Chapter 11
Run Silent
Traci entered the auxiliary control hatch at a run and found everything in working order. That was a relief. The bridge and CIC were hopelessly dysfunctional. She was glad she had arranged for an atmospheric bay to be installed here for the Valdi FCO. He wasted no time walking to his own station and reading the dials. He turned back to Traci and flashed a few words of confirmation that his area was functional. Taking off his breather, he started trying to establish communications with his flight crew on the hangar deck. The device maintaining the nitrogen curtain separating his area from the rest of the auxiliary control room hissed gently.
Traci looked at the rolling status reports and assigned Commander Lazarus to help Michael coordinate the damage control teams and establish a central command node for processing the field reports. Many of her teams were fighting fires belowdecks, but she also knew there were still sections of the ship where there was no communication at all. She started checking the displays for what parts of her ship were still working as her secondary bridge crew settled into their stations. She turned as Colonel Magnus entered AuxCon. He stationed two of his marines at the entrance hatch and walked over to Captain Ganner.
“Captain, we’ve secured the control sections and armory. I’ve asked the rest of my men to help with trapped crewmen and traffic control. I’ll be over at the tactical station if you need me.”
“Thank you, Reginald,” Traci said absently. She was trying to find out why she couldn’t connect with the engineering deck. She could see that Michael was still talking to Commander Kenaniah, but it looked like he was having no better luck from where he was.
“Bridge, this is the captain. I’m switching main asset controls to AuxCon. Commander, complete the evacuation of the bridge and get the fires under control. Join me when you can.”
There was silence on the other end of the line. That meant a communication failure… or worse.
“Wallace,” she said to her helmsman, “what’s our heading?”
“As near as I can tell, ma’am,” he said, taking his seat at the navigation console, “we’re heading away from the battle site on course one-oh-nine on plane.”
“Get us off the plane immediately. Send us on new vector eighty-seven degrees, minus forty-one off the plane.”
“Aye, ma’am.”
“Captain,” Magnus said calmly, “they’re fanning out in a search pattern. And it looks like they are sending a squadron of battle cruisers back to the Regulus hyperspace limit. I think they’re looking for us.”
Traci thought a moment. “So the Terran commanders have learned to work together quicker than I thought. Does it look like they’ve spotted us?”
Magnus looked at the instruments a few seconds longer. “No, Captain. Our last course change did not induce a corresponding change in any of the units I can see. Unfortunately, there is a power fluctuation somewhere. My sensor readings keep resetting.”
“Understood. Helm, keep us moving away from the battle site at one-quarter tactical speed. Change our vector every fourteen to sixteen minutes.”
“Captain Zuarit,” she said, talking distinctly into her translation collar. Do you have contact with your flight crews?”
“No, Traci Ganner,” came his response from her collar. The ship’s repeaters picked up his flashes at his station and routed them to her translator. “I will keep trying.”
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Orion Gambit - Traci Ganner series book 2
Science FictionThis is the second book in the Traci Ganner series. After her successful campaign as a starship captain (and spy), she had been assigned to Orion's newest cloaking battle cruiser. Now her mission is to make contact with the invading Valdi and nego...
