The Terpla'ns - Chapter 6
Lieutenant 2nd Grade Goysk was thankful he postponed lunch until after this proficiency flight. Task Force 21 was still bringing its strikegroups up to strength after battling its way into Borehole. Some of the reserve pilots in the fleet train hadn’t flown a fighter in over three months, an inexcusable state of affairs that Goysk and other veteran pilots were about to correct. For some of the pilots it was like remedial training, while others showed they still had the knack after months of inaction.
The pilot Goysk had in the front seat knew his stuff. In advanced maneuvers and mock anti-shipping strikes the new-mint performed to expectations. It was in the dogfight department that the fighter’s life support system and Goysk’s fortitude was pushed to the limit. Rapid and unexpected maneuvers performed by the new-mint seem designed to gain the edge while at the same time make the ‘guy-in-the-back’ as sick as possible. At times Goysk felt as if his stomach would come out his mouth or rear or both at the same time.
Eighty minutes later Goysk called it quits and had the new-mint land on the Junshu. After the extraction process he took off his suit’s faceplate, eyes still throbbing. The rookie pilot, still in full flight gear, had his paperwork in one hand. Goysk took it and proceeded to go down the checklist. In the comment section he left a verbose assessment. “Don’t let this swell up your brain, new-mint. It appears the instructors back home have refined your natural talent as a pilot. You performance was top-notch. Just don’t make your back-seat guy lose his lunch unless you’re in actual combat.”
“I’ll endeavor to remember, Sir,” said the pilot, voice electronically tinged by the suit’s speaker.
“Good.” Goysk signed the paperwork and looked over the pilot’s flightsuit. “You don’t have a call sign yet?”
“Actually I do, Sir.” The pilot removed a strip of tape from what would be called a forehead on a Terpla’n. Printed in black lettering was the word ‘Alpha’.
“Whoa there, hotshot, that call sign is already taken,” Goysk said readily. “The instructors back in flight school wouldn’t have failed to mention that little fact.”
“Well, Lt. Goysk, those instructors are friends of mine that go way back.” The new-mint removed his faceplate, revealing that he was in fact female (you can tell by the shape of the eyes). Next she removed another piece of tape from her suit, revealing two gold pentagons, rank insignia for an admiral. The name tag, also on tape, was lifted to reveal the real one beneath. Goysk felt his mouth turn to lead when he realized the new-mint was actually Admiral Tulcus Jki, the commander of Task Force 21 and the driving force of the early strikefighter program.
“I’m sorry for the subterfuge, Lt.,” said Jki. “For my pilot recertification I needed an honest appraisal. If you knew I was an admiral the temptation to give me a passing grade regardless of my skill would’ve been great.”
“From the way you flew, ma’am, it’s clear you didn’t need affirmation of your skill.” Goysk wondered what possessed him to say that line, feeling that it was self-serving tripe.
Jki just smiled. “Thank you, Lt. Now I do believe it’s tradition for a pilot that has passed recertification gets treated to some ice cream.”
“Certainly, ma’am. After all you’re the one who started that tradition.”
“Ah, so you do remember some of that arcane knowledge back in flight training. Lead on, Lt.”
“You know you didn’t need to get recertification now,” chided Reas as he met Jki after she had her ice cream and changed back to a standard shipsuit. “In fact, you had no reason to be piloting a fighter anymore. You’re a two-pent admiral now and too valuable to be lost flying something as dangerous as a fighter.”
“You’re entitled to your opinion, Rear Admiral Reas.” Jki over-emphasized the rank as a matter of teasing. Following the deaths of Ayrth and Gannus there had to be battlefield promotions to fill the void. Jki became a two-pent admiral to assume command of TF 21. Reas, formally in charge of the task group’s strikewings, now had command of the carrier group. The jump from captain to rear admiral skipped the intermediate step of flag captain, a necessity since he needed the rank to back up his authority. “I wanted to keep the moral of our pilots up by honoring my pledge to recertify every year until I’m physically unable to do so. It will also give the ship crews something to talk on instead of combat losses.”
Reas smirked. “You risked your guts so that when the decks hands call you ‘the old lady’ it’s out of respect.” He then turned serious. “Did your doctor approve?”
“To tell you the truth he didn’t know,” Jki admitted. “This was the first time I was in a fighter since my last recertification, just before our third assault attempt from Hagelkorn.”
“Well I bet the doctor will make it his business to perform a physical once word gets out,” Reas admonished. “You probably shifted some of those organs the surgeons went through so much trouble to patch up. Remember those occasional stomach pains you get? I hate to see you put down something more substantial than ice cream tonight at dinner.”
“You may be right, Reas. It’s a likely outcome but well worth the pain. I need the crews to stop dwelling on the past and concentrate on the present.”
**********
The 2nd Expeditionary Corps, a total of 60,000 troops, was landed on Borehole Prime. Given the population of the planet it was likelier to have the bulk of Axis troops. Meadow, with its smaller population, was saved for later but KBS satellites were still seeded in orbit above it, ready to pound any observed military activity. Calls to the two planetary governors asking them to surrender were ignored. Instead they sent out the same message of defiance.
Borehole was defined by its very rich mineral deposits and manufacturing. A third of the planet’s 320,000 inhabitants lived in four distinct cities that were right next to each other, forming a rough square with a river running in the middle. Two cities focused on mining and refining, one on manufacturing, and the last on agricultural processing and power production. Collectively they were called the Quad Cities, even by the Comensal themselves. Having identified it as the planet’s center of power from captured records Terpla’n troops landed and proceeded to invade the northwestern component of the Quad Cities.
