Koban 4: Shattered Worlds

by Stephen W Bennett

  Maggi too was disappointed by the tardy arrival of the massive high velocity missile filled with ice. However, she felt considerable satisfaction at observing the destruction the view screens provided below the towering mushroom cloud. “The bastards deserved much worse than a Tunguska-like airburst event over a single dome. They should have received an impact like the one they gave my home world, Rhama.”

  This idea had been her proposal, and the Oort cloud cometary ice that filled every void in the huge ship had turned the migration ship into a bomb. Being a Torki designed ship, the electrical equipment could tolerate water immersion and humidity if any of the ices melted or sublimated before the impact. Nevertheless, mass was mass, and solid ice or a combination of ice and a small core of water, the aerial concussion was devastating.

  Mauss, who lived with a constant pain in her soul after witnessing the devastation of Rhama by a Krall Eight Ball, laid a hand on Maggi’s shoulder. “We could have let you deliver more of these here, but we are just as vulnerable to a similar attack. I convinced Fleet Admiral Chatsworth to approve this one impact, because it was a single kinetic energy weapon, similar to the single one they used on us, but much less destructive. At least it won’t be mistaken for a nuclear weapon. They could have done this to us anytime they chose, so it’s a case of reciprocation. Neither Chatsworth nor I think the Krall will consider this a fair trade, but it was their idea first.”

  Mirikami knew the Krall could aim multiple objects used as kinetic weapons at human worlds, but the only effective way to get through potential defenses was by using their now more precious clanships to do the delivery, via a Jump and a White Out at a point near the target. That was what Maggi had done here, Jumping an already high velocity mass close to the target world before it could be seen coming. Other types of fast moving, non-Jump capable objects could be tried as punishment weapons, such as actual comets and asteroids, but they required long pushes to get them up to high velocity and moving in the proper direction. However, they were subject to detection when still far out, and either being deflected or destroyed.

  He counted on his understanding of the Krall desire for earning status, to limit such strikes as a routine mode of attack. What made this type of warfare unappealing to the Krall was that a kinetic energy weapon would not promote the Krall’s breeding program of warrior attrition through combat. It didn’t help them move along the Great Path. That didn’t mean they wouldn’t want to punish an enemy for successfully fighting them with their own weapons, but they didn’t want humanity destroyed outright, or killed on too large a scale.

  The scale of a punishment, however, was as perceived by the pride of the Krall whose status they had harmed. Telour’s status in this case. His presence in the council dome as the invasion launched had seemed probable, and killing him would not only lead to a new Tor Gatrol, it possibly could place a rival clan in charge, with a competing idea of what the proper response should be. Killing an entire world was Telour’s choice, so any alternative seemed better.

  In their arrogance, a Krall victory was utterly never in doubt, but the manner in which it was achieved provided high status for those that fought it personally and well, and helped improved their species.

  Mirikami had been the first to understand that the enemy’s long-term racial goal gave opponents some ability to predict Krall reactions to counter attacks, within limits of course. Killing a couple of our many hundreds of worlds might be perfectly reasonable to them, and still preserve our best use to them, provided it forced us to accept their preferences for the type of warfare they wanted.

  He knew if humanity ever started to win this war, human worlds would eventually face the Olt’kitapi super weapon, when it was used to try to force compliance. Another slower to develop weapon, but with unlimited renewal, would be what he had called the Krall population bomb. Human worlds could be conquered by hordes of their savage offspring more easily than if taken slowly, in a measured war. It was better to hit them hard now, when we had a stronger will to fight, with the resources to do it with, rather than after several hundred years of steady losses of planets and hundreds of billions of lives snuffed.

  He offered his own comment on what was coming next today. “This can’t be the first time that they’ll have had their own tactics used against them. None of the alien species they fought before was warlike, except perhaps the Botolians who invented the collapsed matter the Krall made into Eight Balls, but none were stupid. Furthermore, there’s our new tactic they won’t expect, and they might not even figure out how we did it. Particularly if they mistake it for a new type of secret weapon.

  “Anyway, we’ll know soon if it works or if they discovered what my scouts did. Jakob has identified multiple clanship launches from the tarmacs, in advance of where the navy launched their heavy anti-ship missile attacks. The majority of the Krall fleet is still within atmosphere, and can’t Jump or evade missiles very well. The greatest threats we face right now are from the couple of hundred clanships already in orbit. All but eight or nine of them escaped the destructions of the orbital defense platforms, when the Novas did their White Outs inside them. Those were spectacular explosions, I must say.”

  With a grim shake of her head, Mauss said, “At New Lance it was our largest ships going up like that. I hope they enjoy our returning their gifts.”

  She added an observation. “The missiles they fired early from the clanships in orbit are typical of their fast reactions, and their great battlefield anticipation. It was good that Chatsworth accepted my suggestion that she should select a White Out distance barely above atmosphere, instead of farther out. The Krall expected us to repeat the one thousand mile or higher orbital attacks of both of my previous assaults against them. They aimed their missile screen too high, and now they have to waste propellant to turn them back towards our task forces below them.”

