Pearl of the Stars

Grace watched with interest as the Tinser defence forces formed up behind her Fleet. Their formation was a strong one, designed to cut a wide swathe through the Council and Others forces, scattering them. She figured the enemy fleet directly in front of them would then sweep in and mop up.

“Is that also your assessment, Captain?” She asked Jane Erstwhile over the com, having relayed what she thought might happen.

“It would make sense Ma’am,” Captain Erstwhile replied, a grim expression upon her face. “Against one or the other we stand a chance but against both? I have no idea how this will truly play out.”

“Nor do I,” she replied as she lit a cigarette. The nicotine helped her think, and she needed that aid. Would they expect a charge? If she ordered the Fleet to accelerate would it catch them off guard? Of course doing so would take the Fleet over and above ideal battle velocity. Their weapons would not be anywhere near as effective, if they managed to land any hits at all. Her thoughts were interrupted as a single vessel accelerated forwards from the enemy fleet. “What’s he doing?”

“I.. I don’t know Ma’am,” a Lieutenant replied. “Whatever it is that he is doing, he is broadcasting an old Council code.”

“What code?” Captain Grace Ifhans demanded.

“White Flag.”

“That’s pretty fickling odd,” she muttered, and then raised her voice, broadcasting on the Fleet-wide frequency. “Weapons ready, but hold fire. I repeat, do not fire until I give the command.”

The ship, sleek in design and from the outside far more advanced than any the Council possessed, was still accelerating whilst broadcasting the code.

“He’s up to point-five light,” the Lieutenant commented, trying hard but failing to conceal no small amount of concern. “Contact in eight... seven...”

“He’s fickling insane,” said Grace, not quite quietly enough. The Lieutenant counted down and reached two before the vessel, still travelling at point-five the speed of light, pivoted and swung it’s nose around so now it was facing it’s own fleet. Somehow it carried it’s momentum prior to the manoeuvre with it and without slowing, accelerated back towards its fleet. “Fickling show off.”

“Incoming on a private line Ma’am. It’s... Captain Holding!”

“Frank?” Grace stammered, having accepted the call. “What the fick?!”

“I’ll explain all soon enough,” Frank Holding replied. “But right now, Hynes and I will deal with these bastards for you. Follow in our wake, head for the jump point to Ryban.”

“Hynes?!”

“Which reminds me,” Holding continued. “Flush that fickling bot out the nearest airlock.” With that he cut the transmission.

“Take us to point-two light, Lieutenant,” Grace gave the order. “Follow that ship.”

“Aye Ma’am,” he replied before relaying the order.

The Pearl of the Stars accelerated, the fleet of which she was flagship following behind. The Tinser fleet clearly had not expected the Pearl to accelerate and it took almost a minute before they fired their own engines by which time the Fleet was out of optimal weapons range.

The Pearl’s radar showed Holding’s vessel had already engaged the enemy flotilla, having completely obliterated four vessels on the first pass. He swung the ship around and came at them again, this time from the port side. The flotilla was in disarray. It seemed the last thing they’d expected to occur was for one of their own to turn on them.

As the Pearl sped through the wreckage, any vessels that survived Holding’s attack completely ignored them, instead focusing all their fire power on their traitorous vessel.

“Give me weapons command,” said Grace, and another Lieutenant signalled to her that command was on the line. “Throw some rocks at those enemy vessels, but take care to avoid the one that’s helping us out. “She paused before adding, “Drop some mines for our friends from Tinser, too.”

***

By the time the Fleet reached the Ryban star system following six days in jump space, it was abuzz with the news that not only had Captain Holding survived the original foray into unknown territory, he had located Major Hynes and between them, they had saved the Fleet from what would surely have been annihilation.

The Fleet orbited in the shadow of an ice giant, Ryban’s only natural satellite, it’s blue hue casting an eerie glow along the corridors of all vessels in orbit.

Grace sat at the conference table in the Pearl’s meeting room, a cigarette burning in the ashtray beside her, smiling as she looked upon the faces of her unit commanders on the many screens before her.

“It’s good to have you back with us, Captain Holding,” she said finally. “You too Major Hynes, although you do need to explain how you came to be with Captain Holding whilst I ended up with a fickling bot on my boat.”

“The switch occurred in the Galahad star system Ma’am,” Hynes replied diligently. “Whilst I was checking out that installation, bastards got a hold of me before I could do anything about it.”

“If not for Hynes, I and most of my crew would certainly be dead. If not for the fact he had commandeered one of those ficklers ships, our survival pods would not have been found.”

“Well I think I speak for all present when I express my relief that Hynes was there,” said Grace as she retrieved her cigarette from the ashtray. “Now tell me, how bad is it?”

“It’s bad Ma’am,” replied Holding. “Very fickling bad. They won’t even notice the loss of that flotilla.”

“How many ships are we talking, Captain?”

“Thousands,” he replied. “Quite literally, fickling thousands.”