Fighting was light until it entered the city proper. Unwilling to use KBS satellites in an urban area the CSA had to deal with Axis Army units more directly. Showing a high degree of deviousness the Comensal plant operators deliberately dirtied up the atmosphere, producing a ‘smudge-pot’ effect of industrial proportions. Laser targeting was practically useless due to clouds of hot, black smoke. Aerial observation was likewise limited. This allowed monstrous 500 ton tanks, quickly nicknamed Octopuses by the Terpla’ns for their numerous weapon turrets, to serve as mobile forts.
It took a recently developed weapon to take down the Octopuses as well as every other physical obstacle the blocked the CSA. Man-portable hyper velocity missiles, scaled-down versions of the KBS, were actually 12kg rods wrapped with drive field coils that moved at ten percent the speed of light. Nothing, not even the thickly armored Octopuses and fortified walls could resist the energy such missiles delivered upon impact.
While the battle raged on Borehole the situation on Citadel was peaceful bordering on tedium. The 1st EC still kept to its patrols and civil works projects. There was even talk of a draw-down of troops, withdrawing 10,000 while 5,000 took their place to learn how to police and interact with the Comensal civilians. Betting pools on which two brigades would be sent back to Hagelkorn as reserves, however, didn’t get nearly as high as the one started a week earlier.
It was an exciting day in Camp Tango. In the commons room for the 3rd Company, 141st Regiment a group of soldiers met with their platoon sergeant. “Come on, Sarge,” said Corporal Menki-wa. “She came all this way to boost morale of us poor ground pounders. You should go to the show.”
Private Qan-zu agreed. “Yeah. Zhusha-na is going to premier Planet of the Khanates here, in this camp. She could’ve easily had it on Yoshibo where it was filmed, or even back on E’sana.”
“She’s also an accomplished singer,” Private Luin-ba chimed in. “Her entourage has plenty of pretty girls willing to throw themselves at a decorated soldier like you. There are even some pretty boys for girls like me to lust after.”
The Sarge, Pepen-su, was unmoved as he kept writing. “Zhusha-na is going to be in camp for three days. You three go ahead without me. I have other duties to attend to first.”
Menki-wa chuckled. “Yeah, like writing letters to you girlfriend.” He made exaggerated kissing noises that prompted Qan-zu and Luin-ba to join in. For his trouble Menki-wa got a sharp hit to the kneecap from Pepen-su. On a smaller being the blow would’ve left a massive bruise or even hairline fractures on bone. “Ow! I was just kidding, Sarge. Can’t you take a joke?”
“No, that’s above my paygrade,” Pepen-su said. “You three scoot along and look at the pretty lady that earns more money in six months than you’ll every see in your whole life.”
“You’re such a killjoy, Sarge,” Luin-ba pouted. “Come on, let’s go.”
Once the three left Pepen-su resumed his letter writing. It was for Svaa Keltro, a Hamthen child that he maintained a correspondence with since the 1st EC landed on Citadel Prime. He was proud to learn that Svaa was the top pupil in her school and that her class enjoyed her sharing his letters in class. Along with the usual admonishments to keep getting good grades and to listen to her parents Pepen-su also provided videos to Svaa. Despite the way he acted earlier Pepen-su had every intention in seeing Zhusha-na’s appearance in the rec hall today. He was going to record it and send it to Svaa. Her class would certainly like to see first-hand video of one of the Commonwealth’s most popular stars.
All was quite in the groundside headquarters of the 1st Expeditionary Corps. Located in the former Comensal governor’s residence it looked as if a media lab had been shoehorned into the first floor of the three-floor house. Field General Jingu-wa, the commander of the 1st EC, had his quarters on the top floor. He got up at 0430, had showered, dressed and eaten breakfast by 0500, and went to his ground floor office for the daily briefing. The highlights included the first shipment of processed ore from Citadel to Hamthen and the scheduled visit by singer-turned-movie star Zhusha-na to the headquarters later in the afternoon.
Jingu-wa stepped out onto the patio with a cup of coffee in hand and smelled the morning air. Comensal farmers had returned to their fields, plowing and planting. Fertilizer had been applied recently and despite the distance the wind carried the smell, making the general’s nose crinkle. He took a sip of coffee to remove the smell from his nostrils. From the rose-colored sunrise it appeared, at least from a folklore perspective, that it was going to rain later that day. Jingu-wa looked in the direction of Stone Hearth, capital and main city of Citadel. The streetlights were going off as the sun rose higher. The day in his opinion was going to turn out just like every one since the planet was secured. With the population seemingly resigned to tolerate Commonwealth control in general and the E’sani in particular it appeared peace, on this planet at least, has been achieved.
After taking another sip of coffee Jingu-wa ruminated over the plan to reduce the overall occupation force by 5,000. Admittedly the 60,000 on-planet now was a bit much for a population of 400,000. Still there was the practical experience the troops gathered in patrolling and policing Comensal civilians. Ultimately the garrison will be reduced to 20,000 – a single division – and areas on-planet would be developed to hold divisions tasked for invasions further into Axis space. Following another sip he looked northwest towards Camp Tango. It was then that he saw what looked like plumes of smoke rising from the ground some kilometers in the distance, standing out against the darker western sky like white lint. Figuring it was farmers burning undergrowth in the fields, providing ash for fertilizer, Jingu-wa went back inside. In a minute the peace that had held sway over Citadel for the past three months was gone.
The farmers were out in the fields that morning. Controlling fleets of manned and robotic machinery work that would require a whole day only took five hours. Fencor, age 34 and father of three, loved to work in the fields. Next to service in the fleet or army being a farmer, waging the war to bring in a crop to feed the people, was as high an honor that one could achieve.
