Star Admiral
Mansel, commanding the AFC mobile defenses in the Bedrock
system, brooded in his cabin on the command dreadnought Iron Mountain. The
Abom Commonwealth fleet was on the other side of the
Bedrock/Circuit Run warp point, undoubtedly preparing to
gauge the defenses. Regarding the defenses, Mansel read a
status report on his monitor. The initial set of the big
type-6 forts, 12 of them, had been completed two months
ago. However, the crews were still green, and only 6 were
at the Circuit Run warp point; the other 6 were stationed
at the warp point leading to Tire Iron in case the Abom
Hokum stage an assault.
Both warp points had to be
defended, and fort deployment was evenly split. Each warp
point was covered by 6 type-6, 6 type-5, 9 type-3, 3
type-2 automated weapons control bases, and 6 Bulwark 3
asteroid forts. The type-5 and -6s were evenly split
between capital missile and fighter designs, and the
type-3s were a mix of plasma, missile and point defense.
Lavish minefields covered the warp points up to a 1.25
light-second radius, and the distant missile and fighter
forts were surrounded by a thin minefield shell up to the
same radius to ground down armed pinnaces and ships alike.
Reusable laser, primary and energy beam buoys engulfed the
warp points like a house cut off by massive snowdrifts.
Mobile forces were also
split with the majority composed of carriers. 12 fleet and
6 light carriers, with escorts, along with 6 DN, 6 BB, 3
BC, 3 BC(R), 9 CL and 9 DD orbited the Bedrock/Circuit Run
warp point at various distances with the same force
composition at the Bedrock/Tire Iron warp point. These
ships (aside from some new construction and majority of
the carriers) were stationed in Laser Burn before being
called back when Connectors fell. Additional ships that
could’ve strengthen the defenses were instead parceled out
to new formations far from Bedrock. Worse, in Mansel’s
mind, was that the AFC was reinforcing a contingency plan
developed when Bedrock was first conquered. Fixed defenses
at the Gymnasium/Abyssal 17 warp point, already reinforced
when the Aboms first occupied Bedrock, were getting a
major boost in the form of six large asteroid forts along
with a brace of new fighter and close-in bases. Had
two-thirds of what was employed in Gymansium now been
placed in Bedrock instead…
A klaxon blared in the
cabin, sending Mansel out and dashing down the short
passageway to the CIC. The combat watch team had the main
imager display the contacts coming out of the warp point.
Data feeds scrawled along the bottom edge. Tonnage
revealed the six ships to be battleships in size, but the
drivefield strength was 20% greater and they turned far
better than any battleship had any right to do. The CAP
squadrons and patrolling escort shuttles left their
assigned orbits and were atop the six ships, racing to
bring their weapons on-line. Mansel noted how the ships
were obviously armored to the extreme, and their even
transit-addled point defense swatted down the distant
capital missile fire from the forts that went online. Yet
with all the firepower from those units able to get their
weapons up, and assisted by 120 rechargeable laser buoys,
two of those battleships were able transit back out, the
last one only due to its engine tuners. In reply the
defenses lost only six mine patterns from mine clearance
charges fired from the abom external racks.
Mansel only spared a
parting glare at the imager before he and his staff took
in the after-action reports and scan results on the abom
ships.
Admiral Jki, while relieved that the reconnaissance of the
Axis defenses was a success, grimaced internally that only
two of the advanced hull battleships returned. She would
have preferred to use a pinnace probe instead, even a
massive one, but she needed every pinnace for the assault
and the aftermath. Solitary pinnace probes would take too
long, and in Jki’s mind every day waiting was another day
lost in relieving the army on Bedrock and the ships
stranded in Brickyard and Bulwark.
In the hours that followed
the probe the intelligence staff made their conclusions.
The Axis combat area patrol was strong at 46 squadrons of
F1 Hatchets along with a handful of Stiletto shuttles.
Relatively few of those patrolling Hatchets armed and
fired their weapons, indicating a good number of the
pilots were still inexperienced. 46 squadrons meant those
remaining squadrons on the bases and carriers were at
least three times that number. As for the buoys they
numbered 600 and the immediate mine shell had 1800
patterns. The ships stayed just outside jamming range of
the warp point, giving weight to the assertion that an
extensive minefield covering the approaches to the warp
point up to and including the orbiting forts and inner
shell of bases. It also allowed them to fire their weapons
in datalink groups until such time they were destroyed.
The six asteroid forts
shared the same electronic and power signatures. They were
a previously unseen class and didn’t fire any weapons.
However, the type-3 bases were known. The larger bases
were six-light seconds out, along with the carrier group,
escorts, and three BCs, putting them at optimal range for
both capital missiles and engagement time for fighter
launches. It all came down to the Hatchets, ships, forts
and bases closest to the warp point. After five hours of
hashing out several assault scenarios Jki interrupted her
staff, selected one, and went about to make the
appropriate arrangements. Six hours later the assault went
in.
In the A-1 system, one transit out from the Inna home
system, the covert observation of what turned out to be an
Axis drive field had born fruit. In the month that
followed the first detection three Axis formations, each
one mostly composed of commercial-engine ships, appeared
and disappeared in the same spots. Admiral Coopersmith,
commanding the 3rd Field Fleet, had aboard his flagship
Dr. Dunn, head of the Tzelan survey squadron, and Kunus,
lead Inna scientist. The fleet still held station on the
Inna side of the warp point, waiting as automated weapons
and prefabricated bases were being sown and assembled.
Kunus, having already
become accustomed to the appearance of the bipedal Tzelans
in general and Dunn in particular, had to remind himself
that the Crajen Coopersmith was a sentient being and not
sort of some animatronic prop. It was the four stalked
eyes that made Kunus feel a tad unsettled, along with the
pair of crusher claws. In contrast the pair of hands
served as a point of commonality, and he noticed the use
of gestures whenever Coopersmith talked via the
translation software.
In the ship’s CIC the
admiral waved his hand at the representation of the A-1
system on a flat screen. “Thanks to those three convoys,
we’re now certain that the system in question is an Axis
one. Given that no ship deviated from the path between the
two likely warp points, and no evidence of even pinnaces
sent out to deploy additional buoys, leads me to believe
that this system is in the interior of Axis space.”
“With the general areas of
the warp points known, Admiral,” said Dunn, “the survey
squadron can pin down the precise locations in three
weeks, five at most. If it’s deemed feasible.”
Coopersmith looked at Kunus
with one eye, but quickly diverted it back to Dunn as he
sensed the Innan’s apprehension. “Our ambassador to the
Inna government will make the case for your squadron’s
return to A-1 to finish the warp point survey, as well as
deploying additional scanner and comm buoys along the path
between the two suspect warp points.”
Kunus gazed at the display,
finding it easier to speak to Coopersmith that way at the
expense of etiquette. “Are you planning an aggressive
reconnaissance of the warp points once the defenses here
in Inna reached a sufficient level?”
“An aggressive advance more
likely, Professor Kunus. It will be a few more months
before the first set of bases are in place, and by that
time more convoys will have been observed making passage
in A-1. I plan to intercept one of those convoys and
capture as many ships as possible for their databases. If
A-1 is indeed an interior system of the Axis, I will
exploit this opportunity to the fullest.”
The Axis defenders of Bedrock had settled down to their
routine when the assault began. Leading the charge were
600 Whale armed pinnaces, crewed by Terpla’ns, Hazens, and
Bulani respectively, along with 60 regular pinnaces.
Accompany them were 150 explorer and escort sized ships.
Following the numerous interpenetrations their numbers
were now 104, along with 556 pinnaces.
Coming next were pairs of
assault carriers, 10 Avamiand
10 Bedrocks. One
pair of each type interpenetrated and exploded, the
violence of their deaths proving their flightgroups were
armed with antimatter ordnance. Observing this the Axis
crews noted there were no antimatter explosions from the
interpenetrated armed pinnaces. Unexpectedly, the pinnaces
didn’t charge through the minefields to place themselves
atop the bases and ships. They instead held station at the
warp point in three distinct groups, with one each facing
subjective north, southeast and southwest. Though
transit-addled, the pinnaces engaged the CAP squadrons
with point defense as they swarmed the carriers. 104
Hatchets were obliterated along with 94 weapon buoys taken
down by equally-addled pinnace guns.
The Axis pilots involved
proved just as green as before, being fresh replacements
from the previous CAP. Staying true to their training the
pilots went for the big ships, ignoring the pinnaces. Only
14 of the 46 squadrons armed and fired weapons, and it
took the fire of those bases, forts and ships that became
active in the opening moments to destroy 7 Avami assault
carriers. The sprint-missile armed BS3s, however, kept to
their assigned task and engaged the explorers and escorts,
knocking down shields. Of the 200 energy beam buoys 169
remained, and they all fired. All the small ships had
overload dampeners, electing to negate all internal energy
beam damage by burning out the dampeners.
