Lowering The Hammer Snippet 1

 Sitrep: so, I'm still working on figuring out our housing situation. Not fun.

Anyway, I started Shelby 9, Peacekeepers and I also sent Lowering the Hammer to Rea.

 

 

On to the snippet!

 

Chapter1

In Hyperspace, Sigma Sector

 

Scamp lookedfrom one to another crew member. Everyone was awake despite the boredom oftheir journey. They were all excited, the prowler was headed back to theircontact point with the Federation.

They weretraveling with news of the location of El Dorado. He was nervous, he didn'twant to blow it. No one did. It was probably the single most important thingthat Batmobile and her crew of SEALs had ever done. As Chief Thompsonput it, it might be the single most important thing that they could ever do.Definitely historic... if it played out.

He listenedquietly as they talked at the evening meal. "Do we even know if the ship isstill there?"

"Oh,its there," PO Sia Clarkson insisted. She had a tablet in front of her andwas keeping tabs on the ship's systems.

"How dowe know?" PO Chase Denvery asked.

"It'stoo big to go far. Even if they get their sublight drives going it will taketime to get them very far. Once Fleet jumps in, they can run them down."

"Yeah,but I meant escaping in hyperspace," Chase insisted.

"How?"

"Allthat antimatter and stuff they stole? Not to mention all of the work they'veput into the ship over the past couple of decades?" Chase said helpfully.

The tigerfrowned thoughtfully. After a moment she flicked her ears. "I think ifthey could have moved her they would have."

"Well,they didn't have any real incentive to do so and a lot to not move before AdmiralBriggs showed up and set off his here I am broadcast," PO Randy Guettastated.

The tigernodded and flicked her ears.

"Wordis that the ship and her original crew fell out of hyper after a long jump.They were dry on fuel. We don't know what they did to try to survive. Theyended up in stasis," PO Ben Sully said from his seat at the table."In theory with all the antimatter they stole they could get her in hyperagain."

"And weknow this from where?" Randy asked.

"Wecaught a few of the crew who were being used by the pirates,"  the ship's AI Alfred stated. They all lookedup to the ceiling.

"Caughtthem?"

"Theywere technically aiding and abetting the enemy in a time of war. They wereduped into it. They were debriefed thoroughly and then given discharges,"Alfred stated flatly.

"A bitlight isn't it?"

"Notour call," the Noechimp said with a shrug. "I'd hope someone wouldnot hold me to the letter of the law if someone played me. I'd be so pissed atmyself it wouldn't be funny."

Sia nodded.So too did some of the others around the table. The tiger reached down to petthe pup and then playfully tug on a flappy ear. He pretended to snap at her.She managed to dodge the snap and then tapped his nose in response.

"Thebyplay was noted by Ben who leaned over to eye the pup. Scamp lowered his eyesin response.

"Anyway,"Ben said as he took a sip of coffee. "Intel knows that part of the story.They were found, woken up in small groups, isolated, fed a story, and thendispatched to do odd jobs. They were carefully insulated from the real worldand events. I'll say one thing about the pirates, they can do a damn good jobplaying people," he said gruffly.

"Practice,"Randy growled.

"Thatand sex. They were very good at playing the sex card," Ben replied as helooked at the cup.

"Oh."

"Justhumans though. Only humans were awake. The survivors said they never saw any ofthe crew who were neo or alien. Which..." he grimaced and looked away.

The puplooked at Sia in confusion as her fur bristled and thens lowly went back down.Her ears were flat. She didn't look happy.

He glancedat some of the others. None of them looked happy. It was a little intimidating.He knew it wasn't about him personally though. He just wasn't certain why theywere bristling like that.

"Anyway,"Ben said gruffly. "We know what we know from them and some other sourcesthat the brass didn't identify."

"Theydidn't have a location though obviously," Chase growled. "Ratherconvenient," he said darkly.

"Hey,do you know our exact position? Or where we found the signal from AdmiralBriggs?" Ben retorted.

Chaseblinked and then after a moment shook his head.

"Yeah,thought not. The rank and file just keep their heads down and do their jobs.These people were mostly techs. Engineers. Give them a job and that is theirentire world." He pointed a subtle finger to the tiger in their midst whowas tapping at her tablet and looking at it intently.

Chase andRandy snorted.

Sia lookedup from her tablet. "Um, something I missed?" she asked.

That sparkeda chuckle from the others.

<<V>>

2 light months outside of the Sector Capital

Captain Ellie Dunn felt relief as the third weekpassed and the enemy hadn't noted their arrival.

Her battlecruiser command France had beensailing in on a ballistic course to her final monitoring point for a full 6weeks. The Kurama class battlecruiser had made a painfully slow andgentle final translation from hyperspace at that point over 2 light months out.They'd given a burp of fuel to get them moving in the right direction and thenwent into silent running mode.

There were few ships of their scale left in the fleet.She had heard the whisper from her crew that they should run to Beta sector buthad ignored it. Her family was on the battle moon after all, there was no wayshe was just going to abandon her 3 kids. The same for many of the seniorofficers, they all had family. She was pretty sure it was by design to ensuretheir loyalty.

