The Spice Clipper cargo corvette was two weeks into its journey from Bedrock to Hamthen when news came of the RVSN success in breaking into the Axis system of Battlement. To celebrate dinner aboard the fleet little ship was kitchen cooked instead of pre-packaged. In addition to dining with the ship’s officers the highest-ranking passenger sat with the crew at each division rotation. Though she knew her audience appreciated her company Admiral Tulcus Jki would rather be back in Bedrock, planning the next offensive foray into Asteroid Axis space.
A high level conference was scheduled to be held on Hamthen Prime. Representatives from the allied nations will be in attendance. For the Commonwealth it was President Eyna Huj. The purpose of the conference was to settle on long-term policy regarding the Axis. As the most senior naval officer having fought Axis forces it was only natural for Jki to be called upon for her opinion. The higher ups in the Navy could have easily allowed her to send her own representative in addition to a report, but apparently the conference was as much for moral and propaganda purposes as well as strategic planning. Jki could only imagine the effort it took to have Huj come instead of her father Sal. Not that Sal would’ve represented the CPS any less than Huj, far from it. Being the daughter of a most famous senator would’ve produced a media ‘perfect storm’ that could have long-term consequences, both good and ill, depending on the conduct of the war.
Jki was privately glad that Sal was back home on Terpla to ‘mind the store’ for Huj. As much as she wanted to see her father it was better for the senior man to keep the senate focused on the war instead of drifting off into fanciful post-war plans. Despite the editorials and speculations, especially from the Terpla’n and Crajen press, the Axis wasn’t a kick boxer on his last pair of knees. They remained a dangerous, wily opponent perfectly willing to launch wasteful spoiling attacks just to prove they were strong enough to mount them in the first place. When one adds the unreal depths of fanatical resistance exhibited on Citadel, Borehole, Meadow, Blood Pride and Forger’s Gate it was clear to all but the most willfully blind that while the war may well be won the reeducation of the Comensal race will last generations.
On the lighter side of news Jki was bemused when she received word from the Major of Marines about the Captain Avma, her former command and most recent flagship. The ship’s mascot, a lungfish named Flip, had been despondent when Jki departed. For days afterward Flip kept to his routine, always ending up at the now-closed hatch to her former cabin every evening. Inevitably the onboard watch would come by, retrieve the despondent lung fish, and return him to Marine Country and plunk him down in his tank. It wasn’t until the tenth day that Flip decided to turn his affection to the next most important person on the ship. Not the Captain, but Senior Chief Petty Officer Delys. As the senior NCO running ship stores, Delys could procure supplies that would normally require the talents of a wizard. In this case the ability to get a particular brand of freeze-dried worms was the deciding factor for Flip’s simple decision making process. In no time the tank that was in Jki’s old quarters was moved into Delys’ office, and it appeared that Flip was going to spend his evenings keeping the old spacer company for the foreseeable future.
As far as Jki was concerned the future held several more weeks of travel and reading reports picked up from the communications net along the way. With Task Force 11 continuing the offensive out from Bedrock, and the RVSN occupied with Battlement there promised to be no shortage of news. By the time she got back from the conference Jki would have a new command ship waiting for her, complete with the latest refits. She was determined to do her part to keep the momentum of the war in the CSF and its allies’ favor.
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The initial scout reports confirmed what King Russen expected. The asteroid belt of Battlement did contain outposts and colonies, but was also lousy with bases. A chain of small bases lead from the asteroid belt to the second gas giant, and that world’s moons had bases as well. The Royal Navy detachment heading for the second gas giant was tasked to take out the moon bases, severing the chain and thus denying the fighters stationed on the bases of the two methane worlds’ moons, and the small stations that connected them, from being funneled back to support the rest of the system.
En-route the scouts reported flights of fighters coming from the transit bases linking the second gas giant to the methane planets in the outer system and the asteroid belt. By the time the detachment arrived there were 96 F0 fighters hovering over the gas giant’s two moons, along with a scout ship. Weighing his options, Commodore Kelly, commanding from the carrier Paladin, elected to move on to the transit base 4 light-minutes away in the direction of the first methane world. Even partially loaded a F0 fighter only had one hour endurance, making for a range of just four light minutes. Without any ordnance the range was 4.5. Those 16 squadrons already flying have used a portion of their life support already, moving or not. At full tactical speed the detachment will reach maximum SBM range of the transit base in a little under 77 minutes.
