The Noble Petty, Complete Edition (Alutia Rising Series, Book 2)

by Craig Gerttula

  “Mother! The freighter! Bring up the freighter!” Regalia forgot her surroundings as she jumped to her feet, grabbing Vickie's hand and pulling her to the fleet sensor station still manned by her mother. Her mother glared at her, noticeably concerned by Regalia’s lack of proper manners, but after taking a deep breath, and seeing no one else minded the breach of protocol, expression turned warm.

  The projection of the approaching battle group shifted to one side of the CID while another of Alutia V5432, with a freighter leaving orbit, appeared at its side.

  “This is the record from the last freighter to escape just before we arrived. After originally entering the flight path for the local SJS Gate, it abruptly changed course, accelerating in the direction of Don'Alutia,” Regalia placed a gentle hand on her mother’s shoulder, beaming her pride. One of the service members rushed to their side.

  “Did you take a detailed signature reading?” he asked, unable to mask his enthusiasm. Her mother touched an icon and a two-dimensional projection appeared before them, listing all the data they had recorded. The man intently studied the projection, scrolling back and forth as he whispered to himself, then looked to his fellows who were studying another stream of data appearing from their palm sized, portable PDUs.

  “That's it! That's the one!” the man shouted.

  “Don'Alutia...never would have thought...” another said in disbelief.

  “We honestly assumed they were being shipped to Hulk'Zif, to be used in human experimentation. But that may have just been a false trail.” The image the man's words created in her mind made her shiver. She turned back to Lady Vickie, who stared at the projection, still stunned.

  “Now, Vickie, once this is over, I'm sure nobody will mind going to Don'Alutia to save Sir Georigi,” Regalia said with a nod. Lady Vickie stared down at her, then kneeled and hugged her tightly.

  “Yes, thank you, dea...Regalia. Thank you so very much,” Tears seemed to want to break free of her now joyful eyes, but she held them back.

  “You must thank the grand duke when he returns...it was by his order that I recorded this data.” Vickie loosened her grip and looked at Belia, a single tear sitting on her eyelash.

  “I will do that...thank you, Belia. If you all will excuse me, the fatigue has finally caught up to me,” Lady Vickie stood, staring kindly at Regalia for a brief moment, before leaning down and kissing her lightly on the forehead. Regalia blushed and watched Lady Vickie hobble towards the transport tube, Til'Ma supporting her every step.

  “We will be leaving as well. I'd rather have this interrogation over with so I can enjoy the upcoming show. I hear this starship is armored with gorian alloy?” the man dressed in the brown administrator robed asked.

  “Yes...and thanks to Sir Trent's design modifications, firepower equivalent to a starship five times its size,” Captain Daiyu responded, the administrator’s eyes going wide.

  The CID reverted back to its previous state, displaying the approaching enemy battle group, which currently ranged 25 million kilometer's, having steadied its approach velocity at 15,000 kilometers per second.

  “I'll leave my life in your capable hands then. If you will excuse me,” the man bowed, then followed the service members to a waiting tube transport. Regalia had a strong suspicion no one realized Yukie was actually the empress, since in the excitement, formal introductions had not been provided, or there would have been a lot more groveling.

  “Captain Daiyu, before you return to the bridge, could you fill us in on your current plan of attack?” Yukie asked politely.

  Captain Daiyu saluted. “Yes, Empress. I have already forwarded a copy of the Emperor's Wall Fleet's orders for all galaxy 189 battle groups to proceed immediately to “The Wall” without question. Rear-Admiral Quo'Nup responded that he would have to verify the orders before complying, so I sent the verification code that we received from Knight Admiral Bhool. He then proceeded to cut off all communications, which I have taken as acknowledgement that...in fact...he is a traitor to the NHA.” Regalia moved back to her seat next to Tiana and Yukie, who were both staring at the CID, expressions stern.

  “Now the main problem we face is keeping any additional ground forces from landing on Alutia V5432. We currently do not know if Baron Tuhbil has any idea that Grand Duchess Sasha and Grand Duke Trent have survived...but either way, it is my duty to ensure that they have the best chance of avoiding capture during this ordeal,” Yukie and Tiana both responded with a nod.

