The Terpla'ns - Chapter 8 Chapter 8.25 Chapter 8.50 Chapter 8.75 Field General Tokuno, commander of the 3rd Expeditionary Corps, Commonwealth Space Army, entered his command post. Located in the center of the primary continent of Bedrock it had the virtue of anonymity among the forests. He suspected his Axis counterpart had something very similar, or else was ensconced in a bunker that could be anywhere on the planet. To minimize the use of power, and thus reduce the chance of detection, no hologram projectors were used. Huge laminated topographical maps hung on genuine corkboards, taken from the recreational centers of a troop transport, and were marked with equally dated grease pencils. Right now Tokuno was reviewing these maps, ranging from the strategic to regional. It has been a month since the CSF entered the Bedrock system and landed over 500,000 troops on the planet. Some were veteran divisions from the liberation of Hamthen, and battalions from Citadel and Borehole were present as well. All were involved in searching for Axis ground troops. Unlike previous invasions, the enemy has declined combat and only fought when stumbled upon. And, as always, the civilian population was acquiescent – for now.      Oddly, the Axis governor hadn’t gone into hiding like his army counterpart. He was in plain sight and acting completely cordial while being as minimally helpful as possible. It was a front that Tokuno found particularly disquieting, the governor clearly knew something that allowed him to act that way and in turn kept the populous in check. A counter-attack from the Axis fleet would fit the bill, but with the mass of construction ships building bases from prefabricated parts for the Gravel Pit warp point, not to mention the growing number of deployed automated weapons and ships, such an attack would have be an overwhelming one.      Of the units deployed on Bedrock the anthropological team, lead by the Tzelan Dr. Ghon Huu, had the unenviable job of keeping a close watch on the Comensal population. Specifically, Huu was looking for those minute social cues that had appeared before the populations on Citadel, Blood Pride, and Borehole broke out in open resistance. One indicator was the increase use of cylindrical carrying cases. Ostensibly they were used to carry ‘clubs’ for a game called ‘golf’, but they were the right size to hold a pipe rifle, its grip and ammunition. Being the most populated Axis planet encountered so far, Bedrock had plenty of ‘golf courses’ for which to serve as a pretext to be carrying golf club bags. Given the coverage and obvious fondness the populous has for the game it was a fair assumption that at any given moment there were millions of Comensal that were walking around armed.      A spurt of radio noise diverted Tokuno’s attention. One of the staffers on-duty spoke into the mic he wore, listening attentively to the reply. He then marked a regional map with a grease pen, anointing it with symbols that designated the contact report as that of a skirmish with a company of Axis infantry. From ambush positions the enemy inflicted serious casualties before falling to an intensive counterattack. Tokuno regarded the red circle used to represent combat losses with trepidation. In the weeks to come he was certain all the maps will be well-filled with those red circles. A week after the 2nd Field Fleet entered Bedrock another allied effort was launched. The Royal Valhallan Fleet, under the direct command of King Russen, left its guard position for the Citadel/Chrome warp point and proceeded to Kerama Retto, leaving Citadel’s defense to the steadily recovering TGs 111 and 112. Acting deliberately, the King sent six pinnaces to probe the far side of the Chrome/Kerama Retto warp point. What they found was a small shell of weapon buoys being guarded by two squadrons of Axis Hatchet fighters. Though they charged and were amongst the pinnaces the Hatchets failed to activate their weapons. Being transit-addled the pinnaces couldn’t engage the fighters but were able to pick at the buoys, knocking out one. All six transited back safely. With the number of squadrons involved in the CAP it was decided that the guard force was either small or was hiding beyond the limited range of the pinnaces scanners. After waiting two days Russen sent in his assault force, hedging that it was the former.       First to come through was a Valhallan-crewed Avami assault carrier, followed by five Cram minesweepers equipped with engine tuners. Finding no enemy ships within 5 LS of the warp point the Avami fired its external load of mine-clearance rounds into a suspected minefield patch and was rewarded with the destruction of three patterns, while two of its point-defense systems engaged a buoy and missed. As before both Hatchet squadrons dove in and again were unable to arm weapons. As for the attending buoys, all 89 of them, they remained silent as the crew of the control ship frantically raced to battle stations. The five Crams fired their mine-clearance rounds as well at the now-confirmed minefield patch, taking out six more patterns. Saving most of their point defense in case of distant missile units the ships didn’t nab a single buoy.       Six Paramount cruisers formed the second wave, and joining them were the 11 pinnaces launched from the first wave ships. Long range and tactical scanners showed a standard deployment of 300 mine patterns around the warp point, sans the 9 already destroyed. The Avami launched its ten squadrons of F1 Sharks; two went after the two F0 Hatchet CAP squadrons and the other eight focused on the buoys. The sensor plot showed contacts 5.5 LS out. Five light cruisers and a heavy cruiser were there, along with six F0 Hatchet squadrons, crashed-launched moments earlier and holding station with the ships. The Hatchets already at the warp point found their datalinks jammed by the Crams, but they attacked anyway. Only one managed to fire before all twelve were blotted from space like a spider under a paper towel.       The Command Detonator cruiser achieved action stations and fired all 89 buoys before they could be ravaged by abom fighters and ships alike. All the buoys were armed with cut-down energy beams, even taking the ECM employed by the first wave into account they scored numerous hits. Four Crams lost their shields, and the one that was hit from close attack missiles fired from a Hatchet had to use one of its overload dampeners in burnout mode to prevent internal damage. Three BCs lost their shields but thankfully had no internal damage. Eleven more mine patterns were wiped out with clearance charges from the BCs external racks and internal launchers. 68 of the now-expended buoys were slapped down by point defense and fighter guns alike.       The Axis ships were now 7 LS out when the third wave came in, comprising three Oknib DNs and three Sovereign BCs. One pinnace returned to Chrome to inform Russen of what was happening. Recovered from transit effects the Paramounts targeted the Axis CA and fired capital missiles. For such light salvos half managed to lock on, with four knocked out, one distracted by an EDM, and one hit that took out two-thirds of the shields. The rest of the buoys were shot down, leading the Sharks free now to engage the retreating Axis ships and their fighters, now numbering 7 squadrons. The Crams launched their EDMs in preparation to enter the minefield.       Six Reliant CLs arrived in the fourth wave. With the Axis ships at 7.75 LS range the RVSN ships with capital launchers had to use SBM missiles. The CA took another hit, losing shields and having some armor scoured.  The Oknibs and Sovereigns fired on a CL that didn’t launch fighters, strongly suspecting it of being an escort cruiser. Their SBMs had lasing warheads, and five hits were achieved, ripping armor and external racks alike. Meanwhile the Crams entered the depleted minefield patch, each one ready for the onslaught. Set to double rate fire, and despite EDMs and ECM, each sweeper suffered some armor damage. What mines remained in the last pattern was wiped away by a HET laser in wide-angle mode.       Six more Reliants came in the fifth wave as the Paramounts, Sovereigns, Oknibs and fourth wave Reliants moved at full speed from the warp point, setting their sights on the Axis ships. Finally wising up to the reality that faced him the Axis commander had those ships that could detune their engines. This left a CLE on its own, three minutes into the battle and still hadn’t achieved battle stations. SBM-Lts reached for this ship and lased two-thirds of its armor. Perhaps due to this damage the crew was motivated enough to bring their engines to full power and then some, detuning them as their very lives were dependent on it.       The rest of the Valhallan fleet continued to enter the system, but at a reduced rate. The tardy Axis CLE was given its due as laser warheads reached into its vitals and destroyed half of its engine rooms. The Oknibs fired on this ship again as the rest were now out of the DNs’ range due to their engine detuning. With the fifth wave Reliants joining in the fate of the CLE was sealed. As for the other CLE it joined its squadronmate very quickly. It was a repeat as three engine rooms were smashed, and since it couldn’t escape it was left to the Oknibs to finish it off. The BCs then focused their fire on the CA before it was out of their range. Air streamed from the ship as its armor was breached, but kept moving for its engines were untouched. Given that the loaded-down Sharks will need twelve minutes to catch up to the Axis ships the pursuing Valhallan ships detuned their engines as well, knowing that the Axis would eventually have to stop detuning at some point so that they could employ erratic maneuvering to confuse the Sharks’ fire control systems.       Six minutes later the 42 Hatchets broke from their ships and closed on the 60 Sharks. Just before intercept 30 Sharks broke to port and the other 30 to starboard, all engaging some engine modulation and completed a circle that allowed the halves to cover their mutual blind spots. The Hatchets likewise divided their numbers and attacked. These pilots, however, were green, and combined with the defensive maneuvers of the Sharks the proximity-fused short range attack missiles were notably less accurate.  11 Sharks were shot down in exchange for 34 Hatchets. The circling combat circus continued for one more circuit, and the last intact Hatchet squadron bagged a like number of Sharks. Once the last eight Hatchets were knocked down the Valhallan fighters resumed their pursuit of the Axis ships. From the strength of the explosions from the Sharks it was clear that they carried a FRAM each in addition to their gun and laser packs.       Nothing changed until the Sharks reached one light-second distance from the Axis ships. Thanks to detuned engines the ECM potential for the targeted CA was nil, and having been significantly damaged earlier it was the perfect target for the Sharks’ lasers. With four engine rooms crushed the Command Detonator fell out of formation. It stopped detuning and allowed the Sharks to pass it, eager to take some of them down. The trailing Valhallan ships, informed of what had happened, stopped detuning so that their fire-control could lock-up on the cruiser as it fell into SBM range. In defense of itself the cruiser had to use both of its point defense mounts, but it could and did fire its force beam at the Sharks, taking down one. Laser fire tore into one CVS, inflicting crippling damage as half of its engines were reduced to slag.       On cue the remaining Axis ships stopped detuning and engaged ECM-augmented erratic maneuvering. They maneuvered so that their point defense and CAMs could engage Sharks in the blind spots of their partners. Only four fighters were splashed in return for the destruction of all three CVSs and the CA, ending the first battle for Kerama Retto.  Using the travel log data secured from an Axis ship during the battle of Chrome the Royal Fleet made for the system’s third warp point. Scouts were dispatch to broadcast the all-clear message for the survey group that was trapped during the ill-fated Axis offensive months earlier. As for the Axis carriers and fast minesweepers that escaped the battle of Chrome they clearly had moved on, perhaps even as far as Battlement. If there were any Axis scouts still in Kerama Retto they were either out of sensor range or had powered down. Either way they had no idea of the fleet’s true size. At the halfway point a contingent of prefab transports and mobile construction ships broke from the fleet and began the process of assembling six bases. In turn these bases would form an anchorage that would supply the Royal Fleet with replacement armed pinnaces and fighters and provide repair and upgrade facilities.       While captured Axis data showed what comprised the Battlement system it only mentioned the transit data and distances of the warp points in the Shunt and Electrical systems used by the Axis ships. If there were other warp points along the way they’ll have to be found by surveying, and only if they were open ones. A survey squadron was detached in each system past Kerama Retto. In the Shunt system, a yellow/red dwarf binary, only a 300 pattern minefield and two Axis scouts were on hand to greet the sweepers. With rotating flight groups to keep the scouts from getting definite drive field readings the fleet pressed on to the warp point for the Electrical system. There was no chain of communication buoys and no scanner buoys within definitive detection range of the fleet, leading Russen to believe the Axis had picked them up to save them from destruction. At the Electrical system warp point there were no mines and buoys at all, as if the attending control ship had picked them up and moved on. So it was that after four weeks of trekking across three systems the Royal Fleet reached the warp point leading to the Battlement system.       Even before the fleet reached the Electrical/Battlement warp point Russen dispatched a Chaq pinnace tender to probe the warp point. The King knew there would be fortifications on the far side, and was proven right as the fifth pinnace returned.  Again there was no way to determine the number of mines, but as for the buoys ringing the warp point their number was 540. No doubt some of those were lifted from the Shunt and Electrical systems. Six squadrons of F0 Hatchets formed the CAP, and sixteen undersized corvettes orbited the warp point at a range of 1.25 LS. Also at 1.25 LS distant were two BS5s and three BS3s collected in one group. Exactly at 5 LS range was a pair of asteroid forts, tonnage unknown. All the bases and forts were on the same bearing and given the arbitrary designation of north. If there were additional bases and ships then they were beyond the limited range of the pinnace’s sensors. After hearing the opinions of his staff Russen made his decision. Given his prestige the crews were eager to attack, even when learning the specifics of the plan. The attack went in the next day.       As far as the defenders of Battlement were concerned they wished they weren’t so relatively isolated. More importantly, and privately, they wished the AFC had been more thoughtful about sending reinforcements to defend their system. The force sent to secure Chrome and eventually recapture Citadel had ended in failure. Only the carriers, their escorts, and the fast minesweepers (all built in Battlement’s orbital yards) returned. Initially held to defend in what the allies called Kerama Retto, the ships were pulled back to Battlement to get refitted and new flightgroups of F1 Hatchets. Had more bases been built then their concerns would’ve been lessened. However, reinforcements from Bandstand had been destroyed by the noisesome Hokum in the Nonstop system. Other ships were coming, but via a circuitous route. It was just a matter of time.       Time, however, ran out as the first wave of Valhallan ships entered the system. The Avami class carrier Incorrigible came first, accompanied by 108 Whale armed pinnaces. Interpenetration took out 16 of the armed small craft, and 10 more were lost as they barreled into and out of the minefield, heading for the BS3s and BS5s. Another SD and four DN-hulled ships followed, eventually divided evenly facing arbitrary northeast and southeast. The Grenadier corvettes were still there, orbiting the warp point clock-wise at 1.25 LS range and 0.75 LS from the BS3 & 5s. The Incorrigible fired first, its 15 antimatter-armed CAMs and HET laser stabbing at one of the BS5s, nearly bringing down all of its shields and pocking the armor. Return fire from the other BS5 brought down the shields of the assault carrier, and primary beams took out a whole engine room among other things. The other SD was hit by 8 HET lasers, stripping it of its nuke-armed CAMs. None of the other close-in bases became active in this opening exchange, and the first BS5 was robbed of its passive defenses and 20% of its weapons from the CAMs of the other first-wave ships. Save for the Incorrigible none of the other ships fired their internal weapons so as to retain a level of anonymity.       The Whale armed pinnaces only lost two of their number from the active BS5.  Despite transit-addled fire control it was through sheer numbers that all the close-in bases were wiped out, leaving 21 Whales still equipped with FRAMs. One asteroid fort became active and crash-launched its brood of 36 F0 Hatchet fighters and fired its spinal force beams, hitting the second SD with three of them. One BS5 proved to be a fighter base, crash-launching 14 squadrons of F1 Hatchets. These fighters formed up with the crash-launched F0s to create a strikeforce 20 squadrons strong. Despite the poor showing of the bases and Grenadiers five of the six CAP F0 Hatchet squadrons fired their FRAMs, this being the first instance the Axis used the weapon in combat. With fire spread out all the ships had lost their shields, leaving the one active BS2 controller at 8 LS distance to prime and fire 90 IDEW-e buoys. The Incorrigible burnt out both overload dampeners and lost another of its engine rooms and the rest of its datalink point defense systems. For the other SD it was a Gravity Well refitted with 10 dampers, and it had to burn out five of them to prevent internal damage. The two Salyf assault carriers lacked dampers and sustained terrible damage, but the hanger bays were safe. As for the last two ships, one Luttfomi and Singularity, they burned out their dampeners with the Singularity taking damage from the overflow as 14 of the 15 buoys achieved hits.       