The Hatchets and scout followed, but stayed 15 light-second behind the formation. Joining them from the moon bases were 16 more squadrons, four of which were comprised of F1 models. It would’ve been a different story had all the fighters been of the newer model, yet for some reason the Axis was perfectly content to follow. Overall they had 192 fighters to the detachment’s 120, and if their goal was to protect their moon bases then it succeeded. Time went by swiftly, first the 2 LM and the 2.25 LM marks were past, yet still the Hatchets stayed the course. Four more squadrons, also comprised of F0 Hatchets, left the vicinity of the targeted transit base and took station 15 LS ahead of the detachment. That in itself was strange, and Kelly brushed it off as an attempt at deception by the Axis. A cutter was seen fleeing the doomed instillation, and it took only two volleys from the trio of Paramount cruisers to destroy it.
Still the Hatchets kept their distance, showing no inclination to move faster. Commodore Kelly was beginning to wonder if the F0 Hatchets were really F1s that stepped down their power plants the whole time. To test that assertion he had his ships to move onto the next transit base, its destruction preventing even unloaded and full-speed F1s from crossing the resulting 12 LM gap. He got an answer, for when his ships were at the 4 LM mark precisely the trailing Hatchets and scout increased speed to 0.13c. The Valthor on their flank confirmed that 168 of the 192 Hatchets were indeed of the F0 vintage as the power signatures were unmistakable. As for the four squadrons ahead it appeared they were getting updates from the Axis scout, for they maintained their distance and speed to match the Valhallan ships.
Kelly, finding the report a bit hard to believe, ordered his ships to detune their engines. Twelve minutes later the F0 Hatchets pasted the 4.5 LM mark and had closed to 9 LS. As for the Axis scout it only crept up to range of 12 LS and matched speed with the detachment. At this rate in 18 minutes said Hatchets would be at point blank range. A decision was made, and all 120 F1 Sharks on the carriers were equipped with two gun packs and a single close attack missile each. With the coverage of a jammer aboard an accompanying Interception escort cruiser it was anticipated the oncoming Hatchet strike would be thoroughly devastated in the first exchange.
Anticipating this, the Axis strike commander had his force split in two. They ended up with a separation of 3 LS between them, large enough so that jammer on the Interception couldn’t encompass them both. As it didn’t matter which group to go after since the four F1 Hatchets squadrons were equally divided the strike coordinator aboard the CV Paladin flipped a mental coin. It was at the point where the Hatchets were only 8 LS from the Valhallan detachment when the Sharks lived up to their nautical namesakes. Thanks to the jammer only ten were lost in exchange for all 96 Hatchets engaged. Even though the cruiser maneuvered and positioned itself with care there was no way it could jam the datalinks of the other 96 Hatchets in time, even with detuned engines. This wasn’t the case for the Sharks, for now partially lightened and facing the right way they were able to close to within 1.25 LS. At the current speed extreme gun range would be achieved in two minutes.
Faced with this threat the second group of 96 Hatchets did the only practical thing. The F1s dropped their life support packs while the F0s dropped both FRAMs and packs, making them as fast as the Sharks now. It didn’t make a difference if the detachment zig-zagged at this point for the Hatchets would always compensate and get that little bit closer in the exchange. So it worked that way, painful minute after minute with the 24 Hatchets ahead of the Valhallan ships maneuvering closer in as well.
To the second Kelly gauged the approach of the enemy, all the while painfully wishing he had some of those new F2 Sharks, with their built-in weapons, right here and now. An arbitrary line was crossed in his mind with orders given immediately. The ships stopped detuning and presented their flanks to both groups of Hatches. The 96 group was 1.25 LS out to port with the 24 group 1.5 LS to starboard. Long-range point defense fire failed to knock out one fighter. With a deft maneuver to port and turn to starboard the 24 group was outside point-blank range for their FRAMs but the 96 group was atop the ships. Of that number the 84 F0 Hatchets dove onto a Cout CVE with the intent on ramming. Six held true to their attack run with three shot down by the carrier’s point defense and CAMs. The ship’s shield and two-thirds of the armor were wiped out by the fireballs of the remaining three fighters. Fire from the Jajer-D and Phyr greatly diminished the threat of the 24 F1 Hatchets, but two of those managed to fire and crippled a CVE.
Knowing that some hits were better than none the 24 group opened up on the Valhallan ships with their FRAMs. The probability of a hit was substantially lower but some were obtained. Both Couts were heavily damaged and two Paramount class cruisers lost shielding and some armor, and it would’ve been worse had the Jajer’s jammer decided not to work that particular day. A total of 83 Hatchets were left after the barrage, leaving the Valhallan crews bracing for another wave of ramming.
