Prologue

6th June 2472 AD (four years after the liberation of Haven).

USS Phantom, Hampshire System.

Captain Naylor groggily opened his eyes to look at the COM unit beside his bed. Its buzzing had woken him up. The color of the flashing light told him the message was important. It better be, he thought as he reached over and tapped the COM unit. It feels like I barely closed my eyes.

“What is it XO?” he asked.

“A new contact Captain, it’s slowly making its way into the system. The ship doesn’t match any known ship classes,” Hyde, Phantom’s Executive Officer, replied. “I don’t know what to make of it.”

“Are you suggesting…” Naylor began.

“I don’t know Sir,” Hyde said, speaking over his Captain. “But given everything that has happened lately, I haven’t ruled it out.”

“Ok, I’ll be right there,” Naylor said.

With a groan, Naylor rolled himself out of bed. As Captains went in the United States Colonial Fleet, Naylor knew he was old. A fleet command had never appealed to him. Being a Captain, the master of your own fate, with no more responsibility, nor paperwork for anything but your own ship, that was how he enjoyed life. It was also why he found himself protecting a small mining operation on the edge of US colonial space. Not bothering to find a fresh uniform, he threw on the one he had been wearing the previous day.

“I have the bridge,” Naylor said as he walked onto Phantom’s bridge.

“The Captain has the bridge,” Phantom’s Executive Officer said as he rose from the Captain’s command chair.

“What am I looking at?” Naylor asked as he sat and stared at the holo display dominating the front of the bridge.

“We picked it up just over thirty minutes ago,” a Junior Lieutenant answered. She was manning Phantom’s sensors. “At first, I thought it was a freighter coming to collect ore from Mantell. But the contact doesn’t match any known freighters in Phantom’s data banks. It could be a new freighter design, possibly from one of the other colonial powers.”

“Or it could be something else,” Naylor finished.

“Yes Captain, that is why I alerted the XO,” the Junior Lieutenant answered.

“Well, what have you found out about this contact so far?” Naylor asked.

“Not much,” Hyde said. “The contact hasn’t shown any significant acceleration capabilities. It has been keeping on a steady course for Mantell since we picked it up. Backtracking its course, it looks like it came into the system via the Grant shift passage. It is certainly acting like a freighter. Size wise, it’s somewhere in the range of a light cruiser or a tramp freighter.”

“Another reason to be suspicious,” Naylor said.

“Yes Sir,” the XO continued. “I checked with Mantell’s operations hub, since the mining base was established ten years ago, there has never been such a small freighter sent to pick up their ore. Plus, they weren’t expecting a freighter for another two months. Their ore silos are nowhere near capacity yet.”

“Have you hailed it?” Naylor asked.

“Five minutes ago,” Hyde answered. “We expect to hear a reply in another seven.”

“This doesn’t feel right,” Naylor said. “If the contact is a freighter, we should have picked up its gravimetric disturbances an hour or two ago. Even if it is a new design, we should have detected it the moment it accelerated into the system. Whoever is in charge of that ship, they are up to no good.”

“Should we launch a stealth probe towards the contact?” Hyde suggested.

“Yes,” Naylor replied. “Launch two. Have them pass to either side of the contact. I want a good look at them.”

“Do you think it is some kind of pirate ship?” Hyde asked.

“Possibly, though I’ve never heard of a pirate ship willing to take on a naval vessel. We’re not exactly hiding. It could be an armed freighter, possibly owned by another colonial power. Perhaps they plan to raid Mantell to steal technological secrets. Or maybe they just want to destroy us and salvage us for tech. There is more than one Earth power who would love to get their hands on a US destroyer. It’s either that, or we have ourselves another Haven situation on our hands.”

“You think this is a ship from a lost colony?” Hyde said. “Haven was a once in a lifetime event. Wasn’t it?”

“I was thinking more along the lines of the aliens the Havenites encountered,” Naylor responded.

More than one of the Junior Lieutenants on the bridge stopped what they were doing and looked at their Captain. Hyde said what they were all thinking. “Surely not. What are the chances?”

“Who knows,” Naylor said. A few years ago, he would have agreed with his subordinates’ skepticism. “But think about it. No one suspected the Vestarians and the Kulreans existed, especially so close to our space. Yet they do. There could be thousands of other alien species out there. Sooner or later, we’re going to encounter one of them. When we do, it might happen just like this. An unknown contact in a backwater system.”

“So, what do we do?” Hyde asked.

“Nothing yet,” Naylor answered. “Speaking of aliens might just be the fanciful delusions of an old Captain. Let’s rule out a nefarious scheme by some unscrupulous human before we go jumping to any unwarranted conclusions. All the same, let’s keep our eyes open.”

“Aye Sir,” Hyde nodded.

“No sign of any COM reply,” a Junior Lieutenant reported. “We should have received it thirty seconds ago.”

“It isn’t looking good,” Naylor said. “Send out another hail.”

“Aye Captain,” the COM officer replied.

For another twenty minutes everyone watched the unknown contact slowly approach their position. Naylor could feel the tension rising. He waited as long as he could before giving his next order. “Send the crew to battle stations. I’d rather play it safe now than be sorry later.”

“New contact,” another bridge officer called, causing everyone’s heads to swing away from Naylor and back to the holo display. “The first contact just launched something. It’s headed our way.”

“A missile?” Hyde queried.

“I’m not sure yet XO,” the Junior Lieutenant replied. “It’s not accelerating very fast. And the contact is still six light minutes from us. I’ve never heard of a missile with such range.”

Hyde looked at his Captain. “We wait,” Naylor said, answering the unasked question. “Whatever it is, it’s not moving very fast. Let’s wait and watch before we jump to any conclusions. I don’t want to start a shooting war with some other Earth power unless we have too.”

For the next thirty minutes, everyone on the bridge waited as the object came closer and closer. As the two stealth probes neared the alien ship, everyone turned to watch the sensor officer’s reaction.

“What in the world?” she said, unable to hide her confusion as the first images came in.

“Junior Lieutenant,” Hyde prompted crossly. “Everyone else is waiting to see.”

“Oh, sorry Sir,” the officer almost squealed. “It’s just, it’s like nothing I have ever seen before.”

As the images appeared on the main holo display, Naylor had to agree with her. “It has to be alien,” he said. “That is not a human designed ship.”

The angles were all wrong. The ship was making Naylor feel disorientated just looking at it. The closest thing he had seen before that he could use as a reference point, was a snowflake. The ship coming towards Mantell looked like several of them had been squished on top of one another in an unorderly fashion. No human would build such a ship, it looked ridiculous.

“Power up the point defenses,” he called. He didn’t want to take any chances.

Hyde sent the order throughout the ship. “Should we prepare to target the incoming smaller contact?”

“Yes,” Naylor answered. As it approached, they had discussed a number of possibilities. The smaller contact was still far larger than a typical missile. It was more the size of a shuttle. It was also travelling at a velocity far more suited to a shuttle. Yet if it was alien, who knew what it really was? “I’m still working on the assumption it is a shuttle, but we’re not going to take any chances. Ready the point defenses. Then send out the standard greeting message.”

“Aye Sir,” Hyde responded.

Ever since the Vestarians had been discovered, US Central Command had been sending out updated first contact protocols. The latest called for a pre-prepared greeting to be sent to the alien ship. Naylor wasn’t sure what the aliens would make of it. Hopefully though, if they had the technology to travel between the stars, they would be able to make sense of the translation matrix they had included in the greeting.

After the greeting was sent, the small contact steadily approached Phantom for another six minutes. Naylor could feel the eyes of his subordinates on him. They were waiting for him to act, to do something. Instead, he kept perfectly still.

“Shouldn’t we do something?” Hyde whispered. “It could be some kind of weapon.”

“It’s possible,” Naylor said. “But I’m not going to be the one who fires the first shots in an interspecies war. For all we know, this could be their standard greeting process. Maybe that small contact is a shuttle full of aliens getting ready to greet us.”

“But its getting awfully close, surely a peaceful alien wouldn’t act so aggressively,” Hyde replied.

“We wait,” Naylor said, holding his subordinate’s eyes.

“I’m picking up a message from the larger contact,” Phantom’s COM officer reported, drawing Naylor and Hyde out of their conversation.

Naylor looked at the officer in time to see her face whiten. With the tap of a couple of buttons, he brought up the message on his personal holo display. It was one English word.

Die.

Naylor sprang into action. “Target the smaller contact with our forward missile tubes, fire as soon as you get a lock.”

It was too late. The small shuttle like contact split apart. Suddenly there were ten contacts. All of them rapidly accelerating towards Phantom.

“Point defenses, now!” Naylor called.

Almost at once, Phantom’s point defenses engaged the new contacts. However, the alien missiles were just a couple of light seconds out from Phantom. The gunners didn’t stand a chance. They managed to hit six of the missiles, but there wasn’t time to get the other four. Phantom’s ECM confused one, however, the other three struck home. Punching through Phantom’s armor, they penetrated through four decks before exploding.

As Phantom shook from the triple missile strikes, Naylor looked to his XO. His look said one thing, ‘I’m sorry.’ Hyde gave a slight nod. What else could I have done? Naylor didn’t have time to answer his own question. The explosive force from the missile’s detonation ripped through the bridge, killing him instantly. Seconds later, Phantom’s fusion reactors overloaded and the ship exploded into thousands of chunks of burning metal. The fires quickly dissipated in the cold of space, leaving nothing but an expanding ball of debris. The chunks of metal were sucked into Mantell’s atmosphere where they burnt up, creating a spectacular display of shooting stars. It was missed by those on Hampshire’s surface, their attention was elsewhere.

*

Engineer second rate Sarah Hastings’ mouth fell open when Phantom exploded. Like the bridge crew of Phantom, she had thought the new contact a freighter at first. Then, when she had received the images of the contact from Phantom, she had been astounded. She had immediately woken the rest of the engineering team who oversaw the mining operation on Mantell. They were all gathered around her, watching events unfold.

As she turned to look at her colleagues, she saw the same fear in their eyes that she felt. A beep from her console confirmed her worst nightmares, the contact was accelerating. It’s heading right for us, Sarah thought in terror as she stared at her holo screen. And now there is nothing to stop them, our only protection is gone.

Chapter 1

The human nations took a long time to recognize just what was going on around them. They spent too much time fighting each other instead of looking beyond themselves to the real threats. As a result, many lives were needlessly lost.

-Excerpt from Empire Rising 3002 AD.

24th August, 2472. Earth. Badminton House.

Flag Captain James Somerville was sitting on a rotunda overlooking the lands of his family estate. He was absent-mindedly turning his wedding ring around and around his finger, his thoughts elsewhere. He was remembering the first time he had taken Suzanna to Badminton House. They had both sat in this very spot. That had been over four years ago, before they had known they were to be married.

James couldn’t help but smile. It felt like a lifetime ago. So much had changed. Though he could remember the events of his life before Suzanna clearly, it was hard to imagine how they had felt. Things were so different now. It was hard to picture the man he had once been. How did I ever function without her?

The answer brought another smile to his face. He didn’t know. But the last few months had shown him how hard it was. Six months ago, he and Rear Admiral Hayes had been ordered back to Earth. Titan had been scheduled for a refit and Hayes’ presence had been requested by the Prime Minister’s cabinet to brief them on Haven’s progress. After four years in orbit around Haven, with the opportunity to see Suzanna almost every day, the last six months had been a shock to James. The truth is, I can barely function now, I have no idea how I did it before.

An alert from the datapad lying at his side brought him out of his reminiscing. Picking up the datapad, James’ breath caught. One word came to mind. Beautiful. Titan had been an old ship when he had taken command of her four years ago. She had never been a real looker. Of an older design, she had looked boxy and bulky, rather than sleek and menacing. Then, as the engineers on HMS Vulcan had split her open to carry out their refit, she had looked a mess. Today was the day the engineers were scheduled to put Titan back together. Though technically James was enjoying some much-deserved leave, Rachel Scott, Titan’s Second Lieutenant, had known he would want to see what his ship looked like. She had sent him the first images of Titan, now whole once again.

As James looked closely at the images, he couldn’t help but think that he was being given an entirely new ship. The engineers had added about fifteen percent to Titan’s internal volume. In doing so, they had reshaped the heavy cruiser’s outer hull. Now she looked far more like a modern warship. On top of that, she was bristling with the latest technologies from trading with the Vestarians and Kulreans. James could easily make out the six laser beam emplacements along Titan’s hull. He also knew that more than fifty point defense lasers lay hidden behind concealed hatches. They were in addition to the point defense plasma cannons and AM missiles Titan had always carried. With Titan’s extra volume, the engineers had also added another missile tube to each of Titan’s broadsides. Powering all the new weapons, and the much-improved impulse drive, were the new fusion reactors. Based on a Kulrean design, they were vastly more efficient than the old reactors Titan used to carry. All in all, the engineers had predicted that Titan would be able to hold her own against a battlecruiser. At least, one that hadn’t been upgraded with the latest technology.

James found it hard to believe someone would entrust him with such firepower. It hadn’t been too long ago that he had captained a lowly exploration frigate. Back then, he had thought he would never command a real warship. Now he was about to captain one of the most powerful warships in the British fleet. Only the new battleships would be able to truly outgun Titan.

Although James was happy to see his command back in one piece, the real reason Scott had known to send him the images was that the completion of her refit meant Titan would soon be ready to return to Haven. Hayes had left to reassume command of the British fleet there three months ago. It was time that his Flag Captain returned as well. Of course, for James, returning to Haven meant one thing. He would be returning to Suzanna.

Another beep from his datapad made him scowl. Andréa, his accountant and estate manager, had sent him a reminder. He had a function to attend tonight.

As the Duke of Beaufort and one of the most wealthy and powerful noblemen in the British Star Kingdom, James had the world at his fingertips. Yet he hated the limelight. He was far happier on the bridge of a warship in the midst of battle than surrounded by other noblemen and politicians. At least it is for a good cause, he told himself. His father had squandered much of the Dukedom’s wealth, sending many of its businesses into bankruptcy and leaving over ten thousand workers without jobs. Since then, he had been trying to make amends.

James hadn’t expected to inherit the Dukedom. He had an older brother. Though Richard was a known drunkard, his father had always told him Richard would inherit the Dukedom. James had been sent into the navy so he would be out of the way. Yet before his suicide, James’ father had changed his will. To this day, James felt his father had done so to spite him. Being landed with a Dukedom in tatters and covered in shame had almost destroyed his personal life and his naval career. Suzanna insisted his father had seen sense. That he had realized James could succeed where he had failed. James wasn’t so sure.

