The Shattered Empire (The Shadow Space Chronicles Book 2)

by Kal Spriggs

  The Baron gave him a tired smile, “I know that, but still, I wonder if I could have reached them... somehow.” He shook his head, “Sorry, back to the subject at hand. I'll authorize you start standing up our own insurance policy in case this does come to open conflict. In the meantime, I want you to put together a full brief, one that is ironclad, for me to take to Admiral Dreyfus.”

  “You want to bring him in?” Daniel asked uncertainly.

  “Yes,” Baron Giovanni said. “He deserves to know and we can use his expertise.”

  Daniel nodded slowly, “Very well, sir. I'll put it together and work that. I assume you want to bring this up after the attack?” When the Baron nodded in response, Daniel pursed his lips. “I can have that done by then, no problem sir.”

  “Everything else in hand?” The Baron asked.

  “Yes, sir,” Daniel said. “It looks like we'll be right on time to jump to shadow. We are resupplied and the ships commanders are preparing to run through your scenario.”

  “Excellent,” the Baron rose. “Keep me informed of any issues.” He glanced back down at his desk, “I've got to finish these responses to some of the government issues.” He shook his head, “It makes me long for a nice boring logistical report to read through.”

  “Good luck, Baron,” Daniel said. As he headed for the door, he thought, once again, about how lucky he was to serve under Baron Giovanni... and how essential the other man was to their war effort. And I'm going to make damned certain that none of these conspirator bastards get the chance to bring him down.

  ***

  Halcyon, Garris Major System

  Contested

  November 2, 2403

  “I've already heard Admiral Mannetti's briefing on your actions at the Ottokar system,” Counselor Penwaithe said, her face pinched. “Frankly, you could have handled things better.” Her tone made it very clear that there were other words she would have liked to use... such as 'disaster' or 'catastrophic failure.'

  Mason, still the the guise of Stavros leaned back in his chair, “If this is about the boy Damien...”

  “Do not interrupt me, Captain,” she snapped. “I hadn't even begun to get to that particular incident, I was still addressing what happened between you and Commodore Martindale.”

  “Oh, her,” Mason said with a tone of polite interest, “Did she stop running long enough to report in?”

  “She did, in fact, come straight back here, where she reported your insubordination and arrogance and failure to follow orders,” the Counselor said sharply.

  Mason leaned forward, “I followed her orders exactly. She plotted the course that got us spotted by the patrol force, she ordered me to full acceleration, and it was she who then panicked and broke formation when she realized how badly she messed things up.”

  “Be that as it may,” Counselor Penwaithe snapped, “You did commence broad spectrum jamming to avoid further orders from her. You also left her to fend for her own rather than attempt to come to her assistance.”

  Mason shook his head, “I asked, before we even departed, if she would like to share our jamming frequencies. She said she didn't need them. I commenced jamming to prevent communications from reaching the mining facility and warning them of the impending attack.” It was at least remotely plausible, he knew. And the privateers could hardly be counted upon to have military discipline. Besides, he had offered her his jamming codes, Martindale had ignored the message.

  Penwaithe grimaced again. “Be that as it may, you didn't go out of your way to help her out.” She sighed, “But I can't argue with your success. You took on two cruisers and eight destroyers with one ship and you not only captured three of them, you didn't create an atrocity. In fact, we've actually received an unofficial thanks from New Swabia's government. Both for not getting a lot of their naval personnel killed and for embarrassing the corrupt commander.”

  Mason gave a broad smile, “You see, I am a man of many talents.”

  “Which then brings us to what you did at the mining station,” Counselor Penwaithe said. “You have been told before, multiple times, that fighting of any kind between our personnel is not allowed. Yet you deliberately provoked and then killed Damien Walter... who was the close relation of one of our allies.” She leaned over her desk, “Which is why I am penalizing you and your crew, your shares of the loot from the mining station.”