Coming in the second wave was a simultaneous transit of 12 Damage Sinks and 12 Magnets, with 4 of the former and 4 of the latter interpenetrating and exploding spectacularly. Transiting normally behind them were the five Cram minesweepers used in the Kerama Retto assault a month earlier, armor damage still unrepaired due to the pace of operations. The three assault carriers launched their 24 Shark squadrons and continued their laborious turns to their exit vectors. Four regular pinnaces were launched from the first wave ships with one transiting back to the Electrical system to apprise King Russen of what had happened so far. One Shark squadron lined up on the remaining Hatchet CAP squadron, hoping to nail it before it could fire. A trick maneuver by the Hatchets threw off the Sharks and permitted a clean shot at the Incorrigible. The ship shrugged off the hits, though it only had less than a third of its armor left.       Coming about, the Whales moved on the Grenadiers and pounced on them with laser packs and the remaining FRAMs. Distant fire from the asteroid forts and a BS5R at the 6 LS mark punished the assault carriers. The capital missiles from the BS5R had antimatter as well, and thankfully still in datalink with the Gravity Well the hits on the Incorrigible were minimized. A scanner buoy had peered into the shield-denuded ships, and armed with that information the Axis units sought to inflict decisive damage with buoy fire. Plasma packets from those activated Grenadiers also heaped on the carnage, and before the Sharks could start picking off buoys and downing the retreating 30 F0 Hatchets the two distant BS2s activated and fired 160 IDEW-ls. Only two of the Damage Sinks were destroyed though not enough harm was inflicted to further slow down the turning carriers. Since the laser buoys reveled themselves the Sharks went after those in three designated buoy parks that hadn’t fired, bringing down 96. The six remaining Shark squadrons only bagged 19 F0 Hatchets, leaving the other 17 free to return to the fighter base.       Wave three was comprised of six more Magnets, seeing two very badly off Damage Sinks transit out in lieu of a pinnace. Acting together, the two asteroid forts split their fire between the Incorrigible and the two Salyfs. Spinal force beams pummeled the SDV while the small DNVs had 16 external CMs each. All three ships hung on by the skin of their paint, but the active BS5R finished them off. The second BS5R still was trying to reach battle stations, leaving the two BS2s to active and fire the remaining IDEW-e and f buoys before they were shot down by the Sharks and Whales. One Damage Sink and a Magnet were claimed, the rest spared as they burned out their dampeners to further save their interiors from energy beam damage. For their part fighters and small craft destroyed those remaining laser buoys that hadn’t fired and even knocked out those that already had, clearing the airspace of enemy weapons if only to make tactical plots a little less crowded. The last two Grenadiers were disposed of by the HET lasers of the Crams.       A pinnace went back to Electrical while two Nikazu-Vs and three of the new Resolute BBs transited in, followed by a Damage Sink. Spinal force beams and the missile fire from one of the BS5Rs failed to knock out the shields of one Resolute, though a badly-off Damage Sink was sunk. The other BS5R finally became active and fired on the targeted Resolute, but thanks to a pair of deployed EDMs only one missile achieve a hit, its antimatter warhead brining down the rest of the shields and lightly damaged the armor.  The Sharks had gathered around the ships at the warp point, and the Whales orbited the minefield. In the upcoming furball with the 20-squadron strong Hatchet strike, now just 2 LS out, the armed pinnaces could only lend their laser packs and point defense for they were prohibited to traverse the minefields for the time being.       Both Nikazu-V carriers launched their Sharks and transited out. While this preserved them for future use they missed out on the battle over the warp point. Especially since King Russen was in the fifth wave aboard the Vanguard, one of three new SDs making their first appearance on the battlefield. Along with three Falogren DDs these new ships braced themselves as the Hatchets fell upon them. Jammers activated on all five Crams as well as the Singularity, Luttfomi and Gravity Well. Ignoring the newcomers the Axis fighters mobbed the Crams, fatally crippling three of the minesweepers and harming a fourth despite the severe losses inflicted by the Sharks. Two of the sweepers were finished off by long-range hits from spinal force beams. A third was the recipient of the full external loads and internal launchers of the BS5V and both BS5Rs. Still datalinked with its partner this ship, which had burned out one damper a month earlier, took what got through, losing five point defense mounts and two engine rooms. What few Hatchets remained were downed by the relatively distant fire of the Whales. Mine clearance charges from the Vanguards and Resolutes had reduced the targeted minefield patch to 72 patterns.       With the Hatchet strike gone the initial batch of Sharks, each armed with two gun packs and a FRAM, moved on to the asteroid forts, trailing behind the Sharks launched by the Nikazu-Vs. The Whales, each one having a laser pack, also followed.  Three Oknibs and three Damage sinks arrived in time to see a Cram and Resolute pummeled by the forts and bases. Each new wave had minefield clearance rounds on their external racks, and combined with internal launchers the targeted minefield patch was down to 48 patterns.       The seventh wave had three more Vanguards, and combined with the other three made a full representation of all such ships currently in RVSN service. Joining them were the last three Magnets that accompanied the Royal Fleet. One crippled Cram and a Resolute transited out, denying the Axis the chance to destroy them. With the charge into the minefield just moments away the spotlight was on the 10 Shark squadrons attacking the two asteroid forts. It was found that the Axis had datalink jammers now, and used them on the Sharks. Only four fighters were destroyed for the use of 6 capital energy beams and 10 point defense mounts. The BS5s spared what they could, but their counter-missiles failed to take down one fighter. Both forts wilted under the hail of antimatter fists until the damage reached the heavily protected magazines and detonated the handful of FRAMs they still contained. Everyone on the Royal ships cheered at the sight, a well-earned victory over an implacable foe.       With just 25 mine patterns left, and no further mine clearance rounds in the offering, those ships in position and at maximum ECM entered the once formidable barrier. The three DDs stayed behind, for they were not as expendable nor as well-defended enough to use in this operation. Six Paramount BCs transited in time to see the spectacle of nearly 750 mines accelerating and diving like banshees on the 25 RVNS ships. As expected the previously hit Damage Sinks and Magnets exploded from the assault. Russen’s mind was eased only a little that just skeleton crews were aboard those small ships to operate the engines. Only 10 patterns plus change remained, and those would be dealt with tractor and beam weapons in wide angle mode.       16 Sharks from the Nikazu-Vs still had ordnance. They closed on the BS5R that had the slightly heavier salvos. There was no jamming, and one squadron cut loose and scored 17 hits of the 18 FRAMs fired. Half the armor was gone along with all the shields. Only four Sharks were shot down, and in retaliation a third Cram was destroyed with a fourth taking internal damage that wiped away a whole level of point defense mounts. The second BS5R had its shields and armor smoted by the other 6 Sharks, with long-range missile fire from the Vanguards, Oknibs and Resolutes took two-thirds of the shields on the fighter base. All ships continued at a crawl of 0.016c as Axis fire control was degraded when firing at anything smaller than a SD.       With doom upon them the three BS5s still fought to the end. Again they fired on the fourth Cram. Antimatter warheads made all the difference between a crippled ship and a dead one, thus another one was claimed. The trio also used point defense to attack the Sharks, bagging five. Only twelve squadrons had to fire their FRAMs to finish the bases, and along with them were the 17 Hatchets still being rearmed in the bays of the BS5V. The way into Battlement had been cleared.       King Russen, in the CIC of the Vanguard, listened as the staff operations officer read off reports. “SAR teams have been deployed, my Lord,” said the officer. “Given the length of the battle it’s likely a large number of personnel survived the destruction of their ships. The scanner buoys that ringed the warp point have been destroyed, so the enemy won’t know how many regular carriers we have for the time being.”       Russen tugged at his grey-laced beard. He was in the uniform of an admiral of the fleet; only the shoulderboards bearing the crossed ax and hammer, the royal coat of arms, gave proof to his sovereignty. “No doubt my detractors back home will waste no time engaging in armchair admiral talk about how I conducted the battle. I needed to distract those warp point bases so that the Whales had their chance.”       “We’re just thankful that only one of the close-in bases got active, my Lord. The losses would’ve been more substantial. However, those ‘armchair admirals’ will grouse about the loss of the assault carriers. We sustained very light fighter losses, yet most of the assault squadrons will have to be abandoned for the lack of hanger space.”       Peering into the holotank, Russen’s eye fixated on a trio of ship icons. “We can save the pilots, no doubt, but why not the fighters? Correct me if I’m wrong, but can fighters be stored in shuttle bays?”       “Stored is the word, my Lord. While they can certainly land in a shuttle bay a fighter cannot be launched from one. Using cargo handling tractors they can be removed, but both ships will have to have both shields and drive fields down. Lord, are you suggesting…”       “Yes. With the Whale losses we sustained there’s more than enough space for the 24 Shark squadrons to be taken aboard the pinnace tenders. We’ll have them land first on the other carriers so that they can off-load their FRAMs. There’s also the benefit of not having to break into the crated stores of our support ships to refresh our regular carriers’ strike groups.”       “An excellent idea, my Lord. It will very likely come to that in this campaign.” The officer changed the holo image to that of the Battlement system. It was an orange star with a family of six planets and an asteroid belt stuck in the figurative middle. The Comensal colonized world was the first one, orbiting 4 light-minutes from the primary. “Using the Bedrock system defenses as a guide, we can expect at the very least to find fighter bases in the asteroid belt. The first of the scouts we dispatched will arrive at the belt in 50 hours. Pinnaces are now laying out the sensor net to cover the inner system as well as the other two warp points.”        “We’ll hold off mining those other warp points for now,” said Russen. “We don’t have enough mobile units to guard them until we’re significantly reinforced. It’s more important that we neutralize Battlement Prime’s ability to construct new units and fighters.” His eyes drifted over to the icon representing a gas giant that was 36 LMs from the primary. “We’ll detach a small force to investigate the moons of the second gas giant. If fighter bases are detected they’ll be destroyed as well as any waystations that connect them to the asteroid belt.”       The operations officer brought up the fleet composition list on the datapad he carried with him. “A sound strategy, My Lord.  Isolating the outer bases will allow us to concentrate on breaking into the inner system without interference.” Grand Fork, a medium-sized industrial city on Elotoshani Prime, was nondescript as far as the Comensal occupiers were concerned. Most of the universities in this metropolis were vocational, not academic, and as such had few of the ‘big brains’ that kept the ASP (Anti-Abomination Security Police) busy. However that was going to change quite soon, and even structural engineers, rarely bothered by ASP, would get to know interrogation methods that their academic brethren experienced all too well.       Blex, part of the upper management of a steel processing plant, had a guest paying a visit. They met on the work floor, noisy and smelly as always despite all that advanced technology had to offer. After showing how the various processes worked Blex took his guest to a cramped floor office. Glad to get off her four feet, the guest waited as her host closed the blinds and turned on the ventilation fan.       “We can talk now,” said Blex. “The boneskins can’t hear or see us in here.”       “But we’re going to see and hear a lot more from them,” said the guest. “The Committee has received word regarding the prime phase of Operation Untwine. The first operational reports from the boneskins regarding the new ‘gadgets’ have been received. Before the week is out you can expect ASP agents and their quislings to be paying a visit. At the very least you will be…  questioned.”       Blex’s four stalked eyes focused down to the top of his desk as if he spotted an interesting scribble on the plaspaper calendar. “I see. Will my family…”       “There’s a safe house in the countryside, Blex. The Committee will do what it can for you and others that have volunteered for the cause.”       The ‘gagdets’ the guest spoke of were two inventions made by Eloto scientists in secret, then carefully introduced to the Comensal. One had the involvement of Blex, for his plant not only made starship-grade steel alloys but also did structural research. His engineers had found a way to combined shuttle bays so that were more efficient in the utilization of work space. Redundant support structures were removed and those that remained were given new bracing. In this way five large shuttle bays would end up with the capacity to hold six bays worth of small craft. The other invention was a true brainstorm, and when it was presented to the Comensal Science Development Bureau the reaction was like a drug addict that found a supposedly lost secret stash.       “We all know what questioning from the ASP will entail,” said Blex in a resigned tone. “Especially if Untwine is as successful as the Committee hopes. Do I have an option?”       “If you want it.” The guest reached with her left back hand and pulled something from a pocket of her back left leg. It looked like an aspirin, but that’s where the similarities end. “Take this just before the ASP and their quislings arrive at the plant. It’s a new poison that only reacts to truth serum the boneskins use, and death occurs in 30 seconds. The poison only remains viable for three days, but given the paranoid nature of the boneskins they may as well inject you as so as you are in the car.”       Blex took the innocent-looking pill and safety placed it in the inner pocket of his vest. “Thank you. If my family hears about this please let them know I did it to deny the boneheads the satisfaction of beating me up before killing me.”       “I’m sure they will understand, Blex. They will recognize your sacrifice as being a small yet contributing effort towards the defeat of the Comensal and their fascist empire.” Chapter 8.25 The Spice Clipper cargo corvette was two weeks into its journey from Bedrock to Hamthen when news came of the RVSN success in breaking into the Axis system of Battlement. To celebrate dinner aboard the fleet little ship was kitchen cooked instead of pre-packaged. In addition to dining with the ship’s officers the highest-ranking passenger sat with the crew at each division rotation. Though she knew her audience appreciated her company Admiral Tulcus Jki would rather be back in Bedrock, planning the next offensive foray into Asteroid Axis space.       A high level conference was scheduled to be held on Hamthen Prime. Representatives from the allied nations will be in attendance. For the Commonwealth it was President Eyna Huj. The purpose of the conference was to settle on long-term policy regarding the Axis. As the most senior naval officer having fought Axis forces it was only natural for Jki to be called upon for her opinion. The higher ups in the Navy could have easily allowed her to send her own representative in addition to a report, but apparently the conference was as much for moral and propaganda purposes as well as strategic planning. Jki could only imagine the effort it took to have Huj come instead of her father Sal. Not that Sal would’ve represented the CPS any less than Huj, far from it. Being the daughter of a most famous senator would’ve produced a media ‘perfect storm’ that could have long-term consequences, both good and ill, depending on the conduct of the war.       Jki was privately glad that Sal was back home on Terpla to ‘mind the store’ for Huj. As much as she wanted to see her father it was better for the senior man to keep the senate focused on the war instead of drifting off into fanciful post-war plans. Despite the editorials and speculations, especially from the Terpla’n and Crajen press, the Axis wasn’t a kick boxer on his last pair of knees. They remained a dangerous, wily opponent perfectly willing to launch wasteful spoiling attacks just to prove they were strong enough to mount them in the first place. When one adds the unreal depths of fanatical resistance exhibited on Citadel, Borehole, Meadow, Blood Pride and Forger’s Gate it was clear to all but the most willfully blind that while the war may well be won the reeducation of the Comensal race will last generations.       On the lighter side of news Jki was bemused when she received word from the Major of Marines about the Captain Avma, her former command and most recent flagship. The ship’s mascot, a lungfish named Flip, had been despondent when Jki departed. For days afterward Flip kept to his routine, always ending up at the now-closed hatch to her former cabin every evening. Inevitably the onboard watch would come by, retrieve the despondent lung fish, and return him to Marine Country and plunk him down in his tank. It wasn’t until the tenth day that Flip decided to turn his affection to the next most important person on the ship. Not the Captain, but Senior Chief Petty Officer Delys. As the senior NCO running ship stores, Delys could procure supplies that would normally require the talents of a wizard. In this case the ability to get a particular brand of freeze-dried worms was the deciding factor for Flip’s simple decision making process. In no time the tank that was in Jki’s old quarters was moved into Delys’ office, and it appeared that Flip was going to spend his evenings keeping the old spacer company for the foreseeable future.       