Either way, with Andréa’s help, in reality, with her doing most of the work, the Dukedom of Beaufort had risen from the ashes. Now James was one of the wealthiest men in the British Star Kingdom. Tonight’s function was about using that wealth to better the Kingdom. Andréa had become the Dukedom’s estate manager four years ago. She had already been overseeing much of the Dukedom’s businesses as it had been her investment firm’s biggest client. Now she devoted most of her time to overseeing James’ holdings. It meant the Dukedom had been expanding in leaps and bounds, and its profits were being funneled to where they were needed most. A significant proportion of the finance that had helped to rebuild Haven after the Indian occupation had come through the Dukedom.

The function tonight was another of Andréa’s ideas. She had set up a foundation to give grants to disadvantaged students, so they could go to university. There were over five hundred students enrolled throughout the British colonies studying with the program. The first graduates had finished their courses a couple of months ago. The function tonight was to congratulate them and provide awards to the ten most successful candidates. Many of the graduates would be taking up positions within the various businesses James owned, or would be sponsored by the Dukedom to take up positions in other roles within the British Star Kingdom. Tonight was to honor them.

Even so, James thought. There will still be plenty of politicians about. It is always the way. With a sigh, he got up and entered Badminton House. He had to figure out what he should wear.

*

James walked into the reception in London. Thankfully it was being held in a large conference center he owned. He knew a back way into the building and was able to avoid being announced as he entered through the front entrance.

“You finally made it,” a familiar voice said from behind James.

Spinning around, James shot Andréa a stern look. “You don’t need to go about sneaking up on me. And you knew I was coming. I let you know when I left Badminton House.”

“You did,” Andréa replied. “But you’ve been known to sneak off on more than one occasion.”

“Guilty as charged,” James admitted. “But tonight is about the graduates. I wouldn’t sneak out on them.”

“I’m glad to hear it,” Andréa grinned. “You should also know, I’ve scheduled a meeting for after tonight’s reception for the two of us. There are some things I want to discuss. It’s not often I get you to come to London. I’m going to make the most of it.”

James rolled his eyes. “Do you really need me? You make all the decisions anyway.”

“I do. But I make them in your name,” Andréa said, taking the tone of a teacher scolding a wayward child. “It’s important you know what your Dukedom is up too. If only to prevent you putting your foot in your mouth if you are ever ambushed by reporters.”

James’ face reddened. A week after arriving on Earth he had been questioned by a reporter on his way out of Admiralty House. They had asked him about some protests happening on the colony of Britannia. He had admitted that he didn’t know anything about them. Hours later he had found out that a couple of his business had been trying to push through better pension laws for local workers. Other businesses had been resisting the laws and his workers and others had been holding protests. They had been using James’ reputation as a rallying point. His admission that he knew nothing of it had embarrassed the protestors and caused the political capital his businesses had been using to push through the laws to evaporate. Andréa had not been happy.

“Point taken,” he said.

“And,” Andréa went on, as if James hadn’t spoken. “You do occasionally have something useful to add. Our investments in Haven and the Void are still showing the best returns from all our positions. There are times when your military mind and knowledge can be beneficial.”

“Am I to take that as a compliment?” James asked sarcastically.

“Take it how you wish,” Andréa said with a smile and a wink. “Now,” she continued as she took James by the elbow and steered him towards the center of the reception. “Ladies and gentlemen,” she said as she raised her voice.

James tried to break free and move away from her, but it was too late. People were already turning to stare.

“May I present to you our host,” Andréa continued. “The honorable Duke of Beaufort.”

A round of applause broke out. As James looked at the smiling faces, he saw more than one person he wanted to avoid. As was often the case however, he knew they would be the first ones to come talk to him.

“Enjoy,” Andréa said with a wicked smile as she moved away, leaving him open for petitioners to approach.

James shot her a betrayed look. Andréa’s smile simply widened.

Swallowing a sigh that threatened to escape from his lips, James put on a smile and turned to chat to the first group.

*

James finally found himself a secluded spot from which to watch the proceedings. Thankfully, the awards ceremony was about to start. Everyone’s attention was focused on Andréa and a couple of other business directors who worked for the Dukedom. James had managed to talk Andréa out of having him hand out the awards a couple of days ago.

As Andréa read out the achievements of the first award winner, James was impressed. The young man had graduated top of his class. He had also completed a work placement with a top weapons technology firm which had agreed to hire him. James was even more impressed when the young man appeared on stage beside Andréa to receive his reward. He looked far too young to have accomplished everything he already had. Was I ever that young? James asked himself. The next two graduates were equally as impressive. Both would be going to work for businesses Andréa oversaw.

When the fourth award recipient appeared on stage, James’ heart almost stopped. For a split second, he was carried back in time. He was a young boy playing in the trees that surrounded Badminton House. Climbing a tree, he had fallen and hurt himself. His screams had brought his mother running through the forest. He still remembered the look of concern on her face. Concern that had quickly turned to joy when she had found her injured son. It was one of the last memories he had of his mother. She had died six months later.

Now, it was as if she was still alive. James had grown up with pictures of his mother as a young woman. To him, she had never aged. The woman moving to stand beside Andréa was almost the spitting image of his mother. He didn’t know how it was possible, but he was sure he was related to this young woman. The resemblance was uncanny. There had to be a family connection somewhere, a close one.

“This is Emilie Kansas,” Andréa said as the young woman stepped up beside her. “She has just completed a Masters at Cambridge University, achieving a First-Class honors degree in military history. To date, she is the first and only candidate who has successfully applied to the Somerville Foundation from the Alpha colony. We hope she will be an inspiration to others.”

As Emilie walked off stage, James’ eyes followed her. Even her walk reminded him of his mother. He followed her until she disappeared amongst the other award winners. After the last winner was introduced by Andréa, James immediately began to make his way through the crowd. Frustratingly, he had to talk to several people who waylaid him. Eventually, he made it to where the award winners were congregating.

“Hello,” James said after pushing his way towards Emilie, as he spoke he held out his hand. “I’m…”

“Duke Somerville,” Emilie said as she took his hand, her face reddening. “I know who you are, we all do.”

“Please, call me James,” James said. “I wanted to congratulate you. It can’t have been easy growing up on Alpha. To make it to Cambridge. That is quite a feat.”

“Thank you,” Emilie said. “I couldn’t have done it without your Foundation. I owe you a great debt.”

“Nonsense,” James said with a wave of his hand. “You earned everything you have received.”

“Thank you,” Emilie said again. Then she lapsed into silence.

“Are your parents here to celebrate with you?” James prompted her.

“I’m afraid not,” Emilie said as she looked down. “They are both dead.”

“I’m so sorry,” James replied. “I didn’t mean to pry. Though I am sure they would be proud of you.”

“It’s ok,” Emilie said. “My father died shortly after I was born. My mother died just a couple of years ago. She lived to see me start at Cambridge. She was very proud.”

James’ heart went out to the young woman as he struggled to hide his disappointment. He suspected Emilie was his brother’s daughter. It was the only explanation that made sense. In his youth, Richard had liked to take pleasure yachts out to the Alpha colony. It was possible Emilie was his daughter.

“I’m very sorry to hear that,” James said before the silence became awkward. “Their loss makes your achievements all the more impressive. I’m glad the Foundation was able to help you.”

“Thank you,” Emilie replied. “I won’t pretend it hasn’t been difficult. Yet there have been benefits. Not having a father was one of the reasons why I was accepted into the Somerville Foundation. More importantly, it was the stories of my father my mother told me as a child that gave me the desire to succeed. He was a Lieutenant in the RSN you see. My mother was very proud of him. In a way, they are both responsible for me being here. My mother sacrificed everything to pay for me to get an education on Alpha. It was her sacrifices and her stories of my father that have brought me to where I am now.

“I am glad you have been able to find some positives out of your loss,” James said. “My mother died when I was young. I know what it is like to grow up missing a parent. What was your father’s name? Perhaps I knew him from the academy or served with him before his death. I suspect he was from before my time, but you never know.”

“Third Lieutenant Jason Strongarm,” Emilie replied. “Do you know him?”

“I’m sorry,” James said. “The name is not familiar. Do you know what ship he served on?”

“No,” Emilie replied. “Both my parents were very poor. They kept no record of their early life together. My father was just beginning to rise in the ranks when he was killed. My mother, living on Alpha, never found out what happened to him. Since coming to Earth, I haven’t been able to find anything out either. They were never married and I can’t prove I am his daughter to access his files.”

“I will see what I can do,” James promised.

“Thank you,” Emilie said as a strange look came over her face. “It would mean a lot to me.”

“It would be my pleasure,” James replied. He would do anything to take the look of loss away from the young woman’s face. “I will look into this for you and get back to you as soon as I can. May I ask another question? I noticed your future plans weren’t announced when you received your reward, yet your scores were impressive. What is it you plan to do?”

“I hope to join the navy, like you,” Emilie said as she lifted her chin. “My father was a Lieutenant. I wish to follow in his footsteps. My acceptance into the cadet program hasn’t been confirmed yet, so it couldn’t be announced today.”

“That is a noble desire,” James said with a smile. “Perhaps one day we will serve together.”

“If the day ever comes, it would be a great honor,” Emilie said. “I’m sorry to leave you,” she continued after a moment. “But there is to be a holo recording of all the award recipients.”

“That’s quite alright,” James said with a chuckle. “You don’t want to make Andréa have to wait on you. I know from experience. Go on. I’ll be watching your career with interest. And I’ll be in touch about your father.”

“Thank you again,” Emilie said as she curtsied and turned to walk away.

As she disappeared into the crowd, James’ mind was racing. Emilie didn’t just look like his mother, she had the same mannerisms. At least, the same ones he remembered. He needed to find out who she was.

Chapter 2

Like all empires or kingdoms with a hereditary head of state, our Empire has suffered from the occasionally disputed succession. Thankfully, only one civil war has occurred in the Empire’s five-hundred-year history. However, there have been close calls on more than one occasion.

-Excerpt from Empire Rising 3002 AD.

Turning away from a couple of Members of Parliament who looked like they wanted to chat to him, James made his way towards the nearest exit. Once he was out of the reception hall, he checked his datapad. Andréa had scheduled their meeting for an hour from now, in a nearby office suite owned by some company of his. That will work, James thought. He needed somewhere where he could think and access the navy’s records. Moving off at a brisk walk, he headed away from the building the reception had been held in and towards the offices Andréa had booked for their meeting.

His identity card got him through the main entrance and then a security guard showed him to the room Andréa had booked. Sitting himself at a computer terminal, James accessed the navy’s records. His rank as a Flag Captain would give him all the clearance he needed to look into Emilie’s father.

After half an hour, he gave up. There was no sign of a Lieutenant Jason Strongarm who died during active service around the time of Emilie’s birth. There were five other Strongarms who had been serving as Lieutenants at the time but none seemed to have any connection to Emilie. The four naval officers from the Alpha colony who had been in the fleet around the time of Emilie’s birth didn’t seem to have a connection to her either.

Perhaps her mother was lying, James thought. She could be Richard’s after all. If Richard met Emilie’s mother at a brothel, or on a drunken night out, then Emilie’s mother may never have known who Emilie’s father was. Likewise, Richard may never have known he had a daughter. On a whim, James checked the flight records for his family’s yacht. Richard had taken it to the Alpha colony several times around the date Emilie must have been conceived. Next, he looked up his brother on Britannia. There were a couple of recent news reports from the colony. Each was just listing celebrities who had attended various parties. It seemed his brother was at least alive and well, though it didn’t seem like he had changed his ways. Imagine, James thought. I could have a niece. He and Suzanna had been trying for a child for the last couple of years. So far, they hadn’t succeeded. Before he had left Haven, they had been waiting for the results of a number of tests that had been carried out by Havenite doctors. No doubt, Suzanna had learned the results months ago. She’ll be excited to hear she could have a niece.

Of course, it was all speculation. For all James knew, Emilie could be a second or third cousin of his mother. Though the resemblance was strong, and it was unlikely any of his mother’s relatives would have grown up on Alpha. They were from a noble family themselves. There has to be some close link, James told himself. A voice made James jump and broke his train of thought.

“The famed Captain Somerville, early to a business meeting. I think I have seen it all,” Andréa chuckled as she moved into the office. “Whatever will I see next?”

“Hello Andréa,” James said as he rolled his eyes at her. “You’ll be disappointed to know I didn’t exactly rush here to meet you. I wanted to do some research.”

“I suspected an ulterior motive,” Andréa smiled as she sat opposite James. “Though I thought you were just trying to escape the reception. What have you been looking into?”

“Her,” James said as he turned the holo projector on his computer terminal on.

“One of the award recipients?” Andréa asked, sounding confused.

“Yes,” James answered. He added a second image to the holo projection.

“Who is that? Is that Emilie’s mother?” Andréa asked, no less confused.

“The second image is my mother,” James said. “She died twenty-five years ago.”

“But… Emilie’s twenty-one. I don’t understand,” Andréa said.

“Neither do I, that’s why I am here. I’ve never seen or heard of Emilie before. Yet she has to be some relation. The similarity is too strong,” James replied.

“I take it she is not yours?” Andréa asked.

“No,” James said with a laugh. “I was ten when she was born. But my brother would have been nineteen. And he went on drinking trips to the Alpha colony.”

“So, you think she is your niece. Have you run a DNA test?” Andréa followed up.

“No,” James answered. “I don’t have access to her DNA.”

“Well then, it’s a good thing I do,” Andréa said as she pulled her datapad out of her purse. “We required it as part of the application process for the Somerville Foundation. And of course, I have yours on file.

“There,” she continued after tapping a couple of buttons. “I have sent a request for a technician to compare the two samples. We should get some results back in a few minutes.”

“Thank you,” James said as he shook his head. “I should have just come to you instead of wasting my time.”

“Nonsense, this way you get to appreciate what I can do,” Andréa said with a wink. “So, if she is your niece, what are you going to do?”

“I don’t know,” James answered. “I haven’t thought that far ahead yet.”

“Ok, well let’s go through the material I want to brief you on while we wait. Then you can head back to Badminton House as soon as we get the results. You’ll probably want some time to figure out what you want to do either way.”

“Yes,” James said.

As Andréa dove into her various business ideas and plans that were already in motion, James barely took them in. He was thinking about Emilie and his mother. It would be strange to have a niece. He didn’t know what would be expected of him. It would also complicate things, not least because it would likely bring Richard back into the picture. They had never got along. Their relationship was the best it had been since their father died, and that was because they hadn’t seen each other in over a decade. Having Emilie around would be unsettling. James hadn’t realized how much he still missed his mother until a few hours ago. Just seeing her had brought up a wellspring of emotions. The joy she had brought into his life, and the pain and loneliness after her death. It wasn’t Emilie’s fault, but seeing her had unsettled him.

“Are you listening to me?” Andréa asked rather loudly.

“Pardon?” James said instinctively. Then he looked at the time on the computer console. Andréa had been speaking for nearly twenty minutes.