After sending his robots and teenage farmhands out on their duties Fencor inspected the northwest portion of his fields. He was shortly joined by his 12-year-old daughter and together they made sure the irrigation systems were operating. The region the farm and Stone Hearth were located in was that of arid grassland that was nevertheless good for growing wheat. Planting was delayed due to the Commonwealth invasion but there was still time to bring in a harvest before winter.
In a section of one field both Fencor and daughter started to dig. After a minute they had uncovered what looked like a section of discarded irrigation pipe. Fencor raised and pointed it towards Camp Tango, some 10km away, using a radio compass to ensure accuracy. The daughter had a minicomp in her hand, telling her father at what elevation the pipe should be set, adjusting the bracing leg with care. Pulling the arming cord Fencor then turned a simple dial on the side, setting the rocket inside the pipe to fire at a designated time. The process was repeated in three adjoining fields, the firing of the rockets set so that all four went off at the same time. As much as Fencor wanted to stay and watch the rockets launch he left for the hills, taking his daughter with him and ordering his farmhands to do the same. When the rockets fired he smiled for the blow he was about to deliver to the enemies of the Comensal.
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In Citadel there were two task groups from the First Field Fleet. TG 111 was guarding the Citadel/Chrome warp point and TG 112 was in orbit of Citadel Prime, acting as a mobile reserve, ready to move into Brass Latch or Chrome as needed. TG 113 had moved into Brass Latch to watch that system’s third warp point. Word had come of an Axis force making an appearance in the Kerama Retto system, one transit out from Chrome. Acting on his initiative the commander of TG 111 decided to stay in Citadel and allow the enemy to come to him. With fixed defenses, including 6 type-2, 1 type-4 and 2 type-5 bases and his ships the commander believed he could hold the warp point. TG 112 was en-route and set to enter Chrome in two days. Thanks to the placements of warp points in Kerama Retto and Chrome the Axis task group made good time.
Being shrewd the Axis commander knew that staging an assault now would meet with disaster. He figured, correctly, that had the Allies any mobile defense force that it would be on the Citadel/Chrome warp point. Scouts and scanner buoys wouldn’t have failed to track his task group’s progress across Chrome and the enemy was very likely at general quarters. To keep up the enemy’s expectations the Axis commander sent in his 40 Dispersion escorts. That none of them came back just confirmed his theory on Allied alert status.
So the commander waited. Task Group Chrome had come well-equipped with mines and buoys, but placed the majority of them at the Kerama Retto/Chrome warp point. Only a light barrier of 300 mine patterns and 210 one-shot laser buoys guarded the Chrome/Citadel warp point. The commander kept most of his fleet 1.5 LS from the warp point and just six squadrons of fighters on the CAP. He allowed an Allied pinnace probe to return to Citadel unharmed. He was tempting the Allies to come after him and wasn’t disappointed.
First to enter were four Nikazu-Vs, one Cram and a Luttfomi, all on an arbitrary bearing of north. What they saw matched what the pinnace reported earlier. Sitting exactly 1.5 LS southwest (facing southeast), placing it on the most direct bearing for the Chrome/Kerama Retto warp point, was the Axis task force: 24 BC, 12 CA, 12 CL, 15 DD and 12 FG. What they didn’t see immediately was the regular Axis carrier group and a Command Detonator sitting 5.5 LS southwest. Six squadrons of Hatchets were on the CAP and moved in to engage the Allied ships. Three squadrons volleyed their close attack missiles at oneNikazu, almost breaching the armor. It was finished off by those ships that became active along with another. 14 mine patterns were blotted from the southwest mine patch by the Allied BAM-Rc rounds and a Hero was hit by the Cram’s hetlaser.
The second wave was made of three Cqux DNs and three Gymen BCs. Launching their broods, the two remaining Nikazu-Vs continued with their turns and transited back into Citadel. All ten squadrons of Sharks stayed on the warp point, each fighter armed with a pair of laser packs and a single gun pack, tasked to engage Hatchets set upon attacking the Allied ships. Indeed amongst the Axis BCs were in fact six Falcon Crest CVs, of which two launched six squadrons, throwing themselves at the DNs even as the Sharks turned on them in a feeding frenzy. Including the other three CAP squadrons only 19 out of 54 Hatchets survived their attack runs. All the Cquxs and the Cram were destroyed with just one Hero nearly destroyed and a National Will having lost half of its engines. 15 more mine patterns were obliterated along with seven buoys.
Wave three saw three Terplas and three Disams enter. Ignoring the BCs again the Axis ships pounded the new DNs. With no Hatchets to engage the Sharks took on the buoys parks, leaving 159 of the original 210. The Command Detonator primed and fired 100 laser buoys, finishing off the Terplas and removing the armor from the six battlecruisers. The Luttfomi took the hits in stride while a Hailfire was 75% wrecked. BAM-Rcs from the DNs and BCs took down a good number of mine patterns.
In the fourth wave three Oknibs and three Kioshos found that they weren’t going to be alone after all. Loaded with CAMs on their external racks these ships took down a CL and finished the crippled BC. The Gymens worked over the shields and armor of a Hailfire. Again the DNs were targeted to destruction with the Disams getting the leftovers. Ravaged by the Sharks only 14 laser buoys were left when the order was given to use them, the few hits liked to the pretentious barbs of a skirmisher.
The southwest mine patch was down to three patterns. Despite having its point defense suite needled by the Stalwarts primary beams the sole Luttfomi entered the mines and fulfilled its role. Set to maximum attack parameters the mines that weren’t sent astray by ECM had to endure the big ship’s shower of point defense rounds and counter missiles. Armored breached and with heavy internal damage the Luttfomi had cleared a lane for the mines were utterly spent. Wave five’s three BBs and three CAs had expected to be beset by the nine squadrons of Hatchets crash-launched by the Falcon Crests just half a minute ago. Instead the Axis craft went into a dogfight with their Shark counterparts. Datalink jammers on a Gymen and Kiosho helped the Sharks greatly but their numbers were cut appreciably. Only 6 of 54 Hatchets flew back to their carriers after expending their ammo but they had shot down 12 of 60 Sharks.
