The Middle Road (Spineward Sectors: Middleton's Pride Book 7)

by Caleb Wachter

  “Yes sir,” Hephaestion acknowledged.

  This was the most difficult part of the engagement: determining when, where, and by whom the first shots would be fired. The Imperials possessed a significant maneuverability advantage and a modest firing range advantage. In truth, it would be nearly impossible to beat them on even footing.

  But if Middleton’s projections were accurate, the Void Hunters would begin boarding the enemy craft in a matter of minutes. How successful they were in disrupting the Imperial ships’ operations would play a significant role in how the battle unfolded.

  And so, again, Middleton waited to see his opponent’s response.

  “Imperial Two is adjusting course,” Hephaestion reported as soon as the mutual light delay permitted them to observe the Imperials’ disposition, “they’re now headed for the second planet. Imperial Three has come about and is resuming its approach to the third planet.”

  Middleton nodded, “So far, so good. He’s tightening his grip without conceding the high ground, and now he’s forcing us to choose which position to hold: the second planet or the third. It’s an obvious choice given the population and infrastructure disparity—which is why we’re going to do the opposite of what our enemy thinks we will. New orders for the Stalwart: they are to continue on course to intercept Imperial Two. The Void Hunters are to continue pursuit of Imperial Three, and the League should continue to mirror Imperial One.”

  He knew it was risky dividing his forces like this, but the Stalwart were best suited to standing toe-to-toe with one of the Imperial task forces. Add in the re-armed Independence-class missiles and the third planet was significantly better fortified than it might at first appear.

  On paper, it looked like a reasonably close fight between Middleton’s forces and Imperials One and Two without even considering the Void Hunter hunt packs and whatever havoc they might wreak on the enemy.

  He waited until the light delay confirmed his expectations, as Hephaestion reported, “All Imperial Battle Groups are continuing on their previous courses.”

  “Good,” Middleton nodded as the first engagement counters reached twenty minutes until the Stalwart would engage Imperial Two. That battle would be underway for nearly half an hour before the Void Hunters engaged Imperial Three, which meant that for all intents and purposes the Stalwarts’ fate would already be decided before the Void Hunters engaged.

  Chapter XXXII: A Stalwart Defense

  “The Imperials have opened fire,” Hephaestion reported as Imperial Two unleashed a barrage of extreme range fire that the Stalwart could not return for at least another thirty seconds. “Eighty six total turbo-lasers fired by Imperial Two…and thirty two hits registered. The Stalwart Battleships absorbed the brunt of the attack, having moved in front of the formation with their Cruisers now replacing them in the van.”

  Middleton read the reports and saw that the two Prichtac-built Battleships, Stalwart Duty and Glorious Burden, appeared to have absorbed the turbo-laser fire with their forward shields. The titanic warships cut their acceleration and presented their flanks, allowing their smaller Cruiser brethren to take up position between them and the inbound enemy. Ten seconds after presenting their flanks, the Stalwart-crewed capital ships unleashed their counter-fire.

  The twin Prichtac Battleships combined to send twenty four turbo-laser beams into the Imperial formation, and their nine supporting Cruisers authored an additional combined thirty turbo-laser strikes. The remaining four Destroyers also had one turbo-laser apiece, which brought the total counter-salvo to fifty eight turbo-lasers.

  “Fifty eight total beams…and twenty one hits,” Hephaestion reported somewhat disappointedly, “all focused on the lead Destroyers. One Destroyer is experiencing power fluctuations and another has fallen out of formation, but Imperial Two continues on course.”

  Middleton watched intently as the Imperials sent another barrage of fire toward the Stalwart warships. Just when he was about to inquire into the matter of the Void Hunter hunt packs, they made their presence known.

  “Multiple explosions registered on the hulls of Imperial Two’s Battleships,” Hephaestion reported. “The starboard Battleship’s engines have faltered and the port ship’s shields are also experiencing catastrophic failures. Explosive signatures are consistent with Void Hunter demo charges, sir.”

