“I came here right out of the academy. I finished my last exam one day, got married the next, and the day after that I was on board and busy learning the ship. Regrettably I didn’t get around to reviewing the crew profiles,” Valnor conceded.
The helmsman’s bald head sank into his chest, and the rest of his body followed the example and slid lower into the chair. If it could have, Hastelloy was certain the young man’s body would have melted into the ventilation grate in the floor to leave the embarrassing moment behind. He decided to let the kid off the hook.
“Personally, I prefer my helmsman spend all his time learning how to fly my ship than having his nose buried in my biography. A captain, on the other hand, should know his crewmen forward and back. On that note, congratulations on the child you and your wife are expecting Valnor. Fatherhood will suit you.”
“Thank you, Captain, and I appreciate you throwing me a life line by changing the subject, but I am curious about something. You were the admiral in charge of the fifth fleet for 100 years, have seen more combat than any other Novan alive, and you were instrumental in designing the command ship out there. Why are you now in command of this basically unarmed Collector class ship and not aboard the Thorin leading the entire fleet?”
Hastelloy fought back the urge to scream at the top of his lungs, ‘because some weak stomached politician decided to put the screws to me, and he succeeded thanks to the other cowardly politicians who run the council.’ But no, playing the victim role didn’t suit Hastelloy. What’s more, it would not do for his crew to hear their commander challenging the wisdom and integrity of the council. An openly disgruntled commander soon finds himself surrounded by an insubordinate and unmotivated crew. The greater good was served by Hastelloy playing his part as a noble statesman who felt privileged to serve.
“Ensign, your question implies that serving on board a collector ship attached to a battle fleet is an undesirable assignment,” Hastelloy said with the utmost conviction. “On the contrary, I envy you for having this opportunity so early in your career. The duty of a collector ship is to monitor the battle, and maneuver within Nexus range of any and every ship about to be destroyed. When a thousand ships are engaged in a space battle taking place over millions of square miles, it’s virtually impossible to get within the 10,000 mile range of every vessel in danger, yet that is what’s expected of us.
“In order to perform this duty the collector ship’s crew must anticipate the dangers before they happen, not after events begin to unfold and it is too late to act. This seeming ability to predict the future requires a keen mind to interpret the tactics and tendencies of our fleet commanders as well as the enemy leaders. You’ll learn more about the art of space warfare in a single battle on this ship than most officers in the fleet will acquire in their entire career.”
Hastelloy sat in his command chair passively looking at the helmsman trying to determine if the impressionable young ensign bought what he just heard. In the back of his mind he hoped Gallono had the good sense to remain quiet. Alas, he did not.
“That’s all well and good, Captain, but you left out the part about achieving the greatest victory our people ever scored against the Alpha and then being handed a demotion by the council for your trouble,” Gallono stated bitterly.
Hastelloy calmly looked over at Gallono, clearly conveying his disappointment. It was too late though. The story had already begun and at this point the other bridge officers didn’t even bother pretending they were doing anything other than listening to the tale.
“The tragedy unfolded like this,” Gallono continued. “The fifth fleet was skirmishing with the enemy’s beta sector fleet for weeks. We only had 800 ships while the Alpha had over 3,000 operating in the sector. Admiral Hastelloy correctly reasoned the Alpha were not falling for any of our false attacks to try and lure them out of position because our collector ship was not a part of the attack group. The enemy understood all too well the directive from the council. They knew no combat was to be initiated without a collector ship and the Nexus being near by to gather the crew of any destroyed ships. Knowing this, if the Alpha commanders didn’t detect a collector ship they simply ignored the threat and reinforced themselves where they correctly anticipated our main attack would come.
“Admiral Hastelloy made the bold choice to send the collector ship and 50 escort vessels off in one direction with orders to make a hell of a lot of noise,” Gallono continued. “While that was going on the rest of the fleet rushed their shipyards in the Beta system. We caught them completely by surprise and with their fleet divided. Before the Alpha knew what hit them, we destroyed over 1,000 vessels while only losing ten Hastati class cruisers before the collector ship could make the space fold back to the main attack group.
