The Eternal Fortress (Star Legions Book 6)

by Michael G. Thomas

  “The system isn’t pretty. It’s not much more advanced than a castle portcullis mechanism.”

  Xenophon very much doubted that was true. But it didn’t matter, because all around him the Chamber began to fill with light. Great metal shutters, each of them the size of a hangar door began to slide up. At first the gaps were tiny, no more than a few centimetres, but on they went and exposed metre after metre of open space. The entire process took more than a minute, but by the time the procedure was complete, the Royal Chamber had been transformed.

  “Incredible,” said Glaucon.

  He had come out from the shadows and now waited alongside Xenophon and Lady Artemas. Even the Anticensor seemed happy with what he could see. The shape of the interior now looked like the centre of a dome church, the dome being filled with vast windows out into space.

  “There is more,” said Anticensor Pericles.

  He gave another signal, and the grinding sound returned. Xenophon and the others looked about, but there was no sign of any great change. Glaucon spotted Tamara looking below them. He looked down and groaned in surprise.

  “Beneath your feet.”

  Each of them looked down and watched in awe as the much smaller segments of metal moved out to provide a small ring below them, allowing a view of the bow and flanks of the ship. In twenty-three seconds the procedure was complete. Anticensor Pericles wiped his brow and stepped back from the computers.

  “You now have full control over what seems to have been called, the grand display. I have slaved a VOB control package to the internal computer core. Your crew should be able to manage the system as they would any Terran battleship.”

  Roxana moved to the throne in the centre and slightly to the rear of the Chamber. They all turned to look at her, but she ignored them and promptly sat down. No sooner had she touched the material and she was sighing.

  “Much better, my feet were killing me.”

  She then beckoned towards the Anticensor.

  “Please continue.”

  “The Royal Chamber, as you know, is fitted above the prow and behind the first armour belt on the dorsal shaft. There are layered shields out to fifteen metres, as well as internal emergency screens and the backup. According to the computer assessment, the system is now fully operational.”

  “Excellent work, Anticensor,” said Xenophon.

  The man gave them a mock bow.

  “Now that my work here is done, I will return to my ship.”

  Xenophon shook his head.

  “Have you already forgotten? We are already on the way to our trade rendezvous. You will stay with us until the deal is complete.”

  He shook his head in frustration.

  “It was my intention to leave before you activated the FTL engines.”

  Xenophon shrugged.

  “It was my intention to do many things differently. That is how life is though, is it not?”

  The man looked at the rest of the officers in the Chamber. Though an expert in his field, like many of his compatriots, it was easy to distract him with complex engineering projects.

  “Very well. I see you are fully staffed. I will return to the engineering department and ensure everything is ready in case of the inevitable.”

  He went to leave, but Roxana called out to him.

  “The inevitable what, exactly?”

  Anticensor Pericles chuckled.

  “Violence of course. If there is trouble, you will want guns and shields up, will you not?”

  With those last words, he excused himself and left the Chamber. Xenophon walked to the throne and shook his head at his old friend from Attica.

  “Are you happy now?”

  She gave him a cheery look.

  “I have a throne, and on my very own ancient battleship. Why would I not be happy?”

  Lady Artemas walked away from the throne and looked out of the massive open space in front of her. It looked like there was nothing separating her body from the void, where in reality the transparent material and shielding would protect her.

  “Okay,” said Roxana, “All department commanders, report in. It’s time to fully test these systems.”

  On each side of the Royal Chamber were the lowered positions for her senior officers, with four more prominent positions already housing a number of officers. In front of each was a set of slaved displays connecting to the ship’s networked system. Navigation and tactical were on one side, communications and engineering on the other. The design was rudimentary and made use of existing seating positions where possible. Even so, the combination of a throne room, a command deck, and a bridge all in one place did seem a little odd.

  “Did you ever imagine you would command such a thing?” Xenophon asked.

  Roxana could say nothing, but her expression gave him the answer, and she was clearly in awe of the thing. Xenophon looked back to the seating positions and specifically those sitting in them. All were Terrans, but from multiple regions. He recognised several of them from other ships they had been on board, but none were particularly significant to him.

  “Four senior officers. Is that all you are planning on, for a ship of this size?”

  Roxana looked to him and grinned.

  “While you’ve been off ground pounding, I’ve been busy. We have more than enough officers already on board. I’ve selected the four most experienced commanders available to me, including a Laconian weapons specialist. They will assist me with command from here. Everything else will be run from their own stations inside the ship.”

  She nodded towards the tactical station.

  “I want a lean ship, with my best people where they can do the most good. What use are ten engineers up here when I need most of them down in engineering?”

  The man sitting at the tactical station wore his hair longer than normal and braided on both sides. It was unusual to those from Attica but quite common for the Laconians. He turned, moved his eyes past Xenophon, and then on to Roxana.

  “Komes. All systems report online, shields are layered and active. Current levels at seventy-two percent strength and one hundred percent coverage. Gun crews report primary weapons are available, secondary turrets at sixty-one percent capacity.”

  Roxana nodded.

