“So they’re burning fuel cells faster, but they’re also forcing us to do the same.”
“Yeah. And we don’t know how big their fuel cell reserves are. Did the builders use the same levels as on our ships, or did they add extra stockpiles?”
Desjani made a face. “One of those agents we’re holding might know. How about if we stick them on the bow of Dauntless before our next engagement with the dark ships? Just to encourage them to talk.”
“We can’t do that, Tanya.”
“I wasn’t going to put them out there in their shirtsleeves. I’d put them in survival suits,” she said. “I wonder if duct tape would hold them on to the outer hull? We could find out.”
“Still can’t do it,” Geary said. “But I wish we could.”
This time, the two formations were racing toward an intercept in which both would be at an angle to the other, meeting partway through their turns. Once again, Geary faced the question of whether to try to tighten the turn or to slack off on acceleration and widen it. Another look at the damage status of some of his ships, Fearless and Incredible in particular, led him to decide to once again ease off acceleration just before contact.
“I should be used to the waits between firing runs by now,” Geary murmured as he watched the apparently slow movement of both forces through the immense distances of space.
“I’m not,” Desjani commented, “and I’ve been doing it longer than you have, old man.”
“Excuse me?”
“Old man, sir.”
“That’s better.” A touch of the comm controls. “All units in First Fleet, go to forty-four percent propulsion at time one four.”
In the last moments before contact, the Alliance warships swung a little wider, once again aiming for the upper portion of the dark ship formation.
“No engagement,” Lieutenant Yuon reported. “No ships were within range of the enemy during the pass.”
“Damn,” Geary got out in a whisper. “Let’s try this different.” He swung the battle cruisers up again, curving back once more, but both of his battleship formations went out to the sides and then up, the three formations bracketing the future path of the dark ships also coming back in another upward curve.
This time he did a last-second shift to starboard with the battle cruisers, while the two battleship formations swung lower and toward each other, in an attempt to bracket the dark ship subformation to one side of the main formation.
“No engagement.” Lieutenant Yuon had stopped sounding guilty. Now he appeared to be confused.
Geary, feeling angry and frustrated, assessed the status of his ships, then called out new orders. One Alliance battleship formation swung wide to starboard, one swung wide to port, and the battle cruisers twisted about and aimed straight for an intercept with the dark ships coming back for another run.
He dove the battle cruiser formation before contact, aiming under the dark ships, while the battleship formations on either side held their vectors so that no matter which way the dark ships went, the Alliance warships should get some shots at them.
“No engagement.”
Geary could feel everyone on the bridge carefully not looking at him. He could sense how crews on every other ship in the fleet were reacting. Something was very wrong, and he wasn’t sure what it was.
Had he lost his nerve? Was he so afraid of losing this battle that he wouldn’t take the necessary losses to win it?
But he was doing nothing differently. He was trying to hit the enemy. And how could the dark ships keep missing his ships if Geary was displaying any sort of unconscious pattern of avoiding closing to weapons range? He might not be aware of it, but the dark ships would see such a pattern. They would exploit it and catch him next time.
“Admiral?” Tanya was eyeing him with an unusual level of concern apparent.
“Something is wrong,” Geary said. “None of the passes are working.”
“We have to close to engagement range.”
“I know that!”
“Admiral,” Desjani said in her most formal tone of voice, “we have to hit them despite the risks—”
“I have demonstrated my willingness to take risks, Captain,” Geary snapped.
“Getting too close is dangerous, but if we don’t—”
“Captain Desjani, I am making just as strong an effort to engage those dark ships as I ever have in any battle!” He glowered at his display as Desjani fell silent and stared fixedly at her own display. What wasn’t working? he wondered. To guess incorrectly that many times in a row? To completely miss engaging the dark ships time and again? How could that be happening?
Not by chance.
“Damn.” His tone of voice brought Desjani’s eyes back on him. “It’s not us. We’re not engaging on these firing passes because the dark ships are deliberately avoiding getting within range of us.”
“They’re avoiding action?” She took another look at her display, swallowed, then inclined her head toward him. “My apologies, Admiral. I did not consider that possibility, but I’m certain that you’re right.”
“None of us considered it, Captain,” Geary said. “Because of the ruthless tactics of the dark ships prior to this. But they are tactics, and tactics can change depending on the situation. Right now, the dark ships have a reason to avoid action just as we have had reasons to seek action.”
“But why would they—?” Her eyes widened. “They’re just keeping us engaged and occupied in dealing with them, forcing us into repeated maneuvers to counter them. Stalling for time and keeping us in this region of space.”
“Until their battle cruisers get here,” Geary said, his voice as grim as his mood. “And then they will hit us with everything at once.”
Eight
The dark battleships were turning to engage again, but Geary swung his formations on through their last turn, not steadying out until the enemy battleships were behind him and his own warships were aimed at an intercept with the dark battle cruisers ahead. Those battle cruisers were braking velocity at a rate that would have torn apart Geary’s ships. By the time they reached where Geary’s ships were tangling with the dark battleships, they would have been going slow enough (if point one light speed could be considered slow) to engage the Alliance forces.
“What are we doing?” Desjani asked.
“Changing the game,” Geary said. “We underestimated the dark ship AIs. First we get out of the trap they tried to pin us in. Next—”
An alert sounded on his display.
“Fearless just lost another main propulsion unit,” Lieutenant Castries said.
Geary slapped his comm controls. “Fearless, can you keep up with the formation?”
The image of Captain Ulrickson looked back at Geary. “We’ll keep up or die trying. Repairs are underway.”
The determination and the desire were admirable, but as Geary looked at his data he could tell that neither were adequate substitutes for a main propulsion unit. If Fearless could not keep up, they would have to leave her, or else sacrifice the rest of the fleet protecting her.
Desjani was looking at her display, her expression revealing no emotion.
“We’ve got half an hour before any more maneuvers are necessary,” Geary told Captain Ulrickson. “I need Fearless able to keep up at that point.”
“I understand, Admiral.”
“We’ve still got a chance,” Geary told Desjani as the call ended. “Those dark battle cruisers based their approach on reaching us back where we were tangling with dark battleships.”