by D. J. Holmes
“A number of shuttles are taking off from the surface,” a Lieutenant reported half an hour later. “We’re getting increased energy readings from the warships as well. Looks like they’re preparing to break orbit.”
Lightfoot shared a glance with Suarez. This was something new. The Karacknid ships in orbit were all warships, not troop transports. “Prisoners?” He asked.
Suarez shrugged. “Could be. They came here looking to conquer us. As much damage as they’ve done, they failed to accomplish that. Perhaps they are gathering intelligence.”
“And technological data,” Lightfoot surmised. “Their tactics in the Battle of Earth; the way they arrange their screening ships. They knew about our fighters and feared them. Perhaps they want to know how to build their own.”
“That is a worrying thought,” Suarez replied.
“And a problem for later,” Lightfoot said as he put his questions to the back of his mind. Once they had defeated the enemy squadron, he could look for answers. “Bring the fleet to full acceleration,” he ordered when he judged the time right.
His ships shot forward. The Varanni ships that had been cruising into the system in stealth also powered up their engines and accelerated even faster. They would quickly catch up with and join the rest of Lightfoot’s command. On Springbuck’s main holo- projector, intercept trajectories appeared. With their far higher starting momentum, Lightfoot’s ships would catch the fleeing Karacknid squadron a full forty-five minutes before they could jump to the safety of shift space. “We have them,” Lightfoot said in a cold voice. “Our payback begins here.”
Moments later, eleven of the twelve Karacknid ships cut their acceleration and turned. Lightfoot screwed up his face. The Karacknid fleet commanders might be evil monstrosities; but they knew what they were doing. They were sacrificing themselves to allow one Karacknid ship to escape. If he wanted to try and catch it, he’d have to accelerate hard right past the rest of the Karacknid squadron. That would allow them to close to energy range and rake his fleet. Though he knew he would win such an engagement, the cost would be far higher than any missile duel. “Plot a course change to keep the Karacknid squadron at extreme missile range. We’re going to hammer them until there’s nothing left,” he ordered. The single Karacknid ship would get away. Whoever was commanding the Karacknid forces in Holstein would soon know the Human fleet was operating in the German colonies. There’s nothing you can do about it, he told himself. It was the price he would have to pay for destroying the rest of the enemy squadron.
Now for a game of cat and mouse, Lightfoot said to himself when the Karacknid squadron reacted to his fleet’s course change by trying to close the range. For the next forty minutes he pitted his wits against the enemy squadron commander. As soon as his ships veered off to prevent the Karacknid squadron from being able to launch a missile salvo and then close to energy weapon range, the Karacknid squadron would copy his move and continue trying to close. “Hold course,” Lightfoot eventually ordered when he was satisfied with his fleet’s position. The Karacknids were closing with his ships, but the angle was shallow enough that he was confident none would get close enough to use their energy weapons.
With their impressive missile technology, the Karacknids squadron opened fire first. Though with nothing larger than a heavy cruiser amongst their ships, they only put out two hundred and sixty missiles. Even so, Lightfoot wished his ships were equipped with multistage missiles so he could immediately return fire. Yet there had been none available when his ships had left Earth. They had all been used in the battle with the Karacknids. When his squadron eventually responded, they launched six hundred and sixteen of their own missiles. Only one Karacknid missile got through Lightfoot’s point defenses. It only managed to score a proximity hit on a destroyer. Yet the missile had an antimatter warhead. As the antiparticles washed over the destroyer’s hull, they cancelled out its valstronium armor in the blink of an eye. Many of the particles ate into the destroyer’s innards. Though no secondary explosions occurred, what was left of the destroyer was but a shadow of its former self. Lifeless, it simply drifted into space.
“No more missiles are getting through,” Lightfoot ordered as he turned away from the destroyer. “No more!”
Though several officers responded, Lightfoot didn’t hear them. He had already fixed his attention on the Karacknid squadron. His missiles were hitting home. Sixty punched through the Karacknid point defense fire. Many scored direct hits. To Lightfoot’s amazement, six ships appeared out of the wall of nuclear detonations. “One more salvo,” he ordered. His ships had already fired a second and though the third might be overkill, he wanted to make sure he finished off his prey. The Karacknid ships were tough and even one making it to energy weapon range might be able to take one of his ships with it.
Before he got to see if his second salvo would finish the battle, another wave of two hundred and sixty Karacknid missiles attacked his fleet. Whether from luck, or better coordination between the various ships, all the Karacknid missiles were shot down. The Karacknid fleet did not fare so well. With nearly half their number already gone and the rest damaged, one hundred and seventy missiles got close enough to detonate. Lightfoot grunted in satisfaction. He’d wasted his third salvo, but he didn’t care. “Detach Hermes, have her close with Ulm and get a detailed report on the Karacknid attack. Make sure her Captain understands I want to know what the Karacknids on those shuttles were doing. Then Hermes is to return to Earth with a full report. I’m not sure what aid can be sent here, but the Emergency Council needs to know.”
“We’re not closing with the colony?” Suarez asked.
