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Counterstrike

Page 47

by D. J. Holmes


  Mulling over the two options for several minutes, Tanaka-lang decided they had been removed. Hiding them was pointless. The Humans had to have guessed that he had scouted the system well before bringing his battlefleet to it. And hiding forty-four battlestations was hardly worth the effort. If they had four hundred hidden, that would be something. Forty-four would change nothing. No, they have removed them. Which means they don’t want to fight here, evidence to the contrary, Tanaka-lang concluded. The Human fleet was arrayed in orbit around their border system, evidently preparing to fight to defend it. Yet if they had removed their battlestations there was no way they would actually fight. And perhaps their fighters have been removed, Tanaka-lang thought as he looked at the orbital stations that were dotted with fighter launch tubes. If they were empty as well, then there was no way the Humans would try to stand up to his fleet.

  It was easy for him to guess where the Humans had removed their defenses to. There was only really one choke point between his fleet and the Human’s homeworld. It also happened to be one of the largest colonies that his fleet would have to conquer as they pushed into Human space. As Tanaka-lang considered the strategic situation, he had no doubt the Humans were gathering everything they could in the system. Tanaka-lang flexed his claws as he thought about the prospect. If he wanted, he could pull his fleet back and attack along a different line of advance. One that avoided the system he suspected they were concentrating their defenses in. Yet it would take at least eight weeks to do so. By then the Humans could redeploy their forces to face him wherever he went. No, Tanaka-lang thought. Let them concentrate their forces. We will defeat them in one battle and then all of their colonies will be mine. Mine to hand over to the Imperator, he thought with glee. “The fleet will advance,” he ordered. It was time to see just what the Humans had in mind.

  As his ships carried out one final micro jump into the system, Tanaka-lang watched his subordinates organize the four thousand seven hundred warships he now had in his battlefleet. They formed up in attack squadrons in a symmetrical formation arrayed around Slayer. Then they accelerated towards the world the Humans had fortified. Let them think we plan to attack, Tanaka-lang thought. Just as they want me to think they plan to fight. He was sure the Human fleet would run long before his ships got into missile range. Drawing his fleet into the center of the system was just another delaying tactic. It wasn’t one he could do anything about though, if he pressed on towards the next shift passage and ignored the Human fleet, they’d likely break past his battlefleet and try and engage his supply convoys.

  For three hours Tanaka-lang watched the Human fleet as it sat in orbit around their Fort. As he expected, they didn’t show any sign of wanting to retreat. Time to put that to the test, he decided. He was close enough that they couldn’t try and slip past him to his convoys. “The fleet will alter course. Put us onto the heading for the shift passage to the next system,” he ordered. He had no intention of jumping out of the system, but as he moved that way, he would cut off the Humans’ line of retreat. Then they would have to fight him whether they liked it or not. Within a couple of minutes, every Human and Alliance ship powered up their reactors and broke orbit. Tanaka-lang’s claws extended and retracted. That’s right, he thought towards his opponent, I know you have no intention of fighting. As the Allied Fleet pulled away from their fort, Tanaka-lang was puzzled by their course. It wasn’t a direct line towards the shift passage they wanted to jump out of. They would almost come within missile range of his fleet. All he would have to do was change course slightly and he would get off a salvo or maybe even two at the Humans as they fled. You are not that foolish my friend, Tanaka-lang was certain. The Humans were up to something. Tanaka-lang’s mind went to a battle Under Admiral Shurlang had fought against the Humans when he had invaded their space. The Humans had defended one of their colonies with a large number of stealth mines. They had lured Shurlang’s forces into the mines and destroyed a number of ships. Is that what you have planned? Tanaka-lang asked. That or they do still have fighters in their orbital bases, he decided as he glanced back at the fort. If there were still fighters there, they could sortie against his ships whilst the fighters from the Human fleet did the same. With an attack from two different angles, they could do a lot of damage to his ships.

  “Launch all our fighters, they are to take out the orbital stations in that fort,” Tanaka-lang ordered. One week ago the first two carriers he had been promised had arrived. It was time to put them to use. “Launch a wave of reconnaissance drones ahead of our fleet. I believe there may be a minefield between us and the Humans. Find it and map it out.” One way or another we’ll find out soon enough, Tanaka-lang thought. He had no intention of altering his fleet’s heading until he did. Though the Karacknid empire was superior to the Humans and the Alliance species in almost every way, he had to admit that the Human stealth technology was good. Better than any species he had fought before. He had no intention of taking any risks until he was certain of what his enemy was up to.

  *

  IS Drake

  “Multiple new contacts,” Lieutenant Anderson reported. “Their profiles suggest they are fighters… Confirmed, it looks like they are launching fighters. The count is up to forty already.”

