From the Black (Free Fleet Book 4)

by Michael Chatfield

  “You said that this was just a training planet. Instead it's a full blow war mongering system. There are Kalu on two planets and three moons, there are fifteen yards at work and four hundred ships orbiting the inhabited planets,” Min Hae said, more than anger, fear fueled him. This was way more than he thought the Kalu were possible of mobilizing and building.

  “Yes, and the worst thing isn't the numbers or the ships, its Orshpa. If he declares a fight with Edvasho after the battle of Rosho, or Edvasho falls in battle. Orshpa will command all of the Kalu. Orshpa is not a traditional Kalu,” Ashota's warning tone made Min Hae's eyes thin.

  “Explain,” Min Hae said, everyone riveted on Ashota.

  “Orshpa didn't attack one planet and then work to the next and the next and so on. He would hit the first target, get the enemy concentrated there, then he would attack every other system he could find. They would be weak, nothing but training grounds for the young, and birthing homes for the females. He would pull off of the original planet, the enemy Kalu would either defend their homes, or they would attack him. He trained his women to fight, it doubled his effective forces and meant that if the Kalu counter-attacked they were met with warriors, if they tried to clear their homes they met warriors. Orshpa would then land the force he attacked the first planet on whatever planet had the biggest concentration of enemy warriors, clear it, then move to the next. He would continue to do so until he cleared all of the enemy Kalu,” Ashota looked into Min Hae's eyes, a sign of defiance or a sign of complete trust based on the Kalu culture.

  “If I wanted to decimate the Union then I would have picked Orshpa. I wanted to weaken the Kalu in order for the peaceful to rise up and smash the remainders so I kept Edvasho and used him. Now it looks like Orshpa has defied the norms and traditions. He will make a play for power, or wait until Edvasho kills himself,”

  “What's the play commander?” Bregend asked Min Hae, his deep strong voice comforting Min Hae.

  “We meet up with the Fleet, go to the planet of the peaceful, meet up with the Jump fighter and send them back to Free Fleet space as fast as possible. I feel like the war is going to change drastically, quickly,” Min Hae said, his voice strong and authoritative. Now was not the time to sit back and hope things turned out.

  ***

  Lifendi looked away from the Syndicate Fleet. It had been decimated by the Kalu. On the second day the Kalu had turned their forces onto the fleet, it had taken four days, but they chased them down and destroyed or captured three quarters of the fleet. The ships left weren't unscathed, all had been touched by the Kalu's guns or their warriors.

  Those that tried to flee for the jump points were set upon by the jump-ships. Only two of the jump-ships had been destroyed and there was no way to know how many of the creations were waiting.

  Between Rosho and the fleet, nearly half of the Kalu ships had been destroyed.

  Rosho's shields had recovered with the Kalu being distracted, weapon issues had been fixed and now it looked as if the battle for the station was about to begin. Kalu fighters were chasing down the remaining forces, they didn't use explosives for their drives, but they were still faster than a corvette. They would get their prey eventually.

  Massive swarms bigger than a star-destroyer were forming and heading for Rosho.

  “Missile launches!” Sensors said, Lifendi could already see the truth as ruby markers sped in from every angle. There was tens of thousands of missiles.

  “Tactical, cut those missiles down,” Lifendi said. The new attack was designed to take down his shields in all areas, leaving Lifendi nowhere to shunt power from one shield hub to another, or increase the coverage of a shield.

  The lumbering PDS lasers were able to cut down even these missiles because of their range and the sheer amount of them. Gunners targeted clusters, the space around Rosho's turning into light as tightly packed missiles set off one another. The exploding light got closer and closer until Rosho was shaking and shields were falling.

  “Second barrage launched!” Sensors yelled.

  “Tell everyone to get into powered armor, those bastards are preparing to breach us,” Lifendi said, he had been wearing his own armor for the past two days. Planning for the worst had kept him alive more than once.

  “Shields at seventy three, sixty seven, forty two, we've lost a sub hub in the northern sector. Twenty five,” Shields said in a panic.

