OUT OF HAND

A force engaged is out of the hand of its commander.

-Colonel Charles Ardant du Picq-

21 JANUARY 2213

BRIDGE, CSS ZENSEN, NEAR THE ASTEROID BELT

INTERNATIONAL SPACE

"Get those other two exos launched!" Enfield was ranting at his bridge crew. The men and women on the Zensen's bridge cringed at the high-pitched quality of their commander's voice.

Kallie Chang had remained mostly silent for the past few minutes as she watched the entire situation unfold and fall apart under her incompetent captain's gross mismanagement. She had silently agreed with Winters' assessment that the incoming exos were Jovian while Enfield insisted they were terrorists until the damning confirmation came through the JAF pilot's radio transmission.

Now she watched unnerved, as her captain became even more unhinged. There was only so much she could take before she felt the need to do something. There was only so much lunacy she could stand before she would snap at the idiot who sat in the Zensen's command chair.

"Captain, it will be another ten minutes before our remaining exos can launch!" came the reply to Enfield's earlier directive.

"Then hurry them, damn it!" Enfield screamed, pounding the arm rest of his seat. "We can't let the Wanderer get away!"

Kallie felt a murderous rage building within her. The man is an idiot! On most ships, the crew relied on the captain to make wise decisions that would keep them all alive in combat. But that was most ships. Fate had seemingly decreed that the CSS Zensen wasn't one of those ships.

She found her hand resting on the holster that was fastened to her belt and she was horrified at the thought that she was subconsciously entertaining the prospect of drawing her weapon and shooting Enfield. She probably wouldn't be the first to have ever done it since the CEGA Navy had its fair share of fools and all officers were entitled to carrying sidearms whenever on duty.

Sure, High Command could always rescind its stand on the permissibility of weapons, especially on a ship's bridge. However, most officers had come to see their personal weapons as symbols of authority, the more vainglorious ones opting to carry ornate swords that were of dubious utility. There was no doubt however, about the effectiveness of the heavy semi-automatic pistol strapped to Kallie's hip.

Of course, there was the other openly-acknowledged reason as well. In the event of a boarding action, the bridge officers would need to be able to defend themselves. While a pistol or sword wasn't much against an exo-suited marine it was reassuring to have.

So High Command was willing to tolerate the occasional psycho or disgruntled officer turning a weapon on his or her colleagues. Normally, the others would shoot the offending individual since they too were armed. Ultimately, the weapons were there for the defense of the ship. Kallie wondered if shooting the incompetent captain could be considered a defensive act on behalf of the Zensen and her crew.

Slowly and carefully, she withdrew her hand from the holster, forcing herself to relax. This was not a time to remain silent. As much as she hated the man, she knew she had to do something or people would start to die. Clearing her throat and fighting every instinct that told her otherwise, she finally addressed Enfield for the first time in many minutes.

"Captain," she grated, despising the fact that she had to call him that. "That Jovian pilot mentioned something about her ship being in the area. Shouldn't we at least conduct a full sensor sweep to see if she's telling the truth?"

Captain Roger Enfield, interrupted whilst in the middle of his panic-stricken and irrational tirade, whirled on his First Officer to fix his wide-eyed stare at her. "Of-of course!" He sputtered pathetically. "What are you waiting for, Chang? An engraved invitation from me? You're the First Officer! You're supposed to do these things . . ."

Kallie suppressed the eruption of fury that would have devoured her sanity in an instant had she allowed it to. Once again, her hand hovered dangerously close to her holstered pistol. Expending every last ounce of self-control left in her, she fixed Enfield with an icy cold stare and nodded curtly. "But of course, sir. My mistake. Sensors, let's get that sensor sweep now shall we? Maximum power to the sensors if you will, please."

"Aye, ma'am!" The sensor operator replied hurriedly, uneasy at the attention being leveled at him. "Right away, ma'am!"

"Good! I was beginning to think I'm the only one working around here!" Enfield said to no one in particular. Kallie could see several of the bridge crew bristle at that. "Why the hell hasn't Winters gone for the Wanderer yet?"

"Winters reports that she and her wingman are still locked with the Jovians . . ." Ensign Chuikov chimed in hesitantly. "As a matter of fact, Captain, she's requesting an update and clarification on the Rules of Engagement . . ."

"What?" Enfield spun his chair violently to face the communications operator who cringed slightly under is wild-eyed gaze. "Can she remember no order at all?"

"Sir," Chuikov coughed nervously before plunging ahead. "She is requesting clearance for weapons release."

"Damn it, are you all insane?" Enfield cried out in exasperation. "Absolutely not!"

"Aye aye, Skipper. I'll let her know." Chuikov returned his attention thankfully to his console where he would relay Enfield's response to the exo commander's latest request.

"Yes, you do that! And while you are at it, instruct her to terminate her . . . her childish jaunt with the Jovians and carry out the orders I've given her!" Enfield added shaking with unconcealed rage. Kallie was sure the man was going to throw a fit. "You tell her that we're not going to start a war with the Jovians! What the hell is wrong with all of you? And what about that sensor sweep?"

"The results are coming back in now, sir!" the sensors operator assured, somewhat startled at the unpredictable direction of the Captain's rage.

"Well, hurry up, damn you!"

"Captain!" Kallie called out firmly and clearly, hoping that she could restore a sense of calm to the bridge. "Winters may not be able to break off to intercept the Wanderer unless we can relieve some pressure that's coming from those Jovian exos."

"And I suppose you have a suggestion?" Enfield snapped angrily at her, spinning his chair in her direction once more.

Kallie was taken aback by that response. She hadn't expected him to be lucid enough to actually take her observation seriously. Her intention had merely been to calm her Captain down so that he would be thinking straight lest he get them all killed with his panic and stupidity. "Well, I . . ."

