by Darold Higa
Both Alicia and Largo had made it to the top of the stairs. Before they could move any further the powersuits down below began showering the second floor with electromagnetic railgun fire. Alicia and Largo covered the stairs in case any of the commandos attempted to escape the overwhelming e-mag bombardment. Five minutes later, the siege was over. Not once had any of the R7 commandos given quarter, nor shown any intent of surrendering. They had resisted until the very last commando had been silenced. Alicia shuddered. This war was going to be a long one.
At nearly the same moment, footage of the princess in her ballroom dress gunning down her would be assailants had managed to make its way out of Newport local net and hit the general Renspan information network just as the Narthian cyberattacks were closing the doors to the Newport system. Many questions were circulating on the net about how the princess was so capable in gunfighting. Was this standard Spincoran Navy training? A few Spincoraphile indie datanets began seeding threads about how all of the princesses in House Linodan underwent rigorous military training, a holdover from a time where maintaining the power of the throne sometimes involved direct physical violence. The tradition had been adhered to because it was seen as a means of instilling a firm sense of respect for the consequences of military action. Even more indie datanet threads popped up showing unauthorized images and video clips of Alicia, Henrietta and Ekaterina Linodan doing their military training. Some real Spincoraphile royalty watchers even posted clips showing a teenage Queen Mother, at the time a princess, undergoing the exact same rigorous training. Within minutes, there were hundreds of threads featuring homemade images and videos featuring Alicia in her dress, SMG in hand, firing at Narthian commandos, urging Renspans to resist Narthian aggression.
Admiral Huffington had already discarded his ceremonial sword as he swiftly navigated to the command chair in the CIC onboard the battleship Port Hueneme. A mere 20 minutes ago he had been stuck under a table fending off Narthian commandos. Captain Cadwell was right on top of things and had requisitioned a high speed shuttle to be waiting right outside the hotel. Sitting in his command chair, he began configuring the datatank to display the information he needed. All the faces in the CIC around him were unfamiliar. Even the XO standing to his side wasn’t the calm competent Ellen Cadwell. His thoughts then turned to Captain Alicia. He certainly hoped that the Princess had gotten out alive.
“Captain, “ Huffington paused for a moment to read the ID tag of the officer standing next to him, “...Farrington, what is the operational status of the 101st?” He couldn’t even remember the name of his XO, how was he going to command a fleet that had been cobbled together in half an hour?
“Sir, we have managed to deploy 1,200 ships.”
“Prepare the fleet to move out. We will stage at this location.” Huffington highlighted a position in the datatank.
“But Sir, Admiral Raleigh mentioned 3,000…”
Huffington interrupted the younger officer, “with all due respect to Admiral Raleigh, if we wait any longer, we won’t be able to buy any time for those ships attempting to clear mooring at the spacedock. We move now. You understand our mission, right?”
The face of the officer was confused for a moment, then quickly hardened. “I understand now, sir. We’ll give them hell, sir!” The rest of the CIC crew grimly nodded.
Huffington nodded in return. Good people, Huffington thought, sadly. What a damn waste. I won’t even get a chance to learn their names.
Alicia changed out of her dress into her uniform as quickly as was possible in zero gravity. Her personal shuttle had managed to escape Newport City, which was rapidly disintegrating into chaos as news of the invasion spread to the general populace. The Capital city appeared to be in complete disarray. Riots had broken out near the skyhook terminals. Worse yet, the skyhooks had not been severed, providing the invasion force with an easy means of delivering forces planetside. She also noted that the government had still not made any kind of formal announcement to the populace. A few words would probably be all it took to calm down the billions of scared citizens of the Federation. Alicia noted that the diffused power that the Renspans cherished to prevent the formation of absolute power was horrible in times of crisis when decisive action was required. In a matter of an hour, Newport City had been plunged into chaos, and the Narthian fleet was still another hour away. She checked herself. That assessment wasn’t entirely fair since their President was offworld, and the Vice President apparently assassinated by a Narthian special forces commando. The decision to pursue Renspa as an ally had been a contentious one back in Spincora, as wounds opened by their bloody conflict a half century ago had not been forgotten by House Linodan. Alicia caught herself now and then pondering this dilemma since there was still great prejudice against the former rival. Whatever the Renspans may think about the virtues of democracy, the firm order imposed by the royal family served well in crises like the current one, she thought to herself.
