The Black Sheep (A Learning Experience Book 3) (8 page)

“The doctor said you wanted to ask me a few questions, young man,” Captain Ryman said, as Thomas saluted.  He certainly
sounded
better than he had on the bridge of his ship.  “I am at your disposal.”

“Thank you, sir,” Thomas said.  He pulled up a chair and sat down.  “I’ve been asked to gather as much information as I can about the Druavroks before we meet them in battle, Captain.  There’s frustratingly little in the files.”

“I had that problem too,” Captain Ryman said.

“But you’ve met them,” Thomas said, feeling a flicker of panic.  What if the whole interview turned out to be a waste of time?  The XO would have a few sharp things to say about it - and more, perhaps, if Captain Stuart found out.  “You must know
something
about them!”

“I do,” Captain Ryman said.  He leaned backwards, as if the subject was somehow distasteful.  “I just didn't learn about them in the files.”

He paused.  “I don’t suppose you managed to smuggle a box of cigarettes in here?”

“I’m afraid not,” Thomas said, wondering if he were being teased.  He had to consult his implants to find out what cigarettes were, leaving him wondering why people smoked when they could just use electronic brain simulation instead.  “I might be able to find a packet in ship’s stores, if you like.”

“No worries,” Captain Ryman said.  “The Druavroks.”

He leaned forward, resting his hands on his lap.  “I don’t know much about their history, certainly nothing more than you’ll have found in the files,” he said.  “What I
do
know is that they’re an immensely aggressive race - even-tempered, you might say; mad all the time.  The Druavroks picked the most fights with everyone else on Amstar long before the Tokomak pulled out and abandoned them to their own devices.  Look at a group of Druavroks funny and you’d be fighting for your life seconds later.  They even picked fights with each other when there was no one else to fight.

“I actually saw two of them fight in a mixed-race bar on Amstar,” he added, his face twisting in dismay.  “They just flew at each other, claws out; the peace force had to stun them to get them to stop.  They’re not the sort of people who’ll use the bureaucracy to screw you, to be fair, but they’ll hammer you into the ground if they think you’re not treating them with sufficient respect.  Most folks of all races tended to avoid them as much as possible, or only deal with them over telecommunications lines.  It was safer than perhaps winding up in an autodoc after being beaten half to death.”

He paused.  “And yet, it was rare for them to actually
kill
someone.”

Thomas frowned.  “Wouldn't killing someone have been a great deal more serious?”

“They were the local enforcers,” Captain Ryman pointed out.  “I dare say they could have gotten away with killing a few of their victims if they wanted.  Most of the deaths they
did
cause were misjudgements, I believe; they simply didn’t realise how badly they were injuring their enemies.  I wouldn’t have expected them to slip into committing genocide.”

“I see,” Thomas said.  “How
do
they fight?”

“Hammer and tongs,” Captain Ryman said.  Thomas frowned, puzzled.  “They’ll go all-out to beat you, if they want to fight.  The only way to stop them is to hammer the bastards so hard they back off, dazed.  It isn't easy for an unenhanced human to inflict enough damage to convince them to submit.  And yet, I've never heard of any of them directly defying the Tokomak.  I don’t know how the Tokomak managed to make them surrender.”

He sighed.  “Something has changed with them,” he added.  “Wanting to win at all costs is one thing, but committing genocide is quite another.  Maybe they’ve decided they simply cannot endure the presence of aliens any longer.  I honestly don't know.”

Thomas considered it for a long moment.  “A plague?  Or a meme-attack?”

“A plague could have been countered by an autodoc,” Captain Ryman said.  “A meme-attack ... maybe.  Their internal politics are something of a mystery.  A new religion, perhaps, preaching death to all other races.  There’s no way to know.”

“Do they
have
a religion?”

“If they do, I don’t know about it,” Captain Ryman said.  “They rarely talk about themselves, at least to outsiders.  The Tokomak may know more, Ensign, but they’re unlikely to respond to a request for information.”

