Empires gambit, p.51
Empire's Gambit, page 51
Chapter 39
Even the best laid traps can be turned against you. An experienced commander never relies on just one strategy.
-Excerpt from Empire Rising 3002 AD.
IS Drake
When the destruction of the Karacknid colony’s orbitals was finished, James altered the main holo display to show the Karacknid fleet once more. His sudden lurch into the heart of the system had caught the various Karacknid squadrons off-guard. Most had now formed up into one fleet with the largest Karacknid squadron, yet they were still a couple of hours behind him. They had rendezvoused at a point that blocked James’ ships from heading straight towards the shift passage leading to the Karacknids’ homeworld. Though they were still waiting for more ships to join them, they were slowly approaching the colony. Time to change that, James said to himself. “Let us begin the final part of our plan. Instruct General Johnston his ships may begin moving,” he ordered. From the rear of James’ fleet, Johnston’s ships and an escort of cruisers moved towards the planet. Already, shuttles were swarming around the troop transports and atmospheric fighters pushed ahead ready to assault Karacknid ground defenses. James waited several minutes, and then nodded to Ivanov. “Activate the Masking Net.”
From Drake the signal went out to one hundred destroyers that had taken a position in high orbit around the Karacknid colony. Simultaneously, every one of them activated their mask arrays. In an instant, a cloaking field enveloped the colony. James smiled at the result. Several Mindus and Kulrean scientists had reverse engineered the cloaking technology the Karacknids had used to shroud Earth and his defensive fleet in darkness. Now he was turning the tables on them. It wasn’t perfect. They hadn’t figured out how the Karacknids had done it exactly, but they had been able to mimic the effect. Crucially, all communications trying to pass through the masking net would be disrupted. Some emission leakages from his ships would get through, but they would be scrambled to a degree that the Karacknids would have difficulty figuring out exactly what they were detecting. Though imperfect, it was perfect for what James had in mind. “Release the drones,” he ordered next.
Over the space of two minutes, forty drones were released from Drake. They flew down towards the colony’s atmosphere. Then in ones, twos and threes, they self-destructed right above Karacknid cities. Each drone carried several thermonuclear warheads. They detonated well above the planet. There was no risk of causing any damage to any of the Karacknids living there. Yet with the Masking Net disrupting the massive energy emissions given off by the detonations, the Karacknids would have no way of knowing that. The last images they would have had of their colony was of Johnston’s landing force approaching. Now all they would detect through the Net would be signs of thermonuclear detonations in the vicinity of their cities. “Release the next wave,” James ordered once the first drones had all self-destructed. He then turned and waited for the first communication drones to be sent through the Masking Net from the scouts he had left on its other side. Several minutes passed as a steady rhythm of thermonuclear detonations developed above the colony’s atmosphere.
“Any moment now,” Anderson predicted. The Karacknid fleet was more than close enough that the first emissions from the explosion should have reached them.
“There we go,” Davenport said seconds later as the first communication drone appeared through the Masking Net.
James held his breath. Everyone was looking over to Petrov’s console. For several seconds, she didn’t look up. James had to fight not to lean forward in his command chair. When she did, she was beaming. “They have increased their acceleration rates!” Moments later and the sensor data was on the main holo display. The Karacknid fleet had gone from idling towards his position to moving with all haste. They had taken the bait. James could easily imagine what the Karacknid commander was thinking. He’ll be in a rage, James was sure.
“A despicable ruse,” Fralin-yang said from a seat at the back of Drake’s bridge. The high scribe had requested permission to be on the bridge to watch events unfold. Up until that moment, he had remained completely silent throughout the battle. “Despicable, but effective.”
James glanced at him. “If your warriors have one weakness, it is their anger. And given the atrocities they have freely committed in the past, I’m sure it has not even entered their minds that we would be bluffing. After all, why would we not kill billions of your people when they have tried to do the same to us?”
Fralin-yang raised a hand to acknowledge James’ words. “A good commander knows how to use his enemy’s weaknesses to best advantage. Still, I do not deem it wise to ever arouse a Karacknid warrior to anger. I do not think you will desire to see the results.”
“Wait and see,” was all James was prepared to reveal. He turned to Ivanov, “Get the fleet in motion.”
As his orders went out, a number of things happened at once. Johnston’s troop ships started to turn away from the Karacknid colony. All of the empty troop shuttles and atmospheric fighters rushed to land back on their ships. The skeleton crews of the one hundred destroyers left their posts and loaded up onto shuttles. Drake and the rest of James’ ships approached the Karacknid colony along its axis of rotation. Settling onto a course that would take them into a lower and lower orbit, they fired up their engines to full.
Over the next thirty minutes, Johnston’s troop ships re-joined James’s fleet. The evacuation shuttles from the destroyers were picked up and Drake and all her consorts circled around the Karacknid colony three times dramatically increasing their velocity with every lower rotation. “We are ready,” Lieutenant Salamanca announced just after the third pass was complete, “seven minutes, and we can begin to break orbit.”
