Blockade

by Chris Hechtl

  In DD01ns the Horathian heavy cruiser, Lizzy Borden, arrived in order to scout and harass the fleet. Two light cruisers were dispatched to B-97 to attempt to get behind the lines and hit Second Fleet's supply. During the harassment one of the Horathian ships managed to take out Second Fleet's ansible platform, momentarily taking them out of contact with the Federation.

  The emperor focused on his final plans and refused to allow additional reinforcements to go to Garth despite a warning of a threat to her south. The first water dweller clones began their training.

  Warning of the threat to his rear forced Admiral De Gaulte to abandon Dead Drop to retreat. Just as he jumped out, TF 3.2 arrived in Garth. They were caught off-guard by the unexpected defenses at the jump point. Dozens of ships were destroyed before Admiral V'r'z'll retreated. Before she left, she sent out a parting gift in the form of her own rail gun bombardment that tore apart the Garth orbital infrastructure.

  The second attempt at cloning Ssilli larva was met with mixed results as were the clones of the Malekians. The researchers were not about to give up however.

  Horath saw new fighters enter production as well as some work on logistics. The Lizzy Borden returned to Dead Drop to find her captain the senior officer. Two days later the Admiral Halsey task force arrived with the Federation's own version of a raid. They tore apart the outer star system infrastructure, but the Horathians refused to surrender. Instead, those that could fled.

  The two cruisers harassing Second Fleet were pinpointed. One managed to escape while the other was destroyed.

  TF 3.2 retreated to Bf994 where they began repairing their damage and making contact with the Federation with their last remaining ansible. Admiral Irons ordered them to stand on the defense.

  In Antigua Admiral Seinkov and other Bekian transplants were having trouble adapting to their A.I. and new technology. Also, April O'Neill was targeted for assassination but saved by ONI. Admiral Irons realized his house cleaning had been tipped off.

  Horath saw the arrival of a destroyer with the news of the battle of Garth along with the arrival of Duchess Tucket. The arrivals forced the emperor to agree to send additional reinforcements.

  Admiral White received some reinforcements as well as news of Dead Drop and Garth. The news of both battles was released to the media in the Federation.

  Garth continued to try to rebuild from the ashes left in the star system. Admiral De Gaulte and Admiral Einezeberg tried to work together to defend the star system; however, in the end Admiral De Gaulte decided to defend forward in Dead Drop after receiving news of the Federation raids there.

  When the Sun Tzu reinforcements arrived in Dd01ns, Admiral White consolidated his force and then ordered them back on the offensive. Admiral Subert reluctantly sent TF 3.2 reinforcements.

  Firefly reported in at B-87r. The New Horizon mission was the first in modern memory to be led by an A.I.

  In Pi sector, SEAL team 6BO encountered the Io 11 group in the PS-64 star system. They agreed to join forces.

  Dead Drop saw the arrival of reinforcements for the Admiral Halsey followed by the arrival of most of Second Fleet itself. The Admiral Halsey task force fell back on the fleet train to resupply while Admiral White divided his force to take control of the star system.

  Everything changed when the Retribution Fleet arrived at the Garth jump point. Commodore Vargess worked with his counterparts to trick the Horathians into going after one of his forces. Meanwhile, he snuck antimatter loaded bombers behind them to tear into them.

  Admiral De Gaulte realized the threat too late. Three of his four capital ships were destroyed. He was forced to retreat.

  In Antigua, the Guild leadership agreed to kill April O'Neill once more. However, this triggered Admiral Irons to act in a DOJ clean sweep.

  April was oblivious of the sweep until she went to jury duty. When she went to leave, she was confronted by Admiral Irons and the DOJ. Admiral Irons left her to deal with them.

  He was still reflecting on the profound changes when Captain Sprite brought him word of the latest developments in Dead Drop.

  In Dead Drop, Horathian Lieutenant Savenan scuttled every piece of orbital infrastructure and then refused to surrender. Admiral White scrounged up enough Marines from his fleet to secure the spaceport while his ships performed KEW strikes on targets of opportunity driving the Horathian resistance underground or dispersing them.

