Orion Gambit - Traci Ganner series book 2

Orion Gambit - Ch 2

Chapter 2

Probe

“We’ve got another shadow, Captain,” Ensign Graham said over his shoulder as he marked the new contact on his status board. Captain Ho-Kim was spending some time in the combat information center as they continued to move closer to the Alpha Centauri hyperspace limit. As the various sensor devices reported the contact, the CIC team would catalog and scan it and determine if it matched a friendly or hostile unit. A friendly unit was identified by its reporting beacon, and it would appear on the large plot in CIC in green with its unit designation, vector, and status floating above the icon. It would also appear simultaneously on all of the other plots across the ship, including on the bridge.

Ho-Kim noted that the plot showed four red icons, all the size and speed of strike fighters, out at the perimeter of his fleet. They refused to allow his ships to overtake them. Instead, they floated at the edges of the plot, undoubtedly sending updates heralding the arrival of his scouting force.

This was the fourth strike fighter escort they had picked up. It was part of the plan for Task Force Thirty-four to follow the hyperspace string to about four astronomical units away from Alpha Centauri and then curve around to come into the system on an oblique angle, hopefully undetected. Unfortunately, the Valdi were prepared for that. They had stationed strike fighter patrols on a parabolic sweep pattern to cover a wide arc of approaches from the Procyon binary. As the strike fighters picked up his scouting elements, they shadowed his ships, carefully staying far enough out of range to make their nimble craft very difficult to hit with beam cannons or missiles. But worse than that, they were following his ships and relaying their approach to a capital combat force waiting at the edge of the Alpha Centauri system.

As the sensors continued to relay contact information, twenty-seven new icons appeared on the plot. Each was carefully scanned and catalogued using the classification database. As matches were found, the CIC team posted the icons on the display, along with their vectors and damage status if known. As the two fleets closed the distance between them, ship identifiers also marked ships that Third Fleet had previously encountered in battle. Unfortunately, it had encountered none of the ships Ho-Kim saw here.

Captain Ho-Kim rubbed his chin in concentration. The indefatigable Valdi fleet had shifted to meet him well outside the star system, denying him a look at conditions nearer the inhabited planets. He was also unable to see the orbital fleet base around planet Alpha Centauri V.

“Alright, let’s send a query to the fleet base. Since everyone now knows we’re here, let’s see if there are any Terrans left to talk to us,” Ho-Kim said, looking over at Ensign Graham. He sighed and reached over to the communication switch on the wall.

“Conn, Ho-Kim,” he said.

“Conn. Fastback here, Captain,” a burly lieutenant commander reported. James “Fastback” Halsey was one of the best XOs Ho-Kim had ever had, and a remarkable scouting commander.

“Halsey, all stop on the task force approach. Let’s hold here and see if we get any messages from the system. I know we are still far outside the system elliptical, but we have to try.”

The scout ship Fargo slowed to a stop, along with the three accompanying long-range sensor ships, Spagus, Detel, and Olar.

As soon as the ships stopped, a rain of eighteen hostile missiles appeared on the CIC plot.

“Conn, hard about. Get us some distance,” Ho-Kim shouted.

“Hard about, aye,” Lt. Danvers shouted from his station on the bridge. Ho-Kim was already running up the stairs that would take him to the bridge. As he raced through the bridge doors, Lt. Commander Halsey was standing up to vacate the captain’s chair.