by John Carr
Diettinger went cold. Of course. They wouldn’t. In that instant, the entire character of the war changed for him. As a Sauron, a Soldier by breeding, training and perspective, he had seen the war as a conflict between industrialized nations, an inescapable result of the dynamics of evolution. The Empire was in the way of Sauron’s advancement; Sauron represented the next step in human evolution, therefore the Empire must go.
That the Empire would resist going was axiomatic. But that it would do so suicidally had been an extremely low-probability consideration. Or so Sauron military philosophy had proposed.
But they are wrong, he suddenly realized, and unthinking his hand stole to the wound that had claimed his eye.
It is not, as Sauron philosophy has supposed, simply a war of evolutionary imperatives, not to the Imperials. To them it is a war of extermination.
“Stand by, Fifth Rank Boyle. Signal the crew to initiate evacuation procedures.” A Fifth Ranker! “And try to find some officer of command rank.”
“First Rank, the ‘Nevsky is in range of the Leviathan. She is firing now.”
“Make for the Leviathan, use maximum acceleration incorporating gravitational enhancement. All batteries and Canada to fire on the ‘Nevsky’ ” He considered the wording of his next order. “Communications. Signal all commanders. No break-off. Continue to fire on all enemy forces until destroyed.”
“Standard pursuit options, First Rank?”
Diettinger shook his head. “Pursuit options unnecessary. The enemy will not attempt to disengage.”
Ever again, he thought. But perhaps he could change their minds; today, at least.
“Weapons. Prepare the following modifications to the Canada”
Eight
I
Commander Sakai, Kellogg’s FleetOps Officer, felt he was becoming a part of his console. “Admiral, the Fomoria and the Canada are closing with us, bearing one-five-zero, our heading, thrust of five-Gs.”
Kellogg was staring at the combat holo. The Aleksandr Nevsky’s Captain Harbour was carrying out his orders to the letter. The Aleksandr Nevsky poured destruction into the Leviathan, burning through her Field again and again. Washington had bought them all a chance with her sacrifice of herself and the New Chicago; those sacrifices were not to be in vain.
“Who’s on station there?”
“Heavy cruisers Montpelier and Vladivostok, Admiral, with a destroyer screen of seven Chinthes”
Kellogg grunted. “Hmm. Not much against the Fomoria and a captured battle cruiser. Tell them to engage and hold the Saurons until we’ve finished off the Leviathan”
The FleetOps officer complied, then stared at his screen, confused. “Admiral, I have the Canada making seven-Gs and still accelerating.”
“Saurons can stand more than nine-Gs of acceleration, Commander,” Kellogg informed him, mesmerized by the sight of the Leviathan’s death throes.
“Yes, Admiral, but.. .Admiral, the Canada is at nine-Gs now, and still accelerating. The Akksandr Nevsky’s gunnery officer is saying she has locked all weapons onto us.”
“Our shields will hold, Commander,” Kellogg remained cool. Canada’s purloined torpedoes would be impossible to evade when launched at that speed, and most would probably get through their Field. But ‘Nevsky was unwounded as of yet, and Kellogg would not lose the chance to destroy the Leviathan.”Unless you’re afraid they are going to ram us?” he added dryly. At 9-Gs, the Canada could not hope to correct for any evasive maneuver taken by the ‘Nevsky.
He went back to watching the holo. Every part of him was directed toward destroying the Saurons; the mission that required Tanith’s troops long forgotten.
“Admiral - ”
“What the devil is it now, Commander?”
“The Canada, sir; she’s reversed heading and firing full thrust - she’s maneuvering like a fighter!”
At that, Kellogg did turn away from the holo and the death throes of the mortally wounded Leviathan. Eighteen-Gs aboard the Canada would flatten any living thing, Sauron or not.”What’s happened to her weapon lock-ons?”
“Holding, Admiral, but her Field is going into the violet and she’s still closing!”
“Who the bloody hell is firing on her?”
