Ready, she told herself, as the timer reached zero. Now!
Her awareness lashed out, slamming into the enemy datanet. It resisted, rapidly massing the power to kick her out, but for a few seconds the datanet was completely exposed. And those seconds were quite long enough.
Gotcha, she thought. And you never even saw me coming!
***
Neola recoiled in surprise as the display went blank. “Report! What happened?”
“The datanet has gone down,” her aide said. “I ... Your Excellency ... the shipboard system is intact, but the fleet datanet is gone!”
Neola stared in horror. If the datanet was gone, each and every one of her ships was suddenly isolated. There would be no more combined point defence, no more coordinated missile strikes, no more ... she snapped out of her funk. The enemy had revealed a surprise, one that might give them the edge, but she still had the numbers. She’d give them a very hard time before she was overwhelmed.
“Get it back up,” she snapped. If the enemy had managed to hack the datanet, they could have uploaded all sorts of nasty surprises. The shipboard systems couldn't be hacked - they were designed to be impossible to hack - but the datanet itself was a different story. She might link the fleet back together, only to discover that she’d made things worse. “And purge the entire system first!”
“Yes, Your Excellency.”
I still have the numbers, Neola told herself, as she snapped commands into the emergency communications network. Her crews were already reacting. And they cannot get away from me.
***
“The LinkShip succeeded, Admiral,” Yolanda reported. “The enemy fleet has lost its datanet.”
Hoshiko leaned forward, watching as the enemy formation came apart. They probably wouldn’t collide with each other - that, she suspected, was too much to hope for - but it would take them some time to re-establish their command network. It would be difficult for them to combine a handful of ships together, at least until they set up laser links and started sharing data. Radio signals were too easy to jam.
“Signal Force Baker and Force Charlie,” she ordered. “They are to implement Trojan Horse at once.”
“Aye, Admiral.”
***
Neola gritted her teeth as the display slowly came back to life. Her flagship had no trouble locating the other ships, thankfully, but setting up even a basic network was tricky. And she didn’t dare reactivate the main network until the system had been thoroughly purged. She briefly considered retreat, even though she still had the edge. Let the humans have their victory. The trick wouldn’t work twice. But ... she knew what would happen to her if she let the humans go.
“Your Excellency,” the aide said. “Long-range sensors are picking up ...”
Neola’s eyes widened in horror as the display sparkled with hostile icons. A fleet, a human fleet ... a fleet that simply couldn’t exist. If the humans had so many starships, the war would be within shouting distance of being lost. No, the war would have been lost. There was simply no way the Tokomak could beat a foe with both a numerical and a technological advantage ...
Sensor ghosts, she thought, grimly. They have to be nothing more than sensor ghosts.
And then the human ships opened fire.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
“Admiral,” Yolanda said. “Force Baker and Force Charlie have opened fire.”
And the trap is sprung, Hoshiko thought. The Tokomak formation, suddenly faced with a whole new threat, seemed to be coming apart at the seams. And now we see just how well the plan stands up to the real world.
She leaned forward as a torrent of missiles roared towards the enemy fleet. They were their missiles, captured from N-Gann, loaded into hastily-refitted freighters and fired in a single massive barrage. The missiles would have no surprises for the Tokomak - technically, they were outdated already - but there were millions of them. There was no way the Tokomak point defence could have stopped all of them even if their datanet was at full capacity.
And it isn’t, she thought, savagely. Their ships are alone against the storm.
Her lips widened into a cruel smile as she contemplated the situation. The Tokomak - normally - would drop into FTL to escape the missiles. But they couldn’t. Their gravity wells, the gravity wells they’d deployed to trap the human fleet, held them too. They could turn off the gravity wells - she was surprised they hadn’t done it already - but it would take time for the gravity shadow to fade. And by then the onrushing storm would have raged into the teeth of their defences. She allowed herself a moment of pure glee. She’d avenged her earlier defeat a thousand-fold. There was no way - now - the Tokomak would be able to continue the drive on Sol.
“Missiles are entering enemy point defence range,” Yolanda reported. “Ah ... they’re spitting missiles in all directions.”
Hoshiko nodded, unsurprised. The freighters had been equipped with ECM, allowing them to pass for human warships, but it wouldn't take long for the Tokomak to realise that the warships simply didn’t exist. They’d probably guess the truth when a second salvo failed to materialise, if they hadn’t already. Hoshiko wouldn’t have needed to retreat from the earlier engagement if she’d had so many ships in reserve. The smart thing to do would be to retreat, but ... could the enemy retreat?
We’ll find out, she thought. It won’t be long now.
***
“Incoming missiles,” the aide said. “Your Excellency ...”
“I can see them, fool,” Neola snapped. She’d been tricked. She’d been tricked and her ships and crews were about to pay the price. “Deactivate the gravity generators, then alter course to take us away from the missiles.”