In came the second wave,
comprised of 5 Endrili Maelstroms
and a Perdition
assault minesweeper. Transiting back to Curcuit Run was
the remaining Avami
and 5 of the Bedrocks,
but all the carriers that remained from the first wave
launched fighters, 300 strong and all were F2 models armed
with an internal gun and three FRAMs. They swarmed the
Axis ships even as their datalinks were jammed and every
point defense mount within range engaged them. Taking
advantage of this the Whale armed pinnaces fired their
now-stabilized external ordnance, all comprised of
stand-off fighter missiles armed with lasing warheads.
Whatever brief satisfaction the point defense and
missile-armed BS3s had in wiping out squadrons of Sharks
and small ships they were utterly smashed as they in turn
were wiped from the continuum. The remaining two
plasma-armed BS3s became active in the second wave and
targeted the two Bedrocks,
removing their passive defenses.
On her command carrier
Admiral Hovwen watched as Mansel’s dreadnought, as well as
the rest of the close-in mobile defense force, were
utterly obliterated by Shark fighters that survived the
point defense fire. What remained of the three
laser-lacerated BS3s and two forts of the northwest group
were disposed of by the transit-addled sprint missiles of
the Endrili ships. Despite that all three remaining Bedrocks were
destroyed by all available units, including those buoys
that remained to be fired. The damnable Whales had swept
the buoy parks with point defense even as their internal
guns blotted out all the remaining CAP Hatchets and
Stilettos at the warp point.
One a secondary monitor
Hovwen saw those Whales that had yet to fire their new
missiles pivot to bring their weapons to bear on the
northeast group of BS3s and forts as the abom Sharks that
destroyed the mobile force engage the first set of crash
launched fighters. Outnumbered two to one, the Hatchet
pilots followed instructions to engage those Sharks that
still had external ordnance as the engagement took place
over the northeast defenses. Those bases fired their point
defense regardless, even those it meant the laser-tipped
missiles from the Whales would be unopposed. As for the
third wave it came in the form of five Salyf class assault
carriers and a battleship equipped with engine tuners. The
capital missile BS5s and BS6s and all other units able to
engage selected one Salyf,
but with datalinks still incomplete the antimatter
fireballs were only able to inflict light internal damage
on the carrier.
When the fourth wave came
in, bring in five more Salyfs,
Hovwen saw the writing on the wall. With the destruction
of the remaining BS3s and forts even the firepower of the
capital missile bases and the three BCRs could, at best,
destroy one large ship per assault wave. Worse, with
jammers in each assault wave the disjointed crashed
launched Hatchets would be devastated by the abom Whales,
Sharks and ships. Holding back the Hatchets would only
allow the aboms to marshal their Sharks for one big strike
against the missile bases, and every assault carrier left
unengaged would be another one available for the next
assault.
With Mansel dead the
command of the remaining ships went to Hovwen. With a
purposeful look she faced the senior comm tech. “Inform
the fleet to fall back to the Gravel Pit warp point in
accordance with order 5. All fighters that expended
external ordnance are to disengage and land on our
carriers. No fighters are to perform ramming attacks. We
will need every fighter to defend the fleet (what’s left
of it, she mentally told herself) from long range fighter
strikes.”
“As you order, Admiral,”
said the tech, leaving Hovwen to wonder if even half of
her hanger bays would be occupied once all was said and
done.
The fifth wave had five Nikazu-V carriers, one
of which was destroyed. It didn’t die as quickly as the
other carriers for it and its four brethren only had
conventional nuclear-armed ordnance on their fighters
instead of antimatter. The huge BS6s and BS5s accomplished
this for they now acted as complete datagroups, and they
had to because each carrier deployed their EDMs upon
entry. Meanwhile the assault minesweepers with their large
sprint missile launches set upon the remaining BS3s and
asteroid forts as the Sharks from the first wave formed up
on the warp point with those Sharks launched from the Salyfs. The surviving
explorers and escorts started to leave, though priority
was given to the carriers, and were grounded down by BS3
sprint missile fire.
The sixth wave was the last
one in the initial assault, again comprised of five more Nikazu-Vs and 600
Whales, of which 84 interpenetrated and violently
exploded. A massive dogfight on the warp point filled the
space with pockmarks of nuclear fireballs as all the
remaining Hatchet squadrons and a handful of Stilettos
arrived as one group. Two more carriers died with two more
damaged, all from the sixth wave, for the fresh Hatchets
finished what the distant missile bases started. For this
the Hatchet wave was devastated from the combined
firepower of Sharks and Whales along with whatever fire
the ships and regular pinnaces could contribute. Those
Hatchets that did survive moved at maximum speed on
different vectors in the hope that some would reach the
now retreating carriers.
Hovwen watched her main
plot as the Shark squadrons and the sixth wave Whales went
through the minefields, making a direct line for the
capital missile and automated weapons control bases.
Though they were abominations she had to admit to herself
that the armed pinnace crews had nerves of iron worthy of
any Comensol, taking losses from the minefields in stride.
Two minutes after their arrival those Whales that survived
were more than enough to destroy the missile bases while
Sharks still with external ordnance, albeit nuclear-armed
attack missiles, worked over the small control bases and
retired to the warp point. Before dying, the missile bases
fired on the remaining minesweepers as they transited out,
shifting fire to the explorers and escorts as they
maneuvered and transited as a single group.
Informed by a returning
pinnace, Admiral Jki sent in her three Humarsh Monitor class
superdreadnoughts. Premiering in their first battle, this
trio of ships began their bombardment on the now-empty
fighter bases, lancing them with capital missiles armed
with second-generation lasing warheads to denude them of
their external ordnance racks and any ADMs they might
have. Armed with spinal force beams, meant to pick off
crippled ships, the fighter bases selected one Monitor and
kept firing despite knowing it would mean little in the
end.
Following the Monitors were twelve Oknib dreadnoughts,
belching shoals of antimatter armed capital missiles. In
no time all remaining bases were destroyed, permitting the
rest of the fleet to enter, all the while the surviving
sixth wave pinnaces fanned out in multiple search spirals
to eliminate any scanner buoy within one light minute of
the warp point. With fighters providing the locations and
density of the mines, the missile ships fired mine
clearance rounds, weakening a portion of the primary
minefield shell enough for the dreadnoughts and undamaged
minesweepers to clear a path through it as well as the
subsequent far thinner shells.
Taking stock of the
situation, Jki had two personnel transports detailed to
pick up allied life pods and those pilots and pinnace
crews that managed to eject. Comensal lifepods were to be
picked up last and then only those that were observed to
come from the dreadnaughts and large bases. No bases and
ships remained to be boarded, and thus only a few teams
were allocated to search the wreckage. She was tempted to
send her fighters against the retiring Axis carriers but
didn’t as she needed all of them for operations in the
system.
The fleet was divided into
three parts. The largest portion went to the
Bedrock/Gravel Pit warp point to mine and guard it.
Another went to Bedrock proper to secure the orbital space
and aid the beleaguered ground forces. As for the third it
went for the Bedrock/Brickyard warp point. For this there
were only four BC-hulled minelayers with a respectable
number of escort cruisers armed with AFHAWKs, light and
escort carriers. Moving at maximum speed, this force
entered and exited the Bedrock asteroid belt twice,
encountering two equally underwhelming fighter swarms.
Clearly had there been more time (or resources allocated,
as the Allies would learn later) then the asteroid fighter
forts would’ve been built back up to their former
strength.
Also heading towards the
Brickyard warp point was the Axis mobile force stationed
at the Tire Iron warp point, leaving the bases there to
their fate. A trio of Sloop scouts, heading to the Tire
Iron warp point, detected this force and shadowed it. The
mobile force was comprised with the same number and
classes of ships that were at the Circuit Run warp point,
moving at maximum speed for a dreadnaught. It was clear
the Axis commander was acting upon a contingency plan,
heading into Brickyard to escape destruction. Due to the
timing the Allied minelayer force completed its job and
left with just 30 minutes to spare for the Axis force sent
all of it Hatchet fighters, F1 models with two close
attack missiles and a life support pod each, ahead to
attack. Once at the Brickyard warp point the Hatchet
fighters investigated the full 15 light second area,
finding an inner shell of 300 mine patterns and four outer
shells comprising a total of 84 patterns before returning
to their carriers. The Axis commander sent in one
dreadnaught to clear a path through the outer four shells,
only pausing to restore shields before proceeding to the
next thin shell. With that done the Commander elected to
have all of ships, except for the carriers, to enter and
sweep clear one section of the inner minefield shell. To
that end said ships each had an EDM placed on their
external racks. None had mine clearance charges as they
weren’t needed due to their previous mission guarding the
Tire Iron warp point. It wasn’t until the formation
entered the minefield, with EDMs and ECM fully engaged,
point defense ready, and force and laser mounts set for
wide pattern engagement that the truth was learned.
In hindsight the Axis
commander should’ve considered that the inner shell of
mines might have been of the antimatter variety as they
were reported in the failed warp point assault at the
Hamthen home system. That the outer shells were of the
regular nuclear variety may have lulled him into believing
the inner shell would be the same. Had scanner packs been
available for the fighters they would’ve known the
difference. As a result, the standard minesweeping
protocols were set even before the first outer shell was
swept. Thus, no follow up scan was done, and such
complacency was promptly rewarded.
