The Ghost Fleet Page 4

  They were coordinated, each move smooth and fast, flawless in execution. The shuttles that weren’t already attached were flying interference, forcing the transports to change directions.

  Even though the shuttles weren’t as nimble, they were better armored and better armed. They were smart too. When the Hunters engaged, only one of the shuttles let a Hunter get behind them, while the others kept moving and changing directions. It looked like coordinated madness. None of the shuttles stayed near each other, yet they never strayed far from those connected.

  They’re almost as good as Ashley’s pilots. They never leave each other, but they never get close enough to be caught together, Jeryl thought to himself. There’s got to be some way to…that’s it! They never leave each other, but they stay apart!

  “Ashley!”

  “What?”

  “Have your Hunters focus their attention on one or two shuttles, but only for a few seconds. I want to see something.”

  She looked confused but followed orders. “Powers, I want all of the Hunters to focus on the two shuttles in sector seven-one-three-point-six-five. Just do it, Powers!”

  Jeryl watched as all of the Hunters backed off, came together in formation, then attacked the two shuttles in the bottom left corner of the main viewer. They were the two Sonali-type shuttles that were trying to attack the rear of the convoy.

  The two shuttles separated, one up, one left, each with six Hunters chasing them. The other shuttles, the ones not attached or being chased, turned their attention to the convoy, leaving the two to fend for themselves.

  “That’s it, that’s how we beat them. They’ve been trained to go after the convoy first, trusting each pilot to be good enough to get themselves out of trouble. That’s how we’ll take them down,” Jeryl said as he smiled.

  Ashley nodded and began relaying orders to her Hunters.

  “Sir?” Tira and Mary said at the same time.

  “Mary?”

  “We’ve lost two transports, sir. The shuttles that are docking are loaded with soldiers, at least a dozen each.”

  “Understood. Tira?”

  “Long range scanners show another ship inbound, can’t tell what it is yet.”

  “Keep an eye on it. Mary, tell the other transports to scrape the two we lost. If they can scrape off those shuttles, the hole they make will kill everyone and the pilots won’t get the weaponry inside.”

  “Sir?”

  “Those transport crews are most likely dead already. These guys don’t take prisoners.”

  Mary didn’t look happy, but she passed along the information. Looking at the screen, the Hunters were doing well. Six shuttles were already down, and three more were damaged enough that they were trying to escape. He saw one of the transports bring themselves against the hull of one of the lost ones, scraping the shuttle off, exposing the inside to the emptiness of space.

  Then, the other ship came into view on the screen. It was still far away, but close enough to be noticed. “Any signs of who that belongs to?”

  “No, sir. I can’t make out any markings on it yet.”

  “Fine. Ferriero, how are we doing?”

  “Better than a few minutes ago, Captain.”

  “Keep it up.” Jeryl glanced at his holo. Two transports were lost, a third was about to be destroyed, another three had been breached. But, his Hunters were systematically destroying or damaging the other shuttles. Ferriero’s blasts kept the other six transports clean of shuttles, but they were getting more daring. It was like the pilots knew something.

  “Son of a bitch!”

  Jeryl, Mary, Ashley, and a few of the officers turned to look at Tira. Her fingers flew across her holo-board as she muttered curses under her breath. Shaking her head, she swiped her holo screen up to the main viewscreen and kept her fingers flying.

  Jeryl looked at the viewscreen. It was a zoomed view at the ship coming their way. He felt his skin grow cold. The hair on his neck stood on end, and his brain felt like it stopped working. It took him a few moments to realize he wasn’t breathing. Forcing air into his lungs, he cursed quietly to himself. He knew that ship. He knew that ship real well.

  It was the The Ghost.

  That ship wasn’t supposed to exist anymore. It wasn’t supposed to be here…it wasn’t supposed to be on his screen. It had been destroyed in the Earth-Sonali war. He had watched it happen.

  Towards the last year of the war, The Ghost and The Seeker had been sent to a space station deep in Sonali space. It had been a research center for the Sonali, a place where they were researching new chemicals and technology that would have pushed the advantage into their favor. It was supposed to be easy: two massive cruisers jump in, blast the hell out of a space station, and jump back out again.

