Black Legion: 04 - Last Stand

by Michael G. Thomas

  Komes Sosis smiled at this news.

  “As you can see, Dukas, the enemy cannot stand against us.”

  Xenias turned to face the crew.

  “I am the only Dukas on this ship. You will obey me. After this battle, you will vote on your officers, but right now, I am in charge.”

  Komes Sosis looked as though he might move to block him, but Glaucon and Tamara closed in subtlety around the Dukas. Sosis sighed before finally lowering his head.

  “Very well, Dukas, your suggestion?”

  Xenias lifted an eyebrow as he looked at Xenophon.

  “You’re on.”

  Now every pair of eyes was on him, and Xenophon could feel his nerves kicking in. It wasn’t just the Titan that was at risk with his plan; it was the entire contingent travelling with the ship, fully one-third of the Legion. He looked at their disposition and wondered once more if his plan had any chance of succeeding. The Titans would never take orders from him or Xenias.

  The captains of the escorts and light warships are nearly all Atticans, though. If I give the orders, will they obey?

  “Give the order to move in around Larissa as though we are helping to withdraw ground forces.”

  “What?” growled Sosis; “You would withdraw from the field of battle when we are in our moment of victory?”

  “Get as many of the others in the Legion to do the same,” continued Xenophon, ignoring Sosis. Even Xenias appeared surprised at this idea.

  “What happens if you’re right, and the rest of the enemy arrives?”

  Lady Artemas intervened at this point and aimed her hand at the portion of open space behind the Legion.

  “Once the Legion splits apart, they will have to commit or risk letting some of your ships escape. This plan forces them to act, and they will not give up the chance to strike while you wait to bring your troops back aboard.”

  “Exactly,” added Xenophon, “It will encourage their arrogance and hubris. And when they show their numbers, we will know what to do.”

  “Which is?” grumbled Sosis.

  Glaucon laughed at this question.

  “Fight of course, what else would we do?”

  Xenias moved back to leave Xenophon at the front. For the briefest of moments, there was a silence. Xenophon looked to his comrades, who did their best to not call out at the absurdity of the situation. Xenias moved his hand out as if showing him the command deck.

  “Dekarchos, your plan.”

  Xenophon swallowed, his throat dry, and his nerves were at the limit. Everybody looked at him again, some with interest, others with scorn. There was no turning back now. He nodded slowly and then looked at the tactical screen that showed the deployment of their fraction of the fleet.

  “Put me on with the other ships.”

  The auletes looked to Sosis who simply nodded in agreement.

  “You’re on, Dekarchos.”

  Xenophon took one more breath before speaking.

  “This is Dekarchos Xenophon, tactical advisor to Dukas Xenias and veteran of the Attican fleet.”

  His service in the fleet was modest, but he knew its mention would carry weight. Although the Terran Alliance commanded by Attica had been defeated by the Laconians and her allies, there had never been any doubt of the skill and training of the Attican fleet. One for one, the Attican ships were the equal of any vessel from any race or colony, and Xenophon knew the Legion would understand this.

  “I was the last one of us alive to speak with our Strategos. He told me to protect the Legion, and that is exactly what I will do. This is not a battle. This is a trap set by the Medes to pin our fleet and then destroy it before we are ready to fight.”

  He paused for effect before moving to the most difficult part of his transmission.

  “You all know what happened at Plataea, the great victory our ancestors fought in space and on the ground against this very enemy. Superior numbers meant nothing, even when we were disorganised. No enemy will unleash his full numbers against us while we stand formed up and ready. I call upon you to execute the Plataean Manoeuvre.”

  Sosis and his comrades looked as confused as Xenias. Few were unfamiliar with the famous battle in the Legion, but as for the manoeuvre, not one of them had even heard of it, let alone understood its significance.

  “Herakles and all supporting ships will fall back to the attached coordinates to continue a fake extraction of troops from the planet below. Escorts will spread out between our divisions. It is critical that...”

