Wolf's Run: The Chase of War (Star Wolf Sqaudron Book 2) Read online

  “Wolf’s Run”

  The Chase of War

  Star Wolf Squadron Book-2

  By

  Shane Van Aulen

  This book is a work of fiction. All names, places, characters and plot are works of the author's imagination. Any resemblance to actual places, events or people, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  Copyright Pending by Shane M. Van Aulen

  Cover Art used by license agreement from canstockphoto16531912

  All rights reserved including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever.

  To my father who taught me how to box when I was eight and how to love for a lifetime.

  And

  To my Beloved Rose,

  My Amazing Grace

  I gather my dreams together and put them into words, yet they are inadequate to the burden of my heart.

  You are always on my mind.

  You are always in my heart.

  Your Elder Knight

  Your Gray Wolf

  Novels by Shane Van Aulen

  “Wolf’s Run: The Chase of War” is the author’s sixth novel and the long awaited sequel to “The Log of Gray Wolf.” Join the crew of The Star Wolf as they fight their way deeper into enemy space to save a captured ship and crew who could help end the war.

  “Knight’s Dawn” is his fifth novel and is a medieval style fantasy. It is also the beginning of the Knight of Stars Saga. A cursed prince who must find a way to change his fate and avoid destroying his world.

  “The Dead Country: A Long Journey Home,” is his fourth book and is an apocalypse story of death and survival after a terrorist sponsored zombie pandemic strikes America. An action packed-shooter that even a zombie hating reader would like.

  “The Log of the Gray Wolf,” is the author’s third novel and is a science fiction military adventure about a starship fighting to get home from behind enemy lines.

  His second book, “The Blood of Others,” is also a science fiction story which is set in the same universe as Gray Wolf but about murder on the mean streets of a distant alien world just after an interstellar war.

  His first novel, and still his favorite, is another medieval fantasy and part of the Knight of Star Saga set after the Second Alignment of Stars with an older Prince Galen called, “The Tale of the Elder Knight.”

  The author doesn’t have an editor or formal publisher and apologizes for any errors he may have missed while editing his books.

  “Writing is easy - Editing is a real pain in the _ _ _!”

  You can contact the author at his Amazon Author’s page or by e-mailing him at [email protected]

  Reference Page - Military Ship Listings

  Karduan:

  KRS Repair ship (brig size - human classification Spider class)

  KVG Vanguard (sloop/scout ship)

  KDE Destroyer Escort (frigate)

  KED Escort Destroyer (light cruiser/heavy frigate) (older replaced by KCD)

  KCD Companion Destroyer (light cruiser – supports larger ship actions)

  KSDS System Defense Ship (fire power of a heavy cruiser, no bender drives)

  KD Destroyer (heavy cruiser/no spinal mount)

  KBD Battle Destroyer (heavy cruiser/like newer armored cruiser w/spinal mount)

  KSD Super Destroyer (battle cruiser w/spinal mount)

  Confederation:

  Brig (used for policing/customs)

  Sloop (Gunfighter class - older class)

  Corvette – meant to replace sloop and older Battle class frigates

  Frigate (Battle class - older class)

  Heavy Frigate (modern)

  Light Cruiser

  Carrier classes - Escort Carrier (very old) 28 fighters, Auxiliary Carrier (older) 48 fighters, Modern Fleet Carrier 86 fighters and then Battle Carrier 100+ fighters.

  Attack Cruiser (Corvette class) stealth, spinal mount w/6 star fighters

  Heavy Cruiser (Hero class - older class was replaced by armored cruisers with spinal mounts)

  Armored Cruiser/spinal mount

  Battle Cruiser/spinal mount w/12 star fighters

  Battle Carrier (Titan class 100 star fighters and Deity class 120 star fighters)

  Other ships – system cutters, minesweepers, hospital ships, Recovery ship – (Behemoth Class).

  Communication’s Signal Open

  Prelude

  The ship rocked as another enemy barrage hit the port side’s weakened armor. The ship’s bridge was full of smoke and anti-fire measures were kicking in as the crew fought not only the battle damage and their smoking consoles but also the Karduan ships around them.

  Sitting in the captain’s chair, Lt. Michael Collins’ blue eyes dashed from the holographic view screen to his chair’s computer screen as data came pouring in on the condition of his ship and the enemy ships around him.

  His ship’s portside guns were all but knocked out. He had hull ruptures in the port, aft and starboard sides. Damage reports came rushing in from all over the ship along with mounting casualty reports.

  “Any sign of help?” he called to his maser operator.

  “No sir, it’s just us!” the enlisted man yelled back with panic in his voice.

  His bridge crew was doing a great job but they had just been outnumbered and outgunned. Hitting his comm. switch with a direct channel to engineering he hoped for good news.

  “Cappillo, what’s the status of the bender drives? I need the main gun right now!”