Unlike the outer shell mine
patterns, the inner shell patterns were set to maximum
engagement parameters. Along with being harder to
intercept the mines, which were sprint mode missiles in
all but name, swamped the defenses of all nine destroyers
and promptly destroyed them in an orgy of antimatter
fireballs. The nine regular light cruisers joined them,
along with the three Firebow
missile cruisers. Slightly tougher, the three Hero BCs barely
survived. All six battleships had just a whisp of armor to
their credit. Five of the six dreadnaughts were attacked
by two patterns each and were consigned to oblivion just
like the destroyers. In stark contrast the six escort BCs
sustained very light armor damage while the three CLEs
took minor internal damage.
Nonetheless, the selected
inner patch of the minefield was cleansed. The Commander
did not survive, and his replacement promptly had the
surviving ships transit into Brickyard, detailing the CLEs
to conduct SAR operations for as long as possible. Once in
Brickyard the carriers were tasked to guard the warp point
while all the severely damaged ships made for Brickyard
A-2. A mining colony with an accompanying orbital station
was there, and the small shipyard immediately began
repairs on the first of the three Hero BCs. All that
remained was waiting for the time the Allies would come to
finish the job.
In the CIC of the battleship Coral Sea Admiral Jki went through the
first reports coming from Bedrock Prime as the fleet
settled at the Gravel Pit warp point. With contact made
with General Tukuno, reporting locations of Axis army
units and facilities, a series of kinetic strikes were
conducted, along with busting all airfields, logistical
hubs and repaired industrial centers. Isolated pockets of
soldiers were relieved. In one instance the crew of a
submersible patrol craft was found on an island in the
southern polar portion of the Purple Murk Ocean. Overall
Tukuno’s army suffered 20% losses with a further 20%
rendered unfit due to injuries and illness. The hospital
and troopships’ sickbays were at capacity, leaving
freighters and mobile yards to pick up the slack.
Captain Lanaq, Jki’s
intelligence officer, blinked his eyes in a confident
manner as he approached. “Admiral, I have the current
reports of all other operations in the Citadel sector. I
can transfer them to your station, but I can give you
summaries if you so wish.”
Jki blinked slowly, a sign
of consent.
“Admiral, the Axis warp
point defenses at the Tire Iron warp point are now
isolated. With no need to destroy them since we already
have other routes of communication to our Hokum ally, the
bases will be allowed to slowly degrade once their
supplies run out. Two years, perhaps three, the bases will
be reduced to the point where they can be destroyed by
missile bombardment with minimal resistance. But, if
rumors from R&D are to be believed, we could use those
bases as targets for a new weapon system before said bases
are rendered totally ineffective.”
“Good if the system is
available in time, Lanaq. Continue.”
“The Borehole assault
launched early as the mass pinnace probe conducted by TF
12 showed defenses entirely within the capabilities of the
assault element,” Lanaq explained. “Control of the orbital
spaces above Meadow and Borehole will be established in
short order. Meanwhile the task group that retook Brass
Latch has moved into Tinsmith. Suitable minefields were
placed at the Brass Latch/Impedence and Tinsmith warp
points to trap any stranded Axis units that may try to
escape. In six weeks Gilded Wired system will be entered,
thus completing that warp chain.
“TF 21established control
of the Output system and will be entering Data Disk in
short order. As for the Kerama Retto system the Axis has
shown us another closed warp point by launching a
taskgroup-sized assault. We can thank our extended sensor
buoy network in the system for pinning down its location.
The defending taskgroup intercepted it before the repair
anchorage could be threatened. Those Axis ships able to
get away fled, using the same warp point they entered. Two
crippled ships had their remaining engines lanced by
needle beams and were successfully boarded and captured.”
“Some good news,” Jki
acknowledged. “With luck at least one database can be
examined. The anchorage will speed up repairs for that
task group.”
Lanaq blinked. “However,
Admiral, a small Axis detachment went for the first closed
warp point and conducted a mine sweeping bombardment,
destroying roughly 33% of all the mines and all the weapon
buoys. The automated weapons control ship was chased off
by 6 squadrons of Hatchet fighters.”
“A problem that has to be
addressed at some point,” Jki mused. “We haven’t conducted
a probe of that first closed warp point due to a lack of
resources. Once that task group is strengthened up to task
force levels then perhaps the higher ups will conduct a
probe.”
“No doubt, Admiral.” Lanaq
briefly halfway closed his eyelids. “Regarding bad news we
lost a small convoy in the Silvershoe system. It was
comprised of four Hazen F4Ts, two Rundenro FGs and two
Outrider DDEs. An
Axis BC and two undersized BCs were apparently waiting,
drive fields down, along a parallel track along the most
direct route between the Metalstorm and Connectors warp
points. The Axis ships destroyed the Rundenros first with a
mix of externally mounted missiles, internal weapons, and
fighters. As for the Outriders
they took down seven armed pinnaces before dying, and the
Hazen interceptor pilots bagged five Hatchet fighters
before being wiped out. An escort carrier task element has
already been dispatched from Metalstorm to hunt down the
Axis ships.”
“They only attacked because
they determined they had a good chance of success,” Jki
stated with begrudging respect. “Once Metalstorm fell,
that Axis force in Silvershoe placed themselves at a prime
spot where their scanners can determine the strength of
individual drive fields and waited with their drives off.
The density of our search patterns along those most direct
routes will have to be increased.”
“It will also mean convoys
will have to larger to discourage attacks from raiding
forces of the observed sized in Silvershoe, Admiral.
Regarding other convoys one is due to arrive in two weeks,
and one week after that we will get substantial
reinforcement. In one month we will be in a position to
assault Brickyard and recover those support assets that
took refuge in the far reaches of that system.”
“With the supplies they
carried, and undetected, perhaps,” Jki quipped, and was
immediately rewarded with a stabbing pain in her gut.
Lanaq noticed the twinge of pain expressed by Jki’s
eyelids. He briefly looked away at a wall monitor, not
wanting to further add to her apparent distress, before
replying.
“Along with assault ships,
Admiral, there will be large numbers of pinnace tenders
equipped with the updated model of Whale armed pinnace.
So, depending on what our probes of the Gravel Pit warp
point tell us, we can conduct two assaults at the same
time.”
Jki suppressed the urge to
put a hand on her midsection, for the pain was going on
longer than usual. “Such is the economy of war, Captain
Lanaq. I can’t help but think we have the Axis on the
backfoot. We have more money, materials, willpower and
blood to obtain our goals than the enemy has for theirs.
The Gods only know we spent our fair portion already.”
Chapter 11.25
It has been a month since the Axis lost
control of the Bedrock system for the second time. Unable
to flee further into Axis space, the task force that
guarded the Bedrock/Tire Iron warp point had entered the
Brickyard system, albeit taking severe punishment from an
antimatter minefield on the Bedrock side, laid by the
Allies by a fast minelayer group. The task group was now
reduced to 12 fleet and 6 light carriers, 1 DN, 6 BBs 3
BCs, 6 BCEs and 3 CLEs. The DN and BBs all had armor
reduced to negligible levels with the BCs now docked to an
equally sized space station over Brickyard A-2, the only
lunar colony in the system, each waiting their turn for
repairs as they were nearly destroyed. Only emergency
repairs allowed them to reach the station at all, and they
dared not land on the lunar spaceport lest they tempt Fate
and be bestowed with more misfortune. The CLEs all had
their armor rendered useless as well, and what internal
damage they sustained was tended by emergency shipboard
repairs.
In all the task force had
89 squadrons of F1 Hatchets and 12 Stiletto escort
shuttles. The DN, BBs, and CLEs orbited at 1 LS distance.
Keeping them company was a CAP composed of 22 Hatchet
squadrons and 3 Stiletto shuttles. The carriers and BCEs
stayed at 6 LS distance with external ordnance racks
fitted with capital missiles armed with1st generation
lasing warheads. No mines and weapon buoys were on hand,
and none could be manufactured because of the repair work
being done to one of the Hero BCs. The only
other Axis force in the system, a trio of BCs carrying
armed pinnaces and escort shuttles, along with quartet of
scouts, were still engaged in hunting down CSF auxiliaries
that were hiding in the outer reaches of the system.
The crews were grim. Supplies had
already run out for the bigger ships, and the A-2 colony
couldn’t begin to maintain much more than what was in the
system prior to the task force’s arrival. While they
contemplated a slow, inexorable march of system breakdowns
and power failures, in the minds of the crews they knew
that wasn’t going to be their fate. The enemy had no firm
idea of what was in Brickyard after their many absent
months. For all they knew a huge cache of supplies was on
hand, perhaps enough for years and even for the
construction of miniscule freighters and use them to
breach the minefield in Bedrock, raiding the system and
disrupting abom operations.
