Black Legion: 04 - Last Stand

by Michael G. Thomas

  The officer brought down several more pages of data as well as an updated battle schematic of the action around Larissa. Most of the space was filled with the two large fleets of Median ships.

  "It's Ariaeus’ ships. It seems they are closing their gun ports and presenting their flanks to us and the rest of Lord Tissaphernes’ fleet.”

  Darbabad Forouzandeh angled her head as she considered the news. The imagery of the nearest capital ships confirmed they were indeed closing their gunports, something that would make their use now impossible in the battle.

  "Their shields?" she asked.

  "Uh...one moment...yes, they are dropping. Shields are down Darbabad!"

  Darbabad Forouzandeh hit the button on the computer console.

  "Cease fire!"

  It was a short order and only sent to those immediate ships that were under her command. Even so, the effect was almost instantaneous, and she was unable to hide the smile of pride as her division of ships operated like a well-oiled machine.

  If the rest of our Navy worked like this, the Terrans would have been our slaves a millennia ago!

  She turned her attention back to the enemy ships, specifically the battleships of Ariaeus. Closing gun ports and leaving flanks exposed was only likely to have happened for one of two reasons. Either Ariaeus was attempting to escape, or it was a sign of surrender.

  “What about the Terrans?”

  Her tactical officer examined what little information was available to them before answering.

  “Darbabad, they are withdrawing behind the planet and are being pursued by a small number of our Lelegian ships.”

  Darbabad Forouzandeh turned quickly and looked at the imagery.

  No, that doesn't make sense.

  The information told her one thing but her instinct said otherwise, and she wasn’t convinced. With a simple hand movement, the display enlarged the feed showing the ships that were busily pursuing the Terrans. Small amounts of gunfire flashed back and forth, but the shielding on the ships easily deflected the projectiles with light flashes of blue. Something wasn’t right, and it took her a moment until she spotted it. On each side of the ship moved small shapes. It was those she concentrated on.

  “What in the name of Emperor are those?”

  The tactical officer ran a series of scans and then brought up an image that showed three of them in great detail. They were small craft almost three times the size of a fighter.

  “Dromons!” she hissed before twisting about to speak with her communications officer.

  They were craft specific to the Terrans and some of the border worlds, and definitely not in use with Tissaphernes fleet. It could mean only one of two things; either they were from the fleet of Phalinus, or much more likely they were craft of the Legion.

  “Look,” said the tactical officer.

  He had selected just one of the dromons and enlarged the imagery so that it filled the display. The craft bore a number of markings, but it was one simple upturned ‘v’ that drew his attention.

  “Laconians!” he said excitedly.

  “Get me through to Tissaphernes within the next minute, or we will lose this fight. I don’t care what you have to do. Open fire on him if you must.”

  She then moved her eyes to her Sarvan.

  “Set course for the Lelegian ships. They have been captured, and this is a trap!”

  The second-in-command of the ship gave his salute and moved to the small cadre of Carian officers. The Boubak broke from the main fleet in seconds and led a division of a dozen Elamite battleships on a rapid interception course with the Lelegian ships.

  * * *

  Median Battleship ‘Vairya’, Planet Larissa, Core Worlds

  Tissaphernes watched the battle with barely concealed rage showing on his face. He had minimal control over his ships due to the jamming and had resorted to one-way traffic, via direct narrow band laser communication. It was less reliable but luckily almost impossible to jam. Another of Ariaeus’ cruisers vanished in a bright explosion, and like those before it, it simply wasn’t enough to sate his appetite.

  I will have his head for this!

  “My Lord, we have an urgent flash communication from seven ships, including Ariaeus and Darbabad Forouzandeh,” said the communications officer.

  The ship’s Sarvan approached with a grim look on his face.

  “I have told you already; I am not interested in what anybody has to say. Block their signal and repeat my last orders.”

