by Rodney Smith
As many had suspected, the K’Rang nobility eschewed military facilities or soldiers on their capital world. The defenses consisted of moon-based defensive systems and layered fleets around G’Durin. The Shadow Force with the newest and best forces was the inner shell. The regular fleet with older ships was the outer shell. Kelly thought that no longer applied, because the K’Rang had stripped their fleet to make up the fleet in the Eridanus sector and the massive grand armada. With the exception of the lunar defensive systems, G’Durin was wide open. He had to get this information to Admiral Chang. The Angaerry had complete diagrams, weapons loads, manning, location, and blind spots – a treasure trove of data.
The discussion went on long into the night, until finally the minister thanked them for having this discussion with him, but he was old and needed his sleep. He bid them farewell and had Jotil Lenkva return them to the ship. Kelly suspected the sole purpose of the award and the discussion was to get him the documents in his lap. He hand-delivered them to Admiral Chang as soon as he returned to the ship.
* * * * *
It was a rainy day on Victory Base, one of those rainy windy days where wet weather gear does no good at keeping the rain out. In fact, one wound up being wetter on the inside than the outside. Mary finally gave up and stripped out of her wet weather gear, threw it into her ground car, grabbed her binoculars, and marched over to the southeast corner bunker. She climbed up into the tower and scanned off to the southeast, from whence all K’Rang incursions had come. The company commander, Captain Jan Wayne, appeared behind her.
“See anything, ma’am?”
“Not yet, Jan, but those buggers are out there. If they come, this is where they will probably strike first.”
She looked closer in and saw brush that should have been cleared when they built the berm. She would have to get a dozer here to clear it back. She could see over it from the tower, but the gunners at the gun ports below would be blind to anything behind them. No use giving the enemy concealment so close to the berm.
Mary thought she saw the bushes move. She pulled Captain Wayne over and told him to have one of his gunners fire up that bush. In a few seconds, the gunner fired a burst into the bush. The bush fell over and two K’Rang ran forward toward the bunker. The gunner cut them in half with a narrow beam and the explosives they were carrying went off, blowing them into mist. Mary recommended he fire up every bush out there. Every gun in the bunker opened up on the nearby flora, but no more K’Rang appeared. She recommended he clear the brush back; she would arrange for a dozer as soon as the ground dried.
Chapter Sixteen
Kelly looked very impressive in his dress uniform, with his gaudier decorations pinned on or hung from sashes. The ceremony inducting him into the Circle of Honor had complete press coverage: print, video, and radio (at least their Angaerry equivalents). The Palace of the Republic was lit by the filtered sunlight shining through the upper glass roof panels.
Kelly stood out from the crowd, a head taller than the tallest Angaerry. His uniform also made him unique, because Angaerry preferred robes for formal occasions. Kelly and the ambassador stood just below the platform for the official party, which had yet to arrive.
Jotil Lenkva arrived and took position next to Kelly. It seems she was also to be inducted. The Angaerry press had started referring to the two as the Liberators of the Stolen Worlds. Kelly understood that the decision caused some consternation in the High Minister’s staff, because there was only one medallion on hand. It required an overnight trip to the manufacturer to obtain a second medallion and a longer neck ribbon for Kelly’s.
Jotil Lenkva was dressed in a dark blue robe, with highly stylized scenes of space battles embroidered in metallic threads. The effect was quite striking. Kelly would love to get a tapestry done of the Orion using the same technique, but had long ago learned not to wish out loud near an Angaerry. Things had a way of showing up, like a processor chip fabricator.
There was a change in the music playing over the speakers. All rose as the official party arrived and solemnly marched down the center aisle. Kelly was already standing, so he came to attention. As Jakah Burin marched by, he winked at the two of them.
The High Minister mounted the podium as the others in the party took seats on the raised platform. The High Minister directed all to sit, then started his prepared remarks by introducing Jotil Lenkva, who stood and made a slight bow to the Minister then sat back down. Kelly was introduced next and he stood and made a similar slight bow and sat down.
