Jake moved the image of the Triton aside and brought the three remaining Battlecruisers to the fore. “Why do they have Regent Galactic markings?”
“In the most recent news offered on the Stellarnet, Regent Galactic just purchased Caran Enterprises, repaying their debt and saving the single solar system corporation.”
“Of course they did,” sighed Stephanie. “If someone asked me; ‘how could this get any worse?’ that’d be my answer.”
“They have strategy on their side. A commander, or a group of commanders are working together to make sure that whole sections of the Triton’s hull are so thin that they may as well be made of glass. I don’t think Oz has realized it yet.” Jacob eyed the middle battlecruiser, it had an additional section that ran the length of the cruiser. It was lined with transparent sections and extra shield emitters.
“Why?” Asked Alaka. “Why not breach compartments and reduce the useable space aboard?”
“Because they’re not in a hurry and they’re trying to keep the ship viable for as long as they can. It’s a repo agent’s trick.” Stephanie answered. “A thin hull won’t reduce a ship’s value as much as a damaged reactor or ruined internal spaces.”
Captain Valance turned and looked through the wide porthole at the rear of the room at the distant, glimmering stars. Everyone who knew him recognized that he was deep in thought, working through the problem.
'I didn't see the ghost ship scenario listed in the training sims,' Victor said quietly. “What’s Oz planning?”
'It's an old Freeground tactical simulation. Jake would know it better than I would, it was one of his favourites,' Minh said quietly. 'I have to get to my fighter before Laura and the rest of the ships arrive,' he excused himself and quietly left the common room.
'It was?' asked Ayan.
Jake turned, shaking his head. 'It was one of Oz's favourites, I just went along with him because it was always a challenge. Different days, different stakes,' he sighed. 'Victor, have our people stow their gear and make as much room as they can. If we're stuck out here for too long we may have to use the Clever Dream's medical facilities to take care of any injured.'
Victor nodded and left the room.
'So this ghost ship scenario? I've never heard you bring it up,' Stephanie pressed.
'If he’s using the strategy the way I would, all of Triton’s power plants have been shut down, life support is minimal and he's locked all the computer systems down tight. Considering the command crew are wearing stealth gear-'
'Along with most of the security,' Stephanie added.
'They're probably taking up strategic positions and allowing the enemy to board them. Once the boarding crews are all set up and they think they're making progress at hacking into Triton’s systems he'll start the festivities.'
Alaka shook his head, a gesture accentuated by this pointed snout. 'I wish I was aboard.'
'What's the point? If the casualties get too high for the boarding teams they'll just retreat and blow the Triton to pieces from a distance,' Stephanie countered. “It wouldn’t take much considering how thin the hull is across the dorsal section.”
'The point is to cause as much fear as possible while a few of the Triton crew get to a secondary command station and reactivate the core systems at the right time,' Ayan replied. 'Knowing Oz and Jason, they’ve set booby traps and are already working on plan C and D.'
'So this kind of strategy works.'
“I’ve never seen it carried out on a ship like the Triton,” Jake replied quietly. “Ships that size are normally too big to take. It’s like trying to invade a moving space station.”
“But on smaller ships?”
“You’ve boarded enough ships to know what to expect from something like this.”
Stephanie nodded. “Collateral damage, compartment to compartment close quarters fighting, yeah, I know. I hope the boarders don’t figure out a way to see through their stealth suits.”
'The biggest problem with the ghost ship scenario was always pulling it off without destroying the ship you're trying to save. If boarding breaches don't rip you apart, the prolonged internal fire fight could finish the job. If the boarders are a professional outfit, Oz will be fighting them for days,' Jake muttered.
'What was his success rate back in the day?'
Jake caught a meaningful look from Ayan, and hesitated replying. She's right, this information isn't helping anyone right now. Jake thought to himself. 'It all depended on your opponent and the ship you were fighting for. Take a look at the tactic, there’s a basic write up on it in your command unit that covers everything.'
'We have bigger problems. There are several ships on the way loaded to the hatches with people who wouldn't or couldn't stay to fight. I don't know where to start on the charts for this area,' Ayan said as she continued to scroll through port listings on her command unit.
Jake brought up the data on the sector, refreshed since the Triton’s database had been downloaded into the Clever Dream before they split up. 'There are two settled solar systems within a day or so if we have to travel at low wormhole compression.'
'Does anyone know anything about them?' Ayan asked as the solar systems appeared in the centre of the room. One had several worlds crowded around a blue sun while the other was marked as a much older system, with a yellow sun, hundreds of harvesting operations, space stations as well as a heavy gravity world in the prime temperature range surrounded by settled moons. Two other worlds with moons of their own were marked as settled as well, making that solar system the more promising of the two.
'Finding civilization won't be the problem, it's finding a place to put down that won't charge us by the crew member,' Stephanie commented. “Or try to arrest Captain.”
'Lewis, do you know anything about the area?' Asked Captain Valance.
'The Yiz-Ma solar system, with a dying super giant blue star at the centre, is United Core World Confederation territory, and they would do anything to most of you, especially Captain Valance. They are unofficially allied with the Order of Eden, as demonstrated by their partial sponsorship of the proposal to begin a war crime investigation into the Holocaust Virus, focusing on Jacob Valent’s alleged involvement.”
“So we’re not paying them a visit anytime soon,” Ayan commented. “And the other?”
“The solar system with the yellow star at the centre is called Rega Gain system. Though it was recently governed by the United Core World Confederation, you'll find it easier to hide there considering the Carthan Government is currently taking control. The United Core World Confederation authorities have already abandoned most of the moons leaving certain areas light on law enforcement. I suspect freelancers are on their way, but it’s too soon for a great number to have converged on some of the older moons.'
“By light on law enforcement, you mean…”
“None whatsoever, according to the travel advisory and numerous complaints floating around the local branch of the Stellarnet. The Holocaust Virus struck both solar systems hard. Since Rega Gain is much more difficult to maintain, its law enforcement agencies suffered the most. The Carthans arrived days later, and under the command of General Hewson, who is also the Carthan Defence Minister, they defeated the United Core World Confederation defences and laid claim to the entire solar system. The terms of surrender dictated that Confederate forces, notable patriots and government officials have three weeks to completely withdraw. What was left of the Confederate military presence has already withdrawn to Yiz-Ma. According to the majority of people on the Stellarnet, Rega Gain is the chosen base of operations for the Carthan third and fifth fleets, with more forces on the way. According to one rather prolific holo-journal keeper, ‘this is where the action is’. Several moons have been fully terraformed, so I can safely say that we have a few options.”
'Like?' Ayan prodded.
'Tamber. It is second moon to Kambis, a highly settled world. Tamber has a population of one point six billion and is rife with crime, especially now. There are several areas of the world marked as wastes, or badlands where ships often land in times of need. The port info file for Tamber warns against staying for very long for health reasons, but at least they will allow you to land while you sort out a more appealing landing site.'
'Do we have any other option? Are there any free ports that we could use to regroup on?' Asked Captain Valance.
