The Depths of War (Dark Seas Book 5)

by Damon Alan

  Mindari appeared, suddenly and startlingly, off their port side.

  “Sensors,” Heinrich demanded.

  The tactical screen filled out the situation. Nearly eighty ships sat in the clutches of the shipyard, but one was free and accelerating hard toward a small ship even as a pod chased after the destroyer.

  The boarding pod shuttle was in danger.

  “The destroyer is overrunning the shuttle,” Harmeen reported. “In four minutes. Even now, if we destroy the enemy ship, the debris will potentially overtake and kill our shuttle.”

  The flight control deck called in on audio. “Alarin’s on his way to one of our pods. In case you want to take that small ship,” Emille reported. “Even I can feel your concern, he just about lost his lunch when your emotions hit him.”

  “Have him stand by,” Sarah ordered, ignoring Emille’s comment about emotions. “At the boarding pod is fine.”

  “Or we could have him move the shuttle,” Harmeen suggested. “If the destroyer gets their weapons working, Alarin would be a sitting duck.”

  “Lasers, lock onto the destroyer,” Heinrich ordered the gun emplacements. “Prepare to open fire on bridge orders.”

  “What about a warning shot?” Algiss suggested. “We outclass them many times over. A siege destroyer has nice big guns, but not enough to risk fighting us.”

  Admiral Dayson gave a thumbs up to Algiss, then grabbed her mic. “Lasers, fire a warning shot at the destroyer, between it and the shuttle. If they don’t veer off in fifteen seconds, stand by to put a shot through their fuel cell.” She looked at the ships on the main screen. The remnants of the 31st Battlegroup lay scattered in various berths. “Starboard side, open fire on the shipyard, destroy it and all the ships. Leave nothing for the enemy.”

  A single beam streaked outward on the main screen, missing the destroyer by a few hundred meters.

  “Admiral, I have Major Dobornik on link,” Seto said. “He’s sounding pretty grateful.”

  “Good, tell him to veer starboard. If the destroyer refuses to yield, that will give us shots straight up his engines,” the admiral answered.

  The shuttle turned as hard to the right as it could, and the destroyer slid into a wider arc trying to pursue it. Dobornik might be able to clear the debris after all.

  “Port side weapons, fire one more warning shot at the enemy, where he can’t miss seeing it,” Heinrich ordered.

  Another single beam tore past the destroyer, this time just a few meters off the hull.

  It continued turning toward the shuttle, under full acceleration.

  “The pod chasing the destroyer, Admiral, it just can’t keep up,” Harmeen reported. “It’s never going to catch it.”

  Sarah sighed, then keyed her mic. She had no idea why anyone would die to try to kill a shuttle. Fanatics. “Weapons, engage the destroyer. Punch the fuel cells.”

  “Dobornik,” Sarah transmitted next, “turn a casual right one-eighty, then approach the Stennis. That should keep you out of the thickest debris that is about to come your way.”

  Again violet light streaked from her battlecruiser, and this time several dozen beams converged on the hull of the small ship. The destroyer began spitting out molten blobs of metal, followed by entire sections of structure.

  Two seconds later, it exploded in a cone of debris and fire.

  Next the docked ships of the shipyard were rendered into scrap metal as high energy anti-ship munitions tore into them. The Stennis looked pyrotechnical as he fired, so many orange and violet streaks erupted from the hull.

  “We have planetary fire,” Harmeen reported. “Missiles.”

  “Cease fire on the shipyard,” Heinrich ordered. “It’s done.”

  “I always believed Mindari was underprotected, that we should have had ground railgun stations. Now I’m grateful for that lack of defense. Engage the missiles, Mister Harmeen,” Sarah ordered. “Keep a corridor clear for our people to get off the surface.”

  “Engaging,” Harmeen said as he directed the Stennis’s defensive fire.

  As the shipyard burned and Dobornik swung around to board the Stennis, lasers and small railguns attacked the threat coming up from below.