  Mirikami had also been watching, and nodded with a grin. “Time for our phantom act.” He linked to his people in the fleet via the new Comtap device.

  “All units, Ghost in fifteen seconds from now, I repeat, go Ghost in fifteen seconds.”

  It wasn’t vital that they coordinate as precisely on the next maneuver as when they had arrived. The closest enemy missiles were more than a minute away from reaching any of the five task forces. It would be the subsequent group commands that needed closer coordination.

  The other ten Kobani ships would stay stealthed in orbit for now, although, they had used Normal Space drives to relocate to lower orbits after five of them had risked revealing themselves when they briefly opened their portals to allow the Nova’s to exit. The other five would have their chance to use their Novas soon. It didn’t appear that the first launches had been noticed when the open portals, facing away from the planet, briefly created a breach in their stealth protection. However, the Krall were in a low state of alert then, and a lot more clanships would be in orbit soon.

  ****

  Chatsworth had been anxiously waiting for the signal to ‘Go Ghost’ as she watched the screens in her combat center, displaying the tracks of Krall missiles that had turned back and were closing rapidly on the five task forces. They hadn’t activated their new stealth systems because they started firing missiles instantly at White Out, launching multiple salvoes which would have revealed their numbers, location, and formation shapes anyway. Going stealth before the Ghost maneuver would only give that capability away before it was needed. They wanted to present the Krall with plump targets right now.

  She could order the Ghost maneuver herself by radio, but that might disrupt the plans for synchronizing the mass return. That was the so-called Reverse Ghost, and then a series of possible subsequent Ghost moves, which could shift individual task forces where Chatsworth decided she wanted them, with input and feedback from her various commanders, once they saw fresh opportunities to hurt the Krall.

  Their first salvoes of nearly ten thousand missiles were finding some of the more heavily laden clanships, who were less able t
o maneuver as they rose through the atmosphere. They became orange blossoms of fire, shrouded in black smoke. The highly effective Krall anti-missile missiles and plasma and laser fire reduced the incoming swarm by at least eighty percent before drawing any blood.

  However, in atmosphere, the latest generation of navy armored missiles, with highly reflective surfaces, required more beam hits to disable, and they were programed to look for atmospheric turbulence of approaching clanships. Krall stealth wasn’t as good as that the Kobani had provided, courtesy of their alien allies, but it could still outsmart the detectors in missiles.

  Cumulous and thick stratus clouds layers also provided some protection, sought out by the AIs of each missile, as they used haze and clouds to reduce the effectiveness of beam weapons. Even the empty clanships, being faster and able to twist and roll rapidly in atmosphere, were not all lucky. Over two hundred clanships were never going to reach orbit. Those that did were going to be disappointed when they expected to engage the enemy directly.

  Ghosting had been practiced repeatedly by the navy in the last two weeks, because it offered considerable protection for the entire fleet. However, it had never been done in combat. Only Mirikami’s link to his Comtap personnel on each ship made it practical now.

  Following Mauss’ assessment of the proper timing for the first Ghost, Mirikami had just initiated the nearly static entry into Tachyon Space. He would signal them when to emerge, or where to shift if the situation changed. The description of nearly static was due to the inability of any object in Tachyon Space to remain motionless, where the speed of light was the lowest possible velocity. However, nothing prevented a ship from altering their direction of travel, and return to the original Jump coordinates without performing a White Out, then shift again, and return as often as needed. It wasn’t like there was too little energy available for this sort of movement via medium-energy tachyons, and there was never a sense of external acceleration in a Universe without inertia. Artificial gravity only existed inside the event horizons of each individual ship.

  On time scales as tight as the entire fleet needed to act, the tactic had never been possible because they would be out of communication, and didn’t know what would be waiting for them at the next White Out. Here at K1 they had accurate knowledge of Krall fleet dispositions from the stealthed observations provided from the Mark and the other ten Kobani ships. This could be communicated to the task forces by Mirikami, regardless if the ships were in or out of a Jump Hole. This was flexibility and movement for the navy that the Krall couldn’t match. Avoiding an attack was better than deflecting one.

  With no hint it was about to happen, the entire visible human force simultaneously winked out of the Universe around K1. The thousands of missiles that had selected specific targets, particularly the tempting larger ships near the centers of the five formations, were left to race through the vacated spaces, following their last guidance system headings. The few single ships launched, streaking in towards the enemy in suicidal charges, now had no targets. Dozens of clanship pilots, most from smaller clans in craft not yet loaded with valuable war material, had been waiting only to clear the atmosphere and gravity well so they could Jump into the midst of the enemy ships. The cry of Path and Clan had stirred many of them to try to emerge in the compact human ship formations, with the hope they might intersect with a large ship in a blaze of triumph. There was no triumph to be had.

