The Void War (Empire Rising Book 1) by D. J. Holmes Page A
Authors: D. J. Holmes
Tags: Science-Fiction, Space Opera, Military, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Exploration, Space Exploration, Galactic Empire, Space Fleet, Space Marine, Colonization
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before they fully charged. That and the hour it would take to reach V2 would give him time to start his report to the Admiralty.
Minutes later at his mahogany desk James felt the subtle shift in the internal compensators indicating Drake had jumped into shift space. Accessing his cerebral implant he set his personal timer to inform him when they should be approaching V2.
Chapter 4 - Second Place
Whilst many of the tactics and weapons of naval warfare employed during the rise of the Empire were crude by our standards one tactic remains the same - stealth. If a ship can sneak up on an opponent or, better yet, lie in wait for it, then the ship has a decisive advantage. Missiles and plasma bolts fired from close range are almost impossible to defend against.
-Excerpt from Empire Rising, 3002 AD
22 nd November 2464. HMS Drake , the Void.
Just under an hour later James walked onto the bridge. His personal COM unit beeped once and then went quiet. Seeing Gupta removing her hand from her own unit James smiled. He had set his personal timer to allow him to make it to the bridge before Gupta should be informing him they were approaching V2. It was never a bad thing to keep your subordinates guessing as to your whereabouts.
“Status report?” James queried.
Gupta vacated the command chair for James. “Two minutes until we reach the outer detection range of V2 sir,” she replied. “The ship is in stealth mode. All non-essential electronics are switched off. The fusion reactors are at minimal output and our active sensors have been powered down.”
“Good,” James said. “Now the fun begins.”
Entering and exciting shift space created a gravimetric pulse that was detectable out to one light hour away, at least by known human sensors. Standard stealth practice was to exit shift space one point five light hours from the mass shadow of a star so that no ships patrolling the shift limit could detect their arrival. Stealth mode also meant that most of the ship’s heat signature was being directed away from their angle of approach. Whilst it was almost impossible to mask a ship’s heat signature the RSN survey ships were designed to double as surveillance ships in times of war and so Drake had sophisticated stealth capabilities, allowing her to vent her excess heat in any given direction.
Immediately after feeling the subtle shift in the internal compensators from returning to normal space, James looked at the holo-display. Within a few seconds the display began to update itself with information on the system. When she was built Drake had had the most powerful sensor system in the RSN. Eight years later it was still better than anything outside the survey fleet. However, in stealth mode it counted for nothing. Drake’s active sensors would immediately alert anyone in the system to her presence and so she had to rely on passive sensors.
“Propulsion, how long until the shift drive capacitors are charged enough for us to jump out?”
Sub Lieutenant Julia Shannon who had taken over navigation whilst Drake had been in shift space, replied, “approximately three hours at current rates sir.”
Drumming his command chair with his fingers, James considered his options. The problem with being in stealth mode was that Drake’s two fusion reactors had to be almost switched off. It meant that if they ran into trouble they couldn’t escape in a hurry. Jumping into the system under full power would have allowed them to jump out again in thirty minutes. Of course anyone who would intend them harm would eventually learn of their presence. With both fusion power plants at full Drake would light up like a mini star even with her stealth capabilities. Whilst it would take two and a half hours for their heat signature to reach the planet, if there was someone in the system they would eventually know of their arrival. “Fisher, any sign of anyone else in the
Minutes later at his mahogany desk James felt the subtle shift in the internal compensators indicating Drake had jumped into shift space. Accessing his cerebral implant he set his personal timer to inform him when they should be approaching V2.
Chapter 4 - Second Place
Whilst many of the tactics and weapons of naval warfare employed during the rise of the Empire were crude by our standards one tactic remains the same - stealth. If a ship can sneak up on an opponent or, better yet, lie in wait for it, then the ship has a decisive advantage. Missiles and plasma bolts fired from close range are almost impossible to defend against.
-Excerpt from Empire Rising, 3002 AD
22 nd November 2464. HMS Drake , the Void.
Just under an hour later James walked onto the bridge. His personal COM unit beeped once and then went quiet. Seeing Gupta removing her hand from her own unit James smiled. He had set his personal timer to allow him to make it to the bridge before Gupta should be informing him they were approaching V2. It was never a bad thing to keep your subordinates guessing as to your whereabouts.
“Status report?” James queried.
Gupta vacated the command chair for James. “Two minutes until we reach the outer detection range of V2 sir,” she replied. “The ship is in stealth mode. All non-essential electronics are switched off. The fusion reactors are at minimal output and our active sensors have been powered down.”
“Good,” James said. “Now the fun begins.”
Entering and exciting shift space created a gravimetric pulse that was detectable out to one light hour away, at least by known human sensors. Standard stealth practice was to exit shift space one point five light hours from the mass shadow of a star so that no ships patrolling the shift limit could detect their arrival. Stealth mode also meant that most of the ship’s heat signature was being directed away from their angle of approach. Whilst it was almost impossible to mask a ship’s heat signature the RSN survey ships were designed to double as surveillance ships in times of war and so Drake had sophisticated stealth capabilities, allowing her to vent her excess heat in any given direction.
Immediately after feeling the subtle shift in the internal compensators from returning to normal space, James looked at the holo-display. Within a few seconds the display began to update itself with information on the system. When she was built Drake had had the most powerful sensor system in the RSN. Eight years later it was still better than anything outside the survey fleet. However, in stealth mode it counted for nothing. Drake’s active sensors would immediately alert anyone in the system to her presence and so she had to rely on passive sensors.
“Propulsion, how long until the shift drive capacitors are charged enough for us to jump out?”
Sub Lieutenant Julia Shannon who had taken over navigation whilst Drake had been in shift space, replied, “approximately three hours at current rates sir.”
Drumming his command chair with his fingers, James considered his options. The problem with being in stealth mode was that Drake’s two fusion reactors had to be almost switched off. It meant that if they ran into trouble they couldn’t escape in a hurry. Jumping into the system under full power would have allowed them to jump out again in thirty minutes. Of course anyone who would intend them harm would eventually learn of their presence. With both fusion power plants at full Drake would light up like a mini star even with her stealth capabilities. Whilst it would take two and a half hours for their heat signature to reach the planet, if there was someone in the system they would eventually know of their arrival. “Fisher, any sign of anyone else in the
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