  “Compensate and take whatever power you need, even from gunners,” Lifendi said, that shield was the only thing keeping the Kalu out.

  The missiles weren't coming in any kind of pattern now, just being fired as fast as possible. Lasers ran into the shields, nuclear explosions rocked even the massive Rosho as shields fluctuated with power. Swarms fired as they got into range and rushed against the shields, their own mass, speed crashing into the shields and using their power cores to further weaken the shield.

  Cannons of every variety struck out against the Kalu forces, ships fell to them, their gunners fighting for their very lives moved targets as quickly as possible, ships being breached and opened to vacuum. Missiles rushed towards the Kalu, causing ships to disappear in fireballs. The few remaining remote weapon platforms hammered the Kalu from the rear, or amongst their vast fleet. It looked as if gods themselves had come to battle. Forces that would have rendered a planet inhospitable raked the ships and station.

  “Shields are spotting,”

  It looks as if war has found a victor. Lifendi thought, looking over the special control that he had added to the station. He let out a grim laugh.

  “Ready our people, as soon as those shields come down the Kalu will swarm us. We will bleed them totally,” Lifendi said.

  “Yes Lord Lifendi,” Comms said, they had started calling him that when Lady Fairgate had fled.

  Not many cared what had happened to Lady Fairgate anymore.

  “Prepare fighters, they're to target the enemy’s fighter swarms. I want them to put missiles right in the middle of those bastards. I want them to show these bastards how the Syndicate fights dirty,” Lifendi's tone not filled with a small bit of pride. The Syndicate was underhanded, devious and bastards. He was going to use every damned trick that he knew to break these Kalu creatures.

  “The shields are failing!”

  “Shut them down and give power to weapons, I want you working to get them back online. Launch fighters and lock down the station,” Lifendi surprised by the calm of his voice, the fear and knowledge that this would be his last stand fuelling him. He wouldn't let these bastards get under his skin. They might take his life, but he was Lord Lifendi, the second and last leader of the Syndicate. He had been raised with the stories of the terrible Kalu, he had defeated all the demons in his life, climbing over their corpses to the top. How strange it was that his childhood monsters would be the ones to kill him.

  The next opponent always looks beatable, until you've exhausted them all. There is always a bigger opponent, and one time it might be the one you barely realize is an opponent, that will end your succession.

  Lifendi wasn't a man for philosophical thought, but at the end one thought in mysterious ways.

  “Gunner four better up that damned rate of fire or I will personally put the fear of the Kalu in them,” Lifendi didn't realize what he had said until it was out of his mouth.

  “Better yet, I will lead the Kalu right to them,” He amended, finding the whole situation rather, humorous.

  ***

  “Their shields have fallen,” A seer said.

  “Charge,” Edvasho said, almost conversationally, the way his body shook with anger, the state of the deck around him, belied that fact that he had rational thoughts. The war lust had filled him totally, it would not be sated until this battle was over.

  Swarms charged in, their lasers ripped into the weapons that had hammered Edvasho's fleet. The Syndicates fighters sped out of Rosho's hangars in droves, they rained hell into the swarms.

  “Deploy all Swarms,” Edvasho said, the talk
er giving the order to Orshpa.

  “Orshpa asks if you think this enemy worthy of the honour,” The talker said.

  “Tell him I wish to show these creatures the worthlessness of their fight, that they might see death coming for them no matter their actions,” Edvasho, turned his head slowly, radiating barely controlled anger, the cowed talker bowed their head deeply in deference, sending the message to Orshpa.

  Orshpa didn't reply with words, fighters spread out from their start destroyers like clouds. They came together, swarms combining as they descended on Rosho.

  Star Warriors went silent as they powered for the station. Swarms flowed around them like water around rocks. Rosho's weapons were visible under the swirling mass of fighters. Missiles opened gaps in the swarms momentarily.

  Star-warriors powered through the swarms.