The speech went on for an hour. Kelly understood parts of it. He spoke of the destruction of the K’Rang shipbuilding capability, of Orion’s defeat of the K’Rang cruiser, of Jotil Lenkva’s vanquishing of the K’Rang task force, and her subjugation of the stolen worlds. He spoke of the technology and fighting spirit brought by the Humans and how it turned the tide in the Angaerry’s favor. He spoke of a new dawn for the Angaerry people, where they would no longer be under threat of K’Rang domination. He spoke of the sacrifice they might have to make in the near future, to ensure the K’Rang no longer threatened them again.
Kelly detected a new current in the speech. He sensed a drum beat preparing the Angaerry for a coming conflict. He heard the High Minister draw from history how tyrants needed to be challenged early and whenever opportunities presented themselves. He stated the need to ensure the Angaerry live their lives as they choose, unimpeded by the expansionist desires of a hostile neighbor.
Kelly noticed a messenger appear behind the platform and hand a slip of paper to Jakah Burin. He stood up and walked over behind the High Minister and interrupted him, handing him the note. The Minister took the note and read it. He looked over at Kelly and Jotil Lenkva and asked them to come up. They marched over to the platform and stood in front of it.
A functionary took the High Minister’s place at the podium. The Minister stood in front of Kelly and Jotil Lenkva. Another functionary stood to one side, carrying a tray with two decorations. The High Minister stood in front of Kelly and the functionary at the podium read the citation. As he ended, the fellow with the tray handed the award with the longer neck ribbon to the High Minister, who placed it around Kelly’s neck. The minister moved in front of Jotil Lenkva and the steps were followed again. Cheers broke out from the assembled audience.
Once the medals were awarded, the High Minister stood again at the podium and apologized for the shortening of the ceremony, but a K’Rang flotilla of ships was heading toward the capital, and the awardees must go and greet the uninvited guests. Jotil Lenkva asked Kelly to march beside her out of the palace. The two formed up and marched out of the palace. Kelly had to shorten his stride, but kept in step as they marched outside to the waiting ground car.
Kelly was dropped off at the Orion and ordered immediate preparations for take off. The Orion lifted up and headed for space fifteen minutes later. The first joint Human-Angaerry combat action was about to take place.
* * * * *
Major Chen knew the K’Rang were out to the southeast, but she still hadn’t found their hideout. She had an idea how to flush them out. She just needed a day with the wind blowing toward the southeast. Today was forecast to be that day.
She lined up the smoke generators perpendicular to the path of the wind. At a designated time, she had them fired up and added a special chemical to their smoke generation chamber. Her own Marines were wearing protective masks. She hoped the K’Rang were not so well equipped. She watched the ground hugging fog roll across the landscape, creeping into each crack and crevice. If they were out there, and she thought they were, they would soon be very uncomfortable. Two of the heavy companies from her old unit were stationed parallel to and just outside the cloud of advancing acrid smoke. Now it was up to the discipline (or lack) of the hidden K’Rang.
* * * * *
Governor (Baron) H’Topa watched the approaching cloud from his vantage point on top of the rock outcropping. He saw the ground-hugging cloud approaching the cavern ope
ning. His chances for bringing the battle to the Humans were slipping away from him. He called his shadow leaders and ordered them to exfiltrate their units from the cavern and into the woods to the east. He only hoped the chemicals wouldn’t poison the cavern where their supplies were stored. It would be a short campaign if they only had what they were able to carry.
The exfiltration plans had been practiced many times and the shadow leaders led their charges out of the cavern and to the concealed assembly areas. The cloud passed over the cavern and natural positive pressure existing in the cavern kept the cloud from entering. The K’Rang were back in the cavern before dark with no ill effects. Baron H’Topa realized it was past time to bring the fight to the Humans.