"One that doesn't involve us firing that the Jovians," Enfield asked pointedly. "Or rely on our exos which are taking their own sweet time to launch?" It was about the most sensible thing he had actually said ever since he stepped onto the bridge.

"Well, no . . ."

"Then shut up Chang!" Enfield reprimanded her viciously "Sensors!"

"R-Ready, Captain!"

"Then for God's sake, report!"

"Captain, please!" Kallie wasn't sure if she should be in tears at seeing a CEGA ship captain behave in such a pathetic and disgraceful manner. "With all due respect, please calm down!"

"I said shut up, Chang!" Enfield roared at his disobedient First Officer. "One more insubordinate remark from you and I will have you thrown in the brig!"

"Captain . . ." Kallie wasn't going to give up so easily. Not when the lives of everyone aboard the Zensen depended on Enfield's state off mind.

"That's enough! I warned you, Chang!" The Captain's face went purple with rage. "I'm placing you und . . ."

"Captain!" The sensor operator chose to butt into the conversation with impeccable timing. "I'm holding one spaceship contact, bearing eight by five. Inbound two!"

All conversation on the bridge stopped as the realization struck home. There was a potentially hostile contact a mere eight hundred klicks forward and five hundred klicks to the right of the Zensen, inbound at two kilometers per second. With the Zensen's own forward velocity taken into account, this new contact was no more than three or four minutes out. In space combat, that could be considered dangerously if not lethally close. For a Tengu, getting that close to an enemy warship was normally suicidal.

Enfield seem to pale visibly at that report. He rotated his chair reluctantly towards the sensor's station, swallowing audibly as he did so. "Type? Class? What is she, Sensors?"

"She's Jovian, Captain. Forge-class patrol carrier. Profile seems to match that of the JSS Forge." The sensors operator reported. "There's something else, Captain. Two other smaller contacts. Inbound as well. Almost definitely exo armors. Possibly a Retaliator and another Pathfinder."

From her point of view, Kallie could see her Captain's features taking on an ashen quality as he moved his lips in a futile attempt to formulate a reply. The look he directed at her was one of pure dread and despair. "This . . . this is all your fault. If . . . if you had . . . called for that sensor sweep . . yes, if you had earlier. If only . . ."

"Captain." Kallie said firmly, ignoring his babbling. "There is a Jovian carrier inbound on us now. We will be outnumbered and outgunned. Sir, you must consider our options carefully."

"Yes . . . yes, you're right." Enfield nodded, some color returning to his face. Kallie almost heaved a sigh of relief. Then he hit a stud on his armrest. "Flight Deck, hold the launch of those exos. I want them rearmed for anti-shipping strike immediately."

Kallie felt her heart drop when she heard him utter those words. She tried to keep her tone even. "Captain, I thought we're not supposed to engage the Jovians."

"It's become clear to me that this has been an elaborate ploy to draw us into a trap." Enfield said those words so calmly that Kallie knew he truly believed that he was the victim of some cosmic trick of fate. "The Wanderer was just bait . . ."

Kallie almost felt sorry for the man. He may have been stupid, but he certainly wasn't lacking in the courage department. Of course, courage and stupidity were seldom a good mix. "Sir, it will take at least fifteen minutes to rearm those exos before we can start the launch cycle. Those additional exos will be here by then. And the Forge as well. We will still be outgunned and outnumbered if we choose to fight it out."

"If this is going to end up with shooting, I intend to take that carrier down!" Enfield retorted vigorously.

"Sir, there's no indication that the Jovians are going to attack us." Kallie said calmingly.

"It's obvious from the situation that it will only be a matter of time before they do that." Enfield pointed out, a dangerous glint in his eye. "They're just getting their pieces in place before they strike."

"Sir, there is still time to recall Winters and withdraw." Chang suggested delicately.

"You mean give in to the Jovian demands?" Enfield guffawed. "And let the Wanderer go?"

"That will certainly avoid escalating this issue any further, sir." Kallie offered level-headedly.

"We're already committed, Chang." Enfield said gravely, almost forlornly. "Let's just hope that neither one of us provokes an incident. But if this turns ugly, you can be sure I plan to get some hits in on that carrier."

"Sir, Winters and her wingman are blocked by the Jovians now." Lieutenant Kallie Chang knew it was futile to persuade her commanding officer to adopt a saner course of action but she knew she just had to try.

"And?"

"If they somehow manage to give those exos the slip and approach the Wanderer, I have no doubt that the Jovians will fire upon them. The Jovians do have those other two exos that could still intercept Winters short of the Wanderer. Or they could hit us as well. And all this time, our exos, which are being prepped for an anti-ship strike, will remain stuck in our hangars."

"So?"

Kallie exhaled, exasperated at the thick-headedness of her superior. "I hate to say this, Captain. But we're at a situation of disadvantage no matter how you look at it."

"Nevertheless, we have our orders and I intend to do my best to carry them out."

"Sir, do you really think that it's possible to see this through without any shooting?" Kallie questioning tone was also pleading. "Sir, there are alternatives . . ."

"Lieutenant Chang, are you implying that I am a coward?"

"Sir, no, sir."

"Then shut up!"

"Captain, Odin One is requesting weapons release . . ." Chuikov winced even as he delivered that latest report.

Chang saw the angry energy flowing back into Enfield's features as he turned to face the communications operator. "Damn it, no! Tell her to hold her fire. Back-up is on the way!"

And just who is going to back us up, Chang asked herself darkly, staring at the back of her commander.

"Comms, announce Readiness Five!" Enfield barked. "All crew to battle stations! Stand by for combat!"