by Lee Watts
Though offered a chance to rest, he was too excited. Balin and Caedmon were gone on the Dauntless rescuing the fleet, so Alexander began with a tour of the main asteroid complex. Everyone deferred to him as if he were in command. Merrick could tell it made Alexander feel uncomfortable.
"It is only right, Sire," Merrick assured him. "After all, you are the King."
"Actually, I'm the Prince," he corrected.
"For now, but when Caedmon returns, you'll be anointed King, and then the great promise can be fulfilled."
"No pressure," Alexander quipped playfully. "And I believe this belongs to you," he said while handing his portion of the battlestaff back to its owner. "I guess I won't need it anymore."
Taking the weapon and sheathing it into the handle of its mate, Merrick smiled, but the expression quickly faded as an ominous call came over the speakers.
"All hands to emergency stations! Ramillie battle group entering the system!"
CHAPTER 35
"Call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me." - Psalm 50:15
Alexander and Merrick hastily made their way toward the operations control room. With only the two of them in the lift tube, the weight of the moment pressed on the Prince.
"I don't think I should be in charge," Alexander suggested with a slightly quivering voice. "Maybe one of the military officers should take command."
Merrick shook his head.
"They can't take your place. You're the Prince. You're the one they're looking to for leadership."
"What about you taking charge? You have more experience."
"It is forbidden for Guardians to lead the nations of men. We are to guide, protect, not rule."
"But I don't know how! Everyone expects me to be their savior, but the truth is I'm scared to death. What if I fail these people? I might get them all killed. Look at my hand; it won't stop shaking."
"It didn't shake on Acatus," Merrick pointed out. "The danger was no less there."
"Yes, but on Acatus I wasn't responsible for thousands of lives. These people think I'm like my father, the great general, but I've never led troops in battle."
"Yes, you have" Merrick countered. "There were countless battles on Acatus, and you led our group through them time and again."
"I wish I had as much confidence in me as you do."
Merrick put an encouraging hand on the Prince's shoulder.
"Alexander, if there were no fears, there could be courage. If there were no doubts, there would be no faith. Courage isn't the absence of fear, but action despite fear. The Elder has prepared you your whole life for this moment, and His preparations are always sufficient."
Arriving at the operations control room, the lift tube door parted open, but Alexander remained motionless. He stared at the floor while thinking then turned to the ageless Guardian and smiled. Taking a deep breath, he entered the command center. The senior commanders were around a waist-high, circular holographic projection table. Above it floated a three-dimensional image of the system. Across the entire length of the room's far wall were windows granting a spectacular view of the star-spangled void.
Lieutenant Grant, manning one of the room's three freestanding workstations, saw the Prince and prepared to call the room to attention, but a quick shake of Merrick's head let him know to forego that formality. Through the projection, Colonel Veltri noticed Alexander.
"Sire," he chirped, causing everyone to straighten, "welcome to Operations Control."
"Thank you," he acknowledged trying to be the part everyone expected of him.
Red blips on the edge of the hovering display indicated the approaching force.
"What are we facing?" Alexander asked.
"It's a Hegemony assault task force - eight capital class vessels: a battleship, one carrier, and a combination of cruisers and frigates."
"What's their ETA?"
The dark-haired but pale skinned Major Hyeon entered the query into a control panel of the inward sloping lip of the HPT.
"The smaller ones could be here quick," Hyeon reported. "But it looks like they're holding back with the command ship. At present speed, they'll be here in two hours."
Colonel Veltri folded his arms across his chest and stared at the hovering images while pondering the unusual tactical move by the Ramillie.
"How'd they find us, and why would they exit hyperspace so far out?" Colonel Veltri puzzled as green and yellow light from the holographic map reflected on his face.
Merrick offered an answer.
"My guess is they followed the trail of Lord Canton's yacht. Because the Ramillie were entering a planetary system and not open space, they couldn't risk opening a hyperspace portal without knowing what was there. They might have come out inside of a planet."
Startled, Major Hyeon interrupted.
"Better have a look at this," he said.
Turning to see what caught the major's attention, the group noticed two small red dots leaving the bulk of others and rapidly accelerating toward the base.
"It's a pair of scouts," Major Hyeon explained. "ETA fifteen minutes."
"They're looking for the Dauntless," Veltri deduced with a scowl.
"Do you think they know about the recovered fleet?" Alexander asked.
"Unlikely," Veltri answered. "Maybe we can distract them. We could launch Lord Canton's yacht to lead them off."
"No good," Alexander dismissed. "It took off an hour ago to get the others back on Acatus. This is my fault. I've led the Ramillie here."
"It's not your fault, Sire," Veltri assured him. "And nothing will be gained by passing blame. All we can do is deal with the situation we have now, and now there's a Ramillie battle group at our doorstep looking for the Dauntless."
"Their commander is going to be disappointed to find she isn't here," Major Hyeon commented.
Alexander added a somber note.
