If she does that, Mandy thought, I can lead her on a wild snipe chase indefinitely.
As far as her analysts could tell, Admiral Singh’s fleet was in excellent condition, but there didn't seem to have been any non-standard modifications. Mandy wasn't surprised – Avalon’s embracement of modifications had come from its decidedly non-standard crews and the alliance with the Trade Federation – yet it still struck her as odd. Her ships were fast enough to decide the time and place of an engagement, as long as Admiral Singh didn't isolate a target the Commonwealth Navy had to defend. But the advantage wouldn't last indefinitely.
“Deploy missile racks,” she ordered, as the range closed sharply. “Prepare to engage the enemy.”
Admiral Singh showed no signs of being worried as Mandy’s fleet closed in ... but then, she didn't have to do anything. All she had to do was wait while Mandy waltzed into weapons range. And that wouldn’t take very long at all.
“Missiles locked and ready,” the tactical officer said.
There was a bleep from the display. The fleets were now within missile range of one another.
“Fire,” Mandy ordered.
Seconds later, Sword fired the first broadside of the Commonwealth-Wolfbane War.
***
“Missile separation,” the tactical officer snapped. “Missile separation!”
“Point defence is to engage the enemy,” Rani said. “Analysis?”
“Missiles do not appear to have a higher acceleration rate than models designed prior to the Empire’s fall,” the analyst reported. “There appear to be minor improvements to the ECM warheads.”
Rani smiled. The Empire’s standard warheads had been designed over five hundred years ago and hadn't been replaced since then. Rani had been told, back at the Academy, that the warheads were perfect, but she suspected the stagnation had something to do with the corporation that had designed the missiles using its influence to ensure that no one else managed to get into the missile-production business. But maybe they’d been right after all.
Or maybe they haven't sent improved missiles to this system, her thoughts mocked her. What if you’re wrong?
She studied the missile throw weight for a long moment, then nodded. It looked as though the Commonwealth Navy was using external racks, despite the risks. But then, if what she’d heard about the Commonwealth was true, there would be fewer risks for an interstellar power that taught its technicians how to actually think. They’d be able to make non-standard repairs if necessary. Wolfbane wasn't in that league yet, but it was getting there.
“Return fire,” she ordered. The enemy did have yet another advantage – they could get out of missile range fairly easily – but there was no real alternative once again. “And stagger our firing sequence.”
The enemy missiles closed in on her ships, switching their ECM patterns to make it harder for her point defence to track them. But, one by one, they started to die as the point defence picked them off, hacking them out of space. Only a handful of missiles made it through the point defence to detonate, sending ravening beams of nuclear fire against her gravity shields.
“Gamma has been hit,” the tactical officer reported. “Her crew reports minor damage to her lower sections.”
Rani smiled. If the Commonwealth Navy wanted to do more damage, after shooting off their external racks, they’d have to come closer. Much closer. And she would be waiting.
***
Mandy silently watched as her point defence hacked through the waves of incoming missiles, noting how Singh seemed to have decided to stagger her launches. It didn't quite make sense, something that nagged at her mind. Was Singh testing her, mocking her or did she have something very nasty up her sleeves?
“Two direct hits on Portsmouth,” the tactical officer reported. “The shields took the brunt of the blasts.”
“Good,” Mandy said. But she couldn't help wondering what Singh’s tactical officers would make of it. The force shields weren't as obvious as gravity shields, yet it would be obvious that something had interdicted the bomb-pumped lasers. “And her generators?”
“Stable, for now,” the tactical officer said. “But several more hits would probably burn them out completely.”
Mandy nodded, thinking hard. Should she close the range ... or simply fire at Singh’s ships at extreme range, knowing it was unlikely that she would score any hits?
“Take us around them,” she ordered, finally. “Get us into a position where we can target the troop transports.”
***
Rani kept her face very still as she studied the odd sensor reports. She knew, better than anyone else, just how easy it was to spoof sensors at long range. Hell, the Commonwealth had spoofed her sensors before, making her think an entire fleet was bearing down on her. But now ... what had they done?
“It looks as though they might have improved the gravity shields,” the analyst said, reluctantly. “The blasts should have burned into that ship’s hull.”
“Maybe,” Rani said. If someone had solved the age-old problem of bending a gravity shield around a starship, without crippling the starship’s ability to manoeuvre and fight, the war was very likely to be short and end badly. Nothing, not even a bomb-pumped laser, could burn through a gravity shield. “But it can't be something like that, can it?”
She knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, what she would have done if her starships had been wrapped in invincible gravity shields. It would have been easy to close the range and tear the enemy ships apart, while they lashed out helplessly. But the Commonwealth ships weren't doing anything of the sort, which meant they were far from invincible. Of that, she was very sure.
“Enemy fleet altering course,” the tactical officer reported. “Moving out of weapons range.”
No, Rani thought, as the enemy course became clear. They’re going for the transports.
“Move our ships to cover the transports,” she ordered. “But keep us on course towards Thule.”