  Mason didn't have to feign his wince, that meant that the entire crew would be out a lot of pay. The mine was the first real raid they'd been on so far and thus the first chance for real money. Not only that, but the rare earth metals the mine extracted, along with the stocks of valuable precious metals would have been a huge payday. To have that taken away would make his crew surly, at best. Some pirate crews would have mutinied over that and even someone as self-absorbed as Stavros would realize that.

  “Which is not to say that there were not extenuating circumstances,” Counselor Penwaithe's voice softened. “I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't heard it first hand from the women you protected from gang rape and being sold as chattel by that bastard. Also, you did transport over two hundred of the freed contract workers, kept them fed, and I understand even had your ship's doctor tend to them en route. For those services, I'm not only exempting the three prize ships from your penalty, but I'm also authorizing a reimbursement of expenses, payable as the transportation costs of two hundred personnel, in standard, expenses for third class.”

  Mason blinked at that. That didn't sound like much, until one considered the fact that a civilian ship wouldn't do a direct passage like they had. Civilian ships wouldn't even take a leg of the trip unless it was well charted. Which meant the equivalent passage would be very roundabout, probably with four or five systems on the way and appropriate stops to refuel. That would be a nice profit in and of itself.

  “Since we've decided to commission all three of the captured warships, we'll pay the prize money to you directly. The three vessels will need a certain level of repairs and upgrades, but they'll be very useful to Halcyon. Also, since you captured the three ships on your own, we're assessing your vessel as the primary share.”

  Mason gave a broad smile at that. The three ships were worth far more than the mine payoff. Even better, from his standpoint, it was a sign that the locals approved, however unofficially, of his actions. Well, he thought, it would be a stretch to say they liked Damien,but to reward me like that is to send a none too subtle hint to Admiral Mannetti and Admiral Collae.

  “Thank you, Counselor, that's very generous of you,” Mason said.

  “We reward good behavior,” Counselor Penwaithe said. “Now, since we've established that you and Commodore Martindale don't get along, I thought I'd offer you an alternative.”

  Mason raised an eyebrow, “Oh?”

  “We've noticed that your vessel is much faster than most of our other privateer vessels. I mentioned the possibility when I recruited you, of an independent command. We've something of an intermediate option, to allow you to further prove yourself.”

  “I think I've already proven my capabilities,” Mason said with an exaggerated wave.

  “Capabilities, yes,” Counselor Penwaithe said, “But lets just say that some people aren't really certain where your loyalties lie.” Mason didn't answer that. In reality, Stavros was loyal only to himself. The Counselor knew that. The rewards she offered wouldn't change that, merely make it more likely that Stavros would stick around. As opportunistic as he was, he wouldn't hesitate to betray an employer. Stavros being the liar he was, he might argue differently. Mason being the man he was, he actually did feel some compassion, perhaps even loyalty for the Halcyon colony. They seemed to have similar goals to Lucius Giovanni's United Colonies. But he couldn't very well say that, so he kept quiet.

  She took his silence as confirmation of her own assumption, which was wise of her, if not entirely accurate. “So, our offer is for you to operate in conjunction with some of our other forces, not fully independent, but operating
separately.”

  Mason gave her a broad smile, “If I can have a spot at the table to give my ideas, this would be more than acceptable.”

  “Very well,” she answered. “Thank you, Captain Stavros. Now, since you probably want to ship out as soon as possible to avoid a... confrontation with Admiral Collae, we have a large raid about to depart. You can meet with Commodore Moore at our military annex, they should begin the initial planning this afternoon and they'll be departing in the next few days.” She paused, “Admiral Mannetti won't be back for another week, at least, and Admiral Collae shouldn't return for another three days.”

  “I'm not afraid of either one of them,” Mason said. He put an edge in his tone, designed to belie his words.

  Evidently the Counselor took his bluster at face value and just smiled a bit. “Well, then, Captain Stavros, I suppose you should get going if you'd like to have a role in planning your next raid.”

