Into the Horizon: A plan is born
#5 of Into the Horizon
Here we go, the next installment.
Into the Horizon: A plan is born
Bane was confident that the Fox Capitan would help them. Especially when he informed them of his plan. That is once he had a plan. Despite the bleak outlook of the Siberia, Ron was very confident that they could repair her in time to use it for the rescue mission. Ron was close to Scott, the two worked side by side on the Titan. Max had promoted him to chief engineer aboard the Siberia as the previous occupant of the position had been killed in battle. A lot of the crew had lost their lives during the Wolf attack. But nobody was giving up just yet.
Bane sat alone in the cafeteria. It was a tradition of he and his close friends to come to the ships cafeteria to think. He knew were the core was, he knew how to get there with the least possible chance of being discovered. The Siberia could give cover fire while the Fox ship beamed the core on board and rescued Scott. What he couldn't figure out was how to get out without the destruction of both ships. The Siberia couldn't withstand much more direct fire. The superstructure was holding together, but it was under great stress. In fact there were stress cracks in several places within the superstructure. But nothing could be done, and the Terrain Command had basically told them that they were on their own. The majority of the fleet was engaged in holding the Wolves at bay near an earth colony. There was no help coming for them. If it was to be done it would be done by them. Bane then looked up from his thoughts to see Ron walk through the door. He knew that he would be coming to the cafeteria soon. The two began to discuss the current condition of the ship, and the chances of a success.
"Bane she's barley holding together, the power grid is so fried that I've had to tear out parts from several shuttles and escape pods to get the ship back online. Before you start no it wasn't a good idea, but I figure we'll have no use for escape pods or shuttles if we are prisoners or dead. I can get main weapons back online, but we are out of missiles. Warp drive should be back online within the hour. But there is still alot of the ship that is open to space. We can't seal them up because we don't have enough power for the force fields, and backup hull plating isn't responding. I suspect the control system was cooked by a power surge. Bane, this is a one way mission for whoever is on this ship."
This comment gave Bane an idea. His memory suddenly took him back to the fleet academy and his ship history class. The Siberia was one of the first ships ever designed to be automated. In theory one person could operate the ship with vocal commands. Or, with the sup space transmitter in the shuttle they arrived in, it could be operated from another ship. There would be a ship destroyed, but not the Fox ship. He had a plan, he knew what had to be done.
"Ron you are a lifesaver."
With that, Bane ran to the bridge to let the Capitan of both ships know that it could be done. He was surprised though to find that the Fox Capitan had came onboard the Siberia to speak with the human captain.
Max turned to see Bane walk onto the bridge. He was secretly thrilled to see him, although he had nothing against regular Fox and Wolves, he found the Fox Capitan to be rather arrogant.
"Sirs, I have a plan. This can be done."
With that, the three retired to the office on the bridge, and the briefing began. Bane informed them of his plan to remote control the ship. He would send in the Siberia as a distraction, and the Fox ship would go for the prize. He could fix it so that the Siberia looked fully staffed. He also thought it possible to fake the Fox ship to appear as a Wolf ship on sensors. Visually it would be the same. While Max did not like the idea very much, once again he saw there was no other way. The Siberia would never hold up to the coming mission and he knew it. His ship had seen its end, and it was bitter sweet. At least it still could have a purpose in its death. Doing this would probably mean court marshal. Of course, he had already conspired with the enemy in a time of war so the destruction of the Siberia was the least of his immediate concerns.
With the plan in place, the combined crews of the two ships set to work getting the Siberia as ready for battle as they could. Everyone knew it was a one-way trip for the gal, but they wanted and needed to get as much from her as was possible. If the ship blew before they got the core then all was lost. With two ships to shoot at, then perhaps the Fox would receive less damage if it were recognized. It took several days to get everything ready. Bane knew that Scott would be at the core before they could reach them, but it couldn't be helped. He thought of his friend often as did Ron and Max. As preparations finished the crew of the Siberia slowly emptied onto the Fox battleship. Both captains were surprised to find that there were no real issues that arose between the crews, as everybody knew that this mission was more important that the current war between them. It was more important that personal revenge for past wrongs. If they failed, and Scott cooperated, then all was lost. The Wolves would have access to technology so advanced that nothing could stop them, and both species would be destroyed.
Bane wondered though the now deserted ship. He was doing a check of the ship to ensure everything was up to par. His mind intent on what he was doing, but something nagged at him. This was not their war and this was not their time. Nevertheless, they had been thrust into it, and their arrival had forever changed the future. What was would never again be. They had no choice but to continue to assist and try to end this war as soon as possible. The loss of the core should be enough to slow the Wolves down and give everyone time to catch up and force an end. Too many had died, too many had suffered, and too many lives had been destroyed. Even if they had died at their stations, the core would have still gone though. Then there would be nobody to put things right. This thought comforted him somewhat. As he made it to the bridge, he could see that everything was as it should be. He signaled that he was ready to be brought onboard the Fox ship.
"Scott, hold on we are coming for you."
__________________( On board the Wolf ship )_________________________
CJ slowly made his way back to the bridge of his ship. They were almost a week away from where the core was being hidden. As far as he knew, there was no way of detecting where they were or where they were headed. There were also numerous force fields protecting the treasure that had given them such an edge in this war. He walked though the bridge and into his office. He had long since begun ignoring the bridge officer's salute of him every time he walked onto the bridge. He found it annoying and had attempted to get them to stop, but it was custom as a sign of respect. He then proceeded to dial up his commander.
"Admiral Ulra, we have the human as ordered."
"Great CJ, you will be forever honored in Wolf history for finding the key to end this damn war."
" Admiral, I have some reservations about our plan. I am not sure if having him build a bigger and more powerful weapon will end this. We built and deployed sup space weapons for that purpose and it damn near destroyed us with everything else and it nearly drove the Humans and Fox together."
"CJ, you're being payed to follow orders, not to think. Bring the human to the space station, the rest is none of your concern."
With that, she ended the link. CJ sat in his chair slightly angry at her response, and being hung up on in a conversation he started, but also at the non-care attitude that was being given by his superiors. He propped his elbows on his desk and placed his head in his paws. He felt old and tired. They were going to massacre the Humans and Fox. Neither had really done anything wrong, expect for existing. The Wolves high command had started the war, they gave the orders, and drew up the battle plans. However, people like him and his men were on the front lines. He had lost many good men in battles. He had lost most of his family at the last attempt to push to earth. His brother had also been a Capitan also and his ship had been destroyed. His parents were killed when a sub-space bomb had been set off near their solar system. The shock wave alone tore the atmosphere away from their planet. The weapon had been far more powerful than anybody had ever expected it to be. They, along with the 2 billion other inhabitants of the colonized planet had been held as heroes. Naturally High Command found a way to blame the Humans and Fox. Never in his life had he questioned orders, until now. He knew that the human in his brig would never willingly assist the Wolves. They had no advantage against him. They could threaten his friend's lives, but chances are they were already dead as the Siberia was venting atmosphere. He couldn't order its complete destruction during the battle, they had what they came for and no more needed die. Although there was no help for the damaged ship to be had at its last location. The Fox were the only ones within range, and they would never help the Humans. He couldn't turn back because there was nowhere to turn back to, and the ship didn't have the provisions for an extended mission so they would need to resupply before anything could be done. Whether he liked it or not the only choice was to finish the mission. He only hoped his fellow wolves would forgive him for what his commanders had in mind. He certainly would never forgive himself.
Looks like there's plenty of guilt to go around in this war. I wonder what happens next.