by PP Corcoran
Icons like a sprinkling of stars appeared across the surface of the inner defense zone. Each icon represented a ship and Analisa reflected how few they were.
“Each BatFor has been allocated specific fields of fire in order that we don’t waste ammunition by firing more than is required to kill a target.”
“How are our ammunition states?” queried Analisa.
“The ships are virtually filled to the hatches with as many HVMs and anti-missile missiles as we could scrounge up. If the enemy continues to operate his dampening field then our GD missiles will be useless. This, for us, will be a completely defensive battle.”
“Agreed. Our priority is holding until Third Fleet can arrive and even the odds.”
“My biggest worry is that I have no way of knowing whether the enemy will stick to their current approach vector. Any change of direction by them will mean some tricky maneuvering by our own ships to get them into a good defensive position.”
Analisa felt herself gnawing at her lower lip. “I understand your concern there, Patrick but there’s nothing we can do about that just now. The lack of coverage around the lunar colonies still bothers me though.”
Patrick was well aware of how thin the defense fire was around the colonies. “Unfortunately I have found myself in a position of having to rob Peter to pay Paul. The only way I can increase the firepower of the lunar defenses is to take it from the defenses that I need to protect Earth. And to be completely coldhearted about it, the logical conclusion is to protect the many and do what I can for the few.”
Analisa knew that Patrick had spent hours agonizing over the deployments of his assets and how best to employ them. He wouldn’t have come to Analisa with this plan if it wasn’t the one best suited to her orders.
“Having reviewed your deployments, I wholeheartedly concur with them.”
A look of relief washed over Patrick’s face. He also realized that by approving the plan he had conceived, Analisa was accepting responsibility if it failed.
“So what have we got left to cover?”
Patrick worked his PAD for a few moments before looking up. “Mostly informational stuff coming from Central Command. The Ground Forces have been forced to deploy units to all the major spaceports. Apparently anyone who has access to a ship that can make orbit is trying to get off the planet. Several high profile businessmen and politicians have been arrested in their attempts to leave.”
A nasal harrumph escaped Analisa. “Don’t these people understand that even if they get off the planet, the gravity drives aren’t functioning anywhere in the system? The Others’ smaller ships have the speed to hunt them down and blow them out of space. They’d be better off finding themselves a nice deep mine to hide in till this is all over one way or the other.” Seeing that Patrick hadn’t finished, Analisa gestured for him to continue.
“Last but not least. The Benii carrier has remained in orbit despite repeated warnings from the Department of Defense, the State Department, and even a personal call from the president’s office that the space surrounding the Earth may very well soon become a war zone.”
Analisa cocked an eyebrow at this. “Are the recovery tugs still attached to the carrier?”
“Yes, ma’am. According to my information, the president has ordered the tug captains to comply with any instructions they receive from the Benii commander. And that includes breaking orbit and heading for a clear area of space not affected by the dampening field to engage their gravity drives and allow the Benii to return home.”
How curious, thought Analisa. Maybe they would make a run for it at the last minute to allow their sensors to get the best possible read on the Others’ weapons systems. Analisa spared the ancient mariners clock on the wall of her cabin a quick glance. “OK, Patrick, inform the captains that I want an enforced rest period for all watches as of now. Bring the fleet to battle stations at zero seven hundred hours.”
Patrick stood to leave with an “aye-aye, ma’am.” Analisa stopped him with a raised hand.
“That rest period applies to you too. I need you on top of your game tomorrow.”
“Understood, Admiral.”
The door slid shut behind him and Analisa caught herself fiddling with the small gold cross around her neck as she reflected on the deployment plan for a final time. I may not be the most devout believer, but if you’re going to intercede then sometime soon would be good.
