Moments later, the Hocklyn fleet appeared just two million kilometers from the inhabited planet. Instantly, small ships shot out of the two war cruisers as six small fighters took up defensive positions around the fleet. The Oblivion’s sensors and scanners focused on the planet to see what lay ahead. Weapon ports opened and targeting systems were activated; it was the same on all of the Hocklyn ships as they prepared for battle.
“It is a mining operation,” First Leader Rahn reported as he finished studying the data on the scans. “There are two quite large mining operations on the surface of the planet.”
“What about those ships in orbit?” Sangeth demanded as his fleet edged into the planet’s gravity well.
“Two are of cruiser size and the other four are lights. They are being run through the data files now for possible identification. We will be in combat range in twenty minutes. Should we send a message to War Leader Bisth to join us?”
“Against six ships?” Sangeth spoke in a harsh voice. “No! This victory will be ours.”
“Very well,” Rahn replied with a nod. He was actually pleased with Sangeth’s response. Honor had been hard to achieve in recent years, and now here it was in front of them. More honor would be received if there were fewer to collect it.
“What about those satellites in orbit, there seem to be a large number of them? Surely a mining colony wouldn’t need that many weather and communication satellites?”
First Leader Rahn was quiet for a moment as he studied more data. “We are getting high power readings from those satellites; they may be some type of defensive system.”
“Task our long-range missiles with taking those satellites out first,” Sangeth ordered as a precaution. He wanted honor out of this battle, but he was no fool. The satellites, along with those six ships, could damage his fleet. He would destroy the defensive satellites with his long-range missiles and then attack the six warships, if they were warships. They could just be harmless freighters waiting in orbit for cargo.
First Leader Rahn suddenly turned toward War Leader Sangeth with shock on his face. His large eyes seemed to grow even wider. “We have an identity on those ships,” he reported in his rasping voice. “Those are Human Federation of World’s ships! The larger two are light cruisers and the four smaller ones are destroyers. We can expect weapons very similar to ours, including powerful lasers from the cruisers.”
“Human Federation of Worlds?” spat War Leader Sangeth disbelievingly, his cold eyes focusing on Rahn. “That’s impossible; the humans were wiped out centuries ago!”
“Nevertheless, that’s what the computer is saying,” responded Rahn. “Some of the humans must have escaped.”
“Get a message out to War Leader Bisth and report these findings immediately,” ordered Sangeth. “At least now we know who has been behind our recent exploration cruiser losses.”
Rahn turned to the communications operator and after a moment, turned back to Bisth with concern in his eyes. “Our FTL communications are being jammed.”
“Send one of our escorts back,” ordered Sangeth angrily, wondering if he had walked into a trap. “We must get word back to Bisth of what we have discovered. Honor must be served!” He wished now he had the rest of his fleet.
“It will take a few minutes for the escort cruiser to move back out of the planet’s gravity well.”
Bisth nodded and turned his attention back to the sensors. They were still closing on the planet and would be within combat range shortly.
“Have all ships tighten our formation and prepare to attack.”
-
Captain Krandle swore as she saw one of the Hocklyn escort cruisers suddenly vanish. She knew it had jumped out of the system, probably to report on what their fleet had discovered. There were four stealth scouts currently in the system that had initiated jamming as soon as the Hocklyn fleet had jumped near Caden’s World.
“The Hocklyns will know about us now,” she murmured quietly.
Simmons only nodded in agreement. It had always been a danger that the Hocklyns would send a ship back before their fleet could be destroyed. “The Hocklyns are nearly in range of the missile platforms, shall we launch?”
“Standby,” Captain Krandle ordered. She wanted to use her missiles before the Hocklyns could destroy them. “Make sure our launch is coordinated with the orbiting Federation ships.”
A few minutes later, she gave the order and ten missile platforms hidden amongst the other defensive satellites belched forth two hundred and forty Klave heavy missiles at the inbound Hocklyn fleet. The two light cruisers launched a dozen Devastator missiles tipped with nuclear warheads. It was hoped that these missiles would blend in with the Klave missiles and strike the Hocklyns a deadly blow.
