For three months, the Haivu didn’t do much. Despite their harsh surprise attack at the beginning of their war, for some reason, the Haivu didn’t commit to any large scale attacks. They simply tagged and teased the border, trying to find an opportunity to get in. All the while, the Galactic Union started gathering up their defenses, and prepared for an offensive.
For these three months, Noah and I trained at the military base, alongside the Spear of Kain. Our warship wasn’t ordered to deploy for a while, since we were pretty far away from the active fronts of the war. We repeatedly did simulations, drills, and workouts. We built our bodies, our skills, and our mentals up until we were qualified. After we received orders to deploy, Captain Ceel promoted us from recruits to privates. We were officially soldiers. That also meant we were finally on the military’s payroll.
Eventually, our time to deploy came. The Spear of Kain was ordered to head to the Haivu front, and join an offensive on Haivu systems. We boarded the Spear of Kain, set up in our living quarters, and got ready for the journey. The living quarters were set up a lot like the barracks, but instead of having cots, there were bunks instead, to preserve space.
We traveled for a month on the Spear of Kain, continuing to train in the simulations and lifting in the weight rooms. We also conducted emergency drills out of simulation in the warship a couple times. Otherwise, the journey to the Haivu front was boring and dull. It was pretty much another month of training, but we were more aware of the danger we slowly approached.
As we approached the front, we also received updates on how the war was going. At this point, large scale battles were starting to begin. The Haivu attacked our planets, and we attacked theirs. We defended our plants, and they defended theirs. It was a game of tug of war, on a galactic scale. We were heading there to slightly pull the rope in our favor.
Our journey ended when we arrived at Dyn. Dyn was a rocky planet in a system that directly bordered the Haivu. It was an important strategic position because it was the home of a massive military base on the surface of the planet and in orbit. They were connected with a space elevator, which allowed for the quick movement of resources from the planet to orbit.
The Spear of Kain hung in orbit, waiting for further orders. A fleet of Galactic Union warships were waiting in orbit, littering orbit like a swarm of insects. Soon after our arrival, we received more orders for the offensive.
Half of the warships in Dyn orbit would spearhead an attack into Haivu space, directly heading for their home planet. The fleet of warships would hop from system to system, taking strategic positions and opening up space for supply lines to sink into Haivu space. The spearhead of fleets would allow more Galactic Union warships to enter Haivu space, reinforcing our forces and increasing the power of our push. That was the gist of the plan. The Galactic Union military wanted to end the war as quickly as they could, apparently. The aggressive offensive plan was aiming to force the Haivu to surrender, or take their planet to impose strict sanctions. Of course, these strict sanctions would include seizing all of their resource rich planets, and containing the Haivu to a few small systems.
Two days after we arrived and Dyn and the Spear of Kain resupplied, it was time to deploy. The fleet of warships were to warp over to a system that was just inside of Haivu territory. There was going to be a strong defensive force of Haivu there. Much like the Galactic Union, the Haivu had shored up their defenses on the border. However, we heavily outnumbered them. The Haivu were spread thin in order to keep all of their borders secured. The Galactic Union had shored up a large force to punch through this defensive wall, and compromise their defenses. The Haivu didn’t know exactly where and when we were coming, so the Galactic Union had the advantage of attacking first.
The Galactic Union had endured small battles and bombing runs from the Haivu for the past few months, but now it was time for a counteroffensive. Our fleet of around a hundred GU warships, along with dozens of support ships, prepared to launch to the nearby Haivu system. This system was small, with an averaged sized star and only two gas based planets. It was chosen as our first target because it had a Haivu base in it. This Haivu base in particular was primarily used for sneak attacks and quick bombing runs. It wasn’t that strategically important, but it would serve as a nice entry point into Haivu space. The support ships would set up a tunnel for supply lines, so the spearhead could keep pushing forward, and the other ships in the fleet would expand outwards to prevent the Haivu from collapsing into our supply line.
The warping sequence finished. We had arrived at Dyn. Noah and I were currently in the living quarters, preparing for the upcoming battle. Half of the fleet that arrived with us immediately prepared to jump to the next system over. Having a hundred warships for one little Haivu station was overkill, after all.
“They say that we won’t be boarding the warships today.” Noah told me. “Apparently it's because we outnumber the Haivu warships, so we can just use the high energy cannons to bombard everything.”
“Yeah, apparently, the first battle is just going to be a long distance shootout. The Spear of Kain is going to be one of the shooters, so we’re going to be in the back of the fleet, firing away while the other warships stop anything from getting through.”
