Crusade chapter 9 (standard:science fiction, 1488 words) [9/11] show all parts
Author: St George	Added: Mar 11 2003	Views/Reads: 2357/1745	Part vote: 0.00 (0 votes)
chapter 9

Click here to read the first 75 lines of the story

the Destroyer SNS Thunder the computer detected the end of the corridor 
and the ship was forced into real space. The experiment was a success. 
The Andurils had tried to perfect this technology in shipbound form but 
had only managed to build the examples in the guard stations so this 
was a real coup for human science. Four Shogun class corvettes are 
ordered to return to Titan shipyards for conversion  into ‘interdictor 
cruisers'. 

Extract from Captains log, SNS Crusader: “We have been ordered to HU44,
there to attack the fourth planet of solar system ES-44529, the solar 
system is an outpost of Megaeran territory surrounded on three sides by 
alliance space. The planet targeted has several shipyards in orbit and 
a dock encircling its only natural satellite. We have not been ordered 
to destroy these facilities but to capture them. My fleet is now 
Crusader, Cutlass and the carrier SNS Sabre Tooth; our escort is one 
corvette SNS Orion, three frigates SNS Tiger, Manticore and Griffon, 
and five destroyers: SNS Chimera, Apollo, Devil's Advocate, Screamer 
and Viking.” Sabre Tooth did not carry any fighters, instead she 
carried 400 rhino tanks and 1000 starship marines, plus the dropships 
necessary to deploy them. This combined with the 100 tanks and 600 
marines aboard both Crusader and Cutlass comprised the invasion force. 

Within Crusader's holo-cartography room Captains Carver, Vablatski,
Heckler (Sabre Tooth), Kemp (Tiger) and Harris (Chimera) were planning 
the assault. Alecto was projecting a holograph of the planet, its moon 
and the artificial structures in orbit about both. According to Alecto 
the moon orbited once every 972.6 hours, therefore the best time to 
attack was when the bulk of the planet lay between the taskforce and 
the armed dock, simple. The opposition was known to be robust, an 
orbital fortress codenamed Cerberus and a flock of blaster equipped 
satellites defended the shipyards. The lunar dock was home to the 113th 
flotilla, a moderate fleet of destroyers and frigates, which since its 
inception had been one of those patrolling the border, this meant that 
it had clocked up a lot of space-borne experience. The flotilla was 
currently in port and intelligence could not find out when they were 
due to put to space, therefore the attack must be made with them at 
home. Fournier, an Anduril light cruiser and her escort of four 
destroyers were due to make a diversionary attack 1.7 light years (10.2 
trillion miles) away in 45 hours time. This meant that the approach 
must be perfect,  the taskforce must remain outside the planet's sphere 
of detection until Fournier engaged the enemy, since there was strict 
radio silence the diversion couldn't be delayed if there was a problem. 
Fournier would attract the patrolling fleets away from the task force, 
but one ship of the line and four destroyers could not hope to hold 
their own against the estimated opposition, she would retreat as soon 
as the enemy dropped into real space; her role was merely to make sure 
that enemy reinforcements would not arrive until several hours after 
the taskforce attacked. 

“Alecto, run the simulation.” ordered Carver. On the holoscape a
wide-angle view showed the whole solar system, the taskforce appeared 
and moving at vastly accelerated speed it approached the system. When 
it reached approximately 10 light days from the nearest planet (the 
estimated maximum sphere of detection) the home fleet moved to 
intercept, assuming the fleet could be destroyed or evaded the 
taskforce moved on toward Cerberus. 

“Attention all hands,” Alecto's voice came into everyone's earpieces,
“The diversionary attack will take place in two hours, that is all.” 
With the preliminary course of attack planned all there was to do now 
was wait, the taskforce was on schedule and everybody felt the 
anticipation. Communication was limited to etheric lasers directed 
between the ships as the enemy could not intercept these. It seemed as 
though everyone held their breath as Crusader, in the lead entered the 
maximum sphere of detection, the ship's own sphere of detection was 
considerably smaller than this so it would be some time before they 
knew if they had been detected, using active epdar would increase their 
range but its use was obviously not recommended. 


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