“And their borders are over a year away now,” Thomas added.  “It would be quicker to get answers from Earth.”

“The one thing you have to bear in mind,” Captain Ryman warned, “is that they are a
very
aggressive race.  Show them a hint of weakness and they’ll attack.  You see this in their trade negotiations too, I’m afraid.  I always found it was easier just to set a price and stick to it, because any haggling is seen as either an admission or a charge of weakness.”

Thomas frowned.  “They don’t realise you’re setting your first demand too high?”

“They don’t understand the concept,” Captain Ryman said.  “To them, you ask for what the items are worth and stick to it.  Dropping your price is an admission you don’t have the nerve to hold it and they’ll jump on you.  And don’t play poker or any other game that requires bluffing with them.  They always end in naked violence.”

“Shit,” Thomas said.  “The XO is not going to be pleased.”

“Of course not,” Captain Ryman said.  “Nor is anyone else who is likely to encounter them.”

Chapter Seven

The Michigan Free State announced the death by firing squad of a number of criminals charged with crimes against the state, including former federal officials, liberals, radical feminists and a handful of former politicians.  It is believed the purge, spearheaded by refugees from federal tyranny, will continue until all remnants of federal authority have been removed.

-Solar News Network, Year 54

It was, Hoshiko had to admit, a common tactical problem - and one that had no satisfactory answer.

The Druavroks, unless they were complete idiots, would be watching for incoming starships and could hardly fail to miss nine heavy cruisers of unknown design.  It
was
just plausible that the Druavroks would assume the ships were freighters instead of military vessels, but that would rely on a level of incompetence unmatched since the day newly-minted cadets had been given command of a
simulated
starship to demonstrate just how little they actually knew.  No, they'd see her coming, which limited her options.  Dropping out of FTL on the edge of the system and sneaking in would take far too long, giving them all the time they needed to prepare for her arrival, while coming in too close ran the risk of running straight into an ambush. 

Pity we can’t use realspace sensors in FTL
, she thought.  It
was
possible to track ships moving at FTL speeds, but a starship that dropped out of FTL might as well have vanished somewhere within a vast immensity of space. 
There’s no way to know what’s waiting for us until we arrive.

She keyed her console thoughtfully, then glanced at the tactical officer.  “We’ll drop out here,” she said.  Unless the enemy had supernatural powers, they would find it impossible to
guess
her precise endpoint.  “Communicate my intentions to the rest of the squadron.  I want to hit maximum velocity and drive straight at the planet as soon as we drop out of FTL.”

“Aye, Captain,” Biscoe said.

“Prepare to transmit our warning message as soon as we arrive,” Hoshiko added, “but hold it until I give the order to send.”

Just in case they have a battle squadron we cannot defeat in orbit around Amstar
, she thought, sourly.  She doubted it, but she didn't dare take the chance.  If
that
happened, they would have no choice; they’d have to leave with their tail between their legs. 
Uncle Mongo should have given me some goddamned Hammerhead missiles.

She shook her head, reminding herself not to be an entitled Earther brat.  Hammerhead missiles were
expensive
, even for the Solar Union; she didn't blame Admiral Stuart for not assigning any to her command when they were required to protect Sol.  But they could smash through a Tokomak battleship as though she were made of paper.  One or two Hammerhead missiles might be enough to convince the Druavroks to withdraw without much of a fight.

“Ten minutes to the system line,” the helmsman reported.  “Twelve minutes to emergence point.”

“Red alert,” Hoshiko ordered.  “I say again, sound red alert.  Set condition one throughout the ship.  Bring combat datanet to ready position.”

“Aye, captain,” Biscoe said, as the sirens began to howl.  “Red alert; condition one.  Combat datanet ready and standing by.”

