Hero's Return, page 14
“I willingly acknowledge the empress regent’s failures. That’s why I and my fellow captains joined your cause. Or, I should say, agreed to follow Grand Admiral Mason’s instructions. But Mason is dead, the regent is in firm control of the Imperial government, and a powerful fleet under a battle-tested commander has us bottled up in this star system.”
Berloc realized he was losing control of the situation. His mind raced, trying to find a solution. Then…
“What if… you sent multiple forces in several directions? Kong would have to concentrate his force to stop one of the forces, leaving the others to escape the system.”
“Interesting,” was all Hull said.
“Three forces, each strong enough to force Kong to use his entire force to stop it. The two forces that escape the blockade can then proceed to another star system friendly to our cause.”
“The results won’t be pleasant for the force Admiral Kong decides to interdict,” Hull stated, “but your plan has some merit. If we can break forces away, we can threaten other star systems.”
“Exactly!” Telana nearly yelled as the plan came together. “If we can show star systems that are only lukewarm in their support for the regent that she can’t protect them, they’ll come over to our side.”
“It might work,” Hull stated.
Berloc could tell the man was warming to the idea. Now it was time to seal the deal.
“And we may not lose any ships at all. It may only be a show. Kong won’t order his force to open fire on fellow Imperial ships.”
Hull laughed. “You don’t know Gathii Kong. He’ll give the order. Question is—and I’m sure Admiral Kong wonders about this as well—will his ships obey that order? I give it a fifty-fifty chance they won’t.”
“Then you’ll do it?”
“I will hold a fleet officer’s council to discuss it. I’ll let you know our decision,” Hull said, then terminated the call.
“Damn asshole hung up on me,” Telana muttered as he closed down the comm terminal.
* * *
Admiral Gathii Kong frowned at the computer terminal.
“One would think,” he muttered to himself, “that missing half the fleet, the paperwork would go down. If anything, it’s actually increased.”
“Admiral?”
Gathii recognized the voice of his chief of staff, Rear Admiral Jori Goodman, coming out of the comm unit.
“What is it, Jori?”
“They’re moving.”
“Have we determined a course yet?”
“It’ll be courses, sir. And no, we need a little more time for the computers to resolve the tracks.”
“Interesting. How many groups?”
“Three, sir.”
“Well, we talked about this possibility. What’s the status of our refueling ships?”
“Already recalled from the nearby gas giant, sir,” Jori reported. “They’ll rejoin the fleet well before the opposing ships reach firing range.”
The gas giant was only thirty light minutes from where the Home Fleet orbited Crux’s Star. With the rebel ships deep in the system, Kong took advantage of the proximity of the nearby cloud scoops to refuel his ships. It was easier and less time-consuming than having them hyper to a nearby system to stay supplied.
The remnants of the Imperial Home Fleet, those ships and squadrons that had remained loyal to the Crown, orbited right on the edge of the Crux Star System’s hyper limit. On paper, it looked like a total mismatch. Gathii Kong’s force contained only two dreadnought squadrons and a single battleship squadron and faced five rebel squadrons of each type of ship.
But the eight ships of the 6th Missile Dreadnought Squadron carried the Mk II hyper missile, tipped with anti-matter warheads, and every ship was battle-tested, having fought Mordorian, Pyrassun, and Zenkarr Fleet units during Prince Henry’s Earth expedition. A single salvo from one of those ships would destroy one of the rebel dreadnoughts and do so at a range well beyond that of its target.
“Keep me advised,” Kong responded, “and let me know as soon as we have courses and the makeup of each force.”
“You’ll know as soon as I do, sir.”
Kong flipped off the comm switch and looked up at the wall screen opposite his desk. Habitually, he left Steadfast’s tactical display on the screen, and he checked it now. He could see three distinct formations breaking orbit.
“Doesn’t look as if they’re leaving anything behind,” Gathii said. As he’d gotten older and more senior, the fleet commander found he talked more and more to himself. Some would think it was a character flaw or a sign of a possible mental issue, but Gathii found it helped him work through issues. And since he was alone, who would hear?
