The Price of Conquest

"Transfer in thirty seconds. Mark… now and counting," the Stingray's ITD officer reported.

Jonathan steeled himself for the transfer. He may have discovered the principle behind the IT drive, but nowhere did it say he had to like its effects. The human body had not evolved to endure such forces.

He sighed quietly. What Kressa found at Vsuna worried him. With Shaw's vow to take the Free Worlds, it seemed logical he would go for Vsuna sooner or later, probably sooner considering the circumstances that led to Vsuna becoming a Free World, but Kressa said it was one of Gaunis's ships that picked her up. Was Gaunis determined to help Shaw? Or did he simply intend to steal some of Shaw's glory, as Kressa had suggested?

A warning tone sounded. A second later, the universe tilted and sideslipped. Something took hold of Jonathan's stomach and brain, and knotted them together. Pale green flashes exploded before his eyes, and his mouth filled with red. It tasted like copper and sounded like the wind. After a long moment, the sensations ceased.

"Transfer complete, sir. Right on target." The voice didn't sound much better than Jonathan felt.

"Good job again." Jonathan glanced at the main viewer. "What the—?!"

"Sensors here, sir. There's a regular war going on out there."

Jonathan gaped at the image on the screen. The sensor officer had exaggerated, but not by much. There were a lot of ships out there, and according to the transponder readings, Admiral Gaunis's dreadnought, the Kinsa, led the attack.

"Battle stations!" Jonathan ordered.

The bridge burst into activity.

Jonathan glanced back at Lieutenant Dakk, the Stingray's communication officer. "Lieutenant, report our situation to Arecia. Any word from Vsuna?"

"Negative, sir," Dakk said. "Local signals are being jammed."

"See what you can do to cut through the jamming. Sensors, get me details on that battle. I want to know how the Vsunans are doing."

Jonathan had read a report on the Vsunan navy, and Halav had warned him personally about its leader, the sometimes hot-headed ex-Patrol commander, Dania Vel. Jonathan had mixed feelings about meeting Vel and even more about fighting beside her.

The Stingray's holographic battle schematic shimmered into existence before his station, and he turned his full attention to it. The information it reflected did not look promising. The Vsunan fleet had taken a lot of damage, and the Cheops, Vel's heavy cruiser, sat right in the thick of it. Fortunately, the battle hadn't broken down all the way. After a brief study of the Vsunan ships' positions, Jonathan began to grasp Vel's defense plan. Under different circumstances, it might work, but there were too many enemy vessels for the limited Vsunan forces to deal with. What they needed was a chance to turn from defense to offense. That was where the Stingray could help.

Jonathan put in a call to Reese Alyn, commander of the Stingray's fighter wing. "Alyn, I want you to take your ships out now. Move in slowly, choose your targets, then hit 'em fast and hard."

"Aye-aye, Captain!" The man sounded positively ecstatic. "Have a good time."

"Yeah, you too," Jonathan said, then signaled the ITD station. "Plot a jump that'll lay us in between Gaunis's dreadnought and the planet, and try to avoid getting us too near any friendlies. We don't want to upset their present strategy any more than we have to. Transfer as soon as our fighters are clear."

"Acknowledged, sir."

The officer's reply sounded calm, but Jonathan knew he must be sweating. What he just asked for had never been done under any but the most ideal conditions, with all factors known and controlled, and plenty of room for error. An error now could put them too close to the planet or in the path of another ship, friendly or otherwise.

The bridge crew waited quietly while the ITD officer worked out the coordinates for the transfer. Finally, the officer reported his readiness. Seconds later, Commander Alyn signaled his fighters had launched.

Jonathan knew Halav had sent word about the Stingray to Vel days ago. What was she going to think when the ship suddenly appeared in the middle of the battle? He glanced back at the ITD station, then hesitated. Should he wait until Dakk found a way to cut through the jamming on the comm channels and risk losing the element of surprise? He gave a mental shake of his head; every minute he hesitated could mean the loss of more lives.

"Any time," he told the ITD officer.

