by Kal Spriggs
“I'm sorry,” Tommy said. “But we'll get through this. It will be okay, I promise.” What he feared was that she would seek to kill herself in the coming battle... but he knew better than to say anything. She was perfectly capable of lying to his face, he knew, and equally capable of finding some way to make certain he couldn't stop her. If he remained close by, he could at least try to intercede when she made the attempt.
She's miserable, Tommy thought, but she doesn't see that there are other options. The doctors had only had a few weeks to run their tests, there were scientists who would know better how to remove such implants, if that was what she wanted. For that matter, if it became a matter of money... well, money was something that Captain Tommy King had in plenty.
He would do whatever he must in order to make her happy, even if she had to be miserable for a little while in the process.
***
“This is it,” Lucius said as he watched the Chxor form up on their approach. His forces had already launched stealth probes and they monitored the Chxor progress. High Commander Chxarals had his sensors to full active mode as they swept the space around them, and Lucius felt that the enemy commander would continue that as he came closer to the Periclum Debris Cloud.
The Chxor had formed into three forces, the largest in the center, and their deployment was clearly designed to penetrate the outer edges of the debris cloud at the thinnest areas. The Nova Roma Imperial Fleet had conducted exercises before on the outer edges of the debris cloud, so Lucius knew just how tricky it would look.
Even more so as they draw deeper inwards, he thought. The alpha and bravo bands of the cloud held lighter debris, bits of radioactive hulk, and a scattering of expended munitions. The delta and gamma bands were made up of denser debris, entire ship hulks, and a variety of inert and live mines and munitions. Emperor Romulus IV had a map, of sorts, for several routes in and through those bands, but it was still a tricky bit of piloting. Theta Station lay in the deepest region of the cloud, within Theta band, which was the core remnants of the planetoid. It was the densest region of the cloud, with bits of rock, clouds of vaporized gases, and many of the larger pieces of hulked ships and other debris.
The Chxor might try to blast their way in, Lucius knew, but they would likely make a mess of things in the process. Any bit of debris that they didn't destroy outright would gain momentum and would impact nearby debris. They might well cause a cascade effect of shifting debris, much like an avalanche in space.
Lucius looked over at Captain Beeson, “It looks like plan alpha three, please inform the Emperor that the Chxor will arrive in six hours.”
“Yes, sir,” Captain Beeson said with a nod. Lucius's gaze went to his own ships and he smiled a bit as he saw the icons of seven more ships in his formation. He had felt more than a little surprise as Admiral Anthony Doko had arrived with those ships, not least for the fact that two of them were converted Balor ships. Yet he and the crews of those ships had worked tirelessly to get them online and operational... and they had built a solid command in the process, Lucius knew.
The Balor conversions were more than welcome, a light cruiser and another destroyer. Rory and Feliks had spent the past few hours poring over both ships and had begrudgingly admitted that Matthew Nogita had done a good job on both vessels. Rory's actual words had been, “Simplistic but adequate.”
The other five vessels, two more Jouster-class light cruisers and three Kukri-class destroyers, were also more than welcome. The mutineers had scrambled both cruisers' data networks, and Anthony Doko had brought them back online only with thousands of man hours of intensive labor. The three destroyers were more delicate repairs, for on all three ships, the Captains had been part of the conspiracy and the crews had not. Aboard the Machete, the Executive Officer had removed his captain and the ship's crew had refused to follow Admiral Dreyfus's orders. Aboard the Gurkali the ship's captain had provoked a firefight that had killed several of the senior officers, while aboard the Spatha, the captain had executed his executive officer and tactical officer but had been restrained by his crew. Anthony Doko had appointed Commanders Seng, Maggert, and Makkar to each of the ships and from what he had said, both officers had taken charge and restored much of the trust issues with the crew and remaining officers.
Lucius trusted his judgment. That wasn't to say that he felt entirely certain about those ships and their crews, but their battle plan looked desperate enough that the added firepower was more than welcome.
“Set the rest cycle,” Lucius said. He watched as Captain Beeson sent out the order and he smiled a bit. He was long an advocate that a well-rested and fed crew would perform better than one which went into combat tired and stressed. So far, his successes seemed to prove that correct and while Admiral Collae had seemed to view putting three quarters of his crews on standby a few hours before the battle as being silly, he had agreed to follow Lucius's lead.
Lucius doubted that many of the crews would actually sleep, but they would have some time to rest, get a good meal, and to compose themselves before the battle.
“Now,” Lucius said, “I'll be in my quarters, let me know if there are any changes.”
“Absolutely, sir,” Captain Beeson said.
Lucius stepped off the bridge and as his escort fell in around him, his mind pondered the strange and twisted path that had led him here. Soon, he thought, it will be done. Emperor Romulus IV would be reinstated. Lucius could turn his attention to growing the United Colonies... and the Chxor Empire would be less of a threat as they reorganized. That was his hope, anyway.
One last battle, he thought, though his mind went to Admiral Dreyfus's last words... a portent of greater battles yet to come.