  It didn’t happen that way. They jumped in, but intel had been wrong. That space station was also a way-station, and a full convoy was sitting there. The Seeker and The Ghost took a pounding, parts flying off of both ships. The Ghost took the brunt of the damage, her captain somehow maneuvering her in the way of a few Sonali battlecruisers. The ship’s comms went down, the shields dropped, thrusters were blown off, and her fuselage was coming apart. There was nothing left of her.

  It took every ounce of crazy Jeryl had to maneuver The Seeker enough to use the FTL drive and get the hell out of there. In the days it took The Seeker to get back to anywhere remotely safe, Jeryl mourned Kaine Reed, The Ghost’s captain. More than his fellow captain, Kaine had been Jeryl’s best friend in the Academy. Hell, Kaine was practically his brother and Jeryl looked up to the fool.

  Kaine was from Intelligence, black-ops. He was one of the best agents that the higher-ups called on for the strangest and craziest missions they could think of. And he was good at what he did. Except war doesn’t care about how good you are. It’ll chew you up and spit you out.

  No mercy, no nothing.

  “This can't be happening,” Jeryl muttered to himself, his unblinking eyes focused on a spaceship that wasn't supposed to exist anymore.

  But, here it was, a defunct battleship coming right at The Seeker, somehow salvaged and rebuilt. She looked just like she did when they first flew out, minus the markings. There were none, no markings at all, just a black and gray hull with a minimum number of lights.

  Ashley broke him out of his reverie. “Is that the…that can’t be the…”

  Trying to rub the goosebumps off of his arm, Jeryl nodded.

  “It is. The Ghost is back.”

  Chapter 7

  Ashley

  “We got this, guys. This is what you've been trained for. Just stay calm and do your job,” Ashley intoned from her workstation.

  Though she had spoken these words, she wasn't entirely sure she believed them. Oh, she believed in the training that she and her fellow Hunter pilots had received. At the moment, she just wasn't sure that would be enough.

  The Ghost, a relic from the Earth-Sonali War, wasn’t a simple Terran Union ship. Deployed more often than not behind enemy lines, it had been the bane of the Sonali. Ashley never thought she’d see her ever again…but here it was, menacing as always.

  Glancing sideways at Jeryl, she wondered if he was alright; she knew that, in some way, he still blamed himself for abandoning The Ghost and its crew during that ill-conceived mission.

  Focus, Ashley, she admonished herself, returning her gaze to the holo screen in front of her.

  She was desperately trying to coordinate the Hunters as they and The Seeker kept being attacked by the hostile shuttle ships. But now, with The Ghost thrown into the mix, ratcheting up the tension...

  No, Ashley thought to herself. I have to stay calm for the team.

  “Francesca, watch your tail!”

  “Roger that,” Francesca replied.

  Ashley watched, as with some deft flying, Francesca was able to evade the bogey. She breathed a sigh of relief, but there was only a pinch of relief to be found. The Hunters had been doing well until The Ghost showed up; that had tilted th
e battle into the opponent’s favor once again.

  We have to cripple The Ghost. It's our only chance, she thought. While The Seeker was doing its best, it was the Hunters that were the jewel of the fleet in Ashley's eyes. If the pilots did their job, maybe they could pull this off. It would take some tremendous coordination from Ashley, but it wasn’t impossible for a Hunter squadron to do some damage to a battleship.

  “Guillermo, Powers, how are you doing out there?”

  “I'm hanging in here, ma’am,” Guillermo noted.

  “I'm taking fire out here, but I'm getting by,” Powers replied.

  Ashley paused for a moment to figure out what to do next.

  “Prepare for further instruction,” she intoned.

  The pilots all acknowledged the message. Ashley looked over at Jeryl. To think that it wasn't all that long ago he and Ashley were in bed together, talking about babies and family. Now, they were both trying to save their ship and crew from a ship that belonged on a graveyard.

