The Star Warriors that were on patrol wouldn't see them for another twenty minutes. Three star Warriors were powering up, that Bregend could see. Talking was becoming a chore so alerts were sent from each station.
I wonder how long it will be before they start changing their tactics, Bregend thought, hoping that he would be able to have all of his targets in one vulnerable location again.
“We're within launch range,” Tactical grunted more than said.
Bregend waited, his hand on the command button that would release tethers and fire thrusters across all ships.
He waited, his ships moving faster and faster, the braking limit appeared as he touched the button. Cables flew free as thrusters pushed the asteroid shards clear of their ships.
Helm's fired forwards thrusters, cancelling all forward acceleration, and relieving some of the pressure.
The asteroids headed towards the shipyard and its ships like deadly daggers of metal and rock.
The fleet turned and used their engines to brake, their crews feeling the weight of giants lifted from their bodies as a more bearable number of gravities settled on them.
Bregend was watching the asteroids, they maintained their imparted velocity, most of them tumbling due to the thrusters.
They crashed into the yard, star Warrior's tethers broke as ships flew free. Explosions ripped at the yard as it was pulled apart, the forces of the asteroid's impact causing it to break and shudder. It was unbelievable as ships exploded, others flew free and the yard came apart like a dandelion against a strong breeze.
The three ships that had gone active were crushed, ripped apart or removed from existence by the explosive endings of their fellow craft.
“I want shuttles moving to those star Warriors closest, and were tossed free in the first impact. I have a feeling our Kalu Independents are going to need some crafts to help us out,” Bregend said, breaking the silence that had descended on the Bridge, everyone's eyes glued to the destruction they had brought onto the Kalu's ships. Decades of work had just been destroyed in a matter of seconds. Thousands of ships had been destroyed or were tumbling across space.
“The jump ships are engaging the patrol. Three ships are already down. The others are immobile,” Kyle said.
“How is the second strike-force doing?” Bregend said, while the Star Warriors were a damned pain, the Star Destroyers had showed their true effectiveness even after they had been given the wrong tactics book.
While it would be awesome to have the Independent's in control of those ships and allied with the Free Fleet.
Min Hae knew that, he was not going to let a single Star Destroyer leave that yard under Kalu traditionalist control.
Bregend didn't have the new bombers with his fleet yet, but hopefully when Boot and Whorst joined him, that would change.
They would be in Kalu space in five days, till then, Bregend was going to hit as many damned Kalu yards as he could.
While the Kalu didn't seem to have FTL communications, Bregend knew that what could go wrong, would probably do so.
Word would get out one way or another, so Bregend had made Wake-up available to everyone, they were going to need it in the coming week.
Min Hae's ships weren't covered in asteroids but Fighters and shuttles. They launched as soon as they were free of their wormhole, sending thirteen thousand Kalu and four thousand Free Fleet personnel hurtling towards the Star Destroyer yards.
In fifteen minutes they would land.
***
Jesse Simiah was technically the commander of Bregend's ship's commandos. Yet now instead of being aboard his ship, he, and three quarters of his commandos were packed onto a shuttle with three times their number of Kalu readying themselves for battle.
“Landing in five,” the pilot said.
Simiah looked over his Star map. He was also technically in charge of all the commandos that were to attack the Star Destroyer yard.
Fat chance of that, he thought, battle in space was fought by squads and platoons. Battles were usually fought with large distances between groups of soldiers. The people on the spot had to make a decision and go with it most of the time. Commanders basically told their people what their basic objectives were and maybe other information they saw, or knew. The rest was up to the commandos, which was why Jesse was damned happy that Salchar, Henry and Bok Soo had made it abundantly clear that they were not going to skimp on training. No matter the amount of Commandos they wished they could have active, they would only pass commandos, nothing more, and never anything less.
Which was why, instead of communicating to all of his sub-commanders, he left them to sort themselves out. They knew what their job was and all of them had memorized the Star Destroyers and yard layout to the deck plating.
“Coming in hot!” The shuttle pilot said with some relish, they were technically the first force to ever board a Kalu vessel.
The airlock made noises to say it was sealed before its software hammered the internal airlocks open and Commandos rushed through. Forces split, Independent's rushed out, using the curved walls to turn themselves.
The Commandos entered the hangar, Jesse looking at the row upon row of Kalu Fighters. They ran the length of the ship, rotating racks tens deep down the length of the behemoth.
“We have captured this ship, my Warriors are moving to the next ship,” the Warrior leader Fali said in Simiah's ear.
“Very well,” Simiah said, watching as the Kalu Independent's rushed out, only fifty staying to get the craft moving.
“Back to the shuttle, we're onto the next one,” he said, watching as Min Hae and his fleet fired buckling cables into the station. Rail cannons and PDS hit the thrusters and engines that kept the station from drifting. The Free Fleet ships lines took up slack as engines ramped up power, alerting the yards course and then actually shifting it, pulling it out of it’s position. The yard slowly started moving. It would take some time, but if the Free Fleet could get enough thrust on the station, they could drag it away.
