Three days later. September 27th, 2265. 08:00 CNS Waukesha – Secure Communications Room
John was sitting in the featureless room in a very uncomfortable chair. Mental notes were made to replace these accursed chairs with better ones at their next port of call. Damian was sitting next to him, also having a difficult time focusing on the meeting, though his lack of focus was due to the subject of the meeting.
Thankfully both of them didn’t have to speak and their outward appearances didn’t betray their thoughts. John was playing back the message the captain of the Icarus had sent them moments after John’s fleet had eliminated their enemy. Each time John heard it he got more and more annoyed. Though to be completely fair to the Captain of the Icarus, John would absolutely be at least this petty to him.
“Good morning, Captain Lief. It is so good to see you once again,” Rene DuBois said sarcastically in the video, “Unfortunately you’ve ruined my plans this morning but we’re happy to let you take care of our scraps.”
John clenched his teeth.
“I am rather put off that you’ll be able to interrogate those dirty curs. I’ll save you the trouble and transmit everything to you. You’ll find this lot was an especially vicious breed of idiots. Which ran in stark contrast to their more neat appearance. We know of at least fifteen freighters that they had attacked in the past several months. And they stole some precious cargo that we had requested they ship for us. Appearances can be deceptive, no?”
Damian began clenching his teeth as well.
“We were able to get the shipment back from the group they tried to sell the goods off. Thankfully they were well aware of the consequences of not living up to a contract with us. I do hope that whatever information they may share with you doesn’t result in them receiving a more lenient sentence than they ought to deserve.”
John paused the playback when Admiral Dufresne gestured for him to do so, “Are you trying to tell me that this asshole was fighting, and killing, pirates?”
John nodded, “I think the classification we have for the Folly of Icarus is not entirely accurate. They aren’t, strictly speaking, pirates. They are more like aggressive sovereign citizens with a specific code of honor. Though not as batshit crazy as those sovereign citizens of the twenty-first century in America.”
“Were you able to confirm anything their captain shared with you?”
Damian nodded, “We’re still waiting on records from two attacks, but we can confirm that the ships that we destroyed during the attack were the ones harassing the freighters in question. They haven’t added any new crew in six months, nor have they had any leave their ships.”
Admiral Dufresne took a deep breath, “So you have twenty-three assholes to deal with.”
“I can space them and move on,” John said in a straightforward tone, “Wash our hands of this shitshow.”
“If we do that, we will have a bigger problem on our hands. That will cause pirates up and down the sectors to do that with any captives they have, or take in the future, from our side Lieutenant. What other recommendations do you have?”
“We’re nearing the end of our deployment. We should put them on ice while we finish our operations here before we head back to Manchester. There we will transfer them into custody and try them for piracy,” John said, “Recommendation is death with no leniency for any of their crew.”
“Even with the intel you received from them?”
“Their real base we’ll eliminate, but we got that information from the Icarus,” Damian said, “There was nothing actionable that we received from them. Though they did confirm several things that we had about the Icarus.”
“Which amounts to effectively fuck-all for them,” John said, “I’m going to keep up my dumbass routine of not knowing what the deal is and that I’m still talking to the appropriate powers to get that.”
“Before knocking them out and washing your hands of it,” Admiral Dufresne smirked.
“Already washed my hands of those assholes, sir.”
“What’s your next move?”
“Assault the pirate base within a week. Brady and Vanessa are hitting some roving gangs and eliminating or otherwise acquiring some supply drops they use in the asteroid belt here. Locals on Herculian Prime are more than useless too by the way,” John sighed.
“Naval Intelligence is sending out resources this way. They, along with the civilian oversight committee, are not happy that a middle-ring colony is as close to the pirates as they have been recent.”
“Admiral, with all due respect it’s because we don’t have a proper wing stationed here. They hardly ever see Naval vessels operate here,” Damian struggled initially with the statement wanting to sound overly polite.
