The surviving Imperial frigates pulled back and struck again, continuing to harass. The combat capable USSF ships holding the outer perimeter, fought back with havocs and withering railgun fire. But the Imperial frigates didn’t relent. A half dozen more of Shepherd’s ships drifted powerless. Broken hulls, bodies, debris and ballistic parts littered the battle space.
Each pass by Imperial destroyers and frigates gnawed away at the pyramid formation Shepherd formed. More and more combat capable ships took heavy damage, and were forced to retreat nearer to the formation’s center. Eventually there’d be too many gaps in the defense and the ships at the center would be vulnerable and it wouldn’t make sense expending the intact ships trying to protect them.
He’d have to abandon them.
***
The thought of abandoning his ships sickened him. His helpless men and women mere fodder for Imperial gunners. Yet, Shepherd didn’t quite understand the Imperial tactics. They seemed to be herding his defending fleet together towards Earth. What did they hope to achieve? If the Imperials came within Earth’s large orbital defense platforms they’d regret it.
The lingering feeling something was wrong stuck with him. That sick feeling he got. The Imperials had used subspace echoes to blind his fleet’s sensors to the stealth missiles. The Imperials had somehow foiled the measures his fleet adopted to detect those missiles during the Battle of Atlas Prime. A more comprehensive solution might be possible, but it wasn’t forthcoming in the midst of battle.
Shepherd continued to order damaged ships towards the center. Soon, there wouldn’t be enough left to maintain the protective formation. Ordering those ships to evacuate their crews to other ships wasn’t an option. The escape pods would never be able to dock at the speeds his formation continued to reverse.
There were sixty stricken ships still able to maintain the formation at the center, but they weren’t combat effective. That left only twenty-five combat capable ships to protect them from incoming missile volleys. The other ships of the Homeguard were bits and pieces among the void.
“We will stay. We will show the Imperials that to march over Earth, they will have to trample over every last one of us.”
He’d made his decision. All or nothing.
Chapter 30-Lower Decks
“Something’s changed. They’re not holding back now” – Captain Mahendra Singh
Excalibur
The last three hours the crews throughout the besieged Homeguard worked miracles. Damaged ships jury-rigged quick repairs to re-position themselves on the outer formation, to allow other ships a reprieve to rearm from the supply ships and patch what they could.
But now the Imperial ships smelled blood—and Shepherd’s fleet’s reduced ability to ward off their missile volleys. They closed for the kill.
They’d been in a running battle for nearly fifteen hours now. As long as a ship had power, intact railguns, and munitions, it was battle worthy. That and breathable air. Many ships beleaguered with breaches had no atmosphere left to stream from the numerous holes in their hulls. The crews of those ships quickly suited up in vac-suits to protect themselves from the conditions of the void and continued to fight.
Hours later, those ships now lacked the ability to replenish the air in the vac-suits. Oxygen had become a vital component to keep the crews of those stricken ships in the fight. They didn’t have time to create spare parts either. Ships shared what they could. The ships’ engineers resorted to ingenuity to keep them in the fight.
***
United Fleet Heavy Cruiser—Ironside
“Sanders, hurry with those tanks!” Chief Cranston was on the manufacturing deck, breaking out spare parts he never thought he’d need in a million years. Now he needed them and more.
The occasional rumble throughout the deck reminded them all they were still very much in this fight. And Ironside was giving as good as she got. An Imperial missile had struck their weakened port armor and blasted a hole three sections deep.
It could be worse . . . the image of Dauntless’ floating hulk burned in his mind. On its third rotation on the outer formation, Dauntless took a nasty salvo which slipped in between a reload window in the fleet’s unified point defense. Dauntless had slipped back inside the protective envelope but it wouldn’t be going back out anytime soon.
The engineering chiefs throughout the fleet quickly established a link on their handhelds to coordinate repairs and allocate spare parts. The heavy cruiser Ohio needed a power coil to re-energize her starboard power matrix. Shanghai needed a rotating spiral inducer to bring its point defense cannons back online. Ironside needed portable power packs to seal breaches in powerless sections of the ship.
