The ships coming through were unlike anything I’d seen before. But then, I hadn’t seen a lot of the ship types that were used outside the Empire or Confederation. But it was pretty clear that the locals were familiar with the ships by the way they reacted.
Focusing on the General for the time being, I asked, “I assume those are the Demons you’ve alluded to, General?”
Akagi nodded slowly. “Yes. For the last hundred years, they’ve been fighting us, usually sending groups every ten years to attack, raiding the planet for men to steal. We don’t know why. They’ve never responded to our communications. We’ve never seen under their armor.”
“But you’ve been able to at least fight them off most of the time, correct?”
“Yes, though not without losses, and sometimes they do manage to land. It was after the conflict twenty-five years ago that the protective custody of males was introduced. If we have them all in centralized locations, it is easier to defend them.”
Fukuya broke in at that moment, “Why haven’t our watchers reported to us about the Demons coming through the Demon Gate yet, General?”
I rescued the General by saying, “Because the light of the gate hasn’t reached them yet. The Black Star Fleet, however, laid several probes by the gate to monitor it, and because we have limited FTL comms, this is a Real-Time view of the gate.”
The Premier blinked, “FTL communications? I knew that there were people working on FTL drives when the Ponce de Leon left, but the idea of FTL communication systems was pure science fiction.”
I nodded. “As I said, we have made some improvements since you left Earth. The benefits of trade and war, rather than isolation.” I turned to look at Raven. “Raven, analysis?”
“Detecting twenty-three ships of unknown design. Designate six as possible corvettes, another seven as possible frigates, five possible cruisers, one possible dreadnought. Other four targets are probable freighters or landing craft for troops. Formation is a standard raider formation.”
“If the design is unknown, why do you have probable types?”
“Ship designs are not in any databases Black Star has access to. However, there is a 34% match to pre-FTL Imperial fleet designs from a cosmetic standpoint. Probability of these being successor designs progressing along a different design track is almost 67%.”
“So they are no match for the Fleet?”
“Unclear, but unlikely, unless they have made significant improvements over the base designs, which are almost a hundred years old. However, they may have made design improvements in other ways.”
“Intercept chances?”
“Complete destruction of enemy forces before they reach the planet: 78.6 percent. Inflicting enough damage that the enemy decides to retreat through the gate: 89.9 percent. Enough of the enemy surviving to make landfall: 12.01 percent.”
Looking back to the General, I asked, “My ships are currently stationed between the planet and these Demons. Would you like a product demonstration of what Black Star has to offer you?”
Akagi’s grin turned feral. “Nothing would please me more, Mollen-san.”
(BSN Shinokage, orbiting Nuevo Edo)
“The local commanders would like to see an example of what we are capable of, Captain. While they are perfectly fine with wiping every last one of the ships from the sky, I would like to have prisoners that we can extract intel from, since I am negotiating with the locals on getting Black Star to take care of their ‘demon’ problem.”
Captain Inatumal nodded once. “Understood, Master. Orders for the fleet?”
“Raven tells me that these ships are likely advancements on pre-FTL designs. So far their acceleration curve corroborates that, but do not count on them not having some kind of nasty surprises. First Group is to use FTL capability to get behind the enemy and cut off their escape. Third group will advance, along with the Thunderfury, to engage the enemy directly.”
“Vicious Return is to hold her fighters in reserve, in case the enemy receives reinforcements from the gate. The Smerti and Nightforge will hang back and cover the planet in case any ships make it past Third Group. The Smerti will launch Thunderbolts and Dragons to support the attack. Green Giants are to remain with the carrier as combat air patrol, with Grey Phantoms ready to scramble if needed.”
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
“Shinokage will have overall tactical command. Strategic orders are to destroy or capture all enemy ships. No one escapes to warn their people about us. You are not to take any undue risk to the fleet in order to attempt to disable the ships or take them intact. If they look like they can hurt the fleet, you are authorized to dispose of them all, with prejudice. Priorities for capture, if convenient, are the freighters and the dreadnought.”
The Captain frowned. “I understand the dreadnought, but the freighters, Master?”
“They’ve been raiding the planet, and stealing parts of the population, Captain. The commander of the dreadnought and the captains of those freighters probably have the best idea of where those captives go, and what happens to them.”
“Understood, Master. It will be done.”
“One more thing, Captain. All boarding operations on the captured ships are to be done according to full contamination protocols. Assume all types: chemical, viral, radioactive, nanite. We know nothing about these people other than the fact they are humanoid in shape and 2.5 meters in height. They apparently never take off their armor where the natives can see, so assume greatest possible environmental dangers.”
“Finally, once any ships have been secured, interrogations are to be done by females, if possible. We don’t know why these Demons want human males, but no dangling steak in front of lions until we know what they can do. Understood, Captain?”
“Understood, Master. We will see it done.”
“I know you will, Captain. Wipe them out. Mollen, out.”
Captain Inatumal turned to her bridge crew. “You heard the Master. Send out orders to the fleet. Deploy Third Group to cover the planet and advance on the unknowns. First Group will follow the Shinokage. Helm, I want a least-time in-system FTL course that gets First Group between the Gateway and these bastards, without us having to ram our way through them. Curve us around, if you can. Comms, give me a line to the fleet.”