To kill the jamming the Axis ships, instead of finishing off an almost-dead Nikazu, went and obliterated the jamming Kiosho. Three Axis Hailfires were severely damaged along with one DD destroyed and another crippled. A Disam went back to Citadel as the sixth wave came in. The Luttfomi was turning as fast as it could, its engine tuners give it the extra bit of gravity-twisting momentum it needed. By no means was this maneuver in response to the sudden appears of 192 Hatchets being launched 5.5 LS away from their carrier motherships. In less than 90 seconds they’ll be on the warp point.
The Axis had destroyed the jamming Gymen and polishing off two Headmaster DNs and the last fifth wave BB. When the seventh wave completed transit, passing another retiring Disam, the Hatchets were only 1.5 LS away and in the midst of their own warships which were now facing the breach in the minefield. It was clear they were going to advance on the warp point along with the fighters presently. Bent on making the cost higher the sixth wave Losyns fired their restored launchers at a Hailfire, smashing its passive defenses with antimatter fists. Two more Headmasters exploded into wreckage, leaving just two from the seventh wave.
Wave eight came just in time to receive the Axis fighter tsunami and the Luttfomi transiting out. The Axis ships moved just a quarter of the light second closer to the warp point but with maximum ECM. A Stalwart was destroyed nonetheless as well as a few Axis cripples. In the dogfight over the Allied ships only 10 Sharks were left, having only knocked down 19 Hatchets. Going for maximum kills only the remaining Disam and the eighth wave Engineers and Second Colonels remained untouched.
The Falcon Crests, Eagle Crests and their escorts pulled away at maximum speed, their Hatchets in tow, while the warships edged in even closer to greet the ninth wave, made of Okado DDs. Quicker on the trigger was the Engineer trio. A Hero and Sprinter were vaporized by CAMs, capital force beams, and double volleys of antimatter sprint mode missiles. Additionally the datalink jammers on the trio were on full power, making the Axis ships fire as singletons. Nevertheless an Engineer was destroyed with another immobilized with all the fire directed towards them. With the environment becoming so lethal the 10 Sharks moved away from the warp point, waiting for the moment when their laser packs would prove most productive.
The last Disam made transit while the six CAs of the tenth wave arrived. Still the focus of wrath the last Engineer with a jammer was pounded by the dwindling number of Axis warships. It was dispatched along with two Second Colonels. Now only half a light second away the exchanged became more violent. The eleventh wave CLs focused their transit-addled weapons on one National Will, but with so much ECM they only scored two hits with sprint-mode missiles. All six ninth wave Okados were destroyed and one Tamaya-Pg had half of its armament removed.
Now just 0.25 LS from the warp point the Axis ships, down to 5 BC, 9 CA, 4 CL, 6 DD and 8 FG, found the twelfth wave of three Quagaar BBs and three DDs making transit. 3 Punches, a Sprinter, National Will, Stalwart and a Hailfire were either destroyed or rendered weaponless. On the Axis part they settled on crippling five of the six Tamaya-Pgs. Then the moment of truth arrived as the thirteenth wave came in just as the Axis ships came atop the warp point. Two Tamayas went back to Citadel and thus missed the undisturbed fury of the Quagaar BBs. The last Hailfire was eviscerated by 25 lasers and a Punch was figuratively pummeled by close assault missiles. Showing more interest in rendering ships as wrecks the Axis made the six CLs of the eleventh wave weaponless or motionless.
Two more CAs left when six Tzel frigates of the fourteenth wave stepped in. Coming back into the fight were the 10 Sharks, lining up on a Punch before it could use its hetlaser to finish off a cripple. Successful, the Sharks did lose 5 of their number from Axis point defense fire. For the fifteenth wave it wasn’t made of ships but of six Apins, all of which went into the clear spot in the minefields to regroup and orientate themselves. The last two CAs transited as well as one Quagaar BB, bereft of weapons. As for the last pair of Hero BCs they used their weapons to finish a trio of Barlatio CLs and started on the third BB of the twelfth wave. Firing individually the last four DDs also took care of the Barlatio-Fcs and the first Quagaar BB.
Six more Apins made transit and thus were able to witness what the Axis did next. Instead of firing at Allied ships the captains elected to use their weapons against their own cripples so as to prevent them from being boarded. Three destroyers were vaporized, but this came at the expense of using those weapons to inflict damage to the third Quagaar BB that would’ve required over a month of repairs. So it was the Allies came back into possession of Chrome but at great cost. Task Group 111 was a spent force with only its carrier group of 30 squadrons giving it any measure of strength. The assault group was also gravely depleted, preventing its use either by TG 111, 112 or even by TF 21. As for the Axis they were satisfied with the result. Having bloodied the enemy’s nose they made them worried about securing the Citadel/Chrome warp point against a future assault. Their 8 CVs, 4 CVLs plus escorts (including six Wave Rider minesweepers) went back into Kerama Retto to guard its warp connection to Chrome and get their flight groups back up to strength. By tonnage lost and psychological damage done it was an acknowledged Axis victory.
There was some consolation for the Allied force. Of the sixteen Axis ships boarded after the battle two still had intact databases. A substantial Axis population was two transits out from Kerama Retto in a system called Battlement, likely the staging area for the task force. Substantial automated defenses were in Shunt, the system linked to Kerama Retto and used by the Axis task force for their transit to Chrome. It would be months before any thought could be given in mounting a counter-offensive. All that could be done now was to repair those cripples that made it back to Citadel, reinforce the buoy weapons, and wait.