All ships engaged erratic maneuvers to augment their ECM. Ten Hatchets from the ravaged 24 group set upon the CVEs with only one succeeding and hitting in the first pass. At the end of their third pass they were all gone but both carriers, already heavily damaged, were wrecked and had lost primary life support. For the 96 group they chose one Paramount cruiser in the first pass and then the other in second. Both ships lost armor and even sustained internal damage. With no weapons to their name the 49 remaining Hatchets were butchered by the Sharks. Commodore Kelly gauged the situation and had his fighters land, rearm, and sent off to destroy the second transit base. External racks were reloaded as well as internal repairs while the detachment waited. When both Couts failed to restore life support they were evacuated and scuttled.
110 Sharks and the Interception cruiser found 24 Hatchets waiting for them over the second transit base. Knowing that the Royal ships will just keep advancing up the chain the Hatchets moved with the intent to attack. Armed with missile launchers, the escort ship fired antimatter standard missiles at the base at extreme range, destroying it in two volleys. To reduce casualties the Sharks carried three laser packs each with the goal to overwhelm the Hatchets at long range. Having the same idea, the F0 Hatchets had laser packs as well, though they lost 20 of their number while only bagging two of the enemy. The remaining quartet closed on the cruiser with one surviving long enough to get two hits with its laser packs before becoming a nuclear fireball.
While mulling his options Kelly received a set of flash messages from scouts keeping a watch over the asteroid belt. Two groups of F1 Hatchets, each 96 strong, were observed leaving the belt and proceeding on a course that will take them to the second gas giant’s moons, ETA 2.5 hours. If they stay on their respective courses then they’ll pass up the two transit station between the belt and the gas giant. Kelly had heard of the development of life support packs but, just like the F2 Sharks, they haven’t reached frontline allied forces yet. With the unexpected range of the F0 Hatchets and the observed mass drop of packs it was certain the Axis developed and deployed their own life support packs. Accepting that as fact, then one can figure that a F1 Hatchet loaded down with packs, dropping them as they were used up and speeding up, had an absolute maximum range of 23 light minutes. Destroying the gas giant bases, as well as two more transit bases, will ensure that the fighters from the moon bases around the methane worlds as well as the rest of the transit base chain wouldn’t be able to contribute for the rest of the Battlement campaign.
A plan was quickly formed. The gas giant’s moon bases were to be destroyed while still denuded of fighters. Once done the detachment would then go back up the chain of transit bases and take out two more of them, ensuring the remaining bases and the methane planets’ moon colonies were isolated. One hour and at 3.25 LM distance the detachment sent out 96 Sharks, leaving the remaining 12 on the Paladin for the time being. Kelly needed those fighters, for he wanted to destroy those 196 Hatchets if they persist in obliging him by still coming forward and dying for their nation. The strike went in, obliterating both moon bases with ease and with minimal damage done to the attending colonies. Further reports from the scouts informed of the launch of fighters from the two bases linking the belt to the second gas giant. Combined, the incoming Hatchet force numbered 216, all of them F1s. Kelly was happy to see them, for destroying them would make the enemy assess their priorities in construction as replacing that many fighters is no small chunk of change. Furthermore, by having the enemy fixated on his ships Kelly was sparing the rest of the fleet from taking critical damage.
The range closed with the enemy duplicating their tactic, dividing their force in two and forcing the incoming Sharks and the Interception to choose one over the other. Owing to their greater numbers the Hatchets brought down 18 Sharks while losing 71 out of 108. Further Sharks could’ve been destroyed, but the Axis commander of that portion of the strike held back those that still had FRAMs. For its invaluable support the Interception was targeted. First to go in were the 21 Hatchets that expended their solitary FRAMs, moving and gyrating like angry bees. Expecting the enemy to just past the cruiser turned in time to prevent head-on rams. Of the five that compensated for the maneuver two were splashed by point-ditch fire. As for the other three they collapsed half of the Interception’s shields.
Hot on their heels six Shark squadrons were atop those Hatchets still armed with FRAMs with the other 12 taking that one last fleeting shot at the rest while they were still in gun range. Even with a valiant defense the cruiser was reduced to one-third speed and lost half of its armament. For this all the Hatchets in the first group were destroyed. A small consolation for the other group was effectively out of reach of the Sharks. Even if they dropped their gun packs the Valhallan-crewed fighters wouldn’t be able to reach their carriers in time to rearm. With some luck and promise the jammer on the Jajer-D was still working. Even with that advantage the detachment was still looking at 108 Hatchets armed with a single FRAM each. Many of those were still going to find a target.