The enemy wanted to delay her. She was damned if she was letting their fleet slow her more than strictly necessary. And, unless they wanted to close the range, she didn't have to slow her fleet at all.
And there would be time, later, to figure out what they'd done to protect their ships.
***
Mandy gritted her teeth as the enemy ships altered their position, careful to keep a number of ships between her and their troop transports. It wasn't a bad tactic at all, she knew, and it would serve its purpose very well. And it would prevent her from slowing the enemy fleet enough to make a difference.
She glanced at the live feed from Thule and swore, inwardly. Jasmine’s last update had told her that several shuttles had come under attack, crippling their ability to get troops to orbit and board the transports. Two-thirds of the CEF were in serious danger of being destroyed or captured in the opening moves of the war, yet there was nothing she could do. If she closed to a range that would allow her to score hits, she knew, the enemy would be able to score hits on her. And their advantage in launchers would prove decisive.
This isn't over, she thought. But she knew the battle couldn't go much further.
“Twenty minutes to orbit,” the helmsman said.
Mandy took a long breath. “Order the transports to break orbit at the ten minute mark,” she said. Given their relative speed compared to the enemy warships, even that was pushing it. If Admiral Singh gave chase after that, Mandy would be practically forced into a short-range engagement just to give the troop transports a chance to escape. “And remind them, should they feel inclined to object, that it is an order.”
Bitter hatred welled up in her breast as she contemplated her actions. She was abandoning her best friend, the woman she had grown to look up to as an older sister, the woman who had made her what she was today. Jasmine would understand, she knew, but somehow that was no consolation. It only made it worse.
“And then break contact completely,” she added. “Take us back to the planet, best possible sp
eed.”
***
“Enemy fleet is withdrawing,” the tactical officer said.
Rani smiled. The enemy fleet definitely had improved drive units, she decided, as the range opened rapidly. There was no way she could catch them if they decided to run. Heading back to the planet was an interesting choice ... did they intend to scatter mines in her path or were they merely planning to escort their troopships away from Thule. Either one would be more than a little annoying.
She considered, briefly, trying to run down the troopships. Thule wouldn't be going anywhere, after all. But the situation on the ground, according to her agents, was chaotic, with several different factions battling for supremacy. If they didn't manage to land quickly, everything they needed from Thule would be destroyed in the civil war. It was worth allowing the troopships to leave, she decided, if it meant she captured Thule.
“Contact General Haverford,” she ordered. “Have him prepare the troops for immediate landing ... and warn him they might well be jumping into a hot zone.”
***
“Move it,” Buckley snapped. “Now!”
Michael wanted to hesitate as the shuttle docked with the troopship, but the Marine – his face dark with fury – was too intimidating. He hurried through the airlock and into the starship, where a handful of crewmen were hastily directing the refugees to their sleeping compartments. The interior of the ship seemed to have turned into a madhouse.
The entire ship shuddered as the drive came to life, then he felt a faint sensation that told him the ship was underway. Several people started cursing out loud, or shouting angry rebukes at the bulkheads, protesting that they were abandoning everyone on the planet. But it made no difference. By the time Joe Buckley crashed through the compartment, bellowing for silence in a tone that dared anyone to challenge him, the truth had sunk in.
Michael sat down, leaning against a bulkhead, and pulled his terminal out of his pocket. It still had an automatic link to the Commonwealth datanet, allowing him to see everything that wasn't marked classified. The enemy fleet was advancing towards the planet, threatening to overrun the transports as well as the planet’s high orbitals. And when they took control of the orbitals ...
He shuddered, thinking of the Brigadier. She was stuck down there, along with two-thirds of the men under her command. They would soon be prisoners – or dead. The last reports Michael had heard, as he’d waited to board the shuttles, had said that the streets were dissolving into chaos. By the time someone restored order, anyone wearing a CEF uniform would probably be lynched by the mob.
Switching the terminal off, he closed his eyes. There was nothing he could do now, but wait and hope they made it out of the system. The war wouldn’t be won or lost here, he knew; they’d have to hope and pray the Commonwealth managed to recover from the surprise and fight back. One day, he promised himself, they would attack Wolfbane itself. Until then, they could do nothing, but fight.
***
“Enemy troopships are leaving orbit,” the tactical officer said. “Should we give chase?”
“No,” Rani said. The planet was the most important prize, by far. “Prepare to clear the planetary defences.”
She settled back in her command chair and watched, grimly, as they slipped into engagement range. The defences were tough, even without their communications networks, but her fleet had the firepower to remove them without serious risk to her ships. Behind the fleet, the troops were already preparing to land.
“Fire as soon as we enter range,” she ordered. “Sweep the skies clear of all hostile material, then launch boarding parties to the industrial nodes. I want them all under our control within the hour. Take prisoners if possible; remember, we need these people. Anyone who harms them without permission will end up breathing hard vacuum.”
She smiled. They did need these people ... and if they wound up seeing Rani as their saviour, so much the better. Loyalty was always welcome. And besides, her former allies on the planet below were expendable.
Moments later, the fleet opened fire.
