The Ganthoran Gambit (The First Admiral Series) (15 page)

For those poor unfortunates, at least their deaths would be instantaneous. A further six of General Kav’al’s Carriers sustained damage, but were able to continue functioning. Once again, the Cruisers and Destroyers in the immediate vicinity of the exploding Carriers had stood no chance of any survival. Many were just simply vapourised by the maelstrom of red-hot, fast flying metal.

Those vessels too far out to suffer immediate annihilation were brutally riddled with flying debris.

Crews that thought they were safe in the depths of the formation now found themselves fighting for survival against an unseen enemy, plus the fall-out from the devastation of their own Carriers.

The worst damage was inflicted upon General Sal’nor’s “Six-Cigar” Carriers in the centre of the three formations. With a full salvo from Aquarius and four other Star-Cruisers, a total of fifty pulsar-bolts hammered down onto Sal’nor’s Carriers. The effect of the concentrated fire in the centre of the formation was catastrophic. Six Carriers hit by multiple strikes were annihilated almost immediately.  

The vessels escorting them, once again caught up in the appalling carnage, felt the full force of the exploding Carriers. Escorting Cruisers and Destroyers were swept, indiscriminately, away in the exploding horror. With no time to make evasive manoeuvres, and with no Force Shielding, the Ganthoran Carrier escorts were left to trust the luck and the piloting instincts of their captains. In the tumbling, roiling hell of explosions and flying debris, a skilled and fortunate captain could still save their vessel and crew from destruction - if they survived the initial explosion. Unfortunately, for many crews, good fortune and skill made little difference to their fate.

Another six of General Sal’nor’s Carriers were badly damaged by the Alliance pulsar-bolts and by the flying debris from their comrade warships; four to the extent that they could no longer move under their own propulsion. And, with two more Carriers lightly damaged, General Sal’nor had sustained casualties of one quarter of his Carrier contingent. And, worse was to follow.

At five seconds to Star-Cruiser contact, the Olympus and Colossus let fly with their Trionic Cannon once again. Yet again, a great furrow of annihilation was carved through the left and right flanks of the Ganthoran formation. The warships struck by the Trionic Stream showed the classic sign of flattening in the split-second before the vessel exploded. Cruisers and Destroyers alike were vapourised by the focussed wave of unstable Trions that ruptured the molecular structure of the hulls of the stricken vessels. And, once more, there would be no chance of the crews managing to survive.

Having been hit by a double-whammy of a pulsar-bolt salvo and then another twin Trionic Cannon Stream, the Ganthorans were struck for a third time within ten seconds. The Star-Cruisers, having launched their initial salvo, had closed the gap with the Ganthorans, and were puncturing the enemy formation. Flying through the gaps between the Ganthoran vessels, the Alliance Star-Cruisers now used their high-yield pulsar-cannon in rapid-fire mode.

This was a high-risk strategy for the Alliance warships. It normally took in the region of fifteen seconds for the mechanism of the high-yield pulsar-cannon to cool down, using a pressurised gas mixture, between firings. In rapid-fire mode, only the essential systems in the firing process were cooled, thus allowing the pulsar-cannon to be fired every five seconds. The danger with the strategy was that the heat build-up from constant firing and inadequate cooling could cause parts of a cannon’s mechanism to crack or buckle. If that was to occur, then the next attempted firing of the pulsar-cannon would destroy the weapon; most likely the turret in which it was housed, and a high probability of destroying the entire Star-Cruiser. It was a calculated risk that Billy Caudwell felt was justified in the circumstances. Statistically speaking, six firings of the pulsar-cannon in rapid-fire mode would seriously damage the mechanism.

The Alliance Star-Cruisers would take, at most, twenty-five seconds to pass through the Ganthoran formation from top to bottom.

That meant that the Star-Cruisers would be able to unleash five salvos from the high-yield pulsar-cannon, with the possibility of a sixth at the Ship Commander’s discretion.

That meant a fusillade of seven hundred, white-hot, high-yield pulsar-bolts causing havoc, mayhem, and carnage amongst the great horde of Ganthoran warships.

That would be a major tactical blow to the combined Frontier Fleets, which Billy Caudwell hoped would provoke them into attacking and pursuing his forces. The downside of the strategy was that after the Star-Cruisers had punctured the Ganthoran formation, they would have to run the major diagnostic routines on the pulsar-cannon to uncover any damage to the systems. And, if major repairs were required, the individual pulsar-cannon could be out of commission for several hours, by which time the battle would likely be all over.