There was also no reason to rush. The Home Fleet was three and a half light hours from the rebel ships. Even if all three forces pushed their propulsion units to the limit, it would take over thirty hours for any of them to reach the hyper limit to escape. Gathii’s ships, outside that limit, could micro-jump to anywhere in the outer system to cut off any of the three forces.
Gathii pushed the comm button, and Jori answered almost immediately.
“Yes, sir?”
“Jori, send a message to all the squadron and division commanders. I want to have a virtual officers’ call at 1300.”
“Aye, aye, Admiral.”
“Jori,” Gathii said as he thought of something else, “include all the dreadnought and battleship commanders in that invitation.”
“Will do, Admiral.”
Gathii toggled the comm off and leaned back in his chair, the paperwork on his terminal now forgotten.
“Thirty hours, you bastards. Thirty hours, and you’ll see there’s a price for treason. And—” Gathii grinned “—you’ll find that I’m more than willing to collect what you owe.”
* * *
Admiral Kong sat in his command chair on his flagship Steadfast’s flag bridge and watched the tactical display. The three rebel forces had indeed taken three separate routes, all headed to the outer system and freedom. But only if they could make it beyond the hyper limit.
It’s not a bad strategy, Kong thought. In fact, it may be the only real one they have. But it won’t work.
It wouldn’t work because Gathii wouldn’t allow it to work. Kong knew the repercussions of allowing any of the rebel ships to escape the Crux System. Once free of the blockade, they’d split up and pressure undefended star systems to join their cause. If that happened, Kong knew he wouldn’t be able to put the cork back in the bottle.
With the rebel fleet concentrated, Kong could use his hyper-missile-equipped ships to keep them at bay. But if they split up into penny packet forces, he’d lose that advantage. The Home Fleet only had sixteen ships that could fire the devastating missiles, eight missile dreadnoughts and eight superbattleships.
The 6th Missile Dreadnought Squadron, with full missile magazines, could take on all the rebel capital ships. His superbattleship squadron, all newly built, but with only two missile launchers and smaller magazines, could at most take on two squadrons at a time. But as powerful as those two squadrons were, they could only be in one place at a time.
That’s why Kong positioned his force to face the rebel force that contained the 2nd Dreadnought Squadron. From intercepted communications, he knew Captain Greg Hull, the 2nd’s commander, was the senior rebel officer and in overall command of the rebellious ships.
Unfortunately for the likely innocent spacers crewing Fearsome, Hull’s flagship, they are going to die in order for me to make an example out of their captain.
Kong watched as the enemy—he hated thinking of the ships that way, but that’s what they were—crossed the green line the tactical officer had superimposed on the tactical display, marking the line where hyper missiles could engage targets. Another line, thirty light minutes further from the star and marked in red, showed the point where the dreadnoughts could open portals and escape into hyperspace.
At the 0.1c speed Hall’s force is currently traveling, it will take them five hours to reach the safety of hyperspace. The missile dreadnoughts can fire one volley of missiles every minute. The 6th Missile Dreadnought Squadron can empty its magazines well before they can get out of the kill box.
“Jori, is everything ready?” Kong asked his chief of staff.
Rear Admiral Goodman walked from his operations station to stand next to his admiral. He pitched his voice low enough that only Kong would hear.
“The 6th Dreadnought Squadron’s 2nd Division understands their orders.”
“Remind them that if I give the order, they are to only target Devastator.”
“They know that, sir, but I’ll remind them.”
Kong nodded. Jori had suggested the “just in case” plan. Neither Kong nor Goodman trusted the commanders of the eight warships that made up the 1st Dreadnought Squadron. Devastator, the squadron flagship, was also the flagship of the Imperial Fleet. It technically wasn’t part of Home Fleet. Since it contained the fleet flagship, the 1st was under the direct control of the grand admiral.