“Fourth fleet took the brunt of the damage in the conflict with the Alliance. This is one of their systems, but they are waiting for reinforcements.”
“I think Third or Fifth Fleet need to step up and take over this system in the interim. Not having a squadron here is hurting far more than it is helping. And nothing intelligence does is going to be permanent until we have forces in the system full time,” John was less respectful in his tone.
“Agreed. I will talk with Admiral Dickinson about making that request to his peers. Let me know if there’s anything else I can help with.”
“Thank you, sir, we will open the channel should we have anything to bring to you,” John said as he nodded to the image.
Damian turned to face John, “I presume you’ll want to begin working on a plan of attack at the base?”
“I want you to present a plan to me in a couple of days,” John replied, “Our immediate focus will be asteroids KB-239G52 and AG-21Z54H which we know the pirates use to refuel their ships. Eliminating both will stir up the hornet’s nest properly in the inner solar system.”
“We’re what, five hours away from KB?”
John shook his head, “Closer to eight. Then it’s another ten hours before we get to the other. I want the battle plan by the end of your shift after our second attack.”
Damian nodded but then spoke up, “Sir, the primary pirate base will almost assuredly have families stationed there.”
“Which means attacking that base will be delicately handled. Weapon systems and any tertiary targets outside of the main living areas will be valid targets. Our Marines will need to make entry into the base.”
“That might be difficult. A base that size would be dangerous for our contingent onboard.”
“I disagree with you. Our Marines likely won’t face any real threat inside the base. We’ll have the dropships moved to the Waukesha prior to the commencement of the attack.”
Damian raised an eyebrow, “That is not…” he paused a moment, “Something I would ever have thought to do.”
“The real trick is timing it right to allow them to get into the base after we’ve taken their anti-ship defenses offline. If we’re stuck in a knife fight in the void, doing that will be difficult, to say the least.”
“I’ll get working on the plan now.”
John shook his head, “Get some rest. You’ll be managing the attack on the first depot. Brian will be in command of the second attack.”
“He’s pretty green, sir.”
“Lieutenant O’Meara is, but I’ll be on the bridge observing. We all have to get experience in some way or another.”
Damian’s concern seemed to be assuaged. John then stood up and opened the doors. The pair walked out of the communications room and parted ways. John was heading back to the bridge to finish his shift. Damian headed to the officer’s quarters to get some shuteye before their next attack.
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2 Days Later. September 29th, 2265. 13:00 CNS Waukesha
The bridge was a hub of work and tension. Departments were wrapping up tests and reviews prior to the next engagement. John was silently observing from the rear of the bridge. He was watching his third officer manage things.
Second Lieutenant Brian O’Meara was bouncing from station to station. He was asking good questions, at least from what John could hear, and was doing a good job of keeping the crew focused on the tasks at hand. John didn’t like the nervous energy he was giving off. He gestured for Brian to come over to him.
“Dude,” John whispered quietly, “Settle down and take a couple of deep breaths.”
“Am I doing something wrong?” Brian whispered nervously back.
John shrugged, “You are doing the right things and giving the right orders. But you are giving off more nervousness than confidence. You got this, believe in yourself.”
Brian closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He kept his eyes closed as he took another breath and stood up to his full height. John nodded at him as he opened his eyes.
“Thanks,” Brian said with a smile, “I needed that.”
“Anytime,” John said quietly as he continued to look around the room.
“Ensign Rhymes, what is the status of the reported departments?”
“Engineering is the only one that hasn’t confirmed completion of scans and preparation for combat,” Ensign Walter Rhymes answered.
“Petty Officer Ramsey, would you be so kind to open a channel to our compatriots please?”
Tess Ramsey began working at her station but was interrupted by the assistant chief engineer messaging up to the bridge, “Our bad, err… Apologies for the delay, Lieutenant. Engineering now 3stands ready for combat operations.”
