Star Crusader: Siege of Kalar

by Thomas, Michael G.

  “Captain. The Helios Battlegroup in now intermixed with our own forces, and is adjusting course to match your defensive profile. Their auxiliary ships are to the rear, and with their fleet defence systems activated.”

  “Good work, dammed good work!”

  “Sir!”

  Captain Galanos wasn’t sure who was talking as half of her officers looked over to the view of the Rift. More ships broke through, and this time there were three columns of warships, and all of them heading right at her.

  “Destroyers move ahead and put down flak corridors. Heavy cruisers form up in a wide line alongside Promethium, and give them hell. All fighters deploy to the flanks and provide ordnance defence.”

  It was a simple set of orders, and the captains responded instantly. The smaller Liberty Class destroyers shifted ahead like an infantry skirmish line and began firing their guns. Missiles streaked out, hitting ships, fighters, and even other missiles. The ships were incapable of stopping a concerted assault, but they did whittle down the numbers, ensuring that what passed them by was badly damage by the attempt.

  “Sir. Cruiser squadrons are engaging the second wave.”

  “Show me.”

  The Star Empire warships and civilian escorts faced off against half their number of Crusader heavy cruisers. These Alliance ships were the finest produced for front-line service in the last forty years, demonstrating their combat prowess with multiple staggered volleys from their forward particle beam arrays. In the void of space there was little to see as the guns fired, but the impact against their targets was devastating. Entire sections of hulls ripped apart, leaving the Crusaders in complete command of the war front. Commander Harper turned and pointed to the Warbarge in its position out to the front.

  “Captain, we’ve blunted the first wave. Promethium is under heavy fire. I recommend we move our ships ahead of the Warbarge. We can buy her some time.”

  “Negative. Promethium is doing exactly what she was built for.”

  Her confidence returned as her force spread out in a powerful staggered line. She could see the fighters spreading out, laying down heavy suppressive fire with missiles, and then hurtling off to engage the enemy.

  “Yes…we have a chance.”

  She turned her attention to the growing number of ships at the Rift entrance. There were more than she could ever have imagined, but they’d drilled, even for this. Without having to think, she opened up the vanguard-wide channel.

  “Good work so far. We do not need to defeat their fleet. We merely need to harm them enough that they withdraw. Concentrate fire on the nearest two ships only. Destroy them, and then move to the next pair in the queue.”

  Commander Harper seemed surprised to hear that.

  “Just like the Biomechs?”

  “Indeed. A damaged ship is a dangerous ship. Better to remove a dozen from play than to damage twice that number. We learnt that the hard way, back in the big one.”

  “Captain.”

  Her XO moved away to continue issuing commands, leaving Galanos to watch the continuing battle. Her officers did a good job, and for the next few minutes there was relatively little for her to do. Her CAG handled all fighter operations, and Commander Harper did an admirable job in running the individual combat stations. That gave her time to check on the overall situation. It was a strange battle, with a vast horde on one side, and an orderly staggered line on the other. Nonetheless, the Alliance ships put down an incredible amount of fire, and she visibly shuddered when three enemy ships were savagery reduced to molten ruin.

  “Two more gone, and two are little more than hulks,” said Commander Harper from the other side of the command deck.

  “Good, very good.”

  She looked to the nervous faces of her crew.

  “Keep at it, we are approaching the turning point.”

  They were surprised to see that, and even her XO look unsure.

  “Sir, there are still more coming through.”

  “Yes, but look.”

  She pointed to the centre of the enemy line, right where her vanguard had concentrated its fire. There were now nine ships shattered at the centre, but those around the middle were changing course, with some racing away towards Churchill. Those able to turn in time headed back to the Rift, and directly into the reserves.

  “What did I tell you? These people are no true warriors. They are brave, but poorly disciplined.” She licked her lips, “I tell you now. Today will not be won by weight of numbers. It will be determined by discipline. And my friends, we have that in spades!”

  “Captain!” the tactical officer yelled, “Two of their cruisers have breached the line, and they’re heading past us. No…they are coming for us. They will be in our line in four minutes.”

  Commander Harper moved back alongside Galanos.

  “Sir, should I change our course? We can move back between two of the destroyers.”

  At that very moment, she observed the first major losses of the day. ANS Cardiff, one of the newest of the Liberty Class destroyers found herself targeted by more than thirty fighters. Their combined gunfire and missile fire finally destroyed her forward sections, leaving the remainder of the ship to twist and spin out of control. Explosions wracked her hull, spreading debris around her crippled body.

  “Contact was ANS Torture. Captain Mendoza suggests we withdraw five thousand kilometres and regroup. He says he cannot hold back the assault indefinitely.”

  “What?” Captain Galanos snapped back.

  She double-checked the tactical display and the two narrow lines of ships. Hers had been breached in three places, but those now had to deal with Churchill, and her own array of elite and experienced ships. Any other ship’s captain might have panicked at this news, but not Galanos. Then she noticed the pair of Helion cruisers rotate and move back from the battle line. One of the Crusaders followed suit before Commander Harper reached them and forced them back into the line.

