Jess sat stunned, unable to take in what he’d just heard. Jess had known Admiral North was pushing himself too hard and making himself ill, but this… this couldn’t be happening. Not right now.
The rest of the fleet was as stunned as Jess. Not a single message was sent for at least ten seconds… then the comms channels exploded with activity.
“What the hell do we do?” asked Jess.
“Whatever it is, it needs to be done quickly,” replied Ali. “The fleet was being held together by the force of the Admiral’s will as it was. Without him… without him things are going to fall apart damn quickly. Unless someone else can step into the role.”
“Who could possibly do that? Wait… people are asking me to do it! I can’t do that! I wouldn’t have the first clue where to start directing a battle of this size, even if I wanted to… and I really, really don’t.”
“I wouldn’t let you do it anyway. If you started down that road you’d never be free, and I know how desperately you want away from this.”
“But… what if it’s the only way to save the fleet? The only way to defeat the Limited fleet?”
“Jess, don’t do this! You don’t have any idea how to handle a fleet like this. Nor do I. There’s no way we’d be able to pull it off. We’d just end up losing a lot of lives and then blaming ourselves about it forever more.”
“But… but if we don’t take charge, then who will?”
Dash sat in the shuttle in a daze, barely aware of the rest of those on board leaving. The comm channels were ablaze with questions, contradictory advice and people simply panicking.
Dash could feel the fleet fraying at the edges. That would have been bad enough normally, but now they were only minutes away from a major battle. There was barely enough time to get all the ships clear again even if there had been a clear chain of command in place. Without it the fleet was going to get chewed up in no time at all.
Dash even heard people begging Jess to take over the fleet. The Wanderer remained silent, something which was a plus at least. Dash knew Jess well enough to know that he and the Wanderer could achieve amazing feats but managing such a large and fragile fleet was well beyond them. It would take someone with years of experience to keep things together now.
Dash felt like he was going to throw up. He knew exactly what he wanted to do, but he also realised just what he was going to have to do.
He turned to Sal and kissed her for long seconds. Then he pulled back and looked her in the eyes.
“I’m so sorry Sal. I… I want to go with you more than anything I’ve ever wanted, but if I do then a huge number of our allies are going to be killed. When Admiral North was there to hold things together I could leave with a clear conscience. Now… if I leave now then their blood will be on my hands.”
He expected Sal to be upset. He expected her to argue. Instead she placed one hand over his heart and smiled at him.
“I knew you weren’t ready to go with us yet, Roberto. Deep down I knew, but I hoped to convince you. But this… I know you have to help with this. I love you Roberto. When you are ready I’ll be there waiting for you, no matter how long it takes.”
“I… thank you for understanding… but I need to ask for more. Please… stay with us. Lend the departing ships to the fight. Give us the strength to destroy this evil.”
Sal smiled sadly. “Oh Roberto… I wish I could help you, but that was the wrong choice before and it’s the wrong choice now. Go. Work your magic. You’ll win. I have faith in you. The pilot will go with you, to make sure you get there quickly.”
She leaned in and gave him a kiss, then pulled back again. He stared at her for long moments, trying to commit every last detail of how she looked to memory, then she slipped out of the shuttle. He stared after her for a moment longer, then as the shuttle lifted off he hooked into all the active comm channels, using a command code to override everyone else.
“This is Captain… no… this is Admiral Dash. I am returning to the Spindrift to take charge. We will mourn Admiral North later, but first we’re going to honour his memory by smashing this damned Limited fleet!
“I want a readiness confirmation from all ships in two minutes time, and if you report a fault then by the stars you’d better be able to prove it or I will fly over to your ship myself and personally ram the false report down your lying throats! Admiral Dash out.”
Dash sank back into his seat. Beside him he was aware of the shuttle pilot carrying out the flight both very quietly and very efficiently. Dash started to review the plans in his head against the limited situational information the shuttle was able to provide.