**********
Task Force 121, guarding the Silvershoe/Connectors warp point, had only sent in two random pinnace probes when the Axis task force opposing it made its move. In came five Falcon Crest CVs in the normal fashion followed by another Falcon Crest and 40 Dispersion ESs in a mass transit. 10 of the little ships interpenetrated and exploded. Coming in blind they saw twelve ships orbiting the warp point at a range of 1.25 LS. Six of them were Bulan Hunter Party BCs with the other six being Valhallan Sovereign BCs. Just slightly behind them were the other warships with the carriers much further back. Seven squadrons were on the CAP along with the usual compilation of mines and buoys.
The Falcon Crests slammed a Hunter Party with CAMs, leaving only two operable engine rooms and a capital force beam. While none of the close-in BCs reached action stations several ships in the rest of the task group did, as well as four of the seven CAP squadrons, took down two Falcon Crests and a Dispersion. Two Jonal tenders primed and fired two hundred one-shot laser buoys. Going up in smoke were two more badly crippled Falcon Crests and 12 Dispersions.
Only eight squadrons launched from the last two Axis CVs as they completed their turns and transited back to Connectors with two Dispersions joining them. Six Stalwarts appeared to take their place. Regardless of being at action stations or not the remainder of the Allied ships moved closer, making their sprint-mode missiles more effective, especially for the Cqux DNs. With active capital fire control a pair of those ships pummeled a like number of Stalwarts. The 48 Hatchets were able to engage their targets before becoming decimated by Allied defensive fire. One Sovereign was destroyed; another was crippled and was joined by two nearly-dead Hunter Party BCs. All six second-wave Stalwarts were destroyed.
A further six Stalwarts made the scene only to find one Dispersion transiting back to Connectors, leaving four others behind, including two that were e-hulked. Ten Hatchets remained, and from those two each turned to a Hunter Party and six went for a Sovereign. A head-on suicide run to maximize damage, only one succeeded in hitting a Hunter Party, destroying its last engine. Two CAP squadrons destroyed a pair of Stalwarts right off the bat, and for their part the Axis CAs only took down 2/3 of the armor of one Sovereign.
There was no fourth wave, leaving just four e-hulked Dispersions and two weaponless, limping CAs. Primary beams succeeded in hitting the remaining engine room of one, preventing it from escaping or self-destructing while the second took one too many hits, for a primary beam pierced the fusion containment chamber, releasing a torrent of energy that destroyed the ship.
Tugs came forward and towed the four damaged ships to the awaiting repair squadron. Inspection of the five captured Axis ships came up with one intact astronavigtion database. There was a closed warp point in Connectors and it lead to a system call Forger’s Gate. With two great asteroid belts and a multitude of moons housing populations the system was an economic dynamo. Military data was just limited to Connectors but it was certain Forger’s Gate’s defenses would be on the heavy side.
Lacking an assault element, especially armed pinnaces, TG 121 had no recourse but continue its vigil over the Silvershoe/Connectors warp point. Meanwhile fresh news came in from Citadel and Metalstorm. The Axis was proving that it was still in the fight.
**********
Of the three task groups dispatched by the Axis it was the one slated for Metalstorm that was designated as the most important. The Commander, System Admiral Lorcan, was given the task of mining the warp points leading to Dotz, Silvershoe and Abyssal-019. To that end he had 33 Barb Wire minelayers and 12 Command Detonator control ships at his command. His task group was reinforced with additional warships, and when the Allied carriers in the Output system were dealt with these ships were brought in. The problem was the Allied task group that guarded the Metalstorm/Output warp point. A conventional assault would be prohibitive, so Lorcan had the blessing of the First Leader to conduct a mass transit assault.
A pinnace probe had ferreted out the Allied force. 3 DN, 6 BB, 6 BC, 9 CA, 9 CL, 18 DD and 12 FGs orbited the warp point at a range of 1.5 LS, placing them out of the reach of plasma guns. At 3 LS were 3 DN, 3 BC and 3 CL. The suspected carrier group was 1 LS further out, containing at least 4 CVs, 2 CVLs and perhaps 2 or 4 CVEs as the CAP was only seven squadrons strong. As for buoy weapons their number was 480, leaving the composition of the minefield a complete imponderable.
Six hours after the pinnace came back Lorcan made his move. First to come through was the bulk of the task force in a mass transit. 4 BCs, 2 CAs, 4 CLs, 2 DDs, 2 FGs and 18 ESs interpenetrated in an overwrought display of megadeath. The six Falcon Crest carriers and six Wave Riders came through unscathed. Following this cavalcade of menace were two CAEs and two DDEs. Lorcan’s BC command ship fired first, designating the DDs as the first targets to be destroyed. Of the seven CAP squadrons only three got active and crushed the passive defenses of a like number of Falcon Crests. Their fighter bays were intact but being reduced in speed they couldn’t participate in operations after the battle. Just three BCs were destroyed by the Allies along with another heavily damaged. In return Lorcan saw to the destruction of fifteen DDs. Eleven squadrons crashed-launched from distant carriers and it would one minute before they were in attack position over the warp point. None of the three buoy tenders became active, including the sole control base, giving the Axis a brief reprieve from damage.
Five Falcon Crests transited back to Output, leaving the most damaged one behind, but not before putting 24 squadrons in the air. In turn this horde went over the close-in ships only to find a Nikazu had activated its jammer. They ignored it and went after ships that had yet to reach action stations. Also joining this maelstrom were 80 Grenadier corvettes, 28 of which interpenetrated. Congratulating themselves for being out of the reach of those small ships the Allies instead concentrated on taking out larger warships. When two tenders got active there were just too many ships (115) on the warp point to make the firing of 200 IDEW-Ls worthwhile. Even so the Axis was down to just two direct-combat BCs, 9 CA, 6 CL, 10 DD and 9 FG. The Allies lost 2 BBs, 1 BC, and 2 CLs but others were greatly damaged and had little or no offensive capability. Spent of weapons the Axis fighter squadrons pulled away and headed for an area clear of Allied ships.
