Chapter 30: XSS Nautilus, Deep in Chzek Controlled Space
“Sensors, I want a track on that ship,” ordered Captain Kree, “I want to know where it’s going.”
“Aye, Captain,” Sensors Tech, Roberta Gold replied. It was four hours before she was able to report, “Captain, it’s on a track for System 48679. Six point seven light years. It’s a G Class star system.” Gold was excited reporting the class of the star system since it was one of the most likely classes of star to contain life. She was five hours into a four-hour watch and refused to be relieved until she was able to give a track line on the enemy ship. This new ship was detected coming out of the latest star system the Nautilus tracked ships into since starting their shadowing of Chzek-kin starships.
Captain Kree avoided entering any of the star systems, choosing instead to send in one of the improved drones to scout the system as the Nautilus slipped well above or below the ecliptic of the systems. “Plot a course to rendezvous with the drone for retrieval and set a pursuit course for…” pausing to verify the designation for the enemy ship, the captain finished, “Contact, Rabbit 22.”
Drone Baker was sending a large amount of data via narrow beam back to the Nautilus on what was thought to be a major outpost built into a small, airless moon orbiting a gas giant in the system. The system had a mining and manufacturing facility and also appeared to have a small colony based on the number of structures on the surface.
After recovering the drone, the captain ordered the data from the system to be uploaded into the ready drone in case the ship was attacked they would have a chance of getting a message back to fleet command.
The navigation officer looked to the captain with an unspoken question of whether to report the discovered enemy outpost; she was well aware of the need to report the base, but also knew they were running low on operational drones. They had three drones remaining aboard ship capable of returning to human controlled space and needed to keep enough on board to cover the search of a system; the captain was hunting larger game than the outpost. With the success in tracking ships from system to system, the captain was hoping to find the Chzek-kin Homeworld. After each star system they investigated, she told herself, One more system, knowing the next system would be the one. In the end, the captain decided to report the finding and sent a drone with the information on the newfound enemy base to the Rheas System; there were too few opportunities to let one go unreported.
Waking in a darkened room, Chzek-kin Admiral Tukool knew he was no longer on his command ship. The Behemoth was destroyed, that part of his memory was clear. He also remembered his time on the bridge, looking out into space, and waiting to die. Caspara! It was that burst of adrenaline into his bloodstream when he thought of his mate that caused the remainder of the admiral’s memory to return; the alien device entering through the breach in the hull, the destruction of the enemy base, and the torn bodies and death of the Behemoth’s bridge crew.
A bright light flashed as the room was illuminated and the admiral attempted to raise his arms to shield his eyes. He could not move. Tilting his head as far as he was able, there were no visible restraints holding him that he could see as he blinked his eyes rapidly; adapting to the room’s lighting.
“What is your name?” asked a voice in Chzek.
Looking up from the inspection of his restraints he was unable to see anything until he followed the voice to the Chzek sized blue alien standing in the doorway. This must be a Rool, thought the admiral. What do I tell him?
“What is your name?” the blue alien repeated with no change in inflection or tone.
“Tukool.”
The interrogation proceeded for far longer than the Rool’s forensic deconstruction of the Behemoth’s quantum computer data cores. Unfortunately, neither provided the location of the Chzek-kin Homeworld and neither survived the processes of extracting the data Captain Geto was seeking.
Looking at the sprayed on sealant applied to the walls of the logistics office, Vice Admiral Nelson was once again impressed at how quickly they were learning to build bases inside of asteroids. Although in this case they were building a base inside of a planetoid. The entire base was carved out of the solid stone of a planetoid that was created some time in its multi-billion year existence. It originally formed in the mantle of a planet or large moon where it cooled after some catastrophic event tore the planet apart and cast it out of whatever system it had originated. This remnant of the planet was captured in the gravitational field of a red dwarf where it took up a highly elliptical orbit a quarter light-year from the local star at its furthest point. Its distance from the star was its biggest selling point to Admiral Nelson. After the destruction of Black Rock Three Base showed the vulnerability of in-system bases, it was determined using outer system asteroids and planetoids for bases would make them much more difficult to discover by enemy scout ships. It seemed to be a recurring theme in fighting this interstellar war: the best defense was to not be found.
The new base was a work in progress but had reached a point of habitability for the new command. Aside from ship production and crew training, relocation of bases was taking precedence over all other activities since the destruction of Black Rock Three. Also put into place were new restrictions on interstellar travel.
The relocation of bases to outer systems and out system planetary bodies was the answer Admiral Nelson and his staff came up with as the best way for bases to avoid discovery by the enemy. The area to be searched in a solar system’s outer regions was several orders of magnitude larger than an inner system life zone commonly used for locating bases.
