CHAPTER SIX
COLLATERAL DAMAGE
The Advent did not fail to retaliate. Scouts in the Algieba System witnessed the fury of the Unity brought to bear on the Imperial task force there. Their forces consisted of the bulk of the local Advent fleet: five Radiance battleships, fourteen Progenitors, six Halcyon Carriers, and two Rapture Battlecruisers. Facing down the wrath of the Unity was the 15th Task Force: eight Leviathan battleships modified to assault fleets instead of systems; four Hydra Carriers and their escorts, loaded with heavy interceptors and fighter wings instead of the standard assault squadrons; three Galbana Class motherships; and the planetary defense rings. It should have been a grueling fight.
But the Empire had expected the Advent to attack, and that made all the difference.
Deep inside the fleet command center, the one they called Commander watched as the beings who called themselves the Advent phased into his star system. He gave an order over the comlink.
Only one.
A single word: Attack.
In the Algieba System, the clouds of nanites that had been scattered across the system activated. The Advent Fleet passed by, and the mines detonated. These mines were ion based, designed to jam all communications, to disrupt sensors and targeting arrays. It was important that the enemy was blind, that they could not communicate with each other...
because the 13th Reserve Fleet jumped into the system immediately behind them, taking advantage of the confusion to slip into the gravity well undetected. As the Advent fleet was reeling from the shock, the main battlegroup launched their fighters and attacked, as did the defenses. All the while the battle group behind the Advent fleet was moving into position.
A ship detached itself from the Reserve Fleet.
Only one.
One was enough.
The Draconis Class Battleship is the pinnacle of military engineering. Heavily armed and armored, no credit was spared in lavishing the latest technology in its massive design. It bristled with ion cannon, railguns designed to fire nanite projectiles similar to the ones used at Obrai, and heavy plasma turrets, all of which were designed to maximize firepower. This particular vessel was even deadlier; armed with a dangerous experimental weapon; an ion cannon capable of penetrating any shielding and overloading enemy reactors with static energy, to lethal effect. The cannon was highly unstable, and could only be fired once per day, if at all.
One shot was all that was required.
The Advent Carrier Maleficent exploded violently, is new reactor overloading and scattering lethal antimatter across the system in a great explosion. The tightly knit Advent Carrier group was devastated by the blast, which was followed by another series of explosions, as the Leviathans launched their sixteen bombs, following up their initial ion beam and railgun attack on the Progenitors to lethal effect. By the time the explosions died down, two of the six carriers, and seven of the Progenitors were gone, along with a large portion of their escorts. All of the Radiances were intact, however, and though the remaining carriers and Progenitors were damaged, they were still operational. The Draconis closed to engage the three battleships, and the reserve carrier group attacked the eight remaining Progenitors.
Which left the Raptures for the defenses.
The Rapture is a large vessel, but by no means a sturdy one. Its primary strength is the skill of its Psintigrat- which are largely ineffective against the largely automated Imperial vessels. Against eight Leviathans, they had no chance of victory. The Draconis, on the other hand, was in trouble. Though it was large and tough enough to hold off three battleships for a short time, if left to its own devices it would be defeated in the end. But of course, the Empire did not leave it to its own devices. The Raptures were quickly overwhelmed by the Leviathans. Once they were destroyed the Leviathans divided into two groups, one assisting the Draconis against the Radiances, and the other group attacking the carriers. The Galbana Battlecruisers accelerated to join the carrier group.
The battle was over almost before it began.
CHAPTER EIGHT
REASSIGNED
Admiral Kol looked up from his desk as the Comm Officer approached. The man stopped in front of him and saluted. “Sir, our reconnaissance data has just returned.” “Bring it up on the screen.” He watched as the Obrai system was raided, as the Advent counterattack ended in the destruction of the Advent fleet. This does not bode well.... With the destruction of the main Advent battle fleet, the Unity would be powerless to resist the imperial advance... and the TEC would be next in line for invasion. Kol stood, and walked to the door. “Send a message to High Command. Tell them that the Areolian Sector will fall to the enemy unless they send immediate reinforcements.”
The officer clenched his jaw and swallowed. “About that sir... High Command has ordered your task force out of the system.”
Kol stared at the officer. “What do you mean, they have ordered me out of the system?”
The officer flinched at the tone of Kol's voice, but continued, “They... told me only that they have a new project for you to work on...”
Kol clenched his jaw.
Above Firrendir
The doors were supposedly soundproofed, but Zane thought that he could hear the admiral through them regardless. He does not see the sense in abandoning Ronellidor, but he has not seen the figures. The fact was that they simply could not afford to spare enough ships to protect Ronellidor: the loss of the 12th Fleet had left them without any major reserve force within the entire Eastern Front, and the Western Front demanded all available material from the Core. There simply were not enough ships to counter the opposing fleet. None of which will appease him. Not that Zane could blame him; even he knew how tough it would be to reclaim the sector after it was united under one banner, and Kol was likely the man who would have to do it. We will be better armed then, he told himself, we will have better ships, more ships...
we will have the Astrom.
