Gliese Chronicles: Thin Margin

"Excellent idea Commander."

"Helm, bring us to the same relative position to their starboard. You are free to maneuver."

"Aye, Captain. Free to maneuver."

When we were in position on the opposite side of the alien vessel a large gaping hole was visible. Our torpedoes had done significant damage. I wondered how much internal damage had been inflicted that was not visible. Seeing this damage indicated we had found a vulnerability that could be used again. Of course, the problem was once we attacked in the same fashion it would be apparent it had not been an accident.

"Commander, I think we will need to attack both the hangar bay and bridge of the other large ship this time. Our element of surprise will be gone once we strike again. Your thoughts."

"I agree. Once we engage this time we should attack as many vessels as we can and then pull away to a safe distance. Hit and run tactics will be the best way to proceed now that we know our weapons are effective—using our penetrator torpedoes and the explosive devices in tandem seemed to work well."

The enemy vessels had slowed their speed. Though there was no indication another ship was coming to render aid. Suggesting they were managing damage control effectively with resources available onboard. We were about to inflict additional damage and observe if that situation changed.

"Helm bring us abeam of the damaged vessel. Free to maneuver with our stern tubes to bear, standing off at three kilometers."

I brought the ship to general quarters as we moved into position on the damaged alien ship. With the screen at half magnification the area we suspected as the bridge showed what appeared to be windows. They were darkened and didn't allow a view of the interior of the vessel or its occupants. Our com survey indicated a great deal of activity---even more than during the first survey--I assumed due to their efforts to coordinate repairs and communicate with other ships of the fleet.

Prepared as before, only this time using the stern tubes three and four, the two torpedoes had been loaded and programmed. I felt a bit anxious again as we came directly abeam of this massive ship. We were now positioned above the elevation of their hull. I wondered if they would see us uncloak this time and have enough time to warn the other ships of our presence. Not that it would make that much difference, they would realize in a matter of minutes that something more than an accident had taken place and the remaining vessels would go on full alert.

"Weapons, target the bridge of vessel, fire tubes three and four."

The firing sequence unfolded the same as the first time, this time the sequence took eight seconds to complete. Seconds later the bridge erupted in a flash of orange, this time evidence that depressurization of the hull had taken place as small objects were expelled from the hole where the bridge had been. Having seen enough I made orders to come abeam the other large vessel. Six minutes later the ship was in position abeam and we repeated our attack with the same result. I quickly ordered an attack on the hangar bays and found we didn't have to wait long for a vessel to leave from the starboard side. The enemy was coming alive in frenzied activity. We fired our stern torpedoes and quickly left to engage the nearest warship.

My decision this time was to disable their hangar bay first, hoping to eliminate what I expected were small fighter vessels from engaging our own fleet. After all, it was the only source of imminent danger they were aware of. They had not launched these craft as their laser weapons had been effective as offensive weapons, keeping our vessels from inflicting damage. I hoped our own laser weapons would be as effective in dealing with these small crafts. If we could keep the number low it would be to our forces benefit. In short order their hangar bay erupted in flame, parts flying off in all directions, and evidence of depressurization evident. Our penetrator torpedo ripping through their ship was devastating to their crew spaces. I quickly placed us into position, sending two torpedoes into their bridge. The ship began to move erratically as steering control was lost. I quickly moved my ship away as the small craft were now moving erratically about seeking the source of the attack.

"Helm, take evasive action as needed, move us out to the edge of their fleet and maintain relative position."

"Aye Captain, evasive action, maintain speed and course with the alien fleet."

I slumped down into my seat. I had gotten up and paced the deck during the last attack. I looked at Morgan as he studied his console.

"Captain, it appears we have disabled three of their main vessels. The com report shows reduced communications after the attacks."

"Thank you, Commander. Lets' sit a while and see what they do."

"Agreed. Communications from our fleet indicate they are standing firm. They see the activity and aren't sure what has happened."