The engagement began at 1.25 LS range with the lasers and capital and improved point defense mounts on the Jajer-D and Phyr opening up, nailing one fighter. At 0.5 LS a volley of standard sprint missiles, point defense, and energy beams bagged 14 more. Commodore Kelly had his ships generate maximum ECM, knowing that the two fleet carriers would be the top targets this time. 9 Hatchets fell to the Jajer-D's point blank fire, its most successful round to date, and the Phyr took out an entire squadron. After the exchange only 46 of the 108 Hatchets pulled away at 0.16c, safe from the Sharks. For that loss the Axis heavily damaged the two fleet carriers, including the Paladin, and further damaged the two Paramounts hit earlier. Kelly watched as the Hatchets kept on retreating, wondering why they passed up the change to do suicide rams and further damage a carrier. Their flight plan to the detachment meant that 12, and at most 24, fighters would reach the first transit base leading back to the asteroid belt in time to recharge life support. It was then he recalled the limping Interception. As damaged as they were, the carriers would’ve taken a few suicide hits in stride, but the cruiser was a different matter.
A short time later those 46 Hatchets were barreling in on the escort cruiser, and only herculean repair efforts enabled it make two-thirds speed. An exchange at 0.75 LS had the ship failing to score a single kill, leaving the fighters to envelope it like a sentient avalanche. Of the 14 finding fulfillment through duty only 3 were shot down short of their goal. Unfortunately for the Interception the attack was conducted head-on so that when the surviving Hatchets came back for another attack, this time from rear portside, there was no weapon to oppose them. Twenty more fighters were used up on a ship that was one harsh look away from death, with the last twelve making it back to the transit base with only five minutes to spare.
With the threat to the detachment over Kelly revised his plans. Both light carriers and the Jajer-D were sent ahead to take on the next two transit bases leading to the first methane world. Kelly was on one of the carriers, driven by his commitment to lead at the front along with the need to know first-hand how the Axis defenders were going to react. He was hedging that the temptation to damage two more carriers was too powerful to ignore. Meanwhile the rest of the detachment was making for the fleet at 0.067c except for the two damaged Paramounts. A tug was dispatched to retrieve these two and take them back to Kerama Retto. There wasn’t enough repair assets in King Russen’s logistical support group, and by the time the two BCs reached the aforementioned system a repair base would already been assembled and ready to receive them.
The transit base attacks followed the same pattern. Hatchets were sent down the chain so that 24 of them greeted the three ships at both bases. Fortunately all the Hatchets were of the F0 variety and armed with dual pairs of laser packs, just like in the previous attack. Instead of shooting at their Shark opponents these pilots settled for long-range potshots at the Jajer-D. All told the ship took three laser hits when the operation was completed. With the four transit and two moon bases gone not even a F1 Hatchet, loaded with support packs and dropping them when used and speeding up, could cover the 24 LM gap.
Both the Royal Fleet and the Axis defenders settled down to consolidation phase, plotting their next moves. The loss of 492 Hatchets in exchange for 30 Sharks, one escort cruiser and two escort carriers favored Russen for even new F1 Hatchets built in Battlement would be piloted by green pilots. The two fleet carriers had priority for on-site repair while the absence of the two Paramounts only had a minor effect on the fleet’s composition. Russen would only allow for a short rest, not even waiting for the two carriers to be repaired when his fleet moved towards the asteroid belt. The ring of asteroid bases had to be exhausted of their stock of fighters as well as being destroyed. Only then could Battlement Prime be invested and finally invaded.
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While Field General Tokuno was conducting his search for Axis army units on Bedrock Prime the allies resumed their drive deeper into Axis space. Task Force 11, under the command of Admiral Uanbo, entered the Gravel Pit system. There was only a light minefield present, controlled by a small base, to discourage pinnaces from moving further in-system. Gravel Pit was composed of a solitary white sun playing host to a quartet of rock worlds, two pairs of alternating asteroid belts and gas giants, and an ice world. Only four outposts were found on the moons on the first gas giant. Fleet Tracker scouts greeted the task force as it transited in, shadowing the huge formation as it trekked across the system. An armed pinnace tender/escort carrier task element was assigned to watch the system.
Even with extensive searches of captured ships and computer banks of Bedrock’s asteroid populations there was no astrogation information of systems beyond Gravel Pit. Data was not forthcoming from the government of Bedrock Prime, and it was highly doubtful if any such data would be found even with forceful measures. However, according to a database captured by the Hokum earlier in the war it was known that Gravel Pit had two additional warp points. Scouting groups were dispatched to both of them. The first one quickly determined that the first warp point lead to a starless region. A proper survey element was sent in to conduct a warp point survey. As for the second one there was definitely something on the far side, for it took the loss of 11 pinnaces before the 12th one came back.