“Do it,” James ordered. On Drake’s holo display, the sensor data from the latest communications drone to come through the Masking Net was being shown. The destroyers had been left with autonomous orders to keep sending them through. The Karacknid fleets’ course was unchanged. They were coming full speed to engage his fleet.
As his ships broke away from the Karacknid colony and raced towards the Masking Net, James raised his chin and squared his jaw. Like a flash, his fleet burst through the Masking Net. Prearranged orders were then sent to the destroyers. Every one of them detonated as they self-destructed. In an instant, the tactical situation suddenly changed for the Karacknid fleet. They were able to see their colony was unharmed, and instead of an enemy fleet assaulting the planet, the fleet was racing away from it at an incredibly high speed.
*
Pillager
Dellinor-tan’s claws retracted into his knuckles. Around him, growls and roars erupted from his subordinates. Anger escaped him, however. He was too stunned. In the blink of an eye, his carefully laid plan had fallen apart. The Human commander had been walking right into his trap! Moving further and further into the system, he had been allowing himself to be surrounded. Yet somehow, he had found a way out. This was no fluke, Dellinor-tan was certain. Rather than stir him into action, the realization only dampened his emotions even more. He had been outsmarted. And they will get past us, he saw as the enemy fleet’s trajectory was updated on Pillager’s display. His mind immediately went to Taranaki. The Imperator would be furious. He would personally tear Dellinor-tan limb from limb. And my family, Dellinor-tan feared. His clan would lose a great deal of status as well. Dellinor-tan shook his head. He didn’t understand how it had happened, yet, it had. In the space of just a few seconds, he had gone from being in a position to be able to crush the enemy fleet and earn all the accolades Taranaki could heap on him, to becoming a complete failure. For the first time in his life, he fully grasped the gulf in skill between himself and the frontier Admirals like Tanaka-lan. He had been out of his depth the whole time, and he hadn’t even been smart enough to realize it. It is over, Dellinor-tan said to himself. The battle, his career and even his life. It was all over.
“Admiral, what orders do you have?” Pillager’s Captain asked. “Admiral?” He repeated when Dellinor-tan didn’t respond.
He tried two more times without success. Then as he stood, Dellinor-tan turned to him and waved a flaccid hand. “Do whatever you want. It matters little now.”
*
Two salvos, James said to himself as he saw the estimated plots of both fleets appear on Drake’s holo display. The Karacknid fleet would have to act fast, if it changed course, it would be able to bring his ships into missile range for two salvos before the momentum of both fleets brought them away from one another. Then we’ll be free and clear, he added with a smile. There wasn’t a Karacknid squadron anywhere near large enough to waylay him beyond the Karacknid fleet of ten thousand ships that was closing fast on his position. Sure enough, even as he watched, the Karacknid warships all began to alter their heading. Fighters were also launched from the four carriers at the heart of the enemy fleet. James’ eyes squinted when he saw more fighters than he had expected. Several squadrons were appearing from Karacknid dreadnoughts.
“They are no dreadnoughts,” Anderson said as he zoomed in on them, picking up the same thing. “They must be carriers disguised as dreadnoughts!”
“Prep all Wing Commander Hawthorn’s fighters for launch,” James snapped. He had no doubt the Karacknid commander would throw everything he could at James’ ships as they passed.
“The final count is six hundred,” Anderson updated a minute later. “Wait, there’s more movement from their fleet.”
James nodded when he saw it. The Karacknid commander was pushing his frigates, destroyers, and light cruisers ahead of his capital ships. With their higher acceleration rates, they could come closer to James’ ships and maybe get off a third missile salvo. He’s going to make this as difficult as possible, James thought as he ground his teeth together. It was the price he was going to have to pay.
Keeping his face straight, James led his fleet as they did just that. The first to engage were the Karacknid fighters and Hawthorn’s force of one thousand Spitfires, Corsairs, and Alliance fighters. None of the Karacknid attack ships got close enough to fire their particle cannons at James’ capital ships. Yet, that wasn’t James’ main concern. It cost Hawthorn three hundred fighters to turn the Karacknids back. She also wasn’t able to use her fighters to engage any of the Karacknid missiles.
