The Landfall Campaign (The Nameless War) (77 page)

Berg woke were a snort. Then the buzz of the intercom panel cut off as she slapped it.

“What is it?”

“FTL transmission Captain. We have a fix on position. It’s in our sector.”

“Jump drive?”

“Spinning up now Captain.”

“Go to battle stations.”

“Understood.”

As the main alarm started to whoop, Berg pulled on her survival suit. The FTL transmitters that seemingly equipped every Nameless scout were an advantage under most circumstances. But for the scouts to use them now was a risky business for as soon as they started transmitting, they told everyone in the system where they were in real time, or as close as made no difference. The triangulation was a bit tricky and the Nameless had learned pretty quickly that a scout that was transmitting had better be ready to move.

“Captain, we’ll have jump capability in seven minutes,” called out the navigator as Berg entered the bridge. As the last crewmember got their helmet on the compartment started to depressurise.

“Understood. Counter Measures, full spread as soon as we make real space re-entry. Fire Control, stand ready to engage, point defence on standard pattern.”

“All sections confirm closed up and ready for action,” her second-in-command called back as Berg buckled herself in.

“Understood. Jump out in two minutes.”

The jump portal opened ahead of
Mantis
. The time in jump space would only a few seconds before the destroyer dropped back into real space. Point defence commenced firing the moment they crossed the portal threshold.

“New contacts! Missiles incoming on reciprocating course! Enemy vessel, bearing three, five, four dash three, four, nine. Range one hundred and ten thousand K.”

“Bridge, fire control. We
’
ll have firing range in two minutes.”

“Understood fire control. Fire as soon as you have range.”

The Nameless ship was nearly stationary, going translucent as it began to jump away. The missiles, one cap ship missile and two general purpose, were the standard Nameless counter to interception.
Mantis’s
fire control computer was programmed to expect and respond, all three missiles died at twenty thousand kilometres.

“
We have firing range,
”
announced fire control.
“
Firing!
”

On the main holo the radar contact of the Nameless ship was fading fast. The computer added the projected course of the four bolts. They crossed through and a moment later it disappeared completely. There was no bloom of radar returns that would indicate wreckage.

“
Bridge, fire control, that
’
s a miss. Target completed jump out.
”

“
Damn, we nearly had them! Understood, Fire Control. Maybe next time. Navigator, calculate a jump to our second position and pass to helm,
”
Berg said as she unbuckled.
“
Oh, and spin up the centrifuge again. We might as well get some benefit from this.
”

_____________________

“
Commander Hock…
”
Commodore Crowe cut himself off short and gave his second-in-command an apologetic smile. He still kept expecting to see Commander James Hockley, but he
’
d joined the massed ranks of those left behind. His replacement was a solid if distinctly humourless man.
“
Commander Bhudraja. I expect to return by nineteen hundred hours. I
’
m not sure what the Admiral
’
s plans for us are but I want the fuel bunkers and ammunition magazines fully loaded by the time I get back.
”

“
Yes sir,
”
the big Sikh officer replied.
“
The tanker is due alongside in three quarters of an hour. The ammunition tender is due in two hours and loading won
’
t take too long.
”
Bhudraja frowned briefly.
Deimos
hadn
’
t had too many opportunities to fire since returning from Operation Kite String. The sweeps into the contested solar systems had continued but mysteriously the Nameless seemed to have largely withdrawn. Their last sweep had been aimed at half a dozen known gates and found that three appeared to have been removed and the other three scuttled. Going by FTL reports and couriers from Earth, fighting was still taking place but mostly around Rosa Station, at the rim end of the Junction Line. At the far end the fighting seemed to have settled into a pattern of skirmishes but since the Aèllr had built a fleet base on Hydra
’
s flank there had been no large-scale actions. Nameless scouts were still coming and going in and around the systems surrounding Junction, but nothing bigger had been sighted in over two months.

“
Make sure we get any other consumables we need. If memory serves, the
Vicksburg
and her escort are due in today.
”

“
I hear she
’
s been described as
‘
the locust
’
,
”
Bhudraja replied.