Such ruminations were cut short
as the CSF made its attack. 400 Whale armed pinnaces made
transit in a single wave, losing 64 of their number from
interpenetrations. The rest swarmed the close-in ships,
dividing into two groups so that one could cover the blind
spot of the other. Each pinnace carried four laser packs
on their external racks. Despite being transit-addled the
pinnaces tore into the ships and Hatchet fighters alike.
Of the 22 Hatchet squadrons 12 got their weapons active,
bagging 65 Whales while two active battleships nailed 8
more. In turn the remaining Whales destroyed all the
close-in ships and swatted away 52 Hatchets, resulting in
all 22 squadrons losing at least 2 fighters each while 8
of those losing 3.
The second wave came in,
comprised of five Avami and one Bedrock
class assault carriers. The active Hatchets peeled away
and were atop the warp point. Those squadrons still trying
to bring their weapons online were only able to move at
half speed, ending up half a light-second out. The Whales
followed, and with fully stabilized systems they tore into
the Hatchets as the fighters in turn went after the fifth
Avami. That ship was destroyed, and the Bedrock
lost its shields and one-third of its armor. As for those
Axis carriers and BCEs that became active, they fired
their external missiles at the Bedrock, their
lasing warheads doing more damage.
In turn all the close-in
Hatchets were destroyed. Those atop the warp point were
either finished by laser packs and internal guns while
those a little further out had been swatted by point
defense fire. The three escort shuttles were also
dispatched, never getting the chance to fire their
weapons. 46 Shark squadrons launched from the remaining
second wave carriers as they transited out as the third
wave emerged, five Salyfs and another Bedrock.
There have been no launches from the Axis carriers yet. 40
more Shark squadrons launched as the fourth and wave
entered, comprised of six Bowman BCEs.
The Axis ships turned about,
retreating at full speed as the 86 Shark squadrons formed
together and pursued, followed by the Bowmen.
402 Hatchet fighters and 8 escort shuttles were launched
five minutes later and held station over the carriers,
patiently waiting for the abom fighters to close to within
jamming range of the BCEs. Then, just outside the reach of
ship-mounted point defense and jammers, the Sharks fired
their external missiles. Each squadron carried 18 missiles
equipped with lasing warheads. Given the range and
inherent lower accuracy only a relatively few missiles
from each squadron scored lasing hits. However, hits piled
up. The BCEs, already having lost their armor a month
earlier, were the first targets, reduced to crawling
wrecks only able to make one-third maximum speed. It took
48 squadrons to accomplish the task but was worthwhile to
remove the cruisers from the equation. As for the other 38
Shark squadrons they concentrated on the light carriers,
starting with the ones observed to have launched 3
squadrons instead of 2. Four light carriers were crippled,
and the now lighten Sharks went to the Bowmen.
On his part the Axis commander
sent his Hatchets and escort shuttles back to the warp
point, intent on destroying the Bowmen and as
many Sharks as possible. Leaving the six BCEs and four
CVLs to follow as best they could, the remaining carriers
continued to the A-2 colony. A half hour later the other
shoe dropped. 24 destroyers, an equal mix of Falogrens
and Okados, closed on the crippled cruisers and
light carriers, along with an equal number of Quagaar
corvettes and escorts. Drawn from a support group they
were tasked to cover, the 24 Quagaar ships were determined
to extract a measure of vengeance on the Axis for the
destructive bombardment of the Uan homeworld a few years
earlier. The Falogrens concentrated on the BCEs
first, firing capital missiles equipped with
second-generation lasing heads and capital force beams,
keeping the range just outside of the BCEs weapons. Once
that was the done the four CVLs were beset by the Quagaar
and eliminated. With engines detuned and provided guidance
by scouts the allied ships went after the remaining
carriers. Unarmed and with expended racks the remaining
carriers separated as to grant the A-2 defenders that much
more time. It took the better part of a day for all the
fleeing carriers to be run down and destroyed.
The Hatchet strike reached the
six Bowmen, now covered by the 86 Shark
squadrons and all comprised of gun armed F2 models. Four
exchanges of AFHAWKs whittled down the Hatchets while
closer in point defense took care of the escort shuttles.
With intact jammers in play the resulting fighter furball
only saw the destruction of two Bowmen and the
crippling of a third, along with the loss of 31 Sharks.
As for the A-2 colony it was
handled by a Quagaar task element, comprised of three Ruby
and three Pearl cruisers. The three Axis BCs at
the colony, despite only having half of their interior
systems up due to emergency repairs and still denuded of
armor, moved at half-speed towards the Quagaar ships as
soon as they entered capital missile range, escorted by 12
Hatchet fighters. The Rubies fired their spinal
lasers and capital missiles armed with 2nd generation
lasing warheads while the Pearls used their
spinal lasers and launched fighters, equipped for
dogfighting with only ECM pods as their external ordnance.
Along with their own externally launched missiles the
Quagaar ships easily crushed the Axis ships while only
losing four fighters. The small space station was
dispatched, and marine units landed on the moon and secure
the colonial spaceport. Once completed the task element
struck out for the outer system, heading for the first of
24 designated areas to find if any of the support ships
that retreated into Brickyard over a year earlier still
existed.
Meanwhile Admiral Jki executed the assault into Gravel Pit
ahead of schedule. Armed pinnaces, equipped with scanner
packs, had made infrequent probes and ferreted out the
defenses. A shell of 600 mine patterns surrounded the
Gravel Pit side of the warp point, along with a CAP of 15
Hatchet squadrons, all of them F0s, and 3 escort shuttles.
At 10 light-second range were 4 Type-4 bases and were
identified as the same kind used in Metalstorm, being kept
company by two undersized Type-2 bases. Each Type-4 had 15
squadrons of Hatchets and nothing in the way of defenses,
both passive and active. Wishing to avoid excessive
fighter losses at this juncture, Jki devised an assault
that would play into the preconceived notions of the Axis
defenders.
As much surprised as relieved
that the assault was happening the Axis warp point
defenders threw themselves at the first assault wave,
comprised of five superdreadnoughts. While all fifteen
squadrons moved and engaged at point blank range only
seven managed to get their weapons online in the first
exchange. The first ship was a Gravity Well, a
warp point probe ship with exceptional heavy shielding and
armor. It took all seven squadrons to breach the passive
defenses for some relatively minor internal damage. For
their part the five SDs fired mine clearance rounds from
their external racks, rendering 17 patterns useless as
their internal circuitry were fried by multiple nuclear
detonations. Transit-addled point defense removed the
three escort shuttles that had remained in the firing arc
of the fifth SD. Just one base crash-launched its
remaining 11 squadrons of Hatchets in this initial round.
As the first wave continued their
maneuvering to achieve their exit vector back to Bedrock
just three ships arrived for the second wave, all Oknib
capital missile dreadnaughts. As for the last three
superdreadnoughts of the first wave they were Monitors,
a Humarsh design. With stabilized fire control they locked
onto a base that had yet to launch its remaining fighters
and let loose with a volley of 24 SBMs, all with 2nd
generation lasing warheads. EDMs were of no use against
such missiles, and the bases had no active defenses. 9
missiles achieved a lock-on and worked as design. Just
enough damage was done so that a Hatchet armed with FRAMs
was still in its bay when it collapsed, the resulting
explosion utterly erasing the base from existence. All the
remaining CAP Hatchets, 48, were in the blind spots of the
Gravity Wells but not the of Monitors.
Point-blank fire from plasma guns and point defense bagged
three complete squadrons. The transit-addled Oknibs
fired external mine clearance rounds and point defense,
bagging 7 more mine patterns and 4 more Hatchets. Even
with jamming the first Gravity Well was
destroyed with the second losing over half its shielding.
To their credit the other two Axis bases crashed-launched
their remaining squadrons, 23 in all, and no doubt were
highly motivated after seeing one of their own go up like
a packet of petrol-soaked matches.
Just 14 Hatchets with
ordnance remained on the warp point as the third wave
emerged, again comprised of three Oknibs. Just
one Hatchet fired its FRAMs before it and the other 13
were brought down by plasma and point defense fire.
Together, the Monitors and the first three Oknibs
crippled a fighter base. There was no fourth wave, and the
remaining Gravity Well transited out. The
cripple second base was taken out by the Monitors while
the six Oknibs fired on the third, also
crippling it.
By the time the first 11
crash-launched squadrons were within 2 light-seconds of
the warp point the Monitors transited out along
with one Oknib. It took the fire of one Oknib
to finish off the third base while the remaining four
wrecked the last one so thoroughly that no intact hanger
bay was left. Thus, with tears of frustration in their
eyes the pilots of the 11 squadrons missed their chance
for vengeance as the five dreadnaughts transited back to
Bedrock. Based on the results Jki waited two hours before
sending in a solitary Whale armed pinnace to scout the
environs. Apparently, some emergency repairs were done as
only two Hatchets orbited the warp point. Acting on
instinct the Whale crew shot down both with internal gun
and external laser pack before transiting out. The wait
for the last base was minuscule for just two minutes later
a trio of capital missile battlecruisers and a like number
of heavy cruisers built for minesweeper transited in.
