by Allan, Jay
He glanced at his tactical display. No one else moved…not for a second or two. Then, almost as one, the entire mass surged forward, the previously silent com assaulted with a cacophony of screaming voices. The battalion – what was left of it – was with him. To a man.
The enemy forces were heavily engaged with McDaniels’ Obliterators, and Carlson’s forces were moving against the First Imperium rear. They advanced against light fire, sweeping away the scattered enemy units in their path until they linked up with Commander Farooq and his Janissaries. The combined force continued forward, charging the small enemy rearguard and, after a quick, bloody fight, seizing the heights that overlooked the main fighting.
“HVM teams, deploy along the ridgeline. Target enemy Reapers.” Carlson was shouting his commands. His blood was up, his earlier doubts and complaints forgotten. If he had to die, what better place than here, surrounded by his brethren…by Marines.
He watched as the HVM teams swarmed up onto the hillside and began deploying their heavy launchers. “Squad leaders, advance to the nearest HVM team and deploy.” There was no point in issuing more specific orders. The battalion was a wreck, scattered survivors from a dozen units hopelessly intermingled. Now it was the sergeants and corporals who mattered. “All Marines, rally to the nearest squad leader. Cover the HVM teams.”
The enemy was sandwiched between the remnants of the former battle line and McDaniels’ Obliterators. The ridge was an ideal firing position, and all along the line the HVM-armed groups hastily set up their weapons. Carlson’s people and the rest of Brown’s Marines were positioned right next to Farooq’s Janissaries. And across the whole front, Colonel Sawyer’s hyper-velocity missile teams were ready…ready to open fire and rain death down on the enemy Reapers. “Now is the time,” Carlson yelled into his com. They would either win here or die.
Cain moved quickly down the corridor, followed by Hofstader and a dozen Marines. He’d almost taken off at a dead run when he got Storm’s last message. His people had found something…deep in the center of the base and a dozen levels below ground. They had no idea what it was, but they knew immediately it was something. This could be why we’re here, Cain thought as he rounded the corner, a bit too quickly for Hofstader to follow. The scientist tried to keep up, but he stumbled. He would have fallen, but the AI running his armor corrected his balance.
“Sorry, Friederich.” Cain slowed and looked behind. “I’m just anxious to see what they found.”
“No more than me, general.” The scientist was out of breath, but he was moving forward again. “Don’t worry. I will keep up.”
Storm’s people were scattered throughout the facility. The security bots had turned out to be only a minor danger. Their weapons were deadly, but there weren’t many of them, and they were easily tracked down and destroyed. They were clearly intended to address small incursions, not a full-fledged invasion of the base. Presumably, enemy doctrine called for the thousands of stored bots to deal with that kind of occurrence. But the robotic defenders of the base had been largely expended in invasions of human space…and the rest were outside, engaged in a death struggle with McDaniels’ forces.
Once they’d eliminated the security bots, Cain had ordered Storm and his people to scatter and explore as much of the base as possible. It was a risk, certainly, but one he felt was worthwhile.
They reached what looked like a core area. The center was open, surrounded by a wide catwalk. Cain walked slowly to the edge and looked over. The shaft descended into darkness, farther than he could see, even with his helmet lamp on full power. There were concentric rings every 10 meters or so, all the way down. He couldn’t even guess how deep the lower levels of the facility were.
He looked around. Storm had said there were ramps around the outside of the circle that would lead his people down. His eye caught an opening in the floor about ten meters around the circle. “That looks like the ramp,” he said, pointing.
Two Marines of the escort immediately rushed to the spot Cain indicated, clearly wanting to go down before they allowed the commanding general to do the same. Cain sighed softly, but he let his bodyguards have their way. They were good Marines, and he appreciated their loyalty.
Cain followed the guards down. Storm had told them to come ten levels. It took about fifteen minutes for them to reach the designated spot. When they got to the tenth level they discovered that Storm had left a group of Marines there to lead them to his location.