#
FLAG BRIDGE – TDF THE IRON CHANCELLOR –
6.5 HOURS FROM EARTH ORBIT – SOL SYSTEM
The mood amongst Third Fleet was just as dismal as that of the ships around Earth. John Radford sat in his command chair and reviewed his tactical plot for what seemed like the thousandth time in the past hour. In the plot the distance between the oncoming Others and the line of defense established by Fifth Fleet and whatever ships Analisa Chavez had managed to cobble together was narrowing by the second. The countdown in the top right hand corner of the holo cube showed that the enemy would be in weapons range of the moon in twenty-six minutes and no matter how hard John had forced his ships he had still only managed to close the gap to the enemy fleet to six and a half hours. And no matter how many times he reviewed the numbers, Chavez would be hard-pressed to hold long enough for John to come to her aid. However much good that would do anyway. Even with the added numbers of Third Fleet, the combined Commonwealth forces would still be outnumbered something like two to one in heavy units and nearly three to one in lighter units. Certainly the fixed defenses of the orbital platforms would massively increase Chavez’s firepower, but if the enemy played smart they would sit off at a safe distance and bombard the platforms until they had managed to degrade them to a level where it would be safe to enter their engagement range without suffering significant casualties. If they did that, Fifth Fleet simply didn’t have the firepower to hold them up for long. It would be a slaughter. John’s fist hammered down on the arm of his chair in frustration and heads on the flag bridge turned to look in his direction. They all shared his frustration because no matter how hard they pushed the engines, by the time Third Fleet managed to reach Earth’s orbit, the Others would have reduced the planet to a radioactive wasteland.
#
FLAG BRIDGE TDF RESOLUTION – OUTER MARKER – SOL SYSTEM
After what seemed like the longest five days in his life, Ai Jing and First Fleet eventually arrived at the Sol system’s outer marker. The courier drones launched by Survey Command had been waiting for them at the third way point and they had borne the news that Ai had prayed he wasn’t going to hear. The Others were in the home system and their target was Earth.
First Fleet had already faced the Others in combat as the battered remnants of what had once been the pride of the TDF was witness to. Ai had known that time was his most important factor so his tactics had been simple and brutal. With the brute force of a heavyweight boxer, he had taken the enemy fleet at the run. Using his most powerful battleships to punch a hole through the center of their battle line he had mercilessly raked their ships with missile and grazer fire until there was nothing left of them but floating pieces of shattered wreckage. Ai had lost one Bismarck, eight Nemesis class battleships along with seventeen heavy cruisers, twenty light cruisers and twelve destroyers in his battle to get past the Others’ fleet.
Another Nemesis had succumbed to an engineering failure during the final fold to earth space and its chief engineer was desperately trying to repair the damage so the ship could continue on to Earth but it didn’t look good. The remainder of First Fleet’s units filled the tactical display as Ai orientated the fleet for the final push toward Earth.
A new icon sprang into life in the display, quickly followed by three more. The computer highlighted them in the blinking yellow of unknown types. It appeared that the sensors were having difficulty getting a solid lock on the four ships as it took the computer a few seconds longer than usual before the icons changed to the solid blue of friendly units. The computer identified the lead ship
as the TDF Horizon. Ai brought up the Horizon’s details on his display and when he read them, his brow creased in bewilderment. According to the computer, Horizon was an older generation Talos cruiser that had been decommissioned. Ai was just about to instruct his comms officer to hail the unidentified ships when he was preempted.
“Admiral, we’re being hailed by Admiral Glandinning. He’s transmitting a set of fold coordinates and requesting that we follow him there after a five minute lead.”
Glandinning! What was the CO of SurvFlot Three doing aboard a decommissioned Talos cruiser instead of on the flag bridge of his own ship? Ai began to get that itch at the back of his neck that told him that something odd was afoot. “Navigation. Plot those coordinates onto my repeater.”
In the holo cube, a blinking diamond appeared as the nav officer entered Glandinning’s coordinates. Ai sat back and his hands automatically settled into their steepled pose as he processed the meaning of the blinking diamond. The point was on the opposite side of Earth’s orbit from the approaching enemy fleet.
“Comms. Put Admiral Glandinning onto my private link, please.”
The youthful face of Gavin Glandinning appeared in the holo cube at the side of Ai’s chair.
