Rudolf felt his stomach churning a few more times before the sound of the engines and the constant hum that came along with them.
The War Wings must have come back onboard. That's good, can't go around leaving people behind.
" I see you haven't changed Lord Captain." Rudolf could almost hear the contempt from the Grand Admirals voice.
"It's hard to teach an old dog new tricks Grand Admiral." Rudolf scoffed.
"Haha.. You are neither a dog nor old Captain." Admiral Dares tried his best to lighten the mood. He was aware of the animosity between the two and would like more than anything for them to reconcile right about now. This was not the time to be fighting amongst themselves.
"Moving on Captain, I apologize for misleading you but I hope you will allow me to explain myself?"
Rudolf nodded for Admiral Dares to continue.
"Quite frankly I didn't know that you would run into those aliens here. At most I suspected that you would encounter some Oligarch insurgents."
"Then why not tell me that Admiral Dares?" Rudolf was indignant. He was lied to, his crew put in danger, and his temper tested once again. He would not let this slide.
"It was a request Lord Captain, a request to have you specifically search the area. I was also told not to give you any forewarning." Admiral Dares looked more and more concerned as he spoke, as if he was saying too much.
Rudolf didn't sigh, although he wanted nothing more than to curse out the two old fogies on the screen. But that wouldn't solve anything, and he was sure they didn't have any malicious intentions.
"What was that alien craft?"
This time it was the Grand Admirals turn to look concerned. "We aren't certain, you are the fourth ship to encounter these aliens. Although there have been no losses so far, it is concerning none the less that they can slip into Autarch space so easily."
No losses probably only refers to ships, it's too far fetched to believe that four encounters came out unscathed against such a foe.
"How far?" Asked Rudolf.
"One made it as far as Faust."
The Grand Admiral wasn't joking, Faust was a key sector for the Autarchy. Worst of all it was the center of the Autarchy's military. Production, training, manpower, ships! Everything came from Faust.
Damn, my head.
The conversation did not go how Rudolf would have wanted at all from then on.
It seemed that the Hand of Fire was the only one able to not only destroy an enemy ship but collect samples as well.
His mission, whether he chooses to accept it or not is to hunt down the alien capture or destroy it. Then return to Delta Cartago as soon as possible with the wreckage.
Earth standard time 2841.08.06
The emergency lights lit up the inside of the Hand of Fire with a red and green flare. The crew had long ago stopped their day to day activities and were fully prepared for the worst in their designated locations. Even with the internal gravity control and shielding, some individuals who were more sensitive to motion sickness couldn't hold their stomach contents from spilling.
The Hand of Fire was using astern propulsion to spin around at high speeds following the alien ship.
The alien ship had launched a full scale bombardment on the Hand of Fire as soon as Rudolf and his crew had caught up. It was not only unexpected but it had deadly consequences on their port and fore weapons.
To account for the current situation Rudolf was having the Hand of Fire spin in place firing at the enemy craft with the full force of her starboard weapons.
Unfortunately they couldn't keep this up for much longer, the g-forces alone were starting to take a toll on the crew.
"The target's shields are still holding and we can't use the Bull's Horn."
"Our shields are holding but the target isn't letting up. Captain, eventually our grav shields won't be able to hold. We have an hour left at this rate."
"Starboard guns reloading and refueling, switching to energy weapons!" The dull thud of the starboard kinetic weapons was gone and now the ear piercing whine of the high energy guns had started.
Rudolf disliked energy weapons. Not only were they fickle but when used for prolonged periods of time they taxed the Hand of Fire's cooling and HVAC systems.
It would get hot in here soon, damn shitters can't just die!?
The battle had been ongoing for nearly four hours now. The alien had learned from their predecessor not to go near the ship's forward side. One wrong move and the Hand of Fire would tear them apart like a paper through a shredder.
"Lieutenant Primus prepares the ship for a peregrine." Rudolf quickly pressed several buttons on his control panel as he spoke to his bridge crew.
"Helmsman, you know what to do."
"Yes Captain!"
"Lieutenant Aron, inform the crew to hold on tight."
If those shitters think that this is all the Hand of Fires got then their in for a rude awakening.
The Hand of Fire was currently using the massive thrusters on It's port side to spin keeping the starboard facing the enemy ship. It would also occasionally use its rear, lower, and upper thrusters when the alien tried to get crafty.
At the end of the day though all the thrusters other than the rear Wollack Class thrusters, the same used on the quickest Epoch class battleships in the Autarchy's Navy were inferior and could only do so much.
The Peregrin maneuver was developed specifically for Epoch class battleships. The maneuver would use the massive Wollack thrusters and the smaller Gallia thrusters on the Epoch class ships to launch them in an arch against their target.
The arch would be built by the Gallia thrusters on the side pushing against the center and then the Wollack thrusters would show their true power bringing the massive ship past light speed against their target.
The maneuver was beyond difficult, and even the best pilots would likely only hit the end of their target but it was enough. The target would be like wounded prey after being hit with such a force, if they even survived. Then the predator would swoop in for another strike or slow down enough to lock onto their targets and blast them to bits.