“From there we proceeded to completely annihilate the rest of their Beta sector fleet, obliterate their ship yard and achieved the real prize of freeing species Beta from the enemy’s control and ending their enslavement.
“In the end we destroyed over 2,900 Alpha ships while only losing 300 from our fleet. And let me restate that only ten of those vessels were lost while the collector ship was out of position. The crews of the other 290 ships were gathered by the Nexus and transferred to new forms without incident.”
Valnor slowly shifted his gaze from Gallono to the captain. “I learned about the liberation of species Beta in the academy but how it was accomplished was never really addressed. Why weren't you paraded through the great hall and hailed as a hero on every news publication in the Republic? A victory of that scale against those odds is the stuff of legend.”
“I like the way he thinks, Captain; I would’ve preferred a hero’s welcome to the real events that followed,” Gallono stated dryly. “As it turns out a very prominent council member’s son was on board one of the ten ships lost in the early fighting.
“There were no parties or a hero’s welcome for admiral Hastelloy. Instead there were inquisitions and a court martial hearing into the admiral’s ‘misconduct.’ All of this of course was instigated by some bureaucrat playing armchair warrior from the safety of the council chamber on Novus. If that coward had gotten everything he wanted, Hastelloy would have faced a firing squad. Instead we’re here serving in the same fleet Hastelloy used to command under an admiral he once instructed at the academy.”
Hastelloy had to put a stop to Gallono’s tirade. Every cell in his body wanted to stand up and applaud his sentiment, and as always, he was touched by Gallono’s fierce loyalty to him. However, order had to be maintained on the ship.
“Enough Gallono, you over dramatize things as usual,” Hastelloy stated sternly. “First of all, I disobeyed a directive from the Council to never initiate an engagement without a collector ship present. That alone is enough to warrant a court martial; regardless of the outcome. It was not my place to disobey the council’s well thought out and long debated policies.”
Hastelloy had to fight back the urge to vomit after uttering his last statement. “Secondly, by the council’s good graces they chose only to strip me of my admiralty. To help me better learn the value a collector ship provides a fleet, they granted me the command of this vessel. Thirdly, you insisted on being reassigned to this position under my command so you forfeit any right to complain about your lot in life.”
An alert came up on his view screen mid sentence. “And fourth, Admiral Tridget just sent out a warning that multiple space fold horizons have been detected. We need to prepare for combat.”
Chapter 7: The Greater Good
Hastelloy redirected his attention to the fleet tactical display built into his command chair. The situation was not good. The Alpha wouldn’t approach an organized fleet of this size without a well thought out attack plan. The trick now was to figure out what that plan might be. He held onto that thought as the first readings came in.
Twenty-five ships appeared around the fleet forming a geodesic sphere pattern with several million miles between each ship. Why were they staggering th
ese ships around the fleet, what was the strategy? All Admiral Tridget needed to do was focus the fleet on one of those points to break free. It would take some time, however, for the fleet to reach them since they were well out of weapons range.
“Tonwen, can you identify the class of ships that just appeared?” Hastelloy asked.
The science officer’s reply was not at all comforting. “All 25 ships are the same configuration, but we have not encountered this type of Alpha craft before. It is odd. I do not see any weapons systems onboard the ships, but I am detecting massive generators throughout the vessels. Whatever these ships do, it consumes a remarkable amount of power.”
Hastelloy was puzzled by Tonwen’s analysis. His collector class ship was also basically unarmed because the Nexus consumed enormous quantities of the ship’s energy leaving virtually no power to operate any weapons systems. What could use so much power on those ships, their own version of a Nexus device perhaps? He didn’t have long to ponder the question before a more immediate problem presented itself.