“I said, are you listening to me?” Andréa repeated. “I was telling you about the latest discovery of Valstronium on Excalibur. More than sixty percent of the deposits extend into areas we already own the mining rights too.

“Oh,” James said. “Well, that sounds good.”

“Good?” Andréa shook her head. “Good? It’s fantastic, we’re easily going to quadruple our initial investment within the first year of exploiting the resources. But then, I’m getting the impression your mind is elsewhere.”

“No… well, I,” James tried to say. He felt guilty for having missed almost everything Andréa had said.

“That’s alright,” Andréa said. “I guess it’s a good thing the DNA results have already come back. I sent them to your terminal.”

James’ eyes whipped around. He didn’t even try to apologize to Andréa. He wanted to know. When he saw the results, he grinned.

“What do they say?” Andréa prompted, after a few seconds of silence. “You’re smiling, it must be good.”

“I have a niece,” James said, the reality hitting him. His heart went out to Emilie. She had endured a hard life, a very hard life. Growing up without a father was bad enough. But growing up on Alpha, that was almost a guaranteed sentence of poverty and an early death. It was a miracle Emilie had got to where she was. His thoughts turned to his brother. How could you leave your own daughter in such a place? Perhaps he really didn’t know about her. He wasn’t about to let his brother off the hook. One thing was sure, their family owed her a lot.

“That’s excellent,” Andréa said. “Emilie was already my favorite. I have been trying to dissuade her from joining the navy and coming to work for me instead. Now she’ll have too. Someone needs to learn the family business after all.”

“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” James said. “I’m not going to interfere in her plans. She will be free to do whatever she wants to do. You’re not even to tell her who she is, not yet.”

“Then what are you going to do?” Andréa asked.

“I want you to amend my will. Make her a beneficiary. Make sure she will have enough to do whatever she wants if something happens to me,” James said. “I’m going to try and contact my brother. He needs to drag his sorry ass back here and take some responsibility. He should be the one to tell Emilie who her father really is.”

“That may be wishful thinking,” Andréa said. “You might not have been following your brother’s career, but I have. I have had to try and limit the damage he does to the Dukedom’s reputation. I wouldn’t bet a lot of money on him coming back to Earth, even if it was to see his estranged daughter.”

“Well I’m going to write him a letter. I want you to use your contacts to make sure he gets it. We’ll decide what to do when we see what he is prepared to do,” James said.

“Right, I’ll get on that first thing in the morning,” Andréa said. “What about her desire to join the navy. Are you going to pull some strings?”

“I already promised I would put a good word in for her,” James said. “I think I know just the person to speak to.”

“It wouldn’t happen to be the First Space Lord, would it?” Andréa asked coyly.

“Perhaps,” James smiled. “If Emilie really is a Somerville, its time she started benefiting from the family name. Once she is in the naval academy, neither of us will be able to help her graduate from cadet training. Nor advance her career any faster than her skills will merit. But we can at least make sure she gets an offer to go to the academy. Beyond that, it’s up to her.”

“You do realize that there is a lot of baggage that comes with being a Somerville?” Andréa asked. “Perhaps, when she finds out, she may not want to let the world know who she is. You know better than anyone what it is like to grow up in the shadow of your family name. And I imagine it would be hard to go to the naval academy with both yours and your uncle’s reputation. The expectations would be too much for some to carry.”

“Point taken,” James said. “I’ll make sure Emilie knows exactly what she is getting herself into before she makes any decisions. At the moment though, I can at least help to get her the offer she wants.”

“I’m sure she will be grateful,” Andréa said. “Now, I’m tempted to try and carry on with my briefing, but I suspect it would be a waste of time. I can put together a document for you to read tomorrow instead. If you have any questions, then I can come and brief you.”

“I think that would work better,” James replied. “I want to write this letter to Richard tonight and have it sent tomorrow. Titan will likely be heading back to Haven in a month or so. I would like to have this sorted one way or another.”

“Then I’ll leave you to it,” Andréa said. “You can stay here and write your letter. I will forward it to the next courier ship to Britannia in the morning. I’ll arrange for an aircar to pick you up and take you back to Badminton House as well.”

“Thank you,” James said. “I’m sure I’ll have time to catch up with you again before things get hectic with Titan.”

“I’ll hold you to that,” Andréa said as she stood. “Happy writing,” she added. She placed a hand on his shoulder and gave him a light squeeze before moving off.

“Thank you for tonight, and for the Somerville foundation. We wouldn’t have found Emilie without either,” James called after Andréa.

“No need to thank me,” Andréa said. “You know I get a kick out of helping those our society hasn’t helped in the way it should. Besides, someone needs to recruit some people with actual common sense to show you snobby aristocrats what to do.”

James grinned and shook his head as Andréa left. They had gone through the naval Academy together. Though James had been born the second son of a Duke, he had still been more than happy to befriend a commoner. In the Navy, such things were all but irrelevant. That hadn’t stopped Andréa mocking him every chance she got when they were younger. It seemed some things were never going to change.

James composed the letter to his brother. It took him four attempts, but eventually he was happy with it. He knew he couldn’t force his brother to return to Earth, but hopefully, with the right words, what was left of his brother’s sense of duty could be rekindled. Emilie deserved the truth and she deserved it from her father.

The letter done, James sent a short message to his uncle requesting a meeting in the morning and left. Then, he got up and made his way down to the exit from the building he was in. An aircar was already there waiting. In less than half an hour he was crawling into his bed in Badminton House. Before going to sleep, he added a few paragraphs to the letter he had been writing to Suzanna. The next freighter wouldn’t be leaving for Haven for another three days. No doubt, he would have more to tell her about their new niece by then.

Setting his datapad down, he switched off the room’s lights. Then, he allowed another smile to spread across his face. The day’s discoveries were going to complicate his life, yet, if Emilie was anything like his mother, he looked forward to getting to know her.

*

The next day James was up bright and early. His uncle had sent him a message at 6 AM to let him know he could only see James first thing in the morning. By 8:00 AM, James was already sitting outside his uncle’s office.

“He will see you now,” his uncle’s receptionist said with a smile.

“Thank you,” James said as he strode past her and through the double doors that led into his uncle’s office.

“I hope you are not here to complain about Titan,” Admiral Somerville began as he swiveled to face James. “I’ve had the best engineers working on her. We always knew it was going to take a lot of work to get her back to full fighting trim.”

“I’m not here to complain uncle,” James said as he raised his hands. “I appreciate all you’ve done to help make the last six months go smoothly. I have some other news I want to share with you.”

“Well, don’t keep me waiting boy,” Somerville said. “What’s so important that you had to come over first thing?”

“You are a great uncle,” James said.

“What?” Somerville asked, a smile spreading across his face. “Have you heard from Suzanna?”

“No, no,” James waved his hand back and forth. “At least, there’s no news there that I know of. I’m talking about Richard. I believe he has a daughter. One he doesn’t know about, but who I met yesterday. I have already run a DNA test. Unless I have another brother out there somewhere, she is Richard’s daughter. “

“She? So, you have a niece? I have a great niece? What is her name?” Somerville asked excitedly.

“Emilie,” James said as he sat opposite his uncle. “You know the Somerville Foundation that Andréa began? Well, she was one of the first applicants to be accepted. She just graduated from Cambridge and was at the awards dinner that Andréa held last night.”

“Does she know who she is? Is that why she applied to the foundation? How did you figure out who she is?” Somerville asked.

James was enjoying the look of confusion on his uncle’s face. Normally he was the one with all the answers. “Which question would you like me to answer first?” James grinned.

“Stop teasing me boy. Just tell me.” Somerville said as he gave James a sharp look.

Reaching into his pocket, James pulled out a data pad. He handed it over to his uncle. “This is Emilie,” James said. “To be honest, I was a little taken aback.”

“You’re telling me,” Somerville said. “She is almost a carbon copy. Did you speak to her?”

“Of course,” James said. “I had to figure out who she was.” Quickly James told his uncle everything he knew about Emilie.

By the end, Somerville was shaking his head. “It’s almost unbelievable what she’s managed to accomplish. The Alpha colony is a lawless mess. Even the UN barely manages to keep control of the capital, never mind all the other cities. I’d say it was her Somerville blood that has got her this far, but I doubt either one of us could have thrived on Alpha.”

“I know,” James said. “I feel for her. She deserves a lot more than what she’s got out of life. I already had Andréa add her to my will. Hopefully in the future at least, she won’t have it so difficult.”

“Agreed,” Somerville said as he reached into a drawer in his desk. He quickly pulled out a bottle and two glasses. “I know it’s early, but I think this deserves a toast.”

“Cheers,” James said as he clinked his glass with his uncle’s.

“To Emilie,” Somerville said. “I presume,” he continued after taking a sip, “that you don’t plan to say anything to her until you hear back from Richard.”

“Yes,” James said. “If Richard will come to Earth to meet her in person. I think he should be the one to tell her. However, there is something we can do for her now. That’s why I’m here.”

“Name it,” Somerville said.

“Believe it or not, she has applied to the naval academy. Her mother told her that her father was a Lieutenant in the British Navy and that he died just after she was born. It’s one of the things that has driven her to come to the British Star Kingdom and succeed at Cambridge. She is still waiting to hear back about her application.”

Admiral Somerville reached over to his computer terminal. In a couple of seconds he brought up Emilie’s application form. “Her University marks are impressive. She easily passed the aptitude test as well. Her application hasn’t been fully processed yet, but I don’t see why she shouldn’t be accepted. I’ll expedite her forms immediately.”

“Thank you,” James said with a smile. “I plan to contact her and let her know that I put in a word for her.”

“Just make sure she knows that won’t mean anything when she gets to the academy. She’ll have to prove her abilities then,” Somerville said.

“Given her background, I’m sure she’ll understand that,” James said.

“I’m sure,” Somerville agreed. “I look forward to meeting her. Your mother was very dear to me as well.” After taking another sip from his glass, he set it down empty on his desk. “I suppose, now that I have you here we may as well discuss your assignment.”

“Don’t worry,” Somerville smiled as a look of concern spread across James’ face. “You’re going back to Haven. However, you will be taking Commodore Hamilton with you. Hayes will be returning to Earth once you and Hamilton arrive.”

“Hamilton?” James asked. It wasn’t a name he was familiar with.

“He is one of the oldest flag officers in the fleet. He is nearing retirement age. He was competent in his day. He still knows what he’s doing, but it means a lot more responsibility will fall on your shoulders,” Somerville explained. “Hayes has already been informed. He was sent back to Haven to put things in order and ensure everything is ready for Hamilton to take over. After that, he’ll be returning to Earth to take up a new command.”

It wasn’t hard for James to read between the lines. Hayes was going to be placed somewhere else, where he was needed more. Certainly, James had come to respect the Rear Admiral a lot over the last four years. Though Hayes had only seen limited action in the war with China, he had shown himself to be a very able fleet commander. Both in the way he organized the fleet protecting Haven, and in the battle simulations they had run together. It didn’t sound like Hamilton would live up to the same standard.

“What about the Indian threat?” James asked.

“You have probably seen as many intelligence briefings on India as I have,” Somerville said. “At the minute, their new government seems much more concerned with rebuilding the colonies we raided in the war, than with rebuilding their fleet. As long as that continues, Parliament has been happy to extend them rather generous loans to help with the rebuilding. The Indians don’t particularly like having to take our loans, but they are some of the best they can get. Plus, they know it ties us to them. We’re hardly going to go barreling into their territory and raid colonies that we just paid to rebuild. RSNI plans to downgrade the threat from India later today. Hayes’ talents will be wasted in Haven. He will be needed elsewhere. I’d say the same of you too, however I know you have other reasons to be there.”

“Well, let’s hope everyone in the Indian military and government thinks as clearly and logically as you do,” James said. “I’ve seen first-hand what the Indians are willing to do when they think it’s in their best interest.”

“Indeed,” Somerville nodded. “And I can assure you, we have some contingencies in place. But we don’t foresee any impending threat from the Indians. As soon as Titan is declared space worthy, you’ll be heading to Haven with Commodore Hamilton. I suggest you brief him on the fleet and situation on Haven as soon as you can. As I said, a lot more of the responsibility will fall on your shoulders. You are being given a promotion in all but name. All the same, Hamilton will have the final authority and its best you make sure he is on board with whatever you do.”

Again, James was able to read between the lines. If things went well Hamilton would be the one who, on paper at least, would get the praise. However, the appointment was clearly one where Hamilton could see out the last few years of his required service before retiring. Everyone would know that James was responsible for the fleet’s actions and efficiency scores. “I understand,” James said. “Thank you for the opportunity.”

“You’ll not be thanking me when you see your paperwork piling up. Thankfully, I will not be around when that happens. You’ll be on your own then,” Somerville smiled. “Now, let’s talk about another matter. I see you still haven’t appointed a new First Lieutenant?”

“No,” James replied. “I was hoping.”

“Let me stop you there,” Somerville interrupted. “Lieutenant Scott has demonstrated fine courage under fire and genuine leadership capabilities, but she is still too junior.”

“But with all the experience she gained overseeing the refit,” James began.

“It doesn’t matter,” Somerville said. “If this was war time, it might be different. But it is not. Seniority has to be taken into account. Scott was a Third Lieutenant six months ago. The fact that I let you promote her to Second Lieutenant shows how much I trust your judgement. She has proven you right during the refit. However, there are over fifty Lieutenants with twice the experience she has waiting for a posting. If I let you promote her again so soon, every one of them will be knocking at my door. It will be impossible for me to avoid charges of favoritism.”

“I understand,” James said, though he didn’t try to keep the disappointment out of his voice. A part of him was already dreading going back to Titan, there would be so many missing faces. It would be like the first few months after the final battle with the Indians. On Endeavour he had constantly been looking around for Mallory and Julius. Yet they were both dead.

“You need to choose a First Lieutenant,” Somerville continued. “Then together you need to fill the rest of Titan’s empty slots. I know I took most of your best personnel. That’s just what happens when a ship comes in for such a long refit. I’m sure you’ll be able to find suitable replacements for all the people you lost.”

“I’m sure I will,” James said, though he wasn’t sure of anything of the sort. After four years, he had drilled the crew of Titan to the point where they worked together as one efficient machine. Whilst a significant proportion of Titan’s old crew remained, it would take months to get the new recruits to the level that James wanted.

“Good,” Somerville said. “I’ve already sent you a file containing all the active officers within the Sol system who would be suitable to become your First Lieutenant. Try to find one to your liking in the next day or two. I know technically you’re still on leave until tomorrow, however, now that Titan’s hull has been reassembled, you should be taking her out for a shakedown cruise as soon as possible.”

“I’ll make it a priority,” James said with a nod.