Ohio didn’t have any air left. Her crew wore vacuum suits. Ironside had plenty air. A shuttle from Shanghai had docked and brought with it the power coil for Ohio just before a shuttle from Ohio docked and brought with it the inducer for Shanghai.
The technician Cranston was waiting on, emerged from the compartment pushing the oxygen for Ohio on an antigrav carrier. “What was the other part you needed, Chief?”
“Interface matrix for Discovery.”
“Right,” the tech said, and rushed back to the storage compartment. He came back out holding the matrix. “You think Singh will get us out of this?”
Cranston took it and pushed the antigravs ahead of him to the lift. “Captain Singh is up there with the best of them. Shepherd is lucky to have him commanding this wing.” He didn’t wait to hear a response. He was in the lift and headed for the hangar deck.
When Cranston emerged from the lift, the shuttle pilots from both ships sprinted to him. “Here’s the oxygen for Ohio,” Cranston said. One pilot took the antigrav and pushed it back to his shuttle. “Shanghai guys . . . here’s the interface matrix for Discovery, her chief just sent me a message, Discovery’s shuttle is waiting aboard Shanghai for this.”
“Thanks, Chief. I already gave your guys the portable power packs.” The pilot turned to race back to his shuttle when the deck heaved.
Everyone froze. That was a hard hit. They waited expecting the worse.
Cranston sighed. “Wonder what parts we’ll need after that.”
Shanghai’s shuttle pilot patted him. “Can’t say I’m eager to get Shanghai’s point defense back up, we’ll be back on the outer formation when it is.”
“This is the captain. Ironside is withdrawing from the outer formation. We sustained a hard hit to our bow. The forward armor is compromised.” Compromised? He meant gone. “We’re moving to the starboard flank of the formation. We haven’t taken any hits there yet.”
“Get going, pilot!” Cranston shoved him off.
The pilot sprinted off to his shuttle. Cranston prepared to receive the next round of shuttles.
***
United Fleet Heavy Cruiser—Shanghai
An hour after getting the needed parts, Shanghai rejoined the fight. She’d been shifted back to the outer formation along with Ohio after the latter completed repairs to her power matrix. It seemed for every ship the fleet patched up and repositioned on the outer formation, another two had to withdraw.
But Shanghai fared well. Two hours after rejoining the fight they hadn’t sustained a hit.
Captain Yelchin watched his tactical board.
“Helm, watch those Imperial frigates vectoring thirty thousand klicks up on our dorsal plane. They’re looking set to make a run on our section.”
Heavy cruisers Shanghai, Ohio and Discovery held the forward upper flank of the formation protecting the center where ships withdrew to rearm or repair.
They’d all just received a fresh round of munitions. Maybe the Imperials hadn’t noticed. If he could lure them close, he might inflict real damage.
“Hold fire on the railguns.”
“Sir? They’ll eat us alive.”
“I said hold fire, mister.”
“Comm, get me Ohio and Discovery.”
“Ready, sir. Captain Peters of Ohio and Com
mander Johnson aboard Discovery on the comm.”
“Captain Peters, Commander Johnson. I recommend we hold our fire until that advancing Imperial formation is within sixty thousand klicks. That’s the most effective distance against these fast moving buggers. We’ll lure them in and finish that squadron with a telling strike.”
Johnson didn’t look sold. “It’s risky. If they gut one of us, we’ll leave the entire deployment vulnerable.”
Yelchin sighed. “Maybe, but it’s a chance we have to take. Taking out that squadron will buy us plenty time. The more time we have, the more repairs we can effect. The Imperials are running out of steam. I suspect they are rather low on missiles. I’m betting they thought they’d be done with us by now because of their little trick with those missiles.”
“What about reinforcements?” Peters asked.