  ***

  Garret bit back a curse as Stavros Heraklion stepped into the briefing room. The pirate wore an absurd set of skin-tight leather pants and a low-cut shirt designed to show off either his chest, his gold and silver necklaces, his copious chest hair, or all three.

  Garret was the senior representative from the War Dogs. The overall commander was Commodore Moore, who was also the senior Halcyon military officer. After the offer from his brother, Garret had done some investigation regarding the Commodore, the man they wanted him to replace.

  Commodore Duncan Moore was an experienced military officer. The tall man stooped over the table in a fashion that made his big ears stand out even more. He had served in the Republic Liberation Fleet where he rose to the rank of Captain and even acted as a chief of staff for an Admiral... but that had been over five decades previously. He was an older man, who'd received one of the cheaper life extension processes, probably all he could afford. He showed his age, with gray in his blonde hair and a stooped posture, and his olive-skinned face was heavily lined. Garret personally suspected that the reason the officer hadn't progressed any higher was that he lacked a certain spark. His last couple operations had been by the book, methodical, and hadn't met with either great success or failure. From what Abigail had told him, even his most loyal supporters viewed him more as meek, mild mannered fellow.

  Stavros gave a broad smile as his garish outfit drew attention. “I've been told to report for the planning session.”

  Moore gave a sharp look over at Garret before he spoke, “Of course. I assume that your grudge with the War Dogs will be put aside for the duration.” The way he phrased it, it could have been a question, a statement, or an order. From the uncertain look on the older man's face, he wasn't really sure himself.

  “I have no grudge with the War Dogs,” Stavros said with a grand wave, “We are all brothers in arms. Any misunderstanding between Commodore Pierce is already forgotten.”

  Garret held back a grimace. In his opinion, Stavros was in the same category as Admiral Mannetti, a pirate who was not to be trusted. Still, by saying he had no grudge, that put the onus to behave on the behalf of the War Dogs. “I'll keep the peace,” Garret said.

  “Ah, good,” Commodore Moore said. He brought up the briefing room holographic system. Since the entire annex was former Nova Corp property, it was state of the art. A fact which seemed a bit beyond the Commodore as he used only the most basic functions, with a simple, two dimensional overlay projected so everyone could see it. “Gentlemen, our mission is to strike a blow at President Salazar's main off-world ally at the Wenceslaus system. The Colonial's Republic Liberation Fleet Base there is the central hub for this sector and has been the source of replacements for President Salazar's losses. We believe a strong strike there will show them that they are not immune from attack and that their continued support of Salazar will not go unpunished.”

  Garret grimaced at that. It was all well and good to say something like that, but hitting the RLF Fleet base in the system would be very difficult to successfully pull off. The Fleet Base would have dozens of warships and hundreds of fighters on station. Before he could open his mouth to say something, though, Stavros spoke, “Commodore, this sounds like a wonderful plan, really, but I'm curious as to how you think we can pull this off? Also, more of interest to a man like me... where's the profit in it?”

  Garret couldn't really argue with either question. The privateers that Halcyon used to augment their forces relied on loot and plunder. Without some economic target, they were likely to be more trouble than use.

  “There is a large shipment of civilian industrial equipment: excavators, farming machinery, even some heavy duty trucks,” Commodore Moore said. “Bought and paid for by Salazar Enterprises and currently interned at the Fleet Base because his family asked for the base there to protect it. Moving heavy equipment like that requires specialized transports, which we estimate will provide an adequate bounty, as will the equipment once we find buyers for it all.”

  Captain Oronkwo shifted in his seat, the tall, black man was one of the mercenaries hired by Halcyon. His ships were corvettes, light and stealthy, but not well armed. Commodore Pierce had said he had a good reputation in the guild, but also that he was likely to take the breach of contract versus losing his ships in a standup fight. “If you don't yet have buyers, I'm not sure why we're targeting it. Yes, that will hurt your enemies, but it won't pay the bills.”

  “We'll have buyers lined up before we get back. At the least, Halcyon has need for a lot of the equipment, I'm sure,” Commodore Moore answered. He didn't sound at all certain, but Garret could think of a number of uses for that kind of equipment. Particularly the mysterious project up around Brokenjaw Mountain.