Once he was back on the Spindrift he’d be able to tell more, but already things were looking bad. With a sizeable chunk of its ships disappearing for the horizon the fleet was significantly weaker than it had been and the remaining ships were poorly positioned to support each other. That, coupled with the short time until the battle started, was making the attack look more suicidal than brave but he’d withhold judgement until he had more information.
And at the back of his mind he was painfully aware of the ships leaving the area, and the fact that Sal was leaving with them. Despite his plea he still felt Sal’s reasoning was sound. He had no regrets that she was leaving, and saving many lives in doing so, even if it might doom others.
He had only one regret – the fact he hadn’t been able to go with her. He hoped it was something he would be able to remedy soon… but in his heart he feared he might never see Sal again.
Jess felt the knot in his stomach ease the moment Dash made his announcement. Things were still bad, but at least the fleet had a focus now, one that was already pulling everyone back together.
Ali leaned forward and squeezed his shoulder.
“You see?” she said. “Things are working out, and without you having to try and take control.”
Jess nodded. “I’ve had my issues with Dash, but right now I’m damn glad he’s stepping in.”
Clay was looped into their conversation now, though still sitting in his fighter in the docking bay.
“It helps,” he said. “But we’ve lost a lot of ships to Sal and any chance to prepare properly. I don’t see how we can manage to win here, even with the Wanderer helping.”
“If only we could get Sal’s ships back into the fight,” said Jess.
“I don’t think that’s going to happen now. They’ll be able to jump in a few minutes and they’re showing no signs of slowing or changing direction.”
“Damn. It’s not like we can pull off something clever now either. We’re going to barely be in combat positions before we clash with the Limited fleet. We can’t win this, can we?”
“No. Not unless Dash comes up with some genius plan, and with the time available I doubt he will.”
“So we run?”
“I can’t see that working either. We won’t be able to get everyone away before we’re being engaged, and we’ll take heavy losses trying to run. Especially as I think the fleet would start to fragment.”
Before Jess could answer Dash’s voice once again rang out over the comms.
“Everyone, with a heavy heart I have to conclude that we won’t be able to win here. We could hurt this fleet badly, but not badly enough and we would be wiped out.
“The only sensible option is to retreat… but we can’t do that either. Not without a rear-guard. I’m sorry to ask this, especially at such short notice. If you are willing to buy time for the rest of us to escape then please let me know now. I need to know which ships are willing within the next two minutes in order to organise the defence.”
The comm ended. Jess glanced back at Ali and saw his determination mirrored in her eyes.
“Clay,” he said. “I think we’re going to volunteer. We can do a lot of damage and still get away.”
“I wouldn’t have it any other way,” replied Clay. “It’s going to take more than just us though.”
“I know. Let’s hope some others follow our example.”
Jess contacted Dash directly. After a short pause Dash appeared on the screen, his shoulders already looking slumped under the weight of responsibility he felt.
“Dash,” Jess said. “The Wanderer will stay, but we’ll need some help.”
Dash nodded. “You’ve got it already. Fifteen ships have volunteered. A few more are just contacting us and I think they’re doing the same. We might actually have more to choose from than we need.”
“How do you decide who lives… who stays and who doesn’t?”
“Order of contacting us, together with the type of ship they have. There’s no time for anything more. Can you take the Wanderer into the Limited fleet now and disrupt things a bit? I know you can’t stand toe-to-toe with that many ships but maybe you can distract them and buy us another minute or two.”
“Of course. Let us know what else you need.”
“About another fifty warships ideally,” Dash muttered. “Dash out.”
Jess shook his head, not envying Dash the choices he had to make. At least he, Ali and Clay could just focus on their own actions. Speaking of which…
“Clay,” Jess said. “I don’t think it’s going to be safe for you to launch. You’d be one of the few fighters out there from our fleet and that would make you a big target.”
“Damn it. Yeah, I know. I’ll stay here though in case I get a chance to do something.”
“The rearguard should be chosen and getting involved soon but I’m not going to wait for them.”
Jess launched the Wanderer into jump space, bringing it out a few moments later right in the middle of the Limited fleet’s vanguard. He was linked deeply with the Wanderer and with Ali, and together the three of them chose targets that would have the biggest impact.