The restriction to travel, however, was purely a UEG Governing Council response to the Nautilus’ reports of successfully tracking Chzek-kin ships via shipping lanes between systems. The first restriction was no travel was permitted from the war zone to Earth. There would be no ships from the war zone permitted to travel within eighteen light years of Sol System. And, outbound ships were required to take a detour fifteen light years out of their way and through several checkpoint systems so their travel would not be tracked. Once an outbound ship reached the war zone, it was transferred into the command of the Rheas Front and became part of the war effort. Which, for the last three months meant the largest increase in the number of ships entering the war zone came from cargo ships. Additional warships, especially the new heavy Aurora Class cruisers built in Sol System’s massive space docks, were held back by the UEG council to form additional defensive capabilities for Earth. The only new warships added to the Rheas front were upgraded older models coming from production facilities located on the edges of the war zone that were part of Earth’s previously secret manufacturing facilities. It would be some time before those factories could be re-engineered to handle construction of capital class ships like the heavy cruisers.
“Sir,” a young logistics officer interrupted Admiral Nelson’s thoughts, “The last six Aurora heavy cruisers have been deployed to the Rheas System for offensive operations; we won’t receive any more until we can build them ourselves.”
Taking his eyes off the blank wall and giving one skeptical eye to the officer, the admiral waited for a point to the statement.
Seeing he interrupted something, although it did not appear the admiral was busy with anything at the time, the officer plowed through the admiral’s scowl, “We have two boxcars full of Mk XI missiles for the Aurora’s. Should we deploy them as well?”
“Keep one in reserve. It may be a while before we get another shipment from Earth,” was the admiral’s reply; making the decision that should be handled by command staff. It had become all too common for the admiral during the shakeup of the logistics situation and the scramble to shore up defenses to have to make staff level decisions. The lack of an efficient and cohesive command of the Rheas Front needed to be cured quickly.
Looking up to the display showing the distribution of food, ammo, mining equipment, construction materials, air, water, and a thousand other items necessary
to live in space, the situation looked like a cat playing with a ball of yarn. It was a mass of inefficiency and it was a major impediment to providing support to both forward deployed units and defensive picket forces defending against enemy scout ships. It would take time to complete construction and move assets into place to resolve the situation.
The chiming in his ear was a welcome distraction for the admiral, “Admiral Nelson,” he answered.
“Good morning, Admiral. Captain Fenton in Communications. We have a high priority message from the Rheas System, sir.”
“On my way.”
The walk down to the communications center was a welcome relief for the admiral. It gave him time to get his mind off of his logistics nightmare and focus on speculating what could be happening on the front.
The communications center was so new you could still smell the spray sealant on the walls and a few places looked like they had not completed the curing process. The room was cramped with all the equipment and staff, which was to be expected considering the original intended purpose of the carved out space was to be an enlisted berthing area. Looking around from the airlock entry, the admiral caught the eye of Captain Fenton. No one announced the arrival of the admiral as standing orders for the communications center expressly forbid interruptions. Better to save military etiquette for tours of the mess hall than interrupt operations.
Handing the admiral the communication without further comment, the captain observed the admiral closely. As a communications officer, the captain was well aware of the contents of the message and he wanted to see the admiral’s reaction first hand. He was disappointed as the only reaction given was a wrinkled brow and tightened lips.
“When was this sent?” asked the admiral in a calm voice belying his true feelings.
“Two hours ago, Sir,” the captain responded, “It was sent via the Rool.” The appreciation of the alien’s technology was evident in the officer’s voice when he spoke of the Rool’s near instantaneous communications ability; the admiral and he wholeheartedly agreed. Their communications ability alone was irreplaceable.
Not allowing the thought to distract him the admiral replied, “Excellent. Send an immediate reply to Admiral Tomkin. Tell him to execute Operation Stone Age.”
Chapter 31: UES Hamilton, Approaching System 48599
Commodore Galorio checked the status board for the condition of the ships in her task force. Ten Aurora heavy cruisers, twenty-six Saturn, Block 1, cruisers, ten destroyers, and the rescue and repair ship, UES Stenson comprised her fleet. All ships were reporting green and ready for action. The attack on the enemy manufacturing facility and colony would be the first offensive strike by humans in the war and the commodore was determined it would be a clear victory.
The extra Aurora heavy cruisers in the fleet arrived into the Rheas System three weeks after the arrival of the commodore and were quickly transferred into her command before they set out on their mission. The remaining ships not in her original force were transferred into her command by the order of Ambassador Geto who warned an attack would likely fail without the extra ships.
“All ships report ready for action,” reported the young communications technician at his GQ station. The commodore did not concern herself with the status of the alien representative’s warship that accompanied her task force and the Rool did not volunteer his ship’s status.
“Very well,” the commodore acknowledged before issuing her orders, “All Aurora cruisers prepare for the launch of the initial wave of Mk XI missiles. Target the location of enemy production facilities.” The target for the raid was the second of the two systems reported by the Nautilus as having Chzek-kin assets worthy of their attention. They were the tip of the spear and deeper inside Chzek-kin territory than any other human ship, besides Captain Kree’s Nautilus, had ever been. Commodore Galorio decided to attack deeper into enemy territory first and to raid the first facility discovered on the way back to friendly space. It was her thinking the Chzek-kin would be less likely to be able to respond to the second attack this way and Captain Geto agreed. The commodore was on her way to learning how to kill without being killed.