* * * * *
Kelly preceded the Angaerry fleet toward the last reported location of the approaching K’Rang fleet. He was to find them, report their location to Jotil Lenkva, and maintain contact until the Angaerry fleet made contact. Kelly found them, identified their consist as two cruisers, four destroyers, and ten frigates. They were the old build ships, not the new ships or even the former Shadow Force ships that had cascaded down to the regular fleet. That at least, was a good thing. The Angaerry fleet outmatched them with one battle cruiser, two cruisers, four destroyers, and five frigates.
Kelly stayed just out of K’Rang sensor range and guided the Angaerry in. The Angaerry, for all their brash and dash attitude, came in cautiously and slowly. The first salvo was from the K’Rang, who fired their offensive missiles in one large salvo. The Orion’s sensors counted out 150 missiles, so they didn’t fire all in the first salvo. The Angaerry fired one-third of their defensive missiles first, followed by one-third of their offensive missiles.
The defensive missiles did a good job of knocking out the K’Rang missiles. Angaerry short-range defensive missiles and guns took out the leakers. The Angaerry missiles raced into the K’Rang fleet and hit both cruisers, destroying one and damaging the second. Two destroyers fired off their last offensive missiles as Angaerry missiles plowed into them, breaking them both in two and setting them on fire. Kelly suspected a design flaw made K’Rang destroyers extremely susceptible to flank missile impacts. Three frigates simply disappeared as multiple missiles hit them and the antimatter warheads reacted with their matter to cause cataclysmic explosions. Two more frigates suffered the same fate, as several missiles leaked through the defensive fire and struck them.
Jotil Lenkva ordered the fleet to fire the next third of their offensive missiles. Kelly asked permission to join in and help by taking out some of the remaining ships after the Angaerry missiles hit. Jotil Lenkva gave permission gladly. Kelly gave orders to bring the Orion into the battle after the latest salvo of Angaerry missiles struck the K’Rang fleet. He timed his approach to come in just behind the missiles when the K’Rang would be most disoriented.
The second Angaerry missile salvo took out three frigates and a destroyer. The K’Rang were preparing to launch yet another salvo when the Orion came in and fired its offensive missiles, programmed for the damaged cruiser, the remaining destroyer, and two of the frigates. He would leave the remaining two frigates for the Angaerry.
The Orion’s missiles flew unimpeded into the targeted ships. They were so focused on the Angaerry they never saw the Orion bearing down on them. In short order, only two K’Rang frigates remained. A salvo from Jotil Lenkva’s flagship destroyed both of them, as they were consumed in multiple antimatter explosions. The Angaerry were victorious against the K’Rang once again.
* * * * *
The 1st and 2nd Combined Fleets were on direct lines to G’Durin with an ETA of one week. The K’Rang Grand Armada was three days behind them. Admiral Chang had plans for that 72-hour period before they arrived. His scouts had closed on G’Durin and confirmed that there was no fleet present near their capital. The only defenses were the facilities on the three moons, two in the same orbit and one in its own orbit.
The scouts found out the hard way that the long-range capability extended further than any expected. The scout ship Velocity was completely dematerialized by a massive blast of the defensive guns. The remaining scouts kept their distance after that, and scouts reported on the true capability of the lunar defense facilities.
Admiral Chang and his two combined fleet Commanders met to discuss how to defeat the lunar defensive complex. Admiral Levi suggested sending the cruiser groups in first to blast through the fire and destroy them. Admiral Haddock-Halloway felt it would be best to stand off and run in with A-76's supported by MJ-9 jammer ships to take out the facilities. Admiral Chang liked Haddock-Halloway’s idea over Admiral Levi’s. Too many cruisers could be lost and they would be needed when the K’Rang fleet appeared in three days. He also realized that the K’Rang prejudice against carriers and fighters might not make their defenses all that effective against small attack ships.
The next order of business would be to destroy the FTL capability of the K’Rang home world. Admiral Chang assigned that task to the 1st Combined Fleet. The 2nd Combined Fleet would provide security in case the Grand Armada arrived early. Then the 1st would destroy the governmental facilities, to destroy the K’Rang ability for self-rule.
