Contingency

  Chapter 9

  With expert speed Winter Gussol’s fingers tapped the controls at her station. The Vigilante’s sensor array was fully tuned for the nebula’s composition. The initial scans of the mass had displayed its approximate composition and distribution. The ship’s sensors were being constantly tuned and arrayed in order to ensure maximum penetration through its specific composure.

  Although the entire area had been analyzed in great detail, as soon as the ship had touched the outskirts of the nebula, the area had to be constantly scanned and sensors readjusted due to the ever changing pattern of energy and matter within it. There was an active data link among the six ships as each searched and compared its results with the other five. Bytes of data flew across the ships at incredible speed as the findings were added, equated, and put together. Winter’s eyes quickly drained the main pieces of information she needed from the displays in front of her. After making a few additional minor adjustments, she let the sensors run uninterrupted for another few minutes.

  The Vigilante’s weapons array and gun batteries were activated. Electronic pressure reinforcements for the hull were on standby. When damage was caused to an area of a ship’s hull, in order to minimize the damage taken at the expense of quite a lot of energy, force in the opposite direction could be given through a network inside the hull walls. This was especially useful and efficient for defense in short skirmishes where brief, large bursts of destruction defined a battle. In all situations, however, these fields granted extra integrity to otherwise weaker hulls.

  The six ships advanced in a line of war. The weapons systems on all of the ships were charged. Their advance was swift but not careless. Flying mere tens of kilometers apart, in order to be able to become battle ready at a moment’s notice, the ships monitored a large area thousands of kilometers around.

  Aboard the bridge of the Vigilante, the air was thin with apprehension. Every person was busy at his or her station, making sure the frigate was functioning at one hundred-percent efficiency and capacity. Dwight Verne noted the mood aboard the ship. It was truly the calm before the storm. He could almost feel the adrenaline that would very soon run in the very same veins that now had calm blood flowing peacefully.

  The Vigilante threaded through the nebula as it advanced with determination. The giant hulk flew as a swift eagle advancing towards an ever-distant prey.

  Then, Winter’s eyes got a hold of the very pattern they both dreaded and hoped for. Somewhere, far off below to the right, several large, metallic objects had been detected. They were not asteroids. Significant energy patterns were being released from the objects. They were in no way random. The patterns were clearly of artificial, not of natural design. Waves after waves bounced off the detected ships and were immediately recorded in all six of the fleet’s shipboard computers. The active communication link started to hear some voices as the six ships began to chatter amongst themselves. The scans materialized into data as the operations officers processed them.

  Louder comments and reports were being heard from several members aboard the ships. The data became clear. On the reports screen in front of them, an overview of the Ameerian raider fleet materialized. It seemed that the estimates had been accurate. The raiders had a flagship of significant size in their flotilla. It seemed to be a patchwork of many different styles, probably manufactured and refitted, again and again as it was constantly changed and armed. It carried a strong power core.

  Its emissions were not shielded well, which displayed the crudeness and volatility of its design, but nonetheless it was clear that it served its role as a harbor for the raiders. Its core must have been a great handicap to its stealth. The raiders probably relied heavily on the nebula to compensate for this fact. The core was also surely inefficient; its imperfect nature would make it consume more energy for the same result.

  Several ships of much smaller sizes were being detected as well. As the excruciatingly slow seconds wore on, the groups of ships turned into swarms of ships. There were significantly many fighter ships in the area. All races used strike craft: they were small, single or double pilot ships. They could be used to cause damage to specific structures of a large ship, as decoys and distractions, or simply as elusive attackers. These chassis of ships were common for raiders and independent fleets.

  “Captain Trein to task force: all ships fall into close formation. I am setting the approach speed to five hundred clicks per second. Please stay with me and copy the Defender’s attack vector. All fighter craft are the initial target.” Captain Trein briefly halted his speech as more extensive scans of the Ameerian fleet poured in. The base now appeared to be significantly larger than anticipated. There were several frigate class starships in the area with hyperspace capabilities. It seemed that the size of the opposing fleet had been mildly underestimated. His left eyebrow twitched slightly as he quickly calculated the new information. Would a direct assault still be prudent or viable? Would it be better if the task force withdrew and returned with fresh reinforcements?

  Although bringing more ships would secure them a flawless victory, Trein worried that there wouldn’t be any more victory to secure. The raiders, clearly alerted of the Imperium’s eye on them, would certainly flee and dissipate into the surrounding area, never to be found again. They would then slowly return to leech off the ships in this area, or another, all over again. He knew he could not allow that to happen.

  His eyes looked over the data again. There seemed to be only a handful of crudely built frigates in the area. He did not estimate their firepower to be too significant. He decided that the fleet could play safely and still secure themselves a victory.

  Trein’s voice rang out again, “In addition, all frigates should be destroyed as well. We will have to neutralize and disable the flagship. There should be enough data and personnel onboard for our interrogation. After the area is secure we will perform a salvage operation and board it. Stand by, half a minute to enemy contact.”