I looked at Morgan and smiled. "Sometimes remaining unknown to your own people has advantages. They can't accidentally leak what they don't know."

"Shall we secure from general quarters to rest the crew?"

"Yes. Go to condition green so they can get some sleep. We can sit here as long as we need to before engaging again. You should rest too, spell me in three hours. We both need to be sharp before engaging again."

Morgan changed our readiness condition as I looked at my chronometer—I was shocked. We had spent the last six hours at general quarters. What had seemed like minutes had actually taken hours. Those firing sequences had taken time to set up between each period of observation.

"Okay, I'll be in my quarters. Wake me when you're ready."

I smiled, wishing I could lie in bed with him. But duty first. We still had a fight to the finish, though I hoped the alien fleet would decide to turn away, repair their damage, and look for another location to procure the resources they needed. I turned my attention back to the monitors and looked towards the enemy fleet—there were small craft flying around everywhere, the other warship had come in to assist the warship we had hit, it seemed to be stationary. I realized the enemy fleet had come to a halt. We had definitely slowed their advance—a major achievement.

I pondered what to do next as I listened to chatter from our own ships. They were mystified by the behavior of the enemy fleet. They had continued to probe the enemy fleet and had turned back attacks by the smaller armed craft, destroying two with laser fire when they came too close. I wondered how long our luck would last. Images of my prior battles appeared in my mind, my time in the escape capsule among them.

We had been lucky as our capsule had been mostly hidden by other debris. The other two escape capsules had been in the clear and the enemy vessels had used their laser cannon to destroy them without pause. Forty-four crew lost in total. There had been only four of us in our capsule, the last of the bridge crew able to fight our way through the twisted metal and fiber cables to the hatch to the capsule, two of the crew suffering from burns. I turned my attention to the monitors, not wanting to remember the details, the tortured, burned faces.

"Helm, go to your quarters, have Robb take your place."

"Aye, Captain."

I watched as Lieutenant Evans left his seat as Robb, our bridge humanoid robot, took his place. I closed my eyes briefly, thankful that we had five robots included in the crew. They had been able to help by briefly spelling crew members to use the head or to bring food and drink to their stations. Sometimes it was the small things that kept a crew sharp and competent. I hoped our medical robots would not have to be used, though I knew this was unlikely, even if it were not our own crew members. There were still ten enemy vessels left-- including one of the largest vessels and three warships. We had now proven we could damage them with our torpedoes and so far there was no indication they had detected Avenger.

Now, I had to decide on the best course of action once it was time to engage the enemy again. Of course, that in part depended on what action they took. If they turned away perhaps we should not pursue them, but then we would have to follow them far enough to make sure they were simply not going to repair the damage we had inflicted and return, instead of returning to intergalactic space. I felt my eyes grow heavy.

"Captain", Robb said.

"Yes, Robb. What is it?"

"Captain, I suggest it's time for you to get some rest. Commander Morgan has been in his quarters for three hours."

"Thank you, Robb," as I checked the time, it had indeed been three hours. I had no sooner looked back towards the screens when I heard a voice behind me.

"Captain, I'm here to relieve you," as Morgan came and settled into his chair.

I looked into his eyes, those wonderful eyes. They had always drawn me in. I smiled, I couldn't help it.

"Thanks. I'll be in my quarters. Wake me when you feel you need to."

"I will, Neenah you look dead on your feet," he said quietly so no one else could hear, his hand coming to rest on my arm.

"I am. Wish I had been with you," I smiled weakly.

"I do too, now go. I'll wake you if the enemy fleet makes a move."

The last thing I remembered was pulling a blanket over my body and commanding the lights to go out.

I awoke four hours later, rubbed my eyes, and went to the head. I stepped into the shower chamber and stood in the warm mist, then dried off. I changed into a fresh uniform and immediately went to the mess to eat before returning to the bridge. I was confident taking my time as I knew Morgan would have gotten me up otherwise. Still, I wondered what the enemy had been up to while I slept, surely they must have taken some action. As I stepped onto the bridge the call "Captain on deck" was announced which I quickly acknowledged with the standard 'as you were'.