  He was cut off by an angry transmission from Valediction.

  “This is Chirisophus, belay that order. We will continue this fight. Only a coward would give ground to our common enemy.”

  Xenias shook his head angrily at this before joining in.

  “Dukas Xenias here. The Dekarchos is correct. This is but a fraction of the enemy forces. We have nothing to gain here by getting ourselves surrounded. We are conducting a feigned withdrawal.”

  Again the commander of the Laconian Titan waded in.

  “Leave if you wish, but not a single Laconian vessel will withdraw, under pain of death!”

  A dozen red lights lit up on the tactical display behind the division of ships commanded by Ariaeus. Small flashes marked gunfire, but so far it was restricted to the combat between the two groups of Terran ships. Xenias showed a glimmer of doubt and grimaced as one of the Legion’s smaller escort vessels exploded in a blue flash.

  “Are you sure about this? The Medes ships are not attacking.”

  At least a third of the ships that had been positioned around Valediction had altered course, and the overall impression was one of a complete breakdown in communication. Valediction maintained her position as she broke through the Zacynthian line while Herakles had moved to watch the flank where the Medes waited. Half of the escorts had fallen back, along with most of the cruisers.

  “You see the problem, Dukas. We have no leadership. Who is in charge?” said Xenophon. He pointed to the display and made sure the other officers were listening.

  “It doesn’t matter what orders any of us gives. We have contingents from every Terran world here, and none like taking orders from the other. The Medes are weaker, but they understand discipline, and when Artaxerxes gives orders, they will respond.”

  He then looked Sosis.

  “If I’m right, you will see something incredible in the next few minutes. Get your boarding crews ready and move the small vessels out; give the impression they are on transport and resupply runs.”

  Sosis paused but only for a moment and then turned away. Xenophon connected via the communication node over his ear to the commanders of the fleet still listening to him.

  “The enemy will assume we are unprepared and will move in to stop us from escaping. Close range is our strength, but if they suspect we are ready, they will stand off and use their numbers against us. Prepare your vessels for encirclement and ready the warriors of the Legion. It is time to unleash the corvus.”

  The mention of the corvus surprised all of them, including Xenias. Tamara seemed especially confused even though she knew the meaning of the world.

  “The raven?”

  Xenophon nodded.

  “Kind of.”

  Then Artemas spoke.

  “Corvus? What is this? Some kind of fast missile?”

  Glaucon grinned at her confusion.

  “No, not really.”

  Xenophon watched the tactical screen carefully, nodding to himself as the fleet began to fall apart. The three Titans were separated, and the cruisers and torpedo boats had scattered between them. It was a complete mess, and the orders coming from each of the Titans added yet more confusion to the audio channel, exactly as was required by Plataean Manoeuvre. On the outside it looked as if every ship was operating on its own, whereas in reality the non-Laconian vessels were conducting the perfect ruse. Xenophon closed his eyes, thanking the gods for the fact that most of the naval officers were Atticans. He suspected without them this plan
would never get put into action.

  “Well?” asked Artemas.

  Roxana pointed to one of the smaller torpedo boats, the smallest ships in the Alliance fleet. The image enlarged to show the vessel and its myriad of attached weapon systems and gun ports, none of which were actually ready for battle.

  “The corvus is fitted to the lightest of the Legion’s ships. They are rarely used these days, as Terran ships are too substantial in their defences for them to work. The corvus is a boarding system for getting troops onto other ships.”

  This didn’t seem to help though.

  “Boarding system?”

  Glaucon assisted with a simple hand demonstration. He used one hand like a beak and then pecked at her pale hand. His action surprised her and made her jump, much to the amusement of the other Terrans.

  “We call it a bite and hold manoeuvre. Once the corvus has made contact, the warriors on board activate the boarding unit and then storm the ship. It is violent and dangerous.”

  He then looked to Xenophon and lowered his head as though impressed.

