Free Fleet Box Set 2

Home > Other > Free Fleet Box Set 2 > Page 60
Free Fleet Box Set 2 Page 60

by Michael Chatfield


  “Okay so the primary reason that lasers suck is because it takes a lot of energy to make a laser beam that's even kind of effective. We're now able to produce a laser beam that hits with five hundred gigawatts of energy. We've already made plating that is able to stand up to nuclear bombs blowing up next to them for acceleration. Now we use that combined technology with bigger bombs, better focusing equipment than the remote mines and missiles, and we have ourselves a damned effective laser built into a ship,” Felix said.

  “So we're going to blow up bombs, inside our own ships! Then we focus it, hopefully and turn it on the enemy! Great, what's your next idea going to be!?” Silly slumped back in his seat.

  Nothing is impossible, it just hasn't been done by someone smart enough or dumb enough. Wait he was talking about bombers!

  “The bombers got the go ahead?” Silly asked.

  “Well naturally,” Felix said.

  “Is the war station getting them?”

  “I've just finished sending the training information out, I've sent plans to the small ship builders. I am currently prepping for the Elshurvum so I can't help with production, though you've got what, two small craft factories in Sol now?”

  “That is correct, with five in total across the corridor,” LaRe said.

  “Then it might be time to change some of those factories over to bomber production, maybe one or two to creating ship sub-systems. I think it's about time we started making our fleet,” Felix said.

  “It does make sense, the factories we have been building out in your area, have now reached the stage where it is not unfeasible to do so. Super Carriers would be the most economical, making smaller classed ships wouldn't make sense with the facilities available,” LaRe said.

  “More economical to build something massive than something small,” Silly recited as he'd heard it a number of times from LaRe and Felix. Personally he thought that they just wanted to make a massive damned ship, something that he argued against, even as he agreed. With ships, bigger was better and way cooler, though someone had to play devil’s advocate.

  “Okay, then I guess we're going to have to sacrifice your second dock,” Silly said to Felix.

  “It will be a great loss, but I think well worth it.” Felix was tapping his desk in excitement, he'd clearly already anticipated building this behemoth.

  “I was wondering why you were so darned set on making it so big,” Silly grumbled.

  “Well I really do want a Super Carrier,” Felix shrugged.

  “If you begin production it will take eighteen months to complete. With the assistance of the corridor we can produce it in twelve,” LaRe said.

  “So it comes to a question of letting people know that we have a secret research and development station here, or saving our time and having the carrier appear in some other system,” Silly said.

  “We do it, that ship can save lives. LaRe you didn't include that pulling the tech we need from Elshurvum will save us another two weeks,” Felix said. “Now I wonder if anyone has ever so totally turned a weapon against those that sought to wield it on them.”

  “Or made something as damned crazy and ambitious as this,” Silly said.

  “We have also come to the problem that we will now be able to make ships that are of a higher quality than the ones we are upgrading. What will we do with those?” LaRe asked.

  There was still a hundred and twenty-nine ships around Lady Fairgate's home world. The people there were working on the freighter as fast as possible. They didn't want any help from anyone else. They wanted to be independent merchants, accepting help from anothr group would make them feel like they owed them. Aliens, honor systems, headaches.

  “Well the merchant fleet needs a big influx of ships, we're getting bogged down with moving parts, people, and actual commerce,” Silly said.

  “We could sell off their de-militarized hulls to the Kuruvians,” Felix said.

  “Yet we could be giving them something to hit us with when this war is over,” LaRe said.

  “Thinking ahead are we?” Silly said.

  “Looking out for the interests of myself and by extension, the fleet,” LaRe said.

  “We could strip them, pull the engines, the generators, shields life support and such, sell off the parts, or use them, then melt down the hulls,” Silly thought aloud.

  “Might be of use to actually keep a lot of those parts,” Felix said.

  “Ship engines are not that easy to build, and are easily upgraded to our standards,” LaRe added.

  “Alright well whatever we don't want, we sell off. We will still need some hulls. Plus we're going to need to build up our component factories,” Silly said, tapping the desk he sat at.

