First Strike - An Earth@War Novel

Chapter 9

ESS Mexico (D-866)
In Orbit, Omar IV
June 5, 2487, 1602

Captain James Allen was in his cabin when Yeoman Third Class Bruce Tivis buzzed him on his comm. "Yes, Tivis?"

"Sir, I just received flash traffic," Bruce replied.

"Bring it in," Captain Allen ordered. Mexico had been docked since it collided with a stealth ship on May 21st. The ship had sustained heavy damage to three decks of the starboard bow section, including the destruction of her forward missile launchers. Although repairs had been started, parts were needed that simply weren't available on Omar IV. So, requisitions had been made for the parts to be shipped from Kylar II, but with the damage to the Naval Base Oscar, who knew if they even had the parts now and when they would arrive, especially with the war on.

The war. I should be out there with the others fighting, but I am stuck here, the Captain, a 26-year veteran, thought.

Bruce Tivis entered the room. Though Bruce was one of the shortest people on the ship at 5'4", he was also one of the strongest. His weight of 165 was high for his height, but it was the pure muscle of a power lifter. The African-American had once had the goal of becoming a professional boxer, but fell in love with being in space and decided to make a career out of the Navy.

"Thank you, Tivis," the Captain said. Although they were in different positions, the Captain and his Yeoman had one thing in common; they were both from Detroit. The Captain looked at the message.

050624871547U

From: Commander Fourth Fleet
To: All Fourth Fleet Commands
Subj: Attack Warning

1. On 6/5/2487, information from a reliable source indicates
a Batronian attack will occur within 24 hours. The target
of this attack is unknown.

2. All commands are to take whatever defensive options are
available to repel this attack.

The Captain read the message again, paused to think and then told Tivis, "Have all the Department Heads muster in the wardroom."

"Aye, sir," Bruce replied, leaving the cabin as the Captain reread the message for a third time. A half-hour later, the Captain entered the wardroom.

"Attention on deck!" Lieutenant Commander Rich Collier called out as the Captain entered.

"At ease," the Captain said. He passed out copies of the message to the Departments Heads. "Alright, as you can see, there isn't a lot of detail, but I don't want to be docked if the attack comes here. So, we need to get underway. I know we are in no condition to fight, but I want the ability to get out of the system and give us some room to maneuver. We need to batten down the hatches, so to speak.

"Sir, with the damage we have to the ship, interstellar travel will have to be kept slow. Say 15 AMU or so, or the stress to the hull may be too much for the ship," the Damage Control Assistant said.

"Understood," Captain Allen replied.

"Sir, forward missiles are obviously unavailable, but due to damage, power is out to gun mounts 51 through 54 and turret 1," the Weapons Officer said referring to four of the six 75-mm guns and the 125-mm main gun turret.

"I know, but we're not going to go into battle. We are simply giving ourselves room to maneuver. Anything else?" the Captain asked waiting to make sure there was nothing. "Okay, let's get the ship ready."

At 0207, on June 6, 2487, ESS Mexico got underway exiting the system at 0308, just in time it turned out.

System Monitoring Center
Naval Base Quebec, Omar IV
June 6, 2487, 0620 Local, 0320 UT