Lightfoot shook his head. “No, we set course for New Berlin. If the Karacknids have attacked Ulm, they may still have the forces in this sector raiding New Berlin as well. The frigate that got away will warn whatever enemy forces are operating nearby. We need to keep pushing forward if we’re going to catch any more of them by surprise.”
Chapter 8
Within the fleet there is now a constant debate over who our greatest commanders are. The yearly fleet exercises give us some insight into who is the best. But with no more than ten percent of the fleet’s officers participating each year, there is still plenty of room for debate. Cadets rarely appreciate the finer points of the arguments, but then you have not served under any of our best. One day you will, and then you will understand how much loyalty factors into the disputes. When an Admiral’s skill and wit saves you from defeat and death, they can do no wrong in your eyes. For myself, Admiral Sullivan is the best, but I readily admit my own bias.
-Excerpt from Empire Rising, 3002 AD.
25th October 2481 AD (three weeks later).
Lightfoot paced back-and-forth across the length of Springbuck’s bridge. Occasionally he stole a glance at the holo-map of local space. Being out of his command chair wasn’t the wisest of actions. If his flagship came under sudden attack he’d be thrown around like a rag doll. Still, he needed some way to work out his frustrations and focus his mind. It had been three weeks since the brief engagement at Ulm. Since then, there had been no sight nor sound of the Karacknids. Surprisingly, when his fleet had called at the New Berlin system, the system’s orbital defenses had been intact and the planet unmolested. A small Karacknid force had taken out the asteroid mining stations in the outer system but the rest of its industry was untouched. The same couldn’t be said for the three other systems he had visited. In each case the Karacknids had destroyed every orbital structure they could. It seemed they were intent on crippling Humanity’s economy. At least, the economy they could easily attack without fear of taking losses. New Berlin’s orbital battlestations had kept them away for now. And they have no interest in a stand-up fight, Lightfoot complained to himself. Whatever the Karacknids had been doing, they had cut back their activities. At least in the systems his fleet was operating in. The brief victory in the Ulm system had been a small step in restoring his fleet’s confidence. More was needed though. They ca
nnot be allowed to go on attacking our systems. Though his ships hadn’t detected any more Karacknid forces, Lightfoot doubted they had all fallen back to Holstein. It was much more likely they were using their superior speeds to circumvent his fleet and attack other German colonies.
“Right,” he said as he stopped his pacing and came to a decision. “We’ll set course for Constance and swing through the Leipzig and Eibsee systems and see what we find. Then we’ll circle back to New Berlin. The Karacknids aren’t hitting any of the main German colonies, we need to investigate some of the more outlying systems. If that doesn’t work, then we’ll have to try poking the bear.”
Captain Suarez nodded. “I’ll see your orders are transmitted to the rest of the fleet. I don’t particularly like the idea of poking the bear, but it is what we’ve been sent here to do.”
“Neither do I,” Lightfoot agreed. “We’re not going to rush into that option. I have no doubt Commodore Flew’s intel was correct. If the Karacknids have more than two hundred warships stationed in the Holstein system, we do not want to encourage them to become too aggressive.”
“Not yet at least,” Suarez responded.
Lightfoot raised his eyebrows as he turned back to the holo map. Suarez was right, there would come a time when they would want to entice the Karacknids into battle. He would need a fleet at least four times the size of the one he currently had, but if and when that situation arose, he would not hesitate to proceed directly to Holstein. Until that time, he was forced to try and hunt down smaller Karacknid forces. A near impossible task when they are all faster than you, he thought. Heading to Constance, Leipzig and Eibsee, he turned his fleet away from the Holstein system and onto a circular course back to New Berlin. It wasn’t exactly avoiding the main concentration of Karacknid forces, but he had no desire to get too close to them unless he had exhausted all other options. One way or another, he knew he needed to bring more Karacknid forces to battle. They couldn’t be allowed to operate unchecked.
*
3rd November 2481 AD (nine days later).
“Everything looks normal,” Springbuck’s sensor officer reported several minutes after the fleet jumped into the Leipzig system. “All orbital stations and outer mining operations look intact. There’s even some ships in orbit.”
Lightfoot shared a glance with Suarez. They were both surprised. Five days ago they had found the Constance system completely devoid of life. There had been no ground-based colony within the system, but there had been several large mining operations. One focused on the fourth moon of the system’s gas giant, the other in a mineral rich planetary ring. Every installation had been destroyed and if any escape pods had been launched, Lightfoot’s ships had found no trace of them. They had been expecting to find the same thing in the Leipzig system. For once, it looked like the Karacknids had not beaten them there. “Take us towards the colony,” he ordered. “And identify those ships.”
“I have an update Admiral,” sensor officer reported minutes later. “From the readings, it looks like most of them are civilian freighters or yachts. Though there are three UN warships in orbit. Two destroyers and a light cruiser.”
“Very well, hail them as soon as we get into two-way communication range,” Lightfoot responded. There was no doubt the leadership of the colony would want to speak with him, but he was more interested in what intelligence the warships might have.
