(Conference Room, Blackstone Station, Star’s Reach)
“Thanks for seeing me on such short notice.”
I smiled as I shook my guest’s hand. No reason not to be polite, after all. Lucio was one of the others in the game who could claim to be the top of the top, as far as players went. Sure, he wasn’t running his own star system, like me, but he was the right hand of the Empress of the Terran Empire. That was no small feather in his cap.
“Lucio, good to see ya. And you don’t have to thank me. You’ve never given me any reason to go against you, and the Empress is good people, for a politician. Wouldn’t have been the same ride without the two of you working together.” I motioned to a nearby chair. “So, I have a guess as to why you’re here, but why don’t you lay it out for me?”
The Empress’s Hand (that’s literally what people were calling him on the forums) sat down, and said, “Well, it is the whole Ihm thing, obviously. The damn lizards suckerpunched us. Three systems blacked out. Only communication coming through Nomads who happened to either be in-system, or with the Fleet.”
“I’ve heard that the Navy has been working hard on getting a nomad on every flagship, at the very least. Good to see that it is paying off. Sure, not everyone who comes over as a Nomad is cut out for the military, but still, for those who are, it is a good opportunity.”
Lucio nodded. “Yes, though the nonmilitary types are still getting opportunities, as well. I can’t go into specifics because of NDAs, but a couple of the ABC crowd ‘back home’ are starting to use this world as a training ground. Lots of opportunity to practice tradecraft, or even pick up some skills to use as a cover, all while death isn’t the end.”
I whistled softly. “So, those reports showing that the ‘training time’ in this world learning new skills helped people learn and reinforce skills in the other world are panning out, huh? That’s pretty damn huge. Sure, not everything translates over, and sometimes the systems will force you to do a bit of relearning, since there’s no HUD or aim assist in our world, but tactical thinking, and keeping calm under pressure, with all the chaos of an actual fight? That’s huge.”
“Oh, that’s part of it, but you’re forgetting about the social aspects. I’m sure you’ve noticed that getting an introduction to the local syndicates, for example, works a lot like how someone would try to infiltrate an organization in our world. And if someone wanted to practice networking and building contacts, well, the groups that do that kind of thing back home might look at this world as a good opportunity.”
“Ah, you’re talking about the social training. Yeah, I’ve heard about that, but not from the alphabet crowd. Or, rather, a different alphabet crowd. There’re a couple networks who are getting some up-and-coming journalists some ‘seasoning’ in this world, or prepping them for inserting into other cultures, or in war zones. Let them make the rookie mistakes where it is safe.”
“You’re talking about that ScoopGirl that is bringing the live reports from the reclamation of the Shadowgate system?”
“Exactly. But I think we’re getting off track.”
Lucio sighed. “Yes, but it is so much better than talking about what I’m actually here for, you know? The new weapon that they were talking about on the networks? The one the Ihm have that blocks transition drives? It is definitely real, and definitely fucking up our defense plans.
“We have one fleet doing hit and run attacks, playing cat and mouse with the enemy. Another one is still two days out from their target system. And the third is just trying to survive long enough to get out of range of the tarpits, so they can flee to a naval base for repairs. All three systems are considered lost, temporarily.”
“Any news on what’s going on?”
“Not much. Only one system has a Nomad on the ground, but he’s trying to keep out of sight, because of the Imperatrix wanting new chew toys. But what he’s been seeing isn’t good.”
“Let me guess, they’re doing some shady shit, like rounding people up?”
“Yeah, early on, but it looks like they’re splitting the population into groups. We have confirmation that about 25% of the population is being marked for slavery in the Imperium. Another quarter of the population are being rounded up for some sort of ritual.”
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“So, what is the Empress going to do?”
“Honestly, not much we can do that we haven’t already set in motion. We have raiders going behind enemy lines to disrupt them as much as possible, and the fleet is mobilizing, but even with gateways and transition drives, it will take some time before we can start on a counter-offensive. In the meantime, elements of the armada are already looking to try and wipe out our fleet bases in the region, which would make things even more troublesome.”
“So, what is it you want from me?”
“Even with the fleet in motion, it will take time to get to the affected areas. Soryu Base and Maydar Base, where 5th Fleet and 12th Fleet were based, can hold, since their fleets are pretty much intact, and engaging the Armada. The Admiralty believes that, even if ships break off from those engagements, local forces should be enough to hold off the attack, at least long enough for reinforcements to arrive.
“The problem, unfortunately, is Bandar Base, in the Uldat System. The 8th Fleet was stationed there, and they are technically doing their best to occupy the enemy, but they were virtually wiped out when the Ihm revealed their new weapon. They’re trying to escape and evade, but with their damage, that’s going to be troublesome.”
He sighed, shaking his head. “Even if they do escape, they won’t have the strength to stand up to an Ihm assault. There are simply too many ships, and their damage is already too much. But if 8th Fleet falls, all that is left to defend Bandar Base are the local defense forces. They will do their duty, of course, but the chances of them driving off the Ihm are effectively zero.”