  Only static answered his call and Mike knew once more that he was on his own. At that moment another barrage of missile strikes hit his portside and shook the ship as thrusters kicked into stabilize her keel.

  “Sir, port armor is all but gone, structural integrity is becoming compromised,” someone called out to him.

  “They are closing in on us to finish us off,” the maser operator added seeing the enemy ship angling even closer towards them.

  This was it he thought as his mind desperately tried to find a way to turn defeat into victory. He had trained his entire adult life for this moment, graduating with honors from Harpers Military Academy. Even at his young age of just twenty-four he had already been in a dozen battles and had cheated death numerous times but this time he couldn’t see a way out. He had wanted to be a leader and he had wanted this command. It had felt good but now it left a sour taste in his mouth as he knew what he had to do.

  Swallowing hard he gave his orders.

  “All wounded to escape pods, all other crewmen immediately make your way to the engineering section or into the interior of the ship!”

  Surprisingly, his bridge crew didn’t move, as they knew their captain was still sitting in his command chair. No signal of surrender had been sent and they waited to see what last trick he had up his sleeve.

  Mike nodded to himself at their loyalty and their constant bravery.

  “Well, the only place we still have intact armor is the bow so let’s use it!” he stated standing up from his seat. “Helm, bring us about twenty-five degrees to port and full maneuver drives ahead! Give her every ounce of speed we got left!”

  The bridge crew let out a little gasp but quickly followed his orders as they turned the ship’s bow towards the enemy’s starboard side and engaged what was left of the fusion drives.

  As the front of his ship rocked from the enemy’s fire Mike moved up and stood next to the helm station.

  “All right, let’s do it! Ramming Speed!” Collins yelled as his ship lurched from enemy hits as it rushed towards its doom.

  Part One

  The Chase of War

 
Chapter One

  (Two Months Earlier)

  Lt. Mike Collins didn’t think he was a hero. To him he was just doing the job and serving the Confederation’s people, the Earth and the Emperor. Yet, he believed that his fellow Werewolves and the members of the Star Wolf crew as well as the entire squadron deserved praise. He was glad that the awards ceremony was over and except for the silver pin that depicted a face that was half wolf and half man he could careless for any medals and other awards.

  His worry was for the impending operation. He had been shot in the leg during the battle for the bridge of the Karduan Star Destroyer but that had been easily healed. He was now concerned about a procedure to make him and the squadron’s pilots as well as some of the other Werewolf commandos more effective.

  To do this you needed neural cyber implants or a cyber-jack that was what was needed to truly become one with a set of battle armor or an advanced star fighter. On Earth the procedure was difficult and slightly dangerous. On most frontier planets it would have been discouraged as considered extremely dangerous. Some would have said that doing such an operation in an asteroid belt inside of a derelict pirate base was just downright insane. They would have been right except this was wartime and sanity was sometimes not a luxury they had.

  “Blinking is a good sign,” someone said standing nearby as he fought against the light to see.

  “Should we tell him?” a younger voice asked.

  There was pause before the older voice answered.

  “No, not until we are sure.”

  Opening his eyes against the light he saw a familiar if wrinkled face.

  “What’s your name?” Dr. Edie Beilor asked bringing an old style odes-scope up to his right eye.

  “It’s Mike Collins,” he replied and then asked, “How long has it been?”

  “It has been two weeks since we started the procedure,” another voice said this one with a French accent who answered him from somewhere off to his left.

  He tried to turn his head but Doc Edie grabbed his face and held him still as she looked into his other eye. She was close to seventy though looked younger and held him fast until she was done.

  “His vitals seem stable and I think he’ll live,” she said dryly and then on impulse kissed him on his forehead. She saw herself as not only as his doctor but also as his unofficial grandmother.

  “Don’t I get a kiss from my other doctor?” Mike asked finally looking to his left.

  A young woman dressed in medical scrubs subsequently moved forward and kissed him on his lips holding the embrace for several seconds until Edie cleared her throat.

  “All right you two, you’ll have time for that later - much later,” the old doctor said moving to the bed’s computer screen which was monitoring his vital signs.

  The young doctor who had kissed him smiled and held his hand as he smiled at her.

  Dr. Lt. Angelique Duarte was a few years older than him and at the age of twenty-seven she was a slim brunette beauty with a dove shaped face and brown eyes.

  “Is my hardwire unit and cyber-jack port finished?” Collins inquired feeling very tired for man who had been unconscious for the last two weeks.

  “Yes my love, but it is inactive for now,” Angelique replied looking worried.

  Mike nodded and closed his eyes trying to remember his briefing on the unit that was now part of him.

  He remembered that the procedure even with the automated medical bay would take several separate operations and they felt that keeping him under was the best course of action to follow. The computerized surgeon agreed with their decision while the installation of his hardwire to his nervous system and muscular skeletal structure took place. The cyber-jack procedure was even more delicate as it connected the hardwire to his cerebral cortex. The hardwire’s pseudo neurons had artificial synapses to increase and control neurotransmission between the brain, hardwire and the cyber-jack interface.