“Admiral Glandinning, perhaps you could enlighten me as to firstly why you are aboard a ship which my records show to be decommissioned, accompanied by three other ships which are similarly listed. And secondly how you expect me to follow you to coordinates which are clearly within the area covered by the Others’ dampening field?”
Gavin looked back out of the holo cube at him like a contrite schoolboy. “Well you see, sir, I was aware of certain facts that the other fleet commanders and you may not be aware of…”
It took a physical effort for Ai to control his growing anger at the young admiral. An anger that Glandinning obviously could see, as he hurriedly explained further.
“Before being assigned to SurvFlot Three, I was attached to a research and development base which specialized in drive and weaponry development. I was aware that the director of the base, Doctor Moore and his team, had been using these old cruisers as test beds and one of the things they had been trialing was a Variable Gravity Drive…”
“Get to the point, Admiral, my patience is wearing thin,” growled Ai.
In the holo cube, the head of Jeff Moore appeared alongside Gavin’s. “The Variable Gravity Drive works on a different frequency to that of the standard Commonwealth drive and I believe it will not be affected by the dampening field so these cruisers can fold to any point within Earth space.”
Jeff’s statement cut off any protest that Ai was about to come up with. Instead he felt himself leaning forward in his seat, staring intently into the pick-up. “But how does four old cruisers’ ability to fold into Earth space help me?”
The grinning face of Gavin answered him. “These four old cruisers have more than one trick up their sleeves, sir. I intend to fold into Earth’s space and clear an area big enough for the whole of First Fleet to fold into.”
AI looked long and hard into the eyes of the younger admiral and his stare was met with the utmost confidence. “Very well, Admiral Glandinning. You lead and I shall follow. First Fleet will fold in five minutes to your designated coordinates. Jing clear.” Ai broke the link and spun to face his comms officer. “Transmit the coordinates to the fleet and tell them to be prepared to fold on my order.” The seed of an idea began to germinate in the senior admiral’s brain and he leaned back in his seat, his brain blocking out the rush of shouted orders as his bridge crew prepared for the fold. If he came out of fold space at Glandinning’s coordinates, the Earth’s shadow would hide his ships from any chance of enemy detection. If he timed it just right, the Others would be engaged with Chavez and the fixed orbital platforms, allowing him to swing around and come at them from the flanks, relieving the pressure on Chavez. Would it be enough to allow the combined First and Fifth Fleets to hold until Radford arrived and evened the odds up? Ai ran the numbers in his head but he knew that no matter what, he had no choice in the matter. Chavez couldn’t be expected to hold without immediate reinforcements and Radford simply couldn’t make it in time. What other choice did he have but to go along with Glandinning’s plan?
As the comms officer bent to his task, Ai recited a silent prayer that Glandinning knew what he was doing, because if he didn’t, he had just condemned every sailor of First Fleet to death.
#
EARTH SPACE – SOL SYSTEM
“Vampire! Vampire! Multiple enemy launches. Computer is having difficulty getting a good count through the enemy’s electronic counter measures but best estimate is 900 plus birds. Looks like the orbital platforms are the initial target as you expected, ma’am.”
No great surprise there, thought Analisa. If they lost the support of the platforms, then the ships under her command would be easy pickings for the enemy fleet. Analisa gave herself a shake to shed the melancholy.
“Tactical. Bring up our own ECM and let’s see if we can get at least a few of their birds to loose lock. How long until his ships enter the missile envelope of the platforms?”
The officer at tactical tapped a few keys and a faint broken line appeared in Analisa’s tactical display. “At his current closing rate, the lead ships should cross into range in three minutes. His first flight of missiles will reach the platforms on or about the same time.”
In her display, the tsunami wave of approaching missiles began to crystallize into individual points as her ECM fought with that of the enemy and began to burn through the electronic fog.
“Comms. Fleet signal. Weapons remain tight, let Command Central fight the platforms.”
“Vampire! Vampire! Second launch detected. Looks like similar numbers to their first launch. Computer is calling us the target this time.”