“
Not very diplomatic but not far off the truth,
”
Crowe said as he shrugged on his jacket and picked up his survival suit. Alright Commander, the ship is yours.
”

The little work pod jetted away from
Deimos
’
s
flank towards the hive of activity around Junction Station. Not much light penetrated the rings that protected the station so even though the distance was only a few kilometres not much detail could be made out. What could be seen were navigation lights and the brief blue flares of engines. A couple of cargo ships had arrived in
Deimos
’
s
absence and big lights mounted on the outsides of their hulls lit up the names of their shipping lines, while the shuttles and tugs buzzing around them unloading supplies resembled a swarm of fireflies. One of the hydrogen skimmers was docking at the refinery complex, its searchlights focused on the docking points, while another skimmer could be distinguished by the deeper stronger flare of its engines as it slowly climbed up into the rings en route to the planet. Junction was a mass of individual lights. The station had been steadily expanding since the fleet had first arrived. It consisted mainly of cargo modules but an entire new centrifuge was now also half-built. The original station was almost unrecognisable now, which was not a bad thing to Crowe
’
s way of thinking. Unlike their civilian counterparts, the warships weren
’
t lit up. The battleship
Renown
was just visible as a brooding shadow and the rest held positions at the edges of the open area around Junction, only detectable because Crowe could see their transponders on the work pod
’
s navigation screen.

“
We
’
ll have a full house when
Vicksburg
arrives,
”
Crowe grunted.

“
Yes sir,
”
the pilot replied politely.

“
I
’
ve just downloaded to your pads the latest intelligence to be forwarded from Earth. The stuff from here you
’
ll already know but I would ask you to read through the reports from Rosa and Hydra,
”
Laura Lewis said once they had all settled themselves.
“
But let me give you the gist of it. The frontline has gone quiet. There is some serious fighting still going on around Rosa but not on the same scale as a few months ago. Needless to say the analysts back home can
’
t agree why. The theory that is generally being held as the most plausible is that the Nameless are preparing for a big op, but as to where or when this will happen, they have little to offer.
”

“
Typical,
”
someone muttered.

“
Rosa appears to be the weakest link, but spacing and distance between the stars in that region would put a serious limitation on their line of advance. Plus the fuelling station at Lone Star is only about a fortnight from operational. Since Lone Star is over seven light years from its nearest neighbour, there is a good chance the Nameless don
’
t know it exists, but it does mean that a if they do break through at Rosa, the Junction Line will hinge backwards to Lone Star.
”

“
Any update on our reserve position?
”
asked Kander looking up from his pad.

“
A location has been identified but it
’
s going to be at least a month before work starts and five before it will be part operational,
”
Laura replied.

Kander rolled his eyes.

“
Headquarters should put your husband in charge. He
’
d light fires under a few asses.
”

“
Probably not metaphorically,
”
Laura replied.
“
Anyway an advance through Hydra is thought even more unlikely. It is believed that there has been at least one exchange of fire between the Nameless and the Aèllr forces on Hydra
’
s flank.
”

“
Do we know the result of that?
”
Crowe asked.
“
In terms of casualties on either side?
”

“
No,
”
Laura replied with a shake of her head.
“
The Aèllr are saying nothing, to the point of denying anything happened at all. A recon unit out of Hydra did observe one of the Aèllr heavy cruisers leave the area with damage, but whether this was due to weapons fire was unclear.
”

“
Bloody wonder they haven
’
t folded like a sponge,
”
said Commodore Villar.

“
Well apparently not and it looks like whatever the Aèllr believe, the Nameless don
’
t want to try to go through them right now.
”

“
So that leaves us. Where they haven
’
t had much success in the past,
”
Kander said.

“
Yes. The Nameless have tried, we all remember that and how badly it ended for them,
”
Laura replied.

“
So Intelligence thinks the Nameless are going to attack but

not here, not Rosa and not Hydra. There
’
s a joke in there somewhere,
”
Villar said humourlessly.

“
Are they offering any other possibilities?
”
Crowe asked.

“
There is a minority view that after Kite String the Nameless have decided to reduce Landfall before reattempting to break through to Earth.
”
Laura
’
s expression was grim as her eyes flicked towards Crowe.

Personally, the news that Douglas Base was being abandoned and that there was nothing they could do about it had been a hard blow to bear. The American base had also seen the writing on the wall and was actively organising a breakout. In
Deimos
’
s
crew quarters there had been long and at times heated conversations on whether the convoy had ever been worth it.

“
If more transport resources are being committed to the occupation of Landfall it might explain the lack of mobile units here,
”
Kander said.

“
It might, but that
’
s a minority view,
”
Laura replied

“
Well there isn
’
t much point in continuing sweeps that see nothing,
”
Kander added.

“
I agree,
”
Crowe said.
“
If the Nameless do make a move against us, we
’
ll need to keep as many ships as possible close by. But I
’
d like to keep my ships moving. Sitting around will take the edge off my crew.
”

“
I would agree with that but I don
’
t want there to be no offensive action,
”
Kander commented.