The man nodded and the familiar tone sounded. An instant later, the universe twisted into a tight spiral, bending Jonathan with it, and then straightened suddenly. His skin tingled, and he braced for collision, ready for alarms that never came.

"We made it!" someone cried.

The Kinsa lay directly to port.

"Port batteries, fire!" Jonathan ordered.

It took a measurable instant for the Stingray's targeting computers to make sense of the sudden chaos surrounding the ship, then they locked on target. The main screen displayed the Stingray's attack as pulsing blue-white lances. For what felt like nearly a full minute—but had to be much shorter, Jonathan knew—they pounded against the dreadnought. The Kinsa's shield began to glow where they struck. The ever brightening sections grew larger as they dispersed the beams' energy over a wider area. Finally, at the point of the most intense concentration of fire, the shield collapsed. Sparks flew and parts of the dreadnought's hull ionized to gas. Blobs of molten metal whirled off into space.

"Fire missiles," Jonathan said.

His battle schematic had reformed after the transfer to show the Stingray's present situation. He watched the missile launch, and then turned his attention to the positions of the closest vessels.

The element of surprise had evaporated with the Stingray's attack on the Kinsa; Patrol vessels swept toward the black ship in a strong but largely disorganized attack.

"Watch it, defense," Jonathan said. "Here they come."

The Stingray's missiles broke through the Kinsa's anti-missile fire in half a dozen places. In the battle schematic, red holo-ships representing enemy vessels began to spark and disappear, destroyed by the Stingray's pulse cannons. A Patrol light cruiser took a direct hit and exploded in a mass of fire and debris. Two smaller ships flying close took damage from the shrapnel. One of the wounded vessels was Vsunan. Jonathan scowled, and studied the overall picture again.

The Stingray's sudden appearance had wreaked havoc with the Patrol fleet's assault, but it had also disrupted part of the Vsunans' defense formation.

Jonathan signaled the comm station. "Dakk, how do local communications look?"

"I should be able to cut through the jamming for ship-to-ship."

"Get me Commander Vel aboard the Cheops."

While the comm officer worked to raise the Vsunan flagship, Jonathan watched the Patrol ships converge in a new attack formation.

"Got her, Captain," Dakk said a moment later. "I'm afraid she's a bit—"

"What in hell do you think you're doing?" an angry feminine voice shrilled over the comm.

"—upset," Dakk finished.

"Commander Vel," Jonathan said, his voice tight but friendly, "this is Jona—"

"That's Captain Vel," came the cold reply.

"Excuse me, Captain," Jonathan said, struggling to keep his tone light. "I apologize for our sudden appearance, but we were in the neighborhood, and it looked like you could use some help to—"

"Help?! You drop that black monstrosity into the middle of a well-organized defense, and call it help? Do you have any idea what you've done to interfere with—?"

Jonathan switched off the comm. Halav had warned him about Vel, but he couldn't afford this, not now, and neither could she. "Dakk, all-call to the Vsunan ships."

"Ready, sir."

The Kinsa had returned to an offensive posture, her massive bulk turned to keep her damaged side away from the Stingray's direct line of attack. The brilliant beams of her pulse cannons came at the Stingray in incredible numbers, but Jonathan wasn't worried about the energy beams; the Stingray's hull could absorb those. His concern was for the missiles Gaunis had launched. Along with those missiles flew the Kinsa's fightercraft. Yet what would that cost Gaunis in fighters? Then he recognized the admiral's plan and realized how Gaunis might justify his losses. As each ship neared the Stingray, it loosed its own pair of missiles, and then turned hard in an attempt to avoid the Stingray's fire.

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The Stingray shuddered as the first of the missiles impacted.

Readouts on Jonathan's board began to flash, warning of damage to the EM-absorbent outer hull. He pursed his lips as the warnings continued to multiply. The Stingray depended on her nelux-coated hull not only for defense but for offensive discharges and smooth ITD transfers, as well.