  Jeryl was busy dealing out instructions of his own to try and keep hostile shuttles away from The Seeker. All the while, his eyes were on the The Ghost. Ashley had to turn her eyes away from Jeryl and back to the battle. She had to give her attention to the Hunters. She owed that to them.

  “Do any of you think you can get in position to attack The Ghost?” Ashley asked.

  “I think I have an opening,” Guillermo replied.

  “Go for it. Everybody else, if you can try and get Guillermo's back. Make sure he's safe.”

  The battle outside was pure chaos. Many of the armory ships had been boarded already, maybe even all of them at this point. The Seeker was still safe…but for how long? Ashley was quickly realizing that the Hunters weren't so much trying to stifle the enemy as they were protecting themselves. If they were able to keep The Seeker from being boarded, it would be a success.

  “I've got the shot,” Guillermo called out.

  Ashley watched as Guillermo made his move. The Hunter was flying toward The Ghost with real pace. Guillermo fired off a couple shots as Ashley held her breath. It didn't even make a dent. Ashley's heart sank.

  “No luck,” Guillermo said.

  “Okay. We'll regroup. Maybe we should try and protect the convoy. See if any of the ships have not been boarded yet. We might be able to still protect them,” Ashley replied.

  Ashley felt like she was juggling 10 things at once. She was smart and capable, so it wasn’t above her abilities—it just took all her energy and effort, and being pregnant made that more difficult. You can't argue with your body. Ashley was going to fight on, though. It was the least she could do for her fellow pilots, and for Jeryl.

  “I think it's too late for the convoy. Every ship seems to have been boarded,” she heard Powers report.

  “Damn it!” Ashley seethed.

  What were they going to do now? The Seeker was failing at its mission. They had been caught off guard by the boarding shuttles, and they weren't ready for The Ghost. The former black-ops battleship had already locked its weapons on The Seeker, keeping it under a barrage of particle beams. Soon enough, the shields would collapse, and what then?

  The Seeker had just finished being repaired, and now it was under siege again. At least none of the Hunters had been taken down yet. The crew had lost too many pilots recently. They couldn't afford to lose another, especially with Ashley on the sidelines.

  Ashley knew she had to fight through her frustrations to keep on coordinating the Hunters. It was a vitally important job, and she was the best person to handle it. However, the frustration was practically choking her at this point. It wasn't just that The Seeker and the Hunters were in bad shape, or the fact the convoy had been overtaken. No, it was something much more personal.

  I should be out there, she thought to herself. I'm a pilot! A damn great pilot! I can fly a Hunter like nobody else here. If I was out there, things would be different.

  She watched as her fellow pilots tried valiantly to fight off the shuttles as The Ghost loomed closer and closer. There was an ominous feeling in the air.

  I should be fighting and leading. I'm no use to anybody here on the ship!

  Deep down, she knew she was underselling her ability to lead from CNC. She was doing a fine job coordinating the Hunters, but it wasn't what she wanted to be doing. Though she was leading the way, she wanted to be doing it from inside a Hunter. Ashley wanted to lead from example, taking down shuttles and helping to save the convoy.

  Unfortunately, that wasn't in the cards. She looked down at her belly. Her pregnancy wasn't really showing yet, but she could still tell. It was this baby that was keeping her grounded, or as grounded as one can be while flying through space.

  Jeryl wasn't letting her fly as long as she was carrying his child. Ashley understood, but she could never truly accept his edict.

  I can fly while pregnant, she assured herself. This is all unnecessary.

  However, it was all a decided issue, at least in Jeryl's mind. Ashley wouldn’t be flying until she had her baby.

  Ashley couldn't let her aggravation get the better of her, though. She had to do her best in the position she was in. Although she couldn't fight or fly, she could still lead.

  “Let's make another run at The Ghost. It's our only chance,” she declared to the pilots.

  “Roger that,” Powers replied.

  The Hunters turned their attention to the former Intelligence ship. For a ship that had been through a war and presumably salvaged, it seemed like it was in good shape. It was certainly overwhelming The Seeker at the moment.