Chapter Thirty-Eight
The third and final course attempted by the social scientists, after reports of increasingly bloody slaughter made their way to Earth, was to insist on a major intervention by the Imperial Army. On the face of it, the combination of superior technology and orbital fire support should have made it a fairly easy operation for the Imperial Army. However, there were several problems.
First, every faction now regarded the outsiders as enemies. The aggressors wished to continue their crusade until the destruction of their rivals. Their rivals, on the other hand, saw the imperials as the ones who had arranged for them to be disarmed. The net result was a series of increasingly bloody encounters between locals (of all stripes) and the off-world forces.
- Professor Leo Caesius. War in a time of ‘Peace:’ The Empire’s Forgotten Military History.
“They’re engaging the orbital defences now.”
Jasmine nodded as she stepped outside, looking up towards the darkening sky. Flashes of light could be seen high overhead, followed by trails of fire as pieces of debris fell into the planet’s atmosphere and started to burn up. Admiral Singh’s forces were launching kinetic projectiles towards the unmanned platforms, while firing missiles at the manned orbital defence stations. With their datanets contaminated and every defence station forced back on its own resources, the end could not be long delayed.
“Start dispersing the remaining troops,” she ordered. The spaceport would be a primary target the moment the attacking fleet got into range to hit the planet with precision weapons. “And then prime the computer cores for self-destruct.”
She thought, briefly, about the insurgent leader. Had releasing him been a wise decision – or a mistake? She would find out in time, she assumed. Or she would die when Admiral Singh ranged in on the planet. Mandy’s ships were already well out of her range, escorting the transports away from Thule. At least something would be saved from the growing disaster.
“Understood,” her new assistant said.
Jasmine sighed, inwardly. On any other Commonwealth world, her troops could disperse into the countryside and continue the war, but Thule would be extremely hostile territory for them. A smart enemy commander wouldn't hesitate to use the locals against the CEF, offering all sorts of incentives to win hearts and minds. Hell, given how tightly Wolfbane had worked with the local insurgency, they already had enough ties to ensure their troops received local knowledge ... at least until the sheen wore off. But it wouldn't be quick enough to save the CEF. They were in the very definition of an untenable situation.
And Admiral Singh will want revenge, she thought. Did Admiral Singh know who Jasmine was ... and what she'd done on Corinthian? She’d been a prisoner for a few scant hours, more than long enough for a DNA sample to be taken. Marine records were generally classified, unavailable to officers outside the Corps, but it might not matter. Jasmine’s DNA could easily have fallen into the Admiral’s hands. She might be willing to treat the others as legitimate POWs, yet she might make a special exception for Jasmine. Losing a pocket star empire to a handful of Marines had to be irritating.
She sucked in her breath, watching the live feed from orbit. One by one, the orbital defences were being blown out of the sky.
It wouldn't be long now.
***
“Shuttles dispatched,” the operations officer said. “There’s no sign of weapons on the industrial nodes.”
Rani nodded. She would have been surprised if there were, even in a system that had thrown so many of its tax credits at the local defence establishment. Thule’s industrial network was its pride and joy; the planet’s defence planners wouldn't want to turn the industrial stations into targets, not when they could use the stations to bargain for better treatment. They'd get it too, she knew, as long as it suited her to treat the locals well. And, if they behaved, they would always be treated well.
She watched, dispassionately, as a hail of
missiles tore a large orbital defence platform apart, sending pieces of debris flying in all directions. Orbital space would be a minor hazard for a while, part of her mind noted, although it wouldn't last long. The chunks of debris that didn't fall into the planet’s atmosphere would be vaporised by the starships or simply knocked out of orbit. It wasn't as if there were enough of them to do serious damage to the planet’s ecosystem, not like there had been in orbit around Earth. If half the stories were true, every asteroid in Earth orbit had fallen on the planet below. Earth wouldn't just have been depopulated, it would have been pulverised beyond reason.
Good, Rani thought. She’d worked her way up the ranks, without taking advantage of her good looks and charm. If only ten percent of the population of Earth had shown themselves ready to work to save their world, the Empire would never have fallen. Let us survive without the worthless parasites.
“Send the surrender demand,” she ordered, looking over at the communications officer. “And repeat it until we have secured complete control of the high orbitals.”
“Aye, Admiral,” the communications officer said.
Rani smiled. The ground-based stations appeared to have been badly hit by the insurgents or her commando squads. They were already at a major disadvantage, being at the bottom of a planetary gravity well, but they could still have posed a problem. But not if they were already hammered long before her fleet entered orbit. Hopefully, enough remained to allow her troops to secure them, without forcing her to bombard them from orbit. Not, in the end, that it would make any difference. Thule was doomed. The only question was just how badly battered the world would be when their time ran out.
“The commandos have secured the orbital stations,” the operations officer reported. “They’re reporting back now, Admiral; the locals have surrendered rather than fight.”
“Remind them to treat the locals gently,” Rani said. She cared little for the great mass of unemployed on the planet below, but trained technicians were always useful. “I’ll have the head of anyone who mistreats one of them without extremely good cause.”
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