  “Very good, Captain. But how do you plan on accomplishing this?” Yukie asked, tightening her grip on Tiana's hand.

  “Once we reach one-million kilometers, we will proceed to circle the enemy battle group. Since we have mobile LPA's and a swivel-platformed plasma cannon at our disposal, we will be able to perform an “angled-burn” while bringing our full firepower to bear.” The CID suddenly zoomed out, showing both the ABF Sasha and the approaching ABF battle group. A dotted line formed, starting from their current position and extending to the one-million kilometer mark from the approaching battle group. The line then proceeded to curve around the enemy battle group, staying at a constant one million kilometers distant.

  “What do you mean by “angled-burn”, Captain?” Tiana asked.

  “Angled-burn is the general term used when the main thrusters are brought online to constantly change the trajectory of the starship while maintaining momentum and velocity, instead of utilizing just the standard maneuvering thrusters. This allows us to maintain our velocity while keeping our range constant as we circle the enemy fleet.” Regalia nodded, already being familiar with fleet terminology, but not wanting to feel left out.

  “Would this tactic be possible with a standard battleship?” Yukie asked, showing interest in the subject, even though Trent had tried his best earlier to have her show the same interest during his tutoring sessions.

  “Yes, but you would lose the majority of your firepower, since half your LPAs, as well as your plasma cannon would not be within a suitable firing arc.” Her mother adjusted the CID to project an image of a standard NHA battleship. It's long, cuboid shape was familiar to anyone who had ever traveled in space, all NHA starships sharing a similar design.

  “Thank you, Belia. As you can see, the LPAs on standard NHA warships are immobile and can only fire on a 180 degree double plane arc on the side they are mounted. This means standard NHA starships need to be facing the target directly to bring their full firepower to bear.” The projection faded, one of the ABF Sasha taking its place. “As you can see with the Sasha Class starship, this handicap has been removed since the LPAs are mobile and can move freely across the outer hull. This allows us to bring our full firepower to bear on any target just as long as it's not directly behind us.” The Captain glanced at the time to contact displayed above the CID; 25 minutes.

  “I must return to the bridge. If you'll excuse me, Empress...Ladies,” Captain Daiyu saluted and turned, walking with haste to the lift, opposite the transport tubes, which would bring her back to the bridge. Regalia stood and silently walked over to her mother, kissing her on the cheek, receiving a startled look in return, which turned warm as she kissed a back. Regalia smiled, then returned to Tiana and Yukie, kissing them both, receiving a smile and giggle in return.

  “I'm going to see Lady Vickie, it will be scary alone.” The words left her mouth before she actually thought of how they'd sound and she suddenly felt embarrassed.

  “Very well, Regalia, wish her well for us too,” Yukie responded, Tiana nodding agreement. She curtsied to them, then her mother, and left the bridge to go comfort the woman she suddenly realized was her best friend.

  *********

  Time to contact ticked down to two minutes as Sir Seb'Losh and Sir Erio returned to the fleet command deck, faces unreadable. They moved to their places adjacent the row of command seating where Tiana and Yukie sat in silence. Tiana forced a smile, nodding her welcome, trying to ignore the tension steadily rising in the air. The usually steadfast guards th
at lined the fleet command deck, fidgeting at every sound. But her own apprehension had eased after the captain's explanation, and she found herself regretting not taking Trent's earlier attempts at tutoring more seriously. Yukie's grip became ever tighter, pulling Tiana’s attention. Her skin was noticeably flush, beads of sweat dripping from her sculpted features, her gold and silver hair damp and lacking its usual luster.

  “It will be alright...” she whispered to the young empress, knowing she must be terrified. But the offended look she received in reply wasn't what she had been expecting.

  “Of course we will! Trent designed this starship. There is no way it could lose to a measly traitorous battle group!” Yukie's excited words echoed across the fleet command deck and bridge.

  “I'm sorry, Yukie, I thought you were scared,” Tiana apologized.

  Yukie's consternation turned to puzzlement. “No, if anything...I'm happy. This is the most exciting thing that has ever happened to me. My heart won't stop beating!” Tiana sighed, looking to Sir Erio, who frowned at his charge, unable to hide his own concern.