  Admiral White ordered a prowler to scout Garth while his fleet resupplied.

  TF 3.2 dealt with their own repairs and also dispatched a prowler to Garth.

  In Agnosta, the heads of the ground forces discussed the future of their service branches. Colonel Valenko suggested staging his and other forces through Protodon.

  While they did that, Admiral Logan arrived in B101a1 with orders to report to the capital.

  Admiral Irons received confirmation of Horatio's transit through the rapids as he met with his cabinet. Later, the admiral ordered Buships to stop building small freighters and craft in favor of a new prowler design.

  In hyperspace to Garth, Admiral De Gaulte tried to handle another loss while planning his future defenses in Garth. In Garth the defenders there struggled to return things to normal and rebuild after TF 3.2's recent raid. That was interrupted by the arrival of the Retribution Fleet. Admiral De Gaulte ordered a courier to be dispatched with news of the loss of Dead Drop.

  In Horath the Admiralty and cabinet tried again to get the emperor to send reinforcements, but he refused. Captain Varbossa continued to lead the efforts to update and upgrade their navy. She pushed to turn freighters into escort carriers in anticipation of the tides of battle shifting to a carrier one.

  In Antigua, things moved forward with the admiral's plan. ONI received confirmation of agents in enemy country. They continued to lean on their captives and captured database mining to help build a better picture of the enemy. Captain Sindri was reassigned to Pi sector.

  Meanwhile, the Beta Convoy arrived in Tau Sector's Trajin Cluster and set up an ansible there. They then moved on after reporting in to the capital. Commodore Richards was due to arrive at any time.

  Firefly's flotilla arrived in New Horizon, and the A.I. captain took control of the star system. Over two dozen captured ships were in orbit with the CED Shredder. Firefly issued orders to resupply the ships and to send one of the prize ships to Federation space with news of the captures and a request for more support.

  Additional forces were dispatched to the front from the capital, along with more supplies and ground forces. Dead Drop made contact with the capital and was ordered to stand on the defense until the additional reinforcements arrived. Admiral White focused on the ground campaign. His people made contact with the Rainbow resistance cell and together they managed to take out more of the Horathians.

  In Garth the Horathians fell to fighting over the limited resources. The prowler's arrival put them all on notice that they were on borrowed time. The prowler also alerted the agent on the ground of their arrival. However, shortly afterward a convoy arrived with supplies and replacement craft. The prowler from TF 3.2 arrived and managed to make contact with the prowler from Second Fleet.

  The Horathian Admiralty finally wore down the emperor's resistance, and he allowed them to send CEVs to the front. An arrival of a Gather Fleet ship with a mixed crew became a major distraction.

  Antigua's Governor Randall moved forward with his trip to Triang to begin campaigning for the vice presidency. Forces conspired against him but were thwarted for the time being. Skeletor's men attempted an assassination of Admiral Irons but were thwarted.

  Admiral Logan arrived in the capital a few weeks later. Admiral Irons placed him in command of Pi sector. Admiral Logan spends a short period of time working on various projects including the new Kittyhawk III design while going over his orders. Kittyhawk herself was declared overdue.

  Countess Newberry recognized the Horathian Princess's scheming and actively covered for her. Meanwhile the convoy of evacuees f
rom Garth arrived throwing the palace into chaos once more. They were shortly followed by the arrival of the courier with news of the fall of Dead Drop.

  The pirate lords scrambled to deal with the fallout. In an attempt at a distraction, the emperor and family attended the gladiator games. But several of the Neo gladiators, one a former Horathian officer, decided to stage a mass slaughter. They leapt into the grandstands and killed dozens of people before they were cut down. The princess remained to oversee the search and rescue while her family left.

  One of the prize ships from New Horizon arrived in B101a1 but was ordered to continue on to Pyrax on their own.

  Garth saw the activation of two carrier fortresses as well as a dozen weapon platforms and other defenses. Other defensive works were in progress. On the ground, the Federation agent managed to sabotage various suppliers, but it alerted the enemy to his presence.