“Shepherd said reinforcements are on the way from Rigel,” Johnson added.
Yelchin shook his head. “If you were in charge of Rigel’s Homeguard, would you dispatch your fleet when another Imperial strike group could slip in like how this one did? Who knows how many more they have lurking out there?”
“It’s a good point, but something must be coming,” Johnson said.
Peters sounded optimistic. “Rayne is coming.”
“Sounds poetic,” Johnson added.
“Commander Rayne,” Yelchin said, emphasizing the rank.
There was silence for a moment. The others didn’t look convinced.
Yelchin inhaled deeply. “I’m not sure either, what one ship will do against the Imperials, and with the stealth missiles we have to face. We need to decide. Hold fire or not.”
They agreed.
“We’ll follow your lead, Yelchin.” Johnson said.
The brief conference ended.
“120 thousand klicks and closing,” the tactical officer reported.
“Just a little closer,” Yelchin whispered to himself. Come on you bastards. We’re totally vulnerable. All expended. Come and claim your prize.
“Eighty thousand klicks.”
“They’re firing!”
Shanghai took the first hits.
“Forward and starboard armor critical!”
“Hold!”
The deck lurched.
“Severe hull breach, forward section, we need to seal off the entire section, or we’ll lose the ship!”
“How many crew unaccounted for in the forward sections?” Yelchin asked.
“Six, conducting repairs.”
Yelchin pounded his chair arm. “Blast it. Seal the section.”
“Seventy thousand klicks. Ohio is taking a pounding, sir!”
“Now! Maximum firing rate. Empty the magazines. Splash those frigates!”
Ohio and Discovery joined Shanghai unleashing a thunderous barrage with all their batteries. When magazines on the forward and dorsal guns fired dry, the maneuvering thrusters on all three ships brought the ventral, port and starboard railguns to bear. Unleashing the three ships’ combined carnage.
The coordinated salvo shredded all twelve Imperial ships. That was the last of the Imperial frigates. Now the enemy would have to commit heavier ships. Ships which lacked the ability to dash in and out as easily without taking heavy losses!
“Yes!” The tactical officer pumped his fist.
Exactly how Yelchin felt.
***
Ironside
Captain Mahendra Singh cheered the magnificent volley from the three heavy cruisers holding the starboard side of the defensive pyramid. They might just win this.
His ops officer reported. “All twelve Imperial frigates are smoldering hulks. No power signature, no atmosphere. Their drives are powerless. Detecting escape pods.”
“We need to get back on the line. Where is that ISO-coupling Constitution promised us half hour ago?”
“They said the shuttle should be docking any minute now.”
“We can’t wait for it. Forget the port railguns. Unload the magazines and transfer the munitions closer to starboard storage. We’re going to reinforce Shanghai and the others. They took heavy damage ending that Imperial formation.”
“We’re not so well off ourselves, sir. Forty-four percent combat effective according to the computer.”
“What does the computer know? Our ingenuity will make up the other sixty percent. You think the computer could have pulled off what Yelchin did?”
The ops officer shook his head.
“Helm, maneuver us to take position ahead of Shanghai, inform Yelchin we’ll hold while he pulls back and gets the damage in his forward section under control. Another minor hit there could finish him. He needs to seal that breach.”
A few seconds later, the reply came back. “Captain Yelchin welcomes the relief, sir.”
Ironside maneuvered into position. The fleet still withdrew towards Earth. The Imperials couldn’t attempt to flank. If they tried shifting formations to accelerate to system-traversing speeds, the United fleet could intercept them on the flank and take advantage of the shift in positions.
The Imperials seemed quite content to push them all the way back to Earth. How much farther would Shepherd let the Imperials herd them? The Supreme Commander could have withdrawn and sought the defensive platform’s safety. A practical option now that they’d dealt significant damage to the Imperials.