The eleven crash-launched Shark squadrons reached the Axis task force only to face a gauntlet of defensive fire put up by the Wave Riders and Grenadiers. Six Axis cruisers were smashed but the sheer volume of point defense and plasma gun fire meant that only 16 Sharks came out of their attacks runs to return to their carriers. Now down to 94 ships and with the sole control base now joining the two tenders the Allies fired 300 IDEW-Ls in the caldron of Axis ships. Two cruisers already on the brink were wiped out but a like number of Grenadiers were spared due to their ECM.
Shifting tactics the Allied commander had the Grenadiers targeted for destruction while their plasma guns recharged. Twelve fresh squadrons were incoming and as many as possible were needed to survive their attack runs. No sooner was the order given that a fresh wave of six ships entered. They turned like regular battlecruisers yet this didn’t seem right to the commander. Improvising quickly he had his distant missile units target the newcomers. In all 24 Grenadiers were vaporized. One of the new BCs was destroyed as well.
A boil of fresh contacts filled the Allied commander’s plot, proving the five remaining newcomers were Falcon Crest assault carriers. Twenty squadrons of Hatchets bolted for the Allied ships while the twelve composed of Sharks fell upon the remaining Axis CA and CLs. As the five carriers slipped back into Output the battle moved into the main phase. 40 out of 72 Sharks survived while only five of 120 Hatchets were shot down. As before the Axis fighters moved away from their kills and out of point defense range. Just one Hero, ten Sprinters, seven Punches, twenty-four Grenadiers, two CAEs and two DDEs remained combat-capable. For the Allies they had only 3 Terpla DNs, 4 CAs, 3 CL, 1 DD and 8 FG that were intact. Various other ships were immobilized or barely moving with little or no weapons to their names. Regarding the missile group one Disam had been the target of primary beams from the Stalwarts. Chastising himself for not ordering it earlier the Allied commander had the missile ships move a light-second further out from the warp point, preventing any further wave of primary-armed ships from lancing them.
A Hailfire, having been the exclusive target of Allied primaries, left before it became nothing more than a collection of holes. It was followed by a limping Stalwart; both ships passed the fourth inbound wave, composed of six Heroes. The Allies focused on the more fragile Punches and Sprinters. For those not outright destroyed they got treated to the last 43 IDEW-Ls that still had a charge. In a bid to survive the worst off ships went back to Output in a mass transit (the last two CLs interpenetrated on the far side) but had witnessed the arrival of the fifth wave.
After a moment of concern it was found that the five CVs in this wave were the same ones that had appeared over three minutes earlier. With no fighters available for at least two minutes fire was shifted onto those carriers that had sustained armor damage previously. Two Falcon Crests were destroyed with another taking a beating. With just 26 Axis ships on the warp point the order went out to use all 107 intact IDEW-Ps before their numbers were further reduced. At most engines were crippled, but for each ship so damaged meant one less available for sustained operations.
The three surviving Falcon Crests had picked up fresh flight groups from the Eagle Crest carriers in Output. As for the two that were destroyed they carried no fighters, hedging that the Allies expected all the carriers had squadrons embarked. It was costly shell game but it worked for it sent 12 squadrons against the weakening Allied force. Sensing that he needed to make the most of the impending loss of his close combatants the Allied commander gave the order to move to within 1.25 LS of the warp point. This allowed those ships that still had intact plasma guns to use them against their Axis foes. It worked out in that only seven Heroes (two of which were badly damaged), one Sprinter, two Interceptors and two Aerosols were left. On the Allies part all three Terplas sustained severe damage from the 72 Hatchets. Still the ships closed slowly on the warp point, intent on crushing those few Axis ships left in front of them.
Only 50 Sharks were left from the original 180. It was decided to hold them back until all were rearmed as it made no sense to send them in penny packets to be slaughtered piecemeal. On the flipside the Axis had 326 Hatchets, sans short attack missiles, in Metalstorm, waiting only for carriers to come back to pick them up. The Oknibs and Disams continued to move away, reaching a distance of 5.25 LS from the warp point so that they could continue their bombardment without being hazard by capital force beams. For the Endril Choirs they stayed at the 4 LS limit so their standard missiles had a fair chance to hit.
The Terplas were weaponless and the number of active Heroes was down to four. In the latter half of the battle’s fifth minute five Falcon Crest CVs came in. These were the same ones that left two and a half minutes earlier, and as before the one with the armor damage was targeted first. It was dispatched with alacrity along with a Hero and another Falcon Crest was greatly damaged, but not damaged enough for it and its three partners launched 16 squadrons of Hatchets. A mostly dead Hero and the four carriers transited back to Output, picking up 96 spent Hatchets on the way.
For targets the fresh Hatchets weren’t going after the close-in ships but for the missile units. First to be hit were the Choirs. Enough damage was done by four squadrons to strip the Endrili ships of their shields, armor and 1/3 of their engines. Going to the defense of the Oknibs and Disams was the carrier group, fixing weapons to fire on the Axis fighters. So set were they for the defense that they couldn’t bring their missile launchers to bear on yet another transiting wave of Axis carriers. There was just three this time, and one was vaporized by the antimatter missiles of the Oknibs. Another Hero was felled, leaving just one with weapons on the warp point.