  “We could pull engineers from the yards and those that have been building the small craft factories,” LaRe said, a roster appearing in front of Felix and Silly.

  “Well now we just have to see how we can get your damned ideas to work,” Silly said, looking to Felix.

  “Shall we then?” Felix said, standing, his camera panning and following as he walked to a whiteboard.

  “Little eager?” Silly asked, his manipulators moving in exasperation.

  “To coin a human term, it is good to strike when the iron is hot,” LaRe said.

  “You too! Surrounded by a bunch of prototyping, sidestepping maniacs!” Silly tried to sound defeated, but he couldn't hide the glimmer of excitement that pervaded his voice.

  “Well I'd best help you out, else you might forget to put in secondary working systems instead of all prototypes!” He said, standing.

  “Well we're going to build a prototype of course, a smaller one, remote controlled of course,” Felix tried to make it sound as if it had been his plan all along.

  “Of course,” Silly said, making it clear that he knew Felix had added that at the last moment.

  ***

  Min Hae looked at the information coming back from the passive sensors. The sensors were getting readings weeks and days old. It would take twice that for the Kalu to pick up the same readings.

  “Get me Ashota,” he said, his anger clear. Bregend looked to Kyle, giving him a look as the comms officer spoke to the brig security.

  Thankfully Bregend’s Battle Cruiser wasn't big as Ashota was pulled into the bridge, Min Hae's eyes blazing with fury. Something that spoke tones of what they were seeing. Min Hae had long ago mastered controlling his features.

  “This is not what you told us,” Min Hae said, Ashota looked to the board. Min Hae saw the shock travel through him as his eyes flickered across the map.

  “Orshpa is going to start a revolution,” he said. “My spies always had issues with getting in to Orshpa's controlled systems. I haven't had contact with them since I left Kalu controlled space in search of the Union and information. We must go to the planet of the peaceful,” he looked to Min Hae. “Orshpa always knew that I and Edvasho tricked him into losing his fight. Orshpa was too strong, though now it seems that he was not such a brute. This is one of his minor systems. If he is producing this many Star Warriors and Destroyer's then he has probably created another fleet as big as his current, if not bigger.”

  “You said that this was just a training planet. Instead it's a full blow war mongering system. There are Kalu on two planets and three moons, there are fifteen yards at work and four hundred ships orbiting the inhabited planets,” Min Hae said, more than anger, fear fueled him. This was way more than he thought the Kalu were possible of mobilizing and building.

  “Yes, and the worst thing isn't the numbers or the ships, its Orshpa. If he declares a fight with Edvasho after the battle of Rosho, or Edvasho falls in battle. Orshpa will command all of the Kalu. Orshpa is not a traditional Kalu,” Ashota's warning tone made Min Hae's eyes thin.

  “Explain,” Min Hae said, everyone riveted on Ashota.

  “Orshpa didn't attack one planet and then work to the next and the next and so on. He would hit the first target, get the enemy concentrated there, then he would at
tack every other system he could find. They would be weak, nothing but training grounds for the young, and birthing homes for the females. He would pull off of the original planet, the enemy Kalu would either defend their homes, or they would attack him. He trained his women to fight, it doubled his effective forces and meant that if the Kalu counter-attacked they were met with Warriors, if they tried to clear their homes they met Warriors. Orshpa would then land the force he attacked the first planet on whatever planet had the biggest concentration of enemy Warriors, clear it, then move to the next. He would continue to do so until he cleared all of the enemy Kalu,” Ashota looked into Min Hae's eyes, a sign of defiance or a sign of complete trust based on the Kalu culture.

  “If I wanted to decimate the Union then I would have picked Orshpa. I wanted to weaken the Kalu in order for the peaceful to rise up and smash the remainders so I kept Edvasho and used him. Now it looks like Orshpa has defied the norms and traditions. He will make a play for power, or wait until Edvasho kills himself.”