Well, here we go. Let’s just hope that our preparations were good enough. “OK, let’s go with Fire Plan Charlie. Weapons free fleet wide.” Analisa tightened the straps of her seat and gave her helmet in its rack mounted on the side of the chair a gentle, reassuring pat. Hopefully I won’t need you.
Patrick Malloy called from his position hovering over the tactical officer. “Enemy ships now within range of the platforms. Central are engaging enemy units with the Viper grazers and using HVMs to counter his missiles.”
“Third missile launch detected. Looks like the platforms are the target again.”
Analisa’s display filled with a third wave of enemy missiles. This one looked to not be as thick as the first two waves. After launching upward of 1800 missiles already, maybe the enemy admiral was becoming more prudent. Or perhaps he’s waiting to see the effect of his first two strikes, thought Analisa with a silent chuckle.
Moving at nearly the speed of light, the heavy 15 centimeter grazers of the orbital platforms reached out to hammer the closing enemy fleet. Even over the vast distances involved in space battles, the effect of being struck by even one of these grazers was akin to swatting a fly with a sledgehammer. Each of the Viper platforms may only be capable of firing 100 shots before its power source was exhausted, but whoever was doing the targeting in Central Command had chosen to go for the enemy’s heaviest units.
The Others’ heavy Vulture battleships were struck by not one. Not two. But three grazers. Battle armor buckled and failed as the grazers struck. The grazers penetrated through to the unprotected ships’ innards and wherever they touched steel it immediately became super-heated and expanded into plasma so rapidly that it hardly slowed the progress of the grazer. The grazer only slowed as it met the armor on the far side of the ships hulls. The effect for any ship struck was cataclysmic. Within seconds, eight Vultures had simply ceased to exist. If the Viper platforms had been human then any joy they felt at their success was soon to be squashed as the first wave of enemy missiles reached them.
Now it was time for the second type of Viper platform to come to their defense. Each grazer Viper was accompanied by two other Vipers equipped with ni
ne HVMs. These short-range missiles exploded from their boxes as soon as they detected an enemy missile entering their threat envelope. Unfortunately, no one had ever planned on an enemy who was able to fire so many missiles in a single wave. The defensive HVMs raced outward to meet the threat. Their on-board guidance systems fought to burn through the ECM of their oncoming foes. But in the end it came down to simple numbers. The HVMs were simply swamped by the number of incoming missiles and some got through too close with the grazer Vipers. Computers on board these platforms identified the threat and laser close in defense clusters moved immediately to rapid fire. More enemy missiles were blotted from space, but still they came. Nuclear kiloton warheads exploded and ripped jagged holes in the intricately planned defense zones. On board Furious, Analisa was the first to see the holes appear, but before she could pass any orders, Patrick Malloy had the Garundan Bassa-guided missile destroyers moving to fill the gaps. Patrick turned to face her as if he had felt her eyes upon him and gave her a toothy grin and a quick thumbs up. That was when the second wave hit.
The ships of Fifth Fleet rocked as missile after missile exploded. Discharging pinpoint X-ray lasers which penetrated even the thickest of battle armor. A ship could survive such a single strike as long as it didn’t hit anything vital. The missile wave that fell upon Fifth Fleet carried some 300 of these warheads and the effect was nothing short of catastrophic. The Nemesis class battleships Granger and the Yangtze were gone in the blink of an eye. The cruisers Leander, Sphinx, and Hermes suffered more hits than they had the right to survive but although severely damaged, they held their place in formation.
The remainder of the enemy missiles had been a mix of conventional nuclear warheads and ECM missiles. Furious rocked as she was battered by wave after wave of close in detonations but her armor held. Analisa spared a moment to look around the bridge and her eyes fell upon the crumpled form of Patrick Malloy lying against the far bulkhead. His face was pale and blood was pouring from his nose, but to Analisa’s great relief his chest was still rising and falling in a slow steady rhythm. Analisa cursed herself for not taking the few seconds it would have taken to order him into a seat and strap himself in. Instead her thumb squashed down on her comms link. “Corpsman to the flag bridge.”