  “My Lady...many good men and women will die today for reasons they do not understand. We should observe with pride their honorable sacrifice,” Yukie looked up at the old guard captain, noticeably baffled.

  “But they are bad, Sir Erio. Why should I not be excited?” Yukie turned to Tiana, her eyes asking for support.

  “Empress, I know it's difficult to understand. But even if the officers may be traitors, what of the crew? Do they have a choice but to follow their commander's orders?” Yukie's expression turned to shock.

  “I did not think of that...you will forgive me, Sir Erio. I will take your words to heart,” Yukie said, having learned a very important lesson.

  “Thirty seconds to contact. Helm, turn us 0 by negative 40 and prepare for active “angled-burn” in twenty seconds,” Captain Daiyu ordered. The projection of the ABF Sasha on the CID angled to the left, but continued moving in the direction of its momentum. Tiana felt her heart start to beat in unison with the seconds that seemed to slow, her grip slipping in Yukie's hand, palms full of sweat.

  It will be alright, she thought to herself, but found another thought to be much stronger. What if there is actually a flaw that Trent missed? The thought fully took hold as the time ticked down to ten seconds till contact.

  “Angled-burn...Now!” the shout seemed to rattle the bridge. The ABF Sasha’s primary thrusters came online and they started to angle away from the approaching battle group.

  “Helm! Continue adjusting course; 0 by .01 every five seconds! Tactical, fire all LPAs!” Captain Daiyu ordered, her thunderous words showing none of the fear that must have filled the rest of the crew as they reached the edge of max weapons range.

  Hundreds of green LPA beams erupted from the ABF Sasha, streaming across space at the speed of light, on a direct course for the enemy battle group. Four screening frigates vanished as they struck, being sliced apart by the large LPA beams, while two corvettes fell out of formation, spewing atmosphere and debris in their wakes. No return fire was detected, the enemy battle group being taken unaware by the unexpected attack of a lone starship. But the surprise lasted only a moment and Tiana's heart stopped as she watched the 46 enemy starships angle towards the ABF Sasha, keeping their momentum in the direction of Alutia V5432, and tens of thousands of LPAs erupted as one, painting space a sickly green.

  “Helm! Evasive Maneuvers! Set B1-Y6!” Captain Daiyu barked, a thread of tension finally making its way to the surface.

  The ABF Sasha's maneuvering thrusters came online and they twirled clear of the incoming fire. But a few predicted their maneuver and the beams of energy, both actual and kinetic, struck the energy shield, or ESS, which easily diffused their destructive power. The ABF Sasha's LPAs, which retracted into the protective shell of the ESS mere milliseconds before the incoming fire arrived, extended again. The large LPAs fired a second salvo while the small and medium LPAs continued their sustained fire. A cruiser and two more frigates vanished, shields unable to withstand the concentrated fire that fell upon them, and Tiana and Yukie cheered in unison.

  We have a chance.

  A salvo from the NHA Super-Capital ABF Yulee's 1600 large LPAs suddenly filled space all around them, making it impossible to maneuver. The rest of the enemy battle group, in trained unison, fired a moment later on the trapped prey. The ABF Sasha's ESS tried to hold as the LPA fire connected. Its hazy outline shimmered green as the super-compacted electrons diffused and redirected the thousands of simultaneous LPA beams that struck its hazy surface. But it was too much contained energy for the ESS to bear, and it buckled, letting a multitude of the green beams through to strike the unprotected hull.

  Tiana was almost thrown from her seat, the gravity manipulation field, or GM field, unable to fully adjust for the unexpected movement of the starship. But a combat armored guard held her steady, another doing the same for Yukie. It took only a few moments for the shaking to subside, and the manipulated gravity born of the Neutron Star Drive, or NSD core, that created the GM field, to normalize.

  Tiana rubbed her hands on her trousers, acting like she was smoothing out wrinkles, not drying the cold sweat that clung to her palms. “Is that...” Tiana started as she stared at the image of the ABF Sasha, finding massive holes littering one side of its outer hull, revealing the gorian hull hidden beneath. It took only a moment for it to repair, the liquefied programmable matter reserve being tapped to rebuild its integrity, while new LPAs and shield spikes were quickly extended from the eight weapon bays that surrounded the inner hull, replacing those that had been destroyed.

