by Kal Spriggs
Vicky fought to think through the exhaustion that clouded her mind. "What's the status of Commander Drien's corvette squadron?" If she remembered correctly, his patrol had six Endurance-class corvettes...
"All six ships are at full capacity, Skipper. They're out near Valence Mining Station."
Vicky frowned; she pulled up her map and let the computer display it on her helmet visor. "Why the hell are they all the way out there?" She shook her head, "Patch me through to Commander Drien."
His squadron should have sixty warp drive missiles between all of his ships, she thought, they can't volley fire it like we did, but sustained fire from them at close range will at least be a threat those Dalite bastards will have to counter.
The familiar face appeared on her bridge screen. The image and sound showed distortion from the encryption that should prevent enemy interception. "Commodore Armstrong. Glad to see you and your ship made it."
A number of responses flickered through her mind, she chose to focus on the task at hand, rather than question the corvette's presence in the only part of the system to avoid serious battle.
"Their attack here at Secundis Station was a feint, Commander." Her eyes searched his face for any response at her words. "We repelled their force here, but their main push was at home. We'll need to work together to take down those pair of cruisers they've got in orbit."
Toshi Drien frowned. She felt some of the tension in her shoulders ease as he obviously took his time to formulate a response. A moment before he looked to speak the screen blanked. A second later, the face of Councilor Michelle Ried appeared. "To all Centurian ships and to our Dalite... guests. We wish to begin negotiations on a cease fire and negotiated surrender—”
Vicky smashed the cut-off button on her control panel. "Push through that garbage and get me a connection with Commander Drien again."
She waited, and a moment later her brown eyes met Toshi Drien's green eyes. "All right, Commander, this is what we'll do. Your corvettes will make use of their stealth systems and move in close, hit them hard and we'll come in—”
"Excuse me," Drien said. "But we've just received orders from Councilor Ried to stand down."
Victoria scowled, "Councilor Reid is not in our chain of command. Until and unless General Graves or President Smith order us to cease military actions, we will continue to fight."
"I'm afraid, Commander Armstrong that Councilor Ried speaks for the Council. She's the voice of the Government." Toshi Drien might have shown the slightest bit of smugness as he finished. "And short of hearing any orders to the contrary I must cease all military actions."
Vicky cut the bridge screen on her controls, and pulled up a privacy screen. "Toshi, listen to me, we can't let our differences let these bastards bring us down. We have a chance at victory here. They haven't ceased fire on Century Station. The President hasn't given them an answer to this ultimatum. You and I know this is just those gutless wonders on the Council trying to make a play to save themselves—”
"And this is just a desperate play by you to be some kind of hero," Toshi Drien's voice was cold. "Well my crews and I will not be fodder for some risky all or nothing gamble, do you hear me? I haven't missed that your ships have FTL warp coils and mine don't, or that you'd send us in first to take the brunt of the damage. You can go to hell and take your plan with you."
The image cut, and Victoria Armstrong couldn't tell who'd cut it after his words. Brett was right about that bastard, he didn't get less selfish… he just learned from his old man how to hide it better. She dropped the privacy screen. "Bobby, is there anyone else on the net?"
"No, Skipper, they pasted any reservists who launched before they could get out of atmosphere, coming in as they did. We've got some merchant ships heading out-system as fast as they can and a couple missionary ships that came in just after Councilor Ried's transmission."
Vicky scowled at the plot. Her three Halo-class destroyers were designed to fight bigger ships. Their drive fields were as tough as most light cruisers, and they mounted heavy lasers that could knock out the fields on smaller ships. But her destroyers would have to drop their drive fields to fire, which meant they couldn't maneuver or change vector. The destroyers were smaller and less armored than the two cruisers as well. She'd already fired the missile tubes dry against the earlier attack.
She could lead her destroyers in alone... but any victory would be one of mutually assured destruction.
"Bobby, message Comet and Meteor, form on me and prepare to attack." She had no doubt those orders would be followed. Not with Brett at the con of the Comet, and since the skipper of the Meteor had stood as his best man at their wedding...
"Ma'am, I'm picking up a transmission from those two missionary ships," Johanson said.
A moment later a grey haired merchant captain appeared on screen. "Commander, I'm Captain Champion of the Kirtland, I wanted to volunteer the services of my ship and crew, and that of Nauvoo."
Victoria swallowed a curt dismissal and frowned. The missionaries did have weapons. Still, taking two of their ships against a pair of cruisers... "Captain Champion, is your crew aware of what we'll be up against?"
"Yes, Commander. We've got a few aboard with reserve commissions. It won't be an easy fight, but we might be enough to tip the balance."
Vicky felt something wrench inside her. She hesitated, seeing in her mind the cost that those brave men and women would pay for taking civilian ships into combat. Her eyes went to her plot and the three blinking icons of Commander Drien.
"Captain Champion, I would be honored to have your ships join mine. Ensign Johanson will tie their communications into our net."
As his image disappeared from the screen, she saw again the look on Toshi Drien's face as he declined to uphold honor and duty. She would never forget, not as long as she lived, the cost in lives of his cowardice.