Hoshiko nodded at Wilde, who was watching the live feeds from all over the ship.  The XO hadn't complained once, since they’d departed, but she’d been very aware of his concerns about just what they were about to do.  Nothing either his officers or the intelligence staff had been able to dig up on the Druavroks sounded good.  Hoshiko had the uneasy feeling that nothing, not even the threat of overwhelming force, would be enough to make them submit without a major fight.  It rather made her wonder how the Tokomak had kept them under control.

Maybe they just offered the bastards a string of ready targets
, she thought, sardonically. 
Let them take their malice out on anyone but the masters of the cosmic all
.

She pushed the thought aside as she heard the hatch opening behind her and turned, just in time to see the reporter step into the compartment.  Max Kratzok had requested permission to watch from the bridge, after all; Hoshiko nodded to him, then pointed to one of the chairs at the rear of the compartment.  She half-expected a fuss - reporters had a tendency to be prima donnas at the best of times - but Kratzok sat down at once.  Hoshiko turned back to her display and watched as the seconds slowly ticked down to zero.  If everything went according to plan, the Druavroks would expect them to appear much closer to the planet than the emergence point she’d dictated, yet ...

They’re not gods
, she reminded herself.  They knew so little about their enemy, but she was sure of
that
. 
The laws of mathematical averages work as well for us as for them.

“Twenty seconds, captain,” the helmsman said.  He sounded nervous, although Hoshiko knew he’d been a junior officer during the Battle of Earth.  “Realspace drives cycling now.”

“Take us out as planned,” Hoshiko ordered.

She gritted her teeth as the final few seconds counted down.  It was a shame that no one had managed to come up with a genuine long-range FTL communicator - it was hard enough sending messages from one ship to another when they were both in FTL, flying in a loose formation - but at least the enemy wouldn't be able to summon help.  They’d have to send a courier boat to their nearest base ... unless, of course, they already had enough firepower orbiting Amstar to beat off her squadron.  They’d have had to bring it in from another system, though, if Captain Ryman was to be believed.  Amstar hadn't had more fixed defences than it needed to fend off pirates.

“Emergence,” the helmsman snapped.  The ship shook, once, as she plunged out of FTL and lanced towards the planet.  “FTL drives recycling now.”

Hoshiko leaned forward as the display started to sparkle with red and yellow icons.  “Tactical report?”

“Seventeen warships in orbit, nothing larger than a heavy cruiser,” Biscoe reported.  “The manned fortifications are still present, Captain, but they’ve been augmented with a number of automated weapons platforms.  Assuming standard GalTech, we will enter engagement range within five minutes.”

“Stand by all weapons,” Hoshiko said.  “And send the pre-recorded message.”

She sucked in her breath as more icons flashed into existence, little symbols next to them listing known or deduced attributes.  At least the Druavroks didn't seem to have any battlecruisers or heavy cruisers ... unless they’d cloaked the ships.  She doubted anyone would bother, but the Druavroks might have a different view of the matter.  Some alien tactics seemed absurd from humanity’s perspective.  The Tokomak might have crushed the Solar Union if they’d struck at once, rather than waiting for fifty years as humanity made its way into space and started improving on Galactic technology.  But then, given how tiny Earth was on a galactic scale, they’d probably found it hard to imagine that any significant threat could come from a backwater of a backwater.

“Message sent,” Yeller said.  There was a long pause.  “No response.”

“Their starships are altering position,” Biscoe reported.  “They’re forming an attack formation and angling towards us.”

Wilde laughed, harshly.  “I think that’s the answer, Captain.”

“Stand by all weapons,” Hoshiko ordered.  If Captain Ryman was right, the Druavroks wouldn't hesitate to open fire ... which would make it easier to argue, afterwards, that they’d fired first.  But if they didn’t she’d have no choice but to fire the first shot.  “Bring up active sensors and lock weapons onto their hulls.”

“Firing range in two minutes, Captain,” Biscoe reported.  “Enemy formation is sweeping us with active sensors.”

“Deploy decoys,” Hoshiko ordered.  At point-blank range, at least as it applied to starship combat, it was unlikely the decoys would soak up many missiles before the Druavrok sensors burned through the jamming, but it was worth trying.  “Can you identify their flagship?”