“Hey, you guys want to go to watch the screens?” Needle called out. He’d put on a little bit of muscle over the past few months of training. He wasn’t as scrawny as he was before.
Sil walked over. “Apparently, they’re patching the cannon cameras on the living quarters screens. We won’t be boarding, so the best thing we can do is stay put.”
“Yeah, and they’re showing us the cannon fire as a way to boost morale, or something.” Keshi said. “We’re expected to engage in an hour, so make sure to be there!”
We walked over to the living quarter lounge. We were wearing our spacesuits just in case the battle went awry, but otherwise, the air was full of laughter and conversation. It was our first battle as soldiers, yet the tension was non-existent. Confidence was high because of the size of the fleet.
An hour passed as we patiently waited. Eventually, the Haivu station was finally within range. There were only five Haivu warships waiting there for us. The Haivu should’ve known the Galactic Union fleet was here as soon as we warped here, but the Haivu had no time to escape themselves. They were immediately forced to get ready for a defensive battle while being outnumbered by a force ten times stronger than them. I almost felt bad.
The firing began. The warships at the front of the fleet simply hung in space and waited. The Haivu warships began flying full speed at our impenetrable wall of warships. Their only option was to take as many of us down as they could. They couldn’t drop their shields to fire at us, as it was near suicide, but they could try to board and destroy our warships. They would have to close the gap first, though.
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The Spear of Kain’s shields powered down, sucked away by the massive energy drain of the massive cannons. A powerful hum reverberated throughout the ship as the first cannon prepared to fire. Over the course of a minute, the hum slowly amplified into a roar. Then, on the living quarters lounge screen, I saw the cannon fire.
A bright red beam of energy, thicker than several transport ships laid front to end, fired into the void of stars and ships. The sound of it firing rattled everything inside the warship. I watched as the beam of light soared towards one of the Haivu warships and… missed.
The Haivu warships were still tens of kilometers away. A shot from here would be hard to hit. However, several other Galactic Union warships were also firing. I watched as a barrage of impossibly powerful beams were launched at the desperate Haivu warships trying to close the gap. If the Haivu got too close, we wouldn’t be able to fire any more beams, and would have to resort to boarding tactics. The long distance barrage was to discourage that.
The second cannon started warming up. The first cannon was going to be unusable for a bit because of the heat of the energy beam. If the first cannon tried to fire again before it properly cooled down, it would blow up and destroy the entire ship.
It would also take a while for the second cannon to fire, too. Much like how the shield regeneration required energy to slowly recharge it, the cannon had to replenish its energy reserves to fire. However, this process took a little longer than the time it took for the cannons to warm up, so it wasn’t too much time loss. The other warships fired at different intervals to keep constant pressure on the Haivu warships and to slow their advance.
Five minutes later, the charging sequence had finished. The second cannon took careful aim, and fired its shot. Tremors shook the ship once more. We silently watched as the massive beam flew for several seconds… and scored a direct hit on a Haivu warship.
The lounge erupted in cheers as soldiers around us celebrated. Needle flailed his arms and tail wildly and smacked my tail. That guy needed to control himself.
The Haivu ship was still intact, though. The beam had completely decimated the ship’s shields, but the hull was still fine. Another ship had to hit the Haivu warship while its shields were still regenerating. The Haivu warships pressed on, determined to close the distance.
The other Galactic Union warships changed their sights to the Haivu warship that was stripped of its shields. The focused fire proved too much for the unprotected warship, and a few minutes later, it erupted in a purple ball of flame. The ship was almost completely decimated as debris flew in all directions.
The battle continued. A warship would eventually land a shot on a Haivu warship, and free it of its shields. Then, all of the other GU warships would focus their fire on the weakened enemy, and destroy it a few minutes later. The Haivu warships were forced to use their allies as distractions to try and close the distance, but it was clear this strategy wasn’t working.
The Haivu couldn’t escape or negotiate for surrender, either. Throughout the Haivu War and other engagements, the Galactic Union had never been able to contact the Haivu during a battle. It was suspected that since the Haivu talked completely telepathically, they lacked communication technology that allowed them to talk to others long distance. The attempts of diplomacy in the past were done in person, with professional interpreters trying to figure out what the other was trying to say. Over the vast distance of space, however, there was no way of talking to the Haivu, no way of discerning their intentions and thoughts.
It was unsettling, in a way. As a mercenary, I could often hear what my opponents were saying. It reminded me that they were just like me. That we just ended up on different sides of a conflict, and I could often discern their motivations to fight. I could occasionally negotiate with them. However, with the Haivu, it was different. The Haivu were completely silent. They lacked vocal cords to speak. Our hands were too different to have translatable sign language, and I was pretty sure the Haivu had no concept of language in the first place. There was no communication that I could do with the Haivu, the only way was to use force.