  Sarah looked down on the planet, at the day-night terminator. Other than a few lights twinkling in the darkness, probably EMP hardened military sites, the night was dark. Cities sat unseen, and no lines of illumination ran between them. The low orbit nuclear strikes on the defensive stations had taken down the civilian world.

  Sad. She knew people had died or were dying.

  “All armies prefer high ground to low, and sunny places to dark,” she said to nobody in particular.

  “Admiral?” Heinrich asked.

  “An ancient teacher of war said that. In a book called The Art of War. I’ve been known to read it from time to time.” She remembered the last time she’d quoted the book. At Hamor. Let’s hope their luck fared better now, they certainly had the upper hand for the moment.

  “The Palino has lifted from the surface, Admiral,” Seto reported. “Grapplers and combat shuttles in escort, they’ll clear the atmosphere in six minutes.”

  “Good news.” She looked at the tactical display. The nearest enemy combat spacecraft was still a few hours out at their best acceleration. They’d had the good fortune of arriving in system when only a few FTL capable ships were around. Apparently those were civilian vessels, as they all jumped away as soon as the fighting started. Four cruisers with escorts were in orbit over Mindari before the fight, the Stennis had nuked them first.

  Surprise like that was impossible with a conventional FTL drive. She felt unstoppable.

  “When we have all of our people, we leave, Mister Algiss. Orient the ship to keep the port side toward the planet.”

  “Aye, sir,” Algiss said. “I’ve been doing that.”

  Now it was a short waiting game. Just like Hamor. Waiting for other ships to get into location to get away.

  “Admiral?” Harmeen said. “You have to see this.”

  She looked as data from Harmeen’s console hit the overhead screen. Several hundred AU out from Mindari Prime an inclusion sphere had just formed.

  “How long at this range?” Sarah asked. “If they’re coming here, I mean.”

  “Twenty-two minutes,” Harmeen said. “And judging by the compression of the wavefront, I believe they’re headed straight to Mindari.”

  “Then we have twenty minutes to be gone, Mister Algiss. Set a timer,” Sarah ordered.

  A twenty minute clock appeared over the main screen.

  “Five minutes until our ground forces clear the atmosphere,” Heinrich reported. “We shouldn’t mess around after that.”

  “When that incoming fleet gets here, the adepts may all go down. Or not. We don’t know for sure, the gravity waves didn’t affect them as much at Korvand as it did at Backwater. Maybe that’s because Thea’s drug is in their system now,” Sarah said. “Damn. I’d like to see what’s coming in.”

  “Not my recommendation, Admiral,” Heinrich repeated. “First, whatever it is, the Komi believe it can deal with us. Second, we have to protect the adepts.” She paused a moment. “Although, to be honest, I’d like to see as well.”

  “We have a few minutes to think about it,” Sarah said. “And I’ll let you know well ahead of time.”

  Heinrich said nothing else. She’d said her piece and her commander was advised. That’s what a good XO does. Sarah appreciated that.

  FTL missiles dropped out of highspace and began target seeking. From their behavior, they were set to target any active ship in the area.

  “Emergency roll, bring the port side weapons to bear, Mister Algiss. Defensive fire at full capacity, Mister Harmeen. Let’s protect our friends for a few minutes until they can jump out.”

  “Aye, admiral” echoed twice.

  The Stennis shuddered as his railguns once again opened up. The weapons put up a barrier between the Stennis, the Palino, the freighter’s escorts, and
the enemy FTL missiles.

  One by one the missiles, more than forty, blinked out as small one gram projectiles hit them at hyperkinetic speeds. Still, more came. “Where are they coming from?” Sarah demanded to know.

  “Probably the base where the inclusion sphere originated,” Harmeen said. “Deep space object?”

  “Maybe. Store the location, we might need it later,” she ordered. She keyed her mic. “There are several missiles closing on the Palino, Emille. How long ‘til it jumps?”

  “Now,” the young adept answered.

  The rescue ships blinked away.

  “Dobornik?” Sarah asked.

  “Just docking,” Seto reported. “Locking his magnetic struts as we speak.”