As far as Jki was concerned the future held several more weeks of travel and reading reports picked up from the communications net along the way. With Task Force 11 continuing the offensive out from Bedrock, and the RVSN occupied with Battlement there promised to be no shortage of news. By the time she got back from the conference Jki would have a new command ship waiting for her, complete with the latest refits. She was determined to do her part to keep the momentum of the war in the CSF and its allies’ favor. The initial scout reports confirmed what King Russen expected. The asteroid belt of Battlement did contain outposts and colonies, but was also lousy with bases. A chain of small bases lead from the asteroid belt to the second gas giant, and that world’s moons had bases as well. The Royal Navy detachment heading for the second gas giant was tasked to take out the moon bases, severing the chain and thus denying the fighters stationed on the bases of the two methane worlds’ moons, and the small stations that connected them, from being funneled back to support the rest of the system.       En-route the scouts reported flights of fighters coming from the transit bases linking the second gas giant to the methane planets in the outer system and the asteroid belt. By the time the detachment arrived there were 96 F0 fighters hovering over the gas giant’s two moons, along with a scout ship. Weighing his options, Commodore Kelly, commanding from the carrier Paladin, elected to move on to the transit base 4 light-minutes away in the direction of the first methane world. Even partially loaded a F0 fighter only had one hour endurance, making for a range of just four light minutes. Without any ordnance the range was 4.5. Those 16 squadrons already flying have used a portion of their life support already, moving or not. At full tactical speed the detachment will reach maximum SBM range of the transit base in a little under 77 minutes.       The Hatchets and scout followed, but stayed 15 light-second behind the formation. Joining them from the moon bases were 16 more squadrons, four of which were comprised of F1 models. It would’ve been a different story had all the fighters been of the newer model, yet for some reason the Axis was perfectly content to follow. Overall they had 192 fighters to the detachment’s 120, and if their goal was to protect their moon bases then it succeeded. Time went by swiftly, first the 2 LM and the 2.25 LM marks were past, yet still the Hatchets stayed the course. Four more squadrons, also comprised of F0 Hatchets, left the vicinity of the targeted transit base and took station 15 LS ahead of the detachment. That in itself was strange, and Kelly brushed it off as an attempt at deception by the Axis. A cutter was seen fleeing the doomed instillation, and it took only two volleys from the trio of Paramount cruisers to destroy it.       Still the Hatchets kept their distance, showing no inclination to move faster. Commodore Kelly was beginning to wonder if the F0 Hatchets were really F1s that stepped down their power plants the whole time. To test that assertion he had his ships to move onto the next transit base, its destruction preventing even unloaded and full-speed F1s from crossing the resulting 12 LM gap. He got an answer, for when his ships were at the 4 LM mark precisely the trailing Hatchets and scout increased speed to 0.13c. The Valthor on their flank confirmed that 168 of the 192 Hatchets were indeed of the F0 vintage as the power signatures were unmistakable. As for the four squadrons ahead it appeared they were getting updates from the Axis scout, for they maintained their distance and speed to match the Valhallan ships.       Kelly, finding the report a bit hard to believe, ordered his ships to detune their engines. Twelve minutes later the F0 Hatchets pasted the 4.5 LM mark and had closed to 9 LS. As for the Axis scout it only crept up to range of 12 LS and matched speed with the detachment. At this rate in 18 minutes said Hatchets would be at point blank range. A decision was made, and all 120 F1 Sharks on the carriers were equipped with two gun packs and a single close attack missile each. With the coverage of a jammer aboard an accompanying Interception escort cruiser it was anticipated the oncoming Hatchet strike would be thoroughly devastated in the first exchange.       Anticipating this, the Axis strike commander had his force split in two. They ended up with a separation of 3 LS between them, large enough so that jammer on the Interception couldn’t encompass them both. As it didn’t matter which group to go after since the four F1 Hatchets squadrons were equally divided the strike coordinator aboard the CV Paladin flipped a mental coin. It was at the point where the Hatchets were only 8 LS from the Valhallan detachment when the Sharks lived up to their nautical namesakes. Thanks to the jammer only ten were lost in exchange for all 96 Hatchets engaged. Even though the cruiser maneuvered and positioned itself with care there was no way it could jam the datalinks of the other 96 Hatchets in time, even with detuned engines. This wasn’t the case for the Sharks, for now partially lightened and facing the right way they were able to close to within 1.25 LS. At the current speed extreme gun range would be achieved in two minutes.       Faced with this threat the second group of 96 Hatchets did the only practical thing. The F1s dropped their life support packs while the F0s dropped both FRAMs and packs, making them as fast as the Sharks now. It didn’t make a difference if the detachment zig-zagged at this point for the Hatchets would always compensate and get that little bit closer in the exchange. So it worked that way, painful minute after minute with the 24 Hatchets ahead of the Valhallan ships maneuvering closer in as well.       To the second Kelly gauged the approach of the enemy, all the while painfully wishing he had some of those new F2 Sharks, with their built-in weapons, right here and now. An arbitrary line was crossed in his mind with orders given immediately. The ships stopped detuning and presented their flanks to both groups of Hatches. The 96 group was 1.25 LS out to port with the 24 group 1.5 LS to starboard. Long-range point defense fire failed to knock out one fighter. With a deft maneuver to port and turn to starboard the 24 group was outside point-blank range for their FRAMs but the 96 group was atop the ships. Of that number the 84 F0 Hatchets dove onto a Cout CVE with the intent on ramming. Six held true to their attack run with three shot down by the carrier’s point defense and CAMs. The ship’s shield and two-thirds of the armor were wiped out by the fireballs of the remaining three fighters. Fire from the Jajer-D and Phyr greatly diminished the threat of the 24 F1 Hatchets, but two of those managed to fire and crippled a CVE.       Knowing that some hits were better than none the 24 group opened up on the Valhallan ships with their FRAMs. The probability of a hit was substantially lower but some were obtained. Both Couts were heavily damaged and two Paramount class cruisers lost shielding and some armor, and it would’ve been worse had the Jajer’s jammer decided not to work that particular day. A total of 83 Hatchets were left after the barrage, leaving the Valhallan crews bracing for another wave of ramming.       All ships engaged erratic maneuvers to augment their ECM. Ten Hatchets from the ravaged 24 group set upon the CVEs with only one succeeding and hitting in the first pass. At the end of their third pass they were all gone but both carriers, already heavily damaged, were wrecked and had lost primary life support. For the 96 group they chose one Paramount cruiser in the first pass and then the other in second. Both ships lost armor and even sustained internal damage. With no weapons to their name the 49 remaining Hatchets were butchered by the Sharks. Commodore Kelly gauged the situation and had his fighters land, rearm, and sent off to destroy the second transit base. External racks were reloaded as well as internal repairs while the detachment waited. When both Couts failed to restore life support they were evacuated and scuttled.       110 Sharks and the Interception cruiser found 24 Hatchets waiting for them over the second transit base. Knowing that the Royal ships will just keep advancing up the chain the Hatchets moved with the intent to attack. Armed with missile launchers, the escort ship fired antimatter standard missiles at the base at extreme range, destroying it in two volleys. To reduce casualties the Sharks carried three laser packs each with the goal to overwhelm the Hatchets at long range. Having the same idea, the F0 Hatchets had laser packs as well, though they lost 20 of their number while only bagging two of the enemy. The remaining quartet closed on the cruiser with one surviving long enough to get two hits with its laser packs before becoming a nuclear fireball.       While mulling his options Kelly received a set of flash messages from scouts keeping a watch over the asteroid belt. Two groups of F1 Hatchets, each 96 strong, were observed leaving the belt and proceeding on a course that will take them to the second gas giant’s moons, ETA 2.5 hours. If they stay on their respective courses then they’ll pass up the two transit station between the belt and the gas giant. Kelly had heard of the development of life support packs but, just like the F2 Sharks, they haven’t reached frontline allied forces yet. With the unexpected range of the F0 Hatchets and the observed mass drop of packs it was certain the Axis developed and deployed their own life support packs. Accepting that as fact, then one can figure that a F1 Hatchet loaded down with packs, dropping them as they were used up and speeding up, had an absolute maximum range of 23 light minutes. Destroying the gas giant bases, as well as two more transit bases, will ensure that the fighters from the moon bases around the methane worlds as well as the rest of the transit base chain wouldn’t be able to contribute for the rest of the Battlement campaign.       A plan was quickly formed. The gas giant’s moon bases were to be destroyed while still denuded of fighters. Once done the detachment would then go back up the chain of transit bases and take out two more of them, ensuring the remaining bases and the methane planets’ moon colonies were isolated. One hour and at 3.25 LM distance the detachment sent out 96 Sharks, leaving the remaining 12 on the Paladin for the time being. Kelly needed those fighters, for he wanted to destroy those 196 Hatchets if they persist in obliging him by still coming forward and dying for their nation. The strike went in, obliterating both moon bases with ease and with minimal damage done to the attending colonies. Further reports from the scouts informed of the launch of fighters from the two bases linking the belt to the second gas giant. Combined, the incoming Hatchet force numbered 216, all of them F1s. Kelly was happy to see them, for destroying them would make the enemy assess their priorities in construction as replacing that many fighters is no small chunk of change. Furthermore, by having the enemy fixated on his ships Kelly was sparing the rest of the fleet from taking critical damage.       The range closed with the enemy duplicating their tactic, dividing their force in two and forcing the incoming Sharks and the Interception to choose one over the other. Owing to their greater numbers the Hatchets brought down 18 Sharks while losing 71 out of 108. Further Sharks could’ve been destroyed, but the Axis commander of that portion of the strike held back those that still had FRAMs. For its invaluable support the Interception was targeted. First to go in were the 21 Hatchets that expended their solitary FRAMs, moving and gyrating like angry bees. Expecting the enemy to just past the cruiser turned in time to prevent head-on rams. Of the five that compensated for the maneuver two were splashed by point-ditch fire. As for the other three they collapsed half of the Interception’s shields.       Hot on their heels six Shark squadrons were atop those Hatchets still armed with FRAMs with the other 12 taking that one last fleeting shot at the rest while they were still in gun range. Even with a valiant defense the cruiser was reduced to one-third speed and lost half of its armament. For this all the Hatchets in the first group were destroyed. A small consolation for the other group was effectively out of reach of the Sharks. Even if they dropped their gun packs the Valhallan-crewed fighters wouldn’t be able to reach their carriers in time to rearm. With some luck and promise the jammer on the Jajer-D was still working. Even with that advantage the detachment was still looking at 108 Hatchets armed with a single FRAM each. Many of those were still going to find a target.       The engagement began at 1.25 LS range with the lasers and capital and improved point defense mounts on the Jajer-D and Phyr opening up, nailing one fighter. At 0.5 LS a volley of standard sprint missiles, point defense, and energy beams bagged 14 more. Commodore Kelly had his ships generate maximum ECM, knowing that the two fleet carriers would be the top targets this time. 9 Hatchets fell to the Jajer-D's point blank fire, its most successful round to date, and the Phyr took out an entire squadron. After the exchange only 46 of the 108 Hatchets pulled away at 0.16c, safe from the Sharks. For that loss the Axis heavily damaged the two fleet carriers, including the Paladin, and further damaged the two Paramounts hit earlier. Kelly watched as the Hatchets kept on retreating, wondering why they passed up the change to do suicide rams and further damage a carrier. Their flight plan to the detachment meant that 12, and at most 24, fighters would reach the first transit base leading back to the asteroid belt in time to recharge life support. It was then he recalled the limping Interception. As damaged as they were, the carriers would’ve taken a few suicide hits in stride, but the cruiser was a different matter.       A short time later those 46 Hatchets were barreling in on the escort cruiser, and only herculean repair efforts enabled it make two-thirds speed. An exchange at 0.75 LS had the ship failing to score a single kill, leaving the fighters to envelope it like a sentient avalanche. Of the 14 finding fulfillment through duty only 3 were shot down short of their goal. Unfortunately for the Interception the attack was conducted head-on so that when the surviving Hatchets came back for another attack, this time from rear portside, there was no weapon to oppose them. Twenty more fighters were used up on a ship that was one harsh look away from death, with the last twelve making it back to the transit base with only five minutes to spare.       With the threat to the detachment over Kelly revised his plans. Both light carriers and the Jajer-D were sent ahead to take on the next two transit bases leading to the first methane world. Kelly was on one of the carriers, driven by his commitment to lead at the front along with the need to know first-hand how the Axis defenders were going to react. He was hedging that the temptation to damage two more carriers was too powerful to ignore. Meanwhile the rest of the detachment was making for the fleet at 0.067c except for the two damaged Paramounts. A tug was dispatched to retrieve these two and take them back to Kerama Retto. There wasn’t enough repair assets in King Russen’s logistical support group, and by the time the two BCs reached the aforementioned system a repair base would already been assembled and ready to receive them.       The transit base attacks followed the same pattern. Hatchets were sent down the chain so that 24 of them greeted the three ships at both bases. Fortunately all the Hatchets were of the F0 variety and armed with dual pairs of laser packs, just like in the previous attack. Instead of shooting at their Shark opponents these pilots settled for long-range potshots at the Jajer-D. All told the ship took three laser hits when the operation was completed. With the four transit and two moon bases gone not even a F1 Hatchet, loaded with support packs and dropping them when used and speeding up, could cover the 24 LM gap.       Both the Royal Fleet and the Axis defenders settled down to consolidation phase, plotting their next moves.  The loss of 492 Hatchets in exchange for 30 Sharks, one escort cruiser and two escort carriers favored Russen for even new F1 Hatchets built in Battlement would be piloted by green pilots. The two fleet carriers had priority for on-site repair while the absence of the two Paramounts only had a minor effect on the fleet’s composition. Russen would only allow for a short rest, not even waiting for the two carriers to be repaired when his fleet moved towards the asteroid belt. The ring of asteroid bases had to be exhausted of their stock of fighters as well as being destroyed. Only then could Battlement Prime be invested and finally invaded. While Field General Tokuno was conducting his search for Axis army units on Bedrock Prime the allies resumed their drive deeper into Axis space. Task Force 11, under the command of Admiral Uanbo, entered the Gravel Pit system. There was only a light minefield present, controlled by a small base, to discourage pinnaces from moving further in-system. Gravel Pit was composed of a solitary white sun playing host to a quartet of rock worlds, two pairs of alternating asteroid belts and gas giants, and an ice world. Only four colonies were found on the moons on the first gas giant. Fleet Tracker scouts greeted the task force as it transited in, shadowing the huge formation as it trekked across the system. An armed pinnace tender/escort carrier task element was assigned to watch the system.       Even with extensive searches of captured ships and computer banks of Bedrock’s asteroid populations there was no astrogation information of systems beyond Gravel Pit. Data was not forthcoming from the government of Bedrock Prime, and it was highly doubtful if any such data would be found even with forceful measures. However, according to a database captured by the Hokum earlier in the war it was known that Gravel Pit had two additional warp points. Scouting groups were dispatched to both of them. The first one quickly determined that the first warp point lead to a starless region. A proper survey element was sent in to conduct a warp point survey. As for the second one there was definitely something on the far side, for it took the loss of 11 pinnaces before the 12th one came back.       Uanbo considered the information. Six asteroid bases, each a little more massive than a BS5, were arranged in two groups 1. 5 LS from the warp point. 540 buoys formed the close-in defense along with seven squadrons of Hatchets, all F0s. The minefield was suspected to thick, and it was unknown if the fighters came from the asteroid bases or from more distant, conventional platforms. As there was no grav surge data any assault launched now would result in the attacking units facing different directions when concentration of firepower was essential. So the order was given with five specially constructed units coming forward to obtain that data as well as ascertain the true strength of the immediate minefield and to see what lay beyond the pinnaces limited scanner reach.       