When the Karacknid fleet fired, it was a colossal salvo. Their ten thousand ships put out three hundred thousand missiles. James’ return fire was less than half that number. The massive weight of enemy fire was daunting, to say the least. Yet there was one drawback. So many missiles crammed into such a small area of space were vulnerable. Instead of opening fire with their energy absorbing ordinances on the Karacknid fleet, the six thousand Kalassai warships targeted the missiles instead. Thousands of them were blown apart in the first few waves. The attacks forced the Karacknid missiles to carry out evasive maneuvers. It saved many of them. Yet the Karacknid missiles slowly began to be staggered out more and more by their maneuvers. It meant they would be easier for the Allied fleet to engage. Nevertheless, when Drake and Triumphant’s Kulrean energy weapons opened fire, there were still two hundred and sixty thousand missiles. The number barely dipped in the twenty seconds Drake and Triumphant kept firing. Then every Imperial ship opened fire with their long-range AM missiles. Flak cannons followed suit seconds later. This time, tens of thousands of Karacknid missiles were obliterated. In a matter of seconds, the Karacknid missiles came close enough for every ship in the Allied fleet to open fire. A concoction of defensive weapons’ fire reached out towards the Karacknid missiles. For exactly thirty-two seconds, the Allied fleet struck out at the Karacknid missiles with everything they had. Tens of thousands were blown apart.
It wasn’t enough. Missiles got through. Many missiles. Imperial, Kalassai, Alliance, Conclave, Vestarian and Mindus ships began to disappear as antimatter wiped them from existence. No fleet was spared. When two city ships had massive holes eaten into them almost simultaneously, James jumped in pain. He had bitten his lip. The carnage wasn’t over though. Due to the staggered nature of the Karacknid salvo, explosions continued to rip through the fleet. For nearly ten seconds, the Karacknid missiles inflicted destruction upon his fleet. When it was over, James felt a thick bead of sweat run down his palm. Looking down, he saw it wasn’t sweat, but blood. He had dug his nails in so hard, they had broken his skin.
Ignoring his hands, James threw himself into helping his staff reorganize his fleet and deal with the damaged and stricken ships. Already, the holo display was showing nearly two hundred ships falling out of formation. Any that had lost power or their ability to keep accelerating would have to be left behind. There was no way they could be helped. Their crews needed to be evacuated as soon as possible. There was only a very narrow window where a ship’s shuttle could catch up with James’ fast-moving fleet.
It wasn’t until several minutes after the final missile had detonated that Anderson was able to send him an update on the fleet’s status. When James paused to read it, his teeth clamped down to keep his face straight. Two hundred and eighty ships had been destroyed. One hundred and ninety-six would have to be abandoned. James’ hand paused as he scrawled through one part of the report. He had to read it twice to take it in. Rear Admiral Maleck’s battleship had been one of the casualties. James couldn’t help but shake his head as he thought of Ya’sia. Maleck had served under her for most of the war. She knew they had grown close. His anger flared at the Karacknids. He didn’t have time to mourn, however. Instead, he focused his emotions into the battle.
A glance at the Karacknid fleet told him his first missiles had accomplished little. Less than sixty ships were missing from their formation. Without the Kalassai using their anti-ship fire to aid his missile salvos, his ships would struggle to penetrate the Karacknids’ point defenses. At this point, James didn’t care, he was far more interested in protecting his ships than destroying the enemy’s.
“I have the firing solutions ready,” Anderson reported. “We have the timing as good as we are going to get it.”
“Then fire when ready,” James replied.
Once again, a relatively meagre salvo of missiles was launched from the Allied Fleet. It didn’t take long for the Karacknids to fire as well. Like before, the Kalassai used their energy absorbing weapons against the Karacknid missile salvo. Then, Anderson’s missiles played their part. Instead of targeting the Karacknid fleet, he had targeted them at the enemy missiles. Analyzing the reload time the Karacknid ships had displayed throughout the various battles that had been fought over the last several hours, he had predicted exactly when the Karacknids would fire. His salvo was timed to perfectly intersect with the Karacknids. At the touch of a button, every Allied missile detonated. Joining the rest of the Allied ships, the Imperial ships had fired thermonuclear warheads. Exactly one hundred and twenty-six thousand of them detonated together. The massive release of energy overwhelmed even Drake’s advanced sensors.
As James waited for it to clear, two spikes of pain shot up through his hand and wrists. He had clamped his fingers tight once more. Though it only took seconds, it felt like an age. The first sign that it had worked was when Anderson pumped a fist in the air and let out a holler. More than fifty thousand Karacknid missiles were missing. James released his hands and beamed at Anderson. It was an old tactic; one James had used against the Karacknids before. One that was easily countered if anticipated. They had gambled that the Karacknid commanders stationed within the Karacknid core worlds were unfamiliar with many of the battles from the frontline. We were right, James thought with a smile.
Despite this success, the euphoria on Drake’s bridge quickly faded. Even losing fifty thousand missiles, the approaching wave of destruction was still formidable. Especially given the ships and point defensive weapons the fleet had already lost. Once again, every warship opened up with their point defenses as soon as they could. Once again, the Karacknid missiles dodged and weaved and released megajoules of ECM as they tried to trick the allies’ targeting sensors. Most failed. Far fewer than the first salvo breached the defensive fire. Yet some did. This time, James intentionally dragged his fingernails across his cut palms. With her advanced sensors and point defenses, Drake easily dispatched the handful of missiles targeting her. As he watched other ships die around him, he relished the pain. It was nothing compared to what his people were suffering.