I settled into my chair and quickly reviewed the screens. I was surprised at what I saw. Morgan looked at me with a frown.

"That's right, they've been gathering all of the debris and taking it back to their large ships. It appears they need it to affect repairs. There's no indication they are about to turn away and return to intergalactic space."

Of course, most of the debris had scattered and kept going in whatever direction it was going, but some had collided with another piece, changing its velocity and trajectory. Some of the larger pieces had remained within the space occupied by their fleet. It made sense to collect it, as raw materials could be had—specific alloys of metals used in the components of their vessels ready-made. Otherwise, they would have had to be processed and manufactured, taking more time, by reusing the debris they could shortcut the process considerably. It certainly appeared they had been very effective in gathering all they could. I turned to the screen showing the largest ships and saw the gaping holes were still visible; apparently, they were using the material to affect internal repairs.

"Seems to indicate they aren't too concerned about being attacked by our fleet does it?" As I looked at Morgan.

"No, Captain it doesn't," his brow furrowed.

"Commander, has Comm been able to discern verbal communications between their ships yet?"

"No, none. All we intercept are signals used in communicating with devices, their command and control have been taken over by the larger warships and have not yet been restored to the two larger vessels. It appears attacking the sensors and command centers was a wise move. I suggest we do the same to the two remaining warships and then the remaining vessels."

I hate to repeat a pattern they have already seen. I think we should hit them in the hull with two penetrator torpedoes to cause more internal damage and then go after the hangar deck on the remaining warship to thwart future use of their attack craft. That would force them to either fill the remaining ship's hangars with them or use their damaged hangars where they are bringing in supplies for their repairs.

"I like that idea, the only thing I would change is to hit the warship hangar first, where we could destroy as many of their small craft as possible before they were launched again once if we hit the largest vessels."

I smiled at Morgan. There was a reason I valued him, well actually, more than one reason as an image of me lying atop him came into my mind. He was thoughtful in his responses and was willing to offer something I had not thought of. I liked his idea.

"Okay. First, let's brief the crew on results so far and then go to general quarters."

I gave a summary of the damage we had caused, told the crew their performance had been excellent and that we would engage the enemy again. The crew was well-rested and the expressions on the faces of the bridge crew were telling—they were eager to take it to the enemy again.

I positioned Avenger astern of the undamaged warship, standing off three kilometers, launched the two torpedo combinations we had used previously, and quickly moved to the nearest larger vessel and successfully sent two penetrator torpedoes into their hull amidships from the forward tubes. In three minutes we did the same to the first large vessel we had attacked.

It was then it happened. All hell broke loose, with every ship in the enemy fleet sending out every attack craft they had—they were spraying laser fire everywhere they wouldn't hit their own vessels. There was a lot of empty space to cover but they were in a frenzy. All it would take is one lucky shot from one of them as we attempted to attack another vessel and we would be swarmed immediately after we uncloaked again. Avenger had been engaged for an hour, with hits on three ships. I was eager to begin attacks on their smaller ships but was surprised they had so many attack craft to sortie. It was time to pause and reevaluate the tactical situation.

"Captain, their small ships are crisscrossing and laying down laser fire to the outside of their formation. If they don't hit us with lasers we stand a good chance of being rammed as they can't see us," Morgan stated calmly.

I didn't want to have to fight my way back in if we continued to leave their formation, it would only add risk. We were about halfway out at reduced speed so we could evaluate the damage we had caused—I reluctant to give up that opportunity.

"Helm. Bring us around. Take us to within half a kilometer of the last ship we struck, and come to station alongside. Take evasive action as needed."

"Aye, aye, Captain," came the response from the helm.