None of this consoled the Admiral, however: he had personally spoken to the remaining crews, explaining what was asked of them, why he needed to leave only a token force...
why he needed men willing to die....
There were few volunteers, but those few were enough to field a single Dunov and a light escort, though at a skeleton crew. It would only take a skeleton crew to accomplish their assigned task...
for the ships were packed with explosives.
Within the briefing room
The High Command war room was lavishly decorated, a legacy from its use as a trade office. Just now, though, Kol would have preferred the spartan accommodations of his chambers aboard the Aceron; the wine red carpeting reminded him unduly of blood. It certainly did not improve his mood.
“How long until the prototype is ready?” The chairman looked down at him, and said, “The doctor insists that the Astrom Prototype will be operational in eight months at the most. Kol scowled.
“Eight months is too long to wait! The Areolian Sector-”
“will wait; the Vasari will not. Already they are raiding the 2nd Quadrant capital at will; it will not be long until they conquer it, and then they will have a clear path to the Core.” “So will these Imperials. The Areolian Sector is strategically located-” “I may be old, but I can read a star chart as well as you, Admiral. The Empire will not recover from their fleet's destruction above Ronellidor for some time.”
“If it is destroyed.”
“It will be; we are certain.” Seeing the grimace on Kol's face, the chairman smiled.
“We are working on a new weapon to employ in the war, but first... an ambassador from the enemy has arrived to discuss our borders...”
A tall, lithe woman entered the room.
“The Unity will smile upon your triumph over the Imperials...”
CHAPTER NINE
THE OPENED DOOR
It was no mistake that the system of Ronellidor was the one star system to resist Imperial incursions. Its defenses were the strongest in the region, with not one but two Argonev Star Bases in orbit. Nearly one hundred thousand Gauss Platforms ringed the planet in an impermeable web of steel; any ship within two hundred thousand kilometers of the planet would be within the range of at least five individual turrets, with more coming into focus the closer one approached. Nearly fifteen hundred space stations, each host to six to eight squadrons of fighters, acted as regional nexuses, coordinating fire with the surrounding automated turrets. The planet's sole moon, Ronell, was honeycombed with tunnels connecting bunkers, hangar bays, weapons emplacements and more. The system was not merely the best defended in the sector; it was the best defended in the quadrant.
It was not enough.
The TEC crews had expected to face a large fleet; they had expected to face down the Leviathan; they had dreaded to confront the Hydra. A few even feared to be assailed by the Draconis.
None of them expected the Javelin.
The Javelin, as it was dubbed by the defenders, is a massive orbital structure constructed specifically for sieges. It was heavily armed and armored, with enough firepower to destroy an Argonev in under five minutes. It was the size of a large asteroid, fifteen kilometers in diameter, and more than fifty kilometers long. It resembled a javelin, vaguely; a giant spear, aimed at the heart of the TEC defenses.
The defenders might have been able to hold against one Javelin, or even two...
so the Empire built five in-system.
It was not long before the first star base fell, and the second shortly thereafter. Ronell was on the other side of the gravity well, helpless to intercede. The fleet, pitiful as it was, attempted to carry out their desperate suicide mission, but even this was beyond their reach. The bomber wings and heavy interceptors dismantled it before they entered cannon range.
Faced with no other alternatives, Ronellidor surrendered.
Just as the Chairman had anticipated.
He gave the order to fire.
CHAPTER TEN
THE PROTOTYPE
Above Firrendir
Admiral Kol looked out at the weapon as it fired. So this is how we will win...by bombing our own planets as the enemy conquers them.... the ultimate scorched earth tactic. He grimaced. Desperation and honor are difficult to reconcile... and desperation and folly are easy bedfellows... For it was a folly: sound military tactics would do little to appease the citizens when they learned just how little the Chairman cared for their well being. Let us hope this is the only occasion we use this... folly. Zane approached him. He gestured at the cannon. “This is what we hope to accomplish with the Astrom- a giant cannon, in essence, designed to obliterate enemy vessels from across a gravity well.” Kol turned to face him. “This is why we will lose; whenever we are confronted with an unforeseen threat, our first response is to build something with even greater firepower. What ever happened to tactical ability, to stealth or skill? Surely we could find another way to bring the Hydra down.” Zane looked at Kol with a somber face. “Sometimes, in war, you have no other choice than to go bigger, stronger; faced with a boulder the only two choices are to avoid it or to destroy it, and as the enemy won't let us avoid their boulders...” “There are many ways to destroy a boulder; the consistent pressure of a river can erode it over time; an explosive charge can destroy it quickly; there are alternatives to simply increasing firepower.”
The doctor shook his head. “Open your eyes, Kol: we have been trying every alternative, and none of them have worked. We need the firepower of the Astrom if we are to win.” Kol looked away.
“What about peace? Why must we fight? There is no surer means of ending a conflict than turning a foe to a friend... and this foe could help us against other enemies who are more implacable...”