The Mk XI missiles were the only missiles in the human’s inventory capable of launching from their current distance outside the solar system. With the new missiles Commodore Galorio would not need to enter the system until the enemy base was destroyed to finish off the remaining ships in the system.
A timer popped up on the forward screen. The launch of the first wave, sixty missile volley, would occur in 03:14, and counting. The commodore felt satisfaction as the timer reached zero and the ship’s hull bucked slightly from the launching of the ten megaton, multi-warhead missiles from the ship’s six launch tubes. The missiles immediately accelerated toward the inner solar system seeking out the Chzek-kin’s shipbuilding facility. It would be another forty hours before the second volley of missiles would be fired from the Saturn class cruisers; they were to launch once the fleet was much further in the system and after a damage assessment returned from the six drones launched the day before relayed the information back to the fleet.
The chime ringing in the back of Galorio’s head was distracting and came in just as sensors reported the detection of hundreds of enemy missiles inbound at six million miles. Shaking her head, the commodore canceled the chiming sound and paused the virtual combat simulator. She missed issuing commands for defensive actions by several seconds due to the interruption, so there was no reason to continue; she’d just have to run the combat simulation over again from the beginning to get the time she wanted to prepare for the coming attack.
“Galorio, what do you have?” she responded gruffly. The tension of the past thirty hours of waiting was intense and the commodore was short tempered.
Hearing the annoyance in her voice, Lt. Phinn grimaced and made her report, “Communication from Ambassador Geto, Commodore.”
“Put him through.”
“Commodore, we have a communication from Admiral Tomkin,” the Rool began as soon as the connection was made, “We have received new orders. Break off the attack and bring the fleet around to course 287 by 023 galactic relative.”
The commodore was stunned. The attack was already underway. The fleet was beginning its approach and was just outside the orbit of the outermost gas giant on a slow approach. Sixty missiles would be impacting the enemy production facility within the next nine hours and the Rool was telling her to break off the attack! “Why have the orders been changed?” she asked, leaving off the usual courtesies as she thought of the absurdity of a command to break off an attack they were well into on one of the two only targets ever identified.
“Commodore, issue the orders to change course, then I will explain. We cannot afford to dip further into the enemy system or we risk being detected.”
There was a long pause as the commodore stared at the Rool and struggled with whether or not to follow the order. This was the first opportunity humanity had to strike back at the Chzek-kin, and it was being taken away. How can that be? she asked herself.
Finally making up her mind, the commodore issued the course change order as she continued having a staring contest with the ambassador. He actually had a smirk on his face while watching her struggle to comply. The smug bastard, she thought, seeing his expression.
As the orders went out, ships throughout the fleet began requesting clarifications, sometimes colorfully. None of the ships wanted to break off the attack and they all demanded an explanation. The commodore, sensing a break in discipline, latched on to the budding mutiny and opened a direct channel to her captains, “All ships! You will, on my mark, change course to 287 by 023 galactic relative! Three, two, one, Mark!” The raised voice and intensity of the command left no room for challenge. It was the roar of a lion declaring dominance in her pride.
Commodore Giovanna Galorio felt her heart rate rise even disconnected from the real world as she was in the virtual environment. “Ambassador Geto, course change is in progr
ess. Can you explain the reason for the change in orders?” she asked, grappling for control of her anger and returning to a normal, yet strained, tone.
With the slightest of crooked smiles and a predatory gleam in his eye, Captain Geto replied, “Thank you, Commodore. A drone from the Nautilus entered the Rheas System four hours ago. They believe they found the Chzek-kin Homeworld. We are to execute Operation Stone Age.”
“Dear god,” the commodore said, feeling a deep well of cold begin to spread throughout her chest and stomach; chasing her fleeting anger away.
One drone from the Aurora Heavy Cruiser, Hammerfist, was able to get into an optimal position for observing the attack on the Chzek-kin manufacturing facility. Chzek-kin security in the system was light and the drone was the only witness to the attack on the manufacturing base and colony. It had reached a “profile” view of the missiles’ approach on the huge asteroid. The missiles made their approach using their Epson drives until at a range of six million miles; achieving light speed in the middle leg of their approach to the target. At six million miles they shut down their Epson drives to avoid overshooting their target and to allow for final course corrections to line up their attack. At five million miles the missiles were aligned and split into their three component warheads: one shotgun casing of ten pound depleted uranium slugs; one cluster of ten one-hundred pound kinetic penetrators, and one ten megaton, deep penetrating, nuclear warhead in each missile. The casing of the cluster warheads began to spin rapidly and at the first detection of enemy defense systems flung their contents in all directions; filling the local space with thousands of objects and overwhelming the Chzek-kin defensive system’s ability to target effectively.
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