Void Dragon

by William Kephart

  “Then we can dispense with—”

  Someone held up a hand, and Wu fell silent. Wen strained to see, as she had never known Wu to defer to anyone.

  And there she was, peering down at Wen with an unreadable expression.

  Chairwoman Cao was even more impressive in person, with a severe bun, aquiline nose, and fierce eyes, she looked more warlike than any magistrate had a right to. Her rise to power came in the aftermath of the death of Wen's mother, and as irrational as that was, a part of Wen resented her for it. That didn’t seem to matter so much in the Premier’s presence, though.

  Cao was skilled as any at spinning stalemates and setbacks into grand victories and as efficient as her background as a government accountant would indicate. She kept the fleet expanding at a steady rate and had more or less been able to stem the tide of Enemy advance and stabilize things. A formidable woman, Wen had to admit.

  Cao smiled at her, and if anything had the opposite effect to what Cao probably intended.

  “We’re sorry to be sending you out so soon, Captain. Your service to the Gongyue Systems Republic is appreciated, I can assure you, but needs must. The intelligence you brought back with Montjoie has forced our hand. Could we trouble you for another explanation, Professor?”

  The Mei man puffed up and tried to look tall. Wen wouldn’t dare laugh but the incongruity was funny.

  “It is my considered opinion that the Quay’Tahhhn armada gathered at Chengdu is only a fraction of their true strength.”

  What?! “Five hundred dreadnoughts! A fraction! How is that possible?” We’re doomed.

  Cao looked at Wen with what she could only call a “charitable” expression. “Peace, Captain. It’s not so bad as you imagine. Professor, if you would?”

  “Yes, well, as I was about to say,” Montjoie said importantly, “the primary political unit of the Quay’tahhhn is the Myayyim-hya-myurngnam, that is to say, the mother-of-son. These women are in practice warlords, laws unto themselves with fleets that answer to them alone. The Myayyim of Chengdu is one of the stronger ones, but she’s not the only one.”

  “And how many more?” Wen asked. She didn’t know why she asked. This was something she probably didn’t want to know.

  “Unknown,” Montjoie replied, “but the Myayyim of Harbin was her daughter, and those orbital bombardment ships that caused so many problems for us came from the mother’s fleet based at Chengdu, indeed many of our old outer colony worlds are in the grip of this single family.”

  “You mean,” Wen said, “The Enemy that we’ve been fighting for a generation, the Enemy that outnumbers us in every engagement, is only a fraction or their true strength?” Wen couldn’t believe it. She refused to believe it.

  “That’s exactly what he means,” Cao replied. “But don’t you see? The war of one Mayi isn’t the war of another. If we defeat the Mayi of Chengdu then we might have peace with the rest. The great gathering of her fleet and the fleets of her daughters is a move of desperation. They’re not expanding fast enough to accommodate everyone’s interests and the alliance is already fraying. Their disorganization of the last few years is proof of that. A win here would drive them from the outer colonies, worlds lost to us for a generation or more! From there, we might very well be able to negotiate a peace if what Montjoie tells us is true.”

  That sounded too good to be true to Wen, but she held her piece. Wasn’t Chairwoman Cao supposed to be shrewd?

  “That’s not all, though,” Cao continued. “Those gunboats designed for orbital bombardment are a worrying development. That can only mean they’re planning a serious offensive, perhaps a move on Zhongxing itself. That cannot be allowed to happen. That must not be allowed to happen. We’ve been decentralizing, true, but the loss of the capitol world would simply be too demoralizing. Our people would lose the will to resist.

  “Which brings us to you, Captain.”

  She smiled, and motioned for an orderly to come forward. “Or should I say Commodore Wen?”

  The orderly’s white-gloved hands presented an ornamental box and opened the lid. Sure enough, there were commodore’s epaulets for her dress uniform and collar insignia for her usual uniform. Wen let herself admire them for a moment before taking the box and saluting.

  “Thank you, Chairwoman.”

  “Don’t thank me yet, Commodore. It’s a terrible burden I’ve placed on your shoulders. Those epaulets are the least I could do. You will be in overall command of the frigate squadrons that will deliver Marshal Lü’s forces to the planet, after which you will close with and engage the bulk of the Enemy fleet under the most deadly conditions imaginable.”