  The communications officer nodded without saying a word. Vairya was perhaps the single most efficient ship in the fleet right now, but there was no possibility of personal initiative, due to the regime of terror and control instituted by Tissaphernes himself over so many years. While the junior officer continued as instructed, the ship’s Sarvan reached the lower level step beneath the obsidian command structure, a look of terror barely concealed behind his eyes.

  “What?” snapped the Satrap.

  “The Boubak, she has locked onto us and has opened her dorsal gunports.”

  Tissaphernes looked at the imagery inside his obsidian cocoon and quickly spotted the massive battleship. He immediately recognised the dated design and markings going back many centuries. Warning alerts triggered on the computer system, as the threat was assessed and then flagged as hostile. The Sarvan was nervous but he continued.

  “Boubak is the next most powerful ship in our fleet, and her commander, Darbabad Forouzandeh is the most experienced Darbabad in the Empire.”

  Tissaphernes knew all of this only too well, though he doubted Darbabad Forouzandeh would ever even consider turning her guns on him. After all, her family and reputation were firmly associated with his.

  “Your orders?” said the Sarvan.

  If he had been just a little closer Tissaphernes would have stepped out of the space, and struck him to the ground. Luckily for both of them, the distance was too great but that didn’t stop him deciding what cruel fate would befall this particular officer. The Darbabad moved up alongside him, bowed, and then gave an order to the Sarvan who moved quickly away.

  “I see you have ingrained some common sense into the Sarvan. Good, another word and he would have been commanding a trash detail, or perhaps visiting the coldness of the void instead of commanding my starship.”

  The Darbabad bowed again politely.

  “My Lord, I have given the orders to our divisions, and we are making good progress against the rebels. They will not last much longer with the arrival of our battleships. Boubak’s wing has already turned Ariaeus’ flank.”

  Tissaphernes’ lip quivered at this news.

  “Good work, Darbabad. I see you were a wise choice to command this part of the fleet.”

  Even as he spoke, a dozen flashes along the dorsal section of the other battleship indicated a volley of fire. For a moment he didn’t notice them. His brain recorded the event but filed it away in his subconscious. Something deep down must have identified them though because he quickly snapped about to see the continuous flicker of gunfire.

  Treachery!

  It took seconds for them to reach Vairya, but not before he had given the signal to return fire. The impact of the volley was massively underwhelming, and he barely felt the impact.

  Is that all Boubak has to offer in battle?

  He laughed to himself, wondering why he had been worried. He might even have ignored the tiny indicator in the bottom right of the battle near the Terran ship. It was nothing momentous, but it was worrying.

  A jump indicator, the Terrans, they are escaping!

  Tissaphernes was many things, but never stupid. All of the data quickly coalesced in his mind, the Terran ships, the Boubak, the fleet dispositions, and the rest. All that vexed him was the betrayal of Ariaeus. He signalled to the communications officer, completely bypassing the senior officers of the ship.

  “Is Darbabad Forouzandeh still trying to communicate with us?”

  The Sarvan of the ship nodded.


  “Yes, my Lord, as is Ariaeus.”

  Tissaphernes felt his heart burn in his chest at the mention of the treasonous dog Ariaeus. If he’d been allowed, he would have had the noble executed well before the Battle of Cunaxa.

  “Accept their data requests. I will speak with both of them.”

  The officer pressed a handful of buttons, and the images of the two nobles appeared on the left and right of him inside his obsidian cocoon.

  “Lord Tissaphernes, the Terrans have tricked you,” said Ariaeus bitterly.

  Before he could respond, Darbabad Forouzandeh spoke.

  “It is true. The Terrans have captured Lelegian ships as well as the Sraosha.”

  Tissaphernes trusted nobody, but the information matched the facts around him. He said nothing and looked back at the disposition of the fleet. The Terrans were definitely withdrawing and were followed closely by a small number of Lelegian ships.

  “Why were you firing upon Sraosha?”

  Ariaeus shook his head and sighed.

  “Sraosha was captured ten minutes before you arrived. The Terrans moved other captured ships around her and then turned on my forces. I fought back just as you arrived.”