“We can’t outrun them,” the aide protested. “I ...”
“Do as you’re told,” Neola snapped. If the datanet had been working, she could have hastily realigned the fleet to protect as many of her bigger ships as possible. Now ... she didn’t dare reactivate the datanet until the network had been completely purged. “And continue firing on the human ships!”
Her mind raced as more and more data flowed into the display. The humans had fired her missiles at her. The vast stockpiles she’d built up at N-Gann had been turned against her - she silently promised Admiral Valadon a horrific death when she got her hands on him - and there was nothing she could do. Her crews were working frantically, deploying point defence weapons and decoy drones, but it hardly mattered. They could decoy away - or destroy - half the missile swarm and the remainder would do serious damage to her fleet.
And the formation is coming apart, she thought, numbly. Our coordination is shot to hell.
The missile barrage tore into her point defence. Neola forced herself to watch as hundreds - thousands - of missiles were vaporised, only for thousands more to keep going. They were nuclear-tipped, not antimatter-tipped, but it hardly mattered. There were just so many of them. The warheads slashed towards their targets and struck home, blasting down shields and detonating against hulls. And her fleet started to die.
“Your Excellency,” her aide said. “We lost ... we lost over two-thirds of the fleet.”
Over a thousand ships, Neola thought. No one had taken such losses since the pre-FTL wars around the gravity points. And many of the remaining ships are heavily damaged.
She cursed under her breath. The enemy, damn them to the seven hells, had concentrated their missiles on her battleline. Nearly all of her superdreadnaughts had been destroyed or damaged, along with all of her battleships. The smaller vessels had taken less damage, but they lacked the point defence and heavy armour of her capital ship. It had been sheer luck that the flagship hadn't been destroyed. The enemy would have targeted her personally if they’d identified her command ship.
The battle is lost, she told herself, firmly. The human fleet was already reversing course, preparing to close in for the kill. It could wipe the remaining fleet out without shooting its magazines dry. I have to recognise that we have lost and react.
�
��Take us out of the gravity shadow,” she ordered. “Once we’re clear, we are to head directly to the gravity point and punch our way through.”
“Yes, Your Excellency,” the aide said.
Neola forced herself to sit back as the fleet - the remaining fleet - picked up speed. The gravity shadow was fading fast, but it would still be several minutes before she dared order the fleet into FTL. That would give the enemy more than enough time to land several more blows, each one tearing further into her already-ruined fleet. And then ... she had no idea what would happen then. If she died, who would take power back home? And what would they do?
“Detach all ships that are incapable of entering FTL,” she ordered, coolly. “They are to form a rearguard and hold the line until the remaining ships have retreated.”
“Yes, Your Excellency.”
***
Hoshiko smiled openly as the first reports started to flow into the display. The enemy formation had been shattered. Over a thousand ships had been destroyed, along with their crews; hundreds more had been crippled. Whatever happened, the Tokomak would have real problems deploying another such fleet in a hurry. She’d won plenty of time for Sol to strengthen its defences and look for a technological breakthrough that would render the entire enemy fleet so much scrap metal. Who knew what they’d find?
“Admiral, the enemy fleet is deploying a rearguard,” Yolanda said. “They’re blocking our path to the remaining capital ships.”
“Transmit a wide-band demand for their surrender,” Hoshiko ordered. The rearguard wouldn’t even slow her down. They had to know it. “And add an offer to support any of the servant races if they want to rebel.”
“Aye, Admiral,” Yolanda said.
Hoshiko settled back into her chair. There were only a few moments before the enemy gravity shadows died, allowing their ships to escape into FTL. If she wanted to complete her victory, she had to move now. She had no way to know if the servant races wanted to surrender or not, let alone rebel against their masters, but she had to make the offer. She’d seen enough on N-Gann to convince her that the servants would rebel, if they thought they could win. The Tokomak were still overwhelmingly powerful, but they couldn't cope with both a full-scale war and hundreds of rebellions in their rear.
“Admiral, a number of ships are dropping out of the enemy formation and lowering their shields,” Yolanda said. “They’re surrendering!”
“Let us hope so,” Hoshiko said. She’d have to make sure the prospective rebels were checked thoroughly before they were cleared to join the Galactic Alliance. “Pass the word to the fleet. Those ships are not to be fired upon unless they fire on us first.”
“Aye, Admiral.”
***
For a moment, Neola simply refused to accept what she was seeing. The servant races were surrendering? The servant races were changing sides? It was unthinkable! She could barely comprehend what was happening! And yet, she couldn't deny the truth. Dozens of ships were dropping out of the battleline. They were abandoning her!
“Target the ships that are dropping out of the battleline,” she ordered. There was no way she could allow the mutiny to spread. “Prepare to fire!”
“But ... Your Excellency, those are our ships,” her aide protested. “I ...”
