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.”
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