  Ashley watched nervously as her fellow pilots made their move on The Ghost. Shots were fired one after another, but it still wasn't enough. Any damage was minimal. The Hunters weren't prepared to take down a ship like that. They could handle the boarding shuttles, although the sheer numbers game was still a problem. The shuttles plus The Ghost, though, were proving a terrifying team.

  “Going on the offensive isn't working. We just need to protect ourselves. Keep The Seeker safe. If we remain safe, we can still potentially protect the convoy. The top priority is the safety of The Seeker,” Ashley declared.

  The pilots took the command and positioned themselves around The Seeker, trying to take down boarding shuttles that were getting too close to the ship. They were having success, but the numbers were just so overwhelming, and The Ghost still loomed. It was carving a swath through space, firing particle beams in quick succession, and it seemed like nothing was going to stop it.

  Ashley looked over at Jeryl once more. If you have any tricks up your sleeve, now would be the time, she thought as if though she was attempting to communicate telepathically with him. She turned her attention to the battle brewing outside.

  In truth, it wasn't much of a battle anymore. The Seeker and its fleet were taking heavy fire. The convoy had been boarded. The Armada would not be pleased about this, but The Seeker and its crew would have to survive to be admonished for that. Any result was on the table at this point.

  “Hang in there, guys. We can still do this!” Ashley exclaimed.

  By now, she no longer believed it. The Seeker and the Hunters were being overpowered by the The Ghost. Nothing Ashley could do seemed to be helping.

  If only I was out there, she thought once more.

  Instead, she had to stay on CNC, waiting for the other shoe to drop.

  Chapter 8

  Jeryl

  “Keep fighting, everybody! This isn’t over yet!” Jeryl exclaimed over the chaos of the battle.

  It was his duty as captain to keep up morale and to rally his crew, but he was worried that it would all be for naught. Things had been slowly devolving since the first moment the boarding shuttles suddenly appeared surrounding the transport convoy. The Seeker had been taken by surprise, and Jeryl couldn’t help but feel like he was at fault.

  “We’re taking heavy fire,” he heard a voice call out from the deck.

  Jeryl couldn’t be sure who it was, as his
eyes were transfixed on what was happening in front of him. His Hunters were doing their best to fight off the boarding shuttles, but even they were having a hard time. Even though Ashley was helping to coordinate her fellow pilots, she could only do so much. She was a great pilot, but she wasn’t a miracle worker.

  “What’s the status of the convoy?” Jeryl called out.

  “Every ship has been boarded by the shuttles!”

  Jeryl ran his hands through his hair. The unraveling of the situation continued apace.

  We’re on our last legs here, he thought. What the fuck am I going to do?

  He looked out at The Ghost, a ship whose arrival had unmoored him. Even now, Jeryl still couldn’t fully process what he was seeing. Kaine’s old ship was back from the dead. Jeryl wasn’t the only relic of the Earth-Sonali War in this battle, it seemed.

  “Ashley, how are the Hunters?” he yelled.

  “They’re keeping the boarding shuttles at bay, but they can’t make a dent in The Ghost.”

  Of course they can’t, he lamented to himself. We weren’t ready for this.

  Jeryl couldn’t help but wonder if he could have done something to prevent this. Though his attention was solely focused on the task at hand, on the back of his mind something was nagging at him. However, he realized it was only with the benefit of hindsight that he could ponder what could’ve been done. He had done nothing wrong, and all he could do now was try and make the best of a terrible situation.

  Jeryl continued to bark out orders to his crew, all the while asking for updates as well. Through the fog of war, the captain remained calm and stoic. This was what made him so well-suited for the position, Admiral Flynn had once told him. Jeryl wasn’t so sure about that.

  The battle waged on, but Jeryl could see where things were heading. The convoy was of no use. All of those ships had been rendered helpless by this attack, and the boarding shuttles had left the entire convoy in the hands of the pirates. The Seeker and its Hunters were trying their best, but they couldn’t go on the offensive. All they could do was try and protect themselves, but Jeryl could see the writing on the wall.