  That sounded a bit off to Wen. “With all due respect, Madam, why bother with the planet before the fleet is dealt with?” she asked.

  “I’ll let Marshal Lü explain. Marshal, if you please?” Cao raised her voice to get his attention, but he took no notice, transfixed as he was by the great map.

  “Marshal? MARSHAL!” she yelled. “Somebody get him over here!”

  Cao sighed. “I swear, if he wasn’t so good at his job...but he is. You didn’t here that from me,” she said, and gave Wen a smile and a conspiratorial wink from her seat behind the dais. Wen was beginning to think those smiles didn’t reach her eyes, but she wasn’t close enough to really tell.

  Lü thundered into their presence. “Yes, yes, what is it?”

  “We’re going over the plan with the good Commodore here, and I was hoping you’d explain the situation on Chengdu’s surface,” Cao said lightly.

  “Fine, fine. Ever been to Chengdu?” he asked. “No? Well, I guess you’re too young. It’s a damned wet planet, no major continental landmasses, only archipelagos. We used it as an administrative center back in the day because it wasn’t good for much else, and the system had good mining,” he added as an afterthought.

  Wen wasn’t following. “What’s the problem, then?”

  Lü just stared at her, his ugly leathery face scrunched up in an expression Wen could only guess was disapproval.

  “What are they teaching junior officers these days?” he asked to no one in particular. “The first thing any proper officer learns is the Enemy is twice as dangerous in the water, maybe three times. Their suits are optimized for it. They zip through the water and pop up behind you faster than you can blink. That’s not the worst of it either, not by a long shot. That rabble garrison you faced on Harbin? That was nothing. I’m not surprised you broke through so easily once you got Xuanwu reformed. They’ll have their best people on Chengdu, and lots of them. Digging them out will be hell, especially with such a damned short operation window.”

  “And why must they be dug out?” Wen asked. “The fleet overhead is the real threat. Why not leave them to rot?”

  “Because of the iceberg guns,” Lü said. “Their fleet is as good as invincible as long as they’re covered by the iceberg guns.

  “I see you’re still not comprehending, girl. Rama, show her!” he bellowed.

  One of his staff officers hastened to the map and tapped out a few commands on the control console. The galaxy map faded away and the screen displayed an image of what could only be a cannon floating in the water, pointing straight up.

  “I know what you’re thinking,” Lü said, “‘not that big’ am I right? Wrong! Ninety percent of that gun is below the surface of the water. Our engineers estimate the yield to be seventy or eighty guangbai, hits nearly as hard as a dreadnought. The Enemy always did eat our lunch in fluid mechanics. I guess it’s something you’d expect from a water people.”

  “Semi-aquatic,” Montjoie interjected. “They’re land mammals, but spent most of their evolutionary history as fishing specialists.”

  “Whatever. The important thing is the Enemy fleet is in a geosynchronous orbit over a whole underwater garden of those bastards. They won’t budge until those guns are silenced.”

  “Could they hit our frigates?” Wen asked worriedly. There went her whole plan.

  “Honestl
y? We don’t know,” said Admiral Song, speaking up for the first time. “All we have are preliminary scouting reports. Without seeing them in action, the best we have is our scientists’ estimates based on what we’ve observed of their technological capabilities in the past. They are a threat, to be sure, but we won’t know how much of a threat until we face them. It would be better to take them out at the outset of the battle.”

  “Easier said than done,” Lü mumbled where only Wen could hear him.

  “If these iceberg guns are such a threat, why not wait until they come to us? The Enemy fleet will have no planetary cover and I’m confident my frigates could swarm and overwhelm them.” Mm. ‘My’ frigates. Wen liked the sound of that.

  “Too dangerous,” Cao said. “That fleet over Chengdu could double in size tomorrow. We have no way of knowing the extent of their forces. It’s better to engage them while their numbers are still manageable.”

  Wen wondered in what universe five hundred dreadnoughts could ever be reckoned as “manageable”.

  “So, if I’m following, we land the troops, and then join the battle above?”