Uanbo considered the information. Six asteroid bases, each a little more massive than a BS5, were arranged in two groups 1. 5 LS from the warp point. 540 buoys formed the close-in defense along with seven squadrons of Hatchets, all F0s. The minefield was suspected to thick, and it was unknown if the fighters came from the asteroid bases or from more distant, conventional platforms. As there was no grav surge data any assault launched now would result in the attacking units facing different directions when concentration of firepower was essential. So the order was given with five specially constructed units coming forward to obtain that data as well as ascertain the true strength of the immediate minefield and to see what lay beyond the pinnaces limited scanner reach.
After the capture of Bedrock the inhabitants of the Bulwark system waited for the arrival of the allied forces. Since there were only two uninhabited systems beyond Bulwark and no other warp points, and factoring in the relative wealth of Bulwark with the far more important Gymnasium system, the defenses were constructed solely with local resources. The pre-war asteroid and lunar fighter bases were demothballed and updated. Bases were built and deployed. With eleven abom pinnaces destroyed it was now only a matter of time.
That time came to an end six weeks after the fall of Bedrock. A pair of massive SDs, followed by a pair of DNs and a solitary BB intruded onto the tension-filled calm. With no grav surge data they all had random facings, each turning to achieve their own particular exit vectors. All five had laser-tipped CAMs on their racks and used them on a southern base, stripping it of one-third of its armor, a good achievement for transit-addled fire control. In turn four of the six asteroid forts became active and fired their internal weapons. Both SDs lost shielding and had to burn out an overload dampener or two to prevent internal damage from energy beams. Six of the seven CAP Hatchet squadrons became active as well, picking up where the forts left off with the two DNs. Their armor was almost gone. All three BS2s failed to achieve action stations, missing an opportunity to cripple or destroy the duo.
Had the Axis defenders studied allied probe force tactics more intensely then they should’ve destroyed the first SD, DN and the BB if they could. For that failure the first SD and DN were able to transit out back to Gravel Pit with the grav surge data and more. Of the mines there were 450 patterns surrounding the warp point. 6 LS ‘south’ of the warp point where 3 BS5s with the likelihood of two of them being fighter platforms. 9 LS to the northwest were 3 undersized BS2, the automated weapon control platforms. The initial quartet of forts were joined by their other two brethren, and together they destroyed the remaining three interlopers for the lost of only one laser buoy shot down by the second DN. Aside from the armor damage to one fort the defenses were intact.
Reviewing the data Uanbo was relieved and concerned; relieved that the defenses weren’t overly imposing, yet concerned about the asteroid forts. Equipped with numerous sprint launchers and complete with antimatter-armed missiles, the forts would pound away shielding of any large ship, letting whatever energy beam buoys present having the maximum effect. Neutralizing the forts before the first wave of ships entered the system had to be accomplished. To that end Whale armed pinnaces, crewed by Hazens and Quagaars, were formed up for the attack. Six hours later they went in, each carrying four FRAMs for maximum destructive power. Both groups of forts were to be hit, and once that was done the remaining Whales would focus their internal weapons on taking out weapon buoys until the arrival of the assault carriers.
64 of the 432 Whales interpenetrated on the far side, forming brief antimatter-fueled fireballs that amply alerted the defenders of their arrival. There were two shells of mines, claiming 70 more. The 7 Hatchet squadrons guarding the warp point stayed just in case ships made transit. Like before only four forts went to action, crashing launching their assault shuttles and pinnaces to aid in the defense. Numbers were on the side of the allies, for there where Whales to spare once the forts were obliterated. Even transit-addled internal guns and point defense were able to find the mark and downed all 24 assault shuttles and 4 pinnaces. Whale losses from defensive fire stood at 48.
In order to get the most out of their weapons against the buoys, however, the Whales had to cross the minefields again. They had no choice, especially since both fighter BS5s launched their squadrons, 21 in all, to join the 7 already at the warp point. Knowing that the Whales had weapons to spare the 7 CAP squadrons elected to fire while they still had the chance. For dying to the last fighter 30 more Whales were destroyed while 194 weapon buoys were shot down like so many clay crustaceans.
