Corvette Boudica 2191 words
Our corvette, to be fair, had a minute armament. I mused about that as I stood at the Quartermaster station on the Corvette’s bridge. A rail-gun, laughingly referred to as a C+ cannon, which could-maybe-throw a five inch diameter projectile at some small percent of C or light speed--on a good day.
We had one standard laser gun, which could make a hole in most things, if you could hit it. That was the rub with the Minbari. None of our rangefinders could “see” their ships, which had been bad-Really bad, in this war. One such hit from a Minbari warship’s guns, and a Corvette would cease to exist.
The corvette’s existence was as a convoy escort. Sighting an alien battle cruiser, her fame and glory was to charge into the teeth of the enemies’ guns, giving the convoy a chance to scatter before she was torn apart by the cruisers great guns.
The ancient refrain often recalled in the minds of those who serve under England’s white ensign … “England expects every man to do his duty.” As well as “a Captain can do little wrong who lays his ship alongside the enemy.” … Echoed by a more ancient word told to soldier brothers and sons by their mothers and sisters of Athens. “Come home with your shield or on it.” There is no place in “The service” for any other anthem.
Watch and watch, they call it. Wartime cruising, meaning half the crew is at battle stations at all times. Four hours on four off. Eventually you get so tired that you fell asleep the moment your head touched the pillow. Only to be mercilessly roused for your next watch four hours later. The sixth night out, I ambled into the darkened Bridge for the mid watch, 0000 to 0400. Chris tiredly mumbled ships status, I approached the Deck-command officer, noted I was to relieve the OM watch. A minute later, I was now on watch. Chris disappeared below to his bunk. We could hear the chatter from the radio room. The subspace radio was alive tonight.
We heard a RRR distress call from an un-escorted merchantman being attacked by a raider, her position, a few more words, then silence as she had likely been sliced to oblivion by the raiders laser guns.
There were too few ships to go look for unlikely survivors. No point in searching for a commerce raider long gone. So our convoys sailed on. A high value convoy might even have a cruiser escort. However our convoy of twelve ships had only a Corvette and a lightly armed merchantman for “protection.”
My family had served in the fleet for centuries. Legend had it our people had sailed the Spanish Main in the reign of good queen Bess, with Captain Drake, and then later against the Spanish Armada.
My latest read was the annals of the First World War, and the great battle of Jutland. I imagined myself being in the gun director of a battleship ranging the enemy with their … all of a sudden, I froze.
My mind was racing … their gun director. NO, it couldn’t be that simple! I stared at the deck officer. Annoyed, she turned sharply and glared at me. “What” she harshly asked.
“Lieutenant, Mam, do you remember the warships of the Great Wars? The two world wars,” I asked, “how they directed their guns?”
“No, and you shouldn’t either. Stop daydreaming, and get back to your job.” “Yes, Mam,” I replied.
Silently, I fussed to myself. Finally, I spoke up. “Mam, our ships could range and hit the Minbari ships using the gun directors they used in the World Wars. These were optical rangefinders, using parallelax!”
She blinked, then turned and stared. “Yes, Mam” I said. “I’m reading about the battle of Jutland, the great naval action of the First World war. And yes, Mam, I know exactly how they work. The optical rangefinders, I mean.” She kept staring. After a few more seconds she walked over to and sat in the command chair. She called “Captain, are you still in the ready room?” “Yes,” came the reply. “Be there in a moment.”
The door to the ready room swished open, and he walked over to the Lieutenant. “Yes, what is it,” he asked.
She pointed over to me and repeated what I had said. It was his turn to stare. Finally, he turned back to Lieutenant Jones and said “we will have to see the admiral about this when we get to starbase.” Then looking at me, grinned, said “Good work, quartermaster. I think you have a promotion coming.” Then turning, mumbled “why didn’t anyone think of this—why didn’t I think of this.”
A few minutes later, the ship’s executive officer and engineering officer exited the bridge elevator, walked across the bridge, buzzed for entrance, then joined the captain in his ready room. Just before the end of the watch, the two officers left, while talking about setting the ships external cameras up to be used as a theodite/ rangefinder.
As we were leaving the bridge after being relieved from watch, I said to the lieutenant “Mam, they could even use the distance between two ships as the baseline for their rangefinder. Even the Minbari can’t jam that! She stared at me again, and I smiled. The smile really does torque their bolts when some superior is annoyed with you. It had been a good evening watch.
It was the twenty-third day since leaving station Delta Vega four. Early evening the Captain emerged from his ready room, saying to the watch officer, “we will be arriving, back into normal space in an hour. We will be setting battle stations in thirty minutes. Send out the order to the convoy now via signal light.” “”Aye, Sir” the watch officer responded. “Signals, send message to convoy by laser light “thirty minutes to general quarters, then leaving hyperspace in fifty-five. Stay sharp.”” “No radiating energies.” “Sending signal “GQ in thirty, arriving in fifty-five” by light, sir, no radiating energies, Sir.” “Carry on” the watch officer said. “Aye Sir,” was the reply. Then, “Quartermaster, pipe the same throughout the ship.” “Aye, Sir,” I replied, and presently did so.
The Captain spoke “I have the con.” “The Captain has the Con,” the watch officer repeated. “Five minutes to exit hyper space,” Signal, send the light signal, and quartermaster pipe the same” the Captain repeated. My senior quartermaster nodded to me, and I piped over the ships system “All hands, all hands, exiting hyperspace five minutes, stay sharp.”