  “Captain. They are getting nervous. Once the enemy hits our line, we will be unable to fall back safely.”

  She tapped her communications system, and Admiral Churchill moved from a secondary display to her primary one.

  “Admiral, my line is holding for now, but I am under heavy pressure. Captain Mendoza wants to fall back to your line.”

  “You disagree?”

  Galanos took a short breath and then nodded.

  “Yes, give me ten more minutes. They are close to breaking. I can feel it.”

  “Very well. I will send in a destroyer squadron from my reserve to assist you. Keep the firing corridors clear. My battlegroup can continue to provide long-range gunnery from this far back.”

  “Yes, Admiral.”

  As she moved back to the single large display, she could see the broken wave of twenty-two warships and eight civilian ships accelerating away from the horde, and directly into her own line.

  “This is it. All ships prepare for close-range engagements. Take them in pairs. Good hunting.”

  Any semblance of a planned battle went out of the window as the vanguard split into ten pairs of ships. Like fighters with their wingmen, the ships jostled for position as the wave crashed into them. Long-range gunnery from Admiral Churchill’s flagship hammered into the enemy, but most made it close enough to engage the Alliance ships. At this range, it was harder to stop guns and missiles from hitting their targets. The Alliance destroyers did their best to beat off the attacks, while the Crusaders used their heavy guns and particle beam projectors to cut ships in half. Not even Relentless was safe, and she faced off against a cruiser as two more cruisers pinned down her partner destroyer.

  “Bring us about. Concentrate all guns and turrets on the cruiser.”

  The two hundred and eighty metre-long warship moved about on its axis, and then faced off against the enemy vessel. Relentless might be a carrier, but her technical designation was an armoured assault ship, and she was built when armour had been seen as a priority. Her forward sections were even to
ugher than a Crusader, and she carried similar forward batteries to the much older cruisers long phased out of use.

  “Fire!”

  The two batteries of main guns opened fire, sending solid slugs as well as Sanlav canister rounds into the approaching cruiser. The heavy shells tore deep into the target, while the Sanlav rounds expanded and then showered the cruiser with smaller sections. Of less impact were the scores of small turrets usually reserved for point defence duties. Galanos was all for changing the rules as the battle reached the decisive moment.

  “All turrets lock on the cruiser, and hit her with everything we have.”

  The tactical officer sent the commands, and in less than two seconds, the turrets spun about, adding their own fire to the main guns. Even as the Star Empire cruiser moved up and over Relentless, they continued to fire. Though smaller in calibre, they were still able to put thousand of rounds into the target.

  “Sir, what about ordnance defence?” Commander Harper asked.

  Galanos nearly laughed.

  “Relentless can take it, trust me.”

  For another two minutes the two ships exchanged fire, the Star Empire vessel doing its best to outmanoeuvre the much heavier Relentless. Finally, after a series of complex rotations, Relentless found herself underneath the cruiser and moving up towards her underside.

  “Focus on the neck, the thinnest part. Fire everything we have!”

  “But, Sir, we cannot stay on this course without…”

  She glared back at her XO.

  “Do it! Either she breaks, or we do it for her. Boost the engines!”

  Every gun capable of firing opened up at the centre of the Star Empire ship. Its engines must have been damaged, because it was unable to get out of danger before the distance dropped to five hundred metres.

  “Captain, we’re on a collision course!” said the helmsman.

  “Good! Keep firing, and put us in the middle of that ship!”

  She grabbed the intercom unit from above her head.

  “This is the Captain. Brace for impact.”

  The gunfire lashed back and forth, followed by dozens of explosions. There was no turning back now, and Relentless smashed into the crippled ship, directly in the middle of the already shattered central hull. The impact shook the ship violently, but they didn’t stop, much to Captain Galanos’ relief. The weaker Star Empire ship had no chance and split apart, allowing Relentless to barrage through. The Alliance vessel emerged on the other side, her bow and upper deck awash with debris and smoking wreckage. Harper shook his head as he checked the damage reports.

  “No major damage, though we’ve weakened the dorsal plates, and there are minor breaches in the forward armour.”

  “Like I said, the old girl can take it. Now, how is our line holding up?”

  “So far, so good. We’ve beaten them back, and their initial assault against Promethium has been forced away. Some of the damaged ships are making for the reserve line.”

  Galanos shrugged.

  “That’s fine. Churchill will deal with those stragglers. The question is, can we hold?”

  He hesitated before answering her.

  “The line is broken, and we’ve taken heavy damage, but look.”

  He pointed to the central vertical screen. The other officers moved about it, but the key feature was the enemy formation. The entire front was broken and twisted about, with ships scattered in all directions. Some raced away, while even more followed their earlier comrades, and ran back into their own reserves.

  “I…I think we might have done it.”

  They watched in utter disbelief as the scattered Star Empire forces fell back to the growing number of ships based around the Red Star grand cruiser. Many trailed sparks and debris. Alliance fighter squadrons, including those from Relentless, continued to harass them before finally turning back to rejoin the vanguard.

