Dark Fate, Chapter 88

Chapter 88 – Surprise Attack

(Bridge, Huntship Brethak Claw)

“Exiting warp in 3… 2… 1… now. Warp complete.”

Hasluh leaned forward in his command chair as his pilot announced their exit from the long fifteen cycles at warp. The long wait had been trying, but now it was finally over. Now, they would see the system that been cut off from the System, and find out what the time-strikes did to it. Now, he would get his chance to rule.

“Scan the system. Any sign of the sniveling weakling kovolds?”

“None, Huntleader. I am, however, detecting a large cloud of artificial debris around the third planet. They appear to be crude, primitive satellites. The planet’s inhabitants may have invented orbital weaponry without the System’s guidance.”

Hasluh nodded. “Then it was worth sending the kovald in first. Send a message to the Spear of Hundar, and inform the Great Hunter.” He looked at his bridge crew, smiling. “And let this be a lesson to all of you. Never assume that prey cannot hurt you, just because they are weak, and primitive. That is how young Hunters end up as dead Hunters.”

“As you say, Huntleader.”

Hasluh went back to studying the scans the Claw’s sensors were taking, looking over them with a Hunter’s eye. Only one planet in the system sported life. The rest were useless as hunting grounds.

But a good hunter knew that it wasn’t just the meat in the maw that was needed. The entire system was full of untapped resources. Asteroid belts that were still unmined. Gas giants that had not been skimmed. Rocky worlds that had untold amounts of metals.

All of this with a potential slave species already in the system, meaning that they would not even need to import workers! Sure, they would have to properly tame them, but that was fine. Breaking and taming the new slave species was always the best part.

“Huntleader! Message from the Spear of Hundar. The Great Hunter commands all ships forward, to the third planet, so that the conquest can begin.”

“You heard the Huntleader’s orders, pilot! We have plunder to take, and fresh meat for the maw!” The crew roared with approval, as they set about their tasks.

And then everything came apart.

(Bridge, Hellspawn)

“Good hits! Counting four out of five cruisers and one dreadnought confirmed destroyed, three destroyers mission-killed. No sign of the fifth cruiser, but two of the destroyers got hit in that area, so there’s a lot of debris.”

Slave-Captain Elalana nodded once. “What about the fighters? Any word?”

“Minor damage to several of the smaller ships, focused on the engines, as planned, but most got their shields up in time. Enemy fleet is still 70% combat effective. Enemy shields and weapons are online, targeting systems locking on!”

“All ships, jump to pre-established coordinates!”

I nodded as the ship briefly entered warp, before leaving it just as quickly, a full light-minute away from where we had been. The captain ordered silent running, and a quick course change, so that the enemy couldn’t follow us. Just as planned.

“Captain, do we have an idea of our visitor’s identity?”

Elalana looked over at me, and nodded. “Yes, Admiral. The sensor readings confirm that these are ships of the Ouran Huntworlds. They are a loose conglomerate of warrior-clans turned into pirates and slavers when their world was discovered by some merchants who didn’t know better. They are one of the major powers in this sector.”

“Warrior clans? What kind of culture do they have? Any weaknesses we could exploit?”

The captain turned and looked at her science officer, motioning for him to answer. “Yes, Admiral. Their culture is much like the ‘might makes right’ attitude many Earth cultures have had in your history. In addition, the believe that the strongest warrior wins the right to rule, and that honor and glory are better than showing cowardice in the face of the enemy, preferring death to capture almost universally.”

I nodded at the man, and turned back to the captain. “In that case, Captain, can we bounce a signal off one of the probes we left by the attack site? I’d like to keep whoever is left in charge of that lot from trying to sneak away, if we can. And since we can’t interdict their FTL, the only way to do that is to get them so angry that they cannot back down.”

The captain nodded. “An angry Ouran is a stupid Ouran, I agree, Sir.” She turned to the communications officer. “Well, Lieutenant, you heard the Admiral. Set it up! And while you’re at it, coordinate with the Renegades and Rogues to set up for the next attack run. They’re onto us now, so we have to be sneakier with our attacks.”

(Bridge, Huntship Brethak Claw)

“REPORT! WHAT IN THE INFINITE ABYSS HAPPENED!”

“Some kind of negative matter weapon, Huntleader! Multiple sources! They were targeting the larger ships specifically.”

Negative matter! Only the richest, or the most foolish, of races tried to weaponize that abyss-born substance. A single mistake, and your weapons would eagerly turn on you.

Of course, he couldn’t argue with the effectiveness. After all, if the horrific stuff did not work, no one would use it. The dead ships around his Claw spoke to that. If he hadn’t come out of warp with the shields already raised, he might have joined them.

“Huntleader! Message from the Ythar’s Revenge! They’ve received critical damage to their reactor. They’re losing containment!”

Hasluh growled in anger. “Order the Ythar’s hunters to the escape shuttles. They will be the first on the ground, to wipe away their shame, or die trying. And find me the source of these weapons!”

“Incoming missiles! Anti-ship missiles, targeting the corvettes and frigates. Counting two-four missiles, all different tracks!”

“Huntleader! The Spear of Hundar is gone! The explosions ripped the ship in half. Unknown on any survivors!” A pause, and then, “Ytharis gone, as well. No survivors.”

