DARK ORBIT: The complete series, page 100
“Well, that’s very reassuring. So, what did you have in mind?”
“It’s very simple really. We need to destroy the Golgotha.”
*
Blake took a moment to compose himself. This was it. This was his opportunity to put into practice everything that he’d learned over the years, whether it be in various engineering hubs, studying vast data streams or simply going over crash test footage of various prototypes. And if he got this wrong, he knew that he wouldn’t get another opportunity.
It all came down to this moment and that, in itself, was intimidating.
The first thing he had to do was to reconfigure how he looked at space combat because normally all decisions would be based upon the speed and maneuverability of the ship’s conventional engines but now with the skip drive fully functional – he had to believe that it would work. To try and second guess himself now would be a terrible mistake. He had to fully commit to the science. See it as a hypothetical modelling exercise. That would be far easier for him to grasp rather than the stark reality of what it was they were proposing.
An entirely new iteration of ship-to-ship combat.
And, if he was going to forget about the engines, he needed to focus his attention afresh on the optimal use of thrusters and the ship’s positioning drives. The thrusters were normally only ever used to adjust the ship’s orientation as it came into dock while the positioning drives were a new addition added by his father, custom built for just this kind of ultra-close engagement.
This was the moment when everything would rely on the absolute accuracy of the ship’s handling.
Helpfully, as he looked at each unique firing angle, rolling the camera to examine each one, the ship’s weapons library instantly came up with different firing solutions. Some of which suggested weapons that hadn’t previously been available to him. It was only now, due to the enormous size of the Golgotha and their own maneuverability that these options had opened up.
And, while it was true that this also exponentially increased the number and complexity of the calculations involved, he thought that he could still work within those parameters. Because he had the luxury of knowing that all his data was accurate, both his own and that which was freely available from monitoring stations on Rebala’s surface. So, all he had to do was factor in the probable reaction times of the Golgotha’s systems as well as those of her crew, he could come up with a more realistic take on what the final outcome might look like along with any possible damage which might be inflicted.
There were similar models of the damage implications for the Elektra as well but he chose not to look at those. His imagination could fill in all those scenarios for itself.
Blake took a moment to review his work.
It was far from perfect – in many senses it was the definition of imperfect – but it was the best that could be achieved under the circumstances. This would have to do.
Once he’d finished with that, Blake switched to external sensor data, trying to get a fix on what was happening outside. He saw that the Golgotha was decelerating slightly as she attempted to alter her heading to bring herself more in line with the Elektra. Verlhof had clearly decided that he couldn’t risk going after the consular vessels so long as the Elektra remained in one piece. To do so would be to leave himself open to a rearguard action which he could ill afford. With the consular ships on the run, it must have been intensely annoying for him to have to change direction in order to deal with the Elektra but in reality he didn’t have much choice.
Verlhof could no doubt see from his sensors the parlous state the Elektra was in which was why he was in no hurry to bring his ship about. One direct hit should be more than enough to get the job done.
*
Cooper tried to clear his mind. He checked on Zhao, she was still unconscious but breathing, secure in her chair.
He had a job to do and he knew that he couldn’t afford to get distracted about what lay ahead for them in the coming minutes. He had to focus on what was happening now.
Verlhof had the clear advantage but Cooper had no intention of making it easy for him. And, while he regretted the fact that Zhao and the others would be implicated in all this he knew that there was no other option available.
As for Cooper himself, he’d thought that he was a goner when that final missile had detonated. So, to be getting another shot at a dreadnought class was, to his mind, an unexpected bonus.
What surprised him was how well equipped they were after that explosion.
He didn’t pretend to understand a half of it but Blake had been right.
The Elektra did have a lot of untapped potential and now was the time to start tapping into some of it. Clearly, the ship was in no shape to go into battle with entire compartments compromised and wreckage strewn everywhere but, structurally, she was still sound. Though, how long that would last against a ship like the Golgotha was anyone’s guess.
His eyes scanned the controls again as he struggled to familiarise himself with the sequence of commands he needed to execute if they were to have any chance of inflicting damage on the larger vessel. Once they engaged the enemy there would be very little time to think, he’d simply have to rely on his own instincts because, given the fine margins they would be working to, there was going to be little room for error. In his mind, they were facing catastrophic losses whichever way you looked at it.
“Alright,” Cooper said. “Let’s just go over this again. The programs are going to flash up in sequence, right?”
He’d come across similar programs in the past. They were simply a patchwork of the various ship’s functions set up in a simple easy-to-use fashion. Your priorities had already been decided for you. All he had to do was judge when was the best time to trigger the next stage.
In the background, an automated announcement informed them that the Golgotha had just launched missiles. So they didn’t have very long.