  “That is a good start Dekarchos Leontius.”

  The man turned back around and continued to examine the data on his screen. As with all the crew, he wore the standard dark Black Legion uniform, but he also wore the breastplate of the Laconian spatharii. Xenophon suspected there was an interesting story there, especially as the Laconians had something of distaste for naval combat.

  “Xenophon,” said a voice quietly in his ear.

  He turned around and found Artemas looking at him.

  “Yes?”

  “We have a few hours, so why don’t we get some food? I’ve some ideas about this trade mission that might be of interest.”

  Xenophon considered her words and then looked over her shoulder to Roxana. The new Komes was already issuing orders and moving icons and data about via the VOB system all around her. He’d never actually seen her so content in a role before.

  “Roxana, are you okay here?”

  She nodded in reply.

  “All good here. I’ll be ready by the time we arrive.”

  “Good. We have things to plan. I will be back within the hour.”

  With that, the two of them left the Royal Chamber and made their way down the staircase. It had been patched, but the gunfire from the cruisers would take more than a few hours of repairs to fix. Meanwhile, the gaps had been layered over with quickly painted plating. It was messy, but it did the job for now. Upon reaching the bottom, Artemas stopped.

  “Phrygians can be a little aggressive when it comes to trading. I have seen them before, and they will try and suck us dry, I promise you.”

  “Really, when?”

  Artemas laughed at him ignoring the most important point that she’d already made.

  “The last time they visit
ed my father. That isn’t the point. They drive a hard bargain.”

  “I have no doubt. I’m not looking to waste time with them. We have thousands depending on us, and a need to eat. They will agree to our terms, or things might get a little warm around here.”

  She then gave him an odd, almost whimsical look.

  “What?”

  Then came the smile he’d not seen in hours.

  “The name of the ship, when did you decide to name her after one of the greatest Alliance defeats in history?”

  Now it was his turn to grin.

  “Ah, yes. Well, it’s not just ex-Alliance mercenaries on this ship anymore. That battle was my first big naval engagement.”

  “But it was a defeat.”

  He looked confused.

  “So? We fought hard, and it marked the end of an era. Plenty of warriors in the Legion fought on both sides in that battle. I left a little of me back at that fight, and now I have a little more on this ship.”

  Artemas shook her head and moved off into the vastness of the ship with a confused-looking Xenophon. As they rounded the first corner, he felt he simply had to ask.

  “Well, what would you have called it?”

  She laughed at that.

  “Something bloody and violent sounding. Destroyer, or something like that.”

  Xenophon seemed to find that even more amusing.

  * * *

  Bactrian Grand Battleship ‘Aegospotami’, Phrygian Convoy, Shattered Systems

  Roxana checked the computer systems for the tenth time in the last minute, and every second the counters ticked down to their destination, bringing them closer to the Phrygians. Her new officers seemed at home, but it still felt strange to be commanding such a vast vessel with so few people, and from such a grand position.

  “Xenophon, we are due to arrive shortly.”

  “Good,” he replied, “Upon arrival, I want you to position us in such a way they feel impressed and intimidated at the same time. They will know this is both an opportunity, and a threat.”

  Lady Artemas seemed to agree.

  “They will respect a strong position. Just make sure our guns are offline. They will be nervous enough. If they see guns, they might start shooting.”

  Tamara waited near Glaucon but now emerged from where she’d been waiting.

  “What can a convoy of merchants do to us?”

  Artemas pointed to the approaching dots out in front of the ship.

  “The Phrygian trade fleets are not simply cargo ships. Timasion did a great disservice when he said they were just a hundred ships with escorts. Every one of their vessels is known as a bulk hauler, a special kind of heavy trade ship. They can carry as much as a heavy transport, but are shielded and equipped with surprisingly advanced weaponry.”

  Tamara seemed surprised.

  “Really? And we are sending in a single battleship and some of the Ionian Corsairs?”

  Roxana almost seemed offended at this.

  “We it’s not like we could send in this ship, four cruisers, eight torpedo boats, and a pair of heavy transports, is it? Fifteen ships, and most of them Terran, is a little overkill for a trade negotiation, don’t you think?”

  The counter flickered again, and she checked the details one last time.

  “Here we go. Kallinos has already arrived. We will join her in fifteen seconds.”

  Xenophon nodded.

  “Excellent. Get the ship ready.”

  Roxana spoke only to her four senior officers and let them transfer her orders to the rest of the ship. It was quick, efficient, and something of an anti-climax. By the time she was done, there were just four seconds remaining on the clock. The FTL engines were already beginning their halt sequence, and then they were there. No planets, no moons, no stations, not even a star other than the millions of pinpricks far off into the distance.

  “Now!” said the navigator.

  A tiny dot expanded, and then the entire fleet lay out in front of them. The column of ships was something of a surprise, as they were lined up in multiple rows, their escorts close in among them. The three super tankers were nestled in the middle of the formation, and the heavily armed transports right beside them. The view from the battleship was almost as encompassing as the VOB system in the newer Terran ships, with the obvious exception being this was an actual view, with all the limitation that came from such a thing.