***
Admiral Haddar Karmazin leaned over the flag sensor display and pursed his lips. “No changes to the positions of these vessels?” Haddar asked as he highlighted the warships in question. The three surviving Halo-class destroyers and the single surviving squadron of Endurance-class corvettes remained in their post-battle positions, unlike the mass of civilian vessels that seemed to scatter like Wala beetles caught in the light of day.
Captain Heshan shook his head, “No, Admiral Karmazin, no changes, although our sensor data on them is several minutes old.”
It was a mild statement, but a none-too-subtle rebuke even so. Captain Heshan's father and brother had been aboard the destroyer Rasmaza which along with its consorts would have served as long-range scouts. Instead, the entire squadron had perished on Haddar's orders. Necessary costs, he thought, which the younger man could use a reminder about.
“Very well, Captain. Have you identified further military targets for preliminary occupation?” He saw the younger officer flush at his own rebuke. Haddar knew well enough that the officer felt his position was beneath him... which meant he didn't understand enough to rise above his current rank. Sensor data was essential to fight effectively and while young Captain Heshan might come from the best warrior blood of their world, he wasn't fit to command anything if he couldn't realize that.
The inactivity of those surviving vessels should have brought Haddar satisfaction. In fact, as the commanding officer of the operation to seize the Century system, in theory, he should feel the most confident about the success of the mission.
However, with the intensive research he had conducted, he felt anything but certain as he studied the positions of forces throughout the star system. When High Admiral Mike Cosyn had ordered him to initially perform the analysis on the attack on Century, Haddar had viewed it as somewhat laughable. Taking Fresca, the nearest neighbor to the Dalite system was seen as both strategically and economically essential. Century was considered a distant backwater, even to the Dalite Confederacy.
Certainly, the colonists of Century had helped Dalite and Fresca to hold off a series of raids
and minor invasions by the Culmor Empire, but that was decades earlier. The active forces for Century consisted of two aged cruisers and a handful of lighter units. At first glance, it would be easy enough for even the meager resources of his star nation to sweep those aside and add the system to Dalite's growing economic and military hegemony.
His opinions on the matter had changed as he did more research. The light active duty forces operated by Century were just the tip of the comet, with the tail being a massive reserve element, complete with a huge element of ground and space forces designed around short duration local defense actions.
The people of Century had endured multiple Culmor Sweeps, and while their system had never been on the front lines of a major invasion, they had survived multiple serious attacks and engagements which had both scarred their cities and instilled iron will into their cores. His own system was settled by evacuees from the Sepaso Sector men and women who had fled the constant threat of extinction for a safer place... and here on the Periphery they had eked out a survival and some measure of success. Century's hardy people had not simply endured, they had thrived.
Their dry, dusty world had little of the natural resources or mineral resources that both the Dalite and Fresca systems held. It was arid, with only two small, shallow seas and two thin belts of green near the poles. Few people would think the planet worth fighting for... yet as he reviewed the histories, it became clearer and clearer that the people of Century had a different opinion.
In 139 GD Century had nearly been exterminated, caught by a splinter task force of the alien Culmor during the War of Succession. Even thinking back to what he had read, he blanched as he thought of the casualties suffered by Century's nascent planetary militia and civilians. Tens of millions had died to defend the arid, parched world. When the Culmor had finally withdrawn, the system infrastructure and economy were in such a state of collapse that Guard Fleet had sent an evacuation fleet. The colonists, however, had refused to leave the world that sheltered the bones of their family and friends.
In 188 GD, during the Culmor Second Sweep, the Century's Planetary Militia had joined forces with his own nation and forces from the Fresca system to intercept and destroy a Culmor scouting force and prevent the aliens from expanding further into the Periphery. Their contribution, three elderly cruisers and a squadron of destroyers, was seen as minor by his own people. However, when Haddar reviewed the actual combat footage, he quickly realized that the Ministry of Propaganda had downplayed their contribution in order to increase the perception that Dalite had led the defense and saved this region of the Periphery for Humanity.
The nine ships from the Century Planetary Militia had performed far better than the equivalent tonnage of his own nation's vessels despite having, even then, obsolescent equipment. Dalite had utilized grants to receive decommissioned Guard Fleet ships, weapons, and equipment, much of it decades newer... yet their mission readiness and overall combat effectiveness had been far lower.
Even though Century's warships were sixty or even seventy standard years older than Dalite's equivalents, the best intelligence that Haddar had seen suggested that they were better maintained and that their crews had both better training and morale. While it was a crime, on Dalite, to be critical of High Command, it was hardly a secret that service in the Dalite Confederacy Fleet was seen as a duty best left to others... unless, of course, one came from the warrior castes.
Those elite units were entirely made up of volunteers and had the best, newest equipment. They most often served as either shock troops or fighter pilots for his nation's offensive elements. Haddar considered himself lucky to be among their number, for it had led to his rapid promotion, whereas where he born of a different caste, he might never have risen above Captain, no matter how skilled or proficient he became.