Hasluh made a decision. “FULL STEALTH! ZERO EMISSIONS! GET US IN THE SHADOW OF HUNDAR!” His bellowing roar cut through the growing panic of the hunters in the ambush, and they set about their work.

“Sighter, what strength of an enemy force are we facing, here?”

“Sensors caught thirty-seven jump points, and partial reads on at three ship types. The largest is a corvette, and I think only one of those. The rest are a mix of shuttles and fighters, according to the computer.”

“So, a small force, lying in ambush, and trying to sting? This species will make for fine slaves, once they’ve been tamed. But first we’ll have to take away their stingers.”

Looking over to his Signaler, he said, “Signaler, whisper-coms to the fleet. All ships engage for stealth hunting. This prey has teeth, but our teeth are sharper.”

“Huntleader! We’re receiving a transmission, wide-band, no encryption. Text only.”

“Source?”

“A probe, near the emergence zone.”

“Show me the message.”

You hunt like children. Are you sure you aren’t prey?

Hasluh’s blood boiled at the insult. But he was Huntleader because he was smart. He knew a trick when he saw one. This rival was clearly trying to bait him, draw him out. But why?

“Whisper-coms to all ships. Tell them to disregard the message. Go to stealth, and work on repairs. This prey wants us to jump like frightened younglings on their first hunt, so they can turn the hunt back on us.”

“As you command.”

In the end, the question of why was a simple one. This prey—no, Hasluh had to admit, if only to himself, that these were predators. Weaker, smaller predators, perhaps, but still predators all the same. They knew how to ambush. They went straight for their strongest ships. And now they were taunting him. Yes, these were predators, ones that would gladly hunt other, stronger predators.

“Sighter, any life signs from the Hundar, or the other ships we’ve lost?”

“No, Huntleader. Those who survived the Spear of Hundaror the other ships are in escape pods already.”

“Very well. Use low-power beams to bring in what escape pods we can. Maintain stealth as much as possible. Inform the fleet that I am taking command of the hunt. The ritual challenges will be done when the hunt is finished. Until then, they obey, as they would the Great Hunter.”

He knew that he would get challenged, once the danger had passed. He was too young, and had too few victories under his name to take on the mantle of leading such a large hunt unchallenged. But that didn’t matter. As the next in line, the other Ourans would follow, until the challenges could be made, or until he proved unworthy of leadership.

“Have the fleet move into Stalking Brethak formation. We have only one real ship opposing us, and the rest are well-armed shuttles and fighters. Stalk in the void, and hunt them one on one. We have all the time we need to seek them out.”

“As you say, Huntleader.”

His second moved to his side, and whispered, “Huntleader, might you share your wisdom?”

“Yes, Unraz, you should learn this, if you are to lead a hunt of your own in some time. Let us start with the taunting of our foe, here. Why does one taunt an enemy? Especially one who is bigger and stronger than you are?”

“So that they will make a mistake, Huntleader. They will chase an offered bait, and let rage blind them. Then the hunter becomes hunted.”

“Very good. I am glad the lessons I’ve taught have not gone unheeded. Yes, this hunter that opposes us is trying to draw us into another trap. If they had more forces to bring to bear, they would have done so already. More of those weapons would have wiped us out in an instant, if they had enough.

“Instead, they hit us with a few ships, designed to hit hard, and hit fast, striking from stealth. They are not the mighty Brethak, striking with tooth and claw, but the cunning Erboha, slithering and striking at its prey and bringing them down with deadly venom. The Brethak can crush the Erboha in an instant, if it spots the smaller creature, but the Erboha only needs a single unguarded moment to take down the Brethak.”

“Then why move to stalking, instead of moving to active scanners?”

“Because, Unraz, we do not know what weapons these Erboha have. We know that they use negative matter, but we don’t know how quickly they can be fired, or if there is some kind of radiation that charging them gives off, that we can detect. Know your prey, their capabilities and their personality, and that will allow you to hunt them all the easier. Remember, the skillful hunter knows their ability, and that of their prey, while the foolish hunter relies upon luck.”

“I understand, Huntleader.”

(Bridge, Hellspawn)

“Enemy fleet has engaged stealth drives. We’ve lost them, Captain.”

Elalana nodded. “That’s fine, Lieutenant. Keep in stealth, and begin search protocols. This is going to be a game of shadows hunting shadows.”

I nodded. “Exactly, Captain. But it is a game that we can win. Hellspawn and the Renegades can kill or severely damage the smaller enemy ships with a single attack, if they use both shots at once. And the renegades will be tougher to spot.”

“What about Rogue Squadron, Admiral?”

“Send a message to Rogue Leader. Have the squadron break up into flights, one on stealth patrol of Earth orbit, one on active standby, and the other two resting, and rotate as needed. We want to keep these Ouran from sneaking past and raiding Earth while we play out here in the outer system.”

“Understood. Pass the orders on, Ensign.”

“Start a search pattern with the Renegades. Make sure to do a visual inspection of the wreckage, just in case someone is playing possum. Local control, radio silence. Laser comms only. Keep an eye out for any enemy transmissions.” I paused, thinking, “When we get clear line of sight, send a laser message to Ceres. I want some special probes designed and launched. We need a way to draw out the enemy.”