The Icarian legacy: Brave Souls

by Kocho

  Kerak looked at the strange ship. From the design it didn’t look like a military ship. It looked more like a scout ship or a passenger liner like some races used...The scans showed a small amount of armor plates and no shields.

  “I want you to do another sensor sweep of the system. See if there are any other ships in system”.

  It took several moments for the scan to be finished.

  “No other ships are present sir. It is alone.”

  “Strange.”

  “Perhaps it is a scout ship that was researching this system when we jumped in. It probably hid until the fleet transitioned through the warp point.”

  He looked at the centurion that said that. It sounded good and he shared that opinion.

  “Send two corvettes to capture it and bring it here. I want to examine it. Tell them that I want prisoners, and the ships data. I don’t care how they do it but they have to capture it without doing too much damage.”

  “Yes my lord.”

  The tribune saluted and gave the order.

  Two corvettes separated from the fleet and accelerated toward the strange ship.

  As the corvettes started heading towards them the crew of Intrepid watched with a shark like smile. So far everything was going according to plan.

  “The bastards are falling for it.”

  He turned toward the helm and the AI that appeared.

  This one was a male. It called itself Atar.

  “Indeed they are.”

  “Atar I want you to wait for another five minutes. I want them closer. Then accelerate. And use some strange language, some language from tribes back on Earth. Try to communicate.”

  The AI gave him a sarcastic smile.

  “Yes captain.”

  “You sure are fitting in to the role.”

  “Well if we have to play it better do it to the best of our abilities.”

  Five minutes later after Atar sent several attempts to communicate in several imagined languages combining words from languages spoken on Earth the Intrepid accelerated.

  As it did the two ships that were following it went to full power. They were faster and they were closing in.

  Jennings watched as the Intrepid accelerated and the pursuers did the same. The small fleet of ten ships was slowly moving toward Proxima. They started moving the moment the Intrepid launched but they were using a slingshot maneuver and not using the engines. It still gave them an astonishing speed.

  He looked at his crew. They were ready.

  “How much time before they reach the Intrepid. Twenty minutes Sir. They should be in firing range in fifteen.”

  “Go to full power in ten. Increase our speed slowly now at power levels that won’t be detectable.”

  “Yes sir.”

  The time passed slowly. All the time the intrepid was running form opposite directions the twenty seven military ships were silently springing their trap. The squadron of sixteen ships left the asteroid belt the moment the fleet transitioned through the warp point. They were moving slowly just using their maneuvering thrusters to gain speed at the start and then just drifting towards the warp point. It was nerve braking but they all just watched and waited for the trap to be fully sprigged. It didn’t take long.

  Ten minutes later Jennings watched as the two corvettes halved the distance to the Intrepid.

  “Go to full power…Now!!!”

  It took only a few seconds for the ships to go from silent running to full military power.

  Kerak was calmly watching the chase as his sensor operative jumped.

  He turned towards the surprised legionary.

  “What is it?”

  “My lord ten more ships just came on line in the shadow of the second planet.”

  “What kind of ships? Are they Scout ships like this one?”

  “No my lord, we are reading massive amounts of armor plates and power. They are military ships.”

  “Damn the gods. It was a trap.”

  “The ship we followed sent several hails on a strange language my lord.”

  Kerak knew that the legionary was right. The hails sounded strange but they obviously tried to communicate. They didn’t know that he didn’t have such intention. He looked at the display that showed the holographic image of the ships. They were military ships but they looked primitive and small. They were about the size of a light cruiser.

  “Inform captain Ahia that I want his group to go after them. Call Vosk and tell him to slow down and wait for reinforcements. They want battle let us see them what they can do.”

  His order was sent immediately. Moments later seventeen ships disconnected from the fleet and at full power raced to meet the ten ships that were heading towards the corvettes.

  The small fleet consisted of one battleship, one heavy and four light cruisers, three destroyers, four frigates and four corvettes. At the same time that they accelerated the two corvettes that were far ahead slowed down.

  “Sir seventeen ships just separated from the fleet. They took the bait.”

  Jennings looked at the screen. It was a powerful enough fleet but it wasn’t enough. He had to draw them out.

  “Yes but it seems that they are cautious. We need to draw them out.”

  He looked at his wife and at the others on the bridge. As he watched them he thought about his options. He knew that he could offer battle, but he needed some kind of edge, some way that will allow him to destroy this small fleet or damage it enough that it will draw the other ships out and allow for Elisabeth and her ships to close the trap. He knew that they were closing in.

  “How long do we have until we enter maximum firing range for the MAC canons?”

  “Two minutes Sir.”

  He looked at the positions of the enemy ships. The corvettes were far ahead of the other seventeen ships but the other group was closing in fast.

  “Open a link to the Intrepid.”

  “Yes Sir.”

  A moment later he heard Sanders voice.

  “Admiral…”

  “Eliot we need a different approach. We have to draw them out. All of them.”

  There was a small silence at the other side.

