Combat Space Patrol Viking Four
El Rey System Perimeter Section Ten
LCDR Desiree “Danger Baby” Shaw Commanding

“Argent control, this is Jack Lead. I am tracking six– correction seven marks at two ten. Request permission to arm.”

The fighters of patrol V4 were flying in a tight diamond slot formation approaching the trailing course of Cavalier Five heavy. All of Argent’s patrol formations were gradually converging on what the battleship’s combat information center had detected near the system’s edge. One of the things Hunter and O’Malley both had gotten into the habit of doing was launching autonomous probes to supplement their “eyes and ears” at medium ranges relative to their ship’s course. Without her battle group, a ship like Argent was tasked with maintaining her own defensive perimeter, one of the things she was more than capable of provided her captain and XO were max attentive to the potential for shenanigans.

Given the events of the past two weeks, it could be reasonably said that pretty much everyone aboard Skywatch hull BBV 740 was max attentive. Both command officers were well aware Commander Drake’s formation was in harm’s way. His was a mission that required little more than time, so it was up to Argent to make sure something hostile didn’t sneak up on him in the dark.

Jason was in his full element. He was maintaining brisk conversations with at least three departments while working with his Chief Signals Officer to brainstorm more ideas about where an enemy carrier might be hiding in or near the El Rey system.

“Turns out whatever attacked Task Force 92 was a Sarn Wildcat equivalent,” Hunter said. “Energy batteries, good acceleration, top-of-the-line electronic warfare suite. According to the repeater data, their first wave was only fifteen thousand miles out when the threat board tripped.”

“Sounds to me like someone was looking the other way,” Zony replied. “Either that or they were too confused by the loss of signal from the repeater matrix.”

“You know, I have a thought about that,” Jason said as he pushed off from the center chair and cleared all three steps to the communications station. “Doesn’t it seem to you these guys are doing a ‘look over there’ every time they launch a fighter strike?”

“Same thing happened at Uniform Tango, remember?” Zony meant it as an off-hand remark, but for the captain, suddenly everything fell into place. Zony looked up. “What.”

“It can’t have been that well coordinated.”

Zony recognized the Hunter look. It was the one both Jason and his sister got when they were about to do something intuitive, potentially reckless and entirely Hunter-like in its conception and execution. The captain bounded back to the conn and grabbed the white handset from the overhead console.

“Launch Gargoyle and Stuffy on the ready alert! Rendezvous with formation Viking Four. Weapons armed, signal buster.”

“Yes sir,” came the assured response from the Skywatch CIC. The top-most deck aboard Argent was not the bridge, but a technological marvel in the equivalent of a tower built as a superstructure on the dorsal surface of the ship. On all vessels with designated star wings, this tower was referred to as “Skywatch” while the fleet headquarters was called “Skywatch Command.” The name had stuck over the years and eventually replaced “Space Navy” as the name of the military branch in charge of spacecraft. Ironically enough, the Marines ended up absorbing the remaining units of the wet navy, which became an auxiliary service.

“Everything that happened at Prairie Grove happened before. It happened at Station 19. It happened when the Invector formation tried to commandeer this vessel at Bayone!”

“You’re saying all of those events were related somehow?” Commander O’Malley asked as he straightened his glasses.

“A distinct possibility, XO. And now what have we got going on in the El Rey system? A cruiser vanishes into thin air. All of my fighter pilots are suddenly in the riddle-solving business. Meanwhile, we lost contact with an enemy formation which Commander Shaw just picked up again.”

O’Malley moved to the navigator’s console and began examining the contact trail for the unidents. “They’ve got to have a support ship somewhere in the system.”

“Agreed XO,” Hunter said as he joined the navigator and his second-in-command. The three officers studied the tactical readouts, looking for anything that might indicate where the unidents originated and what their eventual destination might be.

“Sir, Flight Three reports the ready alert launched. Vectoring three three five for V4 intercept.”

“Very well,” Hunter replied. “XO, it might not be a bad idea to put together some backup for those two patrols. I’d like a Nemesis out there while we’re at it. If we could coordinate with Flotilla 29 it would give us a second set of eyes and ears out here.”

“We’re going to have to do some heavy reworking of our transmitters to get a signal to Captain Drake without giving away our position. Whatever Lieutenant Calloway detected is between us and them.”

“The CSP is the priority, XO. Work with Zony on the communications link after.”

“Agreed, sir. Jets in five.”

“Very well. Zony, notify the flight leads for Cavalier Five and Viking Four we are prepping backups. Yolanda, plot a new course for repeater two’s command zone. All ahead two-thirds.”

“Affirmative, sir. Helm answering three ten mark six. All ahead two-thirds.”

“Navigator, find that carrier.”


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