After the capture of Bedrock the inhabitants of the Bulwark system waited for the arrival of the allied forces. Since there were only two uninhabited systems beyond Bulwark and no other warp points, and factoring in the relative wealth of Bulwark with the far more important Gymnasium system, the defenses were constructed solely with local resources. The pre-war asteroid and lunar fighter bases were demothballed and updated. Bases were built and deployed. With eleven abom pinnaces destroyed it was now only a matter of time.       That time came to an end six weeks after the fall of Bedrock. A pair of massive SDs, followed by a pair of DNs and a solitary BB intruded onto the tension-filled calm. With no grav surge data they all had random facings, each turning to achieve their own particular exit vectors. All five had laser-tipped CAMs on their racks and used them on a southern base, stripping it of one-third of its armor, a good achievement for transit-addled fire control. In turn four of the six asteroid forts became active and fired their internal weapons. Both SDs lost shielding and had to burn out an overload dampener or two to prevent internal damage from energy beams. Six of the seven CAP Hatchet squadrons became active as well, picking up where the forts left off with the two DNs. Their armor was almost gone. All three BS2s failed to achieve action stations, missing an opportunity to cripple or destroy the duo.       Had the Axis defenders studied allied probe force tactics more intensely then they should’ve destroyed the first SD, DN and the BB if they could. For that failure the first SD and DN were able to transit out back to Gravel Pit with the grav surge data and more. Of the mines there were 450 patterns surrounding the warp point. 6 LS ‘south’ of the warp point where 3 BS5s with the likelihood of two of them being fighter platforms. 9 LS to the northwest were 3 undersized BS2, the automated weapon control platforms. The initial quartet of forts were joined by their other two brethren, and together they destroyed the remaining three interlopers for the lost of only one laser buoy shot down by the second DN. Aside from the armor damage to one fort the defenses were intact.       Reviewing the data Uanbo was relieved and concerned; relieved that the defenses weren’t overly imposing, yet concerned about the asteroid forts. Equipped with numerous sprint launchers and complete with antimatter-armed missiles, the forts would pound away shielding of any large ship, letting whatever energy beam buoys present having the maximum effect. Neutralizing the forts before the first wave of ships entered the system had to be accomplished. To that end Whale armed pinnaces, crewed by Hazens and Quagaars, were formed up for the attack. Six hours later they went in, each carrying four FRAMs for maximum destructive power. Both groups of forts were to be hit, and once that was done the remaining Whales would focus their internal weapons on taking out weapon buoys until the arrival of the assault carriers.       64 of the 432 Whales interpenetrated on the far side, forming brief antimatter-fueled fireballs that amply alerted the defenders of their arrival. There were two shells of mines, claiming 70 more. The 7 Hatchet squadrons guarding the warp point stayed just in case ships made transit. Like before only four forts went to action, crashing launching their assault shuttles and pinnaces to aid in the defense. Numbers were on the side of the allies, for there where Whales to spare once the forts were obliterated. Even transit-addled internal guns and point defense were able to find the mark and downed all 24 assault shuttles and 4 pinnaces. Whale losses from defensive fire stood at 48.       In order to get the most out of their weapons against the buoys, however, the Whales had to cross the minefields again. They had no choice, especially since both fighter BS5s launched their squadrons, 21 in all, to join the 7 already at the warp point. Knowing that the Whales had weapons to spare the 7 CAP squadrons elected to fire while they still had the chance. For dying to the last fighter 30 more Whales were destroyed while 194 weapon buoys were shot down like so many clay crustaceans.       The first assault wave came in, six ships in all. Only one Whale transited back to Gravel Pit. The 21 F0 Hatchet squadrons were still 2 LS out and 2 LS behind them was a single squadron of F1s, launched from one of the small BS2s. After three of the ships used their externally-mounted mine clearance rounds the trio of BS2s primed and fired their buoys in sequence. First to go were the cut-down force beam buoys, 78 out of the original 120. The two SDs, an Avami and the first Gravity Well from the probe force, took the hits in stride while the two DN(V)s, BB(V) and BB minesweeper lost their shields. 115 energy buoys came next. The small ships took the worst of it with one DN(V) barely having motive power while the Avami lost two engine rooms. Last were 102 one-shot laser buoys, savaging the armor of the Salyfs, the Cram and Nikazu-V. Observing the results the two BS5Vs and the BS5E fired as singletons, expending their external capital missiles and spinal force beams as they saw fit. Both Salyfs and the Nikazu-V lost their armor with the latter having only six intact hanger bays remaining, still alive for Uanbo had all the fighters armed with pairs of standard close attack missiles and a gun pack each. The 50 remaining unfired laser buoys were shot down by the Whales.       The second wave was comprised of six Tamaya-Di cruisers. 150 F1 Sharks leapt from their catapults and moved to engage the oncoming 126 F0 Hatchets. None of the assault carriers were able to return to Gravel Pit yet, but the jammers on the Gravity Well, Salyfs, Cram and Nikazu-V still worked. Splintered as they were the Axis pilots already knew it was be a waste to destroy the Gravity Well while the smaller carriers were far, far easier to kill. That was achieved, with the Avami getting the remainder along with spinal force beam fire. Shark squadrons lived up to their name, so reducing the Hatchets that the big ship only lost four hanger bays.       Wave three was just three Oknib DNs, seeing off the Avami as it returned to Gravel Pit. The sole F1 Hatchet squadron homed in on the Gravity Well, and only one fighter was able to fire before it and its squadron mates were killed. Being green, the pilot only hit with one FRAM of the three fired, finally bringing down the shields. The BS5s opened up with spinal force beams on the tough ship, scoring six hits. As for the Sharks they moved out and onward towards the BS5s, ETA 90 seconds. In the interim six more Oknibs, three Valthors and three Luttfomis appeared, firing mine clearance rounds from internal launchers and external racks. Their orders were to clear a lane through both minefields, and it was achieved just as the Sharks attacked the BS5s. A wall of defensive fire was thrown up, and even the assault shuttles were launched to engage, yet only two whole squadrons were splashed. In turn the BS5E was destroyed and both BS5Vs lost passive defenses along with some hanger bays. Five of the eight assault shuttles were shot down as well.       Acting alone, the Gravity Well moved on the BS5Vs as the Sharks broke away. Both bases fired their spinal force beams as the huge ship closed to 4.5 LS, doing only a love-tap of damage to its incredibly thick armored hide. At 3.25 LS range the remaining trio of assault shuttles attempted to ram the behemoth head-on with one succeeding and the other two bagged by the retiring Sharks. Two more hits did triple the previous damage, yet the ship continued to close. At 2 LS the ship found the range, scoring a hit with its capital energy beam. Only one base obtained a lock and did palatable damage. From there the ship engaged erratic maneuvers and ECM, slightly frustrating the bases’ fire control. It hit the second base to upset its shield restoration schedule, then it went back to the first one. Like a deep dwelling pike attracted to the moonlight during mating season the Gravity Well continued to crawl to its targets. One of the bases missed three times in a row despite the closeness, causing the chief fire control officer to personally take command of the spinal force beam. The next two shots were hits, and they would be the last ones fired in the engagement from that base. When it was over the ship, having lost 86% of its armor in the process, launched its pinnace to conduct boarding actions on one base with the other ships doing the same with their cutters and shuttles. The Valthors had dispatched the constellation of six scanner buoys that had surrounded the warp point at 2.5 LS range while the Luttfomi minesweepers took care of the BS2s, noting the internal changes cataloged by their scanners.       Uanbo counted his losses. 259 of 432 Whale armed pinnaces were lost through interpenetration, minefield attrition and enemy action. 36 of 174 fighters were destroyed, two-thirds of them when their hanger bays were crushed and the other twelve from defensive fire. One Gravity Well SD, a Singularity DN, Event Horizon BB, Cram BB, a pair of Salyf DN(V)s, and a Nikazu-V were destroyed. The damaged Gravity Well, Singularity, and Avami will be sent back to Bedrock for repairs.       As for the 84 fighters without hangar bays the normal procedure would be to abandon them, but Uanbo recalled the report he received a week earlier about the Valhallan Royal Fleet in the Battlement system. They had the same problem as well, and solved it in a unique matter. Also sustaining significant armed pinnace losses King Russen decided to use the now-empty shuttle bays to store the homeless fighters until such time proper hanger bays become available. While it would be a hassle to unload the fighters, requiring the service of ship with cargo handling facilities in-between the deliverer and recipient, it had the virtue of not uncrating fighters for spares.       On another note the lack of overload dampeners on the Salyfs lead to their early demise in the battle, and even the refitted Nikazu-V suffered for it didn’t have enough shielding. Along with the double belt of mines and the preference of using energy weapon buoys the Axis was making standard assaults more costly. The new refits being conducted in the Forger’s Gate system on Task Force 21 would address some of the issues, but something else was needed. 2,600 died just on the destroyed Whales alone, and those numbers will only creep higher and higher as Axis systems further down the road get more and more fortified. Even now the scouts have discovered that this system’s asteroid colonies have bases as well as small bases linking them together. Shorty those hurriedly recovered Sharks would be drawn from their impromptu storage to fill freshly vacated hanger bays. The Gymnasium system, formerly an Elotoshani possession, was quite busy as of late. In addition to expanding its orbital shipyard complex and finishing a long delayed intra-system lunar colonization project the system was host to Star Force 2 of the Third Advanced Fleet. Admiral Hovwen, the only senior carrier force commander to have survived repeated encounters with abomination fleets, was conducting an exercise with her carriers. The pilots of the F1 Hatchets had their rough edges smoothed, and they had their admiral’s confidence. Under the circumstances that had to do for in six weeks’ time Star Force 2 was going to be back in Bedrock.       Hovwen wondered how much damage the Bulwark defenders inflicted upon the abom assault force. More importantly, just how much of their fleet would be committed to secure Bulwark and the two systems beyond it, one of which had the nova-roasted homeworld of the dead Nu’Chut race. They had no other route to pursue, unless they knew about the second warp point in Abyssal-017. Had they known then their nosy pinnaces would’ve shown themselves by now. The two warp points in Abyssal-017 were ridiculously close to each other, but both ends were closed. Hopefully it will remain a secret until Star Force 2 made its move.       Of the prewar reserve of ships and prefabricated bases only 5% remained, the rest joining new construction to form an irresistible core of destruction. All at least had the new composite armor installed, the majority with an example of improved point defense, and a handful of updated designs. Operation Restoration, an offensive geared to restore the wholeness of Axis national sovereignty and continue the conquest of abom space, had as its main objective the recovery of Bedrock. A smaller formation was tasked to drive back the Hokum aboms from Geode all the way back to Whel, recovering Crimson Expanse in the process. Even the Valhallan aboms at Battlement will get ejected, a strong force that would drive on to Citadel, further isolating the aboms.       Of interest to Hovwen was the new piece of equipment for her fighters, the life support pack. So equipped, a F1 Hatchet with two close attack missiles had a useable range of 6.5 light-minutes, assuming it dropped said pack after it was used up. With the number of carriers at her disposal long-range strikes were now quite practical. Her fleet commander, Mansel, shared the same enthusiasm for fighters. As for the new Machete armed pinnaces Hovwen welcomed their addition, reducing the need for purpose-built assault escorts, corvettes and frigates. In regards to the Stiletto escort shuttle she hadn’t arrived at an opinion, waiting until they’ve engaged in a few combats before passing judgment.       When the last of the fighters landed back onto their carriers numerous after-action reports were generated. Hours later Hovwen’s staff had compiled these reports into a comprehensive one. The new life support packs had performed to expectations in the latest exercise. She gave her seal of approval and sent the report to higher authority. Perhaps even the First Leader would peruse its electronic pages. A few minutes later she called up the specs of the life support pack, giving her password as she had done before. This time, instead of the data, Hovwen was treated from what was at first appearance an accounting of the final battle of the Elotoshani War. More intrigued than annoyed she read the story for a few minutes only to realize it was from the abom Eloto perspective. It was a glorification of Eloto sacrifice and defiance in the face of ‘naked barbarism’ of the Asteroid Axis. Given particular emphasis was the massed suicide attack by cutters and shuttles against the Axis Fleet over the Eloto’s second inhabited planet in the home system. Had Hovwen been more critical and detached she would’ve noted that the story followed the same format used by Comensal authors telling similar detailed, gory tales. It all smacked of bad taste if written by a fellow officer, and a death sentence offense if it was truly written by an Eloto abom.       Hovwen wanted to save the file for evidence, but the computer system refused to acknowledge her request. It had disappeared as mysteriously as it had appeared, despite the database search she ordered. What would’ve been assumed to be some sort of prank at best was then turned into something worse. After Hovwen finished reading the technical specs for the life support pack a message notification appeared on her screen. She acknowledged it, and was rewarded with the image of an Eloto, speaking the following in Comensal Standard: “Enjoy the utility of this tech while you can, [Expletive Deleted].” Following the words the abom made an expression that Hovwen later learned was called a ‘raspberry.’ She and hundreds of other officers and NCOs were treated to that story and message that day, but that was minor compared to what really happened behind the scenes. Back in Bulwark the forward elements of Task Force 11 confirmed the existence of asteroid outposts and colonies and of fighter bases with those colonies. There were also linking transit bases in that belt, just like the ones in Battlement. Uanbo elected to take these out with a squadron of escort ships, each equipped with a jammer and protected by 80% of TF 11’s fighters, a total of 624 Sharks. Once that force was detected all the fighters lifted from all the bases in the asteroid belt. In conglomerated groups of F0 and F1s the Hatchets flung themselves against the Sharks, firing lasers, rail guns and proximity-fused close attack missiles. As proven before the losses were grossly uneven thanks the jammers. The slaughter of Hatchets was such that after all was said and done 33% of the Shark pilots became aces. With the asteroid bases gone Uanbo then went to eliminate the fighter transit bases that linked the inner and outer portions of the system. Now isolated and out of range even with full loads of life support packs those F1 Hatchets on their gas giant moon bases could only wait until the inner system was conquered before the enemy turned their attention to them.       As for the planet Uanbo wasn’t able to get a firm read on the defenses for massed squadrons of Hatchets, equipped with life support packs, kept chasing away his scouts. On his initiative one captain of a scout detuned engines to be ‘deloused’ of following fighters. For this an example of Axis fanaticism was displayed as four squadrons of F1 Hatchets dropped packs and closed on the scout. Multiple suicide ramming attempts were made and finally succeeded in crippling the scout, permitting a follow-up squadron to destroy it as it limped away, task undone.       While temporarily ignorant of what orbited the planet Uanbo did have a fair idea of its population. From radio and energy signatures at least 100 million Comensal were on the planet if not more, given the steadily increasing rise in population of each Comensal planet encountered to date. It would be six months before the next wave of troop transports would reach conquered Axis space. Until then, once the system was secured, a small detachment could be left behind to ensure the population didn’t engage in building spaceports and missile-flinging ground bases. Hopefully the psych specialists would’ve found a way to keep Comensal passive without the massive investment in ground forces. Uanbo didn’t put much faith in such a breakthrough as bodies tend to pile up far quicker than all the best intentions in the world. Chapter 8.50 The reduction of the 12 Axis asteroid belt bases and their 24 associated way stations in Battlement began in earnest. King Russen had his fleet move in a counter-clockwise manner around the belt, starting in that part furthest from Battlement Prime. He knew that using this strategy would allow the enemy to load fighters with purely offensive armament; landing and replenishing life support at those bases not yet attacked, but also had the virtue of compelling them to attack now before their bases were destroyed out from under them. The most dangerous portion was when the attack started the Valhallan Royal Fleet didn’t face one Hatchet swarm but two. Even so the datalink jammers on the escorts made the task of destroying them more manageable.      