“Very well then,” Somerville replied as he stood and held out his hand. “Your news has brightened my day considerably. However, I still have plenty of meetings I have to get through. You’ll have to be on your way.”

“I understand uncle,” James smiled as he shook his uncle’s hand. “You are the expert on paperwork after all. I’ll let you get back to it.”

As James walked out of his uncle’s office he glanced at the file on his datapad and groaned. There were more than sixty potential First Lieutenants. I may as well start looking through them today, he thought.

Chapter 3

Earth has gone through many phases in its role as humanity’s homeworld. Before the discovery of the shift drive, an ever-growing population consumed every available piece of land. With the first colony on the Moon, and then Mars, the pressure lifted. Once the shift drive was discovered large swaths of territory were all but abandoned as humanity flocked to the stars. Everything came full circle with the founding of the Empire. As the Empire expanded across the galaxy, the growing bureaucracy needed to run it slowly turned Earth into the city world it is today.

- Excerpt from Empire Rising, 3002 AD.

James’ aircar landed just outside the town of Dunvegan. He was looking for a First Lieutenant. At first, when he saw Lieutenant Romanov was living in Dunvegan, James had been confused. What was a serving Lieutenant doing in the middle of nowhere? However, on the flight from Badminton House, he had begun to understand Romanov’s thinking. Dunvegan was a small town on the Scottish island of Skye. The island was stunning.

As he looked around the town itself, he was still confused. It looked like the town hadn’t seen a new building in over a hundred years. Why is Romanov here? Why isn’t he serving on a warship? James wondered, not for the first time since opening his file. Romanov had been James’ Second Lieutenant on board the destroyer Raptor during the Chinese war. That had been six years ago. After Raptor, Romanov had been given a promotion and had served as a First Lieutenant on a medium cruiser for three years. Then, the cruiser had received a new Captain. Within a month, Romanov had been replaced and he hadn’t held a command position since. When James first saw Romanov’s name on the list of potential first officers for Titan, he had been excited. However, things didn’t add up.

James owed Romanov. Gupta and Romanov had helped him through a difficult time on Raptor. He also knew Romanov had the ability to make an excellent First Lieutenant. He intended to find out what was going on. After making sure the aircar driver knew to wait for him, James strode into the town. He had to stop and ask for directions, but eventually he found the house the Admiralty had listed as Romanov’s current address.

When he knocked on the door a young woman with blue eyes and long ginger hair answered. “Yes?” she said with a thick Scottish accent. “Oh,” she continued before James could answer. “Are you here to see Sergey?”

“Yes, is he here?” James asked. His uniform had obviously given him away.

Instead of answering, the young woman’s face darkened. “What do you want with him?”

“I have a job offer for him,” James said. “We used to serve together.”

“This isn’t some kind of trick?” the young woman said. “Sergey has been messed around too much already. If this is a joke, you should just leave.”

“I am a Flag Captain in his Majesty’s Royal Navy,” James said. “I have come to see Lieutenant Romanov. This is no joke. Is he here?”

“Captain,” the woman said as alarm washed over her face. She quickly stepped back, opening the door wider. “My apologies Captain. Please, come right in.”

“Thank you,” James said as he crossed the threshold. There was no point berating the young woman. She was clearly involved with Sergey and felt he needed protecting. Something wasn’t right.

“Please, wait in here,” the woman pointed James towards a reception room. “I’ll go get him. He’s upstairs.”

James eyed the room warily. He reckoned the house was at least two hundred years old. That wasn’t a surprise, with the explosion in opportunities outside the Sol system many of the more rural areas of Great Britain had been neglected. Not many people born in such places chose to stay there once they reached adulthood. What concerned him was the fact that the sofas didn’t look much younger than the rest of the house. Carefully, he lowered himself into one. As he suspected, it was far from the level of comfort he was used to. To distract himself, he looked at the paintings on the walls. He guessed they were of various scenes from around the island of Skye. They would never be hung in a gallery, but they were impressive nonetheless.

Less than a minute after being left alone, James heard loud voices from somewhere within the house. He recognized one as Romanov’s. It was hard to make out exactly what was being said. Yet he heard one word. Captain. As soon as the young woman said that, the shouting ceased.

When Sergey stepped into the room, James was shocked by his appearance. He looked thin and scraggly and he had large bags under his eyes. Nevertheless, when he smiled, James recognized his old Second Lieutenant.

“James,” Romanov said with genuine affection. “It’s good to see you again.”

“And you too,” James said as he stood and grasped Romanov’s hand. “It’s been too long. I’m sorry I didn’t write to you while I was stationed on Haven.”

“That’s okay,” Romanov said. “I’m sure you were busy. Between becoming a Flag Captain and being married to the system’s Governor and all. Congratulations by the way.”

“Thank you,” James said. “I was disappointed that you were stationed with the Britannia fleet when we had our wedding. I would have liked for you to have been there.”

“I’m sure it was a good day,” Romanov said.

“It was. Now tell me,” James said as he sat. “What’s going on? Why are you here? You should have an active commission, if not a command of your own. What happened on Eagle?”

Romanov stiffened. His eyes shot to the floor. He didn’t speak.

“Well?” James prompted. He didn’t know what had happened but it was easy to guess from Romanov’s record when it had happened. “I read Captain Black’s report. He recommended you for a command of your own. That’s the official record of why you were removed as Eagle’s First Lieutenant. You were supposed to be waiting for the next available command position to open up. Yet here you are, three years later. What really happened when Captain Black took over Eagle?”

Again, Romanov didn’t answer. James’ patience began to thin. “Listen, it’s me you’re talking to. I’m on your side. I want to help you if I can.”

“No one wants to help me,” Romanov said. “I have no future with the fleet.”

“Perhaps not,” James replied. He didn’t want to tell Romanov about the position on Titan until he was sure Romanov was capable of taking up the role. “But we are friends are we not? Clearly whatever has happened is eating away at you. Your partner seems nice, but I never imagined you living here in the middle of nowhere. Please tell me what happened.”

“I was lied to. That’s what happened,” Romanov spat. “The promise of a command was an illusion. They just wanted me to drop the charges.”

“Charges?” James asked. “What charges? What happened to you?”

“It was Captain Black,” Romanov said. Now that he had started speaking, his story came tumbling out. “His father was killed in the last war with Russia. As soon as he found out where my family was from, he did everything he could to make my life a living hell. I finally confronted him. I told him I was as British as he. That he was being a tyrant and not acting like a Captain of a King’s ship. He struck me.”

James let out a hiss. Such behavior was unacceptable. The Captain of a British warship was like a god to his crew. They had to obey his every order, and he could do what he wanted with them. Yet, there were unspoken rules. Black had known that Romanov would never fight back. To physically beat a subordinate was tantamount to torture.

“I could take being hit,” Romanov said. “That wasn’t the problem. After our altercation, he reassigned all my main duties to the other Lieutenants. I became a laughing stock. The entire crew knew the Captain didn’t trust me. After a couple of weeks, I filed charges against Black. It was the only thing I could think to do. Right away, Admiral Highwater who was commanding the fleet in Britannia got involved. He didn’t want a story of abuse getting to the press. This was just after the Indian war and there was a lot of focus on the fleet after our defeats in the Indian colonies. The Admiral arranged to have me replaced. He said that if I dropped the charges, he would recommend me for a command of my own. Of course, I took his offer. I didn’t want to serve with Black any more than he wanted me. I was packed off back to Earth with the promise that a ship would be found for me. Yet, here I am, three years later. No command, not even another commission as a Lieutenant. I’ve just been left siting here to rot on half pay. The Admiral lied to me. Now, no one wants me to serve with them. Like you, they can read between the lines in my file. As far as anyone knows, Black removed me within a month of taking command. That’s how everyone sees me now.”

“The Admiral may have lied to you,” James said carefully. “Or Black used whatever contacts he had to make sure your promotion never materialized,” James thought that was a more likely cause of Romanov’s problems. It was possible the Admiral in charge of the Britannia fleet had sent a file to the Admiralty to make sure he never got command. However, James found it hard to believe that an Admiral would lie so blatantly to a subordinate. On the other hand, he could easily see a vindictive Captain trying to destroy a subordinate’s career. Romanov bringing charges against Black could have damaged Black’s career just as much as Romanov’s career was now in tatters. Though there was no official record of the charges, it was very likely the Admiral in Britannia would make sure Black didn’t see another promotion. James guessed Romanov didn’t see things that way.

“I don’t know,” Romanov said. “As far as I’m concerned, they all betrayed me. Black, Admiral Highwater and the Admiralty here on Earth. My family gave up everything when they came to the British Star Kingdom. That was decades ago, yet still I’m treated as an outsider, as a threat.”

“Have I ever treated you that way?” James asked. “Did Gupta? You have been hard done by. No doubt these last three years have been difficult. But the world isn’t against you. Do you want to still serve in the fleet?”

James’ question seemed to catch Romanov of guard. His eyes shot up to stare at James. Then he looked back to the ground. “I… I don’t know,” he answered.

“Why did you join in the first place?” James pressed.

“I wanted to show everyone that I was loyal. That your country hadn’t made a mistake in accepting Russian refugees,” Romanov answered.

“And did they? Did the Admiralty waste the time and credits they spent on training you? Are you loyal to the British Star Kingdom, or are you still Russian?”

“I am British,” Romanov said, lifting his head. This time he held James’ stare. “I was born British. I am as British as you or anyone else.”

“Then why are you hiding out in the middle of nowhere?” James asked quietly. “You were one of the best Lieutenants I’ve had serve under me. Why are you letting that go to waste?”

“I’m not letting it go to waste,” Romanov said passionately. “I returned to Earth ready to take command. The Admiralty rejected me.” Meeting James’ eyes, Romanov held his stare.

Finally, James saw what he had been looking for. Romanov wasn’t completely broken. The old Lieutenant, the one who dreamt of his first command was still there. “You’re wrong,” he said. “At least, not all the Admiralty has rejected you. I haven’t rejected you. That’s why am here, Titan, my ship, has just completed a refit. I need a First Lieutenant. I came here, hoping you would take the commission.”

Romanov’s face was a mixture of hope and fear. James thought he understood. He was offering the Lieutenant a lifeline. Yet it had been three years since he had stepped foot on a warship. Three years could feel like a lifetime.

“You are serious?” Romanov asked after a moment’s pause.

“I flew all the way out here, didn’t I?” James replied.

“I don’t know,” Romanov said as he looked to the ground.

“Of course he will,” the young woman said as she barged into the room.

“Lily,” Romanov hissed. “Stay out of this.”

The young woman laughed. “I thought you knew me better than that,” turning to James she continued. “He has spent the last year moping around here, complaining about the Admiralty, complaining that his skills were going to waste. This is your chance. You say you love me. If you do then be honest with me, be honest with the Captain. You want this.”

Romanov looked at James helplessly. James couldn’t help but smile. “Don’t look at me,” he said as he lifted his left hand. “I know what it’s like to have a woman who thinks she knows what is best for me. I’m not getting in the way.”

“Go on,” Lily said, choosing to ignore James’ comment. “Tell him the truth.”

“Fine,” Romanov said, still looking at James. “If you think you can use me, then I accept. Honestly, I don’t know how I will settle back into life in the fleet. But if you want me, I’m willing to try.”

Lily smiled and moved to sit beside Romanov. She put her arm around him and gave him a squeeze.

“As I said, Titan has just finished a refit,” James began as a compromise occurred to him. “She will have to carry out a shakedown cruise before she returns to Haven. I can appoint you acting First Lieutenant for now, and then after the shakedown cruise we can review your progress. How does that sound?”

“That will work,” Romanov said.

“Excellent,” James smiled. Though he had his doubts about Romanov, he’d rather have someone he knew, than spend months trying to get to know an unknown Lieutenant. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out his datapad and sent a message to Admiralty house. “There, you have now been taken off the half pay list and registered as Titan’s new First Lieutenant.”

“Thank you,” Romanov said. “It will be an honor to serve with you again Captain.”

“I look forward to working with you too,” James said. “Now, perhaps you would like to introduce me to Lily properly. Then you can tell me just how you ended up here in the middle of nowhere?”

As Romanov told James how he had met Lily, and then recounted the last three years, James was pleased to see his defenses lift. By the end of the conversation, he sounded much closer to the man he remembered.

“If you like,” James said to Lily after speaking to her about her childhood, “I can arrange for transport to bring you to Haven. Titan is likely to be stationed there for at least a year or two. I’m sure my wife could find room for you in our apartments. She may even be able to find you a job you might like.”

Lily looked like she had been caught off guard. “That’s very generous of you,” she said as she looked at Romanov. “My home is here though, and my family is here. I have to think about it, is that okay?”

“Of course,” James smiled. “Relocating is a big decision. Take all the time you need.”

Before he could say anything more, his datapad beeped. A similar beep came from the COM unit Romanov had in his pocket. Their eyes met as they reached for their devices. It had to be something serious if both of them were getting a message at the same time.

“All fleet personnel are to return to their ships,” James said as he scanned his message. As he got to the reason why, he sat up in his chair. Images of Haven flooded his mind. He vividly remembered the day when hundreds of Vestarian missiles had rained down on the planet. Even though they had managed to stop most of them, James still had nightmares about what it would have been like if they hadn’t. Though he had never been to the Farnsworth colony, it wasn’t hard to picture the death and destruction the colony had just endured.

“I’ve just been ordered to return to London,” Romanov said. “All Lieutenants without a current posting are required to report to Admiralty house for new assignments.”

“Go grab your things,” James said. “You will come with me. We’ll take my aircar to Glasgow and then get a shuttle straight to Titan.”

“But what about London?” Romanov asked.

“We’ve been attacked,” James said. “An alien armada attacked the Farnsworth colony in the American colonies. A courier ship arrived in the system a couple of hours ago. Of the four million colonists on the planet, just a few thousand managed to escape. The entire planet has been nuked from space.”

Romanov and Lily stared at James with wide eyes. James understood their shock. When Haven had been attacked, it had been an unknown world to everyone on Earth. But for a well-known colony owned by one of the strongest colonial powers to be attacked was the stuff of holo-dramas, not reality.

“It’s likely the Admiralty hasn’t had time to process my decision to appoint you First Lieutenant,” James said. “You can come with me and the Admiralty can sort out the paperwork later. Nothing has been decided yet, but reading between the lines, I imagine all the space powers will be sending ships to the American colonies. If this is an invasion, the UN will call for all space powers to fight together. I will be going to the American colonies, or will be sent to strengthen our own borders. Either way, Titan needs a First Lieutenant now.”

“I’ll get my things,” Romanov said as he jumped into action.

James nodded and read the message again. There was nothing on the estimated strength of the ships that had attacked Farnsworth. Doing a quick mental calculation, he reckoned that Farnsworth was more than a month away from Earth. By now, if whoever had attacked had come in strength, the entire American colonies could be wiped out. Standing, he made his way out of the room. Lily followed him.