-
Threat alarms began sounding in the War Room of the Crimson Oblivion. The Hocklyn command crew quickly went about assessing the inbound threat and activating their ship’s defenses.
“Launch our war wing!” Sangeth spoke as he studied the inbound missiles on the sensor screen. He knew his defenses would not be able to stop them all. There were just too many. “All ships are to launch their fighters; they are to target those satellites.”
“Some of those satellites are missile platforms,” Rahn hissed in anger. “They launched at extreme range.”
At that moment, additional red threat icons began to appear behind the Hocklyn fleet. With sudden dread, Sangeth knew that he had fallen into a well orchestrated trap. Those new icons were additional human warships and he was outnumbered as well as pinned inside the planet’s gravity well! He needed Bisth, but there was no way to summon him.
-
“Close on the Hocklyn fleet and stand by to engage,” Admiral Tolsen ordered as the WarHawk’s sensors cleared. He had already sent a message back to Fleet Command and knew that additional ships were being rushed to support him.
Tolsen noticed with worry that at least one of the red threat icons was very large, possibly a Hocklyn dreadnought. “What are we facing?”
“Sensors show one Hocklyn dreadnought, two war cruisers, and seven escort cruisers,” the sensor operator responded.
“Eight minutes until we reach extreme weapons range,” Colonel Beck reported from his plotting table. He was studying the holographic image floating above the table showing the Hocklyn fleet as well as all Federation ships.
“Order the defensive fleet above Caden’s World to maintain their position. They are tasked with taking out any missiles or fighters that approach the planet.” Tolsen didn’t want to risk any nukes striking one of the two mining settlements.
“Order the Liberty and Independence to launch their bomber strike. I want those energy weapons on the Hocklyn ships silenced before they can fire,” Tolsen ordered. He had discussed this strategy with Admiral Adler back on Ceres. “Also, order the destroyers to fall back to the carriers and given them additional support. Their primary job in this engagement is to protect those two battle carriers.”
Even as the destroyers were falling back, the carriers started launching. From the two battle carriers, 120 Anlon Space Superiority two-man bombers erupted from the large flight bays. Another 80 Talon fighters flew alongside them to protect the bombers from Hocklyn fighters.
-
“Knock those missiles down!” roared War Leader Sangeth. “I don’t want a single one to strike this ship!”
He looked with anger at the red threat icons rapidly closing with his fleet. His own interceptor missiles were launching and the defensive systems coming online.
“Interceptors launched, defensive systems locking on targets,” First Leader Rahn reported as missile after missile blasted out of the missile tubes of the Oblivion. “War wing has launched.”
Defensive railguns tracked the inbound missiles and began firing nonstop; the rest of the ships in the Hocklyn formation were doing the same thing. Space instantly became filled with exploding ordnance and missiles.
Around the Hocklyn fleet, space was suddenly
full of bright explosions as Captain Krandle’s missile strike slammed home. Hocklyn interceptor missiles and defensive fire managed to take out 192 of the inbound Klave missiles. The other missiles and eight of the tactical nukes slammed home against the Hocklyn shields in bright, fiery explosions. On several ships, the shields failed and missiles struck the unshielded hulls, blasting jagged rents and causing massive damage to the interior of the ships.
“Target those missile platforms and destroy them,” Sangeth ordered, trying to keep his anger under control as missiles ravaged his fleet. “Once we have launched, turn the fleet to face the incoming human ships. Order the war wing to break off their attack on the satellites and attack the human fighters instead.”
The Hocklyns fired off a barrage of missiles at the defensive satellites and missile platforms as their fleet began to turn. It was still immersed in explosions from exploding missiles. The war wing swept by as it raced to engage the inbound human fighters and bombers.
War Leader Sangeth felt the Oblivion shudder as two nuclear-tipped missiles hit the shields. Fortunately, the shields held, and there was minimal damage to the ship.
