Free Solfleet: The Call of Duty by Glenn Smith

young men and
women of his kind, he’d decided to enlist anyway, though he’d avoided the Army and
the Marines. Free to choose from among all of the careers he’d qualified for,
he’d chosen the big ships instead, and given the nature of his enhancements,
Communications had seemed the logical choice.
    “Channel
open, Captain,” he informed her. “Routed to your panel.”
    Wincing with
the pain that shot down her leg again, Bhatnagar let go of the arm of her chair
and slammed her fist down on the blinking direct channel switch on her
comm-panel. “Task Force Command,” she hailed, “this is Captain Bhatnagar of the
starcarrier Victory .”
    “ This is
Eagle-One Actual, Victory , ” the rear-admiral in command of the task
force’s Solfleet contingent responded. “ Go ahead. ”
    “The
corvette Saratoga has been destroyed, sir. S-n-R operations are currently
underway. Starcarrier Victory has taken critical damage to several primary
systems. All main weapons are either exhausted or offline. Aft guns destroyed.
Life support systems on emergency backup. As of this moment, I am declaring the Victory combat ineffective and ordering our withdrawal. My fighter squadrons
are still out there, Admiral. I’m recalling the interceptors, but you’re free
to assume control over the rest and redeploy at your discretion. Do you copy?”
    “ Affirmative, Victory ,” the admiral answered, clearly disappointed. Disappointed
simply in having lost two more ships, Bhatnagar knew. Not at all disappointment
in her for having made the call to withdraw from the fight. “ I copy and I
concur. Starcarrier U.E.F.S. Victory declared and confirmed combat
ineffective as of this date and time. So declared by Captain Suja Bhatnagar, U.E.F.S.
Victory , Commanding. Confirmation, Rear-Admiral Joseph Wandstadt, Commander,
Solfleet Contingent, Task Force Romeo-Kilo. ”
    “Sorry to be
leaving you, Admiral. Good luck.”
    With the
official declaration reported and confirmed, and before Bhatnagar could sign
off for good, Admiral Wandstadt added, “ Your fine vessel has made a major
contribution to this effort, Captain. Please express both the Tor’Kana
government’s and my personal appreciation to your officers and crew after you
get them to safety. ”
    “Will do,
Admiral. Thank you. And once again, sorry to be leaving you. Victory out.”
    She closed
the channel, then launched herself forward to the helmsman’s side. Having
forgotten about her injury for the moment, she almost fell into the pilot
console when the sharp pain shot through her right hip and down the length of
her leg again.
    “At last
report, the local jumpstation hadn’t come under attack yet,” she told him when
she recovered, grimacing, teeth clenched, trying her best to ignore her
discomfort. “We can make our most vital repairs there and get back into this in
a matter of days. Plot a roundabout route, taking us in the opposite direction
until we’re out of Veshtonn scanner range. Then swing us wide around and
alternate our route along all three axis.”
    “Yes, ma’am,”
the young man responded.
    Somehow,
Bhatnagar didn’t quite believe that he completely understood the importance of
her instructions. “Look at me, Ensign,” she ordered. The ensign looked her
square in the eye. “It is absolutely vital that we not lead the enemy to the
station, at all costs. Do you understand what I’m telling you, Ensign?”
    “I
understand perfectly, ma’am,” LaRocca assured her. “My sister is stationed
there.”
    Bhatnagar
stared back at him for several seconds. She’d never met his sister, but she’d
heard a lot about her over the last few years. Having faced more than their
fair share of hardships growing up, LaRocca and his younger sister were very
close and contacted each other quite often, sometimes talking for hours on end
just to hear each others’ voices. Given the current circumstances, that gave
her cause for concern. If the jumpstation did come under