"Yes, but when he realizes he's discovered The Remnant base that will do as well, probably better. And he'll have that figured out as soon as those scouts run scans and learn how many people are here."
"But what can we do about them?" Hyeon asked.
"Not much," Veltri replied in a defeated tone.
With the room's growing sense of doom, Alexander looked to Merrick pleadingly. The two locked eyes for a moment then Merrick nodded to Alexander with confidence.
Alexander broke the silence.
"I don't want those scouts diverting our attention. They're coming to gather intel not pick a fight. We should concentrate on what to do when the capital ships arrive."
Operating the communications console on the far side of the room, First Lieutenant Grant interjected.
"Sire, I could signal the Dauntless? They wouldn't make it back before the Ramillie attack, but we might be able to hold out until they arrive."
"No," Alexander replied. "If only a few ships come the Ramillie will know we've found the fleet, and they'll destroy the rest of it before we can retrieve them from hyperspace. If we ever want to be strong enough to liberate the Realm, we'll need the fleet at full strength. No, the Dauntless can't turn back from its mission. We're on our own."
"We need to at least get you out of here, Sire," Veltri pleaded.
"I'm staying."
"Your Majesty, you've only now come back to us. If you were killed-"
"I'm staying! Listen, I appreciate your concern, but these are my people, and if there was ever a time I should be with them it is now. I'm not running, and that's final. The Realm is more than one man."
Veltri nodded. He still didn't think it was a good idea but was glad to see the Prince was willing to stay with The Remnant.
Without a single warship to help muster a defense, Alexander looked to the officers for proposals and plans. Though well-trained and battle-experienced army officers, they were skilled in ground combat, not naval tactics. All the senior naval officers were gone with the Dauntless. By the looks on the assembled men's faces, Alexander could see they
were as lost for ideas as he was.
One of the commanders, Lieutenant Colonel Ortiz, spoke up.
"Sire, there is one good thing. Look, the orbit of the asteroid ring is going to put the planet in eclipse of the sun within the hour. Until planet dawn, there will be a big shadow on us. It should make it easier to mask our defenses."
"Defenses? What defenses?" Major Hyeon exclaimed. "No disrespect, but there's no way we should be talking about defenses right now. We need to figure out how to get as many people out of here as we can, not make battle plans. They have enough firepower to blow us to bits fifty times over, and we're out in the open. We don't have any ships, any reserves, no heavy artillery. We don't have anything!"
"I don't need a list of what we don't have!" Alexander forcefully said. "I need to know what we do have!"
"We do have some ships," Ortiz informed. "There are ten of those old mining freighters and nearly thirty small utility shuttles. We couldn't use the shuttles to evacuate since they don't have lightdrive, but if we crammed, I bet we could put almost five hundred people in each of the freighters."
"Ten freighters at five hundred in each would still leave a lot of people here," Hyeon noted.
"We're not using the freighters for evacuation," Alexander declared, which effectively put an end to the debate. "They wouldn't stand a chance. They're too slow and would get picked off, and we're not leaving people behind. That option is out. What else do we have?"
Veltri spoke up next.
"We have about seven-thousand troops and five times that many civilians to consider."
"There's all that mining equipment too," Ortiz added, "but not much else. We're outmanned and outgunned. I don't see how we can go head-to-head with those ships."
"How long do you think we can hold out, Sire?" asked the discouraged Colonel Veltri.
Alexander looked at the already beaten men and women surrounding the table? His mind flashed to when he first crashed on Acatus, and Sergeant Gibson faced the same defeatist attitudes.
"Now hear this," Alexander said as he hardened his expression. "I don't intend for us to 'hold out.' I intend to win this battle! Is that understood?"
"Sir, yes, Sir," instinctively came the officers' unified, yet obviously obligatory reply. Noting their warrior's fire were mere embers, Alexander decided it was time to rekindle the flames.
"When the fleet arrives, they will find The Remnant has survived, the enemy is defeated, and the banner still flying. IS THAT UNDERSTOOD?"
More enthusiastically came, "Sir, yes, Sir."
"We will not enter this fray with our heads hung low. Before anything else, I want that huge banner I saw in the hangar mounted on the front of this tower for the Ramillie and every one of our people in this asteroid field to see. I didn't return only to run when threatened. Neither have you protected these people all these years to quit on them now! For too long we've all run from the Ramillie, well I'm tired of running! Let the Ramillie come. We'll dare them to come! Let them know here are people who will not bow! Here is a force to be reckoned with because here stands the forces of Theera-Enty! LONG - LIVE - THE REALM!"
"LONG LIVE THE REALM," they shouted in unison.
Satisfied with their marked change in countenance and attitude, he eased his tone.
"Now, gentlemen, let us begin again." Addressing Lieutenant Colonel Ortiz, he started, "If you were the enemy commander, what would you be doing right now?"
"I'd… scan the asteroid ring looking for where defenses are positioned then maneuver my forces for the best shot to take them out. I'd expect to attack with virtual impunity."