“They’re rebels,” Neola snarled at him. “And what happens when they open fire on us?”
She forced herself to watch as the mutinous ships writhed under her fire. The human ships were picking up speed, trying to come to the rescue, but it was already too late. She was not going to allow the rebels to escape. And yet ... a handful of ships dropped into FTL, vanishing from the display. Her sensors showed them racing away from the system, no doubt heading towards a rebellious world. They’d bring nothing, but death. The Tokomak had already scorched a handful of worlds that had resisted them. Now, with the empire tottering, they would do no less. The rebels were doomed.
“Take us into FTL, as planned,” she ordered. The gravity shadow was almost gone. “Now!”
The superdreadnaught lurched, violently. For a terrifying moment, Neola thought they’d crashed right into a gravity well before they dropped into FTL, leaving the battlefield far behind. They’d be on top of the gravity point before the humans realised what had happened and gave chase. She hoped she could get the remaining ships through the gravity point before it was too late. Tokomak Prime had to be warned, even if it cost her everything. Her people had to know that their empire was on the verge of unravelling.
“Dropping out of FTL in ten seconds,” the aide said. “Nine ... eight ...”
The superdreadnaught shuddered again, red icons flaring up on the display, as it dropped out of FTL. A handful of small human ships watched the point, scattering frantically as they realised that her entire fleet - or what was left of it - was heading in their direction. The remaining loyalists followed her out of FTL and through the gravity point. Neola didn't breathe easily until they’d put some distance between themselves and enemy pursuit.
We lost, she thought, shocked. She’d run hundreds of simulations. They’d all agreed that the humans were doomed. But she’d underestimated the humans and it had cost her, badly. The entire fleet, a fleet that had deployed more capital ships than the humans had starships, had been smashed. And what will happen when we get home?
“Set course for Tokomak Prime,” she ordered. She’d have to direct the other fleet bases to deploy a blocking force, if the humans thought they could mount an attack right up the chain towards her homeworld, but she had time. She thought she had time. “And then we’ll come back.”
But she knew, as she rose and walked into her office, that it might be nothing more than mindless bravado.
***
There was no suggestion, not in any one of her records, that the Tokomak had ever panicked before. Hameeda had scanned files dating all the way back to the gravity point wars and there was no suggestion the Tokomak had ever reacted badly to defeat. But now ... she watched the remaining enemy ships throw their dignity to the winds and plunge into the gravity point as if the hounds of hell itself were after them. The battle ended seconds later.
She pulled the LinkShip away from the point and set course for the fleet, wondering when - if - the Tokomak would return. They still had thousands of starships, although they were going to have problems training the crews without the experienced personnel who’d been killed in the engagement. And yet ... they’d lost. They’d lost so badly that their empire would shake and threaten to collapse. It might be years before they rallied the force to resume their drive on Sol.
“This is Hameeda,” she said, as she established a link to Defiant. “Mission complete.”
“Very good, Captain,” Admiral Stuart said. “Hold position. I’ll have another mission for you soon.”
“Aye, Admiral.”
***
“We fired off nearly all of our remaining missiles, Admiral,” Yolanda said. “The fleet is effectively unarmed.”
Hoshiko nodded. She’d been tempted to punch through the gravity point and seize the next system, if only to set it up as a firebreak between the Tokomak and N-Gann, but she simply didn’t have the firepower. There was no way she could risk exposing her lack of ammunition to the enemy. Better they thought she was turning N-Gann into a fortress than sitting on her ass for want of a few hundred missiles.
“Combat damage?”
“Thirty-seven ships were lost, fourteen took severe damage,” Yolanda said. “We were lucky.”
“Yeah,” Hoshiko agreed. “Detach two squadrons of cruisers to guard N-Gann, at least until the enemy attacks, then inform the remainder of the fleet that we’re heading back to Apsidal to link up with the fleet train. We need replenishment desperately.”
“Aye, Admiral,” Yolanda said. “But won’t they have left a blocking force in Apsidal?”
“We’ll find out,” Hoshiko said. She would have left a blocking force, if she’d felt she had the ships to spare. But there was no way to know how
the enemy CO thought. She might have felt it was better to bring all her firepower to bear against the human fleet and worry about Apsidal later. “What about the rebel ships?”
“They’re being cleared now,” Yolanda said. “Most of them want to go home and liberate their homeworlds.”
Hoshiko shook her head. She understood the impulse, but the largest rebel ship was a light cruiser. The rebels would be blown to atoms when - if - they tried to free their homeworlds from enemy occupation. No, they’d be better off working with her fleet ... if, of course, she could convince them that that was actually true. It was quite possible they’d refuse to listen.
“Order them to remain here, for the moment,” she said. “And tell them that they can go off on their own, if they wish, but we won’t support them.”
The Long-Range War Page 37