Bleak - The First Mission

The Confederation fleet seemed in no hurry to meet with their enemy, as if they wanted to give the rebels plenty of time to see the number and might of their ships, to contemplate the force that dwarfed them and the potential fate that represented. As if in doing so they would weaken. Perhaps even hoping that the rebel fleet would surrender without a shot being fired. But if anything it had the opposite effect. Bleak could see, even in the youngest recruit, a growing resolve. A belief that the shame of giving in without a fight would be worse than dying. One thing Bleak was certain of was that many of them would die.

  As the two sides closed on each other it appeared Admiral Koerreg was right, Niias had no clever strategy planned. His ships lined up in traditional formation, the lighter armed and more manoeuvrable vessels on the wings and all his heavy armour in the centre, which he would no doubt hold back until, what he considered the last possible moment. Then at a time of his choosing he would unleash what he believed to be a devastating barrage, annihilating the heart of the rebel fleet. Battle over, surrender taken and a hero’s reception back on Metrakis.

  When the two fleets were a day apart Admiral Koerreg sent his two wings ahead. Leaving his centre exposed he was gambling on General Niias’s unswerving belief that he could just roll over the rebel fleet and dispose of any remaining vessels at his leisure. The Confederation fleet stayed in tight formation. To begin with even when the rebel wings made contact nothing changed, as if the general either chose to ignore their presence or thought they would be like flies to a dog, a mild irritant but nothing more. However, these insects carried powerful stings. They harried and raked the exposed Confederation ships. It wasn’t long before some of those ships at the extremities of the fleet were sustaining considerable damage and had to drop back.

  In the first hour, for the loss of two of their own vessels the Rebels had destroyed or incapacitated seven of the Confederation ships. In terms of their numbers and the balance of power it was meaningless, but it gave the rebels something to cheer. Sensing this, or perhaps because it was wounding their pride, the wings of the Confederation formation were released. In response, Admiral Koerreg ordered his ships to return towards the main fleet. As they did so they were to harry, and occupy the Confederation ships as much as they could without fully engaging them. Even so the rebel losses started to mount.

  Eventually the admiral called the wings in to protect the flanks of the heavily armoured rebel cruisers which were now coming under attack from the Confederation frigates that had escaped the retreating ships. Sensing victory the Confederation centre made its move. In response the rebels drew up in a thin line concentrating their heaviest fire power around Admiral Koerreg’s flag ship. However, as the Confederation tried to flank the admiral it was the rebel centre that started to buckle and give way. Two of the outer frigates which had come under particularly heavy bombardment peeled away. Seeing an opportunity The Pride of Metrakis and its personal escort sprang forward to try and engage the heart of the rebel fleet.

  However, Bleak knew this was part of the admiral’s plan, one of the oldest in the book he’d told him. The aim was to draw Niias’s flagship and its escort on with the aim of isolating it. Then ignoring everything else the rebels would concentrate all their efforts on those, relatively few ships, regardless of losses. The admiral argued that if they could remove the head of the snake then its body, the rest of the Confederation forces, would lose impetus and be thrown into confusion. Bleak could see the admiral’s plan working, the rebel centre was under heavy fire which seemed to encourage general Niias to overcommit his flagship and immediate covering vessels, putting him in danger of becoming isolated.

  Bleak knew it was his time to act. With the admiral’s total concentration on the critical moments of his plan, which were now unfolding, he undid his battle harness. As the ship was being buffeted by the colossal forces being released around it Bleak staggered to back of the bridge and deactivated the blast doors. Entering the corridor, above the muffled din of multiple concussions that shook the fabric of the ship he heard the admiral shout, ‘Commander!’

  The immediate corridor was deserted with all the ship’s crew at battle stations. He had just reached the drop tube that would take him down to engineering when an explosion on the port side pitched the ship sideways. It lifted Bleak off his feet, throwing him into the bulkhead, then onto his back. Rolling to his knees he caught his breath before entering the drop tube, just hoping they didn’t take a direct hit when he was in it. He knew that would, in all probability disturb the field, causing him to plummet down thirty floors, coming to a very sudden and terminal stop. To his relief he exited at engineering alive and with his sidearm at the ready. Three ratings and the chief engineer were strapped into their harnesses, monitoring the fluctuations and compensations the ship was making in reaction to the elemental forces that were distorting space around it. The nearest man to Bleak turned and opened his mouth. Bleak put two slugs in him, exploding his chest, before had uttered a word. The other two suffered a similar fate before they had time to register what had happened to their comrade.