Thank you mother, she thought sarcastically. You have done your best to convert me into an appropriate heir to the throne: I can’t stop thinking about politics. Turning back to her immediate concerns, she quickly boarded the Relentless and headed straight for the CIC. Immediately Largo began barking out orders. Alicia could hear the obvious relief in the voice of Rannie Petrova as Largo began coordinating the fleet. Having shed her Royal burden, Alicia turned her attention back to military matters. Despite the active jamming by Narthian hackers and bubblespace jammers, it appeared that the Renspan information warriors were fighting back, and limited communication on military channels was now possible.
“Captain Linodan, we have a one-way encoded burst transmission from Royal Navy Headquarters. Authentication code confirmed.” Captain Petrova seemed back to herself, no longer burdened with command for the entire fleet.
“Put it through.”
“Stand by for an announcement from the Queen.”
The seal of the RNHQ was replaced with the familiar face of the Queen, sitting in her office. For a moment, Alicia wished she were back in the safe gardens of Domus Aurea, having tea with mother, Ekaterina and Henrietta. She returned her attention to the viewscreen. “My loyal subjects, I would like to play the following speech just broadcast by the Narthian Empire’s Empress Zhao Ji Lai.”
The image was replaced with the Empress Zhao Ji Lai standing in front of the Grand Hall on Terra, addressing a room full of Narthians in full military dress uniform. The Empress began, “to preserve the legacy of Earth and to end future wars it is our mission to unify humanity under the banner of Mother Terra. Blood will be spilt. Treasure will be lost. But in the end the distant children of Earth must know where home is. Only then can there be peace. Therefore, effective immediately, there exists a state of war between the Narthian Empire and the Renspan Federation. Our forces have just begun assaulting the Renspan capital of Newport as we speak.” A roaring round of applause filled the grand hall. Soon the crowd erupted in a giant cheer “Terra! Terra! Terra!” Alicia noticed that alongside the Empress, among the generals and admirals was a single Colonel, and a rather uncomfortable Colonel at that.
I wonder who he is. I bet that is an interesting story, Alicia thought to herself.
The image returned to the Queen. “Accordingly, to preserve our alliance with the Renspa Federal Union, I have declared war on the Narthian Empire effective immediately. The Royal Navy is at this very moment gathering strength to aid our allies from the Narthian menace. My own daughter, Alicia, is now in command of the House Linodan Fleet fighting alongside the besieged Renspans. To all of my loyal subjects I ask you to join together behind our armed forces to repel these Lunar invaders, who use the pretense of Earth and peace to wage war. To our Renspan friends, do not lose heart, we will come, and together we will win this fight. The holy name of Terra should not be stained with the blood of petty expansionism, and House Linodan will not bow down to Lunar tyranny. To victory!”
The image of the Queen faded and a member of the RNHQ general st
aff appeared. “Captain Linodan, effectively immediately you will assume the title of Rear Admiral. You are hereby granted full operational level autonomy for the Linodan Fleet and Sokolov Fleet under the Banner of the 221st Expeditionary Force. Narthian Banner Red and Banner Yellow fleets have been detected operating in the Ladera marginals near the border of Spincora so we will be unable to send relief forces for the foreseeable future. Your standing strategic objective is to assist the Renspan forces as best as possible and slow the advance of Narthian forces in Renspan territory. Good luck.”
Initially, there was a long pause as the news of the war sunk in. Alicia looked about the CIC, concerned about the impact the news might have on her crew. Faces around the CIC were stern, but Spincora had been dreading this moment for months, so no one looked surprised. Alicia was surprised herself when she realized that it actually felt like a relief after all of the anticipation and worrying. Suddenly, Largo barked, “Attention all hands! Admiral on the bridge!”