“I’m sorry to be dragging Romanov away so abruptly,” James said as he turned to her. “Now it looks like we’re going to be going into danger.”

“If there really are aliens attacking human worlds, Sergey needs to go,” Lilly said. “I understand, I know he has a duty.” She reached out and touched James’ arm. “Thank you for giving him this opportunity to find himself again.”

James only nodded. He had made his decision, it was too late to change it now. Yet, when he had decided to offer Romanov the position, he hadn’t been expecting to go straight into combat. Romanov would have to shape up quickly.

As Romanov came running down the stairs with a bag in his hand, James’ doubts diminished. Already his new First Lieutenant looked more awake and alert than he had when James arrived. Leaving the two lovers to say goodbye, he exited the house and waited for Romanov to appear. Less than a minute later he came out and together they briskly walked to James’ aircar. Neither said anything. They both knew they were going to war.

Chapter 4

I have never personally seen it, but those who have all say the same thing; witnessing the destruction of an inhabited world shouldn’t be wished upon your worst enemies. To date, despite all the Empire’s interspecies wars, we have never nuked a world out of existence. I hope that can be said long after this book is forgotten.

- Excerpt from Empire Rising, 3002 AD

Eighteen hours after returning to Titan, James entered his personal quarters and threw himself onto his bed. The last day had been by far the busiest of his life. As soon as he arrived on Titan, he had received orders from the Admiralty to take the heavy cruiser out on a shakedown cruise. Originally it had been scheduled for a week in the future. Yet, undermanned and still docked with HMS Vulcan, the Admiralty had expected James to work miracles. Without Lieutenants Scott and Romanov, it would have been impossible. It had taken Romanov a couple of hours to really get into the swing of things, but his First and Second Lieutenants had hit it off immediately. Thankfully, they were already working like a well-oiled machine.

In just eight hours the three of them had surveyed the entire ship, checked every upgrade Vulcan’s engineers had made, and approved Titan to undock from Vulcan. Then they had taken Titan out to Mars and back. On the way, they had tested all of Titan’s weapons at the RSN weapons testing area. Thankfully, the few niggling problems they had identified during the shakedown cruise had been easy to fix. Just twenty minutes ago, he had received word from the Admiralty that they were re-admitting Titan to the list of operational warships. Even now, Scott and Romanov were overseeing the new crew members who were being shipped up to Titan from Earth.

James had ensured both Lieutenants had been able to catch a quick nap during the flight home from Mars. It was now his chance to take his first break since flying to meet Romanov. Before shutting his eyes, he opened his letter to Suzanna. He quickly updated it, telling her everything that had happened. He needed to have the letter ready to send at a moment’s notice. With everything going on, he didn’t know if or when he might get orders to leave Earth.

Just as he set his datapad to one side and rested his head on his pillow, his COM link beeped. James was tempted to ignore it and drift off to sleep. It just kept getting louder and louder though. When it became unbearable, he reached over and tapped it with a groan. “Yes?” he asked.

“I just received word from one of the shuttles coming up from London,” Second Lieutenant Scott said. “Commodore Hamilton is on board. The shuttle will be docking in a couple of minutes.”

James sat up. A Commodore stepping onto his new flagship was supposed to receive a full welcome party. There was no way they could arrange that in just a couple of minutes. “Grab anyone who is not doing anything vital and get them to the shuttle bay,” James said. “If there are any Lieutenants near their quarters, get them to get their dress uniforms on right away. I’ll don mine and meet you there.”

“Aye Captain,” Scott replied. “He can’t be expecting too much, arriving unannounced and to a ship just finishing its shakedown cruise.”

“You’d be surprised,” James said. “Flag officers’ expectations don’t always comport with the reality of the situation.”

“I’ll do my best then,” Scott said and clicked off the COM channel.

James rolled out of bed and pulled out his dress uniform. By the time he got it on, he had to jog to the nearest turbolift. When he got to the shuttle bay, Scott was waiting for him. She had more than forty crew members lined up facing the shuttle’s assigned landing spot. She was fully kitted out in her dress uniform as well. James didn’t know how she had done it. Just behind him, Alan Carter, Titan’s fourth Lieutenant came running into the shuttle bay. He too was in his dress uniform. It was obvious he had just thrown it on for he looked disheveled and untidy. James quickly motioned for him to fall into line beside Scott. Today will teach Carter to keep his dress uniform in pristine condition, James thought as he tried not to grin at the Lieutenant’s attempts to straighten his uniform.

Just seconds after James stepped up beside Scott, a shuttle flew through the shuttle bay’s force field. It pivoted right in front of them, turning so that its rear ramp faced the assembled crew members. As soon as its ramp began to descend, a bagpipe and drums burst into life, playing the tune that was used on all British warships to welcome a new commanding officer. James was startled by the noise, he hadn’t seen either instrument among the crowd of crew members. Once again, Scott had managed to outdo herself.

As an elderly man wearing the dress uniform of a Commodore came down the ramp, James stepped forward and held out his hand. “Commodore Hamilton, I am Captain Somerville. On behalf of the crew of Titan, I welcome you aboard your new flagship. It’s a pleasure to have you.”

Commodore Hamilton took James’ hand and shook it vigorously. “The pleasure is all mine Captain,” Hamilton said. “I’ve heard and read a lot about you. I look forward to serving with you. Though, given the current news, I don’t think we’ll be going to Haven.”

“That has been my conclusion as well,” James said. “Let me introduce some of my officers,” he continued as he turned to present Scott and Carter to Hamilton.

“This is quite the welcoming party,” Hamilton said as he took in the assembled crew members. “I didn’t tell you I was coming so that you wouldn’t cause such a fuss. I’m not big on pomp and ceremony.”

James couldn’t help but smile. “I think we’ve already found something in common then Commodore,” he said. “This is Second Lieutenant Scott, she got word that you were coming as you were in-flight. She’s the one who managed to put together the welcome party.”

“Nice to meet you Lieutenant,” Hamilton said as he shook Scott’s hand.

“And this is Fourth Lieutenant Carter,” James said as he presented his Fourth Lieutenant.

“Carter,” Hamilton said. “You’re not any relation to the MP?”

“Yes Sir,” Carter replied. “He’s my father.”

“Excellent,” Hamilton said with a smile. “He served under me as a Second Lieutenant when I was a Captain. That was before he went into politics of course. I remember him fondly.”

“I’m sure he’ll be pleased to hear you are now my commanding officer,” Carter replied.

James spent another couple of minutes introducing Hamilton to a few of his senior non-commissioned officers. Then he led Hamilton away from the welcome party. “Would you like a tour of the ship before I show you to your quarters?” he asked as they made their way through Titan.

“You’re just back from your shakedown cruise are you not?” Hamilton asked. “I’m sure you’ve been on duty for at least the last ten hours. You can show me to my quarters and I’ll get settled in. I can have a tour of the ship later. I’m very curious to see all the latest technologies Titan has. I’ve read about them of course, but I’ve yet to see any of them. That can all wait though. Get some rest. I’ve heard on the grapevine that there is going to be a fleet briefing on Vulcan in just a hours. Every flag officer, Captain and First Lieutenant will be expected to attend. Hopefully, we can find out a bit more about what’s actually going on. The news reports are becoming hysterical.”

James nodded. He had been trying to keep abreast of the news about the attack. In the last eighteen hours, several more ships from the Farnsworth system had arrived in the system. The news reports were varied, to say the least. Some were saying that only a part of the Farnsworth colony had been destroyed. Others were saying that more than half of the American colonies had been wiped out. James hoped the truth was closer to the former than the latter. “Do you know anything more than what the Admiralty released when it recalled everyone to duty?”

“Not really,” Hamilton said. “I’ve heard a few rumors. They all suggest Farnsworth has been destroyed. The size of the fleet that attacked the colony wasn’t massive. Most believe the warships the US fleet has in its colonies should have been able to stop any further attacks. However, without any real intel on the capabilities of this new threat, it’s all guesswork. We’ll find out soon enough though.”

“I guess we will,” James said. “Here we are,” he added as they came to a stop outside Titan’s flag officer’s quarters.

“Thank you,” Hamilton replied. “My steward should be bringing up my personal effects from the shuttle. If I need anything, I’ll contact the Lieutenant on duty. You go and try to get some rest before this briefing. That’s my first order as Commodore.”

“It’s one I’m more than happy to obey,” James smiled. He had been struggling to keep his eyes open.

“I look forward to working with you,” Hamilton said as he stepped into his quarters. “You have quite the reputation.”

James didn’t know what to say. He hadn’t even heard of Hamilton before speaking with his uncle yesterday. Since then he hadn’t had time to review Hamilton’s file. The shakedown cruise had demanded all his attention. Before he could think of an appropriate reply, the doors to Hamilton’s quarters shut. Too tired to get overly concerned, James shrugged and moved towards the turbo lift to his quarters. Within a minute he had removed his dress uniform and was back in bed. Sleep took him as soon as his head hit the pillow.

*

As James stepped into the massive briefing room, Romanov whistled from just behind him. James knew exactly what Romanov meant. “Pretty impressive, isn’t it?” he asked.

“You can say that again,” Romanov replied.

“Neither of you have been here before?” Scott asked.

“No,” James answered. “Even when the fleet was sent to invade Indian space, this auditorium wasn’t used. There are other briefing rooms on Vulcan that can seat more than a hundred people. I’m not sure when the last time this auditorium was used.

“Not since the Russians invaded the French colonies,” Hamilton answered. “I was here then too, though only as a First Lieutenant.”

“A while ago then,” James said. His uncle had been a Captain during the Russian invasion. It was hard to imagine Hamilton or his uncle being so young.

“You could say that,” Hamilton said. “Now, let’s find our assigned seats. That could be a task in and of itself.”

As James took in the auditorium, and the hundreds of officers already milling around, he couldn’t help but agree. At the center of the massive room was the largest holo projector James had ever seen. Around it, there were rows of seats in concentric circles that went higher and higher as they made their way towards the ceiling. All told, James guessed the auditorium could seat more than two thousand officers. Already, there were more than five hundred in attendance. Hamilton had recommended they come early to avoid the last-minute crush. It seemed he knew what he was talking about. There were a full twenty minutes to go before the briefing was scheduled to start and the place was already starting to fill up.

“I think I know where we are going,” Scott said. “I checked the seat planner as we flew over from Titan.”

“Lead on,” James said as he stepped aside to let Scott past him. He wasn’t in the least surprised, in the last four years as his Third, and now Second Lieutenant, Scott had shown herself to be the most efficient officer he had ever encountered. There was rarely anything she didn’t already know. He had brought her to the briefing because of their shared experience with the Vestarians. Scott had been a science officer before transferring to the command track. Since then, she had continued her studies, though now she had a particular interest in ship design and weapons technologies. James guessed that apart from the scientists who were studying the technologies the British Star Kingdom had gained from the Vestarians and the Kulreans, Scott understood them better than any other naval officer. If Titan was to be sent to the American colonies to face this new threat, he wanted Scott’s input on the briefing.

Within a couple of minutes, Scott had found their assigned seats. From the four doors that led into the auditorium, there was already a constant stream of officers. James had to fight back a yawn as he watched the place fill up. He had managed just four hours of sleep, it was hardly enough. When the throng of officers moving around the floor of the auditorium parted, James sat up, suddenly more alert. A group of admirals had entered. In the middle of them, James recognized his uncle.

Admiral Somerville made his way to the center dais. Once he stepped onto it, it rose. It stopped when it was about half way towards the ceiling. “Everyone, take your seats,” his uncle’s amplified voice said. “The briefing will begin in a couple of minutes.”

His uncle must have known where James was supposed to be seated. For as soon as he stopped speaking, he turned and caught James’ gaze and then nodded to his nephew. James nodded in return.

“I wouldn’t have your uncle’s job for all the credits in the kingdom,” Hamilton said from his seat beside James. “Far too much paperwork for me. Even just organizing this briefing probably gave more than one flag officer a headache.”

James didn’t reply, his uncle had brought the massive holo projector to life. Just below the raised dais, a 3D image of the American colonies appeared. The Farnsworth system was identified in red. A couple of nearby systems were flashing red as well. James didn’t know exactly what that meant, but he guessed it wasn’t anything good.

“Let’s begin,” Admiral Somerville said when the last Captain took his seat. “You all know why you’re here. The American colonies have been attacked. What you don’t know, is that the attacks began more than two months ago.”

Whispers broke out among the assembled officers. They quickly died down as Somerville continued to speak. “At first, the Americans weren’t sure of the source of the attacks. Two outlying mining colonies were hit. Both attacks were only discovered when freighters went to the systems to pick up ore. In each case, the mining facilities on the planet’s surface were destroyed. Nuclear weapons had been used. A destroyer patrolling one of the mining colonies was lost as well.

“It seems that both attacks were probes by whatever alien race the ships belong to, a month after the first attack, a larger fleet entered the Farnsworth system. Despite attempts by the American warships in the system to enter into a friendly dialogue, the alien ships made straight for the colony.” Somerville changed the holo display to show the Farnsworth system. Images of distant warships were clearly visible. Though there was no mistaking them for human warships, the ships looked dainty and fragile, missile ports and weapon emplacements were clearly visible. James had a hard time trying to discern what kind of shape the ships were. They seemed to be a mismatch of angles and formations. It also appeared as if each ship was unique.

“Twenty warships, two massing the same size as our battlecruisers, another six similar to our medium cruisers and the rest roughly analogous to our frigates, approached the Farnsworth colony. The American fleet had one medium cruiser and three destroyers in orbit around the planet. There was also a Liberty defense platform. These are the only images of the battle we have,” Somerville said.

James guessed the recording had been taken by a ship that had fled the system. The visuals had been taken from a point far away from the battle. Nevertheless, the one hundred large contacts that were launched by the alien fleet were easy to make out. Ever so slowly, they accelerated towards the American warships. For a second, James thought the contacts were shuttles. Yet, it didn’t make any sense. Why would an alien fleet send more than a hundred shuttles to make first contact? They had to be some kind of long-range missile.

It appeared the American fleet came to the same conclusion. As soon as the alien contacts came into point defense range, the American warships and defense platform opened up on them. In response, the hundred contacts broke into almost seven hundred smaller contacts. The smaller contacts rapidly accelerated towards the American warships. In seconds, it was all over. The defense platform, the medium cruiser and two of the three destroyers were hit by multiple missiles. None of them survived. The final destroyer took two hits and a proximity hit. Nevertheless, it appeared to be relatively functional. Less than a minute after being hit, it launched five missiles towards the approaching alien fleet.