The first assault wave came in, six ships in all. Only one Whale transited back to Gravel Pit. The 21 F0 Hatchet squadrons were still 2 LS out and 2 LS behind them was a single squadron of F1s, launched from one of the small BS2s. After three of the ships used their externally-mounted mine clearance rounds the trio of BS2s primed and fired their buoys in sequence. First to go were the cut-down force beam buoys, 78 out of the original 120. The two SDs, an Avami and the first Gravity Well from the probe force, took the hits in stride while the two DN(V)s, BB(V) and BB minesweeper lost their shields. 115 energy buoys came next. The small ships took the worst of it with one DN(V) barely having motive power while the Avami lost two engine rooms. Last were 102 one-shot laser buoys, savaging the armor of the Salyfs, the Cram and Nikazu-V. Observing the results the two BS5Vs and the BS5E fired as singletons, expending their external capital missiles and spinal force beams as they saw fit. Both Salyfs and the Nikazu-V lost their armor with the latter having only six intact hanger bays remaining, still alive for Uanbo had all the fighters armed with pairs of standard close attack missiles and a gun pack each. The 50 remaining unfired laser buoys were shot down by the Whales.
The second wave was comprised of six Tamaya-Di cruisers. 150 F1 Sharks leapt from their catapults and moved to engage the oncoming 126 F0 Hatchets. None of the assault carriers were able to return to Gravel Pit yet, but the jammers on the Gravity Well, Salyfs, Cram and Nikazu-V still worked. Splintered as they were the Axis pilots already knew it was be a waste to destroy the Gravity Well while the smaller carriers were far, far easier to kill. That was achieved, with the Avami getting the remainder along with spinal force beam fire. Shark squadrons lived up to their name, so reducing the Hatchets that the big ship only lost four hanger bays.
Wave three was just three Oknib DNs, seeing off the Avami as it returned to Gravel Pit. The sole F1 Hatchet squadron homed in on the Gravity Well, the sole fighter able to fire before it and its squadron mates were killed. Being green, the pilot only hit with one FRAM of the three fired, finally bringing down the shields. The BS5s opened up with spinal force beams on the tough ship, scoring six hits. As for the Sharks they moved out and onward towards the BS5s, ETA 90 seconds. In the interim six more Oknibs, three Valthors and three Luttfomis appeared, firing mine clearance rounds from internal launchers and external racks. Their orders were to clear a lane through both minefields, and it was achieved just as the Sharks attacked the BS5s. A wall of defensive fire was thrown up, and even the assault shuttles were launched to engage, yet only two whole squadrons were splashed. In turn the BS5E was destroyed and both BS5Vs lost passive defenses along with some hanger bays. Five of the eight assault shuttles were shot down as well.
Acting alone, the Gravity Well moved on the BS5Vs as the Sharks broke away. Both bases fired their spinal force beams as the huge ship closed to 4.5 LS, doing only a love-tap of damage to its incredibly thick armored hide. At 3.25 LS range the remaining trio of assault shuttles attempted to ram the behemoth head-on with one succeeding and the other two bagged by the retiring Sharks. Two more hits did triple the previous damage, yet the ship continued to close. At 2 LS the ship found the range, scoring a hit with its capital energy beam. Only one base obtained a lock and did palatable damage. From there the ship engaged erratic maneuvers and ECM, slightly frustrating the bases’ fire control. It hit the second base to upset its shield restoration schedule, then it went back to the first one. Like a deep dwelling pike attracted to the moonlight during mating season the Gravity Well continued to crawl to its targets. One of the bases missed three times in a row despite the closeness, causing the chief fire control officer to personally take command of the spinal force beam. The next two shots were hits, and they would be the last ones fired in the engagement from that base. When it was over the ship, having lost 86% of its armor in the process, launched its pinnace to conduct boarding actions on one base with the other ships doing the same with their cutters and shuttles. The Valthors had dispatched the constellation of six scanner buoys that had surrounded the warp point at 2.5 LS range while the Luttfomi minesweepers took care of the BS2s, noting the internal changes cataloged by their scanners.
Uanbo counted his losses. 259 of 432 Whale armed pinnaces were lost through interpenetration, minefield attrition and enemy action. 36 of 174 fighters were destroyed, two-thirds of them when their hanger bays were crushed and the other twelve from defensive fire. One Gravity Well SD, a Singularity DN, Event Horizon BB, Cram BB, a pair of Salyf DN(V)s, and a Nikazu-V were destroyed. The damaged Gravity Well, Singularity, and Avami will be sent back to Bedrock for repairs.
As for the 84 fighters without hangar bays the normal procedure would be to abandon them, but Uanbo recalled the report he received a week earlier about the Valhallan Royal Fleet in the Battlement system. They had the same problem as well, and solved it in a unique matter. Also sustaining significant armed pinnace losses King Russen decided to use the now-empty shuttle bays to store the homeless fighters until such time proper hanger bays become available. While it would be a hassle to unload the fighters, requiring the service of ship with cargo handling facilities in-between the deliverer and recipient, it had the virtue of not uncrating fighters for spares.