However, that was a concern for the near future. Billy Caudwell watched expectantly at the War Table image as the Star-Cruisers in their widely spaced, inverted “V” formation punched through the Ganthoran positions in the spaces between the warships. And, as each Star-Cruiser broke through the plane of the Ganthoran formation, it opened fire. One by one, the Star-Cruisers broke into the Ganthoran formation and let fly with the ten high-yield pulsar-cannon arrayed within the five dome turrets at the top of the vessel.

Ten high-yield pulsar-bolts every five seconds created havoc and carnage amongst the Ganthoran ships, however, the Alliance Star-Cruisers also deployed their Self-Defence Turrets as they passed downwards through the mass of Ganthoran warships. The low-yield pulsar-cannon of the Self-Defence turrets wouldn’t cause a fraction of the damage that a medium or high-yield cannon could inflict, however, the shock value upon the Ganthorans; being assailed by a huge number of smaller weapons, would most likely create a panic within some crews. And, panicked crews very often made mistakes; sometimes, fatal mistakes. With nine hundred rapid-firing Self-Defence Turrets aboard each Star-Cruiser, and none of the technical limitations of the high-yield cannon, there would be a constant sheet of fire strafing the Ganthoran warships during the twenty-five second attack.

On the War Table image, Billy could see the highlighted Star-Cruisers diving through the ranks of the Ganthoran-combined Frontier Fleets. Targeting the Ganthoran “Six-Cigar” Carriers whenever they could, the Alliance Star-Cruisers hammered away relentlessly with their high-yield pulsar-cannon, and also the Self-Defence Turrets. The white-hot pulsar-bolts sped away from the stealthed Star-Cruisers, seeking their large and unshielded targets, whilst the Self-Defence Turrets strafed the hulls of any ships that were in their line of fire. With the larger Ganthoran warships; the Carriers and the Cruisers, the Self-Defence Turret fire was little more than an irritant. Like acid burning away a layer of dried paint, the Self-Defence Turrets stripped away at the hulls of the larger warships. Debris from hull plating and the myriad of other materials that formed the ship’s peripheral systems would be blown apart and cast out into space. A lucky shot might cause minor damage to one of the more important systems. However, the nuisance and irritant factor to already highly-stressed crews was far greater.

For the smaller ships; the Destroyers, the Self-Defence Turrets were more of a challenge. Their smaller size made them far more vulnerable to the concentrated fire of the Self-Defence Turrets. Four or five good direct hits could easily eliminate a Ganthoran Destroyer, and although the Destroyers were not the primary targets for the Star-Cruisers, every Ganthoran warship that they could remove from the battlefield was an added bonus.

And, as the Star-Cruisers ploughed through the ranks of the Ganthoran formation, the Self-Defence Turrets took their toll of smaller ships.

The numerals indicating the strength of the Ganthoran formation; showing on the side of the War Table image, began to tumble dramatically as the low-yield pulsar-bolts of the Self Defence Turrets tore into the hulls of the vulnerable Destroyers and Cruisers. Dozens of the smaller Ganthoran Destroyers fell to the Alliance Self-Defence Turret.

The great sheet of white-hot low-yield pulsar bolts blanketed the area around the stealthed Star-Cruisers as they passed through the Ganthoran formation like a hot knife through butter.

The Ganthoran ship captains, who recovered from the shock quickly, were starting to grasp the idea that there might be Alliance vessels with some kind of invisibility screen at the centre of these great clouds of weapons fire. With that idea in their minds, many of the more shrewd captains began to open fire at the centre of these eruptions of low-yield pulsar-bolts. The stealthed Star-Cruisers, deploying their force shielding, were able to deflect the blasts of Screaming Death away from their hulls, but it was becoming clear to Billy Caudwell that there would be no second pass through the Ganthoran ranks.

The weapons that were proving to be effective at knocking down the Ganthoran Destroyers were also betraying the positions of the stealthed Star-Cruisers in their attacks. However, many of the Ganthoran ship Captains were firing blindly, and were having a great deal of success in shooting down their own comrades. In the midst of the devastation of the Ganthoran formation, three more of Sal’nor’s “Six-Cigar” Carriers disappeared in a huge orange and red cloud of flame and destruction at the centre of his formation; two of them having already been incapacitated by the previous salvo.

