Battle Group Epsilon

Chapter 31

Chapter 31

July 26 2184, 09:36 Hours (Standard Solar Time)
Aboard USNI Destroyer Thermopylae En Route Saturn System

As far as retreats go, theirs had not been ideal. Sheffield believed they had done the best with what they had. He imagined the Scorched Earth Policy used against Napoleon long ago and thought it was not so dissimilar from his own. Every one of his ships that had been unable to make the journey had been destroyed. They had taken a route that avoided any nearby planetary body and dropped anti-ship mines and probes to secure their flanks. He wondered if they had not followed them any further because their ships were not long range vessels. More likely, he thought, they did not consider his fleet to be a threat.
They had carefully rationed their food and managed their fuel. They had not just dealt with but overcame every hardship he could have imagined and some he hadn't. And it had all brought them to this one moment. Sheffield watched the forward view screen as the massive gas giant Saturn grew in size.
"Beginning deceleration burn now, sir," Lieutenant Walker said. He could hear the tension in her voice. She wanted to know.
Sheffield was terrified. He felt as though everything were being held together by a string. One which had been fraying for the last twelve weeks. What happened today would determine if that string held together or snapped violently. The had trudged on with only hope in their minds. Now they would find out if it had been vindicated. Everything depended on it.
"Hall," Sheffield said. "Do you see Titan yet?"
"Negative, sir," he replied. "It's being eclipsed by the planet."
"The moment you get a visual, you be sure to let me know. Lieutenant Baldwin, are you picking up anything on the long range COM?"
"No sir."
"Be sure to cycle through all frequencies; known military channels and otherwise."
"Already doing it, sir."
Sheffield nodded. His heart pounded in his chest.
Three months of waiting but none of it passed so slow as the last few minutes. Finally Hall told him what he wanted to hear. "Titan should be visual in twenty seconds, sir. Changing video feed now."
Sheffield watched as the mango silhouette oh the satellite slid out from behind the yellow and brown clouds of Saturn. "Walker do you detect anything manmade?"
She bit her lower lip as she typed vengefully against her keyboard. "Negative, sir. I don't see anything that's not supposed to be there."
"Get us in nice and close. Put us into a slow orbit around the moon. Balbwin, contact the rest of the fleet and tell them to enter Saturn's orbit."
"Aye aye, sir."

The Thermopylae continued to slow its velocity. Every second that passed though, Titan became larger. At last, Walker exclaimed. "Sir! I'm catching a signature from a listening probe. It's the same model that we use."
Someone was there then, watching. But where?
"Sir," Hall said. "I'm picking up a few nearby radiation signatures."
"Where are they coming from?"
"I'm not sure but they match the output of standard USNI reactors."
Another break. There were ships but how many. Sheffield couldn't take it anymore. He needed to see.
"I've got them, sir!" Hall yelled. His voice was oozing with delight. The man smiled. It was a genuine smile, like a child waking up on Christmas morning. "They should be coming into view... Now."
It was a military base. Sheffield exhaled all at once. He had not realized he had been holding his breath, nor did he know for how long he had held it. The base was smaller than any he had seen but he was elated to see it none the less. There were three Frigates stationed there and the skeletal beginnings of a half dozen other ships. There was what looked like a massive weapons platform that jutted out from the base.
"Incoming transmission, Admiral," Baldwin said. "Should I patch it through."
Sheffield nodded; words had disserted him.
The overhead video screen showed the picture of a woman in a white laboratory coat. Her blonde hair had been tied into tight military style bun. There was a nameplate over her left breast that said Dr. Lisbon. She smiled and said, "We've been expecting you Admiral Sheffield. I apologize that we did not contact you sooner, but we had to be sure that you were in fact you. As I'm sure you're acutely aware, these are troubled times."
"What is this?" he asked.
"Forgive me," she said. "Allow me to formally greet you. I am Dr. Lisbon, a Military Researcher with the USNI and this is my humble abode. Welcome to the Babylon. You may tell the rest of the fleet they need not hide in Saturn's rings. They may dock with us and we will begin immediately with the necessary repairs. I presume there will be many."
The doctor looked off camera for a moment and said something. She stood aside and someone else entered the viewscreen. To his great surprise it was a familiar face.
"Good afternoon, Admiral Sheffield."
He nodded. "Admiral Wessington, I suppose I should have expected you to be here."
The man laughed. "If you had than I would not be a very good leader of the USNI's Stealth and Reconnaissance department, would I? Feel free to take a look around but when you are finished please dock the Thermopylae. The doctor and I should very much like to meet with you in person. There is a great deal of catching up to be done." Admiral Wessington nodded and the video feed ended.

Sheffield looked over to Lieutenant Walker. "Take us around the base. Let me get a quick look at those three Frigates."
"Sir," I am not sure if all three are Frigates. "The one on the far end is several meters shorter than standard Titan Class Frigates. I'm also getting no radiation signature from it. Perhaps it is not operational yet."
It was operational though. The reactors were in the same place as the other two frigates but there seemed to be additional housing for them. In fact, though it was shorter than the others, this ship seemed bulkier across the midsection. He knew it must be a prototype stealth ship.
When they got close enough to read the names of the ships, he laughed. The Fleet Admiral's last words were now much clearer. The first two ships were named the Tigris and the Euphrates. Painted across the stealth ship's flank in large white print were just four letters. Hope. Sheffield couldn't help but laugh out loud.
Sheffield pointed to the screen and said, "Walker, take us closer to that weapons platform."
Baldwin spoke up. "Begging your pardon sir but that's no weapons platform. It's a ship."
Sheffield didn't believe him. It was massive, far too large to be a ship. It was at least a hundred meters longer than the Descartes, his Super Carrier. It was slimmer in the midsection though. The engines alone were larger than life. Each side engine pod must have contained at least four fusion reactors. The most startling thing about the Battle Cruiser though was its armament. Every ship in the USNI fleet equipped with a rail cannon was built around the weapon. The ship however was different. It was equipped with four cannons, each connected like a turret to the outside of the ship like the cannons used by Germania or the Alamo. They were located on the front half of the ship; one on each flank, the top, and the bottom. The markings of USNI Redemption were applied to her side.
Sheffield smiled. McDermott had given him all he could have prayed for and more. He'd given him a second chance. He had given him a means with which to destroy the Fist of Jupiter and one hell of a war horse to ride into battle. McDermott had given him hope, but he would give him redemption.
"Lieutenant, Walker."
"Yes, sir?" she asked.
"Dock us with the Babylon," he said. "We have a lot of work to do."