“It will probably be the heavy cruiser,” Wilde commented.  “Their commanders won’t see any virtue in using a smaller ship.”

“Firing range in one minute, Captain,” Biscoe reported.  “Enemy fleet is advancing directly towards us.”

“Order all ships to take evasive action if necessary,” Hoshiko ordered.  The Druavroks might just be hoping for a chance to ram an ancient warship into one of her shiny new cruisers, even though the impact would destroy both ships.  They’d come out ahead if even one suicide attacker succeeded.  It wasn't as if she could summon more ships from Sol at the touch of a button.  “Concentrate fire on the heavier ships ...”

“Enemy vessels are opening fire,” Biscoe snapped.  “Missiles look to be standard GalTech, Captain, but there’s a lot of them.”

“Stand by point defence,” Wilde ordered.

“Fire at will,” Hoshiko said, calmly.

Jackie Fisher
shuddered as she unleashed a full spread of missiles towards her targets, then opened fire with her phaser banks.  The other ships in the squadron opened fire a second later, their missile warheads automatically forming a tactical net that directed them towards their targets for maximum effect.  If the Druavroks were surprised at the speed of humanity’s missiles, easily a third faster than standard GalTech, she saw no sign of it.  Their point defence started spitting out fire as soon as the missiles came into range.

“Continue firing,” she ordered.  The Druavroks knew how to fight their ships better than the Hordesmen, she noted; they actually understood how to use their point defence.  It didn't
look
as though they’d invented anything new, but merely understanding their own capabilities made them more dangerous foes than the Horde.  “Concentrate fire on the heavy cruiser.”

“Aye, Captain,” Biscoe said.  The starship rocked violently as the enemy slammed a hail of phaser bolts into her shields.  “They’re getting the range on us too.”

“Switch missiles to sprint mode and keep firing,” Hoshiko ordered, feeling the blood pounding through her veins.  The enemy ships were turning slightly to bring more of their phaser banks to bear, although they were still advancing towards her ships.  One of their destroyers had dropped out of formation and two more had been destroyed outright, yet they kept fighting.  “Ensure they don’t come within ramming range of us.”

“Aye, Captain,” the helmsman said.

Jackie Fisher
twisted as one of the enemy destroyers made a run at her, the helmsman neatly evading the suicidal charge as the tactical officer blew the destroyer apart with a pair of missiles and a spray of phaser fire.  Hoshiko watched through her implants as the enemy heavy cruiser altered course again, only to find itself being hammered by three human starships in unison.  Its shields failed a moment later and a single antimatter missile, slammed into her drive section, blew her into a ball of fire.

“
Harrington
has taken damage,” Wilde reported, quietly.  “She’s still firing though - and regenerating her shields.”

“Tell Captain Faison to keep his distance from the enemy,” Hoshiko ordered.  The Druavroks were still fighting, damn them, even though there was no hope of victory.  “Prepare a spread of missiles ...”

She broke off as another enemy ship vanished into a glowing fireball.  “Cover
Harrington
if necessary,” she ordered.  “The Druavroks may regard a crippled ship as a sensible target.”

“Aye, Captain,” Wilde said.

“The automated weapons platforms are coming online,” Biscoe reported, sharply.  “Captain, they’re swinging around to target the planet!”

“Take them out,” Hoshiko ordered, sharply.  What was
driving
the Druavroks?  Turning starship-grade weapons on Amstar would wipe out their own settlements as well as every other race on the planet.  “Can you raise the manned platforms?”

“No, Captain,” Yeller reported.  “They’re still spitting missiles at us.”

Hoshiko nodded as
something
slammed into
Fisher’s
shields.  “Target them too,” she ordered, as the last enemy ship made a suicide run.  It didn't get into ramming range before her phasers burned through its shields and ripped it apart.  “Try to avoid targeting anything else unless it’s shooting at us.”