  “Komes, bring us alongside the convoy, nice and close. Let’s say five kilometres.”

  Roxana lifted her eyebrows in surprise.

  “Five? That’s almost inside their own formation.”

  “I know,” he said with a mischievous look.

  “Don’t just bring us in, use the last bit of thrust to get us there. Slide us in as fast and as close as you can.”

  The battleship was a monster, the perfect example of war machine, transport, and art, all combined in a mass of metal and protected by layer upon layer of shielding. With the FTL drive now off, the ship was operating under its own drive system only. The last ten seconds of the journey would normally be done under this system, but Roxana sent the orders, and that last ounce of forward energy was used to bring them in on the required course.

  “Stabiliser active, bow thrusters on full,” said the helmsman.

  The battleship swung about on her long axis so that she was now travelling sideways towards the fleet. The auletes signalled that something was coming through, but Roxana waved her off.

  “Prepare to reverse the bow thrusters, and ready the retros. I need full burn in twenty...nineteen...”

  The helmsman performed exactly as required but then began to hit controls furiously. Roxana could see something was wrong right away.

  “Starboard bow thrusters have failed. I can’t slow us down in t...”

  Roxana stepped up from her throne and to where the man sat. She pointed to the panel at the top as she interrupted him.

  “Use what we do have. Give me a full roll, one-eighty degrees. Then hit the port thrusters. Do it now!”

  The man moved his hands as fast as he could and sent the new commands to the manoeuvring nozzles around the ship. It was in the nick of time as the ship moved perilously close to the transports. Two of the Phrygian ships had already started to break formation. It took a moment, but eventually they had rolled, so that to a layman they would be upside down compared to their previous position.

  “Activating port thrusters...now!” said the helmsman.

  His voice was raw, filled with nerves and worry. His concerns were not alone, though. They were shared by each and every one of them in the Royal Chamber. Xenophon looked to Artemas, and their eyes met across the deck. Both were clearly concerned, but neither showed it for fear of sending a panic throughout the command crew.

  “There,” the helmsman said.

  The relief in his voice was enough to make them cheer, but the gentle chatter of the other crew met him as they went about their business.

  “Good work, Pentarchos. I couldn’t have brought her in better myself.”

  Xenophon, Roxana, and Artemas moved to the centre of the Chamber and looked out through the huge windows to their side. The transports were so close it felt as though they might even be docked with them.

  “Look,” said Xenophon.

  A short row of dots moved along the group, spun about, and then fell in around the battleship. It took a moment for them to get close enough for Roxana to recognise them.

  “Kallinos’ Corsairs.”

  She turned to Xenophon.

  “Look’s like they fancied the same manoeuvre as well.”

  They watched as the half a dozen corsairs twisted about and then rolled into position. Their timing and handling was equally as impressive as that of the battleship.

  “Message from Kallinos,” said the auletes, “She says her warriors are ready. Where should they meet us?”

  Xenophon licked his mouth and then checked with Artemas.

  “Are you sure about this?” />
  She nodded without even giving the question a moment’s thought.

  “Definitely.”

  Xenophon looked back.

  “Very well.”

  He turned his attention specifically to Kallinos.

  “We will contact the Phrygians and arrange for you to meet them aboard a ship of their choosing. Bring their delegation back to my ship, along with your escort. I will receive them here.”

  Kallinos seemed surprised.

  “You are not going to meet them?”

  He shook his head.

  “No. If trade is what they want, they can come here to negotiate. This will be done on my terms, and on board this ship.”

  Kallinos considered his proposal and then gave him a quick motion with her hand.

  “I see. We will return with their negotiators shortly.”

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  Bactrian Grand Battleship ‘Aegospotami’, Phrygian Convoy, Shattered Systems

  Xenophon sat upon the throne and looked out at his officers. He hadn’t wanted to sit there, but for the illusion of strength and power to work, he needed to play the part. He was dressed in all of his finery, and with his customised Laconian armour, Black Legion uniform, and polished Corinthian helm he looked the epitome of Terran nobility. Even his breastplate shone, though it had taken almost an hour of cleaning, buffing, and repair work by several of the ship’s artificers.

  “Xenophon, they approach,” said Glaucon.

  His friend waited only a short distance away, and dressed in the full finery of a spatharii, much like Xenophon, even though they were doing their best to look ceremonial. Roxana and her four command officers wore their Black Legion uniforms, but carried no other equipment save for blade and sidearm. Not even a ship’s navigator would be caught without a blade and pulse pistol.

  “Where is she?” Xenophon asked.

  His voice appeared worried, betraying his nerves, much to Glaucon’s surprise. He angled his head so that he was pointing off to the side.

  “She is here.”

  There were two additional entry points, of which only one was currently functional. Off to the one side of the Chamber was a curved doorway that led to a long abandoned emergency command deck. Though much smaller, it was hidden behind layers of armour plating, and in the past would have allowed the ship to be operated while under heavy bombardment. Now it served as little more than a panic room for times of crisis.