  He inhaled, doing his best to stay calm.

  “Before you attacked my fleet.”

  Tissaphernes might have apologised if he felt any responsibility for what had happened. Instead, he laughed at Ariaeus. He looked out through the gap between the black vertical plates to where his Darbabad waited.

  “Give the order to stand down. This fight is over. Set an intercept course for the Terrans before they can escape.”

  He then looked at the two Median nobles.

  “So, it would appear the Terrans have been more imaginative than we might have ever expected. Perhaps if you had thrown your fleet in at the start, we might have won this fight?” he said to Ariaeus.

  His rival said nothing, however, as he realised he had actually survived what had been a bitter betrayal by Tissaphernes. He could see the look on the Satrap’s face, and at that moment found he had no idea who his real enemy was, the Terrans or Tissaphernes.

  * * *

  Evacuation deck, Median Battleship ‘Sraosha’, Larissa System

  The interior of the mighty warship had filled with smoke and sparks as she moved to her death throes. Continuous bombardment by dozens of ships had done their work, and with the shields finally gone, there was nothing to do but wait for the ship’s inevitable demise. The inside of the ship was another matter, however, as the crew and warriors of both sides ignored their previous struggle and ran for the nearest hangars, dromons, or evacuation decks. Xenophon was the last of the Terrans from the command deck to reach the lifeboat. There were similar decks, but this particular one was fitted along the flanks for the lower levels where most of the automatons worked.

  Run you fool!

  Glaucon and Artemas watched from the narrow doorway, waving at him to join them. They had already made it. Xenophon and a handful of other spatharii had checked the lower deck one last time for wounded or lost Terrans while the others carried what wounded they had to the lifeboat.

  “Come on, Tissaphernes is right behind us!”

  As if to emphasise the point, a long series of explosions ripped through the innards of the ship. The small numbers of unarmoured automatons remaining suffered when hit by debris and flashes of heat from the scores of impacts. Xenophon ducked past one unfortunate soul who’d just seen his right arm torn off from the shoulder. He grabbed the wounded soul and dragged him behind and towards the waiting lifeboat.

  “You’re coming with me!”

  The young looking female automaton didn’t argue and did her best to keep up while blood poured from the open wound. It wasn’t the first automaton he’d ever met, but it was the first he’d helped after being so terribly wounded. Contrary to what most people thought, they were flesh and blood just like all of the Terrans. Another projectile ripped the walkway apart to his right with a mighty crash. It was followed by a number of secondary explosions and equipment tore itself apart, sending fragments towards him. He slid down low to avoid it and found himself on his side and rolling along the floor.

  The damned artificial gravity well is failing!

  The automaton was too slow. She lost her footing and was then thrown across the walkway. He tried to grab her, but it all happened too fast. She crashed into a heap of bodies and then vanished over the edge with a scream.

  “Leave her!” shouted Tamara.

  The teenager was only a few metres ahead and running as fast as she could with her arm wrapped around a wounded stratiotes warrior. A mixture of heavily armed spatharii and the lightly equipped stratiotes moved behind her to get away from the crippled ship, and Xenophon almost crashed into them as he kept on.

  I should get her.

  He knew he shouldn’t, but something deep inside wouldn’t let him leave somebody that vulnerable behind. Even as the last few Terrans surged past, he slowed and moved to the edge of the walkway. The gravity had shifted so much now that the section felt angled at nearly thirty degrees and increasing. In less than a minute, he suspected the gravity would in effect be reversed, or much more likely, it would tear the ship apart from within. He looked over the edge and into the vast chasm that had once been a series of bulkheads. Instead of metal, he found a completely sheared off section and a drop of almost fifteen, perhaps even twenty decks right down.

  Poor thing, she will never survive that.