Thomas O’Riley, the temporary grand admiral, also didn’t trust any of the commanding officers of the 1st Dreadnought Squadron. Kong didn’t blame him. When the squadron didn’t leave with the other rebel ships, it had surprised both officers. Winfred Mason, the previous grand admiral, had handpicked every captain for their loyalty to him, not the Empire.
And I got stuck with them because we couldn’t trust them to be the only dreadnoughts in the Home System. Thomas sent them with me so I could keep an eye on them.
Gathii keyed the command circuit button on the arm of his chair.
“All ships, this is Admiral Kong. All weapons are weapons-tight. I repeat. Weapons are weapons-tight. The Home Fleet will fire only on my personal command and on targets specified by me.”
Kong left the channel open a moment longer to let that order sink in.
“Kong, out.”
He closed the channel and toggled another communications channel. This one was the fleet commander’s channel to his flag captain. The image of Steadfast’s captain appeared on the small screen embedded in the chair’s arm above the comm console.
“Admiral, how can Steadfast be of service?”
“I’ll be the one to give the order to fire,” Kong stated solemnly. “I don’t want anyone else to bear that burden. Have your comms officer tie your tactical officer into this channel.”
The flag captain nodded, and Kong saw him turn to issue instructions. A moment later, the small screen split to show the images of Steadfast’s captain and tactical officer, a youngish-looking commander.
“Commander, I want you to understand. I’m the one ordering you to launch weapons against another Imperial ship. You’ll be following a lawful order.”
“No worries, Admiral. The traitorous bastards deserve what’s coming.”
Kong had to stifle a smile. The commander’s comment hadn’t surprised him. Steadfast’s crew was living up to the ship’s name. He was certain all the ships of the 6th Missile Dreadnought Squadron felt the same way. Many of the crews had followed Hazard into the mouth of hell and had returned. Every crewman of those ships was fiercely loyal to his memory and the Empire.
“Confirm target, Commander.”
“Target ship is the dreadnought Fearless.”
Kong closed his eyes and uttered a brief prayer.
Deities, forgive me for what I’m about to do.
“Fire!”
Later, when he had time to think about it, Kong discovered what happened next lacked the drama he’d expected. Gathii had ordered a full salvo to be launched, but Steadfast had been one of the original missile dreadnoughts. Designers had installed the four missile launchers on the ship’s ventral side in a two-by-two configuration, the forward pair in line with the aft pair. During testing, crews discovered that when launched simultaneously, the exhaust of the forward pair of missiles would interfere, even damage the rear missiles. The workaround was to ripple launch the missiles. The forward two would launch, then fifteen seconds later, the aft pair.
Gathii watched as the first two missiles appeared on the display, then disappeared into hyperspace. Then the second pair launched, and the process repeated.
“Missiles away, Admiral. Good tracks on all missiles.”
“Thank you, Commander, Captain. Reload and target the next ship, but we are weapons hold till I tell you.”
Both men nodded, and then Kong closed the channel.
“It’ll be thirty minutes till we see the results, Admiral,” Kong’s flag bridge tactical officer, a member of his staff, reminded him.
Kong nodded.
“What’ll they do?” Jori Goodman asked, stepping up next to Kong’s command seat.
“They’ll turn back,” Kong replied. He hoped he sounded more confident than he was. Then Gathii waved a hand at the large tactical display that dominated the forward bulkhead of the flag bridge.
“All, or at least most, of those dreadnought captains are Mason’s buddies. Dandies and sycophants, every one of them. They’re long on talk and short on experience. I’m betting they turn around.”
“And if they don’t?” Jori’s voice was barely audible in the background chatter of the bridge.
“Then we take out the rest of 2nd Dreadnought Squadron to drive the point home.”
“The astrogator has the jump plotted to get in front of the second group. Should we go ahead…”
Kong shook his head, cutting off his chief of staff mid-question.
“That will put us on the opposite side of the star system, further away from this group. That will delay us seeing the results of this strike. No. We’ll stay here.”