“Montpelier and Vladivostok report scoring hits, Admiral. But not enough for that”
Kellogg’s survival instinct overrode all bloodlust and most of his training. She’s firing into her own Field! “Cease fire on the Leviathan, signal all ships in the vicinity to breakoff and take evasive maneuvers.”
FleetOps Officer Sakai had patched in to all the commanding officers of Task Force Aleksandr Nevsky; he was about to pass on the Admiral’s commands when he died.
Canada’s last attack was a marvel of coordination possible only for a suicidal crew... or a very good remote controller. Converted by Weapons’ expertise into a forty thousand ton missile, Canada’s Field opened, and every intact torpedo port launched on the Aleksandr Nevsky, As Kellogg had guessed, Canada’s lasers had been directed against the inside of her own Field, the stored energy then augmented by scuttle charges, and the Field capacitors themselves disengaged.
Canada’s Field collapsed while she was only three kilometers from the Aleksandr Nevsky, even as her torpedoes drove the Imperial flagship’s Field up thorough the spectrum to blue-green. The released energy from Canada’s resulting immolation proved more than the ‘Nevksy could take.
Aboard the King George V, Adderly watched the destruction of the Aleksandr Nevsky in mute horror. When he regained his voice, it was to answer his commo officer’s announcement of multiple signals coming through.
“Hold them, commo; get me senior commander of the other battleships, first, whoever that is.”
Jesus! The ‘Nevsky gone; eighty thousand tonnes of battleship - just gone...
“Captain Adderly,” the commo officer almost whispered. “The other bridges say that Captain Lester of the KGV was senior commander after Admiral Kellogg and Captain Harbour - sir, they all want to speak to you”
He suddenly found it difficult to breathe.
Sweet Jesus...
II
Rescue of the Leviathan’s survivors was simplified by the breakoff of the Imperial Fleet. The Communications Fifth Ranker who had contacted Fomoria had, indeed, managed to find someone of Command Rank. The Occupation Breedmasters aboard Leviathan had demanded priority for the fertilized Sauron ova they had brought for the subjugation of Tanith, In Sauron society, Breedmaster carried more influence than ancient Spain’s Inquisitor General of the Inquisition, so the first thing that came aboard Fomoria were seventy suitcase-sized environment boxes, all that had survived of the one hundred that had been sealed away safely at the center of the Leviathan.
The Breedmasters complained that less than half might still be viable, but Diettinger ignored them. There were more important things to consider; the Sauron First Fleet had arrived.
“Congratulations, Diettinger,” Fleet First Rank Morgenthau spoke from the bridge of the fleet battleship Sauron. Pleased at the status report on the spaceport and the damage inflicted on the Imperial Fleet, Morgenthau was less enthusiastic over the use to which Diettinger had put the Canada.
The Fleet First Rank was from the same crèche as Fighter Rank Severin, Diettinger noted, though of a higher caste. Young, but bred specifically for the job of Fleet Commander.”It was an older design, Fleet First Rank. Little could have been learned from her that we did not already know.”
Morgenthau appeared about to comment, then stopped.”Well done,” he said, finally. “We will isolate the remainder of the Imperials from the Alderson Points and hunt them down before leaving. The Damaris will escort you there now and accompany you back to Sauron.”
“We are still carrying several hundred crew from the Leviathan, along with the Occupation Breedmasters and their stores and equipment.”
“Immaterial. The Leviathan crew should be returned to Sauron for treatment and reassignment. The Occupation Breedma
sters as well; we have more than enough of them here with the First Fleet.”
“Fleet First Rank, I request permission to stay in the Tanith sector and aid in the hunt for the Imperials. I feel I have gained a particular insight into their nature.”
“Request denied. The borloi is required immediately on Sauron.”
“We could transfer the borloi to another ship - ”
“Do I have to repeat my orders?” Something flickered across Morgenthau’s face.”There have been . . severe reverses . .elsewhere, First Rank Diettinger.”
Can that be why he reacted as he did to the loss of the Canada? Diettinger asked himself. Are we reduced to using the enemy’s captured ships now, as well as their captured females?
“Understood. Then may I call special attention to the portion of my report that deals with two Chinthes which may have escaped early in the battle - ”
“Duly noted.”