He got on the comm. "Vsunan vessels, this is Captain Westlex of the Stingray…" He ground his teeth in consternation. He did not want to do this; he needed Vel's help, not her animosity. "Smaller vessels, concentrate on the Patrol fighters. Mid-sized craft, return to defensive positions above Vsuna. The rest of you work on the enemy cruisers. We'll handle the Kinsa."

For a long moment nothing happened, and then the Vsunan fleet began to obey.

"Vel's repeating your orders, Captain," Dakk said, his voice ringing with satisfaction.

Jonathan nodded, too busy to appreciate the victory.

The Stingray fired three discharges, expending the energy the hull had absorbed from the Patrol ships' initial assault. One discharge struck the Kinsa, weakening the shields on her undamaged flank. The second caught a group of incoming fighters and missiles. The third went wild, fired out of desperation as the Stingray took in more energy than she could handle at once.

That could be a real problem, Jonathan realized, perhaps more troublesome than the holes the enemy missiles had torn in the Stingray's black hide. She was an explorer, not designed to withstand full battle; she simply could not process and store that much energy. If the worst came to pass, he could order the converters shut down, but then every hit could cause damage.

Jonathan's battle schematic lit up with a number of newly arrived allied vessels as the Stingray's fighters streaked onto the scene, burning a path through the attacking ships. Jonathan did a quick count of the ships. The fighters constituted only half of the Stingray's complement.

"Alyn, get your fighters on the Kinsa. Take out the guns. Where the hell are the rest of your ships?"

"We ran into some trouble out there, Captain," Alyn's voice crackled over the sounds of battle. "Seems there's a half dozen flying rocks coming in."

Flying rocks? Could they be the th'Maran Enforcers Kressa had mentioned?

"I sent some of my people to see what sort of damage they could do," Alyn continued. "I didn't think you'd want another six ships coming in undamaged."

"You're right about that. Good work." Jonathan returned his full attention to the schematic.

The Vsunan ships were keeping the Patrol fleet occupied and spreading Gaunis's forces thin with their hit-and-run tactics. Most of the smaller Patrol ships that had initially surrounded the Stingray had pulled back or been destroyed. Alyn's fighters completed their second pass at the Kinsa's guns, and dove away to harass the rest of the Patrol fleet. In the wake of the fighter wing, several of the Kinsa's heavy weapon emplacements smoldered in heaps of formless slag.

The damage to the Kinsa forced her into some precise maneuvers to keep an armed and shielded surface facing the Stingray. The Teneian ship made the most of the big warship's wallowing movements. Another discharge tore a chunk out of the dreadnought's spine. The remainder of her companion ships scattered and turned their attention to Vsuna. With her cover gone, the Kinsa turned again and lost ground.

But the dreadnought's floundering was not as random as it appeared, Jonathan realized when six asteroid-hulled Enforcers moved into the space vacated by the dreadnought.

Jonathan gaped in astonishment. Gaunis was using the th'Maran ships as a shield!

"Fire control, hit one of those rocks with a discharge."

A blue-white fireball flashed from the Stingray and impacted one of the asteroids in a tremendous explosion, but when the fire and debris cleared, the ship stood firm. A massive chunk of the asteroid's rocky surface was missing, but the discharge had not breached the ship's infrastructure.

Nice armor, Jonathan thought with a frown.

The asteroid rolled to turn an undamaged face toward its attacker.

The Enforcers began to fire at the Stingray and into the fracas above Vsuna. Behind them, the Kinsa limped away. Jonathan watched for a moment, his mind racing. He checked the hull's damage status to make sure the Stingray could handle another transfer.

"I want each of those Enforcers hit with at least one discharge," he ordered. "ITD, map a jump to their far side, and give them a minimum profile shot." He glanced over his shoulder at the ITD officer. "If you thought that last transfer was tight…"

"Yes, sir."

Jonathan turned his attention to the situation above Vsuna.

Patrol ships had broken through the planetary defenses in a few areas, but for the most part, the planet remained unscathed. Both fleets, however, had been decimated.