“Okay, very quickly,” Blake said. “You’re going to be disorientated at the start and it’s only going to get worse as we get further into it. This is close quarters battle after all so the key here is positioning. Use your steering thrusters and positioning drives to get us lined up to make the shot. Then move on.”
“And the computer selects the weapons for me?”
Some of these prototype weapons Cooper had no idea about.
“Yes,” Blake said. “Once you’re in position the computer will present you with a list of weapons options ranked one to five.”
“So, I just need to select one of those, right?”
“Correct, although option one will always be the computer’s preferred choice.”
Cooper used the joystick to click through the weapons on offer.
It all seemed simple enough, though Blake did look apprehensive.
“Okay,” Cooper said, trying to sound positive. “And you were saying that we’re going to get disorientated.”
“It’s unavoidable, we’re just going to have to do our best to work around it.”
“But I’m liable to get confused.”
“Oh, you’ll get confused alright. No doubt about it. Just keep your eye on the timer at the top of the screen. Depending on the target, you’ve got between sixty to ninety seconds to make your shot. We hang around any longer than that and the Golgotha will knock us out of the sky.”
“And that’s it?”
“Yeah. At this point, it’s just a question of what falls apart first: us or the ship.”
“Okay, I’ll try to keep it together. No promises though.”
“None needed. Alright. Let’s do this shall we?”
Cooper drummed his fingers on the edge of the instrument panel, a sense of relief flooding through him. Now that was out of the way he suddenly felt much better.
Cooper did a last-minute check making sure that the joystick was functioning correctly. It seemed to be. Too late to worry about it now.
The Golgotha loomed large on the screen ahead. A vast fortress in space, nearly two kilometers long, its surface rippling with sensor and weapon arrays.
If Cooper needed reminding of what they were up against then here it was.
“So, whenever you’re ready,” Blake said, trying to sound perfunctory but failing.
Cooper checked his restraints. When he was ready, he nodded.
“Okay,” Blake said before clearing his throat. “Initiating skip jump launch in three, two, one.”
SKIP JUMP ONE INITIATED
Immediately, everything dimmed and for a brief moment Cooper thought that he was going to black out. But then the moment passed. He felt okay, although the same couldn’t be said of the ship which was shuddering as though it was about to break in half.
Alarms were sounding everywhere as the main point of vibration passed through his chair, determined, it seemed, to shake him out of it.
The lights resolved themselves to a dull yellow glow and he was struck by a sudden sense that everything was closing in around him. It reminded him of being buried alive and was so clearly felt that he found he was having difficulty drawing breath. It was all he could do not to panic.
Inexplicably, he found himself looking at the Golgotha from the starboard side, the main sensor array pushing out straight in front of him. He shook his head, the sudden sense of disassociation feeling very real.
It was like he’d fallen asleep only to wake up in a completely different setting. It felt wrong. Almost as though he’d been caught cheating at something.
“We don’t have long,” Blake said his voice sounding like it was coming from a long way away.
Already the Golgotha was starting to track past them.
Blake was right. They had less than a minute.
He quickly adjusted the pivotal readers and then, with a quick flick of his wrist he brought his sights to bear on the array’s main structure, a mass of antennae sticking out into space.
Firing came almost as an afterthought. The computer had selected four particle cannons as his weapons of choice and he went with those. It was that easy.
The powerful beams tore into the front of the array, scything through entire pylon displays which broke off and drifted away. Meanwhile the beams cut deeply into the heart of the main array, prompting electrical fires to start up all over.
It took less than thirty seconds to effectively neutralise all of the Golgotha’s sensors on this side, leaving a blackened ruined mess where, only seconds before, there had been one of the most highly developed scanning systems known to man.
Not that Cooper had time to enjoy his success. Already he was grabbing at the arms of his chair in an attempt to stop himself from pitching headfirst into the vast well of space time which was opening up in front of him.
*
SKIP JUMP TWO.
Cooper’s neck hurt and he couldn’t get away from the feeling that he’d just been dropped from a great height.
And perhaps he had because here he was looking up at the underside of the Golgotha as it passed overhead.
“Still with us?” Blake croaked. He sounded like he was having difficulty forming the words.
“Just about.”
Something was moving in the corner of his vision but when he looked over there was nothing there. Blake had warned him about the possibility of hallucinations but surely that wouldn’t happen straight away.
Would it?
“What are we looking at here?” he sounded apprehensive.
He honestly couldn’t think straight.
“This is their engineering department. You can’t see it so you’re going to have to trust your instruments on this one. It’s coming up right about…” he took a long breath. “Now!”
Cooper didn’t have to do anything, which was probably just as well. The targeting reticule suddenly constricted, highlighting a single gridded area.
All it took was one squeeze on the firing mechanism to release a dizzyingly bright electron charge, which flew straight towards its target. But, instead of causing any damage it seemed to be absorbed straight into the ship’s hull. It was several seconds before anything happened but, when it did, it was worth the wait. The underside of the ship began to swell, forming a huge bubble which then exploded, bright as a super nova.