The Wanderer took out three corvettes immediately, two of the small warships vanishing as their generators overloaded, the last remaining intact but with catastrophic levels of damage.
Return fire was soon ripping its way towards the Wanderer from a dozen ships. The Limited might no longer be anywhere near human but they excelled at certain tasks. Reacting to enemies was one of them.
For any other ship the incoming fire would be devastating. Jess simply threw the Wanderer into jump space and had it pop up again, this time to one side of the fleet. That reduced the amount of return fire, but the ships not able to hit the Wanderer returned to closing on Admiral North’s fleet… no… on Dash’s fleet.
Jess sent the Wanderer back into the midst of the enemy ships again, this time focusing more on keeping the Wanderer in the area for as long as possible than on taking out enemy ships. There were simply too many for the Wanderer to destroy anyway. Jess knew they needed to disrupt and delay the enemy ships, and was determined to do so.
Jess gritted his teeth against the pain as the Wanderer took a heavy barrage down its left flank, some of the shots overloading its shields and punching through to the ship’s hull.
All of the Wanderer’s shields were low enough to risk spot failures and another heavy barrage was about to strike. With a curse he threw the Wanderer into jump space, bringing it out again shortly after but well clear of the enemy fleet. The Wanderer needed at least a minute to rebuild its shields before they engaged again.
The Wanderer had been helping to shield and protect a frigate which had formed part of Dash’s rearguard. The minute the Wanderer needed was far more time than the frigate had now it was unprotected. Jess’s hands clenched as it disappeared in a blaze of light.
Only five of the rearguard ships remained now, and two of them would probably not last until the Wanderer could rejoin the fight. The other three would last longer but there was no question of them fighting their way free now, even with the Wanderer’s help.
Jess couldn’t help feeling a deep guilt as each of the brave crews of the rearguard perished. He was fighting alongside them but unless the Wanderer was particularly unlucky it would survive the fight. None of the volunteer ships had any chance of that, yet they were still there trying to save the rest of the fleet.
And they had succeeded. For the moment, at least. They had blunted the enemy fleet’s attack, drawing ships to them while the rest of the fleet slowed and turned enough to be almost ready to jump away again. It was only a temporary reprieve, the enemy ships would almost certainly follow, but compared with certain destruction it was a huge improvement.
The Wanderer flagged an incoming signal from the Spindrift. Jess accepted it, finding it was a voice-only call from Dash. He patched Ali and Clay into the call too.
“Jess,” Dash said. “We’re almost ready to leave. If you can keep those ships busy for a bit longer it’ll give us more of a lead. At the moment every minute will be critical.”
“We’ll do it,” said Jess. “But it will only be a couple more minutes. The enemy forces are clumped together now. Even the Wanderer can’t cope with that level of fire for long.”
“I know. We’re working out the best route to get us out of here, but whatever we do that fleet will be right on us. I’m considering splitting the fleet. That way we’ll only lose a part of our forces, unless they split too.”
“There has to be a better answer than that. Even if you get most of the ships away we’re never going to get a chance like this again. We need to destroy those ships, not get away from them.”
“Sorry Jess,” said Clay. “Dash is right. There’s no way we can possibly destroy them. The fleet needs to get away, and ideally without the Imperials being able to follow. That means we need some way to cover our fleet’s tracks in jump space.”
“Fat chance of that with this many ships,” said Dash. “The scars on the fabric of space will be there for days.”
“Wait!” said Jess. “What about Sevius? Jump space is so unstable there we could trigger a reaction that would wipe out all traces of our passing.”
“But doing that could strand the fleet in normal space or trigger its annihilation if it’s in jump space. Besides, even if it did cover our tracks that would only work if we were changing direction there. We wouldn’t have time to do that and get clear of the danger area before the fleet saw where we were going.”
“Forget wiping out our traces,” said Ali, her voice excited. “We could wipe out their ships.”
“What?” asked Dash. “Is that possible?”