The next order of business would be to stand off from the planet, to catch the Grand Armada on their flank and defeat them in open space. Admiral Chang expected that the K’Rang went into hot pursuit in their four-line formation, and hadn’t reorganized while in transit, due to the difficulty of reorganizing when one's slowest ships were at max speed. The K’Rang would have to stop to reorganize and that would take one or more days. If they came in the line formation, they were ill suited to attack or defend. If they stopped to reorganize, they would not have time enough to learn to work together as a fleet. Either way, it would be good for the 1st and 2nd Combined Fleets.
* * * * *
Baron N’Gana and his scribe sat patiently, while the elders talked over the message brought from the Council of Peers. Never in the history of the Elders had they ever had to explain themselves to anyone, much less the petty royalty that composed the Council of Peers. The Elders would not, could not meet their demand to appear before the council. All that remained was how to tell them NO in such a way as to end this controversy and not have it continue on.
The youngest Elder spoke first. “Well, how do we get ourselves out of this predicament? In the original Imperial Charter for the creation of the Elders, it states the Council of Peers may call the Elders to appear before them in times of imperial crisis to consult on matters of the Empire. They have a legal right to ask us to appear. The fact that this has never been invoked is irrelevant.”
“What can we tell them that may assuage their fears? I know, let us tell them that the Humans, who we thought would never attack there for fear of harming their hostage populations, are reducing our fleet in the Eridanus sector to nothing. We could tell them that two massive Human fleets are undoubtedly on their way here and will arrive several days before our Grand Armada because they slipped away from us, right under our noses. Which of these stories would you prefer, Brother Elders?”
The Senior Elder rose from his seat and bared claw against the Junior Elder. This was a mistake, because the Junior Elder was faster, stronger, and more skilled than the Senior Elder. In a split second, the Senior Elder lay bleeding out on the floor. An expert claw strike had opened his throat.
The Junior Elder, G’Tol, calmly looked at Baron N’Gana and said, “Please inform the Council of Peers that we will be unable to respond to their request, due to a death among the Elders. Poor Elder J’Tona, old and unable to stand the strain of these arduous times, has succumbed. Send a message to Baron J’Kol to retire from the Eridanus Sector and make best possible speed to G’Durin to take part in our defense. Oh, yes, get someone in here to clean up this mess.”
“Elder J’Gon, we must arrange for the selection of a new Elder. Here is who I suggest. Now, how do we get his faction to agree?”
* * * * *
Shado
w Force Commander (Baron) J’Kol received two messages from the Elders. One instructed him to retire from the Eridanus sector and make best possible speed to aid in the defense of G’Durin. He had seen the reports. He knew the Humans would most likely arrive at G’Durin two days before him and three days to a week before the Grand Armada. He would need to find a way to coordinate his arrival with the Grand Armada to prevent defeat in detail.
The second message instructed him to report to the Elders as soon as he arrived at G’Durin. This order took precedence over any other orders. He pondered how to obey both orders at once. He had over 2,000 rescued sailors and officers on the world below him and in the system next over. He would have to abandon them. It was a decision he hated to make, but in the end, he formed his Armada and departed the Eridanus sector and set best possible speed to G’Durin.
* * * * *
Admiral Thomas could hardly believe the reports. Her scouts reported the departure of the K’Rang fleet from the Eridanus sector. She just had to clean out the remaining stranded K’Rang on the occupied worlds and she would have accomplished her mission. She sent down a division of Marines to each world, with extra arms for the population. Although they were not ground troops, the K’Rang put up a determined resistance. It took a week to subdue and capture the K’Rang.
She abandoned Victory Base and returned all heavy attack ships to Sirius Prime. After she had reconstituted all six assault landing groups, she transported her 15th Battle Fleet and three assault landing groups through the GRS Resolute’s ring to the 2nd Combined Fleet. The reserve fleet made a similar transport to the 1st Combined Fleet with three Assault Landing Groups. After the two battle fleets had departed, the Resolute closed up and transported through the Resurgent’s ring. The Resurgent closed up and made course for Sirius to stand by the Sirius ring and replace any destroyed, damaged, or inoperable ring ships.