On another note the lack of overload dampeners on the Salyfs lead to their early demise in the battle, and even the refitted Nikazu-V suffered for it didn’t have enough shielding. Along with the double belt of mines and the preference of using energy weapon buoys the Axis was making standard assaults more costly. The new refits being conducted in the Forger’s Gate system on Task Force 21 would address some of the issues, but something else was needed. 2,600 died just on the destroyed Whales alone, and those numbers will only creep higher and higher as Axis systems further down the road get more and more fortified. Even now the scouts have discovered that this system’s asteroid colonies have bases as well as small bases linking them together. Shorty those hurriedly recovered Sharks would be drawn from their impromptu storage to fill freshly vacated hanger bays.
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The Gymnasium system, formerly an Elotoshani possession, was quite busy as of late. In addition to expanding its orbital shipyard complex and finishing a long delayed intra-system lunar colonization project the system was host to Star Force 2 of the Third Advanced Fleet. Admiral Hovwen, the only senior carrier force commander to have survived repeated encounters with abomination fleets, was conducting an exercise with her carriers. The pilots of the F1 Hatchets had their rough edges smoothed, and they had their admiral’s confidence. Under the circumstances that had to do for in six weeks’ time Star Force 2 was going to be back in Bedrock.
Hovwen wondered how much damage the Bulwark defenders inflicted upon the abom assault force. More importantly, just how much of their fleet would be committed to secure Bulwark and the two systems beyond it, one of which had the nova-roasted homeworld of the dead Nu’Chut race. They had no other route to pursue, unless they knew about the second warp point in Abyssal-017. Had they known then their nosy pinnaces would’ve shown themselves by now. The two warp points in Abyssal-017 were ridiculously close to each other, but both ends were closed. Hopefully it will remain a secret until Star Force 2 made its move.
Of the prewar reserve of ships and prefabricated bases only 5% remained, the rest joining new construction to form an irresistible core of destruction. All at least had the new composite armor installed, the majority with an example of improved point defense, and a handful of updated designs. Operation Restoration, an offensive geared to restore the wholeness of Axis national sovereignty and continue the conquest of abom space, had as its main objective the recovery of Bedrock. A smaller formation was tasked to drive back the Hokum aboms from Geode all the way back to Whel, recovering Crimson Expanse in the process. Even the Valhallan aboms at Battlement will get ejected, a strong force that would drive on to Citadel, further isolating the aboms.
Of interest to Hovwen was the new piece of equipment for her fighters, the life support pack. So equipped, a F1 Hatchet with two close attack missiles had a useable range of 6.5 light-minutes, assuming it dropped said pack after it was used up. With the number of carriers at her disposal long-range strikes were now quite practical. Her fleet commander, Mansel, shared the same enthusiasm for fighters. As for the new Machete armed pinnaces Hovwen welcomed their addition, reducing the need for purpose-built assault escorts, corvettes and frigates. In regards to the Stiletto escort shuttle she hadn’t arrived at an opinion, waiting until they’ve engaged in a few combats before passing judgment.
When the last of the fighters landed back onto their carriers numerous after-action reports were generated. Hours later Hovwen’s staff had compiled these reports into a comprehensive one. The new life support packs had performed to expectations in the latest exercise. She gave her seal of approval and sent the report to higher authority. Perhaps even the First Leader would peruse its electronic pages. A few minutes later she called up the specs of the life support pack, giving her password as she had done before. This time, instead of the data, Hovwen was treated from what was at first appearance an accounting of the final battle of the Elotoshani War. More intrigued than annoyed she read the story for a few minutes only to realize it was from the abom Eloto perspective. It was a glorification of Eloto sacrifice and defiance in the face of ‘naked barbarism’ of the Asteroid Axis. Given particular emphasis was the massed suicide attack by cutters and shuttles against the Axis Fleet over the Eloto’s second inhabited planet in the home system. Had Hovwen been more critical and detached she would’ve noted that the story followed the same format used by Comensal authors telling similar detailed, gory tales. It all smacked of bad taste if written by a fellow officer, and a death sentence offense if it was truly written by an Eloto abom.
Hovwen wanted to save the file for evidence, but the computer system refused to acknowledge her request. It had disappeared as mysteriously as it had appeared, despite the database search she ordered. What would’ve been assumed to be some sort of prank at best was then turned into something worse. After Hovwen finished reading the technical specs for the life support pack a message notification appeared on her screen. She acknowledged it, and was rewarded with the image of an Eloto, speaking the following in Comensal Standard: “Enjoy the utility of this tech while you can, [Expletive Deleted].” Following the words the abom made an expression that Hovwen later learned was called a ‘raspberry.’ She and hundreds of other officers and NCOs were treated to that story and message that day, but that was minor compared to what really happened behind the scenes.