“Report!” he roared, knowing his fleet had been hurt. He had not expected such a massive missile barrage from the satellites.
“The cruiser Thunder has lost her shields and is reporting heavy damage, several other ships are reporting lighter damage but are still fully combat capable. There has been no damage to the war cruisers.”
It was at that moment that a brilliant flash covered the main viewscreen, attracting Sangeth’s attention. “What was that?”
“The Thunder activated her self-destructs,” explained Rahn, stone-faced. “They died with honor.”
“As it should be,” Sangeth replied, his eyes focusing on the sensor screens and the tactical situation. “Engage the humans!” His fleet was still inside the planet’s gravity well. The only way to safety was through the human fleet. While he was willing to die in battle to bring honor to his family, his orders were to preserve his fleet and return, But he just didn’t know if that was going to be possible. “All ships are to stay in fleet formation. We will try to blow throw them and get outside the planet’s gravity well, then jump back to War Leader Bisth’s fleet.”
“Honor is before us,” First Leader Rahn spoke as he moved to carry out the orders.
“Honor is before us,” agreed War Leader Sangeth, wishing he had his other ships.
The Crimson Oblivion accelerated toward the inbound human ships. All of its weapon’s ports were open and targeting systems were active. The two war cruisers took up positions on each side to add their heavy firepower to the flagship as the remaining escort cruisers moved into screening positions. Their orders were simple, blast their way through and jump out. Damaged ships would be left behind to self-destruct.
Behind them, explosive flashes began going off where the human defensive satellites waited. The Hocklyn missile barrage had slammed home, eliminating some of the satellites, particularly the ones the original missile strike had come from.
-
Captain Krandle watched with anguish as most of her missile platforms vanished from the sensor screens. She had hoped to save a few of the remaining missiles to hit the Hocklyns if they came any nearer to the planet and now that option was gone. Not only that, but over a dozen of the defensive laser satellites had also been destroyed.
“They hurt us,” Lieutenant Simmons spoke as he watched the screens.
“Yes, but the Fleet is here now. Admiral Tolsen will finish off these Hocklyns,” Krandle replied confidently, her eyes were glued to the sensor screen, which showed the friendly green icons of inbound Federation warships.
-
Admiral Tolsen watched tensely as his fleet’s fighters and the Hocklyn fighters made contact. Above the plotting table, he could see ship icons and missile trails depicted on the holographic display. Occasionally a missile would strike its target and an icon would vanish.
In space, the fighters were in a fierce dogfight. The Hocklyn ships had launched sixty-eight fighters against the eighty human ones. They swirled in a lethal dance of death. Missiles and cannon fire filled space as the two groups tried to kill each other. Fighters exploded in deadly balls of orange-red fire as their heavily shielded fuel tanks detonated from the impact of the deadly ordnance.
While the fighter battle raged, the Anlon bombers continued their attack run. Each one carried two small missiles to be used against the target as well as two larger Shrike missiles tipped with tactical nukes.
“Target range in thirty seconds,” the strike leader spoke to the attacking squadrons. “Begin evasive maneuvers and good luck. Once you have released your missiles, get back to the barn.”
-
War Leader Sangeth watched the attacking bombers with deep concern. From the records he had called up, he knew that these were a larger human attack craft that carried missiles. He couldn’t allow them to get close to his already damaged fleet. “Target those small craft and destroy them!” he ordered tersely. “I don’t want any of them to launch their missile payloads!”
“Coming into attack range now,” First Leader Rahn replied as he passed on the orders.
From the Hocklyn ships, numerous interceptor missiles blasted forth from their tubes, their targeting systems actively searching for and locking onto the inbound bombers. Energy beams also locked on and began firing. The bright blue energy beams struck first and when one struck a bomber, the craft simply disintegrated. The missile strike came next and more human bombers vanished in bright fiery explosions as they failed to outmaneuver the deadly Hocklyn missiles.