“Captain, are you seeing this?” Gallono asked. “I’m detecting roughly 4,000 Alpha war ships coming through space folds. They have the entire fleet surrounded.”
Before Hastelloy had a free moment to respond, Tonwen shouted, “Captain I need you over here right away.” Since Tonwen would not have interrupted for nothing, his was the more pressing matter. Hastelloy sprung to his feet and dashed over to the science station to investigate Tonwen’s alarming request.
“I am reading enormous mass density fields coming from those first 25 ships,” Tonwen reported. “In a few seconds they are going to look like massive planets to our ship’s sensors. We cannot space fold if our sensors think a solid object is between us and our destination point. Their spherical pattern of deployment has the fleet completely surrounded. We have no way to escape this attack; this battle is going to be to the end.”
Hastelloy paced back to the command chair cursing under his breath. The Alpha just took the Novi to school in the most basic military maxim, ‘find a way to turn your opponent's greatest strength into a weakness.’ This new technology achieved that goal brilliantly.
For over 10,000 years Novi fleets were free to engage the Alpha without fear of death thanks to the presence of the Nexus device; only ships were lost, never lives of the crews. How frustrating that must be for the Alpha, Hastelloy pondered. Even when they managed to win a battle, as long as the collector ship escaped, the Alpha soon saw the exact same officers again, and again, and again.
The Nexus allowed Novi crews to be utterly fearless in their fighting. Now, for the first time in thousands of years, the threat of death was real for both sides. This of course gave the Alpha a tremendous advantage since their crews already knew and embraced the fear of dying. In contrast, Hastelloy had a sinking feeling the Novi crews would be paralyzed by it. The Novi’s biggest strength was now transformed into a debilitating weakness. Hastelloy took his seat in disgust.
“Admiral Tridget just ordered the fleet to space fold back to the Beta system, Captain; what should I do?” the helmsman asked with fear oozing from every syllable.
“Tonwen, inform the command ship of your findings concerning the fleets inability to retreat. Like it or not, this battle is going to take place on the Alpha commander’s terms,” Hastelloy said to his science officer.
Next Hastelloy looked over to the engineering station and issued orders. “Tomal, see if you can squeeze any more speed out of our engines. We’re going to need everything you have and more to keep up with this fight.”
“What good will collecting lives in the Nexus do if we can’t escape with them?” Valnor shrieked as his voice cracked from panic. The first evidence of paralysis through fear was on display front and center on his bridge. Hastelloy didn’t have time to coddle his rookie pilot. This panic attack needed to be shut down immediately.
“Valnor, I don’t have time to say this nicely so I’ll just have to do it with all the rough edges still attached.” For effect, Hastelloy stood and stated with all the force of an enraged drill sergeant, “Stop pissing yourself and act like a man who has his balls attached. Sit up straight! The only way we die here today is if we lose this battle, which is made infinitely easier for the Alpha if you shut down. Now do your duty.”
Valnor shook his head, sat up straight in his seat and gave a crisp reply, “Aye, Captain.”
With that issue resolved, Hastelloy directed his attention to Gallono. He was about to issue orders to his first officer but was cut off by the sight of the man standing with his hands wrapped around his groin. “Dare I ask, Gallono?”
“What do you mean? I'm just checking that I attached my balls properly this morning. I’m pleased to report I did,” Gallono stated sardonically as he gave a reassuring wink to the young helmsman.
Hastelloy let out a soft chuckle and inclined his head towards Gallono, indicating his approval of the effort to lighten the mood and relieve the tension they all were feeling. “Thank you for the status report; now would you please put those hands to better use and man the fleet status screen for me. Make sure we’re within range of any ship about to be destroyed. My attention will be on the strategic map of the battle evaluating the overall momentum of the fight.
Without another word, Gallono changed his display screen to pull up the status of every ship in the fleet. “The Alpha are beginning to engage our ships. They’re focusing on the Admiral’s command ship. Also, the troop transports at the rear of our formation are coming under heavy attack. This could present a problem. The two points of attack are too far apart for us to cover them both. I’ll let you know if a decision needs to be made.”