“Colonel Storm sends his greetings, sir.” The hulking Marine snapped to attention, his armored boots slapping loudly against the metal floor.
“Thank you, sergeant.” Cain was looking around as he spoke. The facility didn’t look all that different than an Alliance base, not really. Still, there was an eerie feel to it…something strange, alien. “At ease.”
“Thank you, sir. Colonel Storm requests your presence. I am to lead your party there.” The sergeant was a huge man, well over two meters tall. His voice was loud and deep, though there was something else there too. Cain recognized it immediately…intimidation. He never ceased to be amazed at how these grizzled killing machines quaked in his presence. He knew it came from respect, but he sometimes wished they knew how uncomfortable it made him. The hero worship stripped him of what little of his humanity remained.
Cain pointed, though it was more a gesture than anything. He had no idea which way they had to go. “Lead on, sergeant.”
“We’re losing it, general. There are just too many of them.” The voice on the other end of the com was ragged, cracking. Major Sorenson was a veteran of 20 battles, but he sounded close to the end of his rope. Very close.
“Pull back, maintaining fire.” McDaniels was trying to hold it together herself. She was just realizing she had paid more for those stars on her collar than she’d thought. Her people could have doubts, they could call her on the com looking for reassurance, confidence. But she had no one. She was the top of that chain, and she’d given up the right to be afraid or unsure…even human.
She did have Cain…he was the one who truly had no one to turn to. But she knew the commanding general was busy, and she’d rather die here on this alien world than tell Erik Cain she couldn’t handle the job he’d given her. No…she’d rather face anything than that.
“Sorenson, I’m sending you some backup, but you need to keep your people together. Fall back 500 meters and, by God, you hold there no matter what comes at you. Do you understand?”
“Yes, general.” He didn’t sound solid, not exactly. But she was pretty sure he’d hold. At least for a while. She had no idea where she was going to get the reserves she’d promised him. She paused for a few seconds, thinking. “Captain Claren, I need you to organize the staff and lead them to support Major Sorenson. Immediately.”
“Yes, general.” The reply came back almost instantly. Claren was a good aide, but a little young and inexperienced – at least compared to most of her other officers.
She didn’t have much of a staff to begin with, but right now she needed them in the line more than she did attending to her. She didn’t know if 30-odd Obliterators would make the difference for Sorenson’s people, but it was the best she could do.
McDaniels sighed. So close, she thought. We almost pulled it off. She’d hoped the forces attacking the enemy rear would be enough, but she knew in her gut they were too battered, too exhausted. Against a human enemy, yes. But the First Imperium warriors weren’t scared or shaken by the rear attack. They simply reordered their formations to face to both sides. It was still a tactical disadvantage to them, certainly. But the crippling morale effect simply wasn’t there.
Now Cain and Storm’s people would end up trapped in the enemy base and exterminated. No one was going to leave this planet. There were just too many of the enemy. She took a deep breath and pulled her rifle out of the harness. If her people were all going to die in the line, by God, she was going to be with them. She turned and followed the path her staff had taken. She’d gone 5
or 6 steps when her com erupted.
“Attention General McDaniels.” The voice was female, vaguely familiar. “This is General Gilson. Hold your position. I have two brigades inbound now, landing 3 klicks from your position.”
She felt a surge of relief through her body, and she let out a deep breath. Garret and the rest of the fleet were here. McDaniels stood quietly for a few seconds before responding. “Acknowledged, General Gilson.” She didn’t know what to say next. A million things poured into her mind, but finally she just said, “Welcome to Sigma 4 II, general.”