Armed with pairs of laser packs, the F0 and F1 Hatchets forced the issue with their Shark counterparts in the defensive envelope of the fleet. It was an attrition battle for while the Axis lost squadron after squadron there was a toll on the Valhallan fighters. Unable to employ erratic maneuvers the Shark losses, while slight for each battle, mounted. For a further loss of 864 Hatchets a total of 61 Sharks were destroyed in the asteroid operation. Russen, still facing the prospect of eliminating the orbital works over Battlement Prime, moved his fleet to a distance of 14 LM from the planet and waited for two damaged carriers from a previous battle to finish repairs. So far there had been no signs of Axis reinforcements appearing from the system’s third warp point. Not so for the second one, however.      A combined armed pinnace/escort carrier detachment was assigned to destroy all communication and scanner buoys linking the system’s second and third warp points. Three days before the fleet went about its base-busting effort a scout sent word of a new contact. Upon inspection it turned out to be a convoy mostly composed of undersized corvettes and freighters. The detachment was within range but only by moving at maximum cruiser speed could it intercept the convoy before entering practical attack range of the F1 Hatchets based on the moons of the outermost methane world.       18 Whale armed pinnaces, each with two laser packs and a pair of FRAMs, were escorted by 24 Shark F1 fighters armed with a gun pack and two stand-off missiles each. Their primary targets were the 9 undersized FT2 freighters and solitary frigate-sized FT3. As for the escorts they were composed of 11 undersized commercial-engine corvettes and a scout. Only upon reaching weapons range will the Valhallan crews know precisely what kind of escorts they’ll be facing. As for the detachment, composed of two Couts, two Phyrs, a Chaq-B and Privateer, they followed at a distance of 4 light-seconds, external racks loaded with laser-tipped capital missiles ready to suppress the point defense of the escorts.       As predicted the Axis convoy launched fighters as the strike entered the point defense envelope. 12 F0 Hatchets swarmed out of three corvette carriers and mobbed the Whales. A slight amount of engine modulation made the craft harder to target for both fighters and ships alike. Nevertheless 8 Whales were destroyed in return for the loss of all the Hatchets. Seven laser hits on the corvettes stripped them of their solitary CAMs, denying them the use of that point-blank weapon. Dropping modulation the Whales went to full speed, closing the gap to the convoy.      It proved to be deadly for the remaining Whales as they were all splashed by point defense fire from freighter and escort alike with only four being able to unload their FRAMs. When combined with the missile fire from the detachment and the Sharks just four FT2s were destroyed with three more sustaining heavy internal damage. The convoy scattered at this point, knowing that while their doom was certain they would tie down the enemy and perhaps inflict some losses among the Sharks in the process.      Now with pure loads of stand-off missiles the 24 Sharks went after the freighters while the Privateer began the long process of destroying the corvettes with its solitary standard laser. Using minimal erratic maneuvering the Sharks entered prime range for their missiles while the freighters were unable to engage with their point defense systems. With the last freighter destroyed the Sharks helped the Privateer to vanquish the impudent corvettes.      Upon reflection it was clear that the Sharks alone should’ve been sent engaged the Axis fighters. Afterwards the remaining Sharks would reduce the corvettes with missile volleys with help from the Privateer while the Whales took on the freighters with missiles fired in the blindspots. Such a tactic was shared by the CSF with the Royal Valhallan Space Navy. However this battle proved the truth that navies had to learn things for themselves firsthand. Even with the loss of all 18 Whales and their crews the battle was a success for all the freighters and their cargoes were destroyed. Even so the carrier element was detained long enough that their fighters would be missed for the decisive battle for the system. Back on Citadel Prime the operation of turning Stone Hearth, capital city of the Axis colony world, into a massive parking lot was ongoing. Field General Jingu-wa, commander of the 1st Expeditionary Corps, had his engineering battalions reduce the city in concentric circles with the ultimate goal of leaving the government house, at the center of the city, for last. Thanks to the use of prefab construction the process of dismantling the buildings was rather easy, as was the filling in basements with plasticrete. However the Comensal civilians-turn-guerillas, that is to say the whole colonial population, were indignant that their first city was being desecrated in such a fashion. They emerged from their fortified cellars or sneaked back in past the random minefields and patrols, holding up in buildings yet to be demolished by the Commonwealth troops. It was Jingu-wa’s plan to focus the ire of the Comensal at one spot in a campaign to break their will to fight through massive casualties. But the losses went both ways.       3rd Platoon of the 3rd Company of the 141st Regiment was assigned to assist an engineering battalion in ‘delousing’ buildings set for dismantling. Other platoons were involved, providing perimeter security. So far it has been quiet, and for the majority of the time the colonists didn’t so much as fire random motor rounds to keep everyone on edge. Lt. Casfe-de, 3rd Platoon commander, looked behind him at the flat expanse of streets and paved-over foundations. Before him was a three story apartment building, unmarked by war and apparently deserted. Going behind an armored engineering vehicle he found Corporal Menki-wa with a battlefield tablet in hand. “Okay, send in the snooper.”       “Roger, El-Tee.” Pressing the touch-sensitive screen Menki-wa sent the small crawling robot forward. Equipped with sensors that could ferret out explosive laden traps the robot was also an all-too-expendable asset in case it found Comensal. The entrance to the building had already been busted open by a breaching device, namely a chunk of plasticrete hurled by one Sgt. Pepen-su. All three watched as the crawler entered, surveying the first floor. With nothing detected Menki-wa instructed the crawler to go upstairs.       “You just watch the way you use that tablet, Corporal,” said Pepen-su. “That’s mine, and if you break it like you broke yours then I’ll re-rated you as a field kitchen technician.”       “Why would you do that, Sarge? I’d rather take point than become a slop jockey. Besides, tablets are expendable.”       “Don’t treat your equipment so casually,” said Casfe-de. “E’sani troops have a regretfully earned reputation for carelessly damaging equipment and going through replacements at a rate twice that of other Commonwealth troops.”       Menki-wa grinned. “Well, El-Tee, I have a feather touch.” After inspection of the first floor revealed nothing to the eye and other sensors the Corporal coaxed his remote controlled minion to go upstairs. At the landing between the first and second floors the robot appeared to be traveling an easy dozen centimeters above the plasticrete. “It’s no illusion, El-Tee. There’s definite resistance to the tracks when the robot made its 360 turn. It’s atop something covered in a camo-cloak.”       “It’s possible that a bomb is under that cloak. No doubt they were expecting a hard-charging E’sani to step on it,” said Casfe-de. “Corporal, send the crawler to the second floor. I’ll have the heavy weapons squad fire a volley of incendiaries into the house. If there are any snipers waiting up there the fires will negate their cloaks.”      “Yes, Sir.”       A total of twelve 60mm rounds were fired into the house, one for each widow. It didn’t take long for smoke to come pouring out, thick and toxic due to the composition of the incendiaries. Menki-wa coaxed his remote minion down the second floor hallway, sensors peering into those rooms that had their doors open. Pepen-su, looking over the corporal’s shoulder, saw the visual reading of what looked like a Comensal child curled up against the exterior wall. A fire was stubbornly eating away at the bed, making the room all the more stygian with each passing moment. Pepen-su, having seen more dead Comensal than he cared to remember was sure this one was already dead for no Comensal would consciously be in the same room with an incendiary burning so hot. He was wrong for the robot’s sensor showed that the child had a heartbeat.       Something snapped inside the sergeant like the weak link in a chain. He bolted for the building, ignoring the calls of his lieutenant and platoon mates. What he heard instead was the call of his fire company commander of four years ago back on E’sani Prime. It was a fire very much like this one, with a child trapped on the second floor. Without ax or even a full coat Pepen-su of back then rushed in, trusting his full commitment to the task of rescue to see him through. It was almost the same in the present, and he did remember to avoid the landing with a twisting vault onto the second half of the stairs, breaking the railing in the process. Fire was already marching out of the other rooms as if to oblige his memories, the stench of burning wallpaper and furniture already making his nostrils twitch uncontrollably in protest. In the bedroom he shuffled through the smoke until he made contact with the far wall, moving left until he made contact with the prone child. With the fire now threatening his retreat the E’sani picked up the child, holding him close, and hammered away at the plasticrete above and below the broken window. He jumped out and landed on the pebbled-layered yard below, performing a fireman’s tuck and roll to smother the flames he was sure were creeping up his back, just like what happened before.      He got up, relieved that at least one major difference from the fire four years ago: the child was alive. “It’s okay, El-Tee,” Pepen-su yelled. “I saved this one!” Instead of relief all he saw from Casfe-de and Menki-wa’s faces was intense concern. What he was hearing sounded like distorted gibberish. Menki-wa was pointing harshly at the tablet he had in his hand as he yelled, and Pepen-su failed to notice that the Comensal child had yanked a cord he had hidden under his shirt. There was a burst of light… The waiting in the Gymnasium system was over. Star Admiral Mansel, commander of Star Force 2, commenced Operation Restoration by transiting his fleet in the starless nexus known as Abyssal-017. As for the Abom enemy they had no idea that there was a second warp point in 017, let alone that it was closed on this side of the link just like the first one. That wouldn’t have prevented the Aboms from assigning a small survey force or even establishing a comprehensive sensor net just in case. What they couldn’t know was the second warp point was a scant two light-minutes from the first, and at full speed a task group composed of carriers, cruisers, and military-hulled minelayers reached its destination in under 90 minutes. A double layer of mines and weapon buoys were laid with a CAP composed of Hatchet fighters primed to intercept any incoming and outgoing Abom courier drones.       In two hours SF2 invested the warp point leading to the Gravel Pit system. Without preamble a probe force comprised of three DN minesweepers and three DN assault carriers transited on the far side. As Mansel expected the Abom picket force was rather light, comprising of light carriers and their escorts with six squadrons of fighters for the CAP. Three of the Shark squadrons activated weapons and pounced two DNs. The damaged DNs were actually minesweepers instead of the carriers, being so similar in appearance, and from the latter 13 squadrons of F0 Hatchets erupted from stabilized catapults. None of the three remaining armed CAP squadrons were able to activate weapons in time before being shot down. Only six pinnaces formed the second wave, acting as messengers for the rest of the fleet on the far side of the warp point. For a full minute the 180 laser buoys were silent as the two attending control ships were still racing to action stations, and for their tardiness 10 Hatchet squadrons shot down 60 buoys with the DNs taking 8 more.       Three and six squadrons of Sharks, launched from active Abom carriers, were respectively 60 and 30 second out as the third wave emerged, made up of five DNs and one CV. One Grim Reaper, just one harsh look away from death, wasn’t able to transit out with the rest of the first wave when 100 of the remaining laser buoys were primed and fired by an Abom control ship. Moderate armor damage was done to the third wave ships while the last ship of the first was destroyed. In turn the new ships launched their fighter broods, 12 F0 and 15 F1 Hatchet squadrons. The six Shark squadrons crash-launched 90 seconds earlier ignored their opposite number and focused on the one Grim Reaper from the third wave that wasn’t quite able to follow its brethren back to Abyssal-017. For destroying the ship 36 Sharks were shot down, along with the three follow-up squadrons, though they bagged 7 F1 Hatchet fighters.       Down to 12 squadrons the CSF carrier group moved away from the warp point at full speed, pursued by the first and third wave Axis fighters. Leading the charge were the 150 F0 Hatchets from the assault waves, carrying partial or full loads of FRAMs and gun packs. The ships detuned engines, almost out of habit, though the older Hatchet fighters would still be able to engage. This was done primarily to control the terminal engagement range, roughly 1.25 LS from the ships, so defense fire would have the maximum effect. It was at this range the defending Sharks engaged, knocking out 31 of the older fighters before being overwhelmed and destroyed in their entirety. Taking their hits, the Hatchets, closely followed by their newer brethren, engaged the escorts at point blank range. With the jammers gone the fresh squadrons destroyed the carriers or left them so crippled they were finished off by frigates.        Mansel deployed his considerable resources. The Third Advance Fleet was comprised of three elements. Star Force 2, under Mansel’s direct command, headed for the Gravel Pit/Bedrock warp point while Star Force 3 made for the Gravel Pit/Bulwark warp point. Both had flotillas of dedicated mine layers ready to deploy clouds of mines and buoy weapons. Star Force 1 served as a reserve, ready to supplement the other two when called upon. For the moment the Abom force that had to be in Bulwark was to be contained until fresh units from the core of Axis space arrived. The main effort was to break back into Bedrock. Anything but a piker, Mansel sent in a wave comprised of 180 regular pinnaces, all having come from the Gymnasium system, through the warp point. That only 14 returned bespoke of a strong CAP, 14 squadrons strong and backed up by light warships and small bases. Only a short amount of time was allowed to digest the information to form an assault plan. Even if attacking presently meant going up against an alert force was a price that Mansel was willing to pay. The Abomination presence in Bedrock was to be expunged in its entirety. Uanbo continued his operation of isolating Bulwark Prime. Left alone the Comensal on the planet will simply add on to their space station and even expand their lunar and planetary bases with additional fighter bays. To that end Uanbo took his task force directly in and was greeted by no less than 900 F0 and 216 F1 Hatchets just one light-minute shy of the planet. With adroit maneuvering and help from the suicidal intent of the Axis pilots the engagement between the fighters was a scant one light-second from the ships. Jammers proved their worth again, allowing allied pilots to bring down their foes by the gross. The one difference was that the F1 Hatchets were fitted for dogfighting while the F0s had laser packs. So equipped the F0s took potshots at the allied ships, either due to the jammers or on specific orders. Whatever armor damage was done was negligible, being so spread out that no one ship was considered being sent to the support group for repairs. Besides, once TF 21 in Forger’s Gate was finished with its refit TF 11 would be relieved and sent behind the front for its refit. For destroying this attack the allies only lost 40 fighters.       Having fought off one wave of Hatchets, Uanbo found another waiting over Bulwark Prime. Drawn from the small bases that connected to the asteroid belt and the inner rockball worlds and moons a force of 384 fighters kept company with two large space stations and four type-5 orbital forts. With an ample stock of munitions the Terpla’n admiral elected to reduce the defenses by bombardment, firing laser-tipped SBMs to first eliminate the forts and then the space stations. The Axis defenses would respond in kind, but would it a tough row to hoe as the bombarding ships would orbit at maximum range with ECM set to full. It will all come down to when the Axis commander felt compelled to release his fighters for the inevitable suicide attack.      Showing a sense of practicality and prudence the Axis commander concentrated his fire on the missile-armed Disams. Once the armor was compromised the ship was pulled out of the bombardment line and sent to the support group for repairs. While this may have provided a sense of accomplishment it still didn’t compensate the lopsided odds with the Allies having a 50% fire control solution to the Axis 20%. Soon all four type-5 bases were eliminated and the bombardment group retired to refill their magazines. Just as they moved the Hatchets were released, heading for the Oknib missile dreadnaughts. Another jammer assisted dogfight ensued with the allies only losing 25 fighters.       Returning to the bombardment line the Oknibs fired on one station while 672 Shark fighters, loaded with FRAMs, advanced to point-blank range to engage both. Only a handful of Axis pinnaces were able to engage, and even then they missed in the one minute they had. With nothing to attack the Axis small craft landed on the planet since the two stations were totally annihilated. Once the ground fighter bases on the planet and the moon were eliminated Uanbo had the task force settle into orbit, dispatching a carrier task element to remove the transit bases and now fighter-denuded bases on the rockball worlds in the inner system.       