Jesse was on his seventh Destroyer when he ran into a traditionalist crew. There was eighty of them getting into Fighters when Lofua, an Avarian heavy gunner, felt like saying hello with his rain cannon.
“I think they won't be earning any frequent flyer miles today,” Jesse said, Lofua gave him a very Avarian grin as he rolled his eyes-in a very commanderly way of course.
Eighty-seven Star Destroyers were underway before the first Kalu Fighters started deploying from traditionalist ships.
MEF's made short work of them.
“Take a rest,” Jesse said, his people were exhausted from jumping from ship to ship in an attempt to secure as many as possible, including the enemies weapons.
He watched the massive mainscreen, the Star Destroyer's active sensors showed what was going on outside as he drank from his water tube.
“About time they showed up,” someone grumbled.
A wormhole appeared as dozens of Kalu Independent ships emerged and headed for the yard.
Jesse shook his head, three more Destroyer's had released themselves from their mooring and were powering towards the rally point.
Strike force two had spent the last while making sure that nothing would hit the Kalu station, where millions of Traditionalists watched their war machines being turned to uselessness, their enemy out of their grasp.
The Hundred or so Star Warriors on the station were powering for Bregend's ships, lasers and missiles fired, shields flashed, and rail cannons answered. The Kalu were too close and their acceleration already too high to turn as rail gun rounds ripped them apart. Missiles were met with PDS fire, only one Corvette was hit, its shields gone as it rotated out from the front battle lines.
“I guess we just took a Kalu system,” someone said.
The Kalu on the Star Warrior yard were probably killed, those in the patrol had been ambushed by jump ships and the few ships actually attached to the station would not survive Bregend's strike force.
The Star
Destroyer station looked to be mostly taken, the resistance was minimal, and the Independents were having a field day.
“Jesus, we just stole two thousand Kalu Destroyers with less than fifty ships,” Ola said, the card shark of Bregend's ship. Jessie didn't need to see his eyes to know they were twinkling from that ship bounty.
The Free Fleet used an old system of ship capture. If a crew took a ship, then they would get a percent of the cost of the ship. While it wasn't much, a star ship was a damned expensive machine. A few star ships and someone would be set for retirement.
It was a little known fact, the wealth of an individual in the Free Fleet.
The originals had more than enough to settle anywhere they liked, rather comfortably. With the newest acquiring of Star Destroyer's, Jesse wouldn’t be surprised if that net worth was going to increase.
We just have to get them into Union space somehow, he thought, wondering just how in the hell they would be able to pull that one off.
There was also a number of Star Warriors littered through the system. It would be time consuming in the extreme to gather all the functional ones together.
Jesse wished they could have all been destroyed, or captured, but there was just too damned many of them.
Kalu Independents were swarming over the Star Destroyers, getting into the yard they were attached to, and rushing for command centres.
“This is Min Hae. I want a complete scan of that ship yard, Bregend gives us four hours until he can be within the vicinity. If we know how these stations are built, hopefully we can make our attacks even more effective. Move it Commandos, we got a lot more work to do!” Min Hae said, cutting the channel as Jessie stood.
“Sensors to max, teams of four. Quick but safe, I don't want to find out there are more Kalu hiding out the hard way,” Jessie's voice stern, making sure his point got across. “Move out people,”
This is going to be one hell of a blitzkrieg if we pull it off.
Chapter A new war-leader
Orshpa entered Heija system for the first time. It wasn't hard to spot the planet Heija the Free Fleet and Kalu orbited the red marble from opposite sides. The light display inside the atmosphere reached even his sensors at the jump limit. The battle on the planet’s surface had only got more intense.
“Relay to Xentar my status as war-leader as well as orders to destroy the Free Fleet on the surface of the planet and to join with our fleet so that we might gather all the ships of our clans and avenge Edvasho by destroying these dishonourable pests,” Orshpa said, his armor carried new scars and burns from parts of the bridge falling on him and exploding under the damned Free Fleet station's fire.
A talker started relaying the message as Orshpa nursed his rage.
We will show them what we will do to their fleets and their people, starting with this planet. Orshpa thought, containing his blood rage in the knowledge of what new found hell he would bring down on these creatures in their homes and on their planets.
He would bring the black silence of space to these creatures removing them and their race from the light.
***
Xentar rushed from cover to cover, firing his lasers as he did. His enemy was a conniving one, using traps, explosives, and bombs from above to kill his Kalu Warriors. But he had plenty of Kalu in reserve and it would be but a matter of time before he broke through their lines and brought victory in Edvasho's name.
His communications beeped as one of his talker's wanted his attention.
He didn't want to answer the talker, instead continuing to fight these Commandos. Though it would only be of the utmost importance.
“Talk,” Xentar ground out.
“Orshpa and the remains of his fleet have emerged. He has declared himself war leader and orders us to attack the Free Fleet with everything we have. They betrayed Edvasho's trust, creating dishonourable stories to be repeated to those clans that follow us,” the talker was at least smart enough to say what the hell would interrupt Xentar's fight as fast as possible.
Xentar's already blood-crazed state heightened.
“We shall make this planet their graves, rip their ships from the sky and crush them with our full might on the ground,” Xentar said, his channel open to all of the Kalu.
