Fringe Ambush, page 1
FRINGE AMBUSH
(Deception War Book 1)
by
Matt Edsand
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, organizations, places, events and incidents are either products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
Text copyright (c) 2023 by Matt Edsand
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the author.
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Table of Contents
FOLLOW MATT EDSAND
ONE
TWO
THREE
FOUR
FIVE
SIX
SEVEN
EIGHT
NINE
TEN
ELEVEN
TWELVE
THIRTEEN
FOURTEEN
FIFTEEN
SIXTEEN
SEVENTEEN
EIGHTEEN
NINETEEN
TWENTY
TWENTY-ONE
TWENTY-TWO
TWENTY-THREE
TWENTY-FOUR
TWENTY-FIVE
TWENTY-SIX
TWENTY-SEVEN
TWENTY-EIGHT
TWENTY-NINE
THIRTY
THIRTY-ONE
THIRTY-TWO
THIRTY-THREE
THIRTY-FOUR
THIRTY-FIVE
THIRTY-SIX
THIRTY-SEVEN
THIRTY-EIGHT
THIRTY-NINE
FORTY
FORTY-ONE
FORTY-TWO
FORTY-THREE
FORTY-FOUR
FORTY-FIVE
FORTY-SIX
FORTY-SEVEN
FORTY-EIGHT
FORTY-NINE
FIFTY
FIFTY-ONE
FIFTY-TWO
FIFTY-THREE
FIFTY-FOUR
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ONE
Bridge,
UFP Johnston
Captain Crendall could not afford to lean back in his chair. Much of that had to do with the fact that he was surrounded by Vartok enemy crew masquerading as humans on the bridge. He could not get past the irony that being the only human on-board, he was in command of the crew and the vessel. These enemy crew would follow his commands. At least, to a reasonable extent unless he violated the terms of his forced command. He was also cognizant of the fact that he did not have an XO for his vessel. Crendall had been curious as to why the Vartok species had not assigned him one, but he had decided not to push it. In some ways, the lack of an XO made it easier on Crendall because, if not, he would have been forced to regularly interact with the XO. Something he despised, but tried not to show.
“Captain, we are ready to break orbit,” the navigation officer reported. “Course has been set for Richter One base station.”
Despite joining the crew only five days ago, Crendall still couldn’t get used to the male and female Vartok masquerading as humans. One month ago, he wouldn’t have thought it was possible. When he had been told of the plan by the Vartok, Crendall had scoffed at the absurdity of the idea. However, soon he had been compelled to eat his own words.
“Proceed,” Crendall ordered.
There was no need to check how long their journey to Richter One base station would be. He had memorized it by heart. Two days. That was all it would take for the Praelium-class UFP Johnston to reach the base station.
Three months had been another milestone for him. It was three months ago when he, his wife and teenage daughter had been captured by the Vartok species. He had been on a well-deserved extended shore leave with his family. Something he had often promised them over the years, but had kept postponing because of his duty to the fleet. Crendall had always put his duty first above all else. He took pride in his ability to serve UFP under all circumstances. Finally, UFP Space Command had given him an opening and, to the delight of his family, Crendall wholeheartedly grabbed it. He was about to fulfill a string of broken promises. He had even let his family pick the location and they had picked one the farthest away from UFP Space Command. He suspected his wife and daughter wanted to ensure he was far enough that UFP could not call him back for anything urgent. Once the two of them had informed him of their destination, Crendall had begun to feel excited. For once, he would not have a care in the galaxy. Instead, he could simply enjoy the trip with his family without any interruptions. There was no need to keep looking behind him. No XO and crew to keep tabs on. Instead, he was free to indulge with his family. Crendall couldn’t even remember when he had last felt like that. However, their excursion to a desolate planet along the border of the UFP had turned into a nightmare. Crendall hadn’t given much though to the planet, thinking it would be a great place away from the stress of UFP Space Command. Many Captains were known to take their shore leave in the fringes of UFP Space. Nothing unusual. The ability to sit on a planet with no interruptions was a luxury. His family’s choice of the planet had a small colony on it. Small enough that Crendall could blend in, without being recognized as a UFP Captain. However, Crendall and his family never had the chance to set foot on the planet. Rather, the emergence of two heavily armed Vartok shuttles had yanked Crendall from the dream of his shore leave with his family. At first, he had thought his eyes were deceiving him, but the moment he saw the Vartok pilots, everything changed. Crendall still couldn’t recall how the Vartok had known of his position, but, in the end, it hadn’t mattered. Crendall hadn’t been able to put up much resistance. For the sake of his family, he had been forced to surrender. The terror in his family’s eyes had been additional evidence not to do anything stupid. At the time of his capture, Crendall was shocked to discover that the Vartok species had the ability to communicate if they wanted to. This contrasted with everything he had grown up knowing of the Vartok species.