It could’ve been different. Back on the mining escort mission, what if we were able to talk to the Haivu ships that suddenly appeared? What if we could explain that we meant no harm, and were unaware that it was Haivu territory? Would they have listened? Sometimes I think about how it was that one job that doomed Maralu. It made no sense for them to attack it, after all. It was highly likely they tracked either the mining ship or my ship, and observed our return to Maralu. They realized that entities from a Galactic Union station had spotted their scout ships and were going to spread that information. What if they wanted to shut that information down, and attacked Maralu because of it? What if Maralu was destroyed because of my carelessness, because I took that risky job?
There was no way of knowing. I couldn’t ask the Haivu, and they wouldn’t answer. The guilt remained, so I had to try to make things right, at least a little. I would play my part in this war, and make sure the Haivu couldn’t attack anyone ever again.
I hadn’t asked Noah what he thought of the Haivu attack on Maralu. I didn’t want to dump my burden on him, if he had realized. If my theory was right, then we were essentially responsible for leading the enemy straight to Yori’s home.
Speaking of Yori, they seemed to be doing fine. They were put on a support ship and were responsible for maintenance on GU space suits. The newly promoted privates were given Galactic Union space suits that had shielding, since personal shields were essential for boarders. Yori would fix any suits damaged or destroyed in engagements, at a safe distance away.
The last time Noah and I talked to Yori was right before we were deployed. They would be going to a front on a different ship, so we met up and talked before we were split up once more. Yori was happy with their new job, but expressed their desire to open up their own store again. We promised Yori that we’d become patrons from that shop once we won the war and were dismissed from the military.
Sometimes, I wondered what I would do after the war ended. I still had a lot to do. I still had to get Noah to his home. This war was a major setback. After all this time, I still had no clue where Earth was, and I lacked a ship to get there. But it was best to focus on the present, for now. I still had a war to survive.
“Hey, Saka? Are you okay?” Noah asked me, interrupting my thoughts.
“Huh? Yeah, I’m good. I just zoned out a little.” I replied. I moved my attention to the lounge screens.
“Yeah, we’ve taken out most of the Haivu warships. There’s only one left, but it's getting pretty close.” Noah observed.
He was right. Four Haivu warships had been destroyed and turned into scrap, careening in various directions. The last Haivu warship was still on its fatal path, still heading towards the blockade of warships. I watched as a beam hit the Haivu warship at an angle. The high density energy beam glanced off and disappeared into the black, fated to fly until it hit something. It wasn’t going to hit anything, ever. The Haivu warship’s shields flickered away.
Needle pointed at one of the beams visible on the screen.
“Hey, I think that one’s going to hit! It looks good!”
The chatter in the lounge rose as the beam got closer and closer to its target. It hit the Haivu warship, head on. It immediately exploded into a million pieces. The battle was over. The lounge room erupted in cheers. We’d won our first battle without doing anything. Even the warships at the front weren’t damaged. We’d won a space engagement without any casualties.
The entire fleet lurched forward, heading towards the Haivu space station that orbited a gas giant. We were going to take the station, and use it as an outpost to secure a strong foothold into Haivu territory. The Haivu should still have a decent stockpile of resources there.
Our ship passed one of the decimated Haivu warships. It was broken in half, and the bridge was nowhere to be seen. It floated aimlessly like a dead fish in deep waters. I had to remind myself that the Spear of Kain could see the same fate. In war, anything could happen. Just one victory wasn’t enough to feel safe.
Our fleet of warships eventually approached the Haivu space station. It wasn’t empty, apparently. The first few warships to reach the space station boarded it, and were met with no resistance from the Haivu soldiers inside. They had laid down their weapons and surrendered. They weren’t able to communicate with us, but it was a clear sign of surrender. It was obvious that they had lost, and weren’t willing to lay down their life for nothing. The Haivu soldiers were sent away on a prisoner transport ship, back into Galactic Union space. The GU foreign relations experts would interrogate them, I assumed. I wasn’t actually sure how Haivu prisoners were treated. Their ability to communicate with other Haivu across the galaxy no matter the distance was sure to be a nuisance.
Speaking of their long range communication abilities, our spearhead fleet was now on a strict time limit. The entire enemy Haivu force was now aware of our aggressive offensive. They were sure to be congregating and organized to stop us. The only way for us to go was forward.
I didn’t expect the next few battles to go as smoothly as that one. The Haivu War was just beginning.