Halo_ Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe - Eric Nylund [177]
The UNSC corvette Callisto stopped and boarded a trading vessel. The merchant crew was skittish due to rumors of impressments during similar searches in the Outer Colonies (a rumor started, we suspect, by insurgent sympathizers). A weapon was drawn and shots exchanged, resulting in the death of three naval officers and twenty-seven merchant crewmen.
No contraband was discovered.
This sparked outrage throughout the system. Thirty-seven days later, the Callisto ordered a similar merchant vessel to stand to and be searched. The merchant ship allowed the officers to board with all due courtesies. When the officers entered the cargo bay, they found it empty. The bay doors opened and the officers were blasted into space. The merchant crew then swarmed into the unsuspecting Callisto and murdered the remainder of the its crew.
The Callisto was taken and its computer system gutted and replaced.
The insurgency was now armed.
In response, a UNSC battle group of three light destroyers was sent to hunt down the Callisto. They had weapons that had never been fired in conflict, nor had her crews engaged in any battle.
Leading the battle group was the UNSC destroyer Las Vegas under Captain Harold Lewis, with a new assistant navigation officer fresh out of Luna OCS, Second Lieutenant Preston J. Cole.
0315 HOURS, MARCH 2, 2494 (MILITARY CALENDAR) \ UNSC
DESTROYER LAS VEGAS PATROLLING 26 DRACONIS SYSTEM
BRIDGE LOG OF THE UNSC LAS VEGAS (PRIMARY, VIDEO,
SPATIAL ENHANCEMENTS=TRUE)
The bridge of the UNSC Las Vegas was a narrow oval of nav, ops, engineering, comm, and weapons stations. Green and blue icons winked on and off, illuminating the faces of the officers, while the shadows around them were full of the red glow of battle station lights.
Captain Lewis sat on the edge of his seat, nervously scraping his thumbnail. The first mate, Commander Rinkishale, stood near, her cap snug on her head, and lines of concern crisscrossing her face.
“Update on target vector,” Captain Lewis said.
“Still decelerating, sir,” Second Lieutenant Cole answered. His close-cropped hair spiked up with stubborn cowlicks. His gaze was cold iron and only the faintest lines creased the corners of his eyes as he squinted at the screen. Without looking away, he tapped in a double-check calculation of what the nav computer displayed. “Enemy on a direct course into the asteroid field.”
“We have to engage before they get in,” Commander Rinkishale told the captain. “We’ll be able to maneuver around a few rocks, but too far into that field . . .”
“And they’ll be able to play cat and mouse with us,” the captain replied. He tapped in a message on his secure comm to the destroyers in his battle group.
Immediate replies scrolled across his screen.
“The Jericho and Buenos Aires concur,” Captain Lewis said. “So we go hunting. Set course to intercept the Callisto,” he ordered Lieutenant Cole. “Flank speed.”
“Answering 030 by 270, sir,” Cole said.
“Reactor answering one hundred percent,” Lieutenant Taylor replied.
The Las Vegas accelerated and the bridge crew crunched in their padded seats as the Callisto grew on the central view screen.
“She’s slowing, sir,” Cole announced.
“Because they have to navigate through the field,” the captain muttered. “What in God’s name do they think they’re doing?” He turned to the weapons station and Lieutenant Jorgenson. “Range?”
“In twenty seconds, sir,” Lieutenant Jorgenson replied. “Firing solutions online for Ares missile system. The target might bank around that larger asteroid at the edge of belt, but we have a lock. The missile tracking systems can steer around.”
“In twenty, then,” Captain Lewis said and started scraping his thumbnail again. “Coordinate firing solutions with the Jericho and Buenos Aires, and allow computer control to fire at will—silos one through six.”
Cole shot a quick glance at Lieutenant Jorgenson, who looked back at him and gave