  “What's the play commander?” Bregend asked Min Hae, his deep strong voice comforting Min Hae.

  “We meet up with the Fleet, go to the planet of the peaceful, meet up with the Jump fighter and send them back to Free Fleet space as fast as possible. I feel like the war is going to change drastically, quickly,” Min Hae said, his voice strong and authoritative. Now was not the time to sit back and hope things turned out.

  ***

  Lifendi looked away from the Syndicate Fleet. It had been decimated by the Kalu. On the second day the Kalu had turned their forces onto the fleet, it had taken four days, but they chased them down and destroyed or captured three quarters of the fleet. The ships left weren't unscathed, all had been touched by the Kalu's guns or their Warriors.

  Those that tried to flee for the jump points were set upon by the Jumpships. Only two of the Jumpships had been destroyed and there was no way to know how many of the creations were waiting.

  Between Rosho and the fleet, nearly half of the Kalu ships had been destroyed.

  Rosho's shields had recovered with the Kalu being distracted, weapon issues had been fixed and now it looked as if the battle for the station was about to begin. Kalu Fighters were chasing down the remaining forces, they didn't use explosives for their drives, but they were still faster than a corvette. They would get their prey eventually.

  Massive swarms bigger than a Star Destroyer were forming and heading for Rosho.

  “Missile launches!” Sensors said, Lifendi could already see the truth as ruby markers sped in from every angle. There were tens of thousands of missiles.

  “Tactical, cut those missiles down,” Lifendi said. The new attack was designed to take down his shields in all areas.

  The lumbering PDS lasers were able to cut down even these missiles because of their range and the sheer amount of them. Gunners targeted clusters, the space around Rosho's turning into light as tightly packed missiles set off one another. The exploding light got closer and closer until Rosho was shaking and shields were falling.

  “Second barrage launched!” Sensors yelled.

  “Tell everyone to get into powered armor, those bastards are preparing to breach us,” Lifendi said, he had been wearing his own armor for the past two days. Planning for the worst had kept him alive more than once.

  “Shields at seventy-three, sixty-seven, forty-two, we've lost a sub hub in the northern sector. Twenty-five,” Shields said in a panic.

  “Compensate and take whatever power you need, even from gunners,” Lifendi said, that shield was the only thing keeping the Kalu out.

  The missiles weren't coming in any kind of pattern now, just firing as fast as possible. Lasers ran into the shields, nuclear explosions rocked even the massive Rosho as shields fluctuated with power. Swarms fired as they got into range and rushed against the shields, their own mass, speed crashing into the shields and using their power cores to further weaken the shield.

  Cannons of every variety struck out against the Kalu forces, ships fell to them, their gunners fighting for their very lives moved between targets as quickly as possible, ships being breached and opened to vacuum. Missiles rushed towards the Kalu, causing ships to disappear in fireballs. The few remaining remote weapon platforms hammered the Kalu from the rear, or amongst their vast fleet. It looked as if gods themselves had come to battle. Forces that would have rendered a planet inhospitable raked the ships and station.

  “Shields are spotting.”

  It looks as if war has found a victor, Lifendi thought, looking over the special control that he had added to the station. He let out a grim laugh.

  “Ready our people, as soon as those shields come down the Kalu will swarm us. We will bleed them totally,” Lifendi said.

  “Yes Lord Lifendi,” Comms answered, they had started calling him that when Lady Fairgate fled.

  Not many cared what had happened to Lady Fairgate anymore.

  “Prepare Fighters, they're to target the enemy’s fighter swarms. I want them to put missiles right in the middle of those bastards. I want them to show these motherfuckers to see how the Syndicate fights dirty.” Lifendi was surprised to hear the pride in his voice. The Syndicate was underhanded, and as devious as sin. He was going to use every damned trick that he knew to break these Kalu creatures.

  “The shields are failing!”