One Oknib was obliterated for the loss of 33 of 96 Hatchets. Before leaving the two Falcon Crests not only launched 24 fighters but recovered 48 spent ones. The greatly depleted Allies weren’t surprised that four regular Eagle Crests and two Hailfires came in just at the same time as the last 50 Sharks were launched. The last armed Hero fired, knocking out a Rundenro, leaving just one Tzel frigate at point-blank range. It scored a defiant final hit before the mass fire of transit-addled weapons consigned it to ruin.
The Eagle Crests picked up 120 Hatchets and left, passing four Warrior Spirits and two more Hailfires. Bearing down on the Choirs were 24 Hatchets and waiting over them were a like number of Sharks. Though the Sharks claimed 17 Axis fighters the Choirs were made to join the eternal one. With external racks loaded with EDMs the CVL targeted by the Oknibs, Disams, the Junshus and their escorts suffered the lost of half its engines and all of its hanger bays. This still allowed 54 Hatchets to be picked up by the other three. When they transited out they were followed by a Hero which was holding together more by its crew's willpower than anything else.
26 Sharks that were not involved in savaging the latest Axis strike were now upon those Axis ships left at the warp point. Unfortunately a pair of Hailfires was quicker and fired first, spearing 10. A further 8 were nailed though at the cost of both missile-spewing battlecruisers. The Oknibs and Disams destroyed an Aerosol, a ship that with its partner had been busy swatting spent buoy weapons.
For the remaining 24 armed Sharks all they found were just the two Interceptors as the last Hero, two Hailfires and an Aerosol went back to Output. For sending just two Sharks to oblivion the Interceptors were smashed to bits. It was then quite. The senior surviving commanding officer on the Allied side, Flag Captain Rukan took stock of what he had left. Just two Oknib missile dreadnoughts, three Disam missile battlecruisers (two with primary damage), four Junshu carriers, two Larikem light carriers, two Cout escort carriers, two Bowman escort cruisers, an Interception escort cruiser, one Provem escort destroyer, two Sloop scouts and 29 Sharks. The control base and three tenders had no real jobs to perform until the IDEWs had recharged their weapons. A small cluster of cripples was making for a spot over one light-minute away where a Sappen transport was ready to pick up wounded crewmembers.
Having sustained such casualties and knowing the Axis had five intact Falcon Crests Rukan knew he couldn’t hold the warp point. Eventually they would take out the Oknibs and Disams and the last of his Sharks if they stayed to defend them. Salvaging what he could with the tools left to him Rukan made his plan. He had his two Bowmen move on the warp point at a range of half a light second. The capital missile ships closed to within 4.5 LS where their fire control solutions would be maximize. All remaining intact ships made best speed towards the Metalstorm/Dotz warp point. As for the sole control base the crew elected to remain on the slight chance the Axis should falter in their cause.
Eleven minutes after the start of the battle Rukan was proven right. Five Falcon Crests and a Hailfire emerged to find the two Bowmen waiting for them. As was their wont the Axis fired first, the sole Hailfire achieving three sprint missile hits on one of the cruisers. Giving back a tsunami in reply the Bowmen destroyed the passive defenses and ripped into the hull of one CV. It was finished off by the Oknibs. Utterly dismal targeting resulted in only five of sixteen capital missiles from the Disams locking onto another CV. Only two got through and then failed to bring down the shields.
As before the remaining CVs launched their broods and picked up fighters left behind from previous strikes and transited out. There were no Axis ships to fire at now, but the Bowmen took their measure of the Hatchets, splashing 15 at point-blank range. Both ships were destroyed by numerous close attack missiles unleashed from the Hatchets. Almost six squadrons still had their loads, making a beeline for the Oknibs and Disams. Moving at a crawl so as to generate the most ECM the missile ships awaited their fate, firing point defense just as the Hatchets were on top of them. Nine exploded like frozen birds used as improvised skeet, a score that showed the ships gave good account for themselves. One Disam was destroyed completely as damage from a nuclear fireball finally reached the protected magazines and wrecked the containment of an antimatter warhead. Another ship only lost half of its shields.
Just as the strike pulled away from its kill a fresh wave of ships made an appearance. Composed of three Eagle Crest carriers the number of Hatchets they embarked was 90. The targeted carrier fired its trio of EDMs and thus only had its first cargo hold wrecked when the shields and armor failed. As the previous strike had yet to reach the warp point the carrier trio didn’t stay around to pick them up as they launched their Hatchets, returning to Output as expediently as possible.
Seven Hatchets disintegrated upon contact from nuclear fireballs created by point defense missiles. Both Oknibs were made to resemble miniature suns and a Disam had suffered some armor damage. Going on his schedule Lorcan sent in his three intact CVLs and three pinnaces. With previous scanner data the two remaining Disams fired on the CVL that had lost its shields earlier. Of course those shields were now restored but there wasn’t time to reload the external racks with EDMs. Just three capital missiles hit the carrier, yet the armor didn’t yield. 54 Hatchets were launched and a like number recovered and spirited out of the system.
Knocking down only one fighter the Disams were destroyed in the battle’s fifteenth minute. A pinnace went back to Output to summon ships that had been waiting for this moment. Two carriers emerged as well as four Hailfires. Nine squadrons of Hatchets, all armed with gun packs, were launched to sweep away the buoys while the Hailfires, soon joined by a freighter and four Pursuer scouts, began to clear a path in the mines. As soon as the magazines went empty they were filled again with fresh ordnance from the freighter’s holds. Two squadrons of Hatchets that still carried close attack missiles were vectored onto the sole Allied mine and buoy control base, destroying it in one pass for no loss.