  “I know Sam. What do you want me to do? I can stop and attack the corvettes. I believe I have the fire power to destroy them.”

  Jennings considered his proposal for several moments. Then he shook his head.

  “No. you need to stay out of the fight for now. They still think you are not capable of military action. We need something else.”

  At that moment Linda joined the conversation.

  “Captain Sanders the Intrepid has nuclear warheads doesn’t it?”

  “Yes Captain. We have twenty warheads. They are our second offensive weapon.”

  “What is their power?”

  “Ten fifty megatons and ten twenty five…”

  “What are you thinking Linda?”

  She turned toward her husband. Jennings looked at her.

  “If we destroy the corvettes he can in the short time he has release those bombs on the path of the second fleet. That way we will have a second mine field. And when they reach it… The warheads should at least damage them and we can finish them. That will draw them out for sure.”

  Jennings smiled.

  “Yes that should work.”

  “Captain I want you to prep fifteen of those warheads and the moment we destroy the corvettes I want you to release them. And don’t stop come towards us. We will need you to open fire from some of your less powerful weapons to cover our firing.”

  “Yes sir. I will be ready, Intrepid signing out.”

  Sanders gave the order immediately after disconnecting. A minute later his crew was ready. He looked at the disposition of the enemy fleet. The seventeen ships were still fifteen minutes out the corvettes were closer.

  He turned towards the AI.

  “Atar I want you to fire several shots from the rear point defense systems and the Rail guns. Time it with MAC firing of the fleet.”
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  “Yes Captain.”

  The Ai just turned and watched the screen. It didn’t really have any need for it considering that it was tied in to all of the ships systems.

  All that was left now was to wait.

  Jennings looked at the display.

  “Do we have firing solutions?”

  “Yes sir. All ships report they have a lock.”

  He looked at the clock. When the timer hit zero he issued the order.

  “All ships fire. I repeat fire.”

  In just a second a salvo of tungsten projectiles launched from all ten ships. They were mixed sizes but they all moved at considerable speeds. And they were all greater than the rounds that shuttered the corvette and the frigate in the first battle.

  At the same time the fleet fired the MAC guns the Intrepid fired as well.

  It fired thirty rounds one after another from the rear rail guns fifteen at each of the two chasing ships.

  The two corvettes registered the firing immediately and tried taking evasive action. But as they did each one was came in the path of the MAC rounds.

  Vosk watched as his ship came under fire. The rounds were small rail gun rounds. He knew that they would deplete his shields but they posed no danger to either of the corvettes.

  “Reinforce the forward shields and take evasive action. And fire back.”

  Each corvette fired its plasma cannons at the running ship. The first order they had was not to destroy the ship so they fired weaker beams targeting none essential systems.

  As they fired the Intrepid registered the incoming fire immediately and activated its shields.

  “Sir the scout ships has shields. They activated them immediately after we fired.

  Vosk watched with surprise as the shields shrugged away the plasma beams.”

  “Fire the guns at full power. We are done playing games.”

  The same thought came to the mind of Kerak but it was already too late.

  The MAC rounds moved at speeds ranging from150 to 258 km per second. They crossed the distance between the fleet and the corvettes in seconds. The sensors on both ships registered the moments before they impacted.

  The shields were hammered by the huge kinetic release each projectile delivered. When they hit the corvettes simply evaporated.

  “My lord the corvettes were destroyed.”

  Kerak watched the destruction of two of his ships at the same time. He felt his blood boil. He felt that he made a mistake launching just two ships. As he watched he noticed that Ahia’s group was closing in. They would be in firing range in three arns. The ten ships were going to reach the ship they were chasing in four arns. He knew that the corvettes were destroyed by kinetic projectiles. His fleet had those weapons too but they were mostly used for point defense although they could be used for targeting more distant targets. They moved at great speeds three times faster than the projectiles the humans fired but they were small rounds ranging from several kilograms to several hundred kilograms. Compared with the tonnage of each MAC round that greater speed meant nothing.

  As he watched it was obvious that Ahia didn’t need his order. All ships fired hundreds of kinetic rounds at the incoming ships. At the speed they were moving it would take some time to reach their targets.

  But just as he started to ease in his chair and relax to watch the outcome he got his second surprise.

  Jennings watched as the alien fleet closed in on the Intrepid. They were just seconds away from the small mine field the Intrepid laid behind it.

  “All ships prepare to engage.”

  He didn’t need to give the fire order or the order to activate the shields or polarize the hull plating. They all knew what to do. The ships sensors registered the incoming rounds from the enemy fleet as soon as they fired. The point defense reacted immediately, traced the incoming rounds and fired back. Somewhere out in the distance in several moments everyone knew that small rounds will meet moving at great speed. As they thought that they could notice bright explosions in the distance just beyond the Intrepid as the point defense projectiles found their targets. The Aegis system that in effect controlled the point defense system could easily track any incoming rounds and it fired thousands of rounds at the incoming projectiles. And it fired continuously preventing any incoming fire.