  “That should tilt the scales in the Commander’s favor,” Middleton said as he watched Imperial Two send another concentrated salvo against the Stalwart Duty and the Glorious Burden. The Battleships’ shields absorbed the coordinated impacts of twenty three turbo-laser strikes but, unlike the previous volley, this time the Stalwart heavies began to show the strain.

  “The Burden’s power grid is fluctuating,” Hephaestion reported, “it appears to be non-critical but…” he trailed off before Middleton’s Tactical plotter blossomed with explosions registering throughout Imperial Three. “Multiple explosions across Imperial Three’s Cruisers, Captain,” Hephaestion said after taking a few seconds to process the incoming data. “Two Cruisers are falling out of formation but the rest are continuing with the Battle Group toward the third planet.”

  “Good work, Mrr’shan,” Middleton said under his breath. “Helm: move to support the Stalwart,” he commanded. He had kept the Prejudice near the mid-point of the two engagements, and after seeing that Mrr’shan’s stealthy boarding parties had hit Imperial Three he was confident that her people could hold the third planet—especially since Middleton had roughly four hundred Independence missiles he could call into play, along with however many actual missiles Chancellor Foles’ people still had in reserve. Those missiles—and any additional armaments of their like that Foles possessed—would do the most damage long after the Imperials had been whittled down, so Middleton didn’t expect them to come into play until late in the engagement.

  He therefore needed to go reinforce the Stalwarts’ position, but it would take twenty minutes before the Prejudice could lend her guns to the fight there. He could not make an appreciable contribution at this point, but when all of the involved ships had been battered and were made vulnerable he suspected his ship could make a considerable direct contribution.

  The stealthy warship accelerated toward the Stalwart position as the Imperials and uplifts continued to exchange ferocious volleys. With their battle lines drawn, and the position accepted by both sides, the contest between Prichtac and Imperial ships—and Stalwart and Imperial crews—was now on.

  With those ships lobbing wave after wave of increasingly precise fire at each other, Middleton very much doubted that when the dust settled either group would be able to effectively engage on its allies’ behalf.

  “The Stalwart Duty and Glorious Burden are being forced to roll,” Hephaestion reported after several more volleys had been exchanged. “Their starboard shields are already down and I am reading significant damage to both ship’s starboard armor.”

  “How are their weapons?” Middleton asked, unable to check his Tactical plotter as he manually balanced the Prejudice’s stealth systems.

  “The Duty has sustained minor damage to her exposed broadside,” Hephaestion said after a few seconds’ delay, “but the Burden appears to have protected all of her mounts. Their supporting Cruisers have only received scant fire from Imperial Two so their throw weight is not yet negatively impacted.”

  It did Middleton’s heart proud to hear the young Tracto-an speaking so fluently in naval jargon after a life spent without access even to seagoing ships, let alone starships. Hephaestion was one of the finest young recruits Middleton had commanded these last few years, and it was a privilege to stand alongside the resilient and resourceful young man.

  “Steady on, Helm,” Middleton said as almost an afterthought while the Prejudice continued toward the Stalwart position between Imperial Two and the second planet.

  “The Burden is falling out of formation,” Hephaestion said urgently. Middleton spared a look at the plotter to find that the second Stalwart Battleship ha
d in fact begun to fall out of position. “Her number two engine has suffered a catastrophic explosion of unknown cause.”

  “And the Imperials are aiming for the breach,” Middleton noted as Imperial Two’s Destroyers leapt forward in an attempt to drive a wedge between the Stalwart Battleships. The value of doing so, given the relatively large distance between the two Stalwart Battleships, was that even in spite of the great damage those Destroyers would suffer the surviving ships would manage to flank the two Battleships. From there, and with their respective starboard broadsides out of commission, the Stalwart would have no choice but to re-orient their ships and either permit the Imperials to press on for the second planet or, more worryingly, they would be forced to exchange with an enemy that could execute a textbook crossfire.

  Middleton watched as the Commander did the right thing: he split his fleet in two and permitted the Imperials to pass through the gap while re-orienting his ships to unleash their fire on the smaller, faster Destroyers rather than their previous Battleship targets.