  “Open the bow,” Edvasho said as his Star Warrior neared the surface of Rosho, face masks clamped down and sealed as the front opened on the Star Warrior, Edvasho moved to the front of the Star Warrior, his people flanking him as the station came into view. Edvasho didn't even wait for the ship to touch down before he leapt off and was running, in search of an entrance into Rosho.

  Other Star Warriors disgorged their warriors, all of them hunting for entrances. As soon as one was found the nearest charged in, the rest of the herd used grunts and smells simulated by their helmets to pass information as fast as they would on a planet.

  Warriors piled into airlocks, controls activated, sending them flying out as they pressurized and opened the exterior locks. Others rushed in to breach the second, more got thrown away from Rosho. Airlocks exploded, air and debris throwing Kalu off of Rosho. Eventually the Kalu made it through the air locks, more traps awaited from them inside. Rail guns set off by sensors sent rounds as big as the hallway the Kalu were in, down it. Mines in the walls exploded. Compressed air was released, throwing the Kalu back, Plasma lines dumped their waste, burning through the Kalu under them.

  A sea of primes gathered around Edvasho as he ran from entrance to entrance, he built up strength in his roaming horde, searching for the weakest entry. He might be Kalu, but he wasn't going to waste his life going through one of these deadly funnels.

  This Syndicate had picked well with their walls too thick to cut through and filled with metal ores that reflected lasers. Kalu were hurting themselves more than the enemy when they fired their lasers.

  Where is Orshpa? Edvasho knew that the sub leader was a great tactician, something that he could use down on Rosho.

  His smaller limbs scrolled through information, Orshpa was still sitting on his Star Destroyer's, most of his fleet was still above Rosho, watching it.

  New fire roared through Edvasho's limbs.

  “Orshpa why do you sit above Rosho, are you fearful of the Syndicate?” Edvasho asked, knowing he had ordered that everything should attack the Syndicate, not giving them the honour of thinking them a worthy opponent, but a blight that deserved to be destroyed.

  “We were..,” Orshpa said, his voice hot with Edvasho's implication of his unwillingness to join in battle.

  “That was not a request,” Edvasho's voice deadly, cutting the channel. The Star Destroyer's descended, their hangars brimmed with their blood lusting crews.

  Edvasho tossed his head, he would have to look out for Orshpa. Unlike Xentar the Kalu sub leader had never truly accepted his command. Edvasho smashed a Kalu out of his way as he headed for the guns, he would find a way into this damned station.

  His Primes followed him towards the massive cannons that left spots on their sensors, killing them with the light output. Swarms were turned away and decimated by these guns, yet they too had fallen. Edvasho knew that one side’s strength could also be their weakness, something that he was going to put to the test.

  Chapter A nasty surprise.

  “Star Warriors are landing their troops,” Sensor called out.

  “They're raking the hell out of our guns!” Tactical yelled out, the swarms of fighters were landing right on the larger cannons, their lasers boring into the massive weapons. Others were being hit from multiple lasers, the weapons and defences of Rosho were getting quickly ripped away.

  “Fighters are coming in,” Fighter command said.

  Missiles were let loose into the largest swarms that were piling out of the star destroyer's. The actual ships were targeted as well. Tens of them erupted as the small but powerful missiles cracked their hulls and got inside.

  There was a thousand fighters on the Syndicate side, the Kalu had at least twenty times that in space. Rail guns and plasma guns fired as the fighters ran through the Kalu formation. Their targets switched to ships that were trying to land on Rosho. If the Syndicate fighters could stem the flow then the powered armor wearing Syndicate forces could get some relief.

  Kalu swarms turned from their main tasks, coming to face the fighters. It would still take them time before they reached their intended target. While the Kalu fighters were good at hitting a stationary target like a weapon system, they were terrible at hitting anything that was moving, they used their massive firepower to hopefully hit their target with at least a few lasers. At range their lasers were spread out and useless, other fighters dancing through their invisible beams, firing lasers and missiles into the Kalu.

  Star- Destroyers and Star Warriors that had been headed to Rosho were raked by fighters as they passed from above and behind them, not facing their forward facing weapon systems.