“Fleet First Rank, I stress the danger of reinforcement which those ships present to the - ”
“That danger has been assessed, Diettinger. Rendezvous with Damaris and return to Sauron.”
Disciplinary action among Saurons was rarely needed, and thus, so rarely encountered that Morgenthau’s calm reiteration of Diettinger’s orders was almost the equivalent of a physical blow.
Diettinger replied with a stoic acknowledgement and broke the connection.
“Make for the Alderson Point, Second Rank. Coordinate with Damaris for simultaneous Jump sequences to Sauron.”
II
Adderly watched the combat holo with growing hopelessness. The glowing sphere with its ships and navigational aid had filled his vision for the last T-week, undergoing a bizarre apotheosis as it did so. From cold mechanical simulation it had become mildly hypnotic, and it seemed now to be Tanith, and the space surrounding it and the ships that lived and died there. This was reality for Adderly and his bridge crew; not the smell of burned metal, the sight of burned flesh, or the wreckage that had been filling Tanith space on an almost daily basis since the Saurons had first arrived.
Now over two hundred vessels surrounded Tanith, Sauron ships of every size and function. Messages from Tanith had continued, but the troops there had retreated from the spaceport. They had no hope of recapturing it now.
By seniority of commission, Adderly was now Commander in Chief of the Eleventh Imperial Fleet. The survivors of Kellogg’s force, from destroyer on up to the King George V herself numbered less than fifty. The original mission, to pickup Taniths garrison for use in revolt suppression at New Hibernia, was forgotten. Instead, hopelessly outnumbered, the Fleet had fallen back to the asteroid belt. The same belt, where less than two weeks ago, they had hunted the Fomoria and her prize. Now, they were tending to their own wounds and praying for a miracle.
The Sauron Fleet had invested Tanith with saturation bombardment for the past seventy-two hours. The city’s Field could not hold out indefinitely, nor could her troops hold off against the planetside forces the Saurons had deployed.
With a deep sigh, Adderly turned his gaze back to the holo. As he watched, two of the lights representing the Sauron Fleet detached themselves, heading for the nearest Alderson Point.
“Jimmy, can you give me an ID on those ships?”
“One’s the Damaris, sir. Sauron heavy battleship. Huge drives, their IR signature alone is enough to give her away.” The First Officer’s face screwed up in concentration, then eerily smoothed out to match the lack of emotion in his voice.”The other ship is the Fomoria, Captain.” He said quietly.
Why were they leaving? Could it be that Diettinger’s cock-and-bull story about the borloi had been true all along? Adderly realized suddenly that he didn’t care. He felt a weight drop from his shoulders, and at that moment he knew what had happened.
Relieved, he thought. Diettinger’s been relieved. And despite the irrationality of the thought, despite the fact that he knew it was irrational, he found himself feeling like a man who dreamed he’d died, only to awaken safe in his own bed.
Vessel First Rank Diettinger, the only Sauron who had never lost a naval engagement which he commanded, was leaving. At that moment, Adderly didn’t know if he’d gone crazy or not, nor did he care. The idea bubbled up in him like a suppressed laugh in a graveyard, shocking, liquid, bright. It was past his lips before he knew it.
“We can’t lose!”
First Mate blinked reddened eyes.”Sir?”
Adderly passed a hand over his face, stubble and all. Small wonder, he had been living on the bridge for the past two days. He laughed.
First Mate, now the Fleet Operations Officer, relayed the commands to Adderly’s new subordinates.
“Captain Adderly, they want to know the battle plan for the intercept.”
“Plan? No plan, Jimmy. No plan at all.”
“First Rank, I show multiple drives activation in the asteroid belt, bearing zero-niner-zero our heading.”
“Good. Fleet First Rank Morgenthau knows where to find the Imperials. Accelerate to seven-Gs and plot the Jump.”
Navigation looked up in horror. The Alderson Points that began and ended tramlines between stars were by no means large; standard procedure called for them to be entered at less than a tenth of a G, since finding them was hardly an exact science. Diettinger’s order could just as easily carry them so far past the Point that there would be weeks wasted in realigning for the Jump. Still, Navigation did the best he could.