I nodded slowly. The Empire was in dire straits, to be sure. “And if Bandar Base is destroyed, or captured, it threatens operations in the entire part of that theater, right? It is one of the key logistics and supply points for that region, according to what I’ve found on the networks. The lizards take it out, you can kiss the center of the front goodbye, and write off any chance of 8th Fleet getting back in the fight, if they survive at all.”
“Exactly. The problem is that, with transition drives being unreliable, since we don’t know how far out the ‘static’ will affect incoming ships, the closest reinforcement for Bandar is almost two weeks away, at their fastest speed. In that time, the Ihm could easily send a fraction of their forces to Uldat, and wipe Bandar off the map.”
“So, what you need is a fast response force, to hold until relieved?”
Lucio nodded. “And the only force that can get there fast enough, and in strength enough, to make a difference is Black Star. Your ships are outfitted with anchor drives, instead of the transition drives, after all.”
The Nomad straightened his posture, and his voice became more formal, telling me that we were changing from ‘fellow Nomad Lucio’ to ‘Empress’s Hand Lucio’. “The Empress asks that all Friends of the Empire stand with her in this time of doubt and darkness. But she knows that a leader, despite their ties of friendship, must look to their own people’s needs, first and foremost. To that end, she has empowered me to hire the Black Star Navy to hold Bandar Base until relieved, and then to take the fight to the Ihm, once the Base is secured.”
“Right. It may take some time to fully mobilize my forces, but I can have elements of the Black Star Navy in Uldat in two hours. Just make sure you warn them ahead of time. It would be very rude to come riding to the rescue, only for the defense forces to put a missile up my exhaust because they thought I was X’thari.”
Lucio laughed. “I promise you, I’ll send word the moment I’m back on my ship. Thank you, Admiral.”
“That’s what friends do.”
(Flag Bridge, BSN Ama-no-Murakumo-no-Tsurugi, Star’s Reach)
I looked out at the screen, displaying all the admirals and commodores of my fleet, as well as General Khan. “Ladies and gentlemen, that is how it is. The Empire has purchased our services in defending one of their bases until we can be relieved, and then to prosecute the war on the offensive, likely by raiding behind enemy lines.
“Unfortunately, the numbers we are likely to be facing are not ideal. And, as in the past, we will be forced to stand and fight, rather than simply evade. Use of Starbolts is approved, and restricted only by the treaties, so make sure there aren’t any planets behind your targets when you fire!”
That got a round of chuckles, as I’d intended it to. “The Imperium is not going to be expecting us, so, once we deploy, we will go to full stealth, so that we can get the maximum impact. The moment the Ihm know we’re there, they are going to start doing everything they can to make life miserable for us. Their leader, according to everything we’ve seen, is too smart to just let us play by our own rules without doing anything to ruin our day.
“I know you are all blooded veterans, some of you even before you signed up. You all know this is going to get bloody. We’re going to lose people. There’s nothing we can do about that. But what we can do is try and limit the losses, and spend our people’s lives as dearly as possible, making the Imperium pay in gallons of blood for every drop of ours we shed.”
Commodore Dhaka raised a hand politely enough, but I could hear the heat in her voice. “According to the battle plans, only First, Fourth, and Fifth Groups of the Navy, with First through Third Companies of the Marines, will be defending in Uldat. What about Second Group and Fourth Company? You don’t intend to leave us out of this, do you?”
“Relax, Commodore. If I had any doubts about you or your people’s loyalties, or whether you would fight against what your former country has become, we would not be having this conversation right now. Second Group and Forth Company will have a different mission.”
I focused my gaze on her. “While our assigned goal is to defend against an Ihm attack in Uldat, I am not comfortable allowing the Armada to keep the initiative. Additionally, I have… concerns about the ritual that they are apparently cooking up. The last time the Imperium tried cooking up something big, they ripped a fucking hole in the universe.
“Additionally, the remains of the Imperial Navy’s 8th Fleet are still in the system, trying to escape and evade destruction by the invaders. Those ships are probably out of the fight for the foreseeable future, but their crews represent a wealth of experience that the Empire would rather not lose. At the very least, it would be a major PR win for morale if they were able to escape the trap.
“Your mission is to use your anchor drives to get to the Sedara system. There, you will engage the Ihm fleet to draw them away from 8th Fleet, allowing them to escape. Secondary objectives are to silence the new tachyon jammers that the Imperium are fielding, allowing Imperial reinforcements to arrive more swiftly, and to attempt to acquire any intelligence you can get on the ritual. Tertiary objective is to cause havoc within the ranks as best you can, while preserving your command if at all possible.”
I took a breath. “And this goes for all of you. Our goal is to do the job, wreck the enemy’s shit, and come back home. Sometimes you have to take risks in order to accomplish the job, and I’m fine with that. But make sure the risks are worth the rewards.
“All right, that’s enough from me. All ships engage anchor drives in ten. Locals have been warned about incoming friendlies with X’thari drives, but if the Ihm are in the system, they probably didn’t get the memo, so come in with shields up and weapons hot. Especially Second Group. Dismissed.”