The Vartok species was an old enemy that Earth and the United Federation of Planets had defeated during the Ten-Year War that engulfed the galaxy. The war had been bitter with millions of casualties on every side. Out of nowhere, the Vartok species had appeared and been focused on wiping out humanity. Humanity had never encountered such a ferocious enemy as the Vartok. The Vartok conquered many planets with Earth-like conditions, wiping out species once and for all. The Vartok never believed in taking prisoners. Their goal had always been eradication, but they suffered major mistakes that cost them their fleet and nearly their home world. In the end, the UFP had been able to push the Vartok back, before making a colossal mistake. Humanity had shown mercy to the Vartok species and given them a chance to live, outside the boundaries of UFP space. Crendall had been a young Commander in that war. He hadn’t known better then and had simply followed the orders from UFP Space Command and his superiors. The war had taken its toll on Crendall, but he had been glad to come out of it unscathed, both mentally and physically. However, looking around him on this bridge, humanity’s mercy towards the Vartok species had been its biggest mistake.
“Aye, Captain,” the navigation officer replied, as he turned and flashed a smile.
Crendall struggled not to cringe at the navigation officer’s smile. Instead, Crendall returned a forced smile. The Vartok species weren’t stupid. Every member of his crew knew he was being coerced to do this mission. If he didn’t agree to the terms of his command, the consequences were clear. He would never see his wife and daughter alive again. As Crendall’s eyes shifted across the bridge, he was amazed at how well the Vartok crew had adapted to operate their stations within a UFP vessel. None of them exhibited any difficulty in managing their stations. In fact, nearly all of them appeared as good as any human.
The comms officer turned to him. “The attack forces have arrived around Richter One.”
The sound of glee in the comms officer’s tone was unmistakable and it sickened Crendall to the core. However, he was wise enough to keep his emotions in check. He was commanding a vessel amongst the enemy. This was neither the time nor place to stand on his convictions. He had to submit to the Vartok and follow their plan for the sake of his family.
Crendall had initially thought that the UFP Johnston was the vessel to lead the charge to attack the Richter One base station, but that hadn’t been the plans of Chopat, the Vartok Vice-Admiral. The Vartok’s plans for him were far more sinister than he had imagined. That, itself, was unsettling. The Vartok wouldn’t have captured him all for a simple plan. There had to be more. He had also overheard two of his crew saying that the Vartok had been planning this attack on humanity for years.
TWO
Bridge,
UFP Griffins
“Tubes one to five ready,” the tactical officer shouted.
“Launch the first round of Gyro missiles,” Captain Norman barked.
Norman was still reeling from the fact that his vessel had run into a group of Vartok cruisers that had emerged out of nowhere. They had been hiding behind an asteroid belt beyond Richter One, which housed the Richter One base station on the surface. The vessel’s sensors had
“Launched,” the tactical officer confirmed.
The Gyro missiles streaked out of the UFP Griffins in a ferocious trajectory towards the six Vartok cruisers. Norman felt his chair vibrate briefly. To Norman’s knowledge, this was the first time the Gyro missiles were being deployed against a live enemy. He wet his lips, as the missiles neared the enemy vessels. To his dismay, a few of them were destroyed by the Vartok cannons, while the others succumbed to enemy evasive tactics.
“Did we get any hits?” Norman asked.
“One missile hit its target,” the tactical officer reported.
One missile was better than nothing. It would have been a massive embarrassment if the first launch of the Gyro missiles had failed to even reach its target. Something Norman preferred not to be known for.
“Any breaches on that vessel?” Norman asked.
“Minor damage at most,” the tactical officer reported. “Appears that its hull remains intact.”
Norman was displeased by the outcome. To him, it was an outright failure. He had wanted to be the first UFP Captain to destroy a Vartok cruiser with a Gyro missile, which would have helped beef up his credibility as Captain. Being a younger Captain, Norman had been silently unhappy of being posted into the outer stations. Most UFP Captains detested the outer stations, due to the realization that nothing of interest was out there, except mundane patrols that could last months upon months. However, Norman had accepted his posting as a new Captain, knowing he needed to go through the process and hope for better commands in the future. When he had shared the news with his family, his wife and two teenage daughters had been stunned. They had been mentally prepared for him to be posted to a vessel, but they never expected it to be on the fringe of UFP space. It had come as a rude awakening to his family, but he had promised them he would spend more time after he completed his posting. Staring down the Vartok species and their cruisers, Norman was starting to doubt whether he could keep his promise.
Commander Pratt, the XO, turned to him. “I think those Vartok vessels have had an upgrade. If not, the Gyro missile should have put a serious dent in the hull.”