“We’ll never catch them, Captain Adderly.”
Adderly watched the combat holo. Fully half the Sauron combined Fleet had left Tanith orbit and was bearing down on Adderly’s force.”I don’t care if we do, Jimmy. The Fomoria and Damaris are heading for the closest Alderson Point. At their speed, they’ll likely miss it. We, however, will not.”
“Sir? We’re leaving?”
Adderly’s look would have dropped snow on Tanith. “You haven’t heard me order a general retreat, have you? Now get back to your post, mister.”
III
“Status on mines at the Point?” Diettinger asked.
Second Rank checked her screen a second time before answering. “Unchanged, First Rank.”
“Unchanged? The First Fleet didn’t renew the seeding left by the Second?”
“First Rank, the Second Fleet evidently left no new minefield.”
Diettinger was losing his temper, as rare an event as one could hope for. “Get me the monitor at the Alderson Point. Navigation, status on the Jump plot?”
“Complete, First Rank. Comment.”
“Speak.”
“At seven-Gs acceleration, we and the Damaris have less than a fifteen percent chance of accurately entering the Alderson Point when activating our Jump Drives.”
“Thank you, Navigation.”
“Enemy ships, First Rank.” Second cut-in, stumbling over the words. “First Rank, I have massive readings of enemy ships at the Point; there are...” Her voice faded.
Diettinger turned his acceleration couch enough to see numerous figures marching up her console screen.
“Estimate, Second Rank?”
“Approximately two hundred and fifty to three hundred enemy ships, First Rank.”
“Signal Morgenthau aboard the Sauron”
The return was agonizingly slow in coming.”What is it, Diettinger?”
“A massive enemy reinforcement flotilla has - ”
“We are aware, First Rank. And will deal with the threat. All the required information is being coordinated now.”
“Morgenthau, there are almost three hundred Imperials coming in and you didn’t even mine the Jump Point!”
Incredibly, Morgenthau smiled.”Our combined Fleet is statistically capable of inflicting break off losses on twice that number, Vessel First Rank. Mining the Alderson Point would only have left the Imperials more prepared.”
“Statistics? You inbred fool, don’t you understand? Didn’t the destruction of the Leviathan teach you anything? There won’t be a break-of
f! It took sacrificing the prize ship Canada to win the last one, and it will be the last one. The Imperials will press the attack beyond all rational military considerations; they will destroy themselves to destroy the Combined Fleet. And you’ve just divided your forces!”
Diettinger s rage had him leaning out of his acceleration couch against seven gravities, cords stood out on his neck and the wound beneath his bandages had opened. Blood soaked the dressing, streaking down his jaw in the artificial gravity to splash audibly against the floor.
Fleet First Rank Morgenthau’s face went blank. “You have your orders, Diettinger. Evade the enemy fleet and return to Sauron with the Damaris.”
Diettinger didn’t ask Second Rank for an update on the enemy fleet; the look on her face told him all he needed to know.
“Alderson Point in two minutes, First Rank.” Navigation usually gave the warning time in seconds, but at seven-Gs, minutes seemed more prudent.
“Evasive action, First Rank?”
“None. We’ll be at the Point before they recover from Jump Lag. Status on Damaris?”
“Matching velocity and heading with us.”
“Jump coordinates coinciding?”
“Affirmative.”
Diettinger sat back. One minute and forty-five seconds to go. “Weapons. Set wide pattern mine release at thirty seconds to Jump. Disable seek and maneuver programs on mines and set fuses for simple proximity. Signal Damaris to match deployment.” It was all he could do.
The Fomoria streaked between the Imperial Fleet ships still recovering from Jump. Her lethal shadow, Damaris, narrowly missed colliding with an Imperial dreadnaught, but passed through without other incident. Helpless as the enemy was, the Saurons could do nothing; they were simply going too fast.
With any luck, we’ll miss the Jump Point and have to rejoin the battle, Diettinger thought.
He had not reckoned with the quality of his navigation officer and engineering crew.