  James shared a glance with his Flag Captain. So far, they hadn’t seen any fighters amongst the Karacknid battlefleet. Yet there they were there now. He knew the Karacknid fleet had been receiving constant reinforcements but he had been hoping that wouldn’t have included any carriers. When the count rose to eighty and stopped, James felt at least a little bit of relief. Commodore Chen’s forces could deal with eighty. When the fighters angled away from the battlefleet and towards Alpha-two Fort, James realized the Karacknid commander knew that as well. Instead of striking at his ships to prevent them escaping, he was going to take out Alpha-two Fort’s defenses. No doubt the remaining six battlestations would get some kills, but they’d be ripped to shreds by the particle beams the Karacknid fighters used. And he’ll see we have no fighters in those orbital hangers, James thought. That wasn’t ideal. For forty minutes there was almost complete silence on Drake’s bridge as everyone watched the fighters close with Alpha-two Fort. After a brief engagement, they destroyed the six battlestations and set about destroying every other station in orbit. Only nine fighters were destroyed in the brief engagement. When the last station had been taken out, the remaining Karacknid fighters turned and made to re-join their fleet.

  As they did, James refocused on the battlefleet. The Karacknid ships still hadn’t altered course to try and engage his ships, despite the opportunity he was offering them. There was only one reason why. “They know about the mines,” James said to his officers. “Either they’ve spotted them, or they have made a good guess, but they know. They’re not going to take the bait.” McMasters’ plan had been a slight alteration to one Lightfoot had used a number of years ago. Then, Lightfoot had arrayed the mines around one part of the planet he had been defending and lured the Karacknids to close with his ships. This time, McMasters had suggested the mines be moved as far out from the planet as they could. In open space, they would normally be far less likely to get close enough to attack an enemy ship, but the course the Karacknid battlefleet would take through the system had been predictable given they’d be chasing James’ fleet.

  “Their current course will still take them close to the edge of the minefield,” Miyagi suggested. “Even a small course alteration may yet bring them into range.”

  James shook his head. “No, we were too predictable. We’re just wasting time by staying here. Send word to the fleet. We’re altering course. We will turn onto a direct course to the shift passage. We need to fall back to Wuhu and prepare its defenses.”

  Chapter 40

  Even the best of leaders make mistakes. Sadly, these mistakes often come back to haunt them years down the line.

  -Excerpt from Empire Rising, 3002 AD.

  IS Mongoose, outer Rillelio system (same time).
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  Commodore Chambers surveyed the Rillelio system carefully. Everything seemed normal. This was the third run for fuel that he had made to the system. The last two convoys he had then escorted into the Karacknid empire to deliver the fuel to Admiral Somerville’s fleet. Both times, he had not been in any great rush to leave the Rillelio system for it had been the safest place his convoy would stop before entering Karacknid space. Now, the Karacknid battlefleet was in unclaimed space. Likely it was on its way to Alpha-two Fort, if not there already. Chambers had orders to load whatever fuel the Rillelio had and head to New Shanghai. Everyone was expecting the Karacknids to lay siege to the planet and stocking up on spare fuel would be essential.

  “No sign of anything untoward Commodore,” Mongoose’s sensor officer reported. “Apart from a few more orbital stations and gas freighters, the place is just as we left it.”

  “Let’s give it a few more minutes,” Chambers responded. He didn’t like to look overly cautious in front of his officers, but the Rillelio system could no longer be considered friendly territory. Almost before he finished speaking, alarms went off around him. Twenty new contacts had just appeared on the gravimetric plot. They were accelerating into the system from the opposite end his ships were at. Chambers glanced at his First Lieutenant. According to the intel they had, there were no reconnaissance squadrons in the immediate vicinity. It took just a couple of minutes to confirm his suspicions. The drive signatures were not from Allied ships. They were Karacknid.

  “Signal the rest of the squadron,” Chambers said as soon as the identity of the newcomers was confirmed. “The freighters and escorts are to pull back. Have them travel down the shift passage for twenty minutes. They’re to wait for us there for four hours. If we don’t return, they are to head back to New Shanghai without us.”

  “Aye Commodore,” Mongoose’s COM officer responded.

  “Double check that our stealth systems are operating at maximum efficiency,” Chambers said as he turned to his First Lieutenant. As officers got to work, he turned his attention back to the Karacknids and the Rillelio. Just as they had done when the first Human ship had visited the system, the Rillelio were already reacting to the newcomers. Their small fleet of warships had broken orbit and were approaching the Karacknids in a defensive formation. Chambers desperately wanted to warn them, but there was no way for him to send a signal in time. Even if he did, he wasn’t sure what the Rillelio would make of it. If he admitted to knowing who the Karacknids were, they would know Humanity had lied to them. They probably wouldn’t trust anything else he had to say.

  As the Karacknids came closer and closer, Chambers felt his sense of guilt grow. The Rillelio fleet was about to be blown away and he couldn’t help but feel responsible. As soon as the Karacknid warships got within missile range, a spread of missiles appeared on the gravimetric plot. They didn’t even try to talk to them, Chambers shook his head as his hands tightened into fists. The Karacknids were cold-blooded murderers. The Rillelio fired back as soon as they realized what was happening. Yet their military technologies were at least a century behind Humanity’s. Outnumbered and outgunned, the Rillelio warships’ point defenses only took out about half of the Karacknid missiles. The rest detonated. Every Rillelio ship was destroyed. Chambers felt shivers run down the palm of his hand. As he glanced down, he saw his nails had dug into his hand so hard that he had broken the skin. A small trickle of blood was dripping down his palm. Crunching his hands, he embraced the pain. It was better than the guilt.