“Thank you very much, Lieutenant Williams,” Brian said calmly as he took his seat, “Petty Officer Ramsey, please contact the wing, and follow our lead into combat. Helm, combat speed. Red Alert.”
The Waukesha lurched forward as her main thrusters were pushed to full power. The trio of missile frigates reacted accordingly. Two of the four corvettes remained close to the Waukesha while the other two fell back to assist in guarding the frigates. The pair of destroyers sped up and flanked the sides of the Waukesha.
Their target was a small facility built into a hollowed-out asteroid. Originally, it had been a facility used to mine and produce ingots of the precious metals that were located in the interior of the asteroid. When those minerals were mined out the facility was abandoned. As pirates do, they took the facility over and used it as a place to hide from the locals, refuel and rearm their ships, and at least in this case, restock up on perishables.
This was a minor facility in comparison to their ultimate target within the system. But a facility that needed to be taken out. John spun back around and typed a few things into the console he was sitting at. The intel they had suggested only a handful of defensive systems were located on the rock, based on long-range images they had captured that intel was confirmed.
“Lieutenant Wilmot, when our lances get in range, eliminate the base defenses. Once completed, shift focus to any vessels. Make sure our anti-missile systems are engaged and the VIs spooled up and are ready to intercept any incoming fire.”
Third Lieutenant Chester Wilmot nodded as he worked at his station, “Understood. Recommend we hold fire on the lances until we cross this ring here,” Chester split the display screen in two and showed the optimum range for a surgical lance strike, “It will make for an easier surgical strike. We are outside of the optimal range at this time.”
“Make it so,” Brian said, “Helm ETA on crossing that line?”
“Forty-five seconds at current speeds.”
“Understood,” Brian said confidently, “Once we cross the waypoint Bravo-Two reduce thrust and begin evasive maneuvers. That should be the point the hostile vessels will begin returning fire.”
Petty Officer Second Class Helen Olson nodded as she adjusted the preplanned course corrections, “Understood Lieutenant. Time to firing range is now twenty seconds.”
‘Here goes nothing,’ John thought to himself as he checked the scanners.
Since he was on the bridge, John felt that he’d make himself useful and aid operations in the scanning of the base and any hostile vessels. He could make out eight vessels in and around the base. Two freighters, both seemingly operated by civilians, and six pirate vessels had their engine cores active.
The pirate vessels flew out and towards the Waukesha and her escorts. Two of them, the crews of which seemingly realized they were hopelessly outmatched, suddenly veered off to parts unknown at full burn. John scanned their engine output and added those readings to the known pirate database.
“Petty Officer Ramsey, advise the wing to ignore ships that retreat. Focus on hostiles.”
Before the petty officer had a chance to respond the forward lances fired. Beams of light flew past the ships and struck the defenses built into the asteroid. Two of the lances missed their target, but they dug deep into the asteroid and still severed power and logic conduits rendering the defenses useless.
The enemy ships that were closing distance with the wing were not prepared for what happened next. Both destroyers had already begun firing their main gains. Their lances, which were every bit as effective as the Waukesha’s, had a shorter firing range, but they began firing theirs at the incoming ships.
The pirate ships didn’t bother with evasive maneuvers, they never had a chance to do so. Two of the first three ships were struck by the destroyers’ main guns. They were then eviscerated by lance fire. The Waukesha was quick to follow up by firing all four front-firing trip-barrel rail turrets. Three more pirate ships were shredded by the devastating attack.
The lone survivor of the initial onslaught was likely stunned by the vicious assault, but the Waukesha was already prepared for her follow-up. The numerous close-in-defense guns and plasma blast guns were tracking the hostile craft. They began firing just before the ship screamed by the Waukesha. It suddenly exploded in an anemic-looking plasma blast.
“Only reading the two pirate ships that sped away. No other hostiles present,” Ensign Rhymes said, “Curious readings about the station though.”
“And the station’s defenses?” Brian looked over at his operation crewmen.
“One cannon and two missiles remain, but they are inoperable.”