In return, the alien fleet launched another eighty of its large contacts. James thought of them as long-range missile carriers. They were clearly designed to carry multiple smaller missiles to their targets. The destroyer was able to fire three salvos before the alien missile carriers reached it. This time, the larger missile carriers broke apart just before they entered point defense range. Five hundred and sixty missiles accelerated towards the destroyer. However, as they closed the distance, they split up. Fifty targeted the destroyer. Its point defenses were overwhelmed and four more direct hits caused the destroyer to disintegrate.

James sat forward in his seat as he watched the rest of the missiles. As they punched through Farnsworth’s atmosphere, a series of small explosions suggested the friction from the planet’s atmosphere had caused some to malfunction. It didn’t matter. More than four hundred and fifty struck the planet’s surface. Blinding flashes could be seen across the planet. Large mushroom clouds followed them. As the fireballs from each explosion overlapped, they formed a massive front that washed over the entire planet. It looked like a massive storm front was engulfing the planet, yet it was no ordinary storm, it was a firestorm of death and destruction.

James sat back. It was almost impossible to believe. He had seen plenty of images like this in holo-movies. Even though there was no doubt this was real. It was still almost inconceivable.

Once the recording stopped, a new visual appeared. It was an image of the Farnsworth colony, clearly taken before the attack. Information was crawling along beside the image. It was listing things like the colony’s population and gross domestic product. James didn’t read past the population, there had been over four million American colonists on the planet. There was little doubt that the vast majority of them were now dead.

Chapter 5

Of all the species we have encountered, we are yet to find one that doesn’t understand the concept of revenge.

- Excerpt from Empire Rising, 3002 AD.

“After this briefing, I will send these images to all of your ships. I expect you to show them to your crew,” Admiral Somerville said solemnly. “They all deserve to know who we may be fighting against, and why. The Americans plan to release a slightly edited version of this recording in four hours. Soon everyone on Earth will know exactly what happened at Farnsworth.”

James could only imagine what impact the news would have. It would likely cause pandemonium. The discovery of the Vestarians and then the Kulreans had caused a massive upheaval. The fact that a large alien fleet had actually destroyed a human colony was going to have repercussions that would last for decades. This recording might just be the most significant thing that has happened to our species since the discovery of the shift drive, James thought. It wasn’t a reassuring idea.

“I brought you all here, because I want to tell you in person how we plan to respond,” Admiral Somerville continued. “These images were taken a month ago. As far as we know, every American colony has declared a state of emergency. They have called up each Planetary Guard and the fleet commanders within the American colonies are redeploying their warships to prevent any more attacks. As we speak, the American fleet here on Earth is preparing to head to their colonies to do the same. They have asked that the other colonial powers send ships to help them.”

The holo projector switched to another image. It was the map of the American colonies from before. This time Farnsworth and the other two systems that had been flashing red were fully in red. Three other systems were now flashing red as well. “Reports have already reached us of alien warships being sighted in these three systems,” Somerville continued. “None of them contain a habitable world, however, there were mining operations in each. It appears the alien fleet is sending out ships to probe further into the American colonies. By now, they may have already tried to attack another built-up colony. However, as you all know, we have very little information to go on. This fleet may simply be a feint with the intention of drawing all of humanity’s ships into the American colonies, while another much larger fleet strikes elsewhere along our borders. Or, the fleet may be an advance reconnaissance detachment that is probing the American defenses in preparation for a larger push into the American colonies themselves. We simply don’t know. With the long time delay between what happens in the outer edges of our colonies, and our hearing about it here on Earth, anything could be happening.

“That said, we cannot simply wait for news to come in. After consultation with the King and Prime Minister, it has been decided that we will respond to the American’s request for help. Two fleets will be heading into the American colonies. The first will be leaving in two days in conjunction with an American squadron. Together they will head into the American colonies and proceed around the northwestern edge of American space to the Marshall system. As yet, no alien attacks have been reported in this sector, however, a number of systems haven’t been heard from in a while and the Americans are concerned that another alien fleet may be operating here. If everything is in order, this fleet will head round to New Chicago and then to the Utah system.

“The bulk of Home Fleet, under the command of Vice Admiral Cunningham, will be leaving with the rest of the American fleet in four days’ time. It will take both of our fleets that long to prepare. It’s likely our ships will be operating in the American colonies for an extended period of time. Supplies, weapons and maintenance materials are being gathered. A fully loaded freighter convoy will be accompanying our ships. It is intended that the Utah system will form a central base of operations where our ships can be resupplied and repaired if necessary. The combined American and British fleet will thus proceed to the Utah system. There both fleets will fall under the command of Admiral Walker. He is currently the senior American naval officer in the colonies. He should already have a good grasp of the situation and be in a position to use the ships from Earth to best advantage. In addition, Germany, Japan, Brazil, Argentina and France have all agreed to send ships of their own. It is hoped their combined fleet will only be a handful of days behind the ships we are sending.”

“There are just two more things I wish to discuss at this point,” Somerville said as he changed the view on the holo projector. It now displayed a recording of the alien missile carriers, from seconds before they released their missiles, to the point where the missiles struck the American warships. “The first is to be cautious. We know almost nothing about the technical capabilities of this alien race. The American warships at Farnsworth managed to shoot down a number of their missiles, however, with more than a thousand targeted at them, they stood no chance. It may be that in a one-to-one fight, we have a technological advantage, however that is yet to be ascertained. One thing that seems certain is that the use of these larger missiles to carry smaller missiles to their target gives the aliens a significant range advantage. It’s likely that in any large fleet action, our own ships may have to endure one or even two or three missile salvos before being able to return fire. Therefore, our priority in any engagement will be to close the range as quickly as possible.

“The final thing is this,” Somerville continued, changing the image on the holo projector to display Farnsworth, more than three hundred mushroom clouds could be seen covering the visible side of the planet. “Let this image be ingrained into your minds. We know nothing about these aliens, who they are, where they are from or why they’re doing this. However, we do know their goal. If they’re willing to do this once, there’s no doubt they’ll do it again. If we do not stop them in the American colonies, this could be Earth, or Britannia or Camelot. We are not going to the American colonies to fight for our friends and allies, this could quickly become a war of survival. Don’t ever forget this image.”

James did as his uncle commanded. He forced himself to watch the nuclear missiles explode as the recording replayed. It appeared as if each missile was easily in the hundreds of megatons range. On the one populated continent of Farnsworth, many of the nuclear missiles detonated so close together that they created a firestorm that swept down through the continent, obliterating entire towns and cities. It wasn’t hard for James to imagine a similar firestorm tearing through Earth or Haven. As the recording replayed for the third time, James felt his blood boil. By the fourth time he knew that he would never forget this day.

Only once the image had replayed five times did Admiral Somerville bring it to an end. “You have all just received new fleet assignments. Alongside this, you will have received directions to another briefing room on Vulcan. You will report to them immediately to be briefed on your role in the upcoming redeployment. Remember who you are fighting for, your friends, family, comrades and our Kingdom. You’re dismissed.”

The silence in the room was broken by hundreds of voices. Some were whispering, others were almost shouting as they discussed and expressed their outrage at what they had just seen. James remained silent, it didn’t seem that any words could convey what he was thinking. Instead, he pulled out his COM unit to check where he, Hamilton, Romanov and Scott were expected to go. Then, he stood. Before attempting to make his way out of the auditorium, he shared a look with Romanov and Scott. They didn’t know what their assigned role in all this was going to be, however, the look they exchanged suggested they agreed on one thing. Whatever they would be doing, they were going to make these aliens regret deciding to attack humanity.

*

Twenty minutes later the four of them sat in a much smaller briefing room. There were twelve other Captains and their first officers in the room. James knew a couple of them by reputation, four others had been a part of the British fleet that had fought the Indians at Haven, though he didn’t know them personally. The rest, he had never met before. Hamilton appeared to be the only flag officer attending the briefing. That was, until Admiral Russell stepped in. James knew him well. He was a close friend of his uncle and head of the Royal Space Navy Intelligence division. “Be seated,” he said as he waved the officers who made to stand back to their seats. “You may be wondering why I am here. Well, with all the commotion that’s going on, Admiral Somerville asked me to organize this part of our response to the alien threat. Not everyone within the Admiralty has the security clearance to oversee your squadron. As you can imagine, that doesn’t include me.”

James cracked a small smile. There were so many secrets within the Admiralty that he imagined his uncle and Russell were the only two who came close to knowing them all. James had spent most of the last three months assigned to a top-secret war gaming program. Officially, it had been identified as an appropriations committee. When they had met however, James, a couple of Rear Admirals and four other Captains had been simulating hundreds of battle scenarios. They had been seeking to develop new tactics and strategies based on the technologies that were being developed and incorporated into the British fleet. James had been chosen as Titan’s refit meant she was one of the most modern warships in the British Navy and so he was as up to date on the modern weaponry as anyone.

“You’re all here because your commands incorporate the latest reactor and impulse drive technology we have gained from the Kulreans. Commodore Hamilton has just raised his flag on Titan. Titan will serve as the flagship for this squadron and Hamilton will be your commanding officer. Your new squadron will be accompanying the first American ships that are heading out to their colonies. Like our ships, the Americans intend to send their latest and fastest ships right away. The trip to the Marshall system, and then on round to Utah would usually take two months and five days. We are hoping your squadron will take just eight weeks. Officially, you are now designated the Fast Reaction Squadron. Combined with your American counterparts, you will be designated the First Allied Fleet. Designations will likely change as more and more ships arrive in the Utah system, but for now, this is your assignment.”

James looked at Hamilton. The Commodore didn’t notice James’ movement. He was still staring intently at Russell. James couldn’t tell if he was excited or daunted by what Admiral Russell had just said. A couple of days ago Hamilton had been expecting to take up his last command in a relatively safe system to see out his terms of service before retirement. Now he was taking the lead as the commander of the first British ships to see action against this new alien threat. James was excited. Being the Flag Captain overseeing a small squadron of fast, advanced warships on a detached mission suited him perfectly. He wasn’t confident Hamilton was thinking the same.

Looking back to Admiral Russell, James saw he had activated the holo projector. It showed the route that Hamilton’s squadron would take through the American colonies. “Rear Admiral Rosecrans will be commanding the American squadron that will be accompanying you. He will have one battlecruiser, one heavy, four medium and six light cruisers along with fourteen smaller ships. Whilst the Americans don’t have access to the more advanced impulse drive designs the Kulreans have shared with us, they are the fastest ships the Americans have.

“Now, here’s where things get a little tricky. Technically Commodore Hamilton and the squadron will fall under the command of Vice Admiral Cunningham. He will be the overall commander of all British forces in the American colonies. He in turn will fall under the command of Admiral Walker. Therefore, whilst your squadron will be attached to Rear Admiral Rosecrans’ command, he will not be your superior officer. Commodore Hamilton, you will have overall command of your squadron and you will be free to follow your own orders. That said, until you reach the Utah system your orders are to accompany Rosecrans as he patrols the outer American colonies around the Marshall system.”

James nodded. Without a clear chain of command, things could go easily wrong. However, the British and American fleets hadn’t operated together in more than thirty years and there was a healthy rivalry between both fleets. If British Captains found themselves being commanded by American admirals, or vice versa, it could lead to infighting. It would only get worse once German, Japanese and French officers were thrown into the mix. Accompanying Rosecrans while not being under his direct command could hurt the fleet’s efficiency. However, in the long run, it would be better for the British forces.

“Together with Titan, the squadron will consist of three medium and five light cruisers, eight destroyers, ten point defense and six normal frigates,” Russell said as he changed the holo projector to display a virtual representation of the ships he had just mentioned. “These are your proposed flotilla assignments.”

James nodded. They were what he expected. Titan and one of the medium cruisers were paired together. Around them were stationed two destroyers and three point defense frigates. Their flotilla would fight as one unit when it came to intercepting incoming enemy missiles. The two other medium and five light cruisers were split into three more flotillas. The only ships not assigned to a flotilla were the six normal frigates. They were to remain detached to carry out scouting missions, though they could easily be integrated into the fleet when necessary.

“Are there any questions at this stage?” Russell asked as he sat beside the holo projector.

James could think of more than a few. It seemed like the other Captains in the briefing room thought the same. For the next thirty minutes Russell fielded questions on the squadron’s mission. Then, the questions turned to the aliens themselves. It seemed that more than one of the Captains thought Russell would have more information than the First Space Lord had been able to give. Being the head of RSNI, James had hoped he would have more. However, his answers suggested the British and Americans really were operating in the dark. The aliens were an entirely unknown quantity.

Forty minutes after the briefing began, Russell dismissed the Fast Reaction Squadron. He asked Commodore Hamilton to remain behind to go over his orders in more detail. James guessed that Hamilton would fill him in later. As the Captains filed out, James chatted to one or two, though it seemed they, like him, were keen to get back to their ships. They only had two days until they were due to leave. All of the ships in the squadron were less than six months old, some had just finished refits, others were fresh out of Vulcan’s construction yards. James doubted any of them had been expecting to be sent out on such a long mission so soon. There would be a lot to do.

Before he got to one of Vulcan’s shuttle bays to catch a shuttle back to Titan, James’ COM unit beeped. His uncle was requesting a short meeting. When James stepped into his uncle’s office, Admiral Somerville was standing, staring down at Earth through a view screen.

James could guess his uncle’s thoughts. “Is Earth really in danger?” he asked.

The serious look on his uncle’s face as he turned told James the answer. “Perhaps,” Somerville said. “You saw how easily the alien fleet destroyed the American ships at Farnsworth. If they have the numbers, they can push through the American colonies and come for Earth. Until we get better intel, we won’t know. The galaxy is massive. They could have a thousand colonized planets with ten thousand warships.”

“Or that one fleet could be all the warships they have,” James said. He was surprised to see his uncle so melancholy.

“Yes,” Somerville said as he shook himself. “Ever since you discovered the Vestarians, I’ve been pushing for the Admiralty and the other colonial powers to increase our planetary defenses. Even the war with the Indians and all the new technology we’ve gained from the Kulreans and the Vestarians hasn’t led to the increase in the size of our fleet that I wanted. Helping the Americans is a risk, we are basically uncovering Earth and our own colonies. Yet, there is nothing we can do.”

“We’re doing the right thing,” James said. “If we didn’t help, and more colonies were destroyed, I don’t know how we could live with ourselves.”

“I know,” Somerville said. “That was exactly what I said to Prime Minister Fairfax. Nevertheless, it doesn’t take much of the weight off my shoulders.”

James nodded. He didn’t know what to say. Maybe Hamilton had known what he was talking about earlier. There were certain advantages to being a lowly Flag Captain or Commodore.