  When the missiles fired by the now dead Rillelio ships reached the Karacknids, they easily swatted all of them away. Then the Karacknids altered course slightly. They were going to enter orbit of the Rillelio homeworld. For an hour Chambers watched the Karacknid ships close with the planet in silence. He had nothing to say to his subordinates. There was nothing to say. As the Karacknid ships got into weapons range, his heart slowed. He feared that the Karacknids were about to nuke the Rillelio back to the Stone Age. He didn’t know if he had the stomach to watch it or not, but if they did, he knew it needed to be documented. When missiles shot out from the Karacknids, Chambers couldn’t help but let out a groan. Several other officers did the same.

  “Wait,” Mongoose’s sensor officer called out. “They’re not targeting the planet. They’re targeting their orbital stations.

  Relief flooded through Chambers. The Rillelio weren’t going to be wiped out. Yet a fresh sense of guilt hit him seconds later, many thousands of Rillelio were going to die in orbit around their planet. For fifteen minutes the Karacknids systematically destroyed everything the Rillelio had built up around their homeworld. Chambers couldn’t help but think of the handful of conversations he had had with several Rillelio representatives. Almost every one of them had been full of pride in what their species had accomplished and, even more so, full of excitement at what the future held for their first steps beyond their solar system. Now none of that would happen.

  “They’ve stopped firing,” Mongoose’s sensor officer reported. “Several stations are still intact though.

  “Which ones?” Chambers asked. Though he feared he already knew the answer.

  “The fuel storage facilities,” the officer reported, confirming Chambers’ suspicion.

  “Turn us about, jump us out of here,” Chambers ordered. He had seen enough. The Karacknids had taken the system. That was bad enough. He would have to live with what he had just witnessed for the rest of his life. Yet he had worse news to bring back to New Shanghai. The Karacknids had found a new source of fuel for their fleet. One that was right on the back door of Humanity’s colonies.

  *

  IS Drake, Wuhu system, 9th May 2484 AD (eleven days later).

  “Admiral Somerville, the Karacknids have arrived,” Lieutenant Martinez informed James over a COM channel.

  “Thank you, Lieutenant, I’ll be on the bridge momentarily,” James replied. He had been in his office reading through the latest messages from Koroylov. Now that he was back in Human space, he was getting regular updates from New Shanghai. As far as he could tell, everything that could be done was being done though Koroylov didn’t sound any more confident than James felt. It is time, James thought as he set the datapad down. The Karacknid fleet had reached the first Human colony. Though Wuhu had only been colonized eighty years ago and had a population of just under seven million, it was still a Human colony. That meant, despite the risk, James had to contest the Karacknids’ attempt to seize it. He couldn’t just fall back and abandon the people there. Not without at least trying to put up a fight. Before heading to the bridge he took a moment to take out his best dress uniform.

  As soon as he opened one of the built-in wardrobes, his steward, Fox appeared. “I think this is the one Admiral,” he said gently as he presented James with a freshly pressed uniform. It already had all of his medals attached to it.

  “Thank you, old friend,” James said as he took the uniform. “Once more into battle we go.”

  “Yes Admiral, the odds are not great, but we’ve gotten through worse with you at the helm,” Fox replied.

  James glanced at him dubiously. He wasn’t so sure about that, but there was nothing he could say to make Fox’s confidence in him waiver.

  “If you need anything during the wait, just let me know,” Fox said as he helped James with his tunic.

  “I will send for you if need be,” James replied. With a nod he left Fox in his quarters and crossed the corridor onto the bridge. All his staff officers were already present. Glancing at each of them, James moved over to his command chair beside Fisher’s. “They are all here I presume?” he asked no one in particular.

  “Almost all Admiral,” Anderson replied. “Four thousand two hundred warships are in their main fleet. They are headed straight for us.”

  James nodded; he didn’t know where the other five hundred warships they knew were now part of the Karacknid battlefleet were. He suspected he would see them sooner rather than later though. Before he could
even begin to think about what the Karacknid commander might be doing with them, new contacts appeared on the gravimetric plot. A second fleet exited shift space and set course for Wuhu. As Drake’s computer analyzed the sensor readings, six hundred of them were identified as warships. Four hundred others were given a different classification. It was a ship type that Allied ships had rarely detected in the past year and a half. “Troop transports confirmed Admiral,” Miyagi reported.

  James considered the new development. Estimates suggested that each transport housed at least a thousand Karacknid warriors. That was a heck of a lot of ground troops. “Those ground troops have probably come a long way to get here,” he said. “I imagine it is very cramped in those small ships as well. There’s no way the Karacknids will need that many troops to secure Wuhu. After being stuffed up in those ships for so long, those Karacknid warriors would no doubt like to get their boots on the ground and stretch their legs.”

  “You think they plan to turn Wuhu into a military base?” Fisher asked. “It makes sense,” she continued. “They could carry out final preparations for their invasion of New Shanghai or even Earth.”

 

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