Hilda
Their intelligence had been correct. The ‘Jade Grip’ had jumped right on top of the small corvettes. As soon as the Battleship jumped into the system, one of her support starships had deployed a gravity field so the small corvettes couldn’t jump away with emergency jump drive engines. It would be unlikely that the vessels would have courses already plotted, but Hilda didn’t like to take chances.
The six corvettes couldn’t hope to do much if any damage to the ‘Jade Grip’. They might have been able to damage one of the two corvettes, or the frigates which jumped with the Battleship, and often called it home, but backed up by the might of the Sword-class battleship, they wouldn’t get the chance. A lucky shot might take out a starfighter, which even now were screaming out of the hangar bays, but that could only seal their fate.
Hilda watched the main command table display console as it showed the six corvettes with holographic images dwarfed by the ‘Jade Grip’. The captain’s of the ships were quick, and already attempting to attack, but their weapons were too weak, and easily stopped by countermeasures. She doubted any would make it through the shields, or if she dropped them, that any could penetrate the hull armor. Her own starfighters, corvettes, and frigate were already moving into position, and launching counter attacks.
The command deck was ablaze with noise, and chatter as reports came in, and orders were called out, but Hilda kept her eyes on the holographic display above the table, and her mouth shut. They had trained for this, and there was nothing she could add that they didn’t already know to do.
Main systems were taken out on several of the corvettes as the forces of ‘Jade Grip’ attacked. Engines, life support, weapons and the like were targeted. Hilda watched the exchange of weapons fire, as lasers, rail-guns, and missiles went back, and forth, and corvette after corvette lost momentum, and power from the onslaught. Their defense was disorganized while the attacks came quick, and fast from the tactical section of the command deck with commander Glass at Ops, and Commander Cross on weapons.
The last two corvettes lost power to weapons fire from the ‘Jade Grip’, and Hilda nodded to commander Ironstorm, the man in charge of the marine detachment of the battleship who began to relay orders from his own section on the command deck. She knew he wanted to be with his units as they launched their assaults, she felt that same urge, but it wasn’t their place.
Breaching pods, and assault boats launched from the hangar bays, and Hilda watched them on the display as they made their way towards the damaged corvettes as they vented air, water, and debris. She brought up several tactical screens that showed the video feed linked to the marines as they boarded the enemy starships. The marines moved through the corridors quickly in their power armor, and opened fire on any who refused orders or attempted to put up a fight, and arrested any who did not.
Sections on each corvette were open to space, and Hilda could see the bodies of the dead who had their space suits ripped apart by flying debris before the marines even reached them. One by one the command sections, engineer sections, and other key sections of the corvettes were secured.
None of the corvettes had self-destructed which meant that their own A.I. attacks had gained command of the systems or the outlaws were not eager to die. Most pirates, and outlaws were nothing but bullies, and sought easy fights, of which they had just fought they were on the wrong side of. Still she held her breath at times as marines fell to enemy fire from those who thought they had nothing to lose. They were quickly dispatched by the brethren of the fallen, and Hilda couldn’t fault them for the no mercy they handed out to those who resisted. She wanted the starships intact, wanted their databases, and wanted prisoners, but she wouldn’t shed tears for the fools that choose to fight, nor risk more lives than she had to.
One by one the corvettes were cleared of resistance. By the end of the battle thirty seven minutes had passed, and one starfighter pilot, along with fourteen marines had lost their lives. A small price for ending the terror of the outlaws, but a bitter one nonetheless. Almost a hundred outlaws had been killed on the corvettes. Another more than fifty were captured, most of them wounded, and several badly while almost two dozen slaves had been found scattered among the starships.
“Good job everyone,” Hilda finally said as everyone continued about their work, and watched the shuttles that would bring in the next phase of the operation. Intelligence, and interrogation officers were moved to the corvettes along with engineers who could confirm that the ships would be safe to pull into the ‘Jade Grip’ own hangar bays or towed back to port to be sold for prize money, or into scrap, and parts. The crew would gain much from the sale of the corvettes, even in their damaged condition, and Hilda couldn’t help but smile at what her cut would be on such a prize.
Most of the records on the database of the corvettes had been destroyed or wiped, but intelligence gathering continued to pull information on some computers which hadn’t been wiped, or even retrieve some of the deleted files. The outlaw’s base was discovered, along with several other bases, and outposts the outlaws used from which they launched their attacks. There was also information on the Bishop of Grimm Hearth, a Bishop Becca Fyre, and some cult called the Fabian Order of Drala.
Hilda was unfamiliar with the cult of the Fabian Order of Drala. She thought it was stupid, and simple name. All of the Drala was part of the Fabian Faith, and but for the Furse of Drala, there were billions of Fabians in Drala. She tried to find records in the database of the ‘Jade Grip’, but could find no records of such a cult or anything other than simple generic information on the Fabian Faith at large. She was familiar with several Fabian orders, all of them part of the Fabian Faith, and all of them military in nature. She also knew of several orders of the Furse which still lingered in the old Furse Law, but she was curious about this cult, and why these outlaws would have information on a Bishop.
The information pointed to several large payments from the Bishop, and the so-called Fabian Order of Drala to the outlaws. Hilda wondered if the outlaws were working for the cult, or bishop, or if they were perhaps blacking the bishops. She couldn’t be sure one way or the other, but if she wanted to figure it out she would have to go to Grimm’s Hearth. She found it hard to believe that a bishop could be pulling the strings of these outlaws, and in effect be a traitor to the king, but people were stupid, and she wouldn’t assume anything.
Hilda looked around the command deck of the battleship, and smiled. The crew of the ‘Jade Grip’ had come out of it’s first battle better than she had expected, and she was proud of how they had handled it. An easier choice might have been to destroy the ships out right, and return back to Bastion, but the outlaws came from somewhere, and she had several leads on where.
“Good work people,” Hilda told her command crew once again. “Tell your people they did good, tell them the king would be proud of what they did here today, and so am I,” she said with a nod to her commanders.
“Aye ser,” several commanders responded before they went back to work.
“Commander Taft, set a course for the Grimm Hearth System,” Hilda told her Helm commander.
“Yes ser, I’ll have on plotted before the the Jump Drives are off cool down,” Commander Ozara Taft responded from her work station.
Hilda keyed the CIC where Captain Atwood, and the backup command staff were stationed in chance the command deck were lost. She missed having the older man’s presences by her side.
“Atwood here,” the captain responded.
“XO when the corvettes have been loaded, and jump drives are back online, have commander Taft begin the jumps towards the Grimm Hearth System.”
“Yes ser,” Captain Atwood responded. “Forgive me, but do you not wish to track down their main base of operations?”
“No, not yet,” Hilda replied. “We have some questions for the Bishop of Grimm Hearth, and I’d like to get there before she has time to learn of the battle.” Hilda looked at the display with the older man. “See if the interrogation teams can get any more information from the outlaws on the bishop as well. In the meantime I’ll be in my ready room.”
“Aye Ser, I’ll see it done” Captain Atwood said with a quick nod.