  “But perfect to use against the light ships of the Medes.”

  Another red light appeared, then another, and before anyone could speak the display filled with hundreds of new markers.

  “By the Gods!” exclaimed Sosis, barely able to contain his shock. Only the tactical officer seemed able to maintain any degree of composure.

  “I have over a hundred light and medium vessels, plus a super-battleship, it looks like the Rashnu.”

  “No,” said Artemas bitterly, “It can’t be. Show me.”

  With a deft flick of the wrist, the image VOB changed to move them closer to the enemy fleet. Scores of the lighter, elegant ships seemed to float about them, but it was the vast hulk of the flagship that interested them the most.

  “No, that isn’t the Rashnu. It is the Sraosha.”

  Sosis, Xenias, and Xenophon all said the same thing at once.

  “Sraosha?”

  Artemas turned to face them all.

  “It is the flagship of Tissaphernes. He has brought his entire fleet to bear.”

  The great shape of the super-battleship was now close enough that they could make out the detail from bow to stern. Unlike the Terran ships, the vessel was multi-coloured and garish to look upon. Though smaller than the Titans, it was still substantially bigger than the other Terran fleets and easily able to stand up to a Titan for a considerable time in a battle. More lights flashed, and another three divisions of ships jumped in behind, above and below the Legion’s forces.

  “I have Ariaeus on a closed channel,” said the ship’s auletes.

  “On the main screen,” Sosis snapped.

  The chain of command was clearly still undetermined, but Xenias said nothing for the time being. The image of the Medes commander appeared, flanked by automatons, the artificially created soldiers of the Empire.

  “I come offering my assistance to end this violence,” he said calmly.

  “What? Are you insane?” Sosis started before Xenias could interrupt him. He waved him off and positioned himself in front of the display to speak.

  “Ariaeus, you left us at Cunaxa. Why are you here, really?”

  Ariaeus smiled that sinister look that the Terrans had become so used to.

  “My friend, I was left at Cunaxa to fend for myself. My services were to the fallen Cyrus, not you. The God King has granted me this opportunity to negotiate your safe passage home back through the territories of the Most Noble Satrap Tissaphernes. We will provide an escort for your force back to the border through the Gates of Cilicia. I have even been authorised to allow you to stop and trade with our merchants along the way.”

  Some of the officers muttered to each other. Nearly half appeared to like what they were hearing while the others sneered at every word coming from the hated Median’s voice.

  “And Tissaphernes, why is he here?”

  Again Ariaeus smiled.

  “Ah, he does like to make an entrance. I am here to make the offering. He is here to offer a degree of, well...protection. You will, of course, be moving through his sovereign territory.”

  The image of Chirisophus appeared alongside that of Ariaeus. The Terran commander still wore his Laconian armour and uniform, but a small cut on his forehead had started to bleed. The trickle of dark red blood ran down past his eye and to his upper lip.

  “Ariaeus, you treasonous bastard. We know about the negotiations of the Medes. To hell with you all. No Laconians will ever deal with your kind again!”

  His image vanished from the communication system as abruptly as it had arrived. None of those on the command deck appeared particularly surprised, least of all Xenophon who waited politely until the man had gone before speaking.

  “Now we know where the Laconians stand.”

  Xenias leaned towards Xenophon and whispered in his ear.

  “They refuse to give ground, no matter the circumstances. That is no great shock to me. Is this part of the plan?”

  Xenophon scratched his chin for a second before answering.

  “Kind of.”

  Xenias’ lip quivered slightly at those words, and he opened his mouth to speak but stopped himself. He trusted Xenophon; there was no doubt about that. Even so, he looked nervous. Xenophon tried to help him relax without giving away too much.

  “Chirisophus is right. They will never let us leave peacefully. The only way out of here is to cripple this force first.”

  He nodded to the tactical screen that showed the Legion broken up into three large divisions and the great horde of enemy ships now positioned all about them. Xenias raised his eyebrows at the image.

