The Ascendant Stars - Michael Cobley [120]
Ash’s image blinked, then he spoke again.
‘Berg, we’re now on a secure channel. Who do you think is behind this?’
‘Marshal Becker, sir. Has his hallmark all over it.’
‘Yes, which means that he’s certainly on board that seventh ship. And since the other six weren’t spotted by the Imisil probe until they came out and attacked the Vox H, it’s logical to assume that they’ve been there since before the Imisil arrived.’ Ash rubbed the side of his head, as if at an ache. ‘They’ve seen all there was to see and probably listened in on our channels, so now they know who’s here and who’s planetside.’
‘Like Captain Gideon,’ said Greg. ‘He’s no’ exactly Becker’s favourite Human being.’
‘It’s possible, Mr Cameron, but it’s equally likely that he’s acting under orders. Lieutenant Berg – keep your ship at combat alert and switch your patrol pattern to semi-random. If a Tygran vessel appears do not approach or pursue, and do not engage unless absolutely necessary. Those destroyers are atmosphere-capable so it might try for a landing – again, observe and track but do not intervene. Clear?’
‘Yes, sir, but—’
‘Wait!’ Ash said, his gaze snapping to one side. ‘Now the Tygran-Ezgara ships are breaking off and making a dash for open space. They know they’re outnumbered.’
On the 3D schematic Greg could see six symbols heading away from the scene of the battle. Seconds later these symbols starting winking out as the ships jumped to hyperspace. Except for two, and when Greg looked closer he saw that the velocity values for both were falling rapidly.
‘Mr Berg, Admiral Olarevic has crucial information,’ said Ash. ‘I’m switching the channel back to convoke mode … Admiral, I am pleased that you survived the Ezgara attack.’
Greg and Berg exchanged a look but said nothing.
‘Unfortunately, two of my ships did not and I have another three so damaged they are not fit for front-line duties.’ The woman was visibly straining to keep her temper under control. ‘But I can see now that the Ezgara assault was none of your doing, in the light of the tactical overview you generously fed to us from your probe. More immediate, however, is the matter of these two Ezgara ships which stayed behind. Both are casting messages claiming that all or most of both crews have mutinied. One is called the Vanquisher, the other the Firebrand. However, our sensors are picking up indications of fighting aboard the latter … ’
‘Do you know the name of whoever is in charge aboard the Vanquisher, Admiral?’ said Ash.
‘He calls himself Braddock,’ said Olarevic. ‘Claims that he was the security officer. Would you like me to connect you to him?’
Berg glanced at Greg wide-eyed and gave a silent shake of the head.
‘That could be very useful, Admiral,’ Ash said. ‘But I’d like to go over it with my colleagues on the other vessels first, put together a consensus on how to proceed. In the meantime we need to keep our sensor arrays active at all ranges. We still haven’t located the seventh Ezgara vessel and we cannot relax until we can be sure that it’s left the system.’
Suddenly Ash’s attention was distracted by one of his bridge crew, just as Berg’s own tac officer spoke.
‘There’s some activity at the Firebrand, sir – most of the aft life-pods are ejecting … ’
On the viewport overlay the same information was being exchanged between the admiral and Ash.
‘ … and we’re getting an audiocast from the Firebrand,’ Olarevic said. ‘I’ll tie you in on this channel.’
There was a moment of interference followed by a man’s voice. He sounded young, agitated and determined.
‘ … repeat, this is Sub-Lieutenant Weiss, head of the Firebrand loyalty cadre. We have retaken the bridge and intend to fly this ship safely home, whatever the intentions of the enemies within and those outside. This message is going out shipwide and on local ship frequencies. No one aboard this vessel should doubt our resolve. If we are prevented from flying back home, we shall implement the self-destruct. We have all the senior officer command keys and are fully prepared to use them.