Well, that and some of the privileges that they'dgotten. Better schools, larger condos, and all of that, she thought in mildamusement. Just because she knew she was being played didn't mean it wasn'tworking, it just meant she wanted it to happen on her terms, she noted.

Besides, she'd been warned that there was aself-destruct package embedded in the ship. If they didn't report back by acertain time period the ship would blow up. She had no idea if the threat wasreal but she had to take it for real. She didn't want the crew to know however.

A light cruiser would have been a better choice forthe asssignment, however none were available. There were few left in the fleet.Most were out and about on assignment so France and her division mate Tormentorhad been tapped for the duel mission.

And who's fault was that? She thought with a pang.They all knew that the bitch Catherine the so called Great Ramichov had beenthe real one to blow apart Horath and the fleet there. Some might be...reassured by her ruthlessness. They'd certainly seen it when she had reportedlykilled her own family down to her siblings after all. There had been somethingto respect in her. She had shown empathy by helping people after the gladiatorstadium masacre, she had shown her steel and cunning by eliminating her madfather and getting them out of the deathtrap that Horath had proven to be. Allwhile under the eyes of the Federation invasion no less.

Ellie had to admit, setting off the nova bomb to covertheir tracks had been a sick twisted yet brilliant act. She hadn't had manybones with it at the time because she'd managed to get her husband Henry andthe kids off the planet. She did regret loosing her parents though, but not hisdamn mother. The in laws were no loss. That bitch could fry.

Her lips twisted slightly in an aproximation of asmirk.

After the destruction of Horath she had no problembelieving there was some sort of self-destuct on her ship, none at all.Possibly in the coding, possibly in a warhead, possibly the hardware. Therewere too many places to go looking. It wasn't worth upsetting the crew over it.

"No change in traffic patterns," CICreported on the tick. She glanced up and then over to the open hatch.

"Very well," she murmured. They were so farout that everything they were seeing was months old. But that was the way sheliked it. She didn't want the bastards to see her and come after her. It mightbe tough to sus out what they were seeing with just passives, but they wouldmake the most of it. Besides, it gave CIC and the computers something to do incombining sensor feeds and refining the results.

Over the past few weeks they had gotten good atbuilding a profile of traffic around the star system.

She glanced at the empty helm tank. At the moment itwas not manned, an enlisted sailor was holding the position and playing a videogame to stay busy. The mermaid clone was asleep in the water dweller quarters.They had 3, all sisters and all experienced at their jobs. Half of her crewwere down for the ship's 'night'. A quarter of the crew were in stasis to helpdraw out their time on station.

One year, shethought. One year and then her family was free. They could run when shereturned to the battle moon.

46 weeks and 3 days remaining until they left. Afterthat another six months to pick their way across the sector to the battle moon,and then they'd be free.

It couldn't happen soon enough. She felt a keen pangat all of the time she was missing with the kids. They were growing like weeds.Then again, the 2 eldest were teens now so maybe it was best that she didn'thave to deal with adolecent hormones? Her lips twitched again. Henry was goingto have his hands full, she thought in amusement.

It was funny that each of the brat pack had beenconcieved after a long deployment. Would this deployment cause a fourth childto be born in a few years? Each reunion was passionate and memorable. Maybe,she thought cheerfully, though she was getting a bit on in years to have kidsshe reminded herself firmly.

<<V>>

SG3R211-94

 

AdmiralDwight Harris stared at the plot as he worried. It was now a race, he noted.The bulk of Second Fleet was split between 3 positions, the capital where hewas at, the nearby Gate star system formerly known as Tortuga Sigma, and inpenny packet pickets and patrols across the sector.

But, he wasworking to consolidate his command even though TF 2.7 was off establishing anaval station near where they suspected the battle moon to be. He had made itclear to the admiralty and to Admiral Irons especially, he wanted in on theupcoming action. He flat out refused to be left behind and sit on the sidelinesguarding the sector capital. Not when he and his people had a score tosettle.  The more he'd thought about it,the more he believed that one task force would not be up for the battle. Theynot only needed to pin the battle moon down, they also had to run down anyleakers... and eventually board the damn thing.

All with therisk of the empress blowing it up in their faces at any time of her choosing, hereminded himself tartly.

"We oweit to our dead to see this through to the finish. One way or another," hemurmured to himself.

He hadrecently cut orders to consolidate his remaining command by replacing hisdeployed cruisers, carrier groups, and battle cruisers with his destroyers aswell as some borrowed from Fifth Fleet. It stripped his screen bare but thatwas fine, he needed those larger ships back with him.

Whoever theadmiralty sent to relieve him would replace those pickets. I might evensteal their screen as a replacement, who knows, he thought in amusement.

Once theysent a fleet through the gate he planned to pull everyone together and meetwith TF 2.7 and then move on El Dorado.

That was, ifthe prowler came back with a positive report.

<<V>>