Norman agreed. The Vartok appeared to have reinforced their hulls since the last time the UFP defeated them. That was a setback to the Gyro missiles, which had been deployed with much fanfare at UFP Space Command several months back. Norman had to admit it was a proud milestone for humanity. He recalled how much the media on Earth had covered the unveiling of humanity’s next line of defense. However, now it appeared that the Gyro missiles were no different from their predecessors. It didn’t matter that humanity hadn’t heard of the Vartok in over five years. Humanity’s greatest adversary was back, but Norman wasn’t certain what their agenda was in targeting Richter One and its base station. Richter One being part of the outer stations of the UFP wouldn’t make any top list of targets for an enemy. Frankly, it would be the least interesting one. Despite that, Norman realized the Vartok had a reason for targeting Richter One and he intended to uncover it.
“Enemy missiles incoming,” the sensor officer reported.
Norman looked up at the screen. The lead Vartok cruiser had unloaded its missiles.
“How many?” Norman asked.
“Twenty, sir,” the sensor officer replied.
That was a lot of missiles hurtling towards their vessel. The Vartok species hadn’t changed in their determination.
“They mean business,” his XO remarked.
“Fire at those missiles,” Norman ordered.
Counter battery weapons fire rushed forward into the path of the incoming missiles. They managed to knock down fifteen of the missiles. The remaining five missiles continued to close in on the UFP Griffins.
“Take them down,” Norman commanded.
Multiple rounds of cannon fire began to streak towards the remaining missiles. Three of the five missiles were destroyed. A chorus of cheers went up across the bridge. There were two missiles still left.
“We aren’t in the clear yet,” Norman stated. “Can we destroy the remaining two?”
“Negative, sir,” the tactical officer replied.
“Brace for impact,” Pratt shouted.
Norman gritted his teeth and gripped his console. A shudder rolled through the UFP Griffins as the two missiles impacted with the outer hull. However, no red alerts were triggered.
“Damage report?” Norman asked.
“None, sir,” the tactical officer reported.
Norman smiled to himself. Just as the Vartok had done upgrades to their vessels, so had the UFP. He chuckled, imagining the chatter amongst the Vartok crew about the fact that their missiles had also failed.
“Has the Priority-1 comms been sent to Earth?” Norman questioned.
“Aye, Captain,” the comms officer reported.
UFP Space Command on Earth needed to be informed as quickly as possible of the attack by the Vartok species so that they could send in additional vessels. The UFP Griffins alone wouldn’t be able to hold the line against so many Vartok cruisers.
The sensor officer turned to him. “One of the Vartok vessels broke formation.”
“What is its intended course?” Pratt asked.
“Richter One,” the sensor officer replied.
THREE
Hangar Bay,
UFP Griffins
“Where is Wheeler?” Major Thomas snapped, checking his device.
Wheeler was the newest addition to his marine unit. Thomas had been quietly unhappy about being allocated a junior combat specialist, who probably hadn’t seen any combat outside of his training base back on Earth. He had let the matter slide because out here around Richter One there was not much activity to be expected and felt it would be an ample opportunity to train up the recruit. Most people never chose to be posted into this region of space. Thomas felt the junior combat specialist hadn’t had a choice, but to accept his posting. However, everything had changed with the appearance of the Vartok cruisers.
“Major, he will be here in a few minutes,” Senior Combat Specialist Riley replied.
“A few minutes too late I think,” Senior Combat Specialist Anderson scoffed. “We should leave him behind. If he can’t be here on time, he isn’t worthy of being part of our unit.”
Thomas had been tempted to do so, but his orders were to take the entire unit and he would be the first to admit he needed every soldier, especially if he had to engage the Vartok species.
“Sir, I am being dead serious,” Anderson commented.
Anderson was the most senior combat specialist in his unit. There was no one else Thomas would trust out there on the battlefield. However, his no-nonsense approach was one of the reasons Anderson could never get himself promoted. He didn’t understand how to approach a matter tactfully and he seemed not to care about it. Instead, Anderson enjoyed being everyone else’s pain in the ass.
Thomas checked his device. “We will give him another two minutes.”
Then, a non-uniformed man approached them. “Major Thomas, I presume?”
“Yes, and who are you?” Thomas asked.
“Williams, sir,” the tall, thin man introduced himself. “I am from UFP Space Command - Intelligence Division. I have been assigned to your unit for this mission.”
“Oh, not again,” Anderson groaned.
Thomas turned and glared at him. Anderson’s inability to control his tongue was one day going to get him into so much trouble that no one would be able to save him.
“Here are my papers from Admiral Hart,” Williams said.
Thomas took the papers and examined them carefully. “Do you have any combat experience?”
Williams hesitated. “I know how to use a weapon if that is what you mean?”
“Have you been in the middle of a battle?” Thomas asked.
“No, sir,” Williams replied.
Thomas caught a glimpse of Anderson shaking his head in dismay. The moment Anderson saw Thomas staring, he stopped and looked away.