Tonwen chimed in, “Admiral Tridget just canceled his order to space fold out of here and informed the fleet that we are now trapped. He’s issued orders for all ships to engage the enemy at will.”
“Well that was an inspiring pep talk for the troops wasn’t it?” Gallono stated dryly as he rolled his eyes.
Never in all his years of military service had Hastelloy heard such a profoundly stupid order from a superior officer. The only chance the fleet had was to form up and come at the enemy with a shared defense and focused counter attack when the opportunity presented itself. Focusing fire from multiple ships on a single target was the only way to start chipping away at the Alpha’s numerical advantage. Telling everyone to just start shooting at random ships would accomplish nothing except a crushing defeat. It was clear Admiral Tridget had succumbed to his fear, just like Valnor, except no one was there to slap him back to reality.
As if the insane orders were not evidence enough of the Admiral’s incapacity, the image of the Thorin being pummeled on its broad panels made it official. The crew was not even trying to maneuver the ship to only present the narrow profile to its attackers. What’s more, only a fraction of the weapons systems were firing; it just sat there paralyzed. The magnificent battle cruiser was doomed due to the panic stricken inaction of its crew. “We’re about to lose the Thorin. Move us into Nexus range,” Hastelloy ordered.
“Sir, the troop transports are about to be destroyed,” Gallono came with an update.
“Ignore my last and set course for the transports. Engage, Valnor; now. Those ships carry over two million soldiers, the Thorin has a crew of 100,000. We need to serve the greater good,” Hastelloy ordered with conviction.
The Lazarus arrived in time to collect the crews of the relatively defenseless troop transport ships. As Valnor turned the ship about to head toward the Thorin, the mammoth vessel burst into a ball of fire that quickly dissipated revealing only a debris field where the fleet’s command ship once hovered.
Hastelloy would not miss Admiral Tridget and his nonexistent leadership, but losing the Thorin was like losing his own child. His blood was up and it was time, once again, to show the Alpha what he was capable of doing to them. He spent a few seconds working up a fleet deployment profile on his command consol, and then he had Gallono open a communication channel
to reach every speaker on every ship in the fleet.
“This is Captain Hastelloy. The Admiral’s command ship has been destroyed. I am assuming command of the fleet. I’ve just transmitted new orders. Fall back to your assigned positions immediately.”
Hastelloy was heartened to see on his display that the fleet was responding to his command in rapid order. “I’ll keep this brief, but to soldiers like us few words are just as good as many. You know me. I commanded this fleet for the past 100 years and this is not just any fleet, this is the fifth fleet. We are liberators of the Beta system, and vanquishers of an entire Alpha fleet in battle. Our foe is not worthy of your fear; they have not earned it. THEY are the ones pissing themselves because they now face the legendary fifth fleet of the Novi. The Alpha fleet may have numbers but we have each other. Fighting together as a unified force is how we’ll win this day. Believe in yourself, believe in everyone around you, and believe in me. It is a distinct honor to lead you in battle once again. This day will be ours!” With that Hastelloy closed the channel.
Hastelloy swore he could almost hear the manly battle cries coming across the vacuum of space from his fleet. Gallono pounded his fist on his console and shouted; “Now that is how it’s done. Give me something to kill because I am ready for war!”
Hastelloy let a confident grin cross his face. It had been a while, but he could still channel his inner barbarian and get the troops mentally ready for combat. Now it was time to make good on his pledge.
The fleet reformed into two compact spheres, one inside the other. The outer sphere was comprised mostly of Hastati class cruisers. These were excellent ships capable of both dealing out and withstanding large amounts of punishment. The inner circle was made up of Onager class vessels. These ships were slow and lightly armored, but what they lacked in those areas they more than made up for in weaponry.
Origins Page 5