disorganized fire. It appeared that only those who had not waited for orders had opened fire.
Rekesh ’s hull had not been breached, but a sensor array had been damaged and a beam projector turret was off-line. The few personnel injuries were due to accident and excitement among the civilians. No one was seriously hurt.
To-Ling was hearing the same reports over her earpiece, and one of her rare smiles testified to her relief.
Kas took a deep breath, released it gustily. “As I was saying,” he began, “we were incredibly lucky. But now, we know for certain we’re being pursued and our course is on record. This trip may end up being the longest pursuit and running fight in spaceflight history.”
To-ling frowned. “I don’t know, Commodore. We need to review those sensor scans.”
Kas nodded. “Of course. We will have to review them second by second. Most important, I want to know whether Starhopper made it. Then, we have to know how much damage, if any, we inflicted on the enemy. The more damage, the longer before they can pursue.”
The small woman nodded, irritated. “Those aren’t the only scans we need to review. Don’t forget about those planet-busters. If we’ve triggered a nova, we may not have to worry about pursuit at all.”
“Damn! I’d forgotten about that.” He smiled. “Somehow, battles seem to drive little details like novas out of my mind.”
The tight-lipped smile surfaced again, and they huddled over the viewers, slowing them until they could be certain they had missed nothing.
Chapter 15
“I’m just not sure about Starhopper.” Kas cursed disgustedly. “If only we’d had even one sensor on her…,” He sighed. “There were only a few laser bolts I could trace toward her, and perhaps one missile. We’ll just have to wait until we emerge and see if she’s there.” He slammed his fist on the desk. “I hate being deaf, dumb and blind in Jump!” he complained.
Another of To-Ling’s thin smiles rewarded him. “Hardly an original sentiment, Commodore. I doubt there’s a military commander in known space that hasn’t felt the same way.”
Kas relaxed and grinned. “Yeah. Well, that doesn’t make it any less true. All right,” he continued in a businesslike tone, “It looked to me like we took out one destroyer and possibly one of those corvettes. How about you, Commander?”
She nodded slowly. “I agree about the destroyer, Commodore. I don’t think any of the corvettes was destroyed, but two suffered heavy damage, and I don’t think any of them came through undamaged.”
Kas grinned and nodded. “Well, we were certainly lucky. If we hadn’t been going so fast, they’d have had time to at least get their shields up.”
To-Ling shrugged. “Perhaps. You don’t suppose their admiral happened to be on that destroyer, do you, sir?”
Kas’ grin widened. “Even I wouldn’t count on that much luck.” He sobered. “All right. Now for the big question. How much time did we buy ourselves? How long will it take them to mount a pursuit?”
The small woman frowned. “There are so many variables, I’m afraid even our best estimates will be no more than guesses.”
Kas nodded. “True. But I have to make decisions, and we have to make plans. So, we start with the most pessimistic of our estimates, and then set up contingencies to cover variations. Agreed?”
To-Ling nodded. “Of course, sir.”
“Very well. We agree that we got one of the destroyers. The most pessimistic scenario would be if one of the corvettes was also destroyed…”
To-Ling frowned “I don’t follow, sir. It seems to me that the most pessimistic scenario would have all of the corvettes survive.”
Kas shook his head. “No. A damaged corvette would slow them down more than a destroyed one. They would have to spend time on damage control, make emergency repairs, rescue and care for wounded, and so on. A destroyed ship means just a quick scan for survivors before continuing with their mission.”
Her brow cleared. “Of course, sir. All right, we have one destroyer and one corvette destroyed. Naturally, we have to assume their admiral is aboard the surviving destroyer.”
Kas nodded. “Now we have to try to decide how badly each ship was damaged.”
She shrugged. “Even being pessimistic, battle cruisers mount heavy weapons, and corvettes are lightly armored. Any hit by one of our weapons certainly caused major damage.”
“True. All right. We have one destroyer and three corvettes remaining. All suffered at least some damage, and we agree that one of the three corvettes is in pretty bad shape. The destroyer took several hard hits, and I think one of our missiles took out several of her weapons emplacements.”
To-Ling’s eyes narrowed as she called up her memory of the encounter scans. “Yes, sir. However, she still has plenty left. And I don’t think her engines were damaged.” She frowned. “I thought I saw a heavy laser hit near her bridge… but I wouldn’t want to place any bets on it.”
Kas nodded. “Perhaps. But we’ll assume you were wrong. So, we have a damaged destroyer and three more-heavily-damaged corvettes, with an intact command structure. Anything else?”
To-Ling sniffed. “Yes, sir. The fact they showed up there tells us they knew our location. Which means they probably also know our course.”
Kas nodded again. “Of course. Moreover, since we’re taking the long way around, that also means they will probably be able to catch us, cutting straight across this damned big curve of a course they’ve given us. Sheol, they might even have time to go back to wherever they came from and get fresh ships.”
“I doubt that, sir. Unless they came from somewhere very close, by the time they returned to base, explained, and got everything sorted out to return, turnaround would take months. However, you’re right about them having time to catch up and hit us again. The big question is ‘where?’”
Kas grinned. “Ah! The jackpot question. If you have any psi abilities, Commander, especially in the field of precognition, I’d be glad to hear about it.” She favored him with another of her half-smiles.
As for the effect of the two planet-busters on the system’s sun, the issue was still in doubt. They had realized that if the missiles triggered a nova, the wave front of the explosion would propagate at the speed of light. This meant, of course, that they must be jumping just as the wave front arrived at the jump point. A few seconds too early, and Kas would not be sure the missiles had been destroyed. A few seconds too late, and Rekesh and Starhopper would simply become part of the rapidly expanding ball of incandescent gases.
What they had hoped to record was the last few moments as the missiles encountered the photosphere and the antimatter containment failed. They hoped to record the disturbances that would occur in the seconds, or even microseconds before a possible nova explosion. Kas had theorized that by analyzing their sensor scans and comparing them to scans of past novas, they would know what happened in that system just after their jump.
The results were somewhat disappointing. Though the sensors’ last few moments revealed large solar disturbances, there were distinct differences between their scans and those of past novas. No, Kas decided, they couldn’t count on a stellar cataclysm. This battle would be fought with conventional weapons.
Despite Kas’ preoccupation with unanswered questions, life rapidly changed from the adrenaline-charged pressures of battle to the unending tedium of a ship in Jump.
To keep from dwelling on the unknowable Kas devoted himself to crew problems. On the theory that he should start at the top, he summoned Roi Tremling to his office.
When the man arrived, Kas had him escorted back to his own quarters, demanding he shower, shave and put on a fresh shipsuit before returning.
Returning sullen and glowering, he found both Kas and To-Ling awaiting him. In an apparent rage, Kas thundered at the man for some ten minutes before getting to business.
“Commander To-Ling,” he grated, “I realize that the Wardroom is not my domain. But I cannot believe that the other officers willingly tolerate this officer’s lack of hygiene and manners.”
To-Ling was stone faced. “They don’t, sir. But he is senior to all of them. Even me.”