Jess linked more closely with both Ali and the Wanderer, running the simulations. Complex though they were, they were completed within a couple of seconds. Jess pushed Ali to give the answer as it had been her idea.
“Yes,” she said. “Yes. It’s possible. We’d need to pick a careful starting point so the fleet can fly a single path through but it is possible.
“The Wanderer would fly after the rest of the fleet. It can drop a special device which will trigger once the Wanderer is clear. The Limited fleet will still be within the danger area. None of them will survive. We’ll have won.”
There was silence for long seconds before Dash came back on.
“Ali, Jess, that’s brilliant. Clay too. Not only do we get to wipe out the Limited fleet, we do it without losing any more of our ships. Send me the exact path and I’ll give the orders.”
“Sending them now,” said Jess. “I’m going to keep the enemy ships tied up for as long as possible – the more of a lead you have the better.”
“Alright, but don’t get yourselves into trouble. Without the Wanderer this plan won’t work.”
“I know. Don’t worry. Ali and Clay will keep me focused. Now get our fleet on its way.”
The call from Dash disconnected. Jess smiled warmly at Ali, letting his emotions flow through their connection. The return feeling was tinged with some smugness, but he certainly didn’t begrudge her that.
Then the Wanderer indicated it was ready to return to the fray and Jess’s thoughts hardened. He sent the Wanderer leaping back to help the three surviving rearguard ships, knowing that those three would soon be destroyed despite the new hope for the rest of the fleet. He was determined to ensure their deaths bought the main fleet as much time as possible, that their sacrifice turned out to be worthwhile.
Jess cursed as the Bravado erupted in a blazing flash of light. Other than the Wanderer only the Centilius remained now, an ex-imperial frigate which had, so far, stood up to a huge battering.
So far, but not for much longer. Shields were out over most of the ship and it had lost all movement control. Clusters of weaponry were still firing but the ship was in deep trouble. Four Limited corvettes and a number of armoured troop shuttles were closing on the Centilius already.
The Wanderer had knocked out two more corvettes and a number of shuttles but now it was having to retreat as its own shields dropped dangerously low.
Jess sent the Wanderer skipping into jump space then back out a short distance away, but far enough that none of the Limited fleet were within weapons’ range.
Moments later the Wanderer received a call from the Centilius.
“Captain Jess, this is the captain of the Centilius. We don’t have much time, as I’m sure you can see.”
“I’m sorry Captain,” said Jess. “I wish I could…”
“Bah!” interrupted the other captain. “You’ve done wonders. It has been an honour to fight alongside you, but the fight is over now. We have two options. Become Limited ourselves or destroy our ship, and the first is no option at all. I wanted to warn you to stay clear — we’re going to try and take a few ships with us.”
Jess tried to speak but found a lump in his throat. Finally he managed to clear it enough to reply.
“The honour is ours, Captain. You will be remembered. You, your crew and the crew from all the other ships that fought in the rearguard.”
“That would be nice. Go now. Go and keep the rest of the fleet safe, and if you get a chance to wipe out the Limited then do it. Hell… what am I saying? You’re Jess aboard the Wanderer! Of course you’ll find a way!”
Before Jess could reply the signal went dead. A few seconds later the Centilius was replaced by a blaze of energy which took out two of the Corvettes and most of the shuttles.
Jess ground his teeth together, his heart pounding as rage poured down his veins. He ordered the Wanderer back into the fight, determined to avenge the fallen ships, but the Wanderer held back. Then Ali weighed in on the side of the Wanderer.
“Jess, we have to go,” she said. “We can’t achieve anything else here. Remember the plan. That can only possibly work if the Wanderer isn’t destroyed. Going back now won’t be more than a pinprick to that fleet, but it will destroy all chances of us beating it.”
Jess closed his eyes, fighting to calm the anger inside. He failed to do so, but he did manage to channel it. The Limited fleet would pay. It must pay. But now wasn’t the moment. Ali was right… throwing the Wanderer back into the fight would achieve nothing. Destroying the entire Limited fleet… now that would be payback!