Century's Planetary Militia was entirely made up of volunteers. Worse, they had elite elements above and beyond that. It was a complex system of reserve, activated reserve, and active units of both ground and space forces. Their older vessels and most of their fighter elements were all reserve based, which should have meant they were poorly trained, poorly maintained, and easy fodder for his own task force.
Yet all indications were that they were highly motivated, well trained, and that their ships, while old, were well maintained. They had a full squadron of six of the relatively modern Halo-class destroyers and still maintained two of the older Warhorse-class light cruisers as part of their 'activated' reserve.
Their active component, which also acted as their policing and security forces for the system, was made up of three squadrons of Endurance-class corvettes, which while they had shallow warp drives and therefore less overall relative velocity and survivability, they had a very respectable firepower to balance that out. Those corvettes, if they made it to an engagement, could devastate anything they survived to engage.
Worse, were the modern ships that they did have. Small in number, to be certain, yet the planetary militia of Century utilized a tactic that many star nations on the Periphery followed. They had a small, 'reservist' element of ships that worked from Hanet as a mercenary company. This provided them with a constant flow of combat experienced personnel that they then could rotate back through their other units.
Thankfully, all intelligence suggested the ten vessels of that force were deployed at the far end of the Harlequin Sector in a trade war between two megacorps from the Parisian Sector. By the time they even heard of the fight, the system would have fallen, leaving them the options to go rogue and attack the system, to remain as mercenaries and become their own employers, or to peaceably surrender to the Dalite Confederacy. Regardless of their choice, he thought, by the time they make it, I will be back home and it will be someone else's problem.
Haddar hadn't been convinced that an attack on Century was even possible. He had raised his concerns to High Admiral Cosyn. When the High Admiral had rebuked him for his cowardice, he had taken them directly to High Command along with a caution that the only measure of success he foresaw lay in a plan that the High Admiral had vetoed.
His insight had not gone entirely ignored. Certainly his family connections were enough that High Command actually reviewed his report rather than having him executed for cowardice and treason as High Admiral Cosyn had demanded. It had not, however, prevented the orders that he feared.
The attack plan was the best he could come up with. A 'pirate' raid in the outer system to draw the active fighters and the single, aging escort carrier in a pursuit had almost certainly cost him the frigates positioned in the ambush, but with the carrier neutralized, its fighter squadrons would be useless several light years away where their carrier would have met its end.
A feint at the Valence Mining Station to draw away some of the mobile forces, a light push at Secundis Station deeper in-system to lure away some of the heavier combatants, and then an all-out push to secure Century's orbitals before the enemy could mobilize their massive reserves and get their vast quantity of fighters, bombers, and older, inactive destroyers and corvettes off the ground and into orbit. The entire campaign looked to last only three days, from when his frigates had first entered the system to when the last of the orbital defenders had fallen.
Even with that battle plan, the two aging cruisers in orbit had very nearly held his own forces off long enough. As it was, only the sacrifice of his own destroyer screen had prevented the cruisers from holding out long enough. He felt his eyes prick with tears as he thought of the bravery of those ships’ officers and crews as they had kept their own warp drives down in order to pour fire into the enemy cruisers. That sustained fire had left them open to return fire, for no destroyer had enough power to operate their warp drives and weapons for any continuous period of time.
Yet their sacrifice had brought control of Century Colony's orbitals to his surviving cruisers. The Confederacy and his own flagship, the Admiral Norwar held the high ground. The enemy ships couldn't break atmosphere before his own ships, positioned o
n opposite sides of the planet, could pick them off. No vessel could safely engage warp drive within the atmosphere, so the grounded reservist ships were vulnerable.
The threat of bombardment ensured that they wouldn't try a massed assault. Haddar didn't want to have to follow through, but if they were too stubborn to surrender, he would have no choice. His cruisers couldn't maintain their positions indefinitely and they would have to drop their drives, however temporarily, to land troops.
Follow on troopships could secure the planet, but he had to secure their senior government and military officials and their families as hostages. That would, he hoped, end the conflict. He dreaded any occupation, for it was almost certain that the populace wouldn't be disarmed easily. Almost certainly some elements of the military would disappear into the general population and form resistance cells. That task, however, would fall to conscripts and not to his own caste, so while he could empathize with their plight, he would rather they do the bleeding than his own people.
“Sir,” Captain Heshan said, “incoming FTL warp on our sensors!”
His voice held both excitement and surprise. The news brought only dread to Haddar, though. The enemy didn't have to defeat both of his ships to win this fight, merely to force one of his two ships out of position so that reinforcements could turn the tide.
“Contact,” Captain Heshan said. “Two vessels, military drives, preliminary estimate is light cruisers of unidentified class...” A moment later, “Additional contacts, the Halo-class destroyers are in position and firing!”
Impossible, Haddar thought, they don't have any more cruisers, we've destroyed both of them. Yet he didn't hesitate, “Orders to the Confederacy, target priority is the cruisers and then the destroyers.”