***
Chapter XV
Periclum Debris Cloud, Nova Roma System
(Contested)
May 22, 2404
“High Commander, all forces report full readiness and that they are in position. We have confirmed the presence of a heavy fighter screen at the outer edges of the debris cloud,” Chxarals' Ship Commander informed him.
High Commander Chxarals knew that on a human ship, a senior officer like him would have a chief of staff to coordinate reports. The Ship Commander for his flagship had to manage the operations of his vessel as well as coordination of the fleet, which was why Chxarals had selected a talented officer for that duty. He didn't think it was a weakness of their system, it merely meant that a Chxor Fleet Commander needed to select his officers for optimal performance.
“Initiate operations,” High Commander Chxarals said. With those words, he saw all three of his forces begin movement. Fleet Commander Thxanal commanded Force Three, which had the most direct approach through the debris cloud. Fleet Commander Fhxud commanded Force Two, which passed closest to the human mining station.
Chxarals had selected the central assault corridor for his own force. The approach wound through and around the various debris belts, but it provided the largest access corridor towards the inner region. Had the cloud been less dense, Chxarals would have ordered a general bombardment of the cloud with missiles... yet the Nova Roma Imperial Fleet had done so for decades and had yet to deplete it.
An unfortunate truth, as well, was that Chxarals knew exactly how low missile stockpiles had become across the Chxor Empire. The losses of key production facilities due to sabotage and negligence had sharply curtailed their weapons production at the same time that ship production and repair had become a priority.
Every missile that he wasted now would take weeks or months to replace... and he knew that many of his vessels had magazines at less than fifty percent capacity.
A fact that would not matter if officers like the late Fleet Commander Kleigh had not been so incompetent, High Commander Chxarals thought. Had he any regrets, he would have wished that the Benevolence Council had allowed him to remove that officer and others before their mistakes became so compromising.
It is a product of the system that preferences towards genetic cas
te sometimes trump actual performance, High Commander Chxarals thought. He did not regret it. Regret was a human emotion, a weakness. That was simply the way things were and he would not change the Chxor Empire, for having read the sealed archives, he understood only too well how dangerous emotion could be for his people.
“Enemy fighter screen estimates are approximately six hundred in total, High Commander,” Ship Commander Thxril said. “We have identified them as a mix of older human-style fighters. The enemy fighter screen has advanced out of the debris field to engage us.”
That did not surprise him. The enemy fighters would be more dangerous within the field where his forces would not be able to see them at longer range, but the humans probably wanted to get an initial volley to damage and disrupt his forces.
“All fighter elements are focused on Force One, High Commander,” Ship Commander Thrxil said after a long moment.
High Commander Chxarals nodded at that. His force was the largest, so it made sense that they would attempt to weaken it. He evaluated that they would have been better served to attempt to overwhelm or isolate Force Two or Three, but he could understand their focus on Force One.
“Missile separation, High Commander,” Ship Commander Thrxil said. He did not say more, he already knew Chxarals well enough to know that Chxarals preferred to review combat details on his own monitors rather than have them summarized, where he might miss an important detail.
The larger number of fighters sent a considerably larger number of missiles at his forces, almost twenty five hundred missiles in total. The enemy fighters peeled off after they launched their payloads and returned back into the debris cloud in a ragged movement that suggested the pilots lacked experience. Chxarals noted that the missile accelerations were consistent with older munitions once commonly used by Nova Roma, which fit the parameters of what the human prisoner had told them. The station here at the debris cloud contained stockpiles of mostly obsolescent weapons and craft, hidden away as an insurance policy by previous Nova Roma Emperors.
While the missiles were undoubtedly old, their engagement parameters were still dangerous, as were the fission warheads they carried. Chxarals updated engagement plans and priorities for his force and then nodded at Thrxil, “Commence Firefly System jamming,” he said.
It was obvious that the enemy warheads were less sophisticated. Over half of the inbound missiles either detonated as their targeting systems were overwhelmed or shut down. Of the remainder, Chxarals saw that their flight paths shifted almost constantly as they lost track of their targets within the cloud of directed jamming.
“Engage with defense pattern Jall,” High Commander Chxarals said. He watched his formation shift, the defensive cruisers moved forward while the dreadnoughts shifted to make use of the fire corridors left by the cruisers.
Force One engaged with almost perfect synchronicity, a product of thousands of hours of drill and rehearsal. The large dreadnoughts engaged the inbound missile flight with a mix of their main and secondary batteries while the defending cruisers engaged individual missiles that came within their fire envelopes.
In total, of the twenty five hundred missiles, only a dozen slipped through the defenses. Those twelve missiles detonated among the shielding cruisers. Chxarals noted the detonation yields were consistent with the older style of Nova Roma Imperial Fleet munitions.
“Note to Ship Commander Tralkax,” Chxarals said. “His vessel's performance was subpar, eight of the enemy missiles slipped through his fire lanes. His vessel is to trade places with Ship Commander Krxag.” Tralkax's position in the forward element was too essential to have a weak vessel. Krxag's performance in drill had been better, but High Commander Chxarals had allowed Tralkax an opportunity to improve, it seemed he had not taken it.