Kong’s answer to Jori reminded him that he’d forgotten the message he wanted to broadcast, and he turned to his communications officer.
“Open a system-wide channel.”
“You’re on, Admiral,” the officer responded a moment later.
Gathii nodded, looked down to ensure his uniform looked okay, then looked up and into the camera pickup.
“Rebel units in the Crux Star System,” Kong began, then frowned and shook his head.
“Comms, delete that.”
“I’ll take care of it, sir.”
“Imperial Fleet units in the Crux Star System currently obeying the false instructions of Senate representatives. You are operating against the instructions of your legal government and its officers. By now, you’ve seen my initial response to your failure to obey orders. The ships under my command can sit right where they are and obliterate all of your forces. I beg of you, don’t make me do that. I’m certain most of the crews on your ships do not know what’s happening. They’re ignorant of the mistakes made by a handful of senior officers in following the false orders given by traitorous politicians. It’s those officers I’m now talking to. Cut your drives and lower your shields. Save your crews. Because I will do what is necessary to protect and defend the Empire. Whatever happens next is on your heads. Kong, out.”
Gathii made a cutting motion with his left hand and turned again to look at the communications officer.
“Good copy, Admiral.”
“Send it out.”
“It’s on the way, sir.”
“Now we wait and see,” Jori said, then turned and returned to his station. He’d only made it halfway back when Tactical announced a problem.
“Sir, the 1st Dreadnought Squadron is breaking formation.”
Kong’s first instinct was to ask what was happening, but he swallowed the question and instead looked at the tactical display. When the commander had called out the change, he’d feared the dreadnoughts were turning to attack the rest of his force. At their current range, if the eight warships concentrated their fire on a single ship, they’d quickly overwhelm its shields and armor. Gathii knew the rest of his fleet would make them pay a price for such an action, but not before suffering losses of its own.
But they’re turning away. They’re running.
“They’re going for the hyper limit,” Jori called from his station. “Our friends over there heard your message to the rebels. I’m betting they think the other ships will surrender, or at the very least turn back for Crux. So, they’re going to take up the mission.”
“Run amok in Imperial space?”
Jori nodded. “Or go back and try to intimidate the empress regent.”
Kong chuckled. “They’d have to take on two carrier groups to do it. If they believe they can do that, they’re dumber than I thought they were.”
“Admiral, we’re talking about people Mason hand-picked to command. I have met none of them who rank higher than a moron.”
“We can’t let them get away, sir,” the tactical officer stated.
“And we won’t, Commander. How long till they get back beyond the hyper limit?”
When Kong had ordered the Home Fleet to its current position, blocking one of the three forces trying to escape Crux, he’d put it on an intercept course. The force had crossed the hyper limit nearly thirty minutes ago on its way into the system.
“Okay, Admiral Goodman, let’s see if your scheme works.”
“I’ll send the signal.”
“But Admiral, I can’t let these ships escape. When they get to within five minutes of jumping, I will destroy them.”
“The Marines will get it done.”
* * *
Jori Goodman had never trusted the captains commanding the eight dreadnoughts of the 1st Dreadnought Squadron. It was, after all, Winfred Mason’s personal force, and he would have had officers he trusted to follow his orders unquestioningly in charge.
Both Admiral Kong and Jori doubted the treachery extended beyond each ship’s captain and his senior staff. The rest of the crews were just following what they thought were legal orders. So, if they had to destroy the dreadnoughts to stop the rebellion from spreading, thousands of innocent and loyal spacers would die. Goodman’s plan would hopefully avoid that.
Every warship of the Imperial Fleet carried a Marine detachment. The number of Marines varied based on the size of the ship. Each of the eight dreadnoughts of the 1st Dreadnought Squadron carried a company of two hundred Marines. Devastator, as the fleet flagship, carried an additional company. It wouldn’t be any trouble for the Marine contingent of each ship to take over the ship and arrest the senior officers. Jori’s issue was briefing the Marines of each ship and then signaling them to execute the plan.