  ****

  Telour had finally reached one of the four combat positions of the command deck of his still rising and commandeered clanship. He ignored the battering his body had taken when he was nearly rendered unconscious at lift off. That had occurred when he was slammed onto the deck of the main hold by the maximum acceleration the clanship’s built-in safety systems would permit, in its successful effort to escape the imminent blast front from the incoming fireball. That massive detonation shook the clanship violently as it raced away from the doomed council dome. Evading and shooting down incoming human missiles, the pilot and his K’Tal operated their weapons and sensors and continued away at low altitude for several minutes until clear. Telour quickly regained his senses as the ship steadied, and he raced up to the command deck for an assessment of the attack.

  He grunted and blinked his appreciation to the sub leader piloting the ship. High praise from a high status leader. They were still alive to travel on the Great Path and to continue the fight, but only because of the pilot’s instant recognition of the threat that had been descending towards them.

  “My Tor, the fireball was from a speeding migration ship, apparently with its mass greatly enhanced. The council dome was destroyed, and less than two hands of clanships escaped as we did.”

  Despite the total surprise the humans had achieved by their sudden appearance over Telda Ka, their fleet was still greatly outnumbered, and Telour observed the tracery of the many thousands of anti-missiles launched to defend against those from the navy ships. They had performed their simultaneous White Outs in masterfully choreographed formations of five disk shaped formations, every ship firing before the gamma ray bursts of their exits were a half second old. He hated them, and wanted them all destroyed, but he also recognized the detailed planning and coordination this attack had required. This worthy enemy was annoying the new Tor Gatrol more than he was capable of tolerating, and it was the last time he would accept a tarnishing of his own careful planning.

  That was what he thought.

  He saw that the flat disc formations, ships stationary with respect to Telda Ka’s rotation and orbit around its star, were all oriented nose down. This allowed each of the human ships an unobstructed field of fire on the planet below without having to thread missiles or beams through a shifting globe formation, as in the last attack on Telda Ka. They continued to fire fresh salvoes as he watched on his sensors. He first believed that the domes themselves were their primary targets, as had been the case on the two previous attacks. Mere housing wasn’t as precious to a warrior, and this time the nurseries of eggs and hatchlings from the best breeders, were placed well away from the domes, located in the deep jungles. That lesson was learned from the second attack on Telda Ka, when several clans lost their newest nests and hatchlings, bred from their first battle tested warriors from years of raids against human worlds.

  The tools of war were actually of greater importance, and the ignorant humans had previously sent the heaviest missiles at domes, set to explode almost on contact. The attackers had not even known then of the handful of underground factories, located beneath only four of the domes at that time. Those production centers for war material, and their Prada slaves, escaped the attack nearly unscathed, even when the dome above was seriously damaged. The wealth of clanships had been the most valuable war tools back then on Telda Ka, and it was more so today.

  The Krall fleet was lifting to confront the enemy now, as it had previously, but starting later due to the lack of advanced warning. The nearly fixed positions of the human ships within their formations suggested their greatest weak points when the first clanships could Jump into their midst. The clanships already in orbit were unable to sacrifice in that sort of battle of mutual destruction, because they were tasked with providing cover fire for the rising fleet, destroying many of the enemy missiles from behind, using their advantage of altitude and clear lanes of fire above cloud cover.

  Something about the twisting ribbons of the tracking pattern of enemy missiles drew Telour’s attention. They were mostly smaller missiles, and seemed very agile as they swerved to seek cover behind clouds where available, thus avoiding or diminishing the power of heavy laser and plasma beams to harm them. He suddenly realized the humans were not acting quite the fools as they had in the past two attacks. His pilot again proved to be smart and perceptive when he spoke first.

  “My Tor, they wisely target only our clanships and not the domes or the unprotected equipment on the tarmacs.”

  Telour snarled deeply in agreement. “True. They seek to block our means of
delivering an invasion force this time. They will find we are using automatic clanship defenses now, and our beam weapons will react just as fast as the artificial minds in their own ships do, once we close with them.”

  He had rigidly enforced this requirement, following through on an idea Kanpardi had originally supported. Telour had forced every clan to accept this tactic, which went against their basic warrior instincts and met staunch resistance. Every Krall liked to kill the enemy as personally as possible, even when it was at a distance, by directly aiming and firing a laser or plasma cannon, or manually launching a missile. Letting a machine do that for them was repugnant to their warrior way of thinking, even if it had better results.

  There would be losses today, but they were better prepared to meet the humans here and now than they were when they had lifted three thousand clanships from Poldark. That time at least half, or frequently all of the onboard beam weapons were directly controlled by warriors, standing at consoles like the one where Telour stood braced now. He was confident they would lose fewer ships here than the several hundred destroyed from Pendor’s fleet. He’d make certain the human fleet would pay dearly for those he did lose today. He didn’t intend to leave any of their fleet intact after this, or the shipyards that had built them. He would have them pursued relentlessly to their bases.

  He ordered two and a half hands of clanship commanders, those with the appropriate equipment installed on their vessels, to activate their tachyon wave detectors, and prepare pairs of clanships to follow the human ships through Tachyon Space when they inevitably fled from here. They were told to track the five attacking groups when they retreated, suspecting they would run in five different directions, making deviations enroute.