  “That’s about the size of it. Admiral Jiang has already planned the attack. You’ll go over it with her and then I expect you to brief our new frigate captains yourself,” Cao said.

  That reminded Wen of something. “And my ship? The Void Dragon?”

  “Too damaged to take part, I’m afraid,” Song said. “You’re being temporarily assigned to a new ship, the Yellow Wind.”

  Chapter 15

  Wen never imagined there could be so many. The captains and senior officers of just about the whole Gongyue fleet were assembled in a single lecture hall. The room had tiered seating facing a podium and a large screen displaying the Chengdu system with all its planets, moons, and other tactically relevant spacemarks.

  Admiral Jiang had made her plans clear enough to Wen; it was a simple strategy, but Wen had come to believe that such a thing was a strength, not a weakness. She had learned well on Harbin that nothing could be counted on, and any plan that hinged on a series of necessary preconditions would swiftly unravel at the first introduction of an unanticipated variable. That whole operation had been close to failure the entire time. They couldn’t afford the same here.

  Wen could only feel inspired by how Jiang, an admiral for a day, briefed the assembled space-power of the Gongyue Government as if she’d been born to do it.

  “As you can see, the key tactical feature of the Chengdu system is its previous status as a mining hub.” Jiang drew their attention to the astro-chart behind her and used the tool at her podium to zoom in. “There. The Chengdu system has many small satellites, planetoids, and asteroid belts sufficient to cover our approach to the planet.

  “Of particularly concern is this ferrous moon, infamous in colonial days for creating all kinds of electromagnetic interference.”

  Jiang zoomed in yet again. “It is, if you’ll pardon the expression, a veritable magnet for asteroid strikes and other space debris. Attempts to clear this debris over the years have proven to be expensive failures, for the Kuei’Tang Enemy no less than ourselves. Indeed, these failures have resulted in fine clouds of particulate matter, a nebula of mist near ideal to our purposes.”

  A wizened Vice Admiral stood up, “If it’s so ideal, couldn’t the Enemy anticipate our attacking through it?” he asked. A dull chorus of affirmative murmurs and nodding heads followed.

  Jiang took the question in stride. “True, they could, but there aren’t any better options. We can’t take a chance on our ships of the line being engaged before the frigates can return and support them. Our charts predict the ferrous moon will be at a safe distance from the planet, about five thousand guangbai, at the hour our operation is scheduled to begin. We’ll have time to form up in peace, and they won’t have time for anything but waiting for us to come to them.

  “Even so, I’d like to try and draw some of them away from the planet if I possibly can. Once we form up and close with the Kuei’Tang I want everyone to open fire at two hundred guangbai and hold. That’s a bit out of our effective range I realize, but if some of the Enemy take the bait it’ll be worth it.

  “We’ll be waiting for the frigates to return from Chengdu’s surface and for the marines to silence the iceberg guns. They’ll need time, so we’ll avoid entering engagement range as long as we can. Any Kuei’Tang dreadnought that can be lured away from the cover of the iceberg guns is a dreadnought our frigates can make short work of, as I’m sure you’ve all seen in the data from the Void Dragon’s shakedown cruise. I’ve seen these ships do amazing things firsthand. If the Enemy fleet wasn’t protected by planetary batteries I would’ve already launched this attack in full confidence of success.

  “I realize many of you are new to this kind of fighting, with perhaps only days in the simulator, a few weeks at best. Perhaps you’re new to command, and never imagined a captain’s billet would open up for you. If you’re nervous that’s normal. When the crunch comes just trust your training and don’t underestimate your ship. The Void Dragon class can be pushed harder than anything else in space and is immensely forgiving of mistakes. You must think evasively. The frigates cannot stand up to sustained bombardment. If you’re taking sustained bombardment you’re doing something wrong. But of course this isn’t my area of expertise. I’m a dreadnought line officer, like most of you are, or were. I’ll leave the rest of the briefing to Commodore Wen. Commodore, if you please?”

  Polite applause echoed through the hall, and though Wen was expecting this, she’d been dreading it more than she cared to admit. Jiang retired from the podium and left it to her. Here goes nothing.