  “Well,” Captain Stavros Heraklion said, “I may know someone who could buy it all... at a severe discount of course.” He received a nod of acknowledgment from Captain Oronkwo. His broad grin at the commander was almost friendly as he continued, “So, Commodore, what's your plan for the attack?”

  Garret's eyes narrowed. The pirate was being far too civil. Then again, Garret had heard that he had apparently killed another pirate, some relative of Admiral Collae or so the rumors went. Perhaps he was trying to ingratiate himself for some form of protection. Or maybe he just wants us to think he's a good sort so he can stab us in the back at an opportune moment, Garret thought darkly.

  “Our attack plan is very simple,” Commodore Moore said. “We have the forces to take on the fleet base in a surprise attack. We'll emerge from shadow space at what I have labeled point alpha, at five hundred thousand kilometers from Bohemia. From there we will deploy in a standard attack pattern. Captain Penwaithe's Hammer Wing will deploy forward, Captain Oronkwo's corvettes will deploy on our flanks, and Captain Stavros and my own cruisers will deploy in the center. We will proceed at moderate acceleration, deploy missiles to engage their static defenses and then engage any mobile assets which mobilize to meet us.”

  Garret stared at the Commodore for a moment, uncertain how to tactfully broach the flaws he saw with that plan. From the coughing fit by Oronkwo, he wasn't the only one to feel that way.

  “That seems like a decent plan, Commodore,” Captain Stavros said with an overly friendly tone. “However, I do have a couple questions.” The pirate leaned over the holoprojector and adjusted the controls. The system expanded out, into a full three dimensional diagram, complete with many of the details which the two dimensional map hadn't held.

  Commodore Moore opened his mouth to complain, but before he could, Stavros gave a broad wave, “I applaud your skill at simplifying the battlefield to eliminate distractions. However, I couldn't help but notice that your emergence point is actually outside our maximum missile range but still inside their detection range. That would give them sufficient time to launch their ready fighters and bring a number of their alert ships to combat readiness, without us being able to do anything about it.”

  Commodore Moore flushed, “In theory, yes. However, I think with the force we can muster, especially with ou
r cruiser strength...”

  “The fleet base there has four wings of Patriot mark twos,” Garret said after a glance at the information. “That's literally more fighters than my Hammers carry missiles. Patriot mark twos are nasty to deal with for my gunboats, but they'll mount plenty of ordinance. The RLF force there can use their normal tactics, hit and run and break up our formation as we close... if we give them time to marshal their forces.”

  Garret saw Oronkwo nod in response. Garret hated to agree with Stavros, from loyalty to his boss if nothing else, but the man had said what he would have. The plan would probably work, as Commodore Moore had laid it out. The problem was it would cost them, heavily. Out front, his Hammers would pay the butcher's bill, but heavy casualties among the flanking corvettes was almost a given against standard RLF tactics. In truth, the cruisers would be fairly well protected, which is why Garret was somewhat surprised that Captain Stavros had spoken up.

  “But to emerge any closer, we run the risk of being caught too close to disengage if the enemy is present in force,” Commodore Moore said doggedly. “And any further away and we still run the risk that we'll be seen with adequate time for them to marshal not just their alert fighters and vessels, but also anything else in the system.”

  “Commodore, you are the very fount of knowledge,” Stavros said with what sounded like absolute sincerity. “However, I wonder if you might consider the use of Captain Oronkwo's stealth systems.”

  “I had considered that, but since the rest of our vessels do not have those capabilities...”

  “My ships could go ahead,” Captain Oronkwo said. He scowled, almost as if he felt he'd been insulted by the Commodore ignoring his ships capabilities. In a way, Garret supposed he had. “We could not only scout out the system and report in, but position ourselves to strike their vulnerabilities upon your arrival, taking down their command and communications nodes or their sensor arrays to blind them and leave them vulnerable.”