Once again, the ships surrounding the doomed Carriers were showered with red-hot debris hurtling towards them at high speed from the cataclysmic explosions. From one of the shattered Carriers, a huge lump of debris was flung out into space, directly into the path of one of its own escort Cruisers. Although the crew of the Cruiser spotted the huge piece of Carrier debris, there was nothing they could do to avoid it. The huge piece of space debris crashed through the hull of the doomed Cruiser and ignited the engine compartment. The Cruiser exploded, killing everyone aboard. Unfortunately for the combined Ganthoran Frontier Fleets, the destruction of that Cruiser was to be repeated dozens of times as the Star-Cruisers rampaged their way through the formation.

On the War Table image, Billy could see that the lead Star-Cruisers were about half way through their attack dive. Twenty-three of the “Six-Cigar” Carriers had been destroyed or badly damaged; mostly from Sal’nor’s central formation, however, several of the Star-Cruisers at the flanks of the attack had yet to engage with the Carriers on the Ganthoran flanks. The great extended “V” formation of the Alliance ships was still passing through the Ganthoran formation. The Aquarius and the other ships on the spearhead were just passing through the centre of the Ganthoran formation with all guns blazing as they went.

From above the Ganthoran formation, it looked like someone was carving the centre out of their position. Destruction and devastation was radiating out from the central point as more and more Alliance Star-Cruisers came to close-quarters battle with their Self-Defence Turrets, adding support to the high-yield pulsar-cannon. To Billy Caudwell, it appeared as if someone had thrown a stone into a still pond. The ripples of destruction were spreading outwards from the point where the stone had entered the water.

Switching to real time mode, Billy could see a front view of the Ganthoran formation. He saw thousands of their small Destroyers facing the two gigantic Alliance Star-Destroyers. The huge host of Ganthoran Destroyers, however, were being framed by the flashes and death blooms of the vessels behind them, as they were shattered and destroyed by the Star-Cruisers.

The explosions twinkled and flashed almost prettily in the dark emptiness of space, reminding Billy of the fairy lights that twinkled in a shop window at Christmas time. Now and again, Billy could see enormous flashes lighting up the scene as one of the large Ganthoran Cruisers or Carriers detonated somewhere in the great mass of the combined Frontier Fleets.

However, these flashes and light blossoms; that faded as quickly as they had appeared, were nothing really to celebrate. In a battle of kill or be killed, the elimination of the enemy was a necessity - a painful necessity – but, a necessity nonetheless. Unlike Avavid Kallet, it gave Billy no pleasure to kill a brave enemy.

To Billy Caudwell, it was a job; a professional requirement, and one that he knew his enemies would be trying their best to undertake against his own ships.

The difference was that the Ganthorans had been surprised, and the centre of their formation was being overwhelmed. The Star-Cruisers would cause some grievous damage to the Ganthoran “Six-Cigar” Carrier formation. But, it would not be the decisive battle-winning stroke that Billy needed. There were just too many Ganthoran warships for the battle to be settled here.

On the battlefield, the Star-Cruisers had opened fire with their high-yield pulsar-cannon once again. This time, the Star-Cruisers were beginning to pass through General Kav’al and Timmeg’s formations. Up until now, the Star-Cruisers on the flanks had fired their high-yield pulsar-cannons into the Ganthoran formations. Now, they were coming to grips with the enemy at close quarters. The Self-Defence Turrets would now tear and shred at the vessels escorting the Carriers.

And, just as before, the high-yield pulsar-bolts smashed into the unprotected hulls of the massive Carriers. Five more of Kav’al’s Carriers were hit; two being destroyed outright, with three more being damaged. On General Timmeg’s flank, the Star-Cruiser gunners were choosing a more methodical approach. The Alliance high-yield cannon gunners on the Ganthoran left flank, rather than letting fly indiscriminately at anything that crossed their gunsights, split their fire between three Carriers. With each salvo, three of the Ganthoran “Six-Cigar” Carriers would receive multiple hits. This increased their chances of either destroying or incapacitating the big Ganthoran Carriers. It also increased the likelihood that the following Star-Cruisers or their Self-Defence Turrets could finish off the stricken Ganthoran Carriers. In the space of two Alliance salvoes, General Timmeg had lost eight of his Carriers destroyed, and a further six were severely damaged.