  The brain was really just a big computer and the cyber jack was an addition to the existing biological system allowing the computer that was the brain to access an external connection. Once a cyber-jack was connected to an advanced space fighter’s onboard systems or to a set of powered battle armor then the operator could use either system to a much higher degree becoming literally one with them as if they were just an extension of their own body.

  The hardwire once bonded, gave its user faster reflexes and superior strength. Added to a suit of enhanced powered battle armor the user became an almost unstoppable fighting machine.

  The Mark II models were earlier versions of the hardwire and were always turned on from the moment of installation. This made it difficult for soldiers to deal with their new enhanced abilities. His unit was a more modern Mark IV model and could be turned on and off as well as having the capacity to gradually allow its power to be increased to allow the user to become accustomed to their new heightened abilities.

  The Star Wolf had rescued both the automated medical center and the hardwire units when they had saved two human freighters. They had been captured by Karduan forces, who were taking them back to their home world.

  “So, when can I get up and turn my unit on?” he wondered out loud opening his eyes and smiling sweetly up at his two favorite physicians.

  This immediately started a round of arguing, swearing - some of which was in French and the threat of sedating him. In the end both of his doctors ordered him confined to bed.

  “In two weeks we will see if you are well enough to get up,” Angelique declared and stormed out of the room in huff.

  Old Doctor Beilor smiled, “I’d say that young woman loves you more than you’ll ever know.”

  “And I love her too but I want to get up,” he said reaching to the back of his neck to touch the small cyber-jack port at the base of his skull.

  “Patience, you’re the first to go through this process for us and we want to make sure everything is perfect before we turn your unit on. It could be several weeks before we start.”

  He nodded, “I know, if anything goes wrong I could end up paralyzed or a vegetable.”

  “We will start testing tomorrow and get you back on your feet and to duty as soon as we can while keeping you safe.”

  “But…” he started.

  “No buts,” she said putting her hands on her hips in a stern and motherly way. “I’ll reminded you that I’m your doctor and a Navy Commander so you can take that as an order. Do I make myself clear Lieutenant?”

  “Yes Commander,” he replied and gave into being poked and pampered for the next week.

  During his down time, he found himself visited from time to time by his crewmates from the Star Wolf as well as from other ships and the base station. They filled him in on what had been going on at their hidden base while he had been unconscious.

  To keep Mike’s mind busy, he read all of the new intelligence coming in as he reflected on their situation.

  Since the battle at Austro Prime their improvised fleet had withdrawn to their base they called the Wolf’s Den. It was an old pirate hideaway in a lifeless system hidden in a semi stable asteroid field. There they had taken not only the damaged enemy ships but also the repair station that had once been in orbit around Austro Prime.

  The people of that world had risen up and retaken the control of their planetary government from the separatist that had seized control. They had once more reestablished the Confederation government but would under Captain Hope’s advice still appear to remain loyal to the treaty the separatists had signed with the Karduans. The repair station was moved to the Wolf’s Den to utilize its facilities with the restoration of captured enemy ships as well as repairing of their vessels.

  The Wolf’s Den now had the old pirate base, the IPS Spider, Austro Prime’s repair station and the ISS Mammoth to work on refurbishment of these ships. The pirate base was mostly used for fighter repair and missile construction. It also had a medical center and a rooms for housing personnel. The IPS Spider was a small Karduan rep
air ship that was literally like a spider crawling over larger ships as it made repairs.

  The repair station was capable of docking up to six standard ships or two large cruiser class ships. The most astounding of their repair facilities was the Imperial Star Ship Mammoth. This ship was enormous and was an interstellar repair yard. It could move to the front lines of battles to recover and repair-damaged ships without having them towed out of the system. Mike and members of the ISS Star Wolf had been instrumental in her recapture from enemy control.

  Prior to the battle they had captured and recovered numerous ships while causing trouble for the enemy ships in their star sector. After the battle they had ships that ranged from almost perfectly intact, to badly damaged to molten pieces of slag. The last had been hit with spinal mounted partial cannons and were good for nothing more than metal salvage.

  The Star Wolf and her squadron had also liberated thousands of Confederation servicemen and officials. It had been quite an endeavor to treat, house and repatriate these men and women after their time as prisoners.

  For all of these reasons Captain Hope and Captain Kirkland decided to withdraw their presence from the sector except for armed merchant ships, which were used to gather information and trade for supplies.

  The Hawk, as Hope’s men called him, wanted the enemy to think they had disappeared as they searched in vain trying to find them. This was an old naval tactic called Fleet in Being. The idea was to keep your fleet in port and out of battle. This way the Fleet in Being would remain a threat without being destroyed or being forced to engage superior enemy forces. The enemy would still have to deploy their forces to counter them while protecting their own lines. This would deny them a decisive battle as well as keeping them from using their ships elsewhere.