-
“Our bombers are having a bad time,” spoke Colonel Beck, wincing as several more Anlons vanished from the holographic display.
“But they are in range now,” Admiral Tolsen responded, trying to put the losses out of his mind. “See! They’re launching their missiles.”
On the main sensor screen as well as in the holographic image, over two hundred and twenty missile icons suddenly appeared rocketing rapidly toward their intended Hocklyn targets.
-
Major Archer was third in command of the bomber strike. The two senior officers had both been killed by Hocklyn missile fire and energy beams. It was extremely hard to focus with all the death and destruction surrounding them.
“Weapons released,” he spoke over the com to all of the remaining Anlon bombers in the squadrons. He took a deep breath. “Let’s get the hell out of here!”
His bomber swerved to avoid an inbound missile and his copilot launched additional counter measures. Archer knew they had made some major mistakes and taken some unnecessary losses on their attack run. Adjustments could be made in strategy for future battles but for now, he had to survive this one. He looked down at his sensor screen, seeing the Hocklyns had switched from attacking his bombers to trying to knock down the inbound missile strike. At least that should help allow the remaining bombers to get away.
-
War Leader Sangeth watched with consternation the inbound missiles nearing his ships. The human bombers had launched them from point blank range. Large numbers were being intercepted as bright flashes of light erupted near his fleet on the main viewscreen. Then nuclear fire washed over his ship’s screens as missile after missile slammed home. Some of the screens wavered, and missiles began to strike the armored hulls of the Hocklyn ships.
The Crimson Oblivion shook and her screens wavered as several powerful blasts rattled the ship. A few red lights appeared on the damage control board, but for the most part the powerful dreadnought had come through the missile attack relatively unharmed.
“Escort cruiser Brantif has lost her FTL drive, it is not repairable,” First Leader Rahn reported as the damage reports started to come in. “Most of the human weapons are targeting our weapon systems. The War Cruiser Delpin has lost her energy cannons, a human nuclear missile took them out. About ten percent of their missiles are making it through ou
r screens, and they are all targeting weapon systems or the FTL drives of our ships.”
“Clever strategy,” spoke Sangeth, grudgingly. “They are trying to cripple us.” These humans were deadly adversaries, they were worthy of honor. Even as he watched the sensor screens, he saw that his fleet’s weapons were now in range of the inbound human fleet. “Lock onto their ships, and fire!”
-
Admiral Tolsen felt the WarHawk shudder violently as a Hocklyn missile managed to penetrate the energy screen. Half a dozen red lights sudden glared on the damage control board.
“We have fires in sections thirty-two and forty-one,” Colonel Beck reported as he dispatched damage control teams. “A Hocklyn nuke blasted a hole in our energy screen, and we took a hit from one of their heavy missiles. We’re lucky it wasn’t a nuke or the damage would be worse.”
“Hit them with our power beams,” Tolsen ordered firmly as he watched the developing situation on the holographic tactical image. “They are trying to blast their way through our formation and escape.” This was a surprise. From what Tolsen had studied of the first war, Hocklyn ships normally fought to the death.
Dark violet beams of energy erupted from the WarHawk, striking one of the war cruisers. Its screens wavered and then went down. The powerful beams struck the unprotected armor of the hull, vaporizing it as the beam cut deeply into the ship setting off secondary explosions. Then the war cruiser’s energy screen stabilized, stopping the beam.
The Hocklyns own energy beams were not idle. Blue beam after blue beam shot out to strike the human ships. Missiles and heavy railgun fire raked the screens with fierce explosions. Occasionally a nuke would go off causing a screen to waver, allowing missiles or railgun rounds to penetrate.
“Light cruiser Crucible is down,” Lieutenant Jarvis Anders reported from his sensor console. “She took a number of heavy nukes to her shields, causing them to collapse.”
“Monarch cruiser Minotaur is reporting heavy damage,” Colonel Beck added worriedly. “She is engaging one of the war cruisers.”
The Slaver Wars: First Strike (The Slaver Wars Book Four) Page 9