  “Incredible,” said Galanos, “It isn’t done yet, though. Check on stations and prepare for what comes next. We need to finish this today.”

  “Finish this?”

  “Yes, Harper. Get me the Admiral. I think it’s time to issue a general advance.”

  She moved her hand to the intercom and then stopped. The icons for the enemy ships were changing.

  “Wait…what’s happening?”

  Up until now the entire enemy formation had been a massive, confused mess. But now they were moving into a staggered line, much like hers, except they had triple the numbers. They moved and then stopped, facing off against Galanos’ much smaller force.

  “Contact!” said the tactical officer; “We have missiles and torpedoes on the way.”

  He didn’t need to say it, though. Captain Galanos and the others could already see it. Hundreds of missiles, and they streamed towards them like clouds of flies. Then came the gunfire. Thousands of shells hurled across the void. Promethium took the first hits, and then every ship in the vanguard started to take fire. All opened fire with their point defence weapons, while the fighters swarmed out to intercept as many missiles as they could.

  “I don’t like this. Open fire with everything we have!”

  The Alliance ships used every weapon at their disposal, but for every shot they fired, ten came their way. A corvette vanished in a blinding light, and then to everybody’s amazement, a trio of Alliance and Helion ships tore apart under the continuous and relenting gunfire. Captain Galanos watched speechless as the two sides exchanged barrages for minute after minute. The three vessels held thousands of crew on board, and even if they were lucky, the majority would perish in the unceasing number of explosions. Then more alerts sounded as the entire enemy force advanced away from the Rift and towards her line, scores of ships, all firing non-stop. Galanos looked to the image of Admiral Churchill. He looked just as stunned as she did.

  “Admiral. I’ve done as much as I can, but they just keep on coming. They are hitting us with everything they have, and my ships are taking damage. My line will be overwhelmed in the next few minutes. I need your help, or we’ll lose a dozen more ships in the next hour.”

  The Admiral appeared frozen, and that surprised her more than it should have. He hesitated for several seconds, finally saying what she needed to hear.

  “Captain. Issue a fighting withdrawal to all local forces. Pull your fighters back, and retire behind my heavies. We’re ready to provide close-up cover.”

  “Admiral?”

  He shook his head.

  “I will not lose the fleet, not here. Fall back to our last line of defence at the Helios Rift.”

  Then came something none of them expected to see. Flash after flash appeared in front of the enemy formation, each quickly coalescing into the shape of a heavily armoured warship.

  “New contacts!”

  Captain Galanos snarled as she watched the new ships moving in ahead. She recognised the bulbous bow and reddish coloured hulls immediately. They were the advanced Star Empire warships, and their golden trim confirmed they were the personal guard of the Princeps himself. She swallowed uncomfortably as they spread out in a wide v formation, but there was a large gap at the centre.

  “Uh…why have…”

  Her question was answered as the massive form of a Leviathan Class ship moved in. It was truly colossal, and at the centre a large spherical section pulsed and crackled like an active Rift.

  “What is that?”

  “Unknown vessel, Sir. Length and mass confirm it is of Leviathan Class. Something is powering up in the centre of its hull.”

  The man then turned to Captain Galanos.

  “Sir…I think they are opening up a Rift, right here, in the middle of our fleet.”

  “What?”

  She looked back. The sphere was glowing brighter and brighter. Without giving it a moment’s thought, she grabbed her intercom.

  “All ships break formation now. Break!”

  It was too late.

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  Alliance Assault Carrier ‘ANS Indomitable’<
br />
  Approaching Fiorr Veej System, Deadlands

  January 19th 2473

  Nate kept his eyes closed as he waited for the relocation to complete. Normally, they would wait inside the armoured confines of the ship. This time the crew were making sure every single one of them would be ready for the battle. When he opened his eyes, he could see space.

  “Wow. That is…weird.”

  He leaned forward and down to the nose of the Phantom. Below them was the vast hull of the Alliance warship, with nothing more than the magclamps on the fighter to hold them to the outer hull.

  “You’ve not gone into combat like this before?” Valdis asked.

  Nate shook his head.

  “Nope. It feels wrong.”

  More shapes appeared nearby, and his eyes opened wide as Hawkmoths drifted nearby the hull of the warship. They were not even attached, yet continued to move forward with the ship.

  “All this because of the bubble. Crazy.”

  Valdis laughed at his astonishment.

  “Just be ready, Nate. You saw the reports.”

  Nate nodded and checked the countdown clock. It was the simple marker that told him how long until they reached the fighting at Fiorr Veej. He felt a sickness in his stomach; the nerves and the fear were coming back. They should have arrived hours ago, but due to three separate breakdowns, they were now massively overdue.

  “What about the other ships? Do you think Victorious made it?”

  Valdis shrugged. She knew the question was not really about the ship, but the people inside. Commander Higgins had left them, as well as the General Honorius, Spartan, and Colonel Gun.