After dispatching the last of the bases and firing mine
clearance charges to the point where the CAs could finish
off the selected patch in one go, a task force of the
Combined Fleet moved into Gravel Pit, heading for the
Bulwark warp point. A ship was detached to search for life
pods from the destroyed Gravity Well, though
given the vengeful state of the Axis pilots it was highly
unlikely any pod would be found. Another task force went
to the four lunar colonies of the first gas giant to
secure them before heading to the Abyssal 017 system.
On the way to the Bulwark warp
point a flight of six escort shuttles and an assault
shuttle was detected and intercepted by a task element
comprised of two escort carriers and an escort destroyer.
Warned by the sensor chain, the small craft poured on the
coal, but the ships simply detuned their engines to keep
the range and launched their F2 fighters. They had a speed
advantage over the small craft, even with a full load. The
small craft were carrying the pilots of the abandoned
Hatchet fighters, intent on rendezvousing with a small
craft carrier based on a destroyer hull sent from the
Bulwark side of the warp point. Not one shuttle made it,
though two Shark fighters were shot down.
Four days later, at the Gravel
Pit/Bulwark warp point, Jki sent in a heavy probe
comprised of 5 Singularity dreadnaughts and 60 Damage
Sink explorers, the latter as a mass transit. Three
of the Singularities came back, but only 24 of
the Damage Sinks, sustaining losses from two
consecutive mass transits and combat losses. What awaited
the task force were three asteroid bases and three type-4
bases, at 1 LS and 6 LS distance respectively. A solitary
full-sized type-2 base sat 9 LS out, most likely the
automated weapons control base. There were no ships within
detection range, and the shell of automated weapons was
average at 600 mine patterns and 180 weapon buoys. All the
weapon buoys were of the reusable laser type as they
didn’t explode when fired, and a paltry 8 squadrons of F0
Hatchets and 5 escort shuttles formed the CAP.
As for Star Admiral Dovsol,
commanding the defenses in Bulwark, she was coming to
accept the fate Providence provided. Practically all her
ships were recalled to Gymnasium, leaving just some scout
ships and two squadrons of fleet carriers, though
consigned to continue the hunt for the remnant of the abom
task force hiding in the outer reaches of the system.
There was some success in the preceding months provided by
the abom themselves. What had to be support ships, denuded
of maintenance materials, were found accompanied by
singular escorts. When confronted with an appropriate
force the support ships self-destructed, and the escort,
always a destroyer, fled with detuned engines. All this
did was to prolong its inevitable destruction, but every
minute spent in such pursuits gave that much more time for
the other abom ships to hide even better.
Dovsol didn’t have a long wait
following the CSF probe. A wave of 200 Whale armed
pinnaces transited in, followed by 60 Magnets
and four assault carriers. Again, despite minefield
attrition and fire control degraded by transit the Whales
pounced on two of three asteroid forts, destroying them.
Those Magnets that survived interpenetration
fired their addled plasma guns at the third fort, which
happened to have Dovsol on board, causing some shield
damage. Those Hatchet CAP squadrons that became active
went after the assault carriers. Dovsol’s fort fired on
the Magnets, further reducing their numbers. One
assault carrier was destroyed.
There was no doubt about
the outcome of the battle, but Dovsol was resolute. The
second wave was comprised of three dreadnaughts and three
more assault carriers. Energy beams from the former licked
away the fort’s shielding even as more Magnets
fell to the critical number. 120 of the 180 laser buoys
fired, all but killing the remaining Magnets.
Those Whales that retained their FRAMs went after Dovsol’s
fort, smashing what was left of the shields and armor.
Further hits dealt considerable internal damage, and
combined with further energy beam fire the fort was
rendered useless.
With no jammer to support the
remaining 26 Hatchet squadrons, and with the three
minesweeping dreadnaughts of the third wave equipped with
jammers of their own, the 34 Shark squadrons and the
remaining Whales dispatched the Hatchets quickly. Dovsol
survived the massive electrical discharges that rendered
her fort impotent. The self-destruct function failed, and
what few monitors remained active in the CIC allowed the
admiral to watch as one more ship made transit. A liberal
dousing of energy beam fire took down those few shields
that were restored, and with twelve assault shuttles
launched by the newcomer was all that Dovsol needed to
know. She checked her service pistol as she closed the
visor to her pressure suit. The fort was going to be
boarded and captured. Taking a few aboms down before dying
was the last thing she could do for her people.
Two weeks later had the Combined Fleet at the Gravel
Pit/Abyssal-017 warp point, waiting only for a final set
of reinforcement before proceeding. Just beyond
Abyssal-017 was the Gymnasium system, a former possession
of the Eletoshani. Based on captured records the
population of the system was 100 million, spread across
its habitable world and numerous asteroid and lunar
outposts and colonies. Industrial potential was inferred
to be considerable, as well as any defenses reinforced
since the first time Bedrock was conquered.
Admiral Jki sat in the wardroom
of her command battleship, the Coral Sea. With
her was Captain Lanaq, her staff intelligence officer, and
Commander Linus, the ISN liaison officer. Previously,
Linus hoped Jki would’ve selected a dreadnaught for her
command ship, not just for a more durable ship but as well
enhanced amenities. He learned that the biped E’sani were
used as Marines only on dreadnaughts and larger hulls as
well as fleet carriers. Thus, when it came to sitting
arrangements only stools and the crash frame in the CIC
were initially available. It was an oversight that was
quickly corrected in less than a week. The ship’s chief
engineer and quartermaster constructed several chairs for
the Hokum officer. After a few months Linus found the one
in the wardroom to be his favorite.
“Admiral,” said Linus,
looking up from the datapad he held in his front left
hand, “do you expect any skirmisher forces in Abyssal-017?
The distance between the two warp points is considerable,
a full nine days for a battleship at cruising speed.”
Jki turned her eyes from her own
display, blinking twice in rapid succession as she waited
the briefest of moments for the translation software to
finish. “I’d be disappointed if they didn’t, Commander.
The Axis has seen enough instances where we send task
elements ahead to reconnoiter for the fleet. Now, due to
the fresh infusion of dedicated recon pinnaces, we can
have a more extensive sensor web while reducing the
hazards for the ships involved.”
Lanaq joined in. “I’m wondering
how much in the way the Axis has in fixed defenses in
Gymnasium. The warp points in 017 are closed, and from the
records we obtained on Bedrock the Eleotoshani and the
extinct Nu’Chut AIs never encountered the other in 017.
So, from an economic perspective, it would make little
sense for the Axis to fortify their end of the warp point
in Gymnasium. Until we had captured Bedrock for the first
time.”
The admiral gave Lanaq a look
that Linus inferred was of stoic wisdom. “There’s little
point to ponder on the imponderable until we do our probe,
Lanaq. Whatever fortification plan they had would’ve been
greatly accelerated after we recaptured Forger’s Gate.
Speaking of acceleration, there has been good news from
the other fronts. The Data Disk system has been secured,
and an assault to the connecting pre-war Axis system will
happen within days. Advances from Borehole and Brass Latch
will ferret out any Axis formations that retreated into
Gilded Wire, Tinsmith, Ohm and Impedance.”
“Sufficient to say, Admiral,
those companies manufacturing minefield patterns and
weapon buoys will continue to enjoy the ever-increasing
demand for their products. It remains to be seen if the
Axis formations hiding in those aforementioned systems are
willing to die on the vine or conduct a suicidal gesture
of defiance.”
“What of Kerama Retto and
Battlement?” Linus injected. “With one known closed warp
point in Kerama Retto it could be used again by the Axis
to stage a definitive campaign to reclaim their Citadel
sector.”
“A fact that will divert more
resources than expected, Commander,” Jki replied. “There
was a second Axis incursion into Kerama Retto. Thankfully,
the second closed warp point was rather close to the first
one, and the defending task group was able to handle it.
The Axis did send a separate formation to engage the
anchorage itself, but the defenses dispatched them, though
with considerable losses.” Jki paused for a moment,
suppressing the twinge of pain she felt in her gut. “As
for Battlement, the Royal Valhallan fleet is standing on
the defensive until it is reinforced and refitted before
investigating that system’s remaining known warp point.
How is your Imperial Navy being doing of late?”
“From what I’ve been given
by my superiors, Admiral, we’re doing well,” Linus said
with what he hoped was measured confidence. “We’ve
isolated the Iron Sky system, located deep in former
Nu’Chut space. Reinforcement for the fleet in Bandstand
has been accelerated, and once your fleets have gained
sufficient depth into systems beyond Gymansium the fleet
in Tire Iron will be redeployed to whichever avenue of
advance requires it the most.”
“That’s good to hear, Commander.
I’m sure Admiral Janus will appreciate going back on the
offensive.”
Linus consulted the datapad
he held in his back right hand, stopping when a tidbit of
information caught his eye. “Admiral, what is to become of
that senior Axis officer the Hazen marines managed to
capture in Bulwark?”
“Dovsol? Yes, she and the other
POWs are heading for Hamthem Prime aboard a priority cargo
corvette. They’ll be held separately from the other POWs
and will be interrogated during the trip.”
