain.”
When
he replied, his voice was equally low. “Commodore Stevens is calling on them to
surrender. No response so far which could be because their communications are
damaged. As you know, we don’t have a lot of Mark 1s right now. If we can get
them to surrender without using any more nukes so much the better.”
“Yes,
Sir,” said Remington. As she walked back to stand near the Weapons Station, she
pondered the CO’s answer. Those four bogeys were still getting closer to Makassar.
They could start firing missiles at ground targets any minute now. If it were
up to her, she’d fire at least one more volley of Mark 1s and cripple those
ships as quickly as possible, regardless of how few Mark 1s they had left. What
was the point of having them if they weren’t going to be used? She was still
debating the pros and cons of firing versus not firing when the CO surprised
her with a missile launch order.
“Weps,
fire three HEs at each target.”
The
WO repeated the order and then confirmed the missile launch. Remington checked
the interception eta. Less than six minutes. Her ship and the bogeys were now
much closer than they had been when she launched the first volley. All six FED
ships were now heading more or less directly for the oncoming enemy squadron.
If neither side veered off, both sides would pass each other so closely that
collision could be a serious risk.
Remington
was puzzled by this head-on tactic. Those Union cruisers could launch up to 20
missiles each every 15 seconds. Her squadron’s only defense against missiles
were rapid-fire railgun cannon with six on each ship for a total of thirty-six.
The closer they got to the enemy ships, the less time the railguns would have
to track and fire on incoming missiles. Why the hell are we fucking
Montoya
thanked her and sent her back to her station. A quick check revealed that while
internal communications were back online, he was still unable to contact any
other ship in the squadron, but the tactical display was working. It was clear
to him that all four ships of the squadron had been hit hard since all of them
were now coasting on a ballistic trajectory. Continuing the mission and getting
away was going to be difficult. The Helm Officer was already calculating
possible trajectories with the ship’s reduced acceleration, and all of them
involved running a long gauntlet of potential missile fire from the FED ships.
If the FEDs had more of those fission warheads, and he had to assume that they
did, then the chances of surviving long enough to micro-jump away were slim. On
the other hand, if the FEDs did fire more missiles, he would definitely use his
AMMs to stop them. He wondered if the FEDs knew that Union ships carried
anti-missile missiles. If they didn’t, then maybe there was a chance to survive
this, but the key was restoring communications with the rest of the squadron.
“Montoya
to XO.” He had to repeat the call twice before the XO responded.
“XO
here.”
“I
still don’t have contact with the squadron, XO. Tell the damage control people
that’s their top priority now. We have to co-ordinate our actions if we want to
get through this.”
“Understood,
Skipper. I’m on it,” said the XO.
Makassar
Defense Force:
Remington
looked at the tactical display sidebar data carefully. All four bogeys were no
longer maneuvering, just coasting and on a new trajectory too. The fission
warheads had been powerful enough to knock the ships off their previous vector.
She looked at the Weapons Officer. He returned the look and shrugged. He didn’t
know why they weren’t firing more missiles either. She decided to ask the CO.
As she stepped up to the side of the Command Chair, the CO took notice.
“What’s
on your mind, Commander?”
Remington
bent over and spoke in a low voice that only her CO could hear. “I’m puzzled
why we’re not firing more missiles, Captain.”
When
he replied, his voice was equally low. “Commodore Stevens is calling on them to
surrender. No response so far which could be because their communications are
damaged. As you know, we don’t have a lot of Mark 1s right now. If we can get
them to surrender without using any more nukes so much the better.”
“Yes,
Sir,” said Remington. As she walked back to stand near the Weapons Station, she
pondered the CO’s answer. Those four bogeys were still getting closer to Makassar.
They could start firing missiles at ground targets any minute now. If it were
up to her, she’d fire at least one more volley of Mark 1s and cripple those
ships as quickly as possible, regardless of how few Mark 1s they had left. What
was the point of having them if they weren’t going to be used? She was still
debating the pros and cons of firing versus not firing when the CO surprised
her with a missile launch order.
“Weps,
fire three HEs at each target.”
The
WO repeated the order and then confirmed the missile launch. Remington checked
the interception eta. Less than six minutes. Her ship and the bogeys were now
much closer than they had been when she launched the first volley. All six FED
ships were now heading more or less directly for the oncoming enemy squadron.
If neither side veered off, both sides would pass each other so closely that
collision could be a serious risk.
Remington
was puzzled by this head-on tactic. Those Union cruisers could launch up to 20
missiles each every 15 seconds. Her squadron’s only defense against missiles
were rapid-fire railgun cannon with six on each ship for a total of thirty-six.
The closer they got to the enemy ships, the less time the railguns would have
to track and fire on incoming missiles. Why the hell are we fucking
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