He will be executed as soon as it is politically expedient, Chxarals thought dispassionately. He could most likely fit it in just after the destruction of the mining station. “Force One, optimal performance and I have seen that the enemy fleet is both poorly equipped and minimally trained. We will exterminate them and remove a threat to the Chxor Empire and the Benevolence Council. For the Glory of the Chxor. Continue along our axis of advance and you are authorized to destroy any potential threats.” Normally a Fleet Commander would retain authorization to engage targets, but within the debris cloud it would be necessary for ships to engage quickly.
Soon the Nova Roma Emperor will be eliminated, he thought, and then perhaps I can get back to more important duties.
***
The hatch opened and Demetrius winced against the bright light. The dark cargo hold had only rudimentary improvements to make it livable and lighting apparently had not been one of the essentials that the Chxor felt humans needed to survive.
“I am Officer Galt,” a Chxor said in a flat voice. “Fleet Commander Kral sent me.”
“I am Demetrius,” he replied.
“My team has brought weapons and communications devices as instructed,” Galt said. “I have additionally procured maps to your target sites. Do you need any other resources?”
“No,” Demetrius said brusquely, “Once my people are freed we can access what we need.”
“Excellent, I am glad to hear that you are ready to perform optimally.” Galt said. “My team has been tasked to secure station command, so if you need anything, you should be able to contact me there.” It was bizarre to see a Chxor smile, sort of like seeing his dog walk on two legs, Demetrius thought.
“Sure thing,” Demetrius replied. He turned to his people, “Advance team, head out. Headquarters, take position outside and establish communications. Security teams three and four, get into your positions.”
He watched his people file out, taking weapons from the Chxor at the hatch. Now is the time he thought, yet he felt more than a little sadness. The moment had come, when they would finally cast off the chains. If all went well, in a few days the Chxor would be kicked out of the system, his world would be freed... yet then he would go back to what he had been afterward.
Can I go back, he wondered, can I live in a world where the Imperial Family rules again and I am relegated to my exile?
***
Captain Naeveus sighed as the handful of missiles penetrated the enemy formation. He knew that the plan called for such a pathetic output, that they had used up the entirety of the functioning old munitions. Even so, he had hoped for some larger impact, if only to embolden his pilots.
Many of them needed some kind of boost to their morale. He had been at Theta Station for the past three months, training pilots for the Canis-class bombers and the interceptors. The bombers pilots were all volunteers, men and women with even minimal piloting experience that he had put through combat training. The interceptors would be of minimal use against the heavily armored Chxor ships, so he had spent even less time on their pilots. Many of them were young, some of them painfully so... and he planned to use them as scouts in the debris field.
Emperor Romulus had held back their Harrasser fighters for use in the decisive fight, so Naeveus could only watch as his squadrons of bombers came back, their movement awkward as they funneled back through the plotted routes in the debris field.
Admiral Collae's bombers seemed to follow their routes better, at least, though it pained Naeveus to admit it. He had talked with their wing commanders during the final planning stages and they had been very close-mouthed about their training and background, which had worried him before. Now he knew he didn't have to worry about that... just the possibility that they could betray him at any time.
He watched with a critical eye as his bombers wound their way back and began to land at Theta Station. “Excellent job, Liberation Wings,” he said. He meant it, too, despite the poor performance of their missile strike, they had executed their part of the attack perfectly. His biggest fear had been that he would lose a fighter or even a squadron if they veered off their flight paths and had a collision. “Rearm and get ready for Phase Two.”
That would
be the difficult part, he knew. He just hoped that Admiral Balventia and the Baron's forces would be ready for their parts.
***
Baron Lucius Giovanni keyed up the upgraded target priority data and grimaced. “I can't believe we're doing this, who thought up this plan anyway?” The ships of United Colonies Second Fleet hung just inside the Beta Debris Band, a tiny speck in comparison to the two hundred dreadnoughts and six hundred cruisers that bore down on them.
“Uh,” Captain Beeson said, “that would be you, sir.”
“Oh,” Lucius said with a small smile, “carry on then.”
He sat back and glanced at his displays. The human displays seemed incongruous aboard the Balor ship. That reminds me, he thought. He keyed up the ship's intercom and then tied that into the squadron communications. He really liked how easy the installed system worked. To give Rory and Feliks their due, they did good work. “Attention, Second Fleet, this is Baron Lucius Giovanni. We have come here to liberate Nova Roma, and along with standard ships of the United Colonies, we have brought three ships, taken from our enemies and rechristened as our own. These three ships have, until now, born only alphanumeric identifiers. What few of you know is that the United Colonies Senate has approved names for our new vessels.” Lucius pulled an archaic slip of paper out of his uniform, “By the authority given to me by the people of the United Colonies, I hereby commission the fast destroyers Achilles and Hector, as well as the light cruiser Hermes. These new ships will form Legend Squadron of Second Fleet.” The decision had been made to go with names from Greek mythology for the Balor vessels, in order to differentiate them from other United Colonies vessels. “Congratulations to the crews of the new ships, you are now fully commissioned in the Fleet, and we'll have your commissioning ceremonies after the battle. Baron Lucius Giovanni, out.”