  As Kerak watched the unfolding battle he was beginning to be impressed by the defensive network of the enemy ships. They were using primitive weapons but they were using them well. He knew that he is in for a good fight and his interest for the enemy increased with every passing moment.

  The enemy ships had shielding and it was activated several arns before. His further attempts to try to scan them were being blocked as the ships launched counter measures.

  The fleets were almost in to firing range.

  As Ahia was preparing to give the fire order suddenly the alarms sounded.

  “What is it?”

  “Radiological signals detected my lord.”

  He jumped from his seat. He knew that the shields of his ships could deflect the power but that was going for the battleships the cruisers and the destroyers. And even then it depended on the yield of the weapon.

  “What!!! Where…?”

  The centurion turned and with a look that foretold disaster just answered.

  “All around us Sir, we are reading fifteen weapons.”

  Before he could finish his sentence the battleship rocked hard.

  In space a nuclear weapon doesn’t have the same power and effect as it does in atmosphere or better said as it did on Earth…There is no secondary shockwave, except from the parts of debris that are caught in the initial explosion, that at that moment move at astonishing speeds.

  As the bombs read the unknown ships that entered their kill zone they activated immediately. Just seconds later all the outside observers could see was a sudden flash as the huge stored energy was released. There was no sound in space and nothing could be heard, but a lot could be seen.

  The battleship, two of the destroyers and two light cruisers found them self directly on top of several warheads. Not even the powerful shields they had could help them in that situation. As the warheads detonated they were literally cut in half. All their crews noticed were a powerful shaking and the brilliant hot white light as they were vaporized. The smaller corvettes and frigates never had any chance only one from each managed to survive thanks to the fact that they were on the far edges of the formation but they too didn’t go unscathed. Of the seventeen ships that were racing towards their opponents just seconds ago ten were totally destroyed and all the others suffered huge damages.

  And just as the bombs detonated the ten human ships fired. MAC rounds raced towards all ships in the fleet. When they got there they hit pieces of some and finished the remaining ships as the first salvo passed a second followed. In less than a minute where there were seventeen enemy ships just moments before now all that was left was debris, pieces of metal that were moving in to every direction.

  As the human crews cheered on the Dacarian ships only silence rained.

  Kerak was furious. Nineteen ships disappeared in just an arn. He was furious at himself. He underestimated his opponents and he paid a terrible price. It was strange that he even regretted his decision to go after that ship at all. But that thought stayed for just a second. Then he turned and gave the command.

  “I want three corvettes and one destroyer to stay with the carrier. All other ships move to engage. I want all fighters from the carrier and from the ships launched immediately. They will form our screen. One air wing will stay here as support for the carrier battle group.”

  His command was carried out immediately.

  The carrier had an air wing of four hundred seraphines. Two hundred more were on board the other ships. Thirty remained to keep a watch over the five ships that were staying behind. The rest went in front of the fleet.

  Thirty three ships went to meet the eleven ships.

  And in the meantime sixteen other
ships were silently closing in on the small group at the warp point. They still waited and watched as the battle unfolded. As the nineteen dacarian ships exploded, cheers of joy erupted on all ships.

  Even Elisabeth on board the Prince Royal felt like leaping with joy. But she remained calm. This was only the start. She was surprised by the explosion and wondered how Sanders managed it. However he did it, it was timed perfectly.

  “He must have used his load of warheads as mines. That means that he lost half his offensive fire power but it got a good result. It was brilliant. Just a little more time you bastards, just a little more time.”

  As she watched she noticed that Jennings squadron stopped. Jennings was waiting for the enemy to reach the second mine field. That was going to be harder considering the large screen of fighters that were moving ahead of the fleet that was moving to intercept him. She watched the report on the ships that remained.

  One battleship, one heavy cruiser, four light cruisers, three destroyers, four frigates and six corvettes were destroyed. Leaving the three corvettes and the destroyer that remained behind with the carrier meant that Jennings had three battleships, three heavy and six light cruisers, four destroyers, eight frigates and nine corvettes confronting him. He was outweighed both in tonnage and in firepower. But so far the result was astonishing and encouraging. He still didn’t suffer any loses and all of his ships were still in the fight, But as she watched the fleet moving in she knew that that will change.

  One light year away the Eden defense fleet also watched the results of the battle. They were at the edge of the system ready to jump in if needed. It was contrary to the orders he was given but admiral Peck discussed with the leaders of the colony and they all agreed that if Earth falls and if the Proxima fleet loses Eden will follow it.

  As he saw the opening shots in the battle and the destruction of third of the enemy ships he was pleased just as everyone else. He knew that by this time the battle in Sol was also probably started. He hoped that the news were as good there as they were here. He felt fear as he watched the large fleet that jumped in system and headed in to Sol, but after seeing the results of the nuclear warheads here he felt assured. The mine field around the warp point and earth was a thousand time stronger than the one here. If this caused such devastation then those ships were in for a hell of a surprise when they would exit the warp point.