I felt my level of tension increase as Avenger bobbed and weaved within the enemy formation, narrowly avoiding laser fire on two occasions and being rammed on another. Despite this, I observed the crew had remained calm and professional. It took almost eight minutes to get inside their defensive fire and come to station alongside their large ship. I watched the monitors as their attack craft worked their way methodically to the outside of their formation. I estimated about forty altogether, then I noticed the remaining ships draw closer—they were tightening up their formation for mutual fire support. Morgan noticed it too.

"Guess we made them unhappy," He said with a grin.

"That changes our tactical situation. We take a bigger chance of being seen with all of them so close once we uncloak. It's time to be patient and see how they form up. Then we can make a decision on how to proceed. Since we don't seem to have been detected I'm going to go to condition yellow."

"May as well. If they do manage to detect us at this close a range the best thing to do is use our speed to advantage and run like hell. That should give us enough time to come to general quarters."

Morgan and I watched the monitors and saw the warship we had struck was now acting as the communications hub for the fleet. Now, I wished we had hit their bridge too. The good news was it meant the communications on the ships we had hit had not been repaired yet. We watched as the formation came together—we could now see almost every one of their vessels clearly—only those opposite the large vessel we were next to were hidden from view.

"Helm, bring us below their ship so we can see the other side of the formation."

Aye, Captain, "Maneuvering."

It was almost eerie being so close to a ship that made us look puny by comparison—even though we were. One thing we had proven—with the right combination of weapons these ships had been brought to a standstill. I still held out hope they would elect to turn around and head elsewhere. The trickle of ships bringing repair materials to the largest ships had ended. Another sign we had caused a major disruption and caused enough damage to gain their attention.

About half an hour later Morgan looked at me with a serious expression, "Captain, I think we should engage them again. This time let's get within a hundred meters of this large ship, just under their stern, and fire a brace of torpedoes into one of their medium-sized vessels. Then we can maneuver to a position near the beam and see how they react."

I had to admit I was leery of waiting any longer. There was no indication we had been detected and the longer we remained this close something was bound to happen—either by us or by them, by accident or on purpose. I looked at Morgan.

"Commander, I think you should coordinate the attack. I agree it's time to re-engage."

I watched as he conducted a survey of the ships, taking into account three-dimensional space. The two largest vessels plus the large warships were placed in the center of a diamond, all with overlapping fields of fire from their laser cannons based upon our analysis. He looked at me with a serious expression.

"Once we fire this next salvo we should move to the next ship astern. I'm going to target a ship at the bottom of the formation where we can hit them on their topside. This time hitting their bridge and their propulsion system. That should put them out of commission for good. Then do the same thing once we get below the other large ship, only this time target the bridge of the warship we hit last, taking out their bridge and sensors so their communications are further degraded."

I nodded my approval, then smiled, "I like the way you think Commander."

I brought the crew to general quarters and Morgan brought the ship to bear on the first ship—this time using explosive warheads. This time it took a total of ten seconds to conduct the firing sequence—the crew was showing some signs of fatigue. I felt naked the whole time we were made visible and watched the monitors with a tight feeling in my stomach. I wondered if we were doing the right thing, wondered if we shouldn't make an attempt to communicate with them from a position of strength.

Morgan ordered Avenger to the stern of the second large vessel and set up a firing solution for the bridge of the warship we had destroyed the hangar deck of earlier. Now, I was pleased we had taken those attack craft out of the game.

This time the firing sequence took eight seconds and we watched as the torpedoes struck the bridge with a bright flash of the explosive-laden warheads. The ship slowly yawed to port. Morgan quickly moved Avenger forward to the first large vessel, this time on the port side, staying within two hundred meters of their hull.

We had no sooner arrived on station than the rear-facing monitors showed a large secondary explosion from the warship we had targeted. Apparently, the fuel stores for the attack craft had been hit. I watched as a large piece of debris headed straight for us. We had limited maneuvering ability being so close to the large alien vessel.

Helm! Down-thrust now! I ordered loudly.