  He wiped the bead of sweat dripping from his chin and then spotted her, just a metre away and hanging from a jagged piece of shredded metal. Her struggling body looked like a fish dangling from a fishing line right over the edge. The terrified automaton screamed in terror. Xenophon shook his head, looking back at the waiting lifeboat where his friend waited.

  “Glaucon, over here!”

  His friend wasn’t keen, but somebody inside pushed him and he stumbled out. He looked back at them and then ran towards Xenophon and the shattered walkway. He slid alongside him and almost stumbled, but Xenophon grabbed him to keep his friend upright.

  “Easy now,” he said, holding on to him.

  “You crazy fool, we don’t have the time. This ship is going to blow.”

  Xenophon looked over the ledge and at the poor automaton hanging over the ledge. Two more explosions ripped a section thirty metres away, sending it deep into the rear of the command deck.

  “Okay, let’s get this done!”

  Xenophon dropped to his knees and then lay on his stomach to spread out his weight. He moved the edge and waited while Glaucon braced himself and grabbed onto his legs.

  “Don’t go too far now.”

  Xenophon moved further until his stomach was pressed into the edge and looking down at the automaton. She was now within arm’s reach, and he extended one arm out but could only brush his fingers against her tunic.

  “Swing towards me,” he said firmly.

  She looked at him but clearly had no idea what to do. No matter how hard he shouted she would not do anything other than wait for the inevitable moment where an explosion rocked her off the shattered metal section and down to the lower levels, and her death.

  “Swing, damn you!”

  Xenophon pushed forwards a little further and heard Glaucon call out.

  “No more, I can barely hold you like this.”

  The ship shuddered from either another bombardment or yet more explosions. It was almost impossible to tell them apart now as the ship began ripping itself apart. Xenophon grabbed her tunic and tugged, but the shift in gravity began to pull her away in the opposite direction.

  Damn, this isn’t going to work.

  He looked up and to his side to speak with Glaucon and found Artemas staring back at him. She tried to smile and then bent down to help Glaucon hold him.

  “Tell her to swing,” he said, grimacing as the ledge bit into his stomach.

  Artemas didn’t hesitate and gave quick, decisive orders to the auto
maton. The response was instant, and in seconds she was rocking from left to right. Xenophon watched her move and waited for the third swing before releasing his hands and taking a wide grab. His left arm struck her first and then he had her around the waist.

  “Now!” called Tamara. She had also arrived to help.

  All three pulled on Xenophon’s legs and finally he was back on the shattered walkway, and with the bloodied, battered but still living automaton. Glaucon lifted him to his feet and bashed his fist against the side of his friend’s helmet.

  “Maybe now we can leave?”

  Words were unnecessary, and the entire group ran the short distance to the lifeboat and made it inside as yet another series of explosions tore a large chunk out of the flooring. The gravity shifted again and began to increase in intensity. The door hissed shut behind him, and Glaucon had to manhandle his friend into the nearest seat and hit the coupling button to activate the straps. The lifeboat shook and then everything became still as they pushed away from the massive ship. The windows were tiny, not much bigger than a head, yet they provided a sombre view. Once they’d made it fifty metres from the hull, the main engine activated, and they blasted away at full power towards the escaping fleet.

  “Well, that was...interesting,” said Artemas with a wry look.

  Xenophon looked at her and then to his friends. None of them seemed terribly impressed with what he had just done. He looked to his right, and there sat the automaton as well as three other Terrans, all of whom were being tended by a spatharii medic. He looked back at them, especially Artemas.

  “Hey, we took the ship.”

  Glaucon looked back as the mighty vessel broke into a dozen smaller chunks.

  “Yeah, we took her all right.”

  * * *

  Imperial Palace, Babylon Prime, Core Worlds

  Ariaeus knelt before Mitra. As usual he was stripped to the waist and carrying his massive glaive. Ariaeus then dropped down to the floor, face down on the spotless surface. His clothing was ripped, and a number of cuts ran down his exposed flesh. The muscled warrior looked back at the form of his Emperor who gave him a simple nod. He looked back at the prostrate figure.