  In Garth space a Federation naval officer, Ensign Puller, was assigned to rebuild the repair slip. The ensign and his team were sleepers from El Dorado and were kept carefully ignorant of their situation. Additional convoys began to come in with more forces.

  Knox News began a campaign to go after Admiral Irons in the capital while the admiral oversaw changes in the navy. In order to pacify Pete Knox, the admiral arranged for the media mogul to meet with April O'Niell and to hear the truth for himself.

  The Horathian arena massacre was the catalyst to throw Elvira and Catherine together. Several pirate lords quit and left Horath. The Tuckets resigned but were killed by the emperor. The murders were staged as a murder suicide, but many knew it wasn't true. Countess Newberry and the palace noted Catherine's new entanglement.

  Elvira Varbossa's grav lance torpedo got past the prototype stage and into development. For her activities the princess was promoted to commodore and awarded for her leadership alongside Elvira.

  Garth saw additional prowlers cycled through the star system as well as an uptick in federation sabotage. More ships came in and were swapped out for ships that were crippled almost to the point of uselessness.

  Reinforcements for TF3.2 arrived. The new ships were integrated into the fleet. After several weeks they were given the authorization to resume the offensive.

  Unrest began to build in Horath. The emperor tried to deal with it, but his crackdown efforts just caused additional fractures to form.

  The plan to take Garth began with a prowler arrival. She played a wounded bird drawing off the picket from the jump point. Admiral De Gaulte was suspicious, but weeks of frustration made him bank that in favor of giving chase.

  Fifth Fleet arrived well outside the jump point defenses sending Admiral Einezberg's people into a flurry of activity. Admiral De Gaulte ordered an abandonment of the chase and for all forces to fall back on the H002 jump point. The prowler contacted the planet's resistance with word of the beginning of the invasion.

  Fifth Fleet managed to cut off Admiral Einezberg's force from retreat just as Second Fleet arrived just off to one side of the Retribution Fleet's line of retreat. In order to continue, they had to run a gauntlet before escaping.

  Admiral De Gaulte realized any forces not with him were most likely lost. A series of fighter brawls broke out in the battle space. A protracted battle taking place over several days saw the Retribution Fleet being slowly torn up while Admiral Einezberg's force was annihilated.

  Admiral De Gaulte managed to get some of his fleet out badly battered.

  Twenty-seven hours after the battle the Stennis convoy arrived at the H002 jump point right on top of Commodore Mayweather's TF2.4 command. TF2.4 managed to launch some of her craft and return fire, but they were torn apart by the fresh force. Stennis fought to allow her courier and freighters to escape, then surrendered. However, Commodore Mayweather's ship and others were destroyed.

  In Antigua, Admiral Irons met with a group of school children only to discover one of the chaperones was there to assassinate him. Admiral Irons used his personal shields to contain the blast and direct it away from himself and the others in the room.

  Garth saw the post battle chores. Ensign Puller managed to take control of his team's situation just in time for the Marines sent to arrest them to arrive.

  Act I

  Chapter 1

  Executioner H002 star system

  The elderly white-haired human tucked his hands behind his back as he heard the latest report. He was intensely grateful for some good news. He knew he wasn't the only one.

  Once they'd fallen back, he'd started to lose hope that they'd outrun the enemy. After all, the enemy was much faster than his wounded ships were in hyperspace. But it was not to be. There was no sign of the Federation Navy. None.

  Or, they were lying in wait in hyperspace and had somehow obscured their ion trail. He couldn't put anything past them at this point.

  The escape from Garth had been brutal. The only reason he'd gotten anything out was because he'd been leery about engaging the enemy and had retreated. That they'd anticipated that retreat was a bit humiliating. Only the running engagement, the decimation of his fighters, along with constant retacking to alter their course had allowed them to escape.

  Decimation of his fighters again he reminded himself.

  "No sign of the enemy. No recent ion trails in the area. It looks like they didn't follow us," Lieutenant Myron Chekov, his staff tactical officer stated. Myron looked haggard despite being in a clean uniform and having adequate sleep since the battle.