  “What happened to the Burden’s engines?” Middleton demanded as his attentions were forced back to the stealth systems. The Prejudice had already entered extreme firing range of the Imperial Cruisers and Battleships, and would soon enter long range where the Prejudice’s turbo-laser accuracy was significantly better than even the Imperial guns. He just needed to keep the stealth systems balanced for another three minutes…

  “The explosive signature from the Burden’s engine matches Imperial demo charges, Captain,” Hephaestion said grimly, and Middleton had to smirk in approval.

  “He’s crafty, this one,” Middleton mused, referring to his Imperial counterpart. “He’s using the same tricks we are, but he still hasn’t seen us coming—and that’s going to cost him. We don’t have the angle to deploy mines against them, but a few well-timed up-the-kilt turbo-laser salvos should give him pause. Work up solutions on the lead Battleship, Toto,” Middleton instructed, “but wait for my order to fire—and when you do, target shield generators and turbo-laser mounts. Cut accel with the reverse thrusters as soon as we open fire; it will light us up like a neon sign for their gunners but at this range, and with your evasive maneuvers, we ought to be able to withstand a few salvos before we’ve got to hightail out.”

  “Agreed,” Toto grunted, and Middleton decided to let the lapse in protocol pass. Middleton didn’t need or want ‘agreement’; he needed obedience and wanted the best his people could give. He was willing to guess that Toto’s slip of the tongue was as much a product of cultural differences as it was due to the speech impediments endemic to Toto’s cybernetic implants.

  The Burden continued to drift out of formation, bringing nearly half of its fellow squadron mats with it. Given the distances involved between the Stalwart ships, the lead Destroyer’s best option was to come in as close to the Burden as possible while maintaining fire on the Duty. The Duty’s position was interdictory to the Battleships and Cruisers of Imperial Two, which meant that removing it from play was a higher priority for the enemy commander than removing the Burden.

  Then, just as the Prejudice reached long firing range where her guns and stealth system worked together for the optimal effect, Middleton saw a small cloud of blips appear on the Burden’s location.

  “Small craft launch,” Hephaestion said before Middleton could ask. “It appears…it is all twenty one Stalwart gunships, Captain!”

  “Nice move, Commander,” Middleton said approvingly as the fast, brutally effective gunships unleashed their longest ranged weapons on the oncoming Destroyers. Those Destroyers were still several seconds away from achieving an optimal pincer position against the Duty, and in those seconds the enemy faltered for just a moment—which was more than enough time to turn the tide and close the Commander’s trap.

  All of the Corvettes and Destroyers in the Stalwart Battle Group converged on the Imperial Destroyers, focusing their fire on the lead ship as the gunships unleashed a storm of missiles and medium laser fire on the briefly trapped Imperial Destroyers.

  The three leading Destroyers were destroyed outright as the Cruisers lent their weight of fire to the effort. Dozens of missiles were torn from the void by Imperial counter-fire, but dozens more impacted on Imperial shields and hulls. Crystalline hulls began to fracture from the kinetic impacts, and shields flared before being snuffed out as the Stalwart counter-attack succeeded in turning back the oncoming Destroyers—or, at least, it succeeded in turning them to a new target.

  “All Imperial Destroyers are converging on the Duty,” Hephaestion reported tensely as Imperial turbo- and heavy lasers quickly overcame the Stalwart Duty’s shields. The Duty defiantly returned fire, snuffing a pair of Destroyers with well-coordinated salvoes which were amplified by the continuous fire streaming from the gunships.

  The Destroyers seemed intent on ignoring the gunships, even though at their present range they could do more damage than even the Duty could. Middleton ground his teeth as he realized he was up against a truly ruthless opponent—one who understood the limitations of those gunships just as well as the Stalwart did.

