The Universe - or Nothing Part 51

Drummer and Brad had deserted them; Hyk and the Dragon were gone. The INOR forces lacked cohesion.

Captain Yargoul had barely a.s.sumed command of the combined fleet and needed to a.s.sess the situation.

There was no time for that. They were face to face with a powerful adversary who had appeared without warning. An easy victory had become a struggle for survival.

Two UIPS destroyers made a run at the Jovian cruiser Boulder. Four explosive-decompressors cut loose simultaneously at the cruiser, striking her amidships. A succession of explosions wracked the ship, hurling debris and bodies in all directions.

The ship rolled and yawed wildly out of control.

The UIPS destroyers cut away.

The Ruthless' damage a.s.sessments flashed to the bridge and the ship's Commander informed the fleet command deck.

"We've still got full power and most of our guns are operative," Selvin announced to his staff after a brief study of the report. "With another of their cruisers gone the big ships have evened out, but they've still got the edge in destroyers. We've..."

"Fighter-bomber locked on to enemy cruiser Encounter." The communicator's voice cut in over the loudspeaker.

"Put him on," Selvin ordered.

The pilot's voice filled the room, low and tense.

"...3000 kay starboard. Destroyer screen at 2000, kinda loose. Going in. Have incoming, lots of it.

In evasive. I'm hit, but I'm through. 700. More incoming. Bridge in sights. Three seconds burst -- a hit. I'm out of control. Encounter dead ahead...

gonna..."

Silence.

Selvin turned away to hide the pain in his eyes at still another death.

"Cruisers three to two, in our favor." An officer called out from his position at the battle monitor.

"New ball game."

Brad pointed, drawing Selvin's eyes to the constantly changing plotting table and view tank.

The displays showed the struggle had become a series of separate skirmishes spread across a million kay in all directions. Fighter-bombers and fighters without a mother ship, and destroyers that had lost their cruisers ranged the battlefield singly and in pairs, searching out and attacking the enemy.

Not visible to the naked eye through the swarm of s.p.a.ce debris around them, the view tank's sensors discriminated against displaying the lacework of crossing beams from laser-quads, explosive decompressors, molecular disrupters, and here and there, a cruiser's particle beamer.

Admiral Selvin stared at the tank.

"Does he realize what he's doing?" He whispered.

The Jovian heavy cruiser Windstorm and its screen of destroyers had changed direction about twenty-five thousand kay distant and headed straight at the UIPS fleet; the Jovian light cruiser a.s.sault and its escorts lined up behind.

The UIPS cruisers Ruthless, Avenger and Implacable were broadside to the oncoming enemy line. Most of the gun ports for the Windstorm's and the a.s.sault's most powerful long range weapons were along their broadsides and out of position for returning fire at the UIPS battle fleet. Jovian vessels of all types that came within range of UIPS weapons would be overwhelmed by UIPS concentrated broadsides.

The Windstorm's escorts would not have the range until the two fleets were closer.

"They've inadvertently maneuvered themselves into an ancient sea battle formation," Selvin said.

"It was once known as 'crossing the T'. They intended to cut straight through our defenses to optimize their broadsides but instead they opened themselves to ours. That's how the game is played. I have no choice, but I have to act quickly."

Selvin's battle computer counted down the enemy's distance and flashed estimates on when the enemy line would be optimally exposed to particle beam volleys.

"Cruisers: ready your particle beamers," Selvin commanded, "sustained fire as soon as you have the range."

Moments after he spoke, the Admiral's order transformed into action. Abruptly, the gun circuits snapped shut. Lights dimmed and the Ruthless throbbed as the beamers sucked up ma.s.sive amounts of energy. The Avenger and the Implacable joined in.

Indicators swung wildly. The technicians watched the dials and verified that a stream of highly charged, invisible particles had erupted from the beamer tubes. The lights returned to normal, and the throbbing tapered off.

The bolts struck the leading INOR warship full length from bow to stern, and moved on the second in line as soon as it came into range. The INOR battle cruisers shuddered, smitten as by a giant hammer. Their hulls collapsed and the ships exploded into enormous, silent fireb.a.l.l.s.

Destroyers and support ships in close screens were caught in the blasts and shattered.

The INOR fleet's will to continue the battle was gone; they had disintegrated as a fighting force.

The battle ground to a halt. What was left of the INOR armada withdrew beyond the reach of the UIPS fleet's long-range weapons, careful to demonstrate that their retreat was in a direction away from the Slingshot Terminals. It was just as well, lines of UIPS destroyers and gunships had formed up as a shield between the work sites and any potential attacker from the residue of the INOR Combined Fleet.

The arena quieted. UIPS search, rescue and medical craft searched the area, marking wrecks of both sides with electronic signals, collecting the dead and treating the wounded.

Communications lines opened between the fleets.

Admiral Selvin requested the INOR commanders to order a stand down from all weapons. All Plutonian a.s.sault Force vessels were ordered to form up and prepare for boarders.

Brad and Selvin stood in a corner of the command deck, heads close. Brad drew an object from a pocket as he spoke: the control for the communications barrier Zolan had erected.

Selvin, hand to chin, stared at the device, listening. He pointed to it, and then in the direction of the companionway.

"Notify Camari," he said. "Now."

Brad nodded and raced away.

Chapter FORTY-FIVE

Camari's impa.s.sive gaze roamed the faces of the Solar System's leaders at the conference table. The discussions had quickly degenerated into an open clash of wills between Camari and Narval. The other INOR Chiefs of State sat back to enjoy the contest, posing occasional questions to Camari or Narval, or to both. All knew they were in a waiting game.

Camari went along, drawing Narval out. Each was eager for a message from the Planet Pluto Special Zone that would present a new reality and the defining course for the conference.

Narval realized that he was being goaded by his INOR allies to exacerbate the confrontation between the Regions. Noting the time, he decided to drop the first bombsh.e.l.l.

"We have been called together to prepare a course for the future," he rumbled, looking about with scorn. "Yet we of INOR sit here and quibble among ourselves, lacking a unified will to confront the UIPS directly and compel them to respect our demands. The circ.u.mstances of the times call for the raw strength of an iron fist, not for a press of beggars with outstretched, pleading palms."

"I take exception," President Straber of t.i.tan leaned forward and waggled his finger at Narval.

"We are a confederation of nation-states. Are you suggesting that we abdicate our sovereignty to a single authority? If we were to do that we face the same chaos that preceded the separation of the Regions. We of t.i.tan would find that intolerable."

Narval seized the moment to pave the way for the supreme power he felt would soon be his.

The message from Drummer would surely come within minutes.

"The old United Planetary System from which we broke away," he countered, "was based on so-called democratic principles and due process. The United Planetary System fell apart. The fragmented, international order that replaced it, this grotesque arrangement of nation-states, is equally ineffective and therefore obsolete. Our system of authority and governance must be raised above the antiquated, interminable rules of the desperate bickering we now witness here at play among us.

I will personally impose such changes."

"Through tyranny?" Camari's words were dry as the desert winds of Mars.

Narval's eyes narrowed to slits of hatred as he glared at Camari. d.a.m.n, where was Drummer's message?