Before the battle, Shepherd had warned Singh and the other captains about the possibility the Imperials might use subspace weapons. It was why the fleet ventured to the outer system to meet the incoming Imperial ships, to create as much a buffer as possible between them and Earth. It was evident the fear of these weapons was foremost on the Supreme Commander’s mind. But if the enemy ships had such weapons, wouldn’t they have fired them by now?
Another volley of missiles loomed.
“We’ve got it covered, sir.”
Good thing they’d shifted position. The last run by the Imperial frigates destroyed half the combined point defense cannons on the three heavy cruisers but Ironside still had all hers intact.
“Captain, the Imperial heavy cruisers are accelerating.”
Singh acknowledged and turned to his tactical board. The increased acceleration would bring the Imperial ships within range in six minutes.
“Something’s changed. They’re not holding back now.” The most brutal phase was imminent.
The opposing fleets were about to smash each other head on like two ancient armies on a battlefield charging each other with swords and shields.
Chapter 31-Evening the Odds
“You’re not teaching a future starship captain very well” – Dr. Max Tanner
Excalibur
Shepherd saw it before the ops officer said it.
“Heavy cruisers accelerating. Their battleships are right behind.”
“This is it then. Once they blow past . . . our own formation will work against us. We’ll be in too tight to fire without hitting our own ships. They’ll wreak chaos on us. If we break off, the crippled ships at the center will be target practice for the Imperials.”
Three thousand United Fleet officers committed to the void.
“They’re within laser range.”
The Imperial lasers poured death into his fleet. They didn’t hurt as much from the current distance, but that distance fell rapidly.
They’d timed it too. Either that or blind luck. Dozens of shuttles traveled between the fleet to reload the ships with havocs. Many ships probably didn’t have more than ten at the moment.
A massive explosion signaled the end of Ohio . . . Captain Peters.
“Shanghai, and Ironside are taking a beating, sir.”
A massive blast amidships Ironside broke her in half. The front section spun away from the rear.
There were few escape pods.
Shepherd felt hollow. There was nothing left. The supply ships were empty. The Imperials had no missiles left either, but their lasers would last as long as their ships had power.
Shanghai tri
ed in vain to evade the lasers. They cut deep into her hull. Shepherd’s elation at Yelchin’s brilliant tactic earlier, now faded to horror as he watched the Imperial lasers melting the ship and its crew.
“Sir, warp transition detected!” the ops officer sounded incredulous.
Only one ship could make a jump this deep inside a star system.
“Ten thousand kilometers behind the Imperial cruisers, sir!”
Shepherd watched the holodisplay as Phoenix flashed into existence behind the Imperial formation bearing down on his fleet. At once, every single weapons battery on the ship unleashed fury. And to make sure the Imperial heavy cruisers didn’t escape the assault, brilliant flashes lit up the black, what could only be havocs detonating almost the same instant they launched.
Phoenix then danced her bow around to face the Imperial heavy cruisers head on. Rayne wouldn’t know of the new Imperial subspace interference. He watched in horror. Rayne!
Phoenix fired fusion torpedoes directly into an Imperial battleship’s stern. The Imperial ships so tightly wound, sensing their certain victory, stacked together neatly. Endless streams of tungsten from Phoenix’s railguns pummeled them, followed by equally terrifying volleys of havoc missiles.
Phoenix burned away hard and beyond the Imperial formation, her railguns ripping into the hulls of any enemy ship they found.
***
Phoenix
Mere light-minutes from Earth. That’s how close the Imperial fleet reached before Aaron transitioned in to ruin their little trek across Sol.
“Zane, excellent job on detecting those subspace echoes.”
Phoenix had rendezvoused with Valiant, Exeter and Endeavor as they each burned back to Earth to join the defense. Since Aaron had departed Sol, each ship had undertaken their own missions until Shepherd recalled them when he learned of the approaching Imperial fleet. They had to watch in horror as they waited for the blink drive to charge and make the hops deep into Sol.
Unite the Frontier (United Star Systems Book 3) Page 17