Unable to stand up to the combined force of the remaining Vsunan vessels and the weapons on the planet's surface, the Patrol ships began to back off. Save for the Enforcers and the retreating Kinsa, the battle was nearly won.

Without warning, the Cheops swept into view, headed toward the Stingray.

Why was Vel coming out here? Jonathan wondered, and then smiled to himself as he pictured her reaction when the Stingray transferred again.

"Transfer plotted, sir."

"Do it."

The short jumps are the worst, he decided once his eyeballs forced their way out of his brain, his liver unwrapped itself from around his windpipe, and the snakes stopped hissing in his ears.

The Enforcers' gaping wounds now faced the Stingray.

"Discharge!" he ordered. "Aft guns, the Kinsa's all yours."

The first trio of discharges turned three of the damaged Enforcers into brief fireballs. The remaining three began to move, turning their wounded sides away from the Stingray. The Teneian ship used the time the maneuvers took to tear into them.

On the far side of the nearest Enforcer, the Cheops drew into position to aim her main guns straight up the hole left by one of the Stingray's discharges.

"Stingray, Alyn here. We've got another forty or so fresh Patrol fighters out here, headed your way."

Jonathan cursed under his breath. Fresh fighters? Where did they come from? Then he remembered Kressa said the Enforcers carried fighter wings. They must have launched their fighters before moving into the battle, leaving them as backup.

"Defense, find those ships!"

A moment later, the schematic showed four uneven lines of red markers. The two largest dove at the Stingray. The remainder stayed in the Enforcer's shadow, sweeping in toward the Cheops.

"Dakk, tell Cheops she's got company coming in," Jonathan said, and then realized it would hardly matter. Even with the warning, the Cheops wouldn't be able to get out of there fast enough to avoid the fighters' attack.

Vel must have come to the same conclusion; the cruiser did not budge from her course.

Well, the woman's got guts, he thought. But it would do no one any good if it got her killed.

The Kinsa continued to back off, firing steadily. The Stingray's aft guns returned her fire, but the dreadnought was nearing the limit of their effective range. Two of the Enforcers tried to move in on the Stingray, but the black ship's weapons held them back. The third Enforcer lay still, baiting Cheops into position for the fighters' attack. The rest of the Patrol fleet had disappeared.

"Maneuver, bring us in toward Cheops," Jonathan said. "Fire down that Enforcer's throat, pointblank. Defense, get ready for those fighters. The next discharge is for the Enforcer to port."

As the Stingray banked in and fired at the Enforcer, the Cheops fired, as well. The combined power of the two vessels obliterated the asteroid-ship's rock hull and bared the inner structure to attack. Jonathan left the doomed Enforcer to the Cheops and turned the Stingray's guns on the approaching fighter wings.

The fighters that had been moving in for a surprise attack on the Cheops dove for the Stingray instead. Half of them carried missiles. They launched the projectiles while their companions fired at the damaged areas of the Stingray's hull.

A discharge spiraled out from the Stingray. It caught the second Enforcer with a disabling blow. All attacks from the th'Maran ship ceased. Seconds later, another momentary fireball blossomed in the Vsunan system.

The fighters continued their attack.

Jonathan frowned as the number of warning lights on his board continued to grow. "What's that last Enforcer doing?"

"It's broken off the attack, sir. It's retreating."

"ITD, what does it look like for another transfer?" Jonathan asked.

"It's no good, Captain. The hull's in bad shape."

Jonathan scowled. To come this close to victory, only to be taken out by a handful of fightercraft…

"Alyn, could you pick up the pace out there a little? The 'Ray misses her babies."

"Gotcha, Captain. We'll be right there."

The second wave of enemy fighters swept in.

"Come on, Alyn," Jonathan urged under his breath.

A moment later, the rest of the Stingray's fighters arrived, and with them came almost half of the remaining Vsunan fleet. Few of the Patrol pilots possessed the courage, or the foolhardiness, to stand up to such a force. Most broke off their attacks and ran. The Vsunan ships took up the chase.

For a moment, Jonathan considered calling them back, then he thought better of it. This was their world they were fighting for. Their freedom.