  "That's good news," Admiral Cyrano De Gaulte said quietly. "We live on to fight another day," he murmured.

  His command had been hammered by the enemy. There were plenty of words to describe it; he just didn't want to use them. The only thing he could hope for at this point was to get them home so they could pass on the hard lessons they'd learned to those who would ultimately replace them.

  He'd sent a ship ahead with word, but it wasn't enough.

  "Sir, the convoy is approaching. Shall we have them heave to so they can resupply us?"

  The admiral thought about it for a few seconds but then shook his head. He didn't like being vulnerable. "No, I want to put some distance between us and the jump point to Garth. Have them lay in a course to come along beside us. We'll do what we can about replenishing while underway. If there is no sign of the enemy, we'll spend a day or two at the jump point making what repairs we can," the admiral ordered.

  "Aye aye, sir."

  "Sir," he turned to Sedric. "Sir, we just got an updated shipping schedule from the convoy. They are asking about the Stennis convoy. I've got the details," the intelligence officer held out a tablet.

  Cyrano reluctantly took it and scanned it. He didn't want to, but he forced himself to read it. So, reinforcements had been coming, but they'd arrived late. No doubt he'd passed them in hyper. "Order a messenger buoy to be put out. Order all convoys to stop and turn around," he said as he scanned the document again.

  On the third read, he closed his eyes in pain at the news. "There is nothing we can do for them."

  "Hopefully, they can get out," Berney said. Commander Berney Yashanaka was the admiral's chief of staff. He looked haggard. They all did. It wasn't the first retreat they'd been on, but it was most likely their last. They were being forced back to their homeworld.

  Myron had half-heartedly put forth the idea of setting up an ambush in the empty star system. But it was wasted breath. Their ships needed too many repairs; they needed too many supplies. The Federation would just roll right over them. Besides, there was little to nothing to use in each of the empty star systems. That was one reason why the empire just passed right through them.

  In other words, he couldn't fight a fighting withdrawal. As much as he'd like to, it would be a death sentence for the remaining ships.

  "Hopefully. Hope is in scarce supply at the moment," Sedrick stated.

  Myron frowned. The protracted battle had been brutal. He wasn't the only one despondent over it. The admiral had been gentle about the hot wash they'd perf
ormed on the first day in hyper, but he couldn't help but feel like he was going through the motions.

  "I have that course for you, sir," Jeremy stated holding out a tablet.

  "Pass it on to the other ships and then get us underway. I want us clear of the jump point as soon as possible," the admiral growled.

  -~~~///^\~~~-

  Berney grimaced as the meeting broke up. Apathy and low morale were prevalent throughout the ship and most likely the fleet. Or, what was left of the tattered fleet he reminded himself.

  Myron was taking the brunt of it. He could see that the younger man was taking their repeated drubbings personally. On some level he wanted to agree; he wanted someone to blame. But it wasn't Myron's fault.

  Each time things seemed to be picking up, they got the rug pulled out from under them and another drubbing. It was wearing on everyone heavily. He'd heard a few of the medics muttering about battle fatigue.

  He shook his head. They needed to find something to do, some way to turn it around. He was afraid though that once they returned to Horath they'd be seized as scapegoats.

  Well, there was one thing going for them there though; they wouldn't have to worry about carrying the burden on their shoulders anymore he thought.

  -~~~///^\~~~-

  Myron left the meeting and felt completely despondent. He knew what was coming; that was his job, to see the tactical and strategic implications of things.

  He didn't even look up as he passed other officers. Instead, he went to his quarters and downed a prized bottle of whiskey his family had given him. He was supposed to open it when they'd destroyed the Federation. He didn't care anymore.

  As he drank, he stared at his pulsar. The lowering level of the bottle was like a ticking clock for what was to come.

  -~~~///^\~~~-

  Lieutenant Jeremy Herod came running up to the scene. The other officers looked up to him but then turned away shaking their heads. He slowed his pace and then saw the medics leave. One patted Berney on the arm. That brought him up short. He'd never seen tears in the other man's eyes. No matter how frustrated he'd been he'd never given up hope.