Lorcan was rightfully pleased for wrestling control of the warp point away from the Allies. The one thing he regretted was his lack of antimatter warheads for his fighter missiles. If not for that one omission the battle would’ve been won faster and with less cost for his forces. Eventually that most desired technology would be made into real-life hardware, especially after all the money that was funneled into its developed.
Of the 310 Hatchets based on the carriers used in the battle there was hanger space for 294, a fact that Lorcan could only attribute to an act of Providence. He also considered his survival in the battle as proof of universal favor as his flagship could’ve been polished off at any time and yet escaped, though it was perforated by numerous primary hits. Repair work was prioritized on the damaged carriers first while the other ships for the time being had life support and full engine capability restored.
Finally a path was cleared in the mines. Out went the three minelayer groups, each made up of eleven Barb Wires, four Command Detonators, one Helo Pad pinnace carrier, three Fleet Tracker scouts, eight Warrior Spirit CVLs and four Aerosol escort destroyers. The carriers, despite being so new and their flight groups green, were needed to maintain a CAP over the warp points. It would’ve been an exercise in waste otherwise since the enemy could easily send in flights of those damnable armed pinnaces to destroy buoys. As for defense of the Output/Metalstorm warp point Lorcan decided for the time being to keep the carriers involved in the recent battle along with the 18 DDs and 18 FGs he had in reserve. The Allies still had a survey force somewhere in Output and until it was accounted for the mines and buoys guarding the warp point as well as the repair ships and cripples had to be protected.
As the schedule went, provided there were no major upsets, a host of brand new Grenadiers will be on hand in three weeks to reinforce the blockade of the Metalstorm’s other three warp points. If it could be held for months then all Commonwealth forces in Axis territory will be starved of supplies and new ships, eventually falling to the might of fresh Axis formations equipped with new weapons and technologies. Providence has shown its preference to Lorcan; the Asteroid Axis will once again ultimately triumph over its enemies.
**********
Field General Jingu-wa saw the warning light blinking at one console in his command post as he came back inside. He went over to it to find the operator issuing a warning to all troop and support bases and outposts on Citadel to activate their artillery air defense systems. Looking at the map displayed on the console’s main screen Jingu-wa instantly realized those smoke plumes he saw just moments earlier outside weren’t caused by burning vegetation but by rockets. He went over to the situational data table in the center of the room, finding chief of staff Colonel Gensa-pe had brought up multiple video feeds from Camp Tango. There appeared to be just four impact sites, matching the number of smoke plumes out in the fields. Jingu-wa grimaced when he saw that the rec hall in Tango had been hit for smoke was coming out of a hole in the roof.
“They blindsided us,” Gensa-pe admitted to his boss. “By acting so passively the Comensal gave us no reason to keep our guard up constantly. We thought our defense zones around our troop bases were wide and monitored enough to prevent such a thing from happening.”
“Don’t beat yourself up over this,” Jingu-wa said. “We have found weapon caches in and around towns and settlements, but there are practically unlimited hiding places on this planet. Send a company to the place where the rockets were launched. We may get lucky and capture some of those responsible for conducting this attack.”
“Yes, General.”
“Any other signs of activity?” Jingu-wa inquired.
“Just the normal routines in Stone Hearth and the other cities and towns, General.” Gensa-pe brought up a patchwork of street scenes across the planet in a hologram display over the situation data table. A view from Stone Hearth showed two flower-bearing children being escorted by an adult approaching a roving patrol. Appearing to be kindergarten-aged the tots, under the urging of the adult, walked up to the patrol. One child directly approached a pair of E’sani soldiers while the other walked to the patrol vehicle, her arm raised so that the driver leaning out the vehicle’s top could accept the flowers. All around there were smiles.
The scene went white for a moment. Jingu-wa blinked reflexively, and when the image returned it was of chaos. There had been an explosion, perhaps two. Of the children they were gone; the soldiers on the ground that had been recipient of flowers were knocked down, either badly injured or dead. Slumping over the top of the vehicle was the decapitated body of the driver, blood dripping down from the stump of the neck had started to pool on the ground below.
Instant alerts went out, but even then it took precious seconds for the soldiers on urban patrols to comprehend what was expected of them. Jingu-wa watched in horrid fascination as the scene was repeated in three other cities at practically the same time. A child or two approached a patrol to offer flowers only to then explode, killing or wounding several soldiers in the process. In each case there was a Comensal adult nearby. After the explosions each adult involved produced a heavy handgun and shot the felled soldiers in the head, provided that the patrol vehicle didn’t have something to say on the matter. As for Stone Hearth the adult also had a bottle stuffed with a rag. Right after the twin explosions this adult went to the vehicle, lit the rag and dumped it down the top hatch. The crewmember inside had recovered from his shock a moment too late and was horribly burned before the fire suppression system kicked in. Despite the pain he did activate the point defense strips, shredding the adult into a bloody rag doll.
In the command post Jingu-wa sensed the rise of emotion coming from everyone. To use children as living bombs was nothing less than total contempt of life for both the opponent and of one’s own race. It was going to be hell for the E’sani would rather shoot themselves than level a weapon against a child, even a Comensal one. Jingu-wa didn’t want to contemplate that if the enemy was willing to use children like this then the whole population of Citadel had be considered enemy combatants. Being the leader he had to contemplate that line of reasoning. Wholesale use of child bombs could lead to massive combat deaths of troops that hesitated firing in their own defense.
Jingu-wa gave the order for urban patrols to consolidate their forces in one spot in each of the towns and cities they were in. That would protect them for the time being until a thought-out plan was constructed to deal with the new reality, but the Comensal reinforced that reality immediately. It became painfully clear that this was the start of a planet-wide uprising as fresh combat reports came pouring in minutes later. The opening act of the second battle for Citadel set the tone for the remainder of the fighting: to call it hell was understating the case.
--Zume