  “I told you I was right...” Yukie said calmly, her freely falling sweat showing that even she may have had a momentary doubt. Tiana couldn't help but grin, picturing the surprised expressions that must be taking hold of the enemy officers when they learned their prey survived such an intense barrage. The amount of fire power the ABF Sasha had just withstood would have been enough to easily destroy a super-capital ship, but they had shrugged it off with only a shutter.

  Two more enemy screening corvettes vanished, while a frigate floated out of formation, damaged beyond any hope of repair. The remaining screening forces started shifting behind their larger brethren, leaving the battleships, dreadnaughts, capital ships, and super-capital ship as their only clear targets. Another volley from the NHA Super-Capital ABF Yulee, NHA Capital ABF Vor'Ta, and NHA Capital ABF Tor'Va struck the ABF Sasha with the same pattern, trying to trap them in a cage of large LPAs while the smaller vessels pounded away.

  “Evasive Maneuver, ZZ-1! Now, now, now!” Captain Daiyu bellowed, this time being prepared for the tactic. The maneuvering thrusters went to full power and they shot through a portion of the trap where the LPAs were the thinnest, spinning rapidly. The ESS held and only a few of the LPAs that failed to retract in time were destroyed.

  “Don't worry about the losses, Tac! Just keep firing! Keep it up! We can win this!” Captain Daiyu's orders cut through the tense silence, each and every bridge officer absorbed in their responsibilities.

  A cheer rose from one of the officers as an enemy dreadnaught turned into a ball of intense bluish-white light, its NSD pierced by a stray LPA beam. The starship quickly vanished as its singularity containment collapsed, the universe appearing to ripple around her. A cruiser that had been too close was caught in the momentary gravitational shockwave created by the exposed “artificial” neutron star, ripping it to pieces before the “artificial” star could be completely absorbed within the singularities collapse, vanishing when the universe repaired the temporary tear.

  The enemy's numbers were slowly dwindling and the return fire seemed to become more and more frantic, no longer firing in trained unison.

  “Keep it up, helm! Set R-3, repeat Y-6, then maneuver-at-will!” Captain Daiyu must have noticed as well, altering to yet another evasion pattern.

  The ABF Sasha had been gradually closing as they circled the enemy, now at 750,000
kilometers from target. Tiana started to wonder when they would fire their plasma cannon, not recalling its max range. But before she could raise her question, another wave of large LPAs predicted their maneuver.

  Tiana was thrown into the arms of the guard at her side as the entire right side of the starships outer hull vanished, along with most of the LPAs, EW spikes, and ESS projectors. Her body vibrated as the enemy LPA fire continued to strike home, now directly against the exposed gorian inner hull.

  “Roll us until the hull can repair!” Captain Daiyu's order sounded odd, intermingled with the vibration of the starship, which stopped as they rolled. It took a moment for her eyes to readjust and her head to stop spinning. She checked on the Yukie, who, even after Sir Erio's words, appeared to be again, enjoying the experience immensely.

  Tiana recovered her seat and watched in awe as the image of the ABF Sasha's destroyed outer hull started to reform. A lattice work of liquid tilitium appeared first, then quickly filled in before solidifying. She wondered how many more times the hull could be rebuilt, since if she recalled correctly, most starships only kept enough spare liquefied programmable matter in reserve to fix the tilitium hull completely twice.

  “Belia...how thick is the outer hull?” she asked, the unexpected question seeming to take the terrified woman by surprise.

  “A centimeter, Lady Tiana,” Belia responded quickly. She found herself grinning as she realized what that meant.

  “What is it Tiana?” Yukie asked, curiosity taking the place of excitement.

  “I was thinking we may run out of programmable matter to repair the hull, since starships usually only carry enough extra matter to completely repair it twice. But those hulls are tens of meters thick. This is only a guess...but I'd say we can probably take hundreds...if not thousands of hits like that and still be able to repair ourselves.” As she finished explaining her reasoning, the starship rolled back around, having repaired the damage and redeployed the destroyed equipment.