“Fire another lance strike as we get nearer, I’d prefer they didn’t exist.”
John smiled as he nodded in agreement. Energy could be heard being routed to the forward lances within the ship. Once more they fired. This time though, the shots were true and had eliminated the targets.
“I see the freighters stayed put. What are their designations?” Brian asked.
John spoke up, “IMS Wavedancer and RTS Thames.”
“RTS?” Brian asked curiously.
“I didn’t know what that was either Lieutenant,” John said dryly, “Royal Transport Ship. Just a corporate designation, it has nothing to do with any royal family from what I’ve seen.”
Brian chuckled, “A good-sounding name. Petty Officer Ramsey, contact them. They are to power down their engines and prepare for boarding. Assign the CNS Nagao to the IMS freighter. The Sanada may have the other.”
“Sending that communique now. What are we going to do with that base?”
Brian stood up and looked back at John, “That is a good question.”
John could feel eyes staring at him, “What do you believe we should do?”
“There were no life signs on the previous one from what I read. Hundreds of people are in this station. Blowing it up could be reckless.”
“Agreed,” John said as he sent the scan readings to the main display before spinning his chair to face the acting captain, “Where does that leave us?”
“We need to send in the Marines,” Brian said confidently.
John didn’t give off any clues or hints in his look. Though that was, in itself, a clue of his thoughts on that. Brian could see that and raised a finger.
“That’s a step too far at the moment. Contact that station, and advise them we’ll accept their unconditional surrender.”
John nodded his head.
The pirates would respond almost immediately. They were most unhappy and disagreeable with the attackers. Their mood didn’t get any better when Vanessa’s wing unexpectedly exited the slip space behind them. Whatever fight was in them had been crushed three and then. John’s second in command had done an excellent job despite his initial nervousness.
The freighters were a curious case to John. The crews knew this base was anything but legitimate, but the locals directed them to offload portions of their contents there. The crews of those freighters were loaded onto a separate transport ship while contractors would board the two freighters and fly them to parts unknown. John didn’t really care where they were going, nor did he care. They were someone else’s problem now. Due to his thorough nature, he forwarded Naval Intelligence the information they had recovered from the freighters and his recommendations.
In total, two hundred sixteen souls were aboard the pirate station. Prison transports were requested, though they were sent outside of the local chain of command. They had proven themselves to not only be openly disloyal to the Confederacy but also to the Navy in recent days. John didn’t want to leave anything to chance and let them continue with their unlawful ways.
The children were removed from their parent's care immediately upon arrival on the Waukesha. That was a most unwelcome order to the adults. John, and his Marines, didn’t care in the slightest. The Marines made sure that irrespective of the pirates’ feelings on the matter, the order would be followed.
All of the pirates and children were given an exhaustive scan. Medications and vaccines, which they either chose not to acquire or willfully ignored, were administered. The kids were then escorted from the medical bay to the other hangar. The medical specialists would spend much time with the children over the next week before the prison transports would appear.
The pirates would call what John ordered barbaric. To a degree they were right. It was barbaric, but those children had an opportunity to become upstanding members of society. Of course, that meant permanent separation from their parents and exhaustive deconditioning and rehabilitation. The Confederacy would waste no effort to rehabilitate those children whose only crime was to be born to pirates.
Their parents would face a much different fate during their trials. Over half would ultimately be given the death penalty. Another forty received lengthy hard labor sentences. Out of all those adults, only twenty-five stood legitimate chances of life after prison. Par for the course for how the Confederacy dealt with pirates.
Now it was a waiting game for the remainder of their squadron to appear. Once all were assembled it was time to hit the largest pirate base in the system. But while the Waukesha was sorting out the outcome of the last battle, the pirates were afforded precious time to reinforce and plan accordingly. The element of surprise was lost, and that would mean a much more difficult fight ahead of them. John grinned when he played through numerous theoretical situations, but he was confident his squadron was capable of great things.