  Ships streamed atmosphere, others exploded, and some went dead, hitting Rosho as they were unable to regain control. The Kalu forces, eager to get on Rosho, were pressed in close, dangerously close in space terms. Dead ships, or those that had lost part of their engines and careened off, more often than not, hit their allied Kalu ships. Or the debris from a ship exploding, pelted another ship close by.

  Lifendi looked over the information as if he was observing a war game in a simulation.

  Now the Kalu have their turn. The two forces fighters now engaged one another directly, both of them converging on one another.

  Lasers met missiles and an array of weaponry. The ships plowed into one another, icons that signified the different groups disappeared as casualties racked up. Syndicate fighters thundered into the swarms, not releasing their triggers as they threw everything at the massive formations of Kalu. They disappeared into the swarms, many of them not coming out. Their power systems overloading either intentionally or not as Swarms were illuminated from inside.

  Syndicate fighters fought to evade the swarms, finding the sides of the Kalu formation worse than the front for weapons fire.

  They raked the swarms, many of the Syndicate fighters running into lasers, or being hit by the mass of incoming fire.

  Then the fighters passed one another, the swarms braked as hard as they could, reforming and turning so that they might chase the Syndicate fighters that were now on top of Rosho. At the speeds they were travelling they only had a short period of time to rake the Kalu fighters that covered Rosho.

  The Syndicate fighters, now a fraction of their original force hit the Kalu with everything but missiles. Missiles this close to Rosho would damage more than they would help. They grouped together as they headed for the surrounding Kalu ships. They had fully engulfed Rosho and the fighters had too much momentum to stop themselves from not rushing over the Kalu.

  Fighters were deploying, the fighters aimed their fire at long distance to hit the Star-Destroyers fighter bays and the escaping ships. It would take a half minute for the first rounds to land, the time decreasing as the fighters got closer.

  Kalu warriors fired lasers, it seemed that the Kalu were out of missiles thankfully.

  The fighters dodged and weaved, but still a number of them fell to the Kalu.

  It went on for a time, small swarms formed, accelerating for the oncoming fighters. They were nothing compared to the swarms the Syndicate fighters had just contended with. Weapons fire smashed into them, the swarms in group
s of no more than ten when they crossed the Syndicate fighters. There were none left as they reached the end of the Syndicate's formations. The Syndicate had lost twenty five of their number in the engagement.

  The Kalu ships kept firing as the syndicate fighters continued their dance to evade the weapons fire.

  The fighters cleared the Kalu ships, turning and firing their engines to begin their braking, loosing missiles right up the unarmored engines of the Kalu ships.

  Even braking hard, the Syndicate fighters built up inertia carried them out of range quickly.

  The Kalu swarms which had used their nuclear acceleration system with their natural drive to turn back towards the fighters. It was clear what their objective was.

  Fresh fighters from the closest star destroyers joined their swarms. The swarms’ numbers were close to the original swarms that had engaged the Syndicate fighters.

  Lifendi plotted the fastest route from the Kalu fighters’ position to his own fighters.

  He sent the map to his tactical officer. The officer was getting everything he could out of his people, and more than what they thought themselves capable of. Lifendi was thankful he was able to at least get some of his command staff on Rosho.

  “Fire missiles into those Fighter hunter swarms when they get close,” Lifendi, seeing the tactical commanders screen change and he slowed his rate of orders, contemplating the sight in front of him.

  The fighters had done better than even Lifendi had thought possible, but their casualties were equally astounding.

  Tactical was bellowing on their microphone, weapons fire converged on one point, it cleared the swarms, giving the missiles bays in that area clear space.

  The swarms crossed Rosho, heading straight for the Syndicate fighters that were still organizing. Instead Rosho fired fifty missiles directly at the swarms.

  The Kalu didn't have time to react as warheads designed to kill Dreadnoughts smashed into the sides of their swarms. Kalu fighters just disappeared, it was like some creature had taken a bite of their formation.