"Then that is the key," Alexander said with a smile of inspiration.
Not grasping what the Prince meant, the officers looked at each other questioningly.
"Defense," he explained. "We are expected to play only a defensive role in this fight. They think they can attack without fear of counterattack. They have a fleet, and we don't. It's not going to take those scouts long to figure that out. We won't win this fight with size, speed, or heavy shields. No. We are smaller, slower and lower powered, and we'll leverage that to our advantage. Not a person here is a ship commander, so we couldn't effectively use ships anyway. We're an army wondering how to engage a navy. We're letting the enemy decide how this battle will be fought. You and your forces are ground-pounders, aren't you? So, let's fight a ground war. We'll turn the tables and force them to fight on our terms."
Inspired to possibilities of bedevilment they hadn't before considered, wicked smiles crossed the officer's mouths. They began brainstorming, and Alexander detailed his unconventional battle plan. Settling on a course of action, the meeting ended, and the commanders began preparing the battlefield. As they left, Alexander hit a button on the communications panel to address the thousands of frightened civilians in the many rocks of Oosay.
"People of The Remnant, this is Prince Alexander Lyons. As you are aware, a Ramillie task force is on its way here. Retreat is not an option, nor will we return to be enslaved to the principalities and powers that wrested our nation. No. In the Name of the Elder, no! Tonight, among these rocks we make our stand. It is here we draw the line. Our military forces are making ready for the coming battle. I ask each of you to assist in any way you can. The trumpet to battle is sounded, and there is no turning from its call. We will engage - we will survive - and we will see the dawn."
Alexander tapped the button, closing the comm line and let out a deep breath. The officers had already vacated the room, leaving his immortal protector his only companion.
"Well, Merrick? Does this course of action meet with your approval?"
"It is not for me to approve of, your Excellency," Merrick said with a nod while wishing Caedmon could be there to see the prophecy unfolding.
Reaching the asteroid ring of the planet Oosay, the Ramillie scouts slowed and began relaying data to the hulking battleship Deinodon. Readings showed life signs scattered within a multitude of the hollowed-out rocks. Of particular interest to the Ramillie commander was the large control tower jutting from the asteroid that was supposed to be the prison's administrative complex. Noticing the blatantly displayed blue and white banner of Theera-Enty running almost the full length of the tower, it was now clearly employed as the rebel's command post. The flag offended him, and he planned to have it among the first things destroyed.
On the bridge of the Deinodon, a report was given to the assault force's commander, Admiral Qil'Donan.
"Sir, our scouts find no trace of the Dauntless."
Undiscouraged, the commander replied, "Yes, it appears to be gone for the moment, however, based on that banner, and the number of life signs, it looks like we've caught bigger game."
Skeptical of such good fortune, the deputy commander of the assault force respectfully offered a thought.
"Admiral, it might be a trap? Maybe the Dauntless is hidden somehow."
Qil'Donan waved his hand dismissively.
"Preposterous," he scoffed. "They don't have cloaking technology. No, we've simply caught them off guard."
His eyes gleamed while thinking of the promotion he would gain by wiping out the accursed, elusive Remnant. Anxious and confident, Qil'Donan ordered the assault force to battle alert. He set to have their base destroyed, and all the Elerites exterminated before planetary dawn. Finally, as a savored ending, he would wait for the Dauntless to return and then destroy it too. Pondering the glory he was about to attain, he smiled wickedly.
Preparing for the impending attack, the asteroid ring buzzed with activity. Taking to heart Major Hyeon's comment about being in the open, Alexander ordered and all inhabited asteroids with maneuvering thrusters to reposition deeper within the ring. This prevented the enemy from getting a clear shot, and the tizanite in the asteroids would wreak havoc with any incoming missiles' guidance systems. While this tactic would work well against the bigger ships that would have to hold position outside the ring, the Ramillie brought plenty of smaller craft that could negotiate t
he maze of stones and still get to them.
In the control asteroid's hangar bay an engineering team was busy removing engines from shuttles. Handing the unit commander a tool, one of the corporal's on the team asked a question.
"Ma'am, why are we taking these out anyway?"
Streaked with grease, she shrugged.
"I don't know," she admitted. "There wasn't time to ask. But word came down to get the engines out double quick, so that's what we're going to do."
When the engines were removed, she was instructed to install them in, more precisely on, something she never expected. Again, the order came without explanation, so her team hastily set to their task with no clue as to why.
With the shuttle engines repositioned, Marine Gunnery Sergeant Imre Kovacs donned a space suit and activated its thruster pack to fly through the maze of floating rocks. Some of the boulders were kilometers across, others as small as a hovercar. Finding the selected asteroid, he landed on it and signaled he was in position. Fastening an anchor to the rock, he then attached one end of a rather lengthy cable to it. The gunnery sergeant's instructions also came without explanation, but he figured there must be some reason. Alexander gave him the call sign "Gralla Killer" for the coming battle, though he hadn't bothered to explain that either.