  Bleak then entered the secondary bridge area. This was in the heart of the vessel and allowed full control of the ship in the event that the main bridge was destroyed. Inside were his, as commander, second in command and a skeleton crew. The man had just started to salute when Bleak shot him and the other three who were manning the secondary helm, shield and master weapons controls. Bleak pulled his number two out of his harnesses and sat himself in the command chair. A quick scan told him that the ship was in the thick of the battle. However, it had only sustained minor damage on the port side, as it was still being protected by its own escort, although they themselves were under heavy fire. For the moment it seemed they were giving as good as they received. A more detailed examination of status revealed that when he’d entered shield energy was being directed towards the number one starboard engine which had sustained a glancing blow causing power fluctuations. The ship was decreasing that engine’s power output while compensating with the number two starboard engine. Those on the main bridge would hardly be aware of the changes.

  Bleak took a deep breath and entered his commander’s override, diverting all control to the secondary bridge and cutting off the automatic overrides as he did so. Red light now bathed the room and alarms would be sounding throughout the ship. He could imagine first the confusion and then panic on the main bridge as they realised what had happened. In the few seconds that it took for them to react he had shut down the number two starboard engine, diverting all power to the defective number one engine. What had been minor fluctuations well within operational parameters now cycled to extreme levels. New alarms added their voice to the cacophony. The comms erupted with the admiral’s voice. ‘What the hell is going on down there!’ Bleak ignored it.

  The ship bucked like a wild animal under attack. Having not wanted to waste precious seconds fastening the harness, Bleak was flung across the room, slamming into the door he’d entered by. He heard a crack as his shoulder took the force of the impact. Agony flamed down his left side. Shutting down the pain and using his good arm he hauled himself up the now canting deck. The ship bucked again and Bleak heard a deep grinding and renting howl as the ships superstructure failed to contain the wildly varying forces being exerted on it by the now out of control engine.

  As the vessel fought to right itself Bleak, holding his left arm across his body, made it to the exit doors and the corridor that led directly to the escape pods. These were situated as close as possible to what would normally be a last resort of ship command. Somewhere beneath his feet a vibration shuddered through the ship. The floor buckled. Smoke and the smell of burning power lines drifted out of the nearest ventilation duct causing him to cough. As he neared the escape pods Bleak heard the crack of a projectile weapon. A split second later he felt the agony of a slug slicing through his leg. It was only the fact that he was twisting and droppin
g to the floor that saved him from a second slug hitting him in the chest. Instead it grazed a path along his ribs. As he fell he aimed his own weapon at one of the ratings that he’d shot when he first arrived. The injured man must have dragged himself along the corridor and was now slumped against the door to the nearest pod. As Bleak’s finger closed on the trigger the gun dropped from the man’s fingers. Bleak hesitated and then as he hit the floor agony shot through his leg followed by a second jolt as he landed on his broken shoulder.

  He must have blacked out. He hoped it had just been for a second or two. When he opened his eyes the corridor was filling with an acrid smelling smoke that could only be burning between deck insulation. He dragged himself across to the pod door which, sensing him, opened. He checked on the rating who was unconscious but still breathing and ignoring the pain that seemed to flow in waves through his body he dragged the man with him into the escape pod. As the door closed he smacked a hand on the eject button and then cried out as he was pinned against a wall by the force of the ejection. Battling against blacking out again he disabled the detection beacon. Then he lay on the floor next to the rating while the pod picked its own route out of the battle zone. He’d done everything he could, he just hoped it was enough. As his vision clouded and narrowed he gave up fighting to stay conscious. Eyes closing he trusted his fate to the belief that with the violent mayhem playing out around them the last thing anyone would be looking for was a single escape pod.

  Eight