“No, the exact numbers are much appreciated. I supposed I should have kept them in my head; they are the second most powerful unit on the battlefield,” Akantha replied with a smile.
“Which is fortunate. I didn’t fancy another run in with a Command Carrier at this particular moment in time,” I said.
“Afraid, Jason?” Akantha asked with concern.
I shook my head. Such a question from anyone in her warrior culture was a double-edged sword—or maybe just a single-edge one pointed laying against your throat.
“There is a time and a place for everything and right now Central Star System is not that place,” I replied curtly.
“As always my, Protector is brave. I chose well,” Akantha said flushing with happiness.
I looked at her nonplussed.
“Well there are a number of damaged or destroyed Cruisers floating round out there,” the Chief Gunner said lamely in a transparent attempt to get the conversation back on track.
“Exactly right, Chief,” I replied with a grateful nod, it didn’t matter how lame it was still a much appreciated break in the conversation, “the Glorious Fleet,” I stopped to roll my eyes, “what a name. Anyways, their Fleet of Liberation…'subjugation' is a better word as far as I’m concerned but their fleet has clearly taken quite a bit of damage capturing our Sector Capitol.”
“An indignity for which they must and shall pay,” Akantha said with such surety that, if I didn’t know better concerning her real feelings concerning Governor Isaak and the Sector Capitol, I might have believed she was actually upset over the attack.
“Quite right,” I agreed.
Lieutenant Commander Snyder dutifully voiced her agreement but the Chief Gunner thumped the table in front of him.
“After what they did to you the last time we were here, they can all go howl. They didn’t just insult you but the entire Multi-Sector Patrol Fleet when they had you dragged out of the Grand Assembly Hall like a common criminal,” he growled.
I turned deliberately opaque eyes upon the Gunner.
“While I appreciate the sentiment Chief, we can’t let personal animosity cause us from our duty. The people of this star system deserve our help and they will receive it. No matter how churlish their leaders or even their security forces are,” I said curtly.
“I hear tell that the same day as you were struck down by security, the media was all over the airwaves suggesting the creation of a new holiday, Punch-a-Tyrant Day, as a symbol of the people of Central’s dedication to resisting this latest Imperial invasion fleet. O’ course, they used a blond haired Imperial officer in the Empire’s uniform getting punched by a Confederation marine, but it's still currently on the ballot as a People’s Initiative to be voted on during the next election cycle,” said the Chief Gunner.
“Those ingrates!” Akantha shouted, jumping to her feet.
“Now, now, my dear,” I turned to her, “we can’t let Governor Isaak's little tricks get under our skin. It only takes a minute number of people supporting something like this to get it on the ballot. Right, people?” I asked, looking around the table confidently. I appreciated Akantha getting offended on my behalf but we could sort all this out sometime later, after we’d saved the star system.
Unconsciously my eyes had rested a moment too long on my First Officer, because she took a breath and then womanfully proceeded to report the facts as she knew them.
“My understanding is that it’s received over fifteen million signatures—more than ten times what they need. Apparently the planet only requires a little over a million to put it up for a vote,” she said hesitantly.
I frowned at her crossly, not liking the fact Akantha was only becoming even more enraged as the Lieutenant Commander spoke—to say nothing of what I was hearing.
“Like I said, this may be the Sector Capitol but this is a local star system affair. One I highly doubt will get to a vote or even if it does actually pass,” I said with finality. It was time to be done with this diversion and get back to the enemy fleet we were dealing with.
“Actually, Sir, the aggregate of all polling data had the new holiday’s approval rating at 58% system-wide at the time we left the Sector Capitol, which was down from the mid to high-60’s,” interjected Lieutenant Commander Steiner, my ever so helpful Chief of Staff who then got a self-satisfied expression on her face, “it looks like the holo-series we’ve been working on is more popular than expected,” she continued smugly, “because it just so happens the fall off in approval occurred shortly after we deliberately leaked the first half of the season onto the dark Net.”
I ran a hand over my face as Akantha cycled off the bulkhead. “Those ingrates! After everything we’ve sacrificed for them. The blood, sweat and precious minerals we’ve from my homeland that we have spent like water and they dare!” Akantha demanded in a rising voice.
“Come, dear,” I chided gently and her eyes tracked over to me her brows lowering dangerously, “you know that everything we’ve done has been of benefit to Tracto either directly or indirectly. Don’t let a few churlish politicians with access to the media ruin the mood.”
“These are the people you fight for, Jason? Ungrateful masses who refuse to fight for themselves yet eagerly cheer and clap when those of us, when ‘you,’ are treated poorly by their leaders and warriors, these are the ‘people’ of the Spine that we die to protect?” she asked tightly.
“Not everyone in the Spine and not everyone even in Central has been poisoned against us, Akantha. Clearly we need to increase our PR efforts. Besides, do you really expect me to stand to the side while the innocents of this system are being oppressed? Even if their parents are ungrateful idiots, the children don’t deserve to suffer for a few bad choices their mothers and fathers made while blowing off steam.”