Rudolf could feel the engines powering up. The Hand of Fire began to vibrate intensely, this was the beginning of her hunt. As she prepared herself to swoop down on their enemy the bridge crew was working with the onboard computers to calculate the trajectory of their strike.
The rear thrusters came alive with an intense boom that made Rudolf feel like Lieutenant Minhaj had pressed hard against his chest. He could feel the Hand of Fire pulling strongly on the starboard side.
This would be tough on the crew, he thought.
As the ship had almost made the first half of the arch Rudolf could see the alien ship trying to make a quick escape.
Fools.
Rudolf had enough of those bastards that had ruined his year already.
Just as the Hand of Fire reached the halfway point he could have sworn that he could hear the massive engines on the stern ignite in a screaming fury their accompanying thrusters. The next thing Rudolf felt was his head bang against his very uncomfortable chair.
I shouldn't have leaned forward, damn it all. This would certainly make his headache worse.
The Hand of Fire flung through the space between herself and the enemy ship with a speed impossible to follow with the human eye. How a massive thing like the Hand of Fire could move so quickly always confused Rudolf. He wasn't a dunce by any means but it just didn't make any sense to him.
The chain of events to follow would lead Rudolf and his crew down a path of no return. Some more faithful would wonder if the gods were choosing Rudolf Reis and the Hand of Fire. Others would say that the events to follow were bound to happen to someone like Rudolf and those that followed him. And few would say that coincidence is a bitch.
The Hand of Fire and its crew did not disappoint. The Hand of Fire had accurately struck the enemies stern destroying their main thrusters and likely immobilizing them in the process.
Rudolf once again felt confident that he and his crew could make it victorious to Delta Cartago for a much needed break soon.
Rudolf ordered another strike since it would be a waste of fuel and cooling to stop the engines now without fully utilising the current acceleration of the Hand of Fire. Since the speed of the ship had diminished greatly after the initial impact the next strike would likely be less dramatic but enough to end their foe once and for all.
Just as the Hand of Fire struck the center of the enemy craft Rudolf could see their hull breaking apart in slow motion. Just as the enemy vessel was at the halfway point of the Hand of Fire Rudolf felt a massive impact that nearly knocked him off his chair.
The next thing he heard were alarms throughout the bridge and a string of comments through his chairs comm link.
"Heavy damage on outer decks ten through fifteen!"
"Sealing all damaged corridors!"
"Fire containment teams have been dispatched!��
"Hab block 78 is severely damaged, evacuation procedures underway!"
.....
….
…
..
.
What just happened?
A hab block was damaged? Through the grav shield? Through the kinetic shields?! Through the f*cking hulls!?
F*ck all the gods above and below how many dead!?
"How many?"
"Captain?" The first to respond was Lieutenant Primus Kolsey.
"Casualties!?" Rudolf was indignant. Why did they have to come here? Why them again?
Several hours later Rudolf and his bridge team looked through the logs since their second strike.
The only thing they could find that was able to cause such damage to the Hand of Fire even going so far as destabilizing their shields and piercing their hull was a massive radioactive reading right before the blast. What was strange was that the various teams deployed to check the damage had not reported seeing any type of known radiation.
"Captain, we have the casualties here." Lieutenant Primus Kolsey had a solemn look that made Rudolf feel uncomfortable. The number would be high.
"One hundred and twenty eight dead. Two hundred and twelve injured, out of those eighteen are in critical condition."
Rudolf was quiet, the numbers acting like knives stabbing at his already broken heart.
"Captain, these numbers….. Aren't bad considering what happened." Kolsey looked worried, thought Rudolf. "Should i contact Dr.Vensano?"
Rudolf gave Edward Kolsey a glare that could kill.
"No, thank you Lieutenant Primus. I will be going to my office to report today's events to the Admiralty. I'm certain you know what to do without me."
"Yes, Captain."
Rudolf slowly walked into his office. He glanced around until he found a spot on his desk that was relatively clear. He began to slowly and carefully move as many things as he could out of the way making the space larger.
It wouldn't be good if I break anything. I'm not made of money, and no one would pay to replace something I broke out of blind rage.
Rudolf stood above the space he had cleared and took a deep breath.
Inhale, exhale, and repeat.
"Hehe.. I f*cked up again." Rudolf raised his left arm in a fist and punched the desk as hard as he could.
Not even a crack, Rudolf never appreciated the fake wooden desks made of nano plastics as much as he did right now. They weren't just sturdy but also didn't make much sound when struck.
Rudolf raised his left fist and punched the desk with all his might. He repeated this again and again until he was satisfied he felt as much pain as those that died.
"Why didn't I do better, why was I so cocky. F*ck, why? Why? Why!? WHY!?"
Rudolf heard a crack, he had broken his wrist. His fingers were long broken so he wasn't worried about them anymore.
Rudolf punched the desk and cleared his thoughts. They were dead because of his actions, as Captain he took full responsibility of all the souls onboard the Hand of Fire. They trusted him and put their lives in his hands. He had taken those lives and lost them cheaply because of his stupid over confidence.
What made things worse was that Rudolf knew he couldn't point all his wrath at the aliens. If he were in their shoes he would do the same, all's fair in love and war as they say. Too bad that didn't make things any better for him.