  “Yes, thank you. I’m Captain, ah, Commodore Wen, late of the GSS Void Dragon, first of her class. The first thing you ought to know is these ships are fast. The original Void Dragon could make thirty guangbai at a stretch, and I’m told the mass production model can make thirty three going on thirty five. If they keep this up we won’t need greenshift drives at all!”

  Wen didn’t expect them to laugh, but they could’ve pretended. “Anyway, distance will get away from you if you’re used to a dreadnought’s pace. Everything moves faster aboard a Void Dragon class, and that means you have to think faster. You’ll close the distance and be firing in the time it takes a dreadnought to come about. I exaggerate, but it really does feel like that sometimes. You’re going to have to think fast, make decisions fast. Mistakes will be made.”

  There was a bit of laughter at that. Bastards. “Yes, I’m sure you’ve all thoroughly studied my record. It’s easy to get in trouble on one of these ships, but it’s also easy to get out of trouble. Admiral Jiang wasn’t exaggerating about how forgiving they are. You can extract yourself from errors that would get a dreadnought destroyed and do it in every battle. As long as you don’t give up and keep trying new things you’ll be just fine. I’ve made mistakes, but I’m still here!”

  Somebody in the crowd started applauding at that. The applause spread and Wen tried to get a look at who started it. She couldn’t be sure but it definitely looked like Lieutenant Commander Xinren was at the heart of it. She was almost as disappointed that he wouldn’t be with her on the Yellow Wind as she was relieved that Nima wouldn’t be there. Wen sent a look of silent gratitude in Xinren’s general direction.

  “You’ll make it through this too, so long as you stay loose and flexible. Don’t be too committed to any single line of attack. We don’t know how relevant the iceberg guns will be against ships of our class, so it’s best not to stay in any one place too long. If it all possible try to keep the Enemy fleet between you and the planet. Don’t make it easy for them, but take care you don’t hit the planet itself; the marines will thank you for it.”

  Marshal Lü let a sort of half-grunt that could be interpreted as agreement, or perhaps mockery. Wen pressed on, unruffled.

  “Almost none of us have fought in a battle of this scale, with dozens of ships on each side, let alone hundreds!
Only the most senior of us witnessed the larger clashes in the early days of the Long War. It’s going to be a unique experience. Ironically, with the full might of the fleet behind you the actual fighting will be pretty solitary.

  “Five hundred dreadnoughts, and I’m told it might be closer to six by the time we sortie, is a hell of a lot, spread out in a geosynchronous orbit over a whole hemisphere of Chengdu. With the light-noise and electromagnetic interference you can expect communications to break down almost as soon as the shooting starts. The new Bruzio cores are supposed to retain their accuracy better than what I flew with but don’t shift recklessly; always know where you’re going.

  “On that note, since our ability to give new orders over the course of the battle will be spotty at best, it’s important to have a good grasp of your designated battle sectors, both to land your marine complement and to fight. The sectors are, in order: Rat, Ox, Tiger, and Rabbit. Stay in your zone if you can, but if things are going well by all means take targets of opportunity elsewhere. We don’t want to step on each other’s toes, and shifting too close to one another is a distinct possibility, so watch it.

  “Silencing the iceberg guns takes priority so we’ll be shifting in first, right under Chengdu’s flak grid, to land the marines. There’s not a hell of a lot of cover on Chengdu. In many cases you’ll just pop in right above the water and hover just long enough for your marines to disembark. The landing zones are almost completely militarized so don’t worry about civilians.”

  Wen had the distinct sense that every officer in the Navy was looking at her funny.

  “Yes, civilians. I’m sure you’ve all studied Montjoie’s briefing on the Enemy’s, I mean, Kuei’tang culture. Planet Chengdu is just about as ideal of a habitat as their species can have and it’s been heavily settled since they took it from us. The brass believes that we have a chance at peace.

  “We have people who know their language now, know how they think. In spite of everything, every planet taken, every fleet destroyed, if there’s a chance at ending this war we can spare a little restraint where their civilians are concerned. The landing zones were chosen for their proximity to military targets, so you won’t have to show too much restraint.”