  Sarah wanted to see that incoming fleet. See if a raid on the base out system was warranted. But Heinrich was right. While the new laser systems gave good anti-missile protection, the Stennis didn’t need to fight a fleet of unknown combat potential.

  The adepts were still at risk, and that wasn’t acceptable either.

  “Jump us away,” Sarah ordered.

  The Stennis vanished from Mindari space.

  Chapter 26 - Proof

  30 Jand 15332

  Bannick stood at the end of a long table, in a meeting room on his floor of Komi Tower.

  “I want a report from each of you, one at a time. Starting with Admiral Cothis,” he said. His voice was calm, his face emotionless as his father had taught him.

  If any of the twelve military leaders sitting here were to face discipline, they’d not see it coming. Terrorizing the leadership was not an effective tool. They all knew the price for failure, and the rewards for success.

  “We know there are two possibilities for the success of the Alliance rogue in her attacks,” Cothis said. “She either has an undetectable FTL drive, or she has a cloaking device far superior to anything developed in known space.”

  “Captain Hozz seemed to think it was a cloaking device, before she captured his ship and made off with it,” Bannick said. “I don’t think such a device is possible.”

  “Which leaves us with the other impossible device, Lord Komi.” Cothis looked up and down the table. “We have a rogue ship commander that can come and go at will, and apparently appear just above our atmosphere as she pleases. No facility can stay on high alert forever, and that’s what it will take to counter that capability.”

  “Or we drag her in with her connections to this place,” the man next to Cothis said. General Dumok Tang. The Butcher of Sindai.

  Bannick closed his eyes a moment in order to maintain control. He didn’t want his distaste for Tang to show. “What’s your suggestion?”

  “We execute the local populace, a hundred thousand a week, until she surrenders.”

  “You’re relieved,” Bannick whispered, looking down at the surface of the table. “You will take the next FTL courier back to Komi and explain to my father that I have relieved you of duty. Your suggestion that we squander productive citizens of the Komi Empire repulses me.” Bannick said, then he met the General’s eyes. There was no fear there. Only hate for what Bannick assumed was the General’s belief in Bannick’s weakness. “If you’re not off planet by sunrise, I’ll have you executed.”

  Tang stood, then bowed. “At your command, Lord Komi.” With stark military precision, the General left the room.

  “Anyone have another barbaric suggestion they’d like to be censured for?” Bannick asked.

  His people were motionless around the table. Nobody would openly support Tang.

  Good. The matter was settled. This was a competition between one ship and the entirety of the Komi Navy at Mindari. No citizens needed to die for that.

  “How many ships do we have in system?” Bannick asked.

  “With the loss of the captured Alliance fleet, we have eight hundred and four,” Cothis answered. “Enough that if we draw a few hundred to protect Mindari, the rest of the system will not suffer for lack of enforcement.”

  “And the Palidragon?” Bannick asked.

  “In orbit now, Lord Komi. By the time it arrived from our deep base, Dayson had already retreated with her prizes. There are three reports that she and the ships that raided the prison simply vanished, no inclusion sphere was generated. These witnesses are not considered one hundred percent reliable since they were on the space dock when Dayson thoroughly decimated it.”

  “I suspect your witnesses may not be far from the truth,” Bannick said. “We need this new mode of travel in our hands.”

  “Indeed,” Cothis answered.

  “My shuttle is ready?”

  Cothis nodded his head. “The dreadnought is ready to receive you and your consort when you wish.”

  “Fine. Palia and I will move there after this meeting, if that is the recommended move for security.” He paced a few steps as he considered the situation. “What exactly did Dayson make off with?” Bannick hadn’t really thought of her goal yet, it was an outrageous affront that she’d raided a Komi world. But she probably wasn’t the type to take such a risk for nothing. There was a plan.

  “She stole eleven ships, all Alliance vessels. Reports are they too simply vanished into nothingness. With the destruction of the shipyard, there is no sensor record of how she managed that. Much like we found no debris from our two light cruisers. She wrecked the remaining vessels. We know what she took because we know which ships are not still burning in ruin.”

  “And?” Bannick asked, impatient.

