The thing about forcing a battle to happen at sublight speeds in an area the size of an entire solar system is that you’re talking about some fairly long wait times to get into firing position. After communicating with the Loyalist’s and exchanging temporary IFF codes, we were (officially) included in the tactical network. Now, we were working on getting into position to make our first attack runs, pushing our stealth systems to the max. The likelihood of our being spotted increased when we went full out, though, because of the angles involved, we were fairly certain that we would be all right, especially with the Empress’s forces remaining closer to Edena in a battle formation. They were baiting the trap, and we needed to cause a bit of chaos.
So, what do you do when you have a weapon that you can let people just walk themselves into? Well, we let them walk it in, of course! Once the enemy formation was set, we lined up on our vectors, and launched our first round of attacks. Seven kinetic weapons (including the two from Shinokage), sent flying towards the enemy. Then we maneuvered to redirect out of the line of any return fire, dropping below the ecliptic, just as Merida’s fleet began their advance. Over the next twenty minutes, we fired twice more, on slightly different headings. Maybe nothing would come of the last two salvoes, but it was good to have the option out there.
We rotated crews to get some food and drink, and hit the head. Sounds silly to say that, but when you’re talking about battles that play out over hours, there’s a lot of time to think. We had about three hours until the enemy found our first set of ‘surprises’. Sure, it would have been longer if we’d been going slow, or were stopped, but the enemy was coming at us full on, and we were headed towards them full on, meaning that our first shots were going to be moving at near-relativistic relative speeds.
And then the lead elements of the attack force began running into our ‘gifts’. The first salvo took out four of the five corvettes and the battlecruiser that had been Shinokage’s target. Watching in the long-range scans, we saw the ships beginning to break formation, taking evasive action. The second salvo took out one of the frigates who walked into the shot, and saw three lucky hits bracket the Bismarck, overloading its shields and doing significant damage to their forward weapons. The third salvo saw two battlecruisers eat two rounds each, going the way of their fallen friends.
Now, with the enemy fleet in disarray, the first wave of Merida’s strike fighters, and bombers, who had been running on a ballistic course once they’d reached attack speed, broke and began their attack runs. Torpedoes launched from the bombers, and soon the remaining frigates were out of action, while one of the battlecruisers was dropping out of formation, leaking atmosphere. If the enemy had been able to coordinate fire control, they would have been able to work together to defeat the missile attacks, but they were out of position thanks to the kinetics.
We were within light minutes now, and began our attacks in earnest. Again, Shinokage struck, blasting another battlecruiser out of the sky with her double-barreled rail gun, while the corvettes ganged up on the wounded Bismarck. Three shots hit within a second of eachother, causing small explosions along the hull of the wounded superdreadnought, before the fourth hit a moment later, blasting the ship’s engines off the rear of the ship. The flagship of the enemy fleet was now dead in the water, and leaking atmosphere all over.
A volley of ship-killer missiles reached out from Merida’s fleet. With fleet command in shambles and all ships having to do their own fire control, the outcome became academic. Forty-five ships, firing over three hundred and fifty ship-killers, targeting seven of the superdreadnoughts with over fifty missiles each. If the ships had been in formation, with linked fire control, and the proper escorts to help keep the missiles at bay, it would have been different.
Maxwell’s Hammer gleamed silver in the starlight as the superdreadnought used its main weapons to help clear the space in front of it of missiles, supporting the countermissile launches in a show of quick thinking by their crew. Between that and their missiles, they managed to cut fifty down to thirteen. Thirteen became four when point defense had their say, and while four was no walk in the park, the Maxwell survived it. She was beat up plenty, but the superdreadnought was still in the fight.
The other targets of that volley were not so lucky. Four were destroyed outright, unable to even respond to their attackers. Blaze of Glory lived up to her name, somehow managing to take ten missile hits and still manage to launch a salvo of ship-killers of their own before an eleventh missile that had been launched slightly behind the others slammed into it amidships, and caused the reactor to blow, scattering the Glory into its component molecules.
Nearby, the Alamo ensured that she would not be remembered as a winner in this battle, but that her crew might live to see another one. Wracked by explosions, across the ship, the battered superdreadnought’s controls were clearly shot, as it was slowly spiraling out of control heading above the ecliptic, bleeding atmosphere at a prodigious rate. There were already life pods and shuttles launching from the hulk.
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And then the two fleets were coming together, missiles, torpedoes, and beam weapons firing back and forth as the smaller, nimbler ships of Merida’s fleet danced around the battlecruisers, while her superdreadnoughts took on the enemy capitol ships with four to three (maybe two and a half) odds. Little points of light could be seen moving quickly around the two fleets, as the fighters tried to do their best to aid their respective fleets.