  “Shut them down and give power to weapons, I want you working to get them back online. Launch Fighters and lock down the station,” Lifendi was surprised by the calm of his voice, the fear and knowledge that this would be his last stand fueled him. He wouldn't let these bastards get under his skin. They might take his life, but he was Lord Lifendi, the second and last leader of the Syndicate. He had been raised with the stories of the terrible Kalu, he had defeated all the demons in his life, climbing over their corpses to the top. How strange it was that his childhood monsters would be the ones to kill him.

  The next opponent always looks beatable, until you've exhausted them all. There is always a bigger opponent, and one time it might be the one you barely realize is an opponent, that will end your succession.

  Lifendi wasn't a man for philosophical thought, but at the end one thought in mysterious ways.

  “Gunner four better up that damned rate of fire or I will personally put the fear of the Kalu in them,” Lifendi didn't realize what he had said until it was out of his mouth.

  “Better yet, I will lead the Kalu right to them,” he amended, finding the whole situation rather, humorous.

  ***

  “Their shields have fallen,” a seer said.

  “Charge,” Edvasho signalled, almost conversationally, the way his body shook with anger, the state of the deck around him, belied that fact that he had rational thoughts. The war lust had filled him totally, it would not be sated until this battle was over.

  Swarms charged in, their lasers ripped into the weapons that had hammered Edvasho's fleet. The Syndicates Fighters sped out of Rosho's hangars in droves, they rained hell into the swarms.

  “Deploy all Swarms,” Edvasho said, the talker giving the order to Orshpa.

  “Orshpa asks if you think this enemy worthy of the honour,” the talker said.

  “Tell him I wish to show these creatures the worthlessness of their fight, that they might see death coming for them no matter their actions,” Edvasho, turned his head slowly, radiating barely controlled anger. The cowed talker bowed their head deeply in deference, sending the message to Orshpa.

  Orshpa didn't reply with words, Fighters spread out from their start Destroyers like clouds. They came together, swarms combining as they descended on Rosho.

  Star Warriors went silent as they powered for the station. Swarms flowed around them like water around rocks. Rosho's weapons were visible under the swirling mass of Fighters. Missiles opened gaps in the swarms momentarily.

  Star Warriors powered through the swarms.

  “Open the bow,” Edvasho said as his Star Warrior neared the surface of Rosho, face
masks clamped down and sealed as the front opened on the star Warrior, Edvasho moved to the front of the ship, his people flanking him as the station came into view. Edvasho didn't even wait for the craft to touch down before he leapt off and was running, in search of an entrance into Rosho.

  Other star Warriors disgorged their Warriors, all of them hunting for entrances. As soon as one was found the nearest charged in, the rest of the herd used grunts and smells simulated by their helmets to pass information as fast as they would on a planet.

  Warriors piled into airlocks, controls activated, sending them flying out as they pressurized and opened the exterior locks. Others rushed in to breach the second, more got thrown away from Rosho. Airlocks exploded, air and debris throwing Kalu off of Rosho. Eventually the Kalu made it through the air locks, more traps awaited from them inside. Railguns set off by sensors sent rounds the size of the hallway down towards the Kalu. Mines in the walls exploded. Compressed air was released, throwing the Kalu back, Plasma lines dumped their waste, burning through the Kalu under them.

  A sea of primes gathered around Edvasho as he ran from entrance to entrance, he built up strength in his roaming horde, searching for the weakest entry. He might be Kalu, but he wasn't going to waste his life going through one of these deadly funnels.

  This Syndicate had picked well with their walls too thick to cut through and filled with metal ores that reflected lasers. Kalu were hurting themselves more than the enemy when they fired their lasers.

  Where is Orshpa? Edvasho knew that the sub leader was a great tactician, something that he could use down on Rosho.

  His smaller limbs scrolled through information, Orshpa was still sitting on his Star Destroyer's, most of his fleet was still above Rosho, watching it.

  New fire roared through Edvasho's limbs.

  “Orshpa why do you sit above Rosho, are you fearful of the Syndicate?” Edvasho asked, knowing he had ordered that everything should attack the Syndicate, not giving them the honour of thinking them a worthy opponent, but a blight that deserved to be destroyed.

 

‹ Prev