Linus made a curt nod. “Given
that all Axis planets are still contested on the ground it
makes sense to hold prisoners where they can’t be rescued.
I trust the Hamthen won’t be prone to displaying their
prisoners like exotic animals in a zoo.”
Jki’s eyes blinked in a manner
that Linus learned was a sign of assertion. “Despite the
degrading behavior that was inflicted upon them the
Hamthen will not visit that behavior on their prisoners.
Whatever fate awaits those Comensal being held it will be
administered impartially through laws, not whims and
emotions.”
“Well stated,” said Lanaq.
He said this before Linus could reply, knowing the subject
of the treatment of Hamthen civilians by the Axis was a
sore point for the Admiral. “With the progress we’ve made
the engines of this war are turning in our favor.”
Linus discerned the tone in the
translation and wisely decided not to pursue the subject
further. “Agreed. With multiple breaches into their
pre-war space the Axis is decidedly on the backfoot.”
Chapter 11.50
The Combined Fleet held station on the far
side of Gymnasium Prime’s second moon. Repair ships tended
to damaged units that could be repaired relatively
quickly, while those requiring more attention were sent to
the Abyssal-017 starless nexus where the larger and more
valuable mobile shipyards awaited them. One of those ships
was Admiral Jki’s own Coral Sea, requiring two
months of work. She transferred her flag to the Oknib,
a capital missile dreadnaught. While listening to her
staff’s various after-action reports and the latest
intelligence summary Jki let a part of mind play out the
events leading to the capture of the system.
In the captured records
Gymansium was regarded by the Axis as a heavily populated
and developed system. The defenses were taken to be
strong, especially with time given to strengthen them. Jki
elected to send in a probe of 120 Whale armed pinnaces
equipped with scanner packs and six warp point probe
ships, of which four had the same hull used by battle
carriers and thus had excellent turning ability. Of the
Whales only 40 came back and only two of the probe ships,
both of which were based on dreadnaught hulls. The
defenses were indeed formidable, comprising of 9 asteroid
forts (3 large and 6 comparatively smaller ones), 21
type-5 bases, 9 type-3 bases, and 6 type-2 bases. The
combat area patrol comprised 21 squadrons of F1 Hatchet
fighters and 12 escort shuttles. Automated weapon buoys
numbered 600 and keeping them company in the immediate
vicinity of the warp point were 1800 mine patterns. Jki
had no doubt that a very thin shell of mines extended all
the way out in a radius of six light-seconds from the warp
point, inflicting attritional losses to any armed pinnace
group that wanted to take on the missile and fighter
bases.
A conventional assault was out of
the question, and not for the last time Jki wished the new
warp-capable missile pod technology had its bugs ironed
out and made available for use. Instead, it was down to a
mass transit attack, complete with hundreds of armed
pinnaces to tackle the inner ring of bases, and hundreds
of small ships that will force the defenders to expend
their weapons on them as well as maximize dispersion of
their weapon buoys. As it went, the first wave comprising
500 Whale armed pinnaces, 120 small ships ranging from
explorers to frigates, and 20 carriers made its entry.
Subsequent waves were made in the normal manner, but each
had two minesweepers with datalink jammers, 100 more
Whales and a handful of additional small ships. Jki
arrived in the fifth wave, finding the warp point still a
maelstrom of fighters, pinnaces and ships. The close in
bases and forts were gone or badly damaged, being set upon
by plasma guns from the surviving small ships and the
onboard weapons of the newcomers. There were just three
capital missile bases six light-second out, keeping the
six fighter and three defense bases company. It was the
minesweepers that were being targeted now in a forlorn
hope of knocking them out and giving the surviving Hatchet
fighters a chance to regain datalink cohesion.
The final set of assault carriers
arrived in the sixth wave, none losing passive defenses as
there were enough small ships to dilute buoy fire. A group
of pinnaces broke off from the warp point to accompany the
fresh fighters as they went for the capital missile bases.
Showing their discipline, the Axis Hatchet fighters stayed
on the warp point. Those with guns engaged their Shark
opposites while laser-armed Hatchets went after ships,
namely those equipped with jammers. The last minesweeper,
along with the remaining close-in bases, was destroyed
just as the missile bases were engaged by Whales and
Sharks. With a mix of spite and defiance the trio of bases
fired their last combined salvo at the Jki’s flagship. The
lasing warheads did their damage, but it was the firing of
the last buoys that caused heavy damage. The battleship
was able to transit out, though still taking spinal force
beam pot-shots from the fighter and defense bases.
After transferring to the Oknib,
Jki reentered the Gymnasium system and took stock. Of the
1000 Whale armed pinnaces committed only 114 remained, and
the fighter loses from the assault carriers was over 80%.
The close-in bases and asteroid forts all had datalink
jammers, a major factor in the fighter losses. There were
no defending Axis ships for some reason, but that mystery
had to wait as the Combined Fleet formed up and moved
in-system to Gymnasium Prime, sending task elements to
investigate the system’s planets past the asteroid belt.
There were Axis ships after all;
a carrier task group to be precise. It had positioned
itself two light-minutes past the asteroid belt on the
direct route to Gymnasium Prime. It launched a full strike
against the Combined Fleet, with recon pinnaces reporting
back that numerous small craft contacts had emerged from
the asteroid belt and headed for the Axis carriers. This
proved that the belt was lousy with fighter bases, just
like the Bedrock system, and had six distinct chains of
small bases, radiating out from the solar orbit of
Gymnasium Prime, to feed fresh fighters for massed
attacks. Jki half-expected that the carriers were the same
ones that escaped Bedrock, and when confirmation that the
drive field signatures were the same, she wondered if the
same commander was in charge, whoever it was.
At this point, instead of heading
directly for Gymnasium Prime, Jki took her fleet at an
angle into the asteroid belt. Going anti-spinward in the
belt, the fleet, now moving at maximum speed for a
dreadnaught, forced the Axis carrier-launched strike to
pursue while those asteroid fighter bases ahead had to
wait to consolidate fresh arrivals from the bases behind
them. The net result was that the ensuing double strikes
didn’t have the time for a fully coordinated effort. Jki
was thankful that the Hazen contingent had 216 Lancer
interceptors, forming the close-in defense within the
fleet’s jamming radius. Unable to use fighters, the Hazen
were inspired by the Hamthen’s use of interceptors earlier
in the war and spent a sizeable percentage of their naval
budget to develop and deploy their own version. An updated
interceptor had been perfected and wouldn’t reach the
fleet the months but the ones in use now proved their
worth.
In a relentless grind the
Combined Fleet continued around the asteroid belt,
destroying bases in passing and Hatchet fighters by the
gross. Many were still of the F0 variety with a sprinkling
of F1s, which served as escorts. The Axis carrier task
group continued to pursue, but it came to a point where,
even with life support packs, the F0 Hatchets couldn’t
reach the carriers unless they turned around to pick them
up. The Axis commander settled on moving, at full speed,
to a point ahead of the Combined Fleet to receive fresh
squadrons. With battlecruiser-hulled freighters filled
with antifighter missiles Jki elected to have her ships
resupplied on the move. Three more major waves of Hatchets
were dispatched before the Axis carriers departed, heading
for one of the other two warp points in the system, but
not before receiving fighters, most likely F1s, into their
hanger bays.
Fighter and interceptor losses
for the Combined Fleet were on the order of 33%. A handful
of destroyers were lost or so crippled they were scuttled.
Other ships only sustained light damage to their armor.
Once the ring of asteroid bases was dispatched Jki held
the fleet and waited for carriers from the support group
to come forward to dispense their flightgroups. The run
towards Gymnasium Prime was uneventful as the Axis had
exhausted their stock of disposable fighters, so there
were no further inbound fighter strikes. As for the space
station over the planet it still had fighters, 324 strong,
backed by over 100 escort shuttles. Only three type-4
bases kept the station company. Jki had already decided
beforehand on a course of action. With capital missile
armed units, including the new Yoshibo carriers,
moving forward at a crawl with maximum ECM the rest of the
Combined Fleet charged the orbital defenses with Sharks
and Lancers ready to engage the Hatchets and Stilettos.
It took three minutes for the
fleet to come within effective beam weapon range, 2.5
light seconds. The huge station had a mass of 24
battleships, too big for shields, but had ample armor. The
charging ships focused on the station and the horde of
fighters and shuttles while the capital missile units set
upon denuding the BS4s of their armor, using enhanced
lasing warheads on their SBMs. Not at all tempted to
destroy the distant missile-firing carriers, the Comensal
crews went after the dreadnaughts with the intent on
complete kills.
A maelstrom of beams, missiles
and small craft, punctuated by nuclear and antimatter
fireballs, served as a backdrop as three dreadnaughts were
crushed as the fleet entered the designed range. At that
point Tuphon and Terpla’n ships equipped with needle beams
attacked the station, sniping overload dampeners. Axis
fire then shifted to those ships, but not before the
dampeners were greatly reduced in number. This allowed
those allied ships equipped with energy beams to cut
loose, destroying the station’s internal systems with
massive electrical discharges. Smaller ships were
reassigned to cripple the BS4s. Thanks to jammers the Axis
Hatchets were cut down in job lots while the Hazen Lancers
engaged the Stilettos with abandon.