  “She took a heavy carrier, two battle cruisers, two light cruisers, an escort destroyer, two siege destroyers, a fueler, and a bulk freighter. Last but not least, she took an electronic warfare and intelligence ship,” Cothis answered.

  “She’s building a fleet,” Bannick said. “Which explains why she broke the Alliance prisoners out of Strick.”

  “Yes Lord Komi, it looks to be so.” Cothis sighed, then bowed his head. “I’d like to offer my resignation for my failure in this matter.”

  Bannick looked at the older man. A personal friend of his father, Fallon Cothis was an honorable man. He’d tried not to show emotion, but Cothis’s face had betrayed his approval of Bannick’s dismissal of Tang.

  No. This man was too valuable, and too easy to like.

  “Don’t be ridiculous, Admiral. Nobody here could have seen Dayson’s attack coming. But now we know, and we should expect her back for more. And we should notify the empire wide military network of her doings. As much as I hate to admit my failure here, it is our duty to the Syndicate. I will face my father’s wrath.”

  Relief showed in Cothis’ eyes, but otherwise his emotions were barely detectable. Even the display in his eyes was probably just his way of showing appreciation to Bannick.

  Bannick turned his attention to the others in the room. “I’ll take your reports now. I want to know what she’s done, what she might do, and what we can do to stop her.”

  He listened carefully as the men and women at the table gave their understanding of the events.

  The best defense against her was saturating the space above Mindari with EMP hardened ships. It would appear that despite what was likely an advanced and unknown drive system, Sarah Dayson had only her lasers as unconventional weaponry.

  Nobody had any speculation regarding what she might be after next. She’d stolen all their prisoners except for a few kept at isolated facilities, and no more alliance ships remained. Still, she’d stolen two Komi ships as well, so it would serve the Syndicate to keep the patrols double strength and the navy on alert.

  Nobody in Intelligence or Cartography had heard of Oasia, Oasian, or whoever she claimed to be fighting for. It wasn’t in any databases. But sooner or later, if she kept attacking, Bannick would get what they’d need to hit her at home.

  The engineers were diligently working on restoring the power grid to the major cities. There had been some loss of life, in hospitals, end of life homes, and in aviation as lifters fell to the ground.

  That told
him that Dayson wasn’t beyond civilian casualties to get what she wanted. It’s possible she was much like the Komi, willing to do what had to be done for efficiency.

  “This meeting is dismissed,” Bannick said after everyone was done.

  “There is one more thing,” Admiral Cothis said. “We have a message from Admiral Dayson to you, Lord Komi. She has issued a warning.”

  “Why didn’t I see this first?” Bannick asked.

  “Because it’s ludicrous. She must think we’re stupid.”

  Bannick wondered what she could say that would make a man as sober as Cothis say such a thing. “Let’s hear it then, I could use a laugh.”

  “This message is for the Komi Syndicate leader on Mindari. Lord Bannick Komi. This is Admiral Sarah Dayson. I have captured your ships. I have freed my allies. I have what I want. But now I give you a warning. Within a year the stars inside the Hive controlled areas near Hamor will be destroyed. I have a weapon that will make these stars go nova, and I plan on doing so in order to destroy the Hive at any price. The region of space Mindari is within will be rendered uninhabitable. I am giving you warning so that you may evacuate the planet. It saddens me, but there is no price too high to pay in order to end the Hive threat. Mindari, however, will have almost two centuries before the first pulse of radiation reaches you. That will give you time to evacuate. In order that you can confirm my story, I will destroy Hamor Prime precisely twenty-five days after leaving this comm buoy for you to recover. Consider yourself warned.”

  The message ended.

  “That’s it?” Bannick asked.

  “Yes, Lord Komi,” Cothis replied. “The claims are absurd.”

  “Maybe so, but I would have said her FTL capabilities were absurd a few days ago. Get a scout to Hamor and let me know if it behaves as she says it will.”

  “It will be done by the time we get there,” Cothis said. “There isn’t enough time to get a scout ship there with an FTL harness before her deadline.”

  “Send a scout immediately. I want to know if her boasts are real.”