Kane spoke up.
“The Chairman once thought as you did.”
Kol said nothing to this, so the doctor continued where Kane left off. “You haven't seen the message they sent us after the fall of Adonica.” It was not a question. “I saw it, and I do not see how it will make any difference.”
Zane sighed. “Then I know you haven't seen their latest transmission.”
Before I could elaborate, however, the alarm klaxons blared. Kol immediately snatched the comlink from his belt. He spoke a few terse words into it. His face paled slightly. “Are we under attack?” Kane asked. “An enemy task force has just captured the Kronac System.” There were murmurs at this, and I did not fail to notice the look that passed between Kane and Admiral Kol. “Put me on the fleet comm.”
I would never forget the following battle. So much hinged on our victory... should we fail, the enemy would be capable of launching assaults directly into the heart of Trader Space.
We could not allow that to happen.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
BEFORE THE STORM
Admiral Kol looked out from the bridge of his flagship. He began to speak.
“The enemy is well situated. Their recent conquest of The Areolian Sector has provided them with a secure foothold in the Eastern Front. Control of that sector puts them directly athwart all major phase lanes between the Core and the eastern colonies; if we do not answer this, and quickly, they will be able to strike at the core with impunity. Their conquest of Kronac is a sign anyone can read... they aim to strike at the capital... they mean to strike at the Homeworld.”
“We cannot allow this to happen.”
“The enemy will expect us to retaliate... they will have brought their reserves into the system... do not expect them to be lenient. Their conquest was complete; not a single warship has died in their assaults, but they are not invulnerable, as we will prove here today. We will be but the tip of the spear, the first wave of the counterattack, but that does not mean that we should rest easily. All of you have heard the tales, of the 12th Fleet's demise at the hands of a fleet a fifth of its size... this was the result of superior tactics, speed and stealth... surprise.”
“Zaarus did not know, could not have known, what he was up against. And that is why we will succeed where he has failed. That is why we must succeed where he failed. We cannot allow these intruders to penetrate further into Trader Space. It ends here.”
But the admiral was wrong. Even the enemy did not know what awaited us, all of us...
for this was just the beginning, of a new brutal chapter in the bloody history of war.
Above Kronac IV, the 12th Task Force of the 122nd Expeditionary Legion prepared for battle. It numbered twelve Hydra Carriers in strength, divided into six battle groups, each of which was precisely the same as the force that annihilated the 12th Reserve Fleet. In addition, Assault Force Five, which had jumped into the system to handle the orbital defenses, was comprised of two more of these battlegroups, one of which was the very same group responsible for Zaarus' defeat above Adonica.
These two battlegroups flanked the main fleet, four Leviathan Class Battleships, three in the front and one in the rear, escorted by an amalgamation of gunships, heavy cruisers, and heavy beam frigates. In the center, between the two task forces of carriers and the two assault groups of Leviathans, was the heart of the Assault Fleet: two Galbana Class Motherships and their escorts flanking the Task Force Flagship, the Draconis Battleship Saruna's Pride. Altogether the fleet had enough firepower to destroy ten 12th fleets... which meant that they were more or less on even terms with the thirteen battle groups preparing to jump into the system.
The Galbana Mothership is the Legionnaires' equivalent of an Akkan, relatively lightly armed and lightly armored but equipped with powerful targeting, communication and sensor arrays capable of augmenting the main fleet. These Galbanas were specially designed to increase the range and accuracy of Hydra carriers. Without the Galbanas, the battle group would have been devastating; with them they were all but unstoppable. The Leviathan battleships were designed for longer range than the Draconis, being heavily armed and tough enough to take on enemy defenses. The Draconis, on the other hand, was as tough and fiery as its name sake, the pride of the 122nd fleet, capable of taking on entire fleets by itself. Like the Hydra it was designed for close range arbitration, but it was easily the slowest vessel in the fleet. As such the main battle group was stationed near the defenses, serving as the reserve, a mobile defense grid that would chastise anything foolhardy enough to approach it and harassing anyone craven enough to stay away. The idea was for the main battle group to work in tandem with the defenses while the six independent carrier groups used their speed to harass the enemy flanks. In effect, the defenses and the Assault Force would served as the rock that the TEC would break themselves on, while the main carrier groups were a series of spears, prodding the TEC forces to their doom.
Admiral Kol was aware of all of this, as his scouts had collected enough intel to know what he was up against. He knew better than anyone that the TEC fleet was entering a meat grinder.
But this too was only the tip of the spear, for the enemy also had, unbeknownst to admiral Kol, a twelfth battle group waiting just outside the system: a Commando task force, one elite battalion consisting of eighty gunships, sixty heavy cruisers, twenty Infiltrator Class Commando Cruisers, two heavily upgraded Hydras-
and one Arbiter Heavy Cruiser.
The Commander watched from a holoscreen as the TEC battlegroup phased into the system. He saw Admiral Kol's flagship at the heart of it, and he smiled.