Everyone in the CIC snapped to attention and saluted. After a brief pause, the room filled with applause. Everyone in this CIC was hand-picked by Alicia to be on her staff, and they all were proud of their association with the Princess. Largo turned to Alicia with a big grin and said, “orders, Admiral?”
And for one brief moment, Alicia forgot about everything else and smiled.
Commodore Ellen Cadwell was furious. It was painfully obvious that Huffington’s 101st fleet was engaged in a suicide mission. Admiral Raleigh’s last words to her was that the 7th fleet would head towards the northern HyNet gate and escort a handful of transports evacuating members of the executive, legislative and judicial branches, as per operation Clauzewitz. With nearly 1,000 ships at her disposal, she knew she could at least double Huffington’s firepower. Instead, she eyed her datatank as close to a thousand assorted civilian transport ships began collecting into an unorganized cluster near her fleet. Most only had in-system bubblespace drives, making it necessary to head towards the HyNet gate to travel interstellar. Cadwell had already assigned two of her command staff to organize the mob into some sort of convoy so that they can escort the group without spreading themselves too thin. She wanted very much to be fighting alongside Huffington. He had been such a good mentor, and there was a part of her that really felt like the Admiral was so much like her father. Still, she knew the task assigned to her wouldn’t be easy, as it appeared that there were at least 8,000 Narthian ships between her and the HyNet gates. Only one other variable remained. Looking into the holotank, she stared at the 5,000 ships of Linodan fleet.
“I will not stand by and watch my allies be slaughtered while I escape like a spoiled child!” Alicia slammed her fist down against her desk. Largo sat across from her, looking sympathetic.
“Alicia, I understand. But this was a direct request from Admiral Raleigh. The Renspan Joint Chiefs feel that it is more important to evacuate as much of the civilian government as possible than to buy time for ships to escape drydock. I don’t think the 7th Fleet can break out to the HyNet by itself.”
“I will not run away!” Alicia swung her arm out, pointing towards the smaller holotank that was secured to her desk in her private office. “I will not sully the name of House Linodan so that I can be safe. Look at Huffington. Right now it’s a suicide mission. If we join with him, there is a chance…”
“Alicia, stop it! Which path do you think makes you more of a spoiled child!”
Alicia was stunned. Largo had only raised her voice like that once before. Once, when they were both children, Alicia and Largo ran across an older female schoolmate from one of the grand noble houses teasing a boy that was apparently the son of her servant. Alicia was ready to charge in when Largo stopped her. “Lish, if you go in there right now and stop that bully, who is going to protect that boy later on? Once you leave, that boy is still the son of that girl’s servant. If you’re going to act, make sure you can protect him later.” Alicia remembered how embarrassed she was that Largo had to remind her about how she should protect her own subjects. Later that week she made sure that the servant’s contract had been bought out, and she had the Royal Ethics Commission and the Commoner Protection Agency thoroughly investigate the noble house. The whole affair had cost the House Linodan some trouble in the Imperial Senate, but when the tabloid datanets got wind of the story, Alicia’s public opinion numbers soared with the general population. Ever since it went public as to who had freed his family from servitude to the abusive nobles, the boy, now a man, has sent her a box of chocolates on her birthday.
“I…”
“That is your mother talking, Alicia. Honor is important, yes. But think about how you can best protect your allies. They need your protection,” Largo paused, “just like your subjects.”
Chapter 3
Battle of Newport
4563 July 05
Federal Space Patrol, 7th Fleet, Carrier Group 1 Battleship FSP New Angeles, Fleet Command Information Center
In Transit to Newport Northern HyNet Gateway
Renspa Federal Republic
Ellen Caldwell continued to stare into the datatank before her. She had managed to form up the transports into a makeshift convoy which was already heading out towards the northern HyNet gate. They would arrive at the gate around the time that Admiral Huffington faced off against the massive fleet approaching the drydocks. The Narthians had also been busy as they had taken up defensive positions around the gate. To Caldwell’s surprise, they were giving the actual gate a wide berth. She didn’t think protecting the gateway zone would be such a high priority for the invading fleet.