“What the hell was that?” Cooper asked, too woozy to think of checking his own screen.
“Anti-matter bomb. Suspended in a vacuum. That thing’ll cut through anything. Boom!”
Cooper marveled at that.
“How do you remember all this stuff?”
*
SKIP JUMP THREE
Cooper stared at the screen, trying to grasp what it might mean. There were a series of prompts there, none of which made any sense to him. All he had was this tiny little joystick.
It looked ridiculous, though he seemed to recall that he was supposed to be good with these things. He took hold of it and gave it an experimental wiggle. Back and forth.
He was trying to work out why his teeth hurt so much. When he ran his tongue over them, they felt too big for his mouth.
One of the screens was showing him an image of a massive circular engine cowling. There was a big targeting circle floating around it. It looked kind of cool but he couldn’t work out what it was for. He started idly rotating the joystick trying to control the little yellow circle.
It was funny. It got smaller when you homed in on something and bigger as you pulled away. He squeezed off a couple of shots but they all went wide. If this was part of a game then it wasn’t a particularly easy one. The joystick was just far too sensitive, punishing your slightest mistake so that you kept missing everything.
He was about to give up when his thumb brushed against a side button and found that when he pressed it, everything started to spin. Just trying to focus on the screen was enough to make him dizzy.
“Oh, I get it!” he announced. “Thrusters?”
His thumb seemed to be working independently of his brain and with a few deft touches he worked to bring himself back into alignment with the other ship. As he did so, all the lights on the screen briefly flashed green, prompting him to squeeze the trigger hard.
He needed to keep working the button with his thumb though. To try and keep from spinning off to the side.
He couldn’t keep the little circle in the green for very long, not that that appeared to matter. The missiles seemed to know what was required of them. They screamed away from him, only at the last second switching left to disappear inside the engine cowling itself.
This was fun.
He carried on spraying missiles. They didn’t all go inside but enough of them did for him to continue. Because whenever he did manage to guide a couple through, it made him feel special.
So much so that he couldn’t help punching the air and hollering.
But then there was a big bright blue flash, followed by a huge ball of steam and he looked about, fearing that he might have done something wrong.
“Cooper?”
He turned to look over at the guy on his right. He looked pissed.
“Cooper! We need to move on.”
“Alright,” he said. “Where to?”
*
SKIP JUMP FOUR
“They’re trying to get away!” the voice said. “They’re making a six-degree course alteration.”
The appalling mass was now on their starboard side and quickly moving past, close enough it seemed to crush them.
Cooper’s hand was still on the joystick and he moved it back and forth aware that he should be doing something.
Something urgent.
But all he seemed to be doing was blundering about. A moth trapped against the window.
He watched as an enormously long weapon started to track around in their direction. The barrel was matte black with metal flanges set into its sides which glinted when they caught the sun’s rays.
He was only peripherally aware of the idea that he might be in danger where he was, although that had more to do with the proximity of this enormous vessel than anything else.
He moved the joystick backwards and forwards, delighting in the way that the yellow reticule danced from side to side.
“You need to press fire!”
He turned to see who was speaking. He looked familiar.
“What?”
“The fire button. You need to press it.”
His mind cleared just long enough for him to grasp where he was.
“Yeah. Sure. I knew that.”
As he hit the trigger, a turquoise beam lit out from the ship in one long, enormously powerful surge. But somehow the shot went wide.
He instinctively pushed the joystick forward just as the massive gun barrel swung in their direction. When it fired, it threw up a vast cloud of silver dust particles.
The projectile missed them by only a few feet, the shock wave sending their ship into a spin.
They now seemed to be turned upside down. Not that that bothered Cooper.
His index finger found the fire button and squeezed. This time his aim was true and the turquoise beam raked along the side of the ship, using its speed against them. The beam cut deep and Cooper watched as sections of the hull pealed apart, sending long trails of detritus spilling out into space.
His hand was hurting from where he gripped the joystick but he knew that he couldn’t let go. Not until he was finished.
But the ship seemed to go on forever.
*
SKIP JUMP FIVE
Cooper could hear the sound of someone screaming. It sounded like an animal being slaughtered, so he kept his eyes screwed shut.
He didn’t want to engage.
And when he did open his eyes, he instantly regretted it.
Alvarez was standing there, his uniform in tatters. He was missing an arm and a section of his skull had been caved in, although that didn’t stop him from talking.
“Hey. What’s going down?”
Cooper made a vague, noncommittal gesture.
“Stuff!” he said.
When he looked around, he found that the bridge had grown significantly smaller. Wherever he looked different. As if it had been taken apart and then re-built on a much smaller scale.
And why was it so dark?
