NovaMatrix Chapter 2

Unlike other ships of the same tonnage, the sub-stealth fast attack vessel ("sub") is lightly armed. However, that was the trade-off for the installation of a localized stealth field generator. The stealth field generator had a list of very specific requirements, including a maximum ship length of 70 metres, a maximum surface area, a minimum internal space to fit the generator and maximum traveling speed while the generator was engaged.

However, the stealth field allowed the sub to fire torpedoes while cloaked, and only momentarily reveals the sub's location when it fires its single 155mm beam gun.

The trick to successfully commanding a sub in a combat mission is to understand where it lay in the "food chain". Enothe always found it funny how by some great cosmic joke, the biggest battleships or carriers were so focused on their jobs that they lacked the offensive or defensive powers against subs. However, pit a sub against the lean destroyers or frigates and you get a very worried sub captain.

It was another ordinary mission for Enothe. One of the Great Nations wanted supplies to another Great Nation's fringe planet cut off. Colonel Woolf had given Enothe the juicy "Zenith" route to patrol, and Enothe knew that any cargo ships jumping into the system would want to make use of the strong solar winds along the route to make a quick entry and recharge for a jump outsystem. I heard that Woolf will get paid a tonnage bonus on top of the base pay, Enothe smiled to himself. Let's hope Woolfpack scores today, then.

"Contacts! Bearing zero-seven-one, grad minus two-two. Long range!" Enothe's sensorman reported with a tinge of excitement.
"Gavin, plot me an intercept route. I want us to engage as fast as we could, and I want the last 50 klicks in cloak."

Enothe could have called him Lieutenant Rato, but he went on first name basis with everyone on his ship. We're mercenaries. Among our kind, we earn our respect. We don't rely on little symbols on our epaulettes.

"Suggested route plotted, Nothe."
Enothe brought up the plot on his display. Using his stylus, he made some changes. He forwarded the edited route to his helmsman. "Mehl, bring us into intercept position."
"Aye, captain."

Enothe then scribbled a note and sent it to Gavin along with the edited route. "Gavin, you correctly accounted for the solar winds, but the gravitational pull of the sun would have reduced the effectiveness of the Shade particles, making it easier for them to sniff us."

Enothe saw Gavin look up at him and give a sheepish smile. He's got potential, that kid. He just needs more exposure. Enothe then leaned his head against his fist. Now we wait.

Part of understanding the concepts of a sub hunt was to understand the concept of stealth. Enothe had watched old video clips of lions hunting when he was a kid. His parents had died by then, and he was under the care of his grandfather, a well-decorated soldier with the former Inter-stellar Alliance and an avid nature lover. A lion never pounced on the attack until it was quite sure it could nail the prey with little effort. It stayed downwind, moved up close, and then…

"Fire tubes one and four!"
"Yes sir, firing tube one! Fire tube four!"

The dumbfire torps streaked away, eating up the distance between the sub and the behemoth class cargo chip. While Dumbfires lacked any intricate guidance system, they flew faster than any other torp in Woolfpack's arsenal, and they packed the most punch. They covered the five kilometer distance in mere seconds, punching two holes in the huge target's side.

Enothe held his breath as Mehl maneuvered for the next shot. Normal torpedo blasts rarely did enough damage on a ship as big as a Behemoth. However, if Enothe had correctly set the pulsed explosive and the torps had landed correctly, 2 torps could cripple even the mighty Behemoth. The pulsed explosives were custom orders by Colonel Woolf from his suppliers. Instead of one massive detonation, the explosives detonate in phases, creating concentric shockwaves. If two of these shockwaves meet in phase, they create a bigger shockwave, by principle of superposition. A line of explosions blossomed along the midpoint of the torp impact points, telling Enothe that shockwaves interfaced. The ship dipped towards the planet below, its main propulsion no longer powerful enough to fight the gravitational pull. Enothe half-smirked.

"More contacts approaching, Nothe! They're jumping in much closer to the planet!"
Enothe gaped at his display as it updated the new contacts. That's not possible! Only a madman will jump so close to the planet! The calculations required for a jump point that safely avoids the planet's path and pull is beyond any computer we have on our ships!

The ships were of unidentified design, but looked menacingly insectoid. They quickly moved in towards the convoy and opened fire with their beam guns. Scarlet hyphens dashed across the vacuum, igniting fuel cargo and fusion reactors. The convoy's escorts moved forward to form a protective screen, but were quickly crippled by the hail of beam fire.

Any ship spots us now, we're dead. Enothe frowned. "Mehl, creep us out of here and get us to a jump point." The sub crept away at a painfully slow pace. Enothe wanted to get away from the destruction as quickly as possible, but he also knew that moving too quickly will affect the shade particles keeping his ship cloaked, possibly revealing his position. He'd have to move slow and hope to move out of sensor range before anyone could pinpoint his position. -Jimmy