It was here that the admiral learned of the Axis return to the Gravel Pit system. So far the scouts reported two large formations of ships heading for both the Gravel Pit/Bulwark and Gravel Pit/Bedrock warp points. There was the very real possibility of TF 11 being cut off, and Uanbo had to make several decisions. If he elected to return to Bedrock not only would he had to break through the expected blockade at the Gravel Pit/Bulwark warp point but also have to contend with whatever awaited him in Gravel Pit. Staying in Bulwark was a practical choice except that the support group only had supplies for three months. Faced with unknowns that wouldn’t be solved by staying put Uanbo elected to return to Bedrock at the earliest possible moment. The armor damage to the Oknibs and Disams had to be repaired as well as replacing fighter losses to bring the carrier groups to full strength.       Leaving Bulwark Prime as is, however, wasn’t an option. Uanbo had a carefully measured bombardment of the planet’s industrial infrastructure conducted. Comensal casualties were minimized, and the inhabitants would be kept busy for months restoring their infrastructure instead of reestablishing themselves back in space immediately. If it was what Uanbo expected, another grandiose Axis plan that was bound to fail, then the task force will return to finish the job that it started. The Output system, having seen the defeat of AFC Admiral Lorcan over six months ago, had become a backwater to the war through inaction. Next door in the Data Disk system a network of scanner buoys, tended by a handful of Sloop scoutships, kept a vigil for a fresh Axis incursion. A survey found no regular warp points, and with no captured astrogation data to fall back on there was no way to locate the closed warp point Lorcan had to use all those months before. A set of small fortifications was erected at the Output/Data Disk warp point with Task Group 25 lending support. Far strong defenses were placed at the Metalstorm/Output and Dotz/Metalstorm warp points. Everyone knew that Output was but a speedbump should the Axis return in force, inflicting as much damage as possible on assault assets so as to delay the enemy and allow the Commonwealth and Hamthen defenders to reinforce Metalstorm and Dotz.       With time on her hands Commander Pepons thought about what might have been had things gone differently half a year before. Given the layout of the warp lines she had to wonder what passed for strategic thinking in the Axis Fleet Command. What they did previously in Metalstorm was piker's work when true effort would've allowed the AFC not only to starve out the CSF in Axis space but also allow a return to Hamthen space. Was it perhaps their need to demonstrate their strength at every opportunity? If so, Pepons thought, it might turn out to be their one real weakness. She hoped that weakness would continue so that the CSF could exploit it.       Pepons did her thinking in the long range scanner compartment about her command, Spearfish-41, a picket-leader version of an Okado class destroyer. The compartment served as her CIC as she was the second-in-command of Convoy HO-6. Having served 25 years in the merchant marine with fifteen of those as skipper of a freighter Pepons expected to be commanding a military freighter when she volunteered to join the naval reserves when the war broke out. Instead she was made a senior lieutenant and served as the XO on a frigate for eighteen months. After that she was promoted and placed in command of the Spearfish-41 in addition to DesDiv 56, the other ships skippered by naval reservists that were less senior to her. It bespoke of the explosive growth in the CSF and the insatiable need for experienced ship handlers. Looking at the tactical repeater plot she wondered how many of the contracted civilian freighters had skippers with more than two years worth of experience. That she was the most senior reserve officer with merchant experience in the convoy explained why the convoy commander, one with little experience when it came to dealing with civilian skippers and merchantman way of thinking, had tapped her to be his second in command and to translate his words and orders into terms that could be more readily understood.        Convoy HO-6 was small when it came to its charges. A sole Quagaar class was the largest ship, followed by a trio of Tuphon-built FT5s and pairs of Enterprises and Salesmen. Following them were a Commerce, Indie, five Free Traders and one Sertucon Treasure Carrier. The last was notable in that it was the first Sertucon ship to have entered Axis space. Still lagging behind in technology the race did provide a good deal of resources and rear-area transportation. It was deemed safe enough to send this first ship as far Output, and in time Sertucon-crewed vessels would be better represented in service groups further up the chain leading up to Bedrock, Kerama Retto and beyond. As for escorts, in addition to Spearfish-41, there were two regular Okado DDs, a trio of old-style Barlatio CLs, 6 Jeln DDs, 6 Quagaar Bodyguard CTs with 6 Hotpoint ESs in tow, and three Tzel Index CTs. Rounding out the protection were a pair of the new Unganu small carriers along with an Interception CLE. Technically there was no need for an escort at all, but tradition as old as dust dictated that one must be provided, regardless of the short distances involved.       "Flash message from the task force, Commander," said the signals officer from his station. "Sending to your primary screen."       Pepons blinked quickly, refreshing her Terpla'n eyes as she focused on the screen and its scrawling data. "The Axis has reappeared in the Data Disk system," she said for all in compartment to hear, "thus revealing the location of the closed warp point. However, due to the location of that warp point the Axis task force, moving at 0.083c, will reach the Data Disk/Output warp point in less than four hours."       "We're only one light-minute from the warp point defenses, Commander," said the senior sensor tech, looking at the main sensor plot suspended in the holoimager in the center of the compartment. "At cruising speed it'll take us 30 hours to get to the Output/Metalstorm warp point."       Pepon's clear set of inner eyelids came and stayed down for a time, a sign that she was intensely thinking. "Should the Axis break in, we can expect an attack by advanced elements of their task force. Signals, I'm surprised the convoy commander hasn't called yet. Raise the flagship and call in my staff. A review of contingency plans is in order."       "Aye, Aye, Commander." Worse news came after bad news. The Axis task force broke into the Output system, obliterating the fixed defenses and CSF task group alike, though at considerable cost to themselves. Part of the cost was the use of armed pinnaces. Coupled with FRAMs the enemy now had an assault element on par with the Allies. The civilian ship masters, while hoping the defenses would hold, kept an ear on military signals. They didn't need to know the codes to figure out what was happening as the signals began to lessen over a period of eight minutes until there were practically none. They began to inquire to the convoy commander for an increase of speed to 0.067c, thus reducing the now 26 hour trip to 19.5.       That would've been fine, except that the Sertucon ship couldn't go that fast. Understandably anxious, but with poorly applied vigor, the two captains of the Salesmen freighters put forth the idea of picking up the crew and scuttling the ship. When the Sertucon captain replied that he would do no such thing at the present time, putting his trust in the convoy defenders and for reinforcements from Metalstorm, he was briskly told by his two Terpla'n counterparts that the convoy shouldn't be held back on his account and be abandoned to his fate.       Before the convoy commander could respond Pepons vented her onions. She told the two captains that they had the moral convictions of bilge worms in sunlight and were a disgrace to the merchant service for making such a suggestion, especially when the enemy's intentions weren't clear. Going even further, she told them that it was in the convoy commander's discretion to have all the freighters evacuated and scuttled since they were running empty. Saving lives is more important than saving ships, whether empty or full, she told them, and it's far better than to be left to one's fate. Once said, a long pause follow like after a child was scolded for leaving a bedroom a mess. Both captains offered their apologies and retracted the suggestion that earned them the ire of Pepons. As for the convoy commander he felt that Pepons handled the situation well as direct talk was better than politeness in this situation. He merely reminded the freighter captains to prepare of the contingency that his second-in-command had mentioned.       Still in contact with the sensor buoy network and using the Spearfish-41's long range sensors Pepons watch as two contacts closed on the convoy. The first was either destroyers with detuned engines or smaller ships moving at max speed, covering four light-minutes for every hour of travel. As for the second it had to be cruisers moving at max speed as there was no reason on the Axis' part in having battleships with detuned engines pursuing a contact that yet had been identified. That came as the convoy was 23 hours from the Metalstorm warp point. A trio of Axis Fleet Tracker scouts ventured to within 9 light-seconds of the convoy before dropping back to 12 light seconds, matching the convoy speed. It didn't matter to launch fighters to engage for even a partially loaded fighter couldn't get within range of scouts that can simply detune engines and run away in the opposite direction. They got the information they needed and were content on simply shadowing the convoy like expectant vultures.       As for the second contact it slowed down and kept pace 1.5 light-minutes behind the convoy, now just 22 hours from safety. It was comprised of six ships, and moments later either fighters or small craft were launched. The convoy commander sent a single unloaded Shark to investigate. What it found mixed relief and concern. Relief in that it wasn’t a massive fighter strike, but concern of the number of pinnaces involved. There were 36 of the craft, and they had to be of the armed variety. Alone they weren’t much of a threat, but the 45 other craft were a complete mystery. They were larger than standard shuttles yet smaller than pinnaces. Where they some kind of advanced assault shuttle, one that could attach itself to a ship while it was underway? It was something that gnawed at the brains of every tactical officer in the convoy. As a precaution all marine detachments were told to suit up for possible boarding actions.       The scout fighter was recalled and all six Shark squadrons were armed with gun packs and ECM pods. The slight edge in protection would ensure fewer Shark losses overall, and if the Axis small craft tried to employ erratic maneuvers to compensate they’ll be in the defense envelope of the ships that much longer, resulting in more losses before they could strike. The more she thought about it Pepons felt that the two chastised captains were right. Had the convoy been faster the task group in Metalstorm would’ve released its six Cout escort carriers as soon as word was received of the Axis entry into Data Disk. 72 more Sharks would’ve nullified this incoming strike. Was it pride and tradition that dictated the decision to stay the course? How many were going to die for a ship that would only take a harsh look to destroy? The answer to the latter was forthcoming.        The Sharks met the Axis small craft one light-second from the convoy with first blood drawn by an armed pinnace. With long-range fire from the convoy all 36 armed pinnaces were downed. Judging by their explosions they had FRAMs on their external racks, and the strange shuttles had antimatter ordnance as well, yet only 4 of the 45 were swatted away. However the craft carried a potent close-in defense system for even with ECM pods the Shark losses stood at 20. With only 16 Sharks left it was to the firepower of the escorts to reduce the menacing cloud of death. At the order of the convoy commander all ships made minimum headway with all the ECM and erratic maneuvers they could manage, half turning to relative port and half to starboard so that weapons on one side could cover the blindspots of the other. The Sharks followed, determined to finish what the ships missed.       Pepons watched as the cruisers opened up with external close attack missiles, internally launched sprint missiles, point defense laser batteries and force beams. While worthy numbers of the strange shuttles were downed more than enough would live long enough to fire. Each let loose with a pair of FRAMs, targeting the freighters. The big Quagaar lost most of its holds but retained all of its engines. The two Salesmen were more unfortunate, each only able to make half-speed. Both Enterprises lost their passive defenses, thankful for having ECM systems installed when the ships were militarized for naval service. One Tuphon freighter looked as if it were hit by buckshot, all of its holds open to space with an engine room sputtering sparks like a firework. The Commerce was the worst off, down to one-fourth speed. Between the Sharks and the escorts the Axis shuttles were almost spent.       Almost. Two shuttles, perhaps piloted by crews that sought to obliterate fresh targets instead of beating up on the Enterprises, turned on the smallest ships in the convoy. Corvettes and escorts couldn’t generate their fire control solutions in time, and they, like Pepons, had to watch the result. A Free Trader simply exploded like a water balloon hitting the ground, its innards gushing out of its port side in a torrent of atmosphere and metal when it was enveloped in antimatter fireballs. Its killer was vanquished, leaving the last one to focus on a ship that had the weakest drive signature. Looking at the sensor plot instead of the screen spared Pepons’ eyes from the harsh glare of the ship’s demise. The blinking, fading red crosshatch pattern that represented the Sertucon ship was just as painful to watch in any event.       “All Axis shuttles destroyed,” said the tactical officer to Pepons’ right. “We lost more fighters in the last exchange. There are only 13 Sharks left.”       “Signal from flagship, Commander,” said the comm tech. “All ships are to assume formation and set course for the warp point. No ships are to advance until the order is given. All small craft from the escorts are to being search and rescue operations. Small craft on the carriers are to transfer crews from those freighters unable to make 0.067c.”        Pepons blinked quickly. “Comm, acknowledge signal from flagship. Send out our cutter to look for survivors with priority given to pilots.”       “Aye, Commander.”       Turning to a repeater screen Pepons took in the projected casualty reports. She told herself that the overkill visited upon the two small freighters made it highly unlikely there would be survivors. Had there been just two squadrons of Hatchet fighters, even the obsolete F0 kind, accompanying the strike then the freighter losses would’ve been higher. Again it seemed the Axis felt the need to attack as if to prove that they had the initiative. They’ll learn from this mistake, and the next such attack would be deadlier.        There wasn’t much time. In twenty minutes the convoy was underway at the speed of the fastest freighter. Unable to repair the one engine the Tuphon FT5 was scuttled, along with both Salesmen and the Commerce. Only when the Axis ships were 15 light-second way did the SAR craft abandoned their search and hightailed it at full speed back home. Neither speeding up nor slowing down the six ships, four battlecruiser and two destroyer hulls, were seemingly content to follow. There was a debate to detach the Okados and Hotpoints, along with the remaining Sharks, and engage the Axis formation as it was comparatively close by. With the large number of armed pinnaces and new shuttles involved it was argued they were pure small craft platforms and therefore easy to kill. Pepons was against the plan, for the enemy could simply detune engines while running for safety. More importantly, it might not be enough for the job, even if there were no more armed small craft and the ships had no internal weapons. Despite the requests from the Hotpoint captains the convoy commander decided against the attack as there were enough casualties already.       When it came to the warp point the civilian captains, still jumpy after the battle, had to be kept on a tight rein. Pepons foresaw this, requesting and getting the tugs of the support group in Metalstorm to transit into Output. If necessary she was ready to tractor those freighters attempting to jump the gun and transit in a group instead of singletons. It took a bit of restraint on her part not to remind the captains of the clause in the contract they signed with the Mercantile Auxiliary Service; a clause that stipulated that any action that endangered the safety of ships in a convoy will result in a forfeiture of pay at a minimum and charges of reckless endangerment and loss of license if warranted.       Thankfully nothing happened, and convoy HO-6 entered Metalstorm. Reluctant to have the damaged freighters repaired on-site with the Axis now just a warp transit away the convoy commander settled for Hagelkorn, four transits from Metalstorm. Once there all the ships involved would not only get repaired but also receive the latest refits, which included the new shields and point defense suites. No doubt existed in Pepon’s mind that by the time her command was refitted she could very well see combat in Metalstorm, if not closer. The Spice Clipper cargo corvette was only in orbit of Hamthen Prime briefly before clearance was given for it to land at the Memorial Spaceport, located on the outskirts of the capital. Admiral Tulcus Jki watched the descent from her cabin’s viewer. The city showed mark change since Jki last saw it over a year earlier. Most of the burned out and wrecked structures have been leveled or removed entirely. Clusters of cranes rose up like so many metallic mushrooms amongst the cityscape. Building in earnest and vigor proved the strength of the collective Hamthen will. This was perhaps expressed the most in the reconstitution of their navy. From now on every allied task group will have Hamthen representation, even if it was just frigate squadrons. They wanted the Comensal to remember that they were still in the fight.       Safe in its landing cradle the corvette began to disgorge passengers and cargo. Instead of leaving first, as was her privilege, Jki allowed the small number of convalescing soldiers to precede her. She was in no hurry, but the limousine waiting for her suggested otherwise. As it wasn’t a staff car the two passengers that came out to greet her weren’t port officials but no less than Hamthen President Skuu and CPS President Huj. She saluted the two heads of state. “Forgive me for saying,” Jki said in a lighthearted manner, “but it had to take some doing to meet me like this without the press corps in tow.”       “They’re all waiting at the Unified Command Center,” said Huj, looking resolute yet worn like weathered rock, Terpla'n eyes unblinking. “We have some news that needs an official touch rather than the taint of the sea vine. The Asteroid Axis has broken into Bedrock.” Chapter 8.75 Crajen Rear Admiral Ossal Dowel, commanding the allied force guarding the Bedrock/Gravel Pit warp point, suppressed the urge to grind his claws and twiddle his fingers. Only 18 hours had passed since the massed Axis pinnace probe, and with each passing hour the likelihood of an assault kept getting greater. Dowel pondered what comprised the Axis forces confronting him. With TF 11 in Bulwark, just one transit from Gravel Pit, the enemy had to devote some of its resources to bottle up the associated warp point. That would be an economical application of resources, letting the task force wither on the vine, but Admiral Uanbo wasn’t one to sit idle. Likewise the Axis would be inclined to liberate Bulwark if only to eliminate the threat to their rear that TF 11 represented.      Task Force 21 was in Forger’s Gate, two transits away, undergoing refit. The distance alone wouldn’t permit those ships that could assist to arrive in time. Even so Dowel was confident in his ability to hold the Bedrock/Gravel Pit warp point. Being closed on the Bedrock side, no less than 400 patterns of mines were positioned in tight proximity of the warp point with 1200 more patterns in a standard shell, backed up by 900 weapon buoys. 14 squadrons of Shark fighters formed the CAP with 42 more based on 14 carriers orbiting 4 light-seconds out. 18 Whale armed pinnaces, 6 battleships and 30 cruisers of all sizes stood watch in the 1.5 LS shell, backed up by a dozen rapidly-constructed type-2 bases. A half-dozen Oknib missile dreadnaughts kept the carriers company along with 24 destroyers. If for some reason the Axis didn’t attack immediately then there will be reinforcement from Forger’s Gate in two weeks along with 12 type-5 and two type-6 bases in four weeks.      So it was a matter of waiting and watching. Dowel considered the timepiece set in an ornate piece of woodwork on the bulkhead. If nothing happens in the next three hours the Admiral planned to let the guard force's second-in-command take over and retire to his cabin. The ship in the bottle model he was working on was almost done; all that was needed was just half-an-hour of patient, and quite, work. Activity in the Axis system of Battlement was racing to a conclusion. Axis assault minesweepers and armed pinnaces transited into the system from the third warp point, intent on disposing of the modest minefields and weapon buoys opposing them. Faced with this information King Russen elected to destroy the orbital works over Battlement Prime, greatly reducing the system’s use as an Axis forward base for months. With carriers at full strength Russen had the Royal Fleet abandon its holding position from the inner portion of the asteroid belt. Orbiting the planet was a space station, massing as much as thirteen dreadnoughts plus change. Keeping it company was a pair of type-5 missile bases. That information was earned at the expense of one Sloop scout, the recipient of a salvo of 76 SBMs at extreme range. With a salvo of that magnitude Russen wasn’t willing to indulge in a prolonged missile bombardment that will have his Oknibs and Disams stripped of their armor, consigning them to the repairs ships of the fleet train. Instead the King was going to charge the station with his fleet, bringing along all 576 fighters tasked to intercept the inevitable last-ditch launch of Hatchet fighters. The Oknibs and Disams would follow, but moving at very low speed and generating as much ECM as possible. It remains to be seen how the Axis commander in charge would arrange his targeting priorities.       Moving at maximum speed of the Vanguard, Russen’s flagship, the fleet was at 9.5 LS range with the trailing primary missile ships opened fire, targeting the space station with SBM-Lts. As for the others the majority were launching SBMs in loiter mode, either from internal launchers or external racks, preparing to unleash a massive salvo at a range of 5.5 LS. Only the Reliants were banging away with their light salvos, targeting a base with their newly-supplied SBMs armed with the next generation of lasing warheads. In the opening exchange the 15 Reliants nearly stripped of 40% of the armor of their target. As for the Axis counterfire it fell on a Nikazu-class BB. With such a hefty salvo more than enough antimatter-armed SBMs got through and collapsed the shields of the battleship. The next salvo at 8.5 LS range made a shambles of the armor and wrecked a portion of the interior. Regardless, there was no thought of turning about and leaving. Once fixed on a target the Axis gunners would see the job through, and a final salvo spent on an already damaged ship would spare the rest of the fleet that much longer.       An invisible line had been crossed for the Axis launched their Hatchet fighters, 324 in all, as the fleet reached the maximum range for capital missiles. 9 assault shuttles kept pace with the fighters while 12 pinnaces followed as best they could. Knowing its time had come, the damaged BB and its two datalink consorts fired their loiter-mode SBMs, scoring two hits on the station. Now firing antimatter armed capital missiles the station and the two bases obliterated the battleship and missed a Reliant with their spinal force beams. For this the targeted base lost all of its armor due to the Reliants, the improved lasing warheads biting and slashing into the hull and rendered eight launchers useless.       Having lost a fair number of external missiles already the space station elected to fire the remainder along with those on the untouched base. Again the target was a battleship, with 22 SBM-Lts and 48 CM-AMs bent on delivering their promise of death. EDMs diverted some of the capital missiles that broke past, and only due to that effort was the ship spared from outright destruction. A single engine remained, pushing the wreck onwards even as the surviving crew scrambled to evacuate. The oncoming Hatchet fighters, all of which were the prototype variety, were met by the defending Valhallan ones over the fleet. Once again datalink jamming proved to be the decisive edge. Though it brought about the complete destruction of the Axis strike 68 Valhallan fighters were taken down it turn. As for the assault shuttles and pinnaces they were swatted like so many marsh gnats by a trio of escort battlecruisers. Missile fire from the fleet, fleshed out with SBM-Lt2s in loiter mode, finished the first base and further punished the armor of the space station. The Reliants worked over the second base and scored a decisive hit, breaching the armor with a huge geyser of escaping atmosphere to highlight their success. For this a third BB was mauled, barely moving and daring the enemy to waste a portion of his waning strength to finish it.       Still defiant, and constitutionally unable to surrender while operable weapons were at their disposal, the Axis defenders kept firing. At 4.5 LS range the six Vanguards lead the way, targeting the station with a mixed salvo of antimatter capital and laser-tipped standard missiles. Primaries stabbed at the second base, removing more launchers from the fray. Lasing warheads finally breached the armor of the station and caused several tiers of cargo holds to collapse and fly apart in spectacular fashion. Diminished in number but not ferocity the Axis station fired on a fourth BB, removing all passive defenses while a pair of capital primaries lanced a force beam mount and a section of an engine room. A solitary spinal force beam finished the third BB while the second got a figurative rap across the teeth by a solitary capital force beam hit.       The immense bulk of the space station partially offset its inherent weak hull. More importantly the vast number of now-empty fighter bays served as stand-in armor absorbing all what the Valhallan fleet was dishing out and still retaining the firepower to destroy the fourth BB. Still, the spasms of debris flying from the station meant it was in its death throes. It managed a final salvo of missiles, wiping out the shields and half the armor of the fifth BB with two primaries lancing the shuttle bay and part of an engine room. Capital energy beams picked up where missiles finished on the station, leaving it with just one operable spinal force beam. Using that last beam, the station spat its last breath at the second BB before a final crescendo of energy beams rendered it and the second base as shorted-out hulks.       In the Vanguard’s CIC Russen watched a set of repeater screens, ranging from missile expenditure, SAR operation results, squadron reorganization and marine boarding party reports. He didn’t bother to turn as his operations officer walked and stood by his side. “War is the most imperfect calculus, Ops,” the King said wearily. “I can see my detractors back home decrying the loss of three battleships with severe damage done to a fourth. They will say that the loss of the lion’s share of our fighters would’ve been far more endurable and economical than three battleships and 1,000 lives.”       “My King, war is imperfect, but it does reward those that learn its lessons,” replied Ops. “We will need every fighter at our disposal, and the Axis showed some prudence in targeting the battleships when they could’ve done greater harm to our smaller ships.”       “Yes, and I also wonder why they weren’t targeting our superdreadnaughts. Care to elaborate?”       “Certainly, Sire. The battleships in question were copies of the Terpla’n Nikazu class. Each had a datalink jammer, and the Axis observed the use of jammers by the class on a few occasions. I’m sorry to say that our current standing orders have all ships equipped with jammers to activate them at action stations. The Axis destroyed them so as to make the task of their relief force easier.”       “What is the composition of the relief force?”       The Operations officer brought up the pertinent information on Russen’s main repeater plot. “Sire, based on drive field strengths we’re looking at 9 dreadnaughts, 6 battleships, 25 battlecruisers, 15 heavy cruisers, 11 light cruisers, 28 destroyers, and 6 frigates. A portion of the secondary ring of scanner buoys we deployed around entry point was destroyed by scouts and pinnaces. Consequently, we don’t know how many of those battlecruisers and heavy cruisers are actually carriers.”       Russen gazed at the dominating master system plot in the center of the CIC. The crimson dot representing the Axis fleet was pulsing, as was the dashed line of its projected course. “Our allies are depending on us to tie down Axis forces on this front while advancing out of Bedrock. We’ve spent blood and treasure to break into Battlement and destroying the defense installations. Destroying the incoming fleet will rock the enemy on his heels and force him to shift resources that could be spent elsewhere.”       Standing up, the Valhallan king adjusted his tunic and produced a cigar from a tin case he kept in his exterior breast pocket. He accepted the light offered by Ops, and after an initial drag exhaled a plume of smoke one would expect from an ancient wet navy cannon. “Thankfully our enemies are making it easier for us by coming directly to this planet, Ops. Two of the empty carriers will retire to the support group waiting at our entry warp point. The third one will stay here until the boarding parties have completed their work and then destroy the station, the remaining base and the planetside spaceport. Also, those nine frigates that escorted the ammunition replenishment and personnel transports will join our fleet. Once external racks and magazines have been reloaded with the new missiles the fleet will proceed at maximum formation speed towards the enemy.”       “Your will be done, my King.” Like a pair of magnets being attracted to each other the Valhallan and Axis fleet raced to their merger point. Russen sent out four fighters equipped with life support pods and the new scanner packs to get a solid read on the enemy. Twelve Hatchet fighters greeted the quartet just short of the Axis fleet, but one survived long enough to transmit his readings to a trailing scout. There were eight fleet and eight light carriers, meaning a minimum of 384 fighters. Actually there were 432 as both fleets launched their strikegroups while fifteen light-seconds apart. Russen still had 504 fighters, and deciding to hold onto his numerical advantage he elected to hold them over his fleet, within the envelope of supportive datalink jamming. It remained to be seen if the enemy will play it conservatively as well and employ his own jamming. In addition to the Hatchet fighters the Axis also launched 30 small craft from a BC belonging to a class not seen before. The ship peeled away along with the carriers. As the new craft couldn’t be as big as armed pinnaces in order to be carried by the BC it was mystery to be solved in combat.       Russen’s fleet slowed to .05c, making the first exchange of fire at 10 LS range. Only the 6 Oknibs, 3 Disams and 15 Reliants engaged with the rest firing their internal launchers with SBMs in loiter mode to form worthwhile long-range salvos. The new lasing warheads came as a shock to the Axis commander, seeing one of his three National Reach DNs losing 36% of its armor and all 12 external SBMs with only six hits. The same happened with a Prestige DN, and six other Axis capital ships got one or two hits, losing more external ordnance as expected. In reply all Axis ships launched their external SBMs in loiter mode with as many fire control circuits that could be spared.       With the Axis fleet still move at full dreadnaught speed Russen elected to drop down to .033c, making the range of the next salvo at 8.25 LS. Again the exchange favored the Valhallans for a quartet of Axis DNs lost their rack-mounted EDMs. Like a ballet the missile dreadnaughts and battlecruisers broke off onto their own course as anti-matter armed capital missiles came into play at a range of 7.25 LS. The focus was one of the two Valhallan BBs that remained after the charge against the space station. An EDM spared from being lased off spoofed some of the missiles but couldn't prevent the shields from being brought down. In turn one National Reach lost its shields and armor already weaken by laser hits was made even more so.       Hand resting on the ceremonial hand axe attached to his belt Russen spoke loud and clear in the Vanguard’s CIC. “All ships with missiles in loiter mode will fire them along with remaining external missiles at their designated targets when the range drops to 6.5 light-seconds. Generate maximum ECM allowed for by minimum headway.” While he heard the acknowledgements the King was solely focused on the master plot. The two datagroups of SDs each fired 36 SBM-LT2s and 15 CM-Lt2s, focused on a pair of Prestige DNs. For the first it was obviously blessed with luck for its combined point defense performed well above average. Only its armor and a fraction of its internal systems were destroyed. On the second massive devastation was visited upon it. Likewise the anointed National Reach was rendered useless by bombardment from the six Oknibs. Hits from the improved lasing warheads stripped the remaining EDMs from the Axis DNs, BBs, and most of the BCs. Axis efforts had seen the removal of 20% of the armor from Russen’s Vanguard and 50% from another SD. Capital missile fire punished a Valhallan BB if for nothing more to destroy it and its associated jammer.       The crawling fleets reached the point where 5 light-seconds of empty space separated them. Whatever external missiles were left had been fired at this point with the Valhallan’s primary goal being to strip the EDMs off of the Axis CA and CLs. The two damaged Axis DNs and BBs were further hit with more lasing and antimatter warheads while a fresh BC was added. On their part the Axis continued to focus on the sole operating Valhallan BB. However they did use their capital force beams on a Reliant, bashing the passive defenses and wrecking the interior cargo hold.       “Update on the targeting, Sire,” said the Ops officer, consulting the repeater screen to Russen’s left side. “All enemy beam-armed datagroups, CA-sized and up, are down to two combat-effective units each, either due to extensive internal damage or primary beam fire.”       Russen gripped the handle of the ceremonial hand axe as he checked the seal of his helmet. “How soon until our energy beams come into range?”       “Less than fifteen seconds, Sire. Given the cycling rate of our weapons the effective of the Axis capital force beams will be doubled.”       “Very well, Ops. The first volley of energy beam fire will focus on Axis dreadnaughts that have a high probability of low or downed shields.”       “As you order, Sire.”       The exchange occurred at 3.5 LS range with two Prestige DNs getting the worst of it. Massive electrical surges and arcs raced down the length of the two ships, burning out, fusing or exploding equipment and crew alike. Return fire hit Russen’s Vanguard and the Throne, both losing shields and over half their armor. A Paramount cruiser was mauled along with a Reliant, but the Axis lost a CL as well as two defiant, severely damaged BBs and a BC. It got even more intense at 2.75 light-seconds, for in the interim the Valhallans had concentrated on bringing down the shields of the remaining battleships and beam-armed battlecruisers. Vanguard and Throne took some internal damage as well as losing the last BB, two BCs and heavy damage to a third. Pairs of Hero BCs and National Will CLs were blown apart while energy beams wreaking havoc on the DNs and BBs.       All the slow carnage that started five minutes ago came to its pinnacle once the fleets were a mere 2 light-seconds apart. Sharks and Hatchets left their holding positions and engaged their opposites in a swirling furball in the center. Both sides activated those jammers that still worked, and while the range was too great to disrupt enemy ships the fighters on both sides were made to fight as singletons. Additionally the three Axis BCs that didn’t fire a weapon, but engaged in jamming, did so now and launched six more of the strange oversized shuttles to join the other thirty involved the massed melee. The trio of Valhallan BCEs joined in earnest, point defense and lasers blasting away at this war’s equivalent of a cloud of biting, angry gnats.       “Scans have located the enemy command ship!” said a technician in Vanguard’s CIC. “We’ve been found out as well. A pair of Prestige dreadnaughts is locking onto this ship.”       “Vangaurd datagroup targeting priority!” Russen ordered above the din of background voices and equipment. “Engage enemy command ship with energy beam fire! All other weapons to focus on the least damaged battleship!” His eyes fixed on the pair of blinking hostile icons in the holoimager tank, the dots of light representing the ships that were bent on destroying the Vanguard even as they were about to die in turn. Tactical and sensor officers on the other ships watched with one eye as Russen’s ship icon flared in their respective displays and then replaced by a grey dot that signified a dead one. Revenge was inflicted for the Vanguard and Throne’s loss with two Axis ships destroyed and three more rendered useless for combat. In the massive dogfight the losses were almost even. What should’ve been in the Valhallans’ favor was disrupted by the 36 unknown small craft. Larger than shuttles but smaller than pinnaces the craft were armed with pairs of close attack missiles and an equivalent of an improved point defense mount. Long-range laser and point defense fire from the three Jajer-Di BCEs took out seven of the troubling craft.       The fleets, save for the large missile ships, were now within maximum range of each other jammers. Only the Axis had two active jammers, one on what was now classified as a BCE and the other on a crippled DN, and the Valhallans with their three Jajers-Di escorts. It took longer for the Axis to destroy the three ships, allowing the Valhallan fighter squadrons to ravage their Axis opposites. Even so enough Hatchets survived to destroy seven ships. A spent force, the 70 surviving Hatchets fled at top speed towards their distant carriers. None of the new type of small craft survived.       Committed to the end, the beam-armed portion of the Axis fleet closed to a range of 0.5 LS. Only one half-mauled BCE, 3 CLs, 23 DDs and 5 FGs were combat-capable, with all other beam-armed ships either destroyed, mobile but weaponless, or e-hulked and motionless. Still possessing 4 SDs, 4 BCs, 8 CAs, 4 CLs, 33 DDs and 9 FGs, plus the capital missile units, the Valhallans sought to enhance their fighters’ external ordnance by destroying or rendering weaponless as many Axis ships as possible. In this they succeeded for over half of the 186 fighters still had full or partial loads of FRAMs after destroying what was left of the beam-armed ships.       With running no longer an option the two Axis National Reach DNs and the trio of Firebow BCs elected to fire on the Reliants. Despite the nature of their targets the Axis only destroyed one of the cruisers in the two minutes it took the fighters to close in and finish what the Reliants, Oknibs, Disams and Vanguards started. SAR teams were dispatched to pick up life pods while the four remaining Vanguards dealt with those few Axis wrecks that still had motive power. It proved unnecessary for only 8 ships failed to self-destruct, though boarding actions were declined as all small craft were involved in SAR operations. A week later teams were sent to inspect the now-lifeless hulks and in time pried data from two of them. As for the Axis carriers they fled the system, leaving via their warp point of entry. The surviving senior Valhallan admiral elected to conserve his forces, waiting for one of the two task groups in Citadel to join him.       Two weeks were spent in searching for lifepods and for any debris from the King’s ship. A remote hope was held that his body could be found so that it could be buried back at the homeworld. With deep regret the search was called off. With the war situation deteriorating the Valhallan crews wondered if they were going to be recalled to Kerama Retto, Citadel or even to Hamthen space. They waited, and learned of even worse news. Twenty hours after the initial massed pinnace probe Star Admiral Mansel, commanding Star Force 2, Third Advance Fleet, launched the assault to reclaim the Bedrock system. Because the warp point was closed on the far side in Bedrock it was expected the minefields coverage would be extensive. The pinnace probe at least confirmed the existence of mines as well as 900 weapon buoys and a sizeable fleet. Not wishing to have his corvette-sized assault ships wiped out before they had a chance to attack Mansel came up with a solution to this problem months earlier.       The Gymnasium system was one of the major shipyard complexes in the Asteroid Axis with the lion’s share of slips cleared of new construction a month after the fall of Bedrock. Mansel had 500 explorer-sized freighters, each only a little more expensive than a fighter, built. For costing nearly the same as five dreadnaughts these small ships served their destined role perfectly. Leading the way in the first wave those small freighters, along with 60 Dispersion escorts, 90 Critical Mass explorers and 200 Machete armed pinnaces emerged like angry bees being force-fed through a funnel. Interpenetration claimed 154 freighters, 20 escorts, 30 explorers and 34 armed pinnaces. The targeting programs of the mine patterns didn’t have the time to generate the proper fire control solutions required, resulting in only one hit out every ten mines fired off.       All 346 Firetraps moved onward as a Blockhouse BB emerged. Those Firetraps not destroyed by the compact shell of mines were taken care of by the extended shell. Following the BB was a War Engine minesweeper, facing the diluted, confused wrath of the mines. Even so the massive ship lost it passives defenses along with six point defense mounts. A second Blockhouse followed the big ship’s wake, taking the diluted, surprised mine attack in stride even as it lost two engine rooms and part of a third. A third Blockhouse barely retained 20% of its armor. The last group of the first wave was comprised of 10 Falcon Crest assault carriers. To the amazement of all not one was lost to interpenetration, though they did loss half of their shielding to mine attacks. Overall just 87 out of the original 400 patterns were left.       6 of the 14 allied CAP squadrons had weapons primed once they reached the warp point. Carrying pure loads of FRAMs each of those 6 squadrons targeted a carrier, though the damage inflicted wasn’t enough to breach the armor. That fell upon the orbiting warships, provided they became active. Also those Whale armed pinnaces that managed to arm weapons attacked the Axis BBs, ripping up their internal systems with antimatter fury. Barreling through the mines the Axis armed pinnaces targeting those warships that failed to fire or bring up their ECM. Even with additional losses from the extended minefield and dealing with transit-addled weapons the Machetes seriously damaged or destroyed ten cruisers. Revenge was earned as all six armor-damaged Falcon Crests were blotted out like some many spiders under a shoe by those active cruisers and type-2 bases. The huge Axis SD was likewise dispatched by the distant Oknib DNs.       Admiral Dowel ordered the automated weapon control ships to hold their fire, preferring to let the mines weaken them first so that follow-up attacks by the ships and bases could eliminate them. As for the mines themselves they were set to maximum attack parameters so as to further damage and even eliminate the 3 BBs. Only six Shark squadrons crash-launched from the carriers, prompting Dowel to bring his carriers to the 2 light-second boundary to further reduce reaction time. The destroyers were also released, eager to add their fire to the battle.       Another Axis SD emerged from the warp point just in time to see the first wave ships being properly dealt by the close-in mines. Yet the little ships were tough, unlike the one-use Firetraps. That some explorers held on by nothing more than positive thinking of the crews meant that the defenders had to finish them off so that the laser buoys wouldn’t be diluted, yet that came to pass as the Grenadiers appeared right after the SD. After the interpenetrations 40 corvettes, 16 frigates, and 12 escorts remained, attacked by mines that didn’t have enough time and data to conduct proper attacks. Three more SD-sized vessels of unknown classes made transit, followed by six DNs that transited together, though two interpenetrated. From the four remaining Falcon Crest carriers came 16 Hatchet squadrons, primed for dogfighting and mobbing the CAP squadrons.       Crippled as they were, the BBs from the first wave had their jammers at full power, nullifying the datalinks of those 8 CAP squadrons still possessing FRAMs. The allies negated this by having the close-in ships move in slightly, engulfing the area about the warp point with jamming of their own from two Nikazu battleships. Even so while those Axis battleships were dealt with the Hatchet pilots were chipping away at the 8 Shark squadrons. When the last Axis jammer was destroyed the effectiveness of the Sharks was significantly reduced, made worse since only two more ships were released from their standby status.       Two of new SDs fired transit-addled spinal force beams and capital energy beams at two bases within their arc of fire, inflicting enough damage to render them into hulks. Due to this display of firepower the Oknibs fired on the third new SD which only launched rack-mounted mine clearance rounds, suspecting it to be a carrier. The ship's point defense and EDMs kept damage to lost shields and one-third of its armor. As for the Machetes they kept active by firing their internal weapons at the buoy parks and those CAP squadrons that hadn’t reached action stations yet. Addled by transit, the frigates, corvettes and escorts nevertheless fired on a jamming Nikazu, revealing their armament to be HET lasers and sprint missile launchers instead of plasma guns.       The Goddess of Fortune was acting downright fickle with Admiral Dowel this day for while all 60 of the Critical Mass explorers were picked off there were still left 120 ships on the warp point. With the Axis armed pinnaces shooting up the buoy parks and the close-in mines now down to 48 patterns Dowel had the 565 one-shot laser buoys fired, if only to make killing the smaller Axis ships that much easier. Indeed, a good number of the first-wave Dispersions were eliminated, and the four surviving carriers of the first wave were practically denuded of armor. With 30 additional Shark squadrons crash-launched from the carriers 3.25 light-seconds out, and with 54 Whales following, inbound for the warp point there was still a chance in Dowel’s mind to blunt this Axis assault.       The sight of 28 fresh Axis Hatchet squadrons bolting from the one of the second-wave SDs and the four DNs made Dowel grind his claws as he accepted the inevitable. Of the 26 allied ships orbiting the warp point only three BBs and nine (light) cruisers were active. The six Shark squadrons crashed-launched earlier did what they could when fell upon the third wave ships, 4 assault BBs and 2 assault SDs, but were overwhelmed by the 16 defending Hatchet squadrons and Axis jamming. With great malice the stabilized SD duo from the second wave and the newcomers of the third wave fired on the active Nikazus, destroying them and their datalink jammers. In turn this allowed the 28 fresh Hatchet squadrons to act in unity, crushing all but two of the close-in allied ships before the oncoming 30 Shark squadrons could intervene. Though the Grenadier assault ships were put to rest by the 10 remaining 10 type-2 bases the balance had shifted to the Axis. Tractor beams on the second wave assault carriers swept the close in mines, extended drive field energies either frying circuitry or causing premature explosions. Reduced to 12 in number, the Whale CAP finished off those Grenadiers that held on by the skin of their teeth.       The fourth wave entered as the four surviving assault carriers of the first finally transited out as the pitiful few mine patterns of the inner shell expended themselves on the first newcomers, a pair of dreadnaughts, and the other larger ships. In all 8 out of 10 dreadnaughts and 2 battlecruisers successfully made transit, their addled firepower helping the third wave ships to bring down the bases. Dowel’s last 6 squadrons were launched, the carriers firing their light missile armament to assist the fighters. As for the strike it was comprised of 30 Shark squadrons with 54 trailing Whales, all loaded down with FRAMs. They were opposed by 44 Hatchet squadrons (16 with gun and 28 with solitary laser packs) and 152 Machetes. Jammed by the assault BBs and SDs, and with no jamming support of their own, the Shark pilots took great losses but stayed true to their goal. All Axis ships on the warp point lost their passive defenses with inroads made into their interior systems by FRAMs and the weaponry of the 24 allied destroyers. Four of the new DNs were in fact destroyed; making the most of the 200 energy beam buoys fired against the remaining 20 Axis ships. Those with overload dampeners negated a share of the hits while the others took significant internal damage.        Whatever hope Dowel held in his twin hearts died as another mass transit of Machetes arrived behind five National Power battleships. Numbering 162, the new Machetes held themselves over the warp point while the gun-armed Hatchets attacked the last six Shark squadrons and the armed Whales, leaving the laser-armed Hatchets to descend on the allied destroyers. It had all the hallmarks of a massacre, and Dowel has his carriers move away from the warp point at full tactical speed as the sixth wave, 4 DN and 2 BC minesweepers, arrived. The Oknibs stayed in their 4 LS orbit, destroying Axis cripples before they had the chance to leave and being helped in that regard as the last weapon buoys on station, 100 of the force beam type, added their fuel to the caldron of combat.        After their systems were stabilized and traversing the outer mine shell the new Machetes went full-tilt towards the Oknibs. Firing right up to the end the six missile ships even bagged some of their miniscule attackers along with some more cripples on the warp point. Bearing down on the carriers were the laser-armed Hatchets, fixed not on destroying them outright but to cripple engine rooms and slow them down. Taking the losses inflicted by the escorts the Hatchets pulled back once they’ve accomplished their mission, avoiding combat with the rearmed Sharks and combining with the gun-armed Hatchets at the warp point. Once a lane was blown in the outer mine shell the Axis fleet poured into Bedrock like water from ruptured dam. A formation took shape and then went after the retiring allied carriers.       With 119 Sharks at his command Dowel was ready inflict as much damage as he could on his pursuers. Instead of a combined missile bombardment/fighter strike the Axis force settled for a crawling overtake when, at 7.5 LS range three BCs and six CAs opened up with spinal force beams. After losing one CVL to this long-range beam bombardment Dowel detached his escorts and sent them along with the Sharks to engage the enemy. It came as no surprise that the other ships in the formation were carriers, launching no less than 240 Hatchets. Combined with the Hatchets from the warp assault, and with jamming support, it was a complete massacre though two CAs were dispatched.       Dowel found it easy to give the order for the remaining carriers to come about and engage with their limited armaments or even to ram. As much as a tragedy it was to have lost the Bedrock system at least some dignity could be salvaged by having a swift death. The Hatchets swarmed ahead and pummeled the crippled ships with the BCs firing their energy beams into two carriers so as to board them and secure a database if possible. Faster formations had already moved on to the Circuit Run and Tire Iron warp points to lay down minefields and buoy parks. Now that all remained was to eject the ‘abominations’ from the face of Bedrock itself. Terpla'n Commodore Fykusa, viewing the multiple readouts and sensor feeds in the CIC of his command ship over Bedrock Prime, turned his attention to the open channel he had with Field General Tokuno. "It's done," said the naval officer. "Based on drive fields types and strengths of the ships heading here in no way we can hold them off. We cannot evacuate to Circuit Run, and our supplies won't permit use to hide more than six months in the outer system or in Brickyard for that matter."       On the monitor screen the Terpla'n general blinked his inner set of eyelids slowly. "So it's Tire Iron? Just how far will our Hokum friends allow our ships to traverse their territory? All the way to Metalstorm and Hamthen space?"       "I can only hope, General. With the ships bearing down on us we'll have to leave behind all of your heavy equipment."       "It won't come to that, Commodore. My signal section has been monitoring Comensal radio traffic. Those Axis ships had to have been sending tight-beam communications to this planet. In turn various civilian transmitters have been broadcasting in the clear for a full minute before we were able to jam them. All Comensal militia units and their hidden army formations are being mobilized. If I give a general pull-out order those boneheads will lob nukes at our assembly areas. A slower withdrawal will take much longer, and that will allow those Axis ships to close in and destroy our transports."       "You're saying that you want to take the Expeditionary Corps to ground?" Fykusa said incredulously. "There is no telling when the Fleet will return to relieve you and your men."       “This is my job, Commodore. All things considered we rather die here than in the vacuum of space. Any drain on enemy resources we can cause can only help in the overall picture. My troops will be moving into the equatorial tropics. The boneheads hate the humidity and rain. Unless they’re willing to nuke every rainforest they’ll have to pour in the troops to root us out.”       “We’ll make it even harder for them, Tokuno. I will authorize an orbital kinetic strike on all industrial, military, and infrastructure sites on Bedrock. It will reduce the usefulness of this planet for at least half a year, and in turn make it that much harder for the Comensal to devote resources to hunt the Expeditionary Corps down.”       Tokuno made a double blink. “Speaking of resources, Fykusa, are you going to scuttle the orbital hospital base?”       “Regrettably yes, General. We’ll offload the supplies beforehand and land them at locations of your choosing.”       “That’s par for the course. I was thinking of something more. Given the shape of the base it’s possible for it to make a one-way trip to the surface. It could serve me well as a command center in the depths of the equatorial jungle.”        Fykusa made a hard blink. “The station-keeping drives of the base are strong enough for a relative soft landing. Plus when we conduct the bombardment we’ll add in some atmospheric atomic detonations, radio jamming and laser aerosol spraying to make the boneheads believe the base crashed in the deep ocean instead of land.”       Tokuno chuckled. “And here I was expecting you to blow up the base in orbit or drop it on Government Hall. I have orders and plans to make, Commodore. Contact me when the kinetic satellites are deployed and ready to fire.”       “It will be an hour, General. Just get your men to the jungles. Fykusa out.” 12/29/11 updated 12/15/12

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