Akantha shook her head dourly as she sat back in her chair. When she crossed her arms across her chest I knew that even if she had resigned herself during the meeting, I would be hearing more about this later, in private.
“Now I agree we can’t go around abandoning civilians, Admiral,” Chief Lesner said, “but does it really matter if they have innocent children at home? The enemy has any number of children back home that will be made widows, and they showed no in interest our kids when they invaded the Spine and more to point the Central Star System. Don’t let a misplaced concern for innocents stop you from doing what you need to do as it regards the Empire, Sir,” he warned.
“Your point is well taken. Even if they don’t deserve our help, which I have absolutely no doubt that they do deserve it, we have sworn an oath to protect and defend the people of the Spine, end of discussion,” I said with finality.
“That done with. Right now we need to get in there and push the Glorious Fleet back out of Central. Preferably with as many losses as we can manage to give them. Any ideas?” I said looking around the table expectantly.
The Chief Gunner puffed air, expanding his cheeks like miniature balloons before sitting back, clearly with nothing he felt he could add to the discussion.
I looked around the room.
My First Officer and Tactical Officer shared looked before Tactical finally bit the bullet. “If they’re determined to hold this system, it’ll cost but we can crush them. The only question is how long it takes and if they’ll get reinforced,” he said with certainty.
“How much damage do we think they can do?” I asked.
“The usual. They can cripple or destroy everything in orbit and bring the system’s economy to a screeching halt. But I doubt that, even if they have a garrison force, it's big enough to stand up to the local army and marine SDF units if we control the orbitals,” Tactical shrugged.
Over the next several minutes we gamed out our best guess of what they could do and came up with several alternate plans before I finally dismissed them from the room.
Akantha caught my eye on the way out, silently promising me that this conversation wasn’t done.
Unfortunately I didn’t hav
e any great answers. I was willing to fight for the people, even a people who had been poisoned against me but that was because on some level they were ‘my’ people, warts and all. I considered myself a part of the Spineward Sectors community but now I had to ask myself did Akantha think the same way?
If she didn’t, especially in light of the way the ‘people’ and not just the government were reacting, my personal life could get ugly and more importantly this could cause problems going forward for the Fleet.
With those ‘light’ topics on the tip of my brain I waited until I was sure she was gone before going back out onto the bridge. I had a battle to win.
Chapter 32: Stand and Fight!
Ready for battle and in attack formation, the new First Fleet of the Spineward Sectors Confederation moved at a steady 80% of the maximum speed of our slowest Battleship.
In response shuttles started to flow between the orbital fortress around central and the planet’s surface and its warships concentrated and assumed a defensive posture within supporting range of the orbital fortress.
“This could get brutal if they’ve suborned what remains of the orbital defenses,” First Officer Snyder said grimly.
“I have what are supposed to be the original, hard coded IFF codes straight from the factory hardware setting, but whether the codes I have will actually work…I guess we’ll find out,” I said. As Grand Admiral of the entire Spineward Confederacy’s Military I was supposed to have the codes to the defenses of its temporary capitol, or at least enough to ensure the Confederation Fleet couldn’t be fired on by accident but…yeah.
“We can send them out now and see if they work,” offered Snyder obviously chomping at the bit to do ‘something.’
“It's better if we wait until we’re closer to the main planet so the Glorious Fleet doesn’t have a chance to send their shuttles out to override or replace the onboard computer systems and that’s assuming our codes work in the first place,” I said.
“You’re the, Capt…I mean Admiral, Sir,” Snyder said, flushing at her near misstep.
“I am,” I agreed causing her flush to deepen before I took pity on the woman, “but that doesn’t mean I’m always right or never wrong; keep backstopping me, LC,” I instructed her.
“Will do, Admiral,” she said formally.
Not quite what I’d been hoping for, but a step in the right direction.
Things were going well. Or as well as they could when your Sector and entire Star Nation's Capital has been attacked and occupied on your watch, meaning there had been no sudden attacks or hidden enemy reinforcements, when disaster struck.
“The enemy fleet has finished recovering their shuttles and is leaving the planet,” reported Sensors.
“Where are they going, Nav?” Snyder asked before I had the chance.
I settled back slightly but still perched on my throne.
“Their current course is not toward any known stellar body, space station or warship it…looks like they are on a least time course to exit the Star System, as far as I can tell they’re aiming for the hyper limit,” the Navigator said after an extended pause to define a course and crunch the numbers.
“Set an intercept course,” I ordered immediately. On the outside I was cool and collected but on the inside I was feeling the surprise.
“Intercept course calculated and ready for your order, Admiral,” reported Navigation.
“Signal the fleet and begin pursuit, Commander Snyder,” I instructed.
“Signaling fleet, aye, Sir,” she replied.
“Good. How long until intercept?” I asked.
The Navigator hesitated and then punched in the numbers. He looked back up at me and shook his head. “At our current speed we won’t be able to catch them before they exit the system,” he informed me, looking and sounding concerned about my inevitable reaction.
“What?” I demanded.
“It looks like they timed it to give them enough leeway to outrun us to the hyper limit. We need to increase speed if we’re going to catch them, Sir,” he said taking a deep breath.