  “Okay, I hope your plan is going to work.”

  So do I, he thought nervously.

  Apart from being outnumbered, the scattered Legion was also in such a position that if any of their ships attempted withdrawal, they would be eliminated piecemeal. A large contingent of the capital ships waited in orbit, and scores of smaller craft moved as though transporting supplies from the surface to the waiting craft. To all intents and purposes, the Legion looked as if it had been caught right in the middle of a resupply operation. Sosis must have worked it out as well because he marched over to Xenias and smashed his fist down onto the nearest console.

  “You fools, we have given up our position to face an ignominious defeat while we dawdle around this useless planet! The enemy’s warships are closing in around our Titans.”

  His face seemed to redden as he took in more air.

  “Without our Titans, we will have nothing...nothing!”

  The red markers showing the Median fleets moved ever so slightly, but both Xenophon and Roxana had spotted the course changes. He looked at the group to the right, and she tilted her head and pointed at the other force with her eyebrows. Xenophon nodded.

  They are closing in to attack; we have only a few minutes before they hit the Titans.

  Sosis turned about to speak with the crew, but Xenias grabbed him.

  “No, brother, the plan will work. We’ll rely on one thing to beat them, and it is something these Medes have demonstrated to us one time too many.”

  Sosis spat on the floor to the shock of the officers on the ship.

  “That is?”

  Lady Artemas moved up to them both without making a sound. Her elegance and beauty were undeniable, even though her Medes ancestry should have been an anathema to the present situation.

  “The Dukas is correct. Arrogance is the greatest failing of the God King. Tissaphernes commands here, and he has your ships surrounded and trapped.”

  “How is that a weakness? Each of our ships faces multiple enemies,” Sosis said, shaking his head.

  Xenophon placed his hand on the man’s arm.

  “Terran infantry are the greatest the galaxy has ever known. We will not defeat this fleet in a ranged battle, as they would like. They have come close to finish us, but the reality is they are too close now. We will destroy them using t
he old ways, and that is where our smaller ships will do their work.”

  Sosis’ face lightened at this piece of information.

  “Wait. You mean the light ships will attack them?”

  Xenophon grinned at this.

  “Yes, once the heavies start their gun line battle, we will pin their other ships with our smaller vessels and send in dromons to finish the job.”

  Sosis remained silent for a moment, considering what Xenophon was saying.

  “This will leave us stuck here. We cannot leave this sector while our warriors are aboard their ships.”

  “True,” answered Xenophon, “but out fleet is mangled and lacking supplies and spare ships. This battle will leave us stronger, better equipped, and more importantly, it will unite us.”

  Xenias pointed to the scores of ships visible on the screen.

  “And I intend on getting us a fourth Titan for the fleet.”

  All of them looked to the shape of the Median super-battleship. It was as powerful as it was garish. Around it moved an entire squadron of the heavy Elamite battleships they had already encountered in multiple engagements. As they watched the great vessel, their awe turned to excitement at the opportunity for such a prize. Xenophon did his best to hide his smile at the complete change in the attitude of the crew of the Titan at this news.

  Terrans will fight and kill each other until none remain, but nothing unites us more than a common foe, he recalled from his teachings back home.

  “May I?” asked Sosis.

  Xenias nodded, and the man moved towards his Kybernetes, the ship’s second-in-command, and the man responsible for the day-today running of the Titan.

  “Prepare our warriors for full frontal assault. It is time for us to expand our fleet!”

  The Kybernetes’ lip moved just a fraction, but his pleasure was clear at this news. Few Terrans would fail to be excited at the prospect of the capture or defeat of such a mighty enemy force. As he walked away, Sosis lowered his head slightly to Xenias and his companions.

  “Dukas, your advice is sound, and your advisors are...imaginative. You were right to return to this vessel. The enemy are all around us like vultures, but it is us that will do the killing.”