Behind the enemy fleet, an impact shattered Bismarck’s recently reestablished shields, before the ion cannons on Shinokage, Simo Haya, Wisteria, and Shadowdancer began blasting away at the ship, attempting to disable it for capture. Meanwhile, Artemis supported Vicious Return and Ghost Squadron as they launched their assault on the enemy carrier, Radiant Dawn. The single reserve squadron posted for close defense of the carrier was no match for the stealth fighters of Ghost Squadron. All but three were dead before they even knew what hit them, and the last three only had enough warning to eject instead of dying in their fighters.
Radiant Dawn was never equipped to do more than hold off an enemy long enough to get to FTL without her fighter squadrons. Her shields and armor were good, but all she had for armament was point defense weapons. With Ghost Squadron and Artemis pounding away with the ion cannons, it didn’t take long before the ship was disabled.
“Sir, transmission from the Bismarck, all channels. We have video.”
“Let me see it.”
The transmission came up on the screen in front of me, and I had to stifle a groan. There was Admiral Scheiner, and wouldn’t you know it, but the man had nice blue eye implants. “This is Admiral Scheiner, servant to the True Emperor Travis Vaughn. Glory to Deus, for his will is in all things. May Holy Terra never fall to rebels and traitors like the False Fleet! All ships under my command, you are ordered to fight to the last! Anyone who suggests surrender is to be shot immediately by the nearest loyal servant of the Emperor! Not one ship shall fall into the hands of these traitors!”
Right, I started tuning out this guy, to start looking at the tactical map. The fight was going well, from what I could see. The Usurper fleet was down to only five ships still in the fight. The superdreadnoughts St. George and Invictus were battered, but holding their own against the Loyalist’s forces, and the battlecruisers Crazy Horse and Mephistopheles were on their last legs, getting pounded from every side. Maxwell’s Hammer had finally silenced her guns, and was clearly disabled this time. And somehow, the corvette Jubilee had made it through the fight virtually untouched so far.
It wasn’t a bloodless fight for the Loyalist side, however. Blessed Redeemer was the only superdreadnought out of action, though she might just be disabled. Five frigates and seven corvettes had fallen to the guns of the larger Usurper ships, and the fighter squadrons were looking equally savaged at this point.
The battle was as good as over, unless someone called the freighter and got them to drop the jamming field so people could go into hyperspace. Since that hadn’t happened, I had no doubt there was another zealot on board that ship, if it was manned at all. The Usurpers were regrouping around the two superdreadnoughts, gearing up for a last stand.
“Enough of this.” I hit the commlink. “Captain Inatumal, would you so kindly place a double shot from the Shinokage’s main gun directly amidships that bastard? Bonus points for taking out his reactor. Then decloak and put me on to all warships in the area.”
“It will be done, Master.”
I changed the settings, and gave new commands, “Captain Stormdelver, give Jiex my complements, and between the two of you persuade the commander of the Radiant Dawn to surrender. Ghost Leader, that freighter is beyond annoying at this point. Would you be so kind as to remove it from my sky?”
“Wilco, Master.”
“You got it, Boss.”
By this point, Shinokage had launched once again, and it was with grim satisfaction that I saw the Bismarck get hit directly amidships, and then a second later get blown into two halves, as the core blew the ship apart, the remaining sections rapidly losing air.
“Good work, Captain. Have all tactical teams begin sweeping the wreckage of the Bismarck for survivors. They can surrender and be a slave, or resist and die. If the Admiral is still alive, stun him and chain him. He’ll be a gift to the Empress.”
“Understood. Channel open to both fleets.”
“This is Commodore Mollen of the Black Star Fleet. You may notice that the Admiral has stopped running off at the mouth now. To all ships from the fleet formerly commanded by Admiral Scheiner, you are ordered to surrender or be destroyed. Cut your shields and weapons, and power down your engines, or I’ll do the same to you as I did to half your fleet. If your pride does not allow you to surrender your warships to a Privateer, then I suggest you start being really talkative with Empress Merida’s forces, as they are the only warships I’m not about to wipe out of the sky. You have until I decide you’re too stupid to live to decide.”
“Commodore Mollen out.”
Raven looked at me like she was trying very hard not to break out into laughter. “Well, you certainly have a way with words, Captain. Trying to drive them into Merida’s camp?”
“Something like that. I’m taking the carrier, and any surviving crew off the Bismarck, but those wounded superdreadnoughts especially could be a big boost to Merida’s effort against Travis. And there’s a possibility that more ships will try and join her now that she’s shown she can beat an enemy that outguns her… on paper. Most people won’t look at anything except ten superdreadnoughts to four, and an overwhelming superiority in the number of heavy ships. This will look like a miracle win for her, especially if they keep us out of it.”
Raven looked to one of the screens. “We’re getting communications from the Alamo and the Jubilee. They wish to surrender to us, instead of the Empress.”
“Accept their surrender. We’ve been needing more guards for the home fleet, and I want to see what our mad scientists can do when they’re refitting a superdreadnought.”