Chapter 26
Bridge – AS Indianapolis
System X2
40,000,000 Kilometers from X3 Gate
Jacobs watched silently on his screen as the First Imperium task force transited. He had all his remaining laser buoys deployed and connected into an extensive scanner network. If everything went well, the enemy would get quite a hot welcome when they transited into X2. His ships were deployed behind the laser screen, at the edge of missile range. Every vessel was on red alert, ready to launch all their missiles at his command and then run for their lives. The enemy ships were coming in fast, and Jacobs’ tiny force was no match for them. Still, he’d initially planned to put up more of a sustained fight, ignoring the mismatched odds. Admiral Compton had put an end to that plan. The fleet admiral OK’d the missile attack, but he’d explicitly ordered Jacobs to button everyone into the couches immediately after launching and blast away at full thrust.
Jacobs had ordered all ships and laser buoys to concentrate fire on the enemy Leviathans. The monster battleships were over twice the size of an Alliance Yorktown and vastly more powerful. They could absorb a lot of damage, and their defense arrays were extremely powerful. Catching them as they came through the warp gate would be the best chance to inflict heavy damage…before they could close with Compton’s fleet and unleash their own fearsome weapons.
But things weren’t going as planned. Jacobs felt his heart sink as Gremlin after Gremlin passed through the warp gate and into the X2 system. They’re sending the screen through first, he thought with frustration…by God, they’re learning their tactics from us!
“Fourteen enemy Gremlins have transited, admiral.” It was as if Carp was reading his mind. “No sign of heavier units yet.” Carp turned his head and looked expectantly at Jacobs.
The admiral knew he had to make a decision. The laser buoys packed a tremendous punch…they had more than enough firepower to take out the Gremlins, especially with Jacobs’ missile barrage to finish off any survivors. But the x-ray lasers were wasted on the smaller ships. They were one of the Pact’s few weapons powerful enough to seriously damage a large enemy vessel.
“Enemy ships are moving at a slower velocity than projected sir.” Carp’s voice cut through his concentration. “And decelerating at 60g.”
Jacobs’ head snapped up. That was a surprise, though maybe, he thought, it shouldn’t be. “They don’t want to just whip past us.” His words started as a whisper, but the volume increased as he continued. “That fleet is here to engage and destroy our forces.” His mind was racing. As big as the enemy fleet was, it wasn’t strong enough to wipe out both Compton’s and Garret’s fleets…and the enemy had to have a rough idea of the total human strength from the Line battles. “Prepare a message for Admiral Compton.”
Carp paused for a second, a confused look on his face. Then he spun around and worked his controls. “You may begin when ready, admiral.”
“Admiral Compton, it is my opinion that the enemy fleet reported by Captain Mondragon is not the only force en route to this system.” He paused…he was taking a massive leap here, one he had no evidence to support. But he’d never felt as sure of anything in his life. “As Captain Cleret has reported no activity in X4, I believe there may be a second force behind this one, deeper in the X3 system.” Of course Captain Cleret still hadn’t even managed to find another warp gate in X4, at least as of his last report. The scouting effort in X4 was going much more slowly than Mondragon’s had in X3. Which didn’t surprise Jacobs a bit. “Captain Mondragon’s forces may be unable to report at this time.” Assuming any of them are still alive, he thought…though he kept that to himself.
He took a quick breath and continued. “I must note that I have no substantial evidence to back up this assertion, except that the enemy appears to be decelerating to give sustained battle.” He paused again, thinking of what else he wanted to add. But finally he just said, “Jacobs out.” He looked over at Carp. “Send that immediately, commander.”
“Yes, admiral.”
Jacobs sat for a few seconds, just staring forward. “Lieutenant Hooper, order all ships to commence missile attacks at once.”
“Yes, sir.”
“And order Major Bogdan to launch his squadrons immediately.” A vessel couldn’t launch missiles and fighters simultaneously. A battleship would normally have to launch its fighters before firing missiles or else wait until it had ejected its external racks and restored its bearing. But Jacob’s squadrons were on his 3 makeshift carriers, and they didn’t carry any missiles.