Somerville seemed to pick up on his nephew’s thoughts for he straightened his face and sat behind his desk. “Anyway, I didn’t bring you here to share my burdens with you. I have a lot to do, as you can imagine. There are just two quick things I want to speak with you about. The first is Commodore Hamilton. Titan is the largest ship we have with the new impulse engines we received from the Kulreans. It was only natural that your ship be the flagship for the Fast Reaction Squadron. Hamilton had already been assigned to Titan. Ideally, I would have liked to assign a younger commander to your squadron but I couldn’t remove Hamilton without a good reason. He has his supporters within the Admiralty. I’m not saying he isn’t a good officer, he distinguished himself well in the war against the Russians. However, that was a long time ago. He hasn’t seen action since. What have you made of him so far?”

His uncle’s question caught him off guard. It was inappropriate for a junior officer to comment on a senior officer. He took a second to think of his reply. “He seems competent. I have only been with him for a couple of hours. I’m not sure I can say anything more than that.”

“Well, let’s hope he hasn’t forgotten how to face the enemy,” Somerville said. “I just wanted you to be aware of my concerns. You have far more battle experience than he does. Use your position as Flag Captain to help him.”

“I understand,” James said.

“The second thing I wanted to speak to you about is this,” Somerville said as he pushed an envelope towards James. “I got Emilie a position within the Academy. If she wants it, it’s hers.”

James took a moment to figure out who his uncle was talking about. In all the excitement, he had forgotten about his new niece. “Thank you uncle,” he said as soon as he did. “Once she finds out who her real father is, and that he was never in the fleet, she may want to re-assess her future. However, for now, I think this is the least we can do for her.”

“Agreed,” Somerville said. “I suggest you take this to her and tell her who she really is.” Somerville raised a hand to silence James’ protests. James wanted his brother to tell Emilie who she really was.

“I know you have already sent a message to your brother,” Somerville continued. “But things have changed. By the time your brother’s reply gets to Earth things will likely be hectic here. His message could easily get lost. That’s if he even bothers to reply at all. By then, who knows what will be happening. We could be facing an alien fleet about to attack our homeworld. Emilie deserves the truth, and I think she should hear it from you before you leave.”

James didn’t want to be the one to give Emilie the news about her father. It would shake her world and her self-identity. Yet, he could see his uncle’s point. She deserved the truth. “All right,” he said as he picked up the envelope.

“I suggest you go now and find her,” Somerville said. “Titan will be fine without you for an hour or so. However, you’d better make it quick. You’re going to have a lot to do if you’re going to get Titan ready to lead your squadron to the American colonies. I suspect that if you’re not ready in time, Rosecrans will leave without you. I had a hard time convincing the Americans to wait two days.”

“I’ll go right away,” James said as he stood. “I’m sure you have a lot to be getting on with.”

“Good luck,” Somerville said as he stood and held out his hand. James shook it vigorously. “I don’t know how long you’ll be gone for, nor if you’ll make it back. I have no doubt you’ll do us all proud though.”

“Thank you, uncle,” James said. “As always, it’s an honor to serve with you.”

“Get going,” Somerville said. “We both have too much to do to be wasting our time being sentimental.”

James nodded and turned to leave his uncle’s office. He couldn’t help but wonder how long it would be until he would be in it again.

Chapter 6

It’s always been a hard thing to say goodbye to your family when going off to war. The invention of FTL communication and wormhole travel hasn’t changed that. The pain of being physically parted from one’s loved ones for months on end is a human problem that goes back millennia.

- Excerpt from Empire Rising, 3002 AD.

As James lifted his hand to the door’s access panel, he felt butterflies in his stomach. Berating himself, he pushed the button to request admittance. It had been a long time since he had felt so nervous.

When the door to the apartment slid open, Emilie was looking up at him. James’ nervousness doubled. Emilie was clearly surprised as well. “Duke Somerville,” she exclaimed as she did a small courtesy. “What are you doing here? Eh… I mean, please come in. It’s a pleasure to see you again.”

James smiled at Emilie’s response. At least he wasn’t the only one who was nervous. “Thank you,” he said as he stepped into Emilie’s apartment. She was still living in one of the apartment complexes that were a part of Cambridge University’s halls of residence. “I have brought you this,” he added as he handed over the envelope his uncle had given him.

When Emilie saw the Admiralty seal on the envelope her eyes lit up. “Is this?”

“Open it and you’ll see,” James winked.

Emilie moved towards a sofa. “Please come and sit down,” she said. She was already tearing into the letter. James took a seat and watched her scan through it. “I’ve been accepted,” she said in delight. “The next class of cadets commences in two weeks. I’ve been ordered to report to the naval Academy on the Moon in ten days.” Setting the letter down, Emilie sat opposite James and stared at him. “This was your doing, wasn’t it?”

“I said I would put in a good word for you,” James said. “My uncle is the First Space Lord after all. My word does carry some weight.”

Wonder filled Emilie’s eyes. “You spoke to the First Space Lord about me?” she asked.

James’ nerves returned. “I did,” he answered. “Though we didn’t just talk about your application to the Academy. Accepting it was all but a formality anyway, you wouldn’t have been rejected. We talked more about your father.”

“My father?” Emilie asked, her excitement drained away. “What does he have to do with my application? Did the First Space Lord know my father?”

Not wanting to cause her undue concern, James pressed on quickly. “After you told me about your father, I did some research. I’m afraid I couldn’t find any Lieutenant who was killed around the time you were born. Nor were there any serving Lieutenants in the British fleet from the Alpha colony that are related to you. There’s also this.” James handed Emilie his datapad. It was displaying an image of his mother.

“Who is she?” Emilie asked.

“That is my mother,” James answered. “She died when I was young but I remember her very well. When I saw you at that reception, I thought I was looking at her. There are some small differences, but you are almost the spitting image of her. My uncle thought so as well.”

“You showed the First Space Lord a picture of me?” Emilie asked, her voice rising. “What are you saying? Did my mother lie about my father dying in an accident? What happened to him?”

“After we met at the reception, I asked Andréa to run a DNA analysis. She had your DNA on file from your application form to the Somerville Foundation. It came back a match. You are my niece,” James said.

“Niece,” Emilie said slowly. “You only have a brother, don’t you? That means your brother is my father. Your brother and my mother. When, how?” she looked at James with pleading eyes.

“I don’t know for sure,” James answered. “When my brother was younger, he liked to visit the Alpha colony to gamble. I believe it was during one of those trips that he met your mother. I don’t even know if he knows about you. It may have been a one-night thing. I’ve already sent him a message letting him know. He currently lives on Britannia. I had hoped that he would return to tell you this news in person. But, with everything that is happening I wanted to make sure you knew the truth before I left. I’m being sent to the American colonies and I don’t know when or if my brother would get in touch with you.”

“What is he like?” Emilie asked.

James didn’t know what to say. He didn’t want to lie to the girl yet he didn’t want to disappoint her so quickly. He chose to go with the truth. “In his youth, he liked to party and drink. That’s why I doubt he ever knew about you. It’s possible your mother didn’t even know who he was. Perhaps that’s why she told you the story about your father being a Lieutenant. To be honest, I don’t think he has changed much since then. I haven’t spoken to him in nearly a decade. We were never close. After my father’s death, I inherited the Dukedom. Richard was meant to inherit, but my father didn’t trust him. The last time I saw him, he was a drunk. I’m sorry to have to be the one to tell you this.”

Emilie hung her head and closed her eyes for a moment. James thought she was about to cry. Instead, she raised her eyes to meet his. He saw a look of determination there that he had seen more than once in his wife’s eyes. “Thank you for telling me,” she said. “I don’t really know what to make of this. But I’ve always thought my father was dead. Even if he is a drunk, he is alive, you have given me a chance to know my father. Thank you,” she finished, breaking out into a smile.

“You’re welcome,” James said. Sensing that her smile was only skin deep, he pressed on with the things he had prepared to say on the short shuttle flight to Cambridge. “And you haven’t just found a father, you have found an uncle and a great uncle. Both the First Space Lord and I were delighted to find out who you were. We won’t be able to have any influence over how you’re treated at the naval academy, though if you still intend to pursue a career with the fleet you will have our full support. Life has dealt you a difficult start, but we want to help you as much as possible. I’ve already arranged to pay your fees for joining the academy. If you change your mind, I’ve asked Andréa to set up a foundation for you. It will give you a reasonable yearly income and provide any funds you require to pursue another career path. Alternatively, I know Andréa was keen for you to come and work with her. If you like, you would be more than welcome to come and join the family business. I’m sure Andréa could find something you would enjoy doing. As well, you would be more than welcome to take your father’s family name. I can easily put the paperwork in motion.”

“I’m not sure,” Emilie replied.

“About wha…” James began then he shut up. He was overwhelming her. He didn’t know what she wasn’t sure about, but he guessed it was everything.

“You don’t have to decide on any of these things at the moment,” he said quickly. “I just wanted to make sure you know all the options that are now open to you. I can’t make my brother come and see you. Nor can I make up for the difficulties you faced growing up. But I can do my best to help you now. So, whatever you want, even if that is to be left alone, I’m happy to help you in whatever way I can.”

“Thank you,” Emilie replied. “This is a lot to take in. I’ll have to think about it.”

“Of course,” James said as he reached across and touched Emilie’s hand. “There is no rush. You can take as long as you want to process everything. Now, I don’t have very long. My ship will be leaving the Sol system in two days. I need to get back to it within the hour. I’ve given Andréa instructions. She is to help you in any way she can while I’m gone. You may even go and stay in Badminton House if you like. That is our ancestral home. For now though, do you have any questions?”

Emilie took a moment to respond. “My father, what is he doing on Britannia?”

“Escaping,” James answered. “At least, that’s my guess. After our father ruined most of the Dukedom’s business and committed suicide, our family name was in disgrace. Richard was already too fond of drinking. I think the shame sent him over the edge. He took his inheritance and went to Britannia. Andréa knows more, she has had some dealings with him through the businesses we operate there. On Britannia he’s a much bigger fish. His money can bury some of the shame.”

“But you have already redeemed your family name,” Emilie said. “I don’t know much, but I did grow up hearing about the Somervilles. I have followed your career. Between you and your uncle, you have removed the shame your father brought.”

“Perhaps, for me, I have. But put yourself in his shoes. His younger brother inherited the family title, and then turned it around. All the while, advancing through the ranks of the British fleet. Since our father’s death, I think he’s only been involved in a couple of failed business endeavors. I imagine it’s hard for him.” James said.

“Is that why you haven’t spoken in ten years?” Emilie asked.

“Partly,” James answered. “Growing up we were never close. He was older than me and losing our mother drove us apart. After our father’s suicide, he blamed me for the way the inheritance worked out. He thought I had somehow manipulated our father into changing his will.”

“I see,” Emilie said. “I think I will write him a letter. Letting him know what you have told me. If I could, I would like to visit him. Even if it is a disappointment, I would like to know where I’m from. Do you think anything my mother told me about him was true?”

“I can’t say,” James answered. “I think that is something you will have to find out for yourself.”

“So, what do I do now?” Emilie asked.

“Right now, the only thing you have to decide on is the naval academy,” James answered. “You can defer your admittance if you like. Or you can change your mind and not attend the academy at all. You’re free to do whatever you want. I’m afraid now though, I need to leave and get back to my command. I’m sorry that this has to be so brief but I didn’t want to leave without telling you the truth. It truly is a pleasure to welcome you into the family. My wife will be delighted to meet you. If you wanted, you could even take a trip to Haven. You could meet her and she could show you around her homeworld. Perhaps a trip away would help you think through everything.”

“I don’t know,” Emilie replied. “Perhaps it would be good. I have one more question before you go if you don’t mind?”

“Certainly,” James said with a smile.

“These aliens, how big a threat are they? Are you going to be in danger in the American colonies?” Emilie asked.

“Honestly, we don’t know yet.” James answered. “You will see in the news reports in a couple of hours that they attacked and destroyed an American colony. Over four million colonists are dead. The aliens destroyed the American warships that were protecting the planet as well. It’s possible they have launched more attacks. The Americans have a lot of warships in their colonies and we are about to send more to help them. I think we should be able to contain the threat. But, as yet, we don’t know enough to be sure.”

Emilie looked shocked. “Four million colonists dead?”

“Yes,” James said. “I know, it is hard to believe, but I have seen the images of the attack. It is unlikely there will be many survivors.”

“What about you? Are you going to be heading to where the alien fleet is?”

“I am,” James said. “That is the duty of a British naval officer. Wherever the danger is, that’s where we are expected to go. I’d far rather fight these aliens on the American frontier, than in the heart of their colonies, or even here in the Sol system.”

“I understand,” Emilie said. “My father may not have been a Lieutenant, but I still grew up hearing about the bravery of the British fleet. I read about the fleet’s history and about you. I have no doubt that with you out there, we will be safe on Earth.”

“Thank you,” James said as he stood. “Now I really must get going.”

Emilie stood and moved towards James. She pulled him into a hug. “Thank you for telling me the truth. You didn’t have to come here. You could have just told my father and left it at that. Or sent Andréa. I’m happy that you’re my uncle. As strange as that is to say.”

“And I’m happy to have you as a niece. You’re special. I’ve seen your University marks. What you’ve done, coming from the Alpha colony. It truly is amazing. I’m sure whatever you choose to do in the future, you will do us all proud.”

“I don’t know about that,” Emilie said.

“You’ll see,” James replied with a smile as he turned to walk out of Emilie’s apartment. The apartment door automatically opened as he approached.

“Stay safe,” Emilie called after him. James waved and then turned to head back to his shuttle. He had a lot to organize in the next two days.

*

Exactly forty-seven hours after Admiral Somerville’s briefing, Titan, the rest of the Fast Reaction Squadron and the American squadron under the command of Rear Admiral Rosecrans, were approaching the shift passage to the Beta colony. During the flight from Earth, James tasked Lieutenant Scott with the job of sifting through every piece of data the Admiralty had made available on the aliens. She understood what she was looking at far better than he did. Half an hour ago she had let him know that she had finished her analysis.

A beep from the door into his briefing room alerted James that Romanov and Scott were outside. With the touch of a button, he ordered the door to open. “Come in,” he called from behind his desk. Romanov and Scott filed in and took seats opposite him. Moments later, another beep alerted him that Commodore Hamilton had arrived. “Thank you for coming,” James said as Hamilton entered.

“As you know, Lieutenant Scott was a Science Officer before transferring to the command track. Before that, she successfully completed a PhD and further research into advanced astrophysics. Since her experience with the Vestarians, she has continued to study alien technology. I asked her to examine all the data the Admiralty has made available in order to give us a more detailed briefing than we have had time for so far. No doubt the scientists on Earth will have a wealth of information to share with the combined fleet when it leaves in another two days. Hopefully, Scott can do something similar for us.”

“An excellent idea,” Hamilton said. “I was surprised when I read your file,” he continued as he turned to Scott. “You don’t have the typical background of a Lieutenant. However, James’ reports speak well of you, and I’m sure your skills will come in very useful.”