  “At their current acceleration those gunships will be bingo fuel in another three minutes,” Middleton warned. “I think it’s time we adjusted our sights. Toto: redirect our fire on those Destroyers. If we can dig them out of the Stalwart formation, the Burden and Duty can converge and provide mutual support. Focus fire on the engines whenever possible, but I want our emitters on the red-line.”

  “Understood,” Toto acknowledged, and a few seconds later the Prejudice’s eight turbo-lasers lanced into the sterns of two enemy Destroyers. The first Destroyer fell out of formation immediately while the second lost roughly ten percent of its acceleration but continued pressing forward.

  “Here it comes,” Middleton muttered just before the Prejudice was rocked hard by incoming fire. Thankfully, the forward shields held long enough for Middleton to switch them out with the port shields.

  “Six mixed hits,” Hephaestion reported, “four turbo-lasers and two heavies.”

  Another Imp Destroyer was snuffed out—this one by the Stalwart Cruisers—while the enemy Battleship continued to pour its fire into the Stalwart Duty. The Duty’s shields were all but down, with only her engines remaining protected from enemy fire. But her guns were loud and clear as they tore into the flanking Destroyers.

  “Destroyer down,” Hephaestion reported excitedly as the gunships’ savage fire tore through another Imperial Lupine-class warship. “Only four Imperial Destroyers are left.”

  Those Destroyers maintained tight focus on the Stalwart Duty, even as the Glorious Burden moved to outflank the Imperial flankers, and the Duty began to stream breathing gases in increasing volume and frequency. Combined with the six Imperial Cruisers, whose full weight of fire was now brought to bear on the Stalwart flagship, it was clear that the Duty’s remaining time would be measured in minutes.

  Just as Middleton had predicted, escape pods began to eject from the Stalwart Duty. But her guns continued pouring fire even as the engines were taking off-line by concerted attacks from the Imperial Cruisers. Great, molten rents were opened in the Duty’s robust armor, but still she continued to send hellish counter-fire into the enemy Destroyers.

  “The gunships are starting to fall out of formation,” Hephaestion reported grimly as yet another Destroyer was taken down by the furious fire of the short-range attack craft.

  “They made their contribution,” Middleton said approvingly, “now it’s time for us to carry the torch. Let’s get rid of those last Destroyers—“ he began, only to be cut off when the Stalwart Duty’s icon flashed critical red and then, after a few seconds, turned flat grey.

  “The Stalwart Duty has lost power and is drifting,” Hephaestion said stoically. “The enemy continues pouring fire into their hull, but Imperial Two is adjusting its posture to re-focus on the Glorious Burden.”

  “His other ships should start scraping our Corvettes out now,” Middleton mused.
“He’s cut one head off the hydra and now he’ll look to take its legs out.”

  “The Stalwart Cruisers are forming up,” Hephaestion said. “They’re standing off against the Imperial Cruisers and exchanging fire.”

  “It’s a good try,” Middleton grudged, “but the Imperials won’t fall for it.”

  Sure enough the Imperial Cruisers—and their formation’s still-powered Battleship—began tearing Corvettes down one at a time with concerted, deadly barrages. Five Corvettes were snuffed out in the opening seconds before their surviving companions took manic evasive maneuvers. Even those measures only provided minor relief, as two more Corvettes were destroyed outright by sustained fire over the next minute.

  “Captain,” Hephaestion said with unvarnished pride and respect, “the Stalwart escape pods were not escape pods—they are boarding craft!”

  Middleton thumped his fist against his console approvingly, “Well played, Commander.”

  “They’re closing on the nearest Cruisers, which are now re-adjusting their postures to avoid and repel the boarders.”

  “Too little, too late,” Middleton shook his head emphatically, “the Stalwart will take extreme casualties, but some of them are going to get aboard those ships. Now we just need to draw this thing out—“

  The Prejudice rocked again as a fresh wave of fire splashed against her forward shields.

  “Rotating shields,” Middleton said after switching the starboard shield generator with the forward generator. The port shields were back up to forty two percent, but the starboard generator had gone into an emergency cool-down cycle that would last at least eight minutes—an eternity in the middle of such a high-stakes important battle.