We broke through the stargate into normal space a few light seconds from New Rome. Our sensors detected some battle damage in New Rome’s orbit, but the moons were still there, and we almost immediately received their hale. “Keep sharp, Boutica, there may still be trouble in the neighborhood. They hit is hard a few days ago. We are ready for immediate cargo drop.” “Boutica, Aye,” our Captain replied. “Nice to see you’re still here. We’ll be there in a few.”
But a few moment later, a tiny rift opened momentarily into hyperspace somewhere far out behind us, a Mimbari signal being sent out. Ninety seconds later, a major rift opened on the other side of New Rome’s system. The captain ordered “all guns open fire.” The ship’s gun director’s optical ranger finder zeroed in on the Mimbari enemy. Both Terran ships opened fire as the Boudica jilted to one side, the Minbari’s first shot missing by a few yards, barely singing the Boutica’s ablative armor a bit. The Boutica Jinked again, “Walking the Savos” as Destroyers had done for 200 years since the World Wars. The Mimbari Rader’s close in defense system stopped most of the Terran ships shells, but then one or two got through, striking very near the Minbari’s main gun-port. Their fire ceased, maybe we had even gotten a shell right through their gun-port!
Then the Terran armed merchantman got several shells through the Minbari’s defensive fire, hitting the Minbari almost broadside, even silencing the Minbari’s other gun. For several moments, the Minbari ship showed us a golden moment, turning broadside to Boudica’s guns. Our rail-gun scored several hits, then the Hyperspace rift opened before them and they exited normal space. We had survived!
“It’s not fun when the rabbit has a gun.”
Some twenty minutes later, a quarter of our merchantmen were lined up and making cargo drops onto both New Rome and her moons. They soon formed back up into our convoy, and we quickly jumped back into hyperspace. We thanked our lucky stars that we had only faced a Minbari Raider, and not one of their battle line ships.
Four days later, we were two days out from the new colony world of New Hope. I was on watch when they broadcast the alarm “RRR, being attacked by several ships, holding our own for the moment. War zone alarm all ships.” We maintained radio silence, of course, and our captain brought our convoy to a halt until we received an all clear. We were finally able to arrive four days later. There was a serious mess in orbit. Two of the distant orbiting moonlet weapons platforms were now rubble piles. The third was mostly intact with only one of its major caliber C+ guns useable. Three of our ships which had been lurking nearby had jumped in among the raiders and caught them in a crossfire. Even so, one of our destroyers was a burned out hulk, and the other two had some damage. They had literally “laid their ships alongside the enemy” in the best ancient tradition of the service, pouring shells, rocks and whatever else they could throw at them at point blank range. The action lasted less than two minutes. All three raiders were now orbiting dust. Thankfully New Hope had been spread out a bit, and that saved most of the structures and lives. There was not going to be an evenings pub crawl as was usual in most visits. Sadly, the pub and surrounding outpost were only radioactive dust.
We had to quickly sail on, in any case. We left port nine hours later after gaining four more for our convoy. They were Navy replenishment ships, happily bringing with them two destroyer escorts. Our sealed orders told us were to meet up with a portion of our Battle Line for underway replenishment.
Eleven days later, we found them. It was an awesome sight to see these dreadnaughts lined up in a row, something I will never forget. Quickly there were warships on both sides of the naval axillaries, suckling like baby piglets. Three hours later, with most of our convoy empty, they were entrusted to someone else for their return voyage. Our new orders were to act as one of the screening vessels for the battle line. The likely reason for the change was to hear about the new optical gun director. One of our engineering officers and two ratings were sent over to the flagship for “show and tell J”
In return, we were told we were headed home. Intel suggested a large Minbari fleet was finally headed for Earth, Terra of Sol. We needed to give them a gracious welcome.
Eleven days later, we entered the Sol system, forming a basic battle line. It turned out we only had a few days to wait. That was cutting it way too close. However, we now had the main force of the Terran Battle line here now.
… The battle of the line …
It only took three days for reports from our shadowing assets to come in from hyperspace that the Mimbari were closing in with our home world. Then, all of a sudden, rows of rifts in normal space appeared, coalesced into a Battle Line, advancing toward us. A large rift opened up to hyperspace on the other side of Terra, with several messenger drones rushing through. Half a minute later dozens of space-time rifts appeared in the midst of the Minbari formation, hundreds of Small craft coming through. A few moments later, they all exploded in titanic thermonuclear blasts of electromagnetic radiation. Then many new rifts appeared, with Terra’s Calvary riding forth, dozens of Terran ships firing point blank at and through the Minbari ships, erupting them in flames, and dog-fighting as had been done in the World Wars. After a few minutes of terrified astonishment, the remaining Minbari ships on both wings of their line turned and retreated leaving maybe half their number behind. A few minutes later, Most of the remnant of our ships rejoined our battle line before the Earth. Those still not damaged jumped away from Terra, to be ready to jump back in should they be needed.
“Trafalgar and Lepanto” I heard myself say out loud. Our losses had been heavy. We had lost nearly half our battle line. But so had the Minbari.
If we survive the day, we’ll tell our children our story.
Shortly, we had a message from the Minbari, saying they wanted a truce.
Lewis Brackett February 2025