Lieutenant Belmont, comms officer on board the New Angeles, interrupted her thoughts. “Commodore, you have a message from Admiral Linodan.”
Admiral Linodan appeared on the viewscreen. “Hello, Commodore Caldwell. Congratulations on your promotion.”
“Hello, Admiral Linodan. Congratulations on yours.”
“Well, I suppose we both wish that our promotions were under better circumstances. Right now our priority needs to be getting your convoy through that HyNet gate. Although they have superior numbers, in terms of actual combat effectiveness it appears that our fleets are fairly evenly matched. That being said, I think we need to do our best to preserve as much of our fighting strength as possible. For that I have a plan that I think should help us gain an edge.”
By the time Admiral Linodan was done explaining her plan and transferring the required calculations over to Caldwell, Ellen began to understand why Huffington had been so impressed by the Princess.
Rick Blanchard had finished his bottle of soda and reached for another. So far, so good, he thought to himself. The information streaming into the surround datatank suggested that despite the processing load, the AI cores of Linodan fleet were performing as expected. The rest of his team were still tweaking a few parameters in real-time, since there was no time for the team back at the home office to fix the bugs he had tracked down. When Rick had told his install team that Old Man Sanchez had asked them all to stay on to help the Spincorans fight they all signed up on the spot. Most of them had seen video of Admiral Linodan’s action planetside and they were itching to help the Princess fight. They were already calling her “Our Princess.”
As a result, Rick had more than enough people to keep that vast AI hypercomputing network operational. There was only one machine that was struggling, which demanded most of Rick’s personal attention. Admiral Linodan had asked that her Fleet Command Information Center be given its own AI core. That was an unusual request, since most ship AI cores could handle ship functions and CIC duties at the same time. Seeing the vast number of complex equations that were flowing through the CIC AI core, he could see why she wanted to have a second core installed. The new cores they had installed were barely at 10% capacity doing bubblespace vector calculations for the huge warships of the Linodan Fleet. The CIC core was pegging at 90%. Whatever calculations Linodan was doing, it was putting the new core specs to a true test. Lin
odan had messaged a few cryptic questions to him about calculation capacity and had since left him alone. The only other thing she asked was if the rest of the cores in each of the ships could handle a brief load similar to the one in the CIC. When he answered in the affirmative she nodded, asked him to warn the rest of his people to expect massive short-term computational loads and disappeared. What off earth was she planning?
On board the Port Hueneme , Huffington studied his datatank. The time was at hand: he had to engage the Narthian fleet now if he was to buy any time for the 7th and Linodan Fleets to escape. He knew that very few ships would make it out of spacedock; trying to save them would be a lost cause. He had managed to communicate briefly with Caldwell and Linodan, so his duty as a mentor was now complete. “One final mission,” he thought to himself. Looking at an image of his daughter’s and granddaughter’s smiling faces one last time, he ordered the 101st Fleet to battle stations.
Ellen watched her datatank carefully. It looked like Admiral Linodan’s plan was working. The datatank showed the combined forces of the 7th Fleet, the Linodan Fleet and the passenger liners as a single entity moving towards the Narthian group defending the Northern HyNet gate. According to the plan, they would be engaged in combat in a matter of minutes. Forces from the southern HyNet gate had spotted the fleet and were moving to intercept, but by the time they would arrive the fleets would be long gone. Caldwell turned her attention to another area in the datatank. Admiral Huffington had spread the 101st into a thin picket between the onrushing Narthian fleet and the drydocks. By now it was obvious what Huffington’s plans were. Either the Narthian fleet would have to slow down to destroy him, or they risked him attacking the slower ships in the fleet to the rear of their battle formation. From all appearances the Narthians were obliging, with several thousand ships of the first attack wave dropping speed to meet Huffington’s screen. Even against the decelerating ships of the first wave he was outnumbered nearly 8 to 1, making the outcome all but inevitable. The fate of the 101st Fleet had been determined the moment it was formed. At best, the fleet could buy another few precious moments for the ships still struggling to get out of Newport docks.