Either through oversight or
deliberate action an antimatter warhead on the station was
destroyed, and in turn the station was utterly obliterated
as other antimatter warheads were set off. Jki ordered the
BS4s to be rendered weaponless by energy and needle beam
fire. Just as boarding shuttles were ready a flight of
shuttles and cutters took off from the planet’s spaceport.
The BS4s were rammed by the craft, finishing them off to
prevent the allies from capturing them. In reply the
spaceport was taken out by kinetic strikes. Troopships
were called from the support group, and not for the last
time Jki was greeted on the comms by the Comensal
governor, his smile as false as his promise of
cooperation. In a few months the inhabitants will start a
massive resistance movement, just like on all the other
occupied Axis worlds.
Jki acknowledged the reports, and
after a brace of questions she dismissed her staff with
herself heading back to her quarters. Halfway there she
changed her mind. With her six feet now feeling
inexplicably tired she went to the Oknib’s
sickbay. There she found the ship’s doctor, a
well-seasoned civilian practitioner that volunteered for
naval service. Two discerning eyes focused on the admiral.
“Good evening, Admiral,” the doctor said with formality.
“I’m Doctor Pyco. To what do I owe this visit? High
ranking officers rarely visit sickbay outside of checking
on wounded spacers.”
“I make it a point to visit every
department of my flagship, Doctor. This happens to be the
first one on the list,” Jki replied. “As the Oknib
received its refit it stands to reason the sickbay was
updated as well. Care to give a tour?”
Pyco’s inner eyelids blinked.
Captains and admirals did indeed avoid sickbay like the
plague unless directly ordered by the ship’s doctor for
mandatory physicals. He shifted on his six legs as he
replied. “Very good, Admiral. You’ll find the facilities
here are on the same level as any dirt-side hospital. If
you will…”
It took fifteen minutes, as Jki
asked questions that were tempered by knowledge that could
only be gained by being a recipient of medical attention.
Pyco did receive Jki’s medical file from the Coral
Sea’s CMO, and he was beginning to suspect that
there was more to Jki’s visit than just idle curiosity.
About to show his office, Pyco was sidelined by Jki at an
examination station. “This looks the same as those on the
Coral Sea,” Jki commented, pointing at a table
contoured for Terpla’n physiology. “Mind if I try it out?”
“Go ahead. You won’t find
anything better outside of a five-star hotel.”
Jki settled in, the table
automatically adjusting to accommodate to prevent her from
falling off. “Feels good, doc. If I was here for a
checkup, would you start with the usual checklist?”
“Depends. Anything that deserves
some attention?” Pyco figured that Jki was requesting help
in a roundabout way to save face.
“Been having some stomach aches,
haven’t told the previous doc.”
Pyco’s inner eyelids slowly
blinked. “I see. Have you been taking anything to
alleviating those aches?”
“Engine Room Rot-Gut,” Jki
replied in a casual manner.
The doctor’s outer eyelids closed
slightly. Having tried the mentioned concoction, the only
appreciable medicinal effect was to dull pain. “I guess
that proves the higher the rank, the more inclined people
are to self-medicate. If you’re willing, Admiral, I like
to perform some tests and use some of that brand-new fancy
gear I have at my disposal.”
“That will be appreciated, Dr.
Pyco.”
All in all, Prime Lieutenant Camden was happy with his
current assignment, though he considered it to be a
sideways promotion. Previously he commanded a division of
corvettes for a year, guarding convoys to and from
Gymnasium via Eleto. Expecting assignment as an executive
officer of a cruiser or allocated to a planet-side posting
Camden instead, rather abruptly due to circumstances, was
given the command of a destroyer division.
Camden’s ship, the Sprinter-class
destroyer Thunderfoot, and its two division
mates were constructed at the Evergreen shipyards in the
Eleto system. Assigned to Star Force 2, Third Advance
Fleet, the ships of the division had only just cleared the
slipways when Gymnasium was conquered by the abom
Terpla’ns and their equally wretched allies. Normally it
would take a month of work-up to bring the ships up to
specs, but the AFC only gave Camden’s division a week
before heading out to the Jade system, two transits out
from Eleto to rendezvous with other reinforcements heading
for Admiral Hovwen. In that week everything that needed to
work on the destroyer worked. Shields, ECM, weapons and
point defense along with life support, computer
coordination, and engines. As for everything else…
The destroyer division was in the
Porch system, halfway between the Eleto and Jade warp
points respectively. On the bridge of the Thunderfoot
Camden went through a list of items that were deemed
‘nonessential for combat’ by the Evergreen Station
quartermaster in the rush to get the division to its
rendezvous. The recreation compartment had no equipment,
not even floormats for the exercise section. Likewise, the
mess halls had only base rations because the coolers went
unstocked, so no servings of preserved fruit. Even the
bedding would’ve been absent had it not been for the
Recreation & Morale officer, as well as the ship’s
quartermaster, having gone to a storage hold on Evergreen
Station to ‘acquire’ bedding assigned to a freighter due
to be launched in two months. Likewise, the Chief Engineer
and some ratings ‘acquired’ a soda machine, complete with
two months of flavor concentrate packets, along with a
dart board that happened to be next to it. Camden asked no
questions, instead thanking the personnel involved for
providing for the welfare of the crew.
The crews of the three ships were
kept busy with drills, inspections, and instruction.
Camden was thankful for getting some of his senior
officers and noncoms from his corvette command to the Thunderfoot.
Manned by painfully green spacers, Camden hoped to ‘remove
the burs’ by the time the ships rendezvoused with Hovwen.
To that end he worked on current daily schedule…
“Drive field detection!”
roared the sensor rating, only three months past his
qualifications. “Prime, I have six drive field contacts
seven light-seconds ahead of us. Forwarding to your main
plot.”
“Signals, inform the
division to go to full alert,” Camden said as he focused
on his plot. He scowled as he registered the information.
From the drive field strengths there were three
battlecruisers and three destroyers, all identified as
belonging to the aboms. They had to have been here for
some time, observing shipping going to and from the Eleto
system to position their ships for an intercept. Porch
only had a single chain of older style navigation and com
buoys between the two warp points. Only scanner buoys were
placed at the warp points. Most importantly there had to
be a closed warp point in Porch. Immediately he had his
signals officer start sending data via the com buoy chain
back to the Eleto and Jade warp points. He held back on
sending courier drones until the last possible moment.
There was no point in running.
Even if Camden turned his ships around there was no
guarantee that all their engines would achieve motive
status in time. Besides, the ships had no defensive
missiles on their external racks and interception of
missiles coming from the rear arc would be degraded. With
a grim steadfastness that one would find in a patriotic
video Camden gave his orders and watched the plot as the
formations closed.
One minute later at 2.5
light-second range the three destroyers had succeeded in
bringing all their systems online. Still painfully green,
only one destroyer achieved a hit on the designated abom
battlecruiser. In reply the aboms, in three datalink
groups comprised of one BC and DD each, fired on each of
the Sprinters. All three ships lost shields from a mix of
capital force beams and needles beams. Then came the
anti-drive missiles. Receiving the worst of it and having
lost some engine rooms already from general needle beam
damage, the Thunderfoot was rendered
immobilized. The other two destroyers were down to half
speed.
The abom ships dropped to half
speed, engaging erratic maneuvering as Thunderfoot’s
divisionmates did they best they could to match. Again,
the Axis crews’ painful inexperience played against them
as a BC and DD used their tactical scanner data to locate
and then sniped the hetlasers of all three Sprinters,
followed by all the remaining engine rooms and point
defense, equally paired away by the other four abom ships.
With main power automatically adjusted to safe mode after
the loss of engine rooms there was only one outcome in
Camden’s mind. “Signals,” the prime lieutenant said,
“inform the crew and the other ships that we’re going to
be boarded presently.” As if on cue he saw on the main
plot the abom ships launching shuttles and cutters, no
doubt filled with marines. “Have all engineering
departments arm the scuttling charges with minimum timer
settings.”
“Acknowledged, Prime,” said the
young rating. Axis ships smaller than light cruisers only
had officers for half the bridge stations.
“Abom tractor beams have locked
onto our ships, Prime,” said the weapons officer. “The
shuttles and cutters will be on our hulls in one minute.”
“Acknowledged.” Camden scowled.
There was no doubt the aboms will eventually take the
ships, but if the charges go off then they’ll be rendered
unsalvageable. Any attempt to tow them with tractor beams
or even actual physical cables will fail. That only left…
“Prime,” said the Signals rating,
“I’ve been unable to contact the computer operations
compartment. That compartment had been pierced by a needle
beam that took out engine room seven.”
They’re after the databanks,
Camden thought. In this situation the ultimate
responsibility in destroying the databanks is on me.