Without the laser buoys, his fleet was completely outmatched by the enemy task force. But he was going to try to take them out anyway. Without the buoys. Maybe, just maybe…if he could coordinate the missiles and bombers to hit at the same time. Perhaps there was a chance to defeat this advanced force. And even if there wasn’t…it was worth his whole fleet to save those laser buoys for the heavier targets.
“The fleet will execute 30g thrust in 60 seconds.” Compton was lying down, completely cocooned in his acceleration couch. He hadn’t planned to thrust hard enough to force his crews into the couches, but Jacobs’ message changed his mind. It was a baseless speculation, a wild guess from an officer who’d been at flag rank for less than half a year. And Compton was completely convinced by it.
It made perfect sense…at least to the fleet admiral. The enemy wasn’t trying to break through to Sigma 4; they were here to destroy as many human ships as they could. The enemy didn’t think like a human commander did. They didn’t care if a fleet was completely destroyed if it did enough damage to serve the strategic purpose.
If this fight was going to be a battle of annihilation, Compton wanted to fight deeper in the system. With any luck, after the first round he could sandwich the decelerating enemy between his force and the newly arriving units…possibly even Garret’s entire command. Then the united human fleet could turn to face any new enemy forces that arrived.
If they were able to hold off the First Imperium attacks here, Compton figured they could fortify Sigma 4 or one of the planets in X1, and mount a Line-like defense across the single system bottleneck between human space and the First Imperium. Maybe, just maybe, they could hold that position long enough for Sparks and Hofstader and their people to pull some game changing tech out of the captured enemy ship and base.
Compton felt the breath pushed from his lungs as Midway’s massive engines fired. The fleet would accelerate halfway to the location Compton had designated. They would go into freefall while Hurley’s squadrons launched, and then they would decelerate, reducing their velocity before entering range of the enemy. Compton needed his fleet at a dead halt to effectively deploy the x-ray laser buoys, and without those powerful weapons he didn’t have a chance in the energy duel.
He was thinking about Mike Jacobs, too…and all the people on his ships. He’d ordered Jacobs to retreat after he fired his missiles, but now Scouting Fleet’s commander was planning to face the enemy vanguard without using his laser buoys. He was still following the original plan, more or less. But now his fighters would be deployed, which meant he had to retrieve them somehow. Jacobs insisted he could scatter his fleet and work around the enemy task force, landing his fighters and getting out of range before he got hurt too badly. Compton wasn’t too sure, it sounded like a lot of conjecture to him. But it didn’t matter. He agreed with Jacobs – they had to hold those laser buoys to hit the heav
y enemy ships when they were transiting, and he was willing to risk Jacobs’ fleet to do it. He wasn’t sure he’d have ordered Jacobs to do it, but the erstwhile admiral had asked for the go ahead. Compton didn’t like it, but he’d given the OK anyway. If Jacob’s laser buoys could target the enemy heavy units rather than the Gremlins, it would make a big difference in the battle. The main enemy line would have damage before the battle lines even exchanged fire. Those first shots could be enormously important.
His eyes had been watching the chronometer count down…5 seconds…4, 3, 2, 1. Now he felt the massive gee forces slamming into him, and he struggled to force breath into his lungs. He felt partial relief almost immediately, as his system increased the air pressure in his helmet, adjusting to partially offset the acceleration. He was trying to stay focused, but he knew his mind would begin to wander and the line between fantasy and reality would blur. Once again, he thought before lucidity retreated…once more into battle.
“All units, maximum deceleration now.” Bogdan was in his acceleration couch, held firmly in place. The verbal order to the squadrons was more for the benefit of his crews – and himself – than any real need. With everyone buttoned up in the couches, the AIs were flying the bombers…and the machines already knew what they were doing.
Bogdan’s craft had accelerated full more than halfway to their projected attack point; now they were reducing their speed, allowing the missile volley from Jacobs’ fleet to pass them. If all went according to plan, they’d ride in on the coattails of the missiles, avoiding most of the enemy defensive fire.