“Take the Rage to maximum military power, Helmsman,” I ordered.
“Aye-aye, Sir. Maximum power now,” replied the Helm increasing the speed.
“Admiral,” warned Lieutenant Commander Snyder, “the Dreadnaught Class is faster than several of the Battleship classes accompanying us. Redlining the engines all the way from the inner system to the hyper limit could cause a number of them to fall behind. Engine damage or even loss is a distinct possibility.”
“We proceed as previously ordered,” I said tersely.
“You’re the Admiral,” she replied tilting one hand up.
I nodded curtly and turned back to the screen.
Over the next two hours we started to make progress crawling ever so tantalizingly close to overtaking the enemy fleet and then…they started to pull away.
“What the blazes is going on,” I demanded, “did we slow down?”
Navigation ran the numbers before turning back to me. “Enemy fleet has increased speed by an estimated 7.83%, just enough to outrun us, Sir,” he reported.
“Why wasn’t I informed of this sooner?” I asked belligerently.
Navigation gulped. “My workstation received an auto-notification from the ship’s DI but I was busy running plot intercept updates and distributing them to the fleet every time the enemy made a course correction and…” he took a deep breath, “unfortunately I put the auto-notification tab on minimization and silenced the audible chime.”
“Unfortunate? I agree that’s definitely unfortunate, Lieutenant. Although I might have used a stronger word to describe it,” I said tightly and then took a couple short breaths to calm down. “However,” I continued in a clinical voice, “what’s done is done. We need to move forward as best we can at this point. No more mistakes, Nav.”
“Aye, Sir. Sorry, Sir. It won’t happen again,” the Navigator shrunk back into his chair like a whipped puppy.
I had to suppress a grimace.
The fact was that, yes, the Navigator had screwed up, but that wasn’t what was bothering me. As it was doubtful ‘his’ error was going to make the difference between victory and defeat that left only one man holding the ball: me. Unlike the Navigator, my mistakes would do more than just narrow our potential engagement window. I could end lives quicker than snuffing out a candle in the pre-historic site that was Argos Palace.
With that chilling thought I choked back on my outrage and forced a deadly smile instead.
“Remember, people, it’s us against the enemy and the only confusion we want to see on the battlefield belong on the enemy side of the field and I’m not just talking just to you, I’m speaking to myself as well,” I said in a carrying voice.
“Of course, Sir,” Lieutenant Commander Snyder said giving me a quizzical look even as she loyally agreed with me.
After that I gave the order to increase our speed yet again.
“Sir the redlines are already running at full power, if we try to squeeze any more out of them we will lose ships and engines,” replied Chief Engineer Wave-Grinder when I gave the order.
I just looked at the other man impassively until he turned away in disgust.
The Rage sped forward, as did all but two of our Battleships which instead started to fall behind. There was a brief flare of engine activity as one of Battleship stopped falling behind and started to catch up then another as the second Battleship started too...engines flared and speed began to increase before there was a major flare out and an explosion rocked the port engine of the hapless Battleship.
“Saint Murphy,” I muttered as super-heated plasma and coolant spewed into space behind the damaged and now very much slowed Battleship.
“Admiral, if we keep this up we’ll lose more of them,” said Lieutenant Commander Snyder.
“The reminder is much appreciated Number One, we continue as planned,” I replied.
“Yes, Sir,” she said looking down at her
screen.
Over the next half hour we chased and they continued to lead us.
“The Man-O-War reports her engines are overheating and if she keeps going they’ll lose two of her three engines. She’s slowing down,” reported First Officer Snyder.
“The Massive Brick reports that her engines have been redlined for more than an hour and she intends to slow down also,” reported Comms.
I opened my mouth to countermand the Captain of the Massive Brick but then thought better of it.
“Anything you want me to relay to them, Grand Admiral?” prompted Lieutenant Commander Snyder.
“Never give an order you know won’t be obeyed, LC. If I order them to keep going until their engines blow they’ll just ignore it and then where will we be? I’m not looking to force a mutiny,” I said rhetorically.
“Of course, Sir. But if the other ships see a ship with hot but not damaged engines being tacitly allowed to slow down and nothing is done about it, why wouldn’t they decrease speed to protect their engines also? We could lose half the Battleships in the formation within minutes, Sir,” she replied.
I frowned. This was nothing I hadn’t speculated about myself but blast it all I wasn’t about to let this detachment of the Glorious Fleet get off scot free.
“You’re right,” I said finally after an extended silence.
Lieutenant Commander Snyder looked up at me with a faintest wrinkle of her brow that I took for suppress surprise.
“Alright. There’s no time like the present,” I sighed, and then sharpened my gaze, “instructions to the fleet: all Battleships to slow to full military power.”
“All Battleships are to slow to full military power, aye,” repeated First Officer Snyder.
“As for our screening force and lighter units…” I drawled, “I do believe I’ll hand them over to Commodore Laurent for the duration. Please notify all non-Battleships that they are being detached from the main fleet and assigned to the Commodore’s task group.”
Admiral's Nemesis Part II Page 33