********
Back in Bulwark the forward elements of Task Force 11 confirmed the existence of asteroid outposts and colonies and of fighter bases with those colonies. There were also linking transit bases in that belt, just like the ones in Battlement. Uanbo elected to take these out with a squadron of escort ships, each equipped with a jammer and protected by 80% of TF 11’s fighters, a total of 624 Sharks. Once that force was detected all the fighters lifted from all the bases in the asteroid belt. In conglomerated groups of F0 and F1s the Hatchets flung themselves against the Sharks, firing lasers, rail guns and proximity-fused close attack missiles. As proven before the losses were grossly uneven thanks the jammers. The slaughter of Hatchets was such that after all was said and done 33% of the Shark pilots became aces. With the asteroid bases gone Uanbo then went to eliminate the fighter transit bases that linked the inner and outer portions of the system. Now isolated and out of range even with full loads of life support packs those F1 Hatchets on their gas giant moon bases could only wait until the inner system was conquered before the enemy turned their attention to them.
As for the planet Uanbo wasn’t able to get a firm read on the defenses for massed squadrons of Hatchets, equipped with life support packs, kept chasing away his scouts. On his initiative one captain of a scout detuned engines to be ‘deloused’ of following fighters. For this an example of Axis fanaticism was displayed as four squadrons of F1 Hatchets dropped packs and closed on the scout. Multiple suicide ramming attempts were made and finally succeeded in crippling the scout, permitting a follow-up squadron to destroy it as it limped away, task undone.
While temporarily ignorant of what orbited the planet Uanbo did have a fair idea of its population. From radio and energy signatures at least 100 million Comensal were on the planet if not more, given the steadily increasing rise in population of each Comensal planet encountered to date. It would be six months before the next wave of troop transports would reach conquered Axis space. Until then, once the system was secured, a small detachment could be left behind to ensure the population didn’t engage in building spaceports and missile-flinging ground bases. Hopefully the psych specialists would’ve found a way to keep Comensal passive without the massive investment in ground forces. Uanbo didn’t put much faith in such a breakthrough as bodies tend to pile up far quicker than all the best intentions in the world.
Asteroid Axis Pit Stop class BS1(V) 4 XO 20 Hull TL 8
(0)H(Vx12)Q(Lh)mgQ(BbL)(0)
20 RCP 12 FCP up to 30 MCP/Personnel Points Trg: 1 Cost = 493mc/24.7mc
HTK 18 V x 12 mg x 1 (fighter/XO Rack ammo) Always two CAM on XO racks. 1 cutter, soon replaced by 2 escort shuttles
CSBS refit/new construction - H to Hs. BbL to BbLc. Add BbTc in front of BbLc. 499mc/25mc 1 shuttle, 2 escort shuttles
Bulwark Asteroid Fort 37 XO Racks 186 Hull TL 9
(0)(S0x50)(Acx75)[QGOGOGOGOGO(BbL)!2x2]H(XR)Q(CIC)?2(Gx10)(mgx4)C(BbM)Zi(Mi1)!2(Ecx4)Q?jDi(Lh)(0)
186 RCP 14 MCP Trg: 9 Atk +1 Bmp +4 Tem -2 Jam Cost = 3263mc/163.2mc
HTK 184 S0 x 50 Ac x 75 Di x 1 O x 10 Ec x 4 G x 20 C x 1 mg x 4 (G/XO Rack/Escort Shuttle ammo) 1 pinnace 6 assault shuttles
Battlement - Asteroid Axis (former Eletoshani system)
System Primary: Orange
Planets:
Type: T (hab 3) -- Range: 4 LM -- Radian 3 -- 1 moons
Type: O2 -- Range: 8 LM -- Radian 10 -- No moons
Type: Gas -- Range: 12 LM -- Radian: 10 -- 2 moons
Type: AF -- Range: 20 LM
Type: Gas -- Range: 36 LM -- Radian: 3 -- 2 moons
Type: Ice -- Range: 68 LM -- Radian: 4 -- 5 moons
Type: Ice -- Range: 132 LM -- Radian: 10 -- 3 moons
System Warp Points
Type: 8 - Range: 104 LM - Radian: 11 - OPEN(400) to Electrical
Type: 13 - Range: 205 LM - Radian: 10 - CLOSED(300) leads further into Elotoshani sector
Type: 1 - Range: 204 LM - Radian: 11 - OPEN(500) part of chain that leads to Bandstand