Quickly, Camden passed orders to his executive officer in
the auxiliary control room, putting him in charge of the
ship’s internal defense. When the XO asked if he needed
some marines as escort Camden declined, instead taking the
weapons officer and sensor rating with him. Since there
was no time to don the standard pressure suit Camden and
the others had to use their issued shipsuits, which could
act as pressure suits for a limited time. Each shipsuit
had a pullover clear hood that could be secured to the
neck collar and a pair of gloves to each wrist lock. For
an air supply there was in each major compartment a
service locker with thermos-sized oxygen packs that had a
90-minute supply and were secured to the chest. With laser
pistols in hand the trio made for the computer operations
compartment.
On the way Camden heard the
announcement via his earpiece that abom small craft had
latched on to the hull, quickly followed by subtle
vibrations caused by breaching charges. Upon arrival
Camden found out why there was no response from the duty
shift. The needle beam had destroyed half of the work
station desk in passing and killed the two techs with a
combination of electrical discharge and intense heat.
Unable to enter the data purge code that left the backup
plan. Camden had the weapons officer and sensor rating
cover the entrance as he opened a locker and extracted the
gear inside. Said gear was a thermal rod with an
accompanying protective heat-resistant glove and sleeve.
Using the thermal rod on the
physical databanks will render them utterly useless. No
amount of electronic forensics could extract any data from
what would amount to a pile of molten glass and circuits.
Opening the databank access panel, Camden was about to
activate the rod when he felt vibrations from the deck. He
turned to find a suited fist impacting his face, his world
going dark.
A few minutes later Camden
regained consciousness, finding himself on the deck with
his legs bound and arms tied behind his back. He saw his
two men by the compartment entrance, equally incapacitated
and face down. Then he saw the suited aboms, four of them,
wearing combat vac suits with helmets that had opaque
visors. Bipeds, at least, and only two arms so that ruled
out Hokum…
One of the aboms noticed Camden
and knelt beside him, placing an oval-shaped disc to the
side of his clear hood. It was a ‘skin-talk’ speaker, and
through it he heard a computer-generated voice. “Good
morning,” said the voice with a hint of electronic
modulation and inflection, indicating cheerfulness,
something that Camden didn’t find amusing. “Sorry for
having to punch you, but I was concerned my stun round
would’ve missed you and gone into that open panel. It
wouldn’t do having the databanks scrambled by a stunner
energy. Oh, rude of me. You deserve to see who’s talking
to you.” The abom’s visor went clear, revealing an
avian-featured face belonging to a Tuphonese. The
despicable abom looked like he was talking, but a moment
passed before he heard the resulting words. “That little
glow rod of yours would’ve made this boarding a complete
waste of time had you just one more minute. Good thing you
guys don’t change the layout of your ships in a major
way.”
“Sir,” said another abom, his
comm channel audio being picked up by the first abom’s
translation software in his suit no doubt, “I’m afraid
this control desk has seen better days. The port we needed
got deep-sixed by that needle beam hit.”
“We have to be overlooking
something,” the first one replied, obviously not caring
that Camden was overhearing the conversation. “We studied
the schematics from previous captured ships and even
reports from our Hokum allies.” Hearing that made Camden
cringe. If cringing made a noise, then Camden’s could’ve
been heard.
“Wait, Sir, there’s one place I
want to check again.” The second abom looked under that
portion of the work desk that wasn’t ruined by the needle
beam. After a pregnant moment came a sound that the
translation program rendered as a pleasant utterance. That
abom stood up, and on an extended finger was a piece of…
tape?
“This is manufacture’s tape, Sir.
It was covering the auxiliary port, and I didn’t see on
the first inspection.”
Manufacture’s tape?
Camden thought. That is removed after a full… oh
Providence!
The first abom made a clicking
noise that was rendered into a sound that indicated
affirmation. “If that’s anything like in our navy, that
tape is removed after a full inspection and approval by a
senior officer.”
In the rush to get this ship
into action, too many corners had to be cut! If those
damn aboms know this much about our ships…
“Could be this ship was rushed
into service without a complete shakedown cruise, Sir? If
they didn’t bother to check this aux port and sign off on
it, then we have a better chance than trying to connect to
the databanks directly, especially since we don’t have the
appropriate Axis minicomp.”
The first abom looked at Camden.
“I found your minicomp on you, but without your access
code I can’t use it. Are you willing to help us out?” The
inflection of whimsy in the translated voice made Camden
seethe to the point that his teeth grated. The abom
Tuphonese noticed. “Oh, thought not. Okay, Sergeant, use
the black box.”
“Yes, Sir.” The sergeant pulled
what appeared to be a tablet from a pouch on his thigh. He
pulled a fine, thin cable from it and attached it to the
aux port. After a few moments a cheer was heard. “Payday,
Sir. There was no challenge from the operating system. Not
even a password. Downloading and transmitting of the
database commencing. We’re going to make out like it’s CEO
annual bonus day.”
“Well done, Sergeant. Guess that
proves this ship and its crew was rushed into service
before all the basics were covered.” For the life of him
Camden swore the avian abom was smiling at him, despite
having a beak. “Don’t worry, Comensal. That’s how the
market rolls. Don’t be too hard on yourself.”
Damn it all! I just
remembered. It was on my list. It was on my list! Today
I was going to go through the first deployment checklist
for Computer Operations. That damn piece of tape
would’ve been removed by me no less and a password
installed! Just one Providence-damned day!
“Sir,” said the sergeant, “I
think we better get our prisoners on the shuttle before
their air runs out.”
“So true, sergeant. This one
especially. He has the rank tabs of a Prime Lieutenant.
Very well could be the commander of this ship. Oh, silly
me. I meant to use the security filter in our
communications. Well,” the translated voice did carry a
tone of observation instead of flippancy, though Camden
was in no mood to listen, “it was an unintentional
oversight, very much like what happened to you, Comensal.
Happens to all of us.”
Camden didn’t resist as he was
picked up by abom marines minutes later and hauled away
like a plank of lumber. He didn’t yell or curse or squirm
for he was paralyzed with rage.
Of the three Axis destroyers captured, the databanks of
two of them were successfully retrieved. As for the ships
themselves only on the Thunderfoot retained
structurally integrity as the engineers were killed before
they could prime the explosive charges The charges on the
other two destroyers did go off, and being unable to be
towed or considered worthwhile to repair they were
obliterated by nuclear warheads. The Thunderfoot
itself was tractored to a holding location where enough
internal systems were restored and adapted so that it
could transit to Inna and be studied by a team of Inna
engineers under the supervision of Tzelen consultants.
Crajen Admiral Coopersmith,
commanding the 3rd Field Fleet, was thankful that the
operation provided a bonanza of data. The Eletoshani warp
point was lightly guarded with only six large and one
small base, backed up by scandalously thin minefields and
weapon buoy parks. Only six warships and one auxiliary
formed the mobile force. As for the orbital defenses over
Evergreen, the second habitable planet in the Eleto
system, were markedly stronger than those over Eleto
itself, mainly due to the number of Comensal inhabitants.
Some 70,000 Comensal were on Eleto, with 40,000 being
civilians in a single city near the spaceport.
Defenses over Eleto were just
three missile bases and a small space station, backed up
by a fighter wing based at the spaceport. This was a major
concern for Coopersmith. Even though the Axis considered
the Eleto a major supplier of materials if the commanders
in charge decided to nuke the population, even at the loss
of their own civilians, then there was nothing Coppersmith
could do about it. The captured data did provide a map of
warp links, including one that lead up to Gymnasium.
Finding and exploiting a fresh breach into Axis space was
the reason behind the capture operation. Rescuing an
occupied population would be a bonus. Reading the Axis’
own records regarding the Eleto, the Admiral sensed the
wily aliens had plans to flummox their Axis overlords when
the chance of liberation presented itself.
Coopersmith, in the CIC of his
flagship, was playing host to Dr. Dunn, the Tzelan
commanding the survey squadron, and Dr. Kunus, the Inna
scientist leading the contingent of his fellow Inna. They
were regarding the warp point icon on the main plot. “One
hour to the assault,” said the Crajen. “In this brief
period of time they couldn’t increase their passive
defenses in any meaningful way.”
“Speaking of defenses,” said
Kunus, “I take it that my government was reassured on the
security of the Inna warp point?”
“They only needed to hear it from
me, Doctor. Twenty-four large bases, with twelve more in
two months, and backed up by passive defenses and a
reinforced task group. Once Eleto is secured we can drive
deeper into pre-war Axis space, furthering Inna security.”
Dr. Dunn nodded acknowledgement.
“It will be interesting to find out what the Eleto know
about us. I’ve read the captured Axis reports, damning and
cursing the Eleto and their computer software sabotage."
Coopersmith clicked his crusher
claws while snapping the fingers of both hands. This time
Kunus didn’t flinch, now having become much more
accustomed to Crajen mannerisms. “I’d say they know a good
deal, Dr. Dunn. Knowing that were a multi-racial
organization fighting the Axis will give us common ground
when we establish contact.”
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