“We will make this planet a pyre to our war leader Edvasho!” He yelled, Kalu whose battle hormones sung with his words re-doubled their efforts as Xentar dug his claws into the ground and drove himself into a gallop. He ran faster and faster, turning the outcrop he had used as cover.
“Edvasho! Edvasho!” He roared, cries of “Xentar! Xentar!” Coming back as Kalu moved like a sea of black against the Free Fleet lines.
Xentar didn't see as every Star Destroyer with Fighters still in their hangars, released their eager Fighters, like flies from a carcass. Star Warriors fired missiles at the Free Fleet ships, some accelerating for the Free Fleet formation, others dropping towards the ground, creating an artificial night with their numbers.
***
“Salchar!” Krom said, actually shaking me as Yasu beside me groaned in annoyance, pushing my groggy form away.
“What?” I said, my body still trying to figure out what being awake meant.
A noise halfway between a whining noise and groan rose from Yasu's sleeping form. A sleepy smile grew on my face as I remembered the noises from the night before.
“Battle has come master, the Kalu come with all their number and attack our ships as they attack our lines. We are being pushed back. The people need you,” Krom said.
“Power my HAPA,” I said, my tone dull as my face forgot the smile of moments before, and instead feeling like it was chiselled from granite as I stood. Being embarrassed about my nakedness was a moot point, action was called for, and I had seen enough naked bodies for a lifetime.
Krom gave Krom gave Yasu and me our battle suits.
“Will do commander, I'm going to get some more ammo.” Krom bowed to both me, and Yasu who was now awake.
I looked to my wife, both of our faces hard.
“Wake-up?” She said, swinging out of bed in her own naked form.
“Yes,” I said, grabbing two ampules from my bedside, then pausing before I threw it, admiring my wife's figure. Who cocked her hip, and pointed to her face. Her eyes seemed to say really? A part of my granite features broke as I shrugged.
Well what did you expect? I thought, she shook her head as if understanding my own thoughts. I tossed her an ampule and her battle suit.
She caught both as we dressed in silence, sealing ourselves inside and putting the ampule into our forearm mounted medical unit. I pulled two medical packs and gave them to Yasu, turning as she fitted one to my back.
Her arms held me tightly as if impressing the moment in her memory.
I kissed her cheek and smelt her familiar sent.
Then we released one another as she handed me her medical pack as I took off the one on her back and replaced it.
She turned, our eyes saying everything we could think of.
“I love you,” I said, I didn't say it much, but I meant it every time. It was not a saying that I thought should be thrown around all the time. Right now there were so many things I wanted to say to her, yet there was so many things I didn't know how to say at that moment. Words were a poor way to express my feelings.
“I love you too,” she said, smiling as her eyes filled with water. There were no words to express how much I wished to wipe away those tears and never see them. All I could do was wrap her in a hug as if my arms and body could somehow stop the emotions raging in both of us to stop.
Unbidden tears filled my eyes as I stopped myself from shaking.
Then we pulled apart, looking at one another.
“I'll see you soon,” she said, standing on her tip toes as I bent down and we kissed.
It was painfully short, my lips aching for more as her hands found mine and we looked into one another's eyes, we squeezed eachother tightly before I turned and walked out of the room.
>
“Alright Shreesht what's happening?” I said, flooding my system with wake-up and tiredness fled my body.
Part of my mind wandered back to Yasu, but I had thousands of people to look after, all of them with loved ones they had left to fight this war, or were leaving right now to man their powered armor, HAPA's, and systems.
“Here is the newest reports from Rick. He has opened up on the Kalu.
***
Rick and Marleen had been on the Bridge of Resilient when reports of a wormhole came in.
Rick had been sitting in the secondary seat for Tactical, he looked to his wife, squeezing her hand as he moved to Salchar's seat.
“Sensor's confirm those ship’s identities,” Rick said.
“They confirm the profile sent by Cheerleader and Boot.”
“Communications watch, sound battle stations please. Marleen prepare missile salvo along pre-set targets. Make sure all gunnery watches are ready as their full crew get into position,” Rick said, looking to Marleen.
This is it, he thought, his eyes reflecting that as she looked back to him.
I know my love. Her eyes filled with fire as a grin that he had seen in all too many sparring matches with his wife spread across her face.
They'd better watch out. She turned to her station, Rick felt a spark of amusement and pride inside.
Yup, that's what I'm married to. I wouldn't have it any other way.
He activated his screens, watching as ships going from half watches to full readiness with practised efficiency.
“Kalu ships are re-orientating themselves,” Walf called out.
“Shields up,” Rick said as people that had been off duty started rolling through the Bridge's doors, talking to those that had been on watch to be in the loop before they took over.
“We have a massive outburst of Kalu fighter's more than before,” Walf called out.
“Marleen, execute missile Salvo, guns are cleared,” Rick called out as missiles burst from the fleet, headed for peredesignated targets for the most effect.
Star Destroyers without the time to bring their weapons to bear were ripped apart, Cannons that had been manned by watch crews were rammed into ready positions as Gunners started pounding on the Kalu.
Free Fleet Box Set 2 Page 68