She paused, and waited for the communications officer to give her an affirmative signal, before speaking to the Black Star Fleet. “This is Captain Inatumal of the Shinokage. As you know, there is an enemy force incoming on the planet we are currently orbiting. The Master has declared that these are pirates and raiders, and will be most put out if they are able to disrupt his negotiations with the locals. We are going to ensure that this does not happen. Tactical commands are being passed out to all ships. Our orders are to kill or capture all enemy ships. Not one of them is allowed to escape the system or harm the planet. Disable them if convenient, destroy them otherwise. Priorities for capture are the ships being designated Haulers 1 through 4, and Heavy 1. Extreme prejudice is authorized for all other ships.”
“Send these sorry excuses for ‘Demons’ back to whatever pit spawned them, in the Master’s name. Shinokage, out.”
Finally, she took a breath, and said, “Let’s get to work. Those pirates aren’t going to kill themselves.”
(Space around Nuevo Edo)
Because of the quirks of lightspeed imagery, the Demons spotted the two largest ships in orbit of the planet because they occluded enough of the planet below that, even from a light-hour out, it was clear that there was something there. As one, the ships turned and began speeding up towards the planet on an intercept course. They would arrive at the planet nine hours after their light did, too quickly for those tasty prizes to load people and get up to speed to escape the system.
If their prey had decided to try and escape rather than fight, then they would not have the defenses in place to stop them. This time, they would have complete victory over the lesser beings!
(Meeting Bunker, Abandoned Edocite Quarry, Neuevo Edo)
Premier Fukuya looked at the man who commanded a fleet she could not have even dreamed existed until she had been hurriedly briefed on her way to the command bunker earlier that day. He was an enigma, and that bothered her. Even if he had not proclaimed himself the leader of the fleet above, she would have guessed it by the way he carried himself, like someone used to having authority. And the women who were with him, even the woman he had talked to on the starship above, all clearly regarded him as being the one in charge. Indeed, with the revelation that slavery had returned to humanity in the time since her people had left Earth, it seemed likely that he owned a large percentage of the crew of that fleet in orbit, which spoke of a certain personality type. And yet she didn’t get that kind of read off him. He certainly hadn’t shown any great arrogance or need for ‘submission’ from those around him, at least not where she could see it. It was possible he was putting on a false face to put her at ease in the negotiations, but if that was true than he was the best at it that she had ever seen, and she was in politics!
No, he was an enigma, and she needed to solve him, before she could commit her people to anything v than the ‘shore leave’ he had proposed. She was under no illusions there. That would increase morale greatly, once the spaceport was built. Access to the spaceport, for those who weren’t a part of the on site staff, would have to be regulated. Perhaps they could create a lottery of sorts, to have willing women given a vacation in the spaceport for the young men to visit? Government workers would be excluded, to make sure people saw that this was as fair as possible for the commoners, but perhaps a separate leave system could be worked out with the military side of things?
She shook her head to clear those thoughts, and watched as the man directed his ships into battle. She’d seen space battles unfold before, during the last Demon War, just five years ago, and the waiting was always the most difficult part. The Demon ships were still about eight hours out, if the ‘FTL comms’ could be believed, but the man was standing there as though he expected the battle to commence at any moment. He didn’t look like he was inexperienced in battle, so…
She gasped as the ships disappeared, all except the two big ones and the clearly civilian craft that were still in orbit of the planet. A moment later, they reappeared, in two groups, one in front of the Demons, and one behind, just as the man had directed them. If this was not some kind of elaborate trick, then they truly did have FTL capability!
The Demons were also surprised, because it took them a few moments to notice they were under fire. By then, however, it was already far, far too late for them. Missiles and energy weapons slammed into the Demon fleet, shredding the little ships like they were nothing. The ‘bombers’ as the man called them were the first to draw blood, their missiles simply obliterating the cruisers and frigates like they were not even there. The fighters were next, ripping the little corvettes apart like they were tissue paper. The dreadnought did not last longer for any reason but that the ships were not trying to destroy it outright, hitting it with those beam weapons until the shields crumpled, and then switching to what the man called ‘ion cannons’ to disable the ship. And without her noticing the freighters had been swiftly disabled as well, their crews never even getting off a shot before their shields and systems were overwhelmed by the stealth ships.
The man nodded, and pressed a button on his wrist device. “Mollen to all ships. Thunderfury’s to board and capture the dreadnought. Assassins to send tactical teams to capture the freighters. Remember, full Contamination protocols.” Then he turned to her. “Madame Premier, General Akagi, I am pleased to say that your planet is safe again, for the time being. We are about to have prisoners for interrogation, if you would like to have some of your people present to oversee this, while my assistant works with the individual who has been listening in on this conversation since the beginning?”
Minister Takahara’s laugh could be heard through the Premier’s communicator, and she said, “Tactfully put, Mollen-san. In that case, might I suggest that the Premier remains to negotiate the trade deal, while I join you and the General to observe the interrogations.”
The man chuckled, and said, “Sounds perfect.”