Eighty-five minutes later the unfamiliar face of a naval captain appeared on Springbuck’s holo- display. “Captain, my name is Rear Admiral Lightfoot. I’m not sure how much you know of what has transpired outside of the German colonies. A Karacknid fleet has attacked Earth. We drove them back but at great cost,” Lightfoot explained. “My fleet is here to try and mop up some of the remaining Karacknid forces. What intelligence do you have on Karacknid ship movements?”
“You drove them back?” the Captain asked as his eyes widened. “Praise the heavens! We thought we were done for. A freighter brought word of the massive fleet that passed through the New Berlin system towards the Beta colony. We tried to break out to join the defense, but when we poked our head into the new Berlin System, there were still hundreds of Karacknid ships. We fell back here. Since then we’ve heard of a number of attacks. Constance was hit just two weeks ago. We thought we were next.”
“What is your name Captain?” Lightfoot asked.
“Of course, my apologies Admiral. I’m Captain Schmidt of the light cruiser Baden.”
“Pleased to meet you Captain,” Lightfoot replied with a slight nod. “Now tell me, have no ships entered the system at all? And what about Eibsee?”
“None have come this way… that we have seen at least,” Schmidt replied. “If they were in the outer system and kept their power levels down, I doubt we would detect them from here. We haven’t heard anything from Eibsee for eight days now, but the last we heard they hadn’t been hit either. Though they are just a small colony. There’s only forty thousand residents.”
“I don’t think that matters to the Karacknids,” Lightfoot explained. “They seem to be hitting every system we have that has limited defenses. I’m afraid it’s only a matter of time before they come here. Though hopefully if they are following our movements, that may not be for a while now.”
“You think you’re being followed?” Schmidt asked.
Lightfoot looked over to Suarez. It was something they had discussed. Twice they had sent two of their Varanni frigates back to retrace the fleet’s course just in case. The Varanni ships hadn’t discovered anything, but Lightfoot was still suspicious. Everywhere they went just seemed too quiet even though they were constantly getting reports of further away systems still being attacked. “It’s a possibility,” Lightfoot answered. “Tell me, how is the Leipzig colony faring?”
“They’re scared,” Schmidt replied. “Martial law has been declared. Panic buying has eaten up most of their food stocks. Everyone expects a Karacknid fleet to arrive in system any day now and either bombard the planet or take everyone away as slaves. It’s basically pandemonium down there.”
“All right,” Lightfoot said with a sigh. “I guess I’ll have to contact the colony’s leadership. Their work is about to get a lot harder when news gets out about Earth. Send my Chief of Staff a full update on your ships. I’ll have my team send you a report on the Battle of Earth and some upgrades your engineers can start to work on.”
“I will get on it right away Admiral. If I may though, what happened at Earth?”
“Like I said, we drove the Karacknids away, but they managed to get some missiles through our orbital defenses. Eighty-four to be exact. The death toll was at four hundred and eighty million when we left. I’m sorry to have to be the one to tell you.”
Schmidt let out a series of swear words and then slumped back into his chair. “Berlin?” He asked as he fixed his eyes on Lightfoot.
Lightfoot shook his head. “I’m sorry,” he said. He had been hoping to let Schmidt read the report rather than have to tell him face-to-face. He had dealt with far too many grieving officers already. “Did you have family there?”
Schmidt nodded. “My parents, though they lived in the suburbs.”
“Then there is still hope,” Lightfoot responded. “Many millions of people have been evacuated from the cities that were hit. We have a list of survivors we can send you for your crews to check. Though the list is far from complete so it doesn’t necessarily mean anything if you cannot find your relatives on there.”
“Thank you Admiral, I will see to your requests and then have a look at the list. We feared Earth had been conquered. When your ships entered the system we began to hope we had been wrong. I’m not sure if your news is good or not.”
“I understand,” Lightfoot said. “Everyone on Earth feels the same. We don’t know whether we should be relieved that we won or horrified at the losses. In reality, both are true. Right now though, we need to figure out how we can continue to bring the fight to the Karacknids. I’ll speak with Leipz
ig’s leadership and then I’ll be back in touch.”
“Yes Sir,” Schmidt said as he straightened up and gave Lightfoot a salute.
Lightfoot returned the gesture and then cut the COM channel. He took a deep breath and nodded to his COM officer. Leipzig’s political leadership were already waiting to speak with him.
*
5th November 2481 AD (two days later).
“You shouldn’t be going with them,” Jil’lal repeated. “It’s not your place. It’s too risky.”
Lightfoot smiled. “I seem to remember Admiral Somerville saying the same thing to you about leading your forces on this mission. Did he not?”
“That’s different,” Jil’lal said as she waved two of her four arms in a dismissive manner. “I’m not saying you shouldn’t be a part of the mission, just that you don’t need to take on the greatest risk.”
Lightfoot sighed. It was not something he’d ordinarily do in such a meeting. Alongside Jil’lal, Captains Schmidt, Suarez and Gar’am were all on board Springbuck. After spending hours trying to appease the leading members of Leipzig’s Senate, he had spent a frustrating two days trying to decide what to do next with his forces while they took on supplies. The idea he had just shared with his fellow officers was the best he could come up with. Having to defend his plan was testing his patience.