“Thank you, Commodore,” Scott replied.

“Hamilton please,” Hamilton said. “There’s no need for formality when it’s just us.”

“You may begin,” James said to Scott as he switched on the mini holo projector. Scott had already sent him a file to load up into it.

“My findings are preliminary, to say the least,” Scott said as she moved to where she could manipulate the controls of the holo projector.

Moments later a rotating image of one of the alien ships appeared. It was a more zoomed in image than James had yet seen of the aliens. He had been far too busy over the last two days to spend much time reviewing the constantly updating information on the aliens. Almost hourly, new ships were coming in from the American colonies with news about the aliens. Thankfully no more systems had been attacked, but the news on Farnsworth was bad. Only a handful of freighters had escaped.

“As you know,” Scott continued, “both the Vestarians and Kulreans have technological capabilities that are significantly different to the technologies we have developed. However, we all operate under the same laws of physics. Therefore, at least for the technologies the Vestarians and Kulreans have shared with us, we have been able to quickly figure them out. Indeed, the Kulreans were already aware of most of our technologies, they had simply surpassed them. That’s why they were able to trade such valuable technological information to us. To the Kulreans, Titan would likely still appear an outdated ship, yet for us, the improvements they’ve helped us make to our technology have been significant.

“The Vestarians are another case altogether. James and I argued that the technology the Vestarian Overlords developed did not come from Vestar. Though our theories have fallen on deaf ears, I believe the appearance of this new alien species suggests we were right.”

“What is she talking about?” Hamilton asked as he turned to James. “I thought the Vestarian Overlords developed their technologies from their contact with the Kulreans.”

“That is the popular theory at the moment,” James answered. “Even most Vestarians believe that is where the Overlords got their technology from. When the Vestarians rose to overthrow their Overlord, the Overlord’s key science facility was destroyed along with almost all the scientists who worked there. However, Scott was in the facility before it was destroyed. She was part of the raiding party. That is where she got her scars. At the heart of the facility there was an alien ship. It wasn’t Vestarian or Kulrean. Scott believes that it was this ship that gave the Vestarian Overlords their technologies.”

“Why have I never heard of this?” Hamilton asked.

“I was injured when the facility exploded. I suffered a concussion as well as severe burns,” Scott answered. “The Vestarians and the Kulreans sent scientists to investigate the remains of the science facility. None of them found any evidence of an advanced warship. Most believe what I saw was just a dream from when I was unconscious awaiting treatment.”

“Yet I believe her,” James said. “My uncle would like to believe her, he trusts me, but without any clear evidence, there is not much he can do.”

“You’re saying you believe there is another alien race out there that gave the Vestarians the weapons technologies they used to attack Haven and Kulthar,” Hamilton said. “Do you think these new aliens are them?”

James sat forward in his chair. Scott already said that her analysis suggested their theories were correct. Yet he didn’t want them to be.

“No,” Scott answered. “I don’t believe so. I think they have also been given weapons technologies by this unknown species.”

“What makes you say that?” James asked. Both he and Scott had talked about the possibility of an alien race who was arming other races. The Vestarian Overlords had been a perfect choice. They had been power hungry and ruthless. Giving them the technology to destroy the Kulreans or attack humans would have been an ideal tactic for another species who wished to stay hidden.

“Look here,” Scott said as she manipulated the image of the alien warship. “Do you see these heavy laser emplacements? To the eye, they appear very different to either the heavy lasers Titan now has, or the lasers the Vestarian warships used. However, after analyzing their structure I believe I know how they work. Unless the aliens have some kind of very advanced reactor, on a level similar to those of the Kulreans, the lasers must use a focusing ring just like the Vestarian Overlord’s ships did. If you look here and here, I believe these are the two places where the rings are built into each laser cannon. It’s possible the aliens came up with such a technology entirely by themselves, but it seems too much of a coincidence that two hostile alien species came up with an identical weapons technology independently of each other.

“Further, analysis of the acceleration profiles of both the alien ships and their missiles suggest their drive technology is very different to ours. I don’t think the alien ships have impulse drives, even very primitive ones. The acceleration profiles however, are very similar to the Pewter engines used by the Overlord’s warships. Since our contact with them, the Vestarians have adopted our impulse drives. It appears that these aliens use the same technology the Vestarians once did.”

“That’s two very small pieces of evidence to build such a massive theory upon,” Hamilton commented. “As you said before, every alien species in this galaxy, whether there are just two or three of us, or thousands, lives according to the same laws of science. It makes sense that most advanced alien species would have similar technologies.”

“I will be the first to admit that the evidence is not strong,” Scott conceded. “Though if you saw what I saw in that science facility, it would seem much more plausible to you. The ship spoke to us before it self-destructed. It appeared to be an artificial intelligence. The Vestarians were nowhere near having the technological ability to produce artificial intelligences. And the Kulreans and us, we know the dangers of doing so. The most logical explanation is that there is another alien race who uses artificial intelligences and is willing to supply weapons technologies to aggressive species.”

“What does this mean for fighting this new alien threat?” Romanov asked.

“If it wasn’t for the alien’s missile carriers, I would suggest that this new alien threat would be as easy to defeat as the Vestarian Overlord’s fleet. Endeavour by herself was able to take on several warships more than twice her mass. However, these aliens have found a much more ingenious way to use their engine technology to deliver missiles. They will likely have a significant range advantage over us. Plus, if their laser technology is similar to that of the Vestarians, then they will have powerful point defense weapons to combat our missiles and their heavy laser cannons could prove deadly in any close-range battles. As Admiral Somerville said in his briefing, I think it will come down to numbers. If we’re facing a hundred thousand warships, then even standing together, humanity has no hope. However, if their numbers are comparable to ours, then I think we will be able to put up a good fight.”

“Thank you,” James said as he nodded to Scott. “With your permission Sir,” he continued as he turned to face Hamilton. “I’d like to make the briefing file Scott has prepared available to all of our Captains. I’d also like to make it available to Rear Admiral Rosecrans to share with his squadron if he so desires.”

Hamilton took a moment to respond. “I still think your theories sound far-fetched. Yet we are living in a galaxy that we clearly understand far less than we once thought. Anything is possible. If you make sure Scott’s theories are clearly identified as theories, you may pass on the information. Her technological analysis should be seen by all our Captains.”

“Thank you, Commodore,” James said. “I’ll send the files right away.”

“If that’s all then,” Hamilton said. “I’ll take my leave, I have a couple of messages I would like to send back to Earth before we jump into shift space.”

“We won’t take any more of your time,” James said as he stood. Hamilton stood as well, nodded to Scott and Romanov, and then left the briefing room.

“It is a worrying theory that you both put forward,” Romanov said once the doors shut behind Hamilton. “If you’re right, then there could be another alien species out there, one that is far more technologically advanced than this new threat. If I was supplying aggressive alien species with weapons technologies, I wouldn’t give them anything nearly as powerful as my best technologies. I wouldn’t want them turning around and attacking me. If you are right, then as a species, we need to do everything we can in case this more powerful species attacks us.”

“My thoughts exactly,” James said. “I have spoken with my uncle about this a number of times. And anyone else who will listen. However, without concrete evidence, no one has taken Scott or I seriously. Plus, with the war with India and then the rebuilding of Haven, the Admiralty’s focus has been elsewhere.”

“Well, maybe now we will get the evidence we need,” Scott said. “I know it sounds harsh, but these alien attacks might be a godsend. If we can destroy some of these alien ships and get access to their technology, it may tell us a great deal about what’s really going on around us.”

James nodded, he knew Scott was far more serious about their theories than he was. He didn’t want to believe that there was another threat out there, yet he trusted Scott. If she saw an advanced alien warship on Vestar, then there was one. Just what that was going to mean for their future, he had no idea. “You may both retire to your quarters,” he said. “Lieutenant Carter has the bridge. You may as well use the next half an hour to send any messages back to Earth that you wish to send. I’ll see you on the bridge when we jump into shift space. Theories aside, we need to deal with this alien threat. Then we can worry about what all this means.”

*

Despite his words to Scott and Romanov, the first thing James did after they left was forward Scott’s report to his uncle. He also included a small note reminding his uncle of their discussions. Then James took his own advice. He opened the letter he had been writing to Suzanna. He spent the next twenty minutes telling her everything that had happened. He knew his letter would upset her. Once again, he found himself on his way to war. Yet they both knew it was his duty.

Just as he transmitted the message back to Earth, one for him arrived. It was from Emilie. James smiled as he read it, she had decided to join the Naval Academy. He didn’t know what the future held for him, much less Emilie. Yet he was happy there would be another Somerville in the British fleet, even if she didn’t carry the family name. Not yet at least, James thought. I have to convince her to take it on. Another message from Lieutenant Carter let him know that Titan would soon be jumping into shift space. James closed the messages on his datapad and got up to head to the bridge. It was time to show these new aliens what a British warship could do.

Chapter 7

Interstellar wars often begin slow, but they quickly heat up.

- Excerpt from Empire Rising, 3002 A.D.

HMS Titan, Jackson system, 4th October 2472 AD.

The First Allied Fleet was cruising into the Jackson system towards the Jackson colony. It was the seventh American system they had visited in the last four weeks. So far, they hadn’t encountered any sign the aliens were threatening the northwestern side of American space. All galactic maps included the four points of the traditional human compass. North was always directly towards the center of the galaxy. It simply served to make discussing galactic maps easier. According to the reports that had reached Earth before they left the Sol system, the three systems the aliens had attacked had all been along the southern frontier of the American colonies. James hoped that that was where they would stay.

“Heat blooms,” Sub Lieutenant MacArthur shouted from Titan’s sensor station. “They’re coming from the colony.”

James sat up in his command chair. So much for his hopes. Heat blooms only meant one thing. The colony was under attack. Rear Admiral Rosecrans came to the same conclusion. Before James could give any orders, a general order to accelerate came from Rosecrans’ flagship, USS Monsoon.

“Match the Monsoon’s acceleration, keep us on station with the rest of our squadron,” James ordered Titan’s navigation officer. “What do you make of the heat blooms?” he asked Sub Lieutenant MacArthur.

“They’re not nuclear detonations,” MacArthur answered. “They’re far too small. They are either ground strikes from plasma or laser cannons, or there is some extremely heavy fighting happening on the planet’s surface.”

“No ships have been detected in orbit?”

“Not yet,” MacArthur answered. “Though if they are powered down or not accelerating, they would be hard to detect at this range.”

“Very well,” James said. “Launch a stealth drone towards the planet. I’m sure Rosecrans will be doing the same, but we may as well get our own data.”

A beep from James’ command chair alerted him to a private message from Commodore Hamilton. The Commodore was in Titan’s auxiliary bridge. From there he oversaw the rest of the British squadron. James read the message quickly. Hamilton wanted to suggest to Rosecrans that the British squadron close on Jackson even more quickly. At one level it made sense, the British ships had a higher rate of acceleration than the Americans. They could get to Jackson in a shorter time and thus intervene in whatever alien attack was going on. Yet there were risks, if there was a large alien fleet hiding near Jackson, the British ships could be overwhelmed. James sent back a message recommending that Hamilton hold off. Rosecrans knew what he was doing. If he wanted the British ships to get to Jackson to help the colonists, he would have ordered Hamilton forward by now.

“Belay the launch of the stealth drone,” James said when the gravimetric plot shifted.

“They are fleeing,” Romanov said. “They must have detected our fleet accelerating.”

The only way to track ships in real time was through the gravimetric disturbances they created as they accelerated. Otherwise, ships had to wait for sensor information to travel at the speed of light before it could be picked up. Three new contacts had suddenly appeared on the gravimetric plot. They were accelerating away from Jackson.

“New orders from Monsoon,” Titan’s COM officer reported. “The Fast Reaction Squadron is to give pursuit.”

“Acknowledge the order,” James said. He waited for Hamilton to send an order to the British ships. Moments later a new squadron formation, heading and acceleration profile came through from Titan’s auxiliary bridge. “Put us onto the new course,” James ordered Titan’s navigation officer.

The British ships shot ahead of their American counterparts. Surveying the holo projection of the Jackson system, it quickly became apparent that the alien ships had no chance of escaping. He didn’t yet know the maximum velocity the aliens could attain, but unless it was substantially more than that of his ships, it would take them up to three hours to reach the system’s mass shadow. Titan and the rest of the British ships would catch up with them in two. Unless the three small alien ships had some extremely advanced weapons technologies, they were about to become space debris.

The British ships accelerated until they reached their maximum safe velocity of 0.6c. The American ships maxed out their velocity at 0.58c and they fell behind Titan and her consorts. James was surveying the visuals that were coming in from the alien ships, when Titan’s COM officer interrupted him.

“We’re getting COM messages from Jackson,” the officer reported. “The colony Governor is reporting that the alien ships landed ground troops. They have captured the colony’s main spaceport. They estimate that there are more than three hundred aliens.”

“Why are we only hearing about this now?” James queried. He had thought the alien warships in orbit had destroyed most of the colony. That explained why there were no messages reaching them.

“The message we are receiving must have left Jackson just after the alien ships left the planet,” Sub Lieutenant Edwards reported. “That would suggest the aliens were jamming all COM messages from the colony.”

“Of course,” James replied. “Good thinking. Why on earth did they land ground troops though?” He had already been wondering what the three alien warships were up to. According to the file on Jackson, it was supposed to have one Liberty class defense platform. There was no sign of it now. Yet it was hard to believe three frigate class alien ships could have destroyed such a powerful station. It also didn’t make sense for the alien ships to bombard the planet with laser cannons rather than nuclear weapons. It makes sense now, James thought. “They must be after something on the colony’s surface,” he said.

“Star maps,” Romanov blurted out. “I bet they’re after star maps of human space. A spaceport would be the most logical place to find such files.”

“That’s it,” James said as he grasped Romanov’s line of thinking. The aliens had only been sighted along the frontier of the American colonies. Perhaps they didn’t know how large human space was, nor where humanity’s key inhabited systems were. James typed a short message to Commodore Hamilton sharing his concerns. If the aliens on Jackson were still trying to get the data they wanted, they could easily transmit it to the fleeing frigates.

Hamilton picked up on what James was saying right away. Within thirty seconds of sending his message, James saw a series of messages being sent by Hamilton. One was to the governor of Jackson urging him to use whatever means necessary to recapture the spaceport. Another was to Rear Admiral Rosecrans, alerting him to the situation. The final message was to Hamilton’s Captains. Hamilton intended to launch almost every shuttle in his fleet as they passed Jackson. He was going to land Marines from each warship. If Jackson’s National Guard hadn’t defeated the aliens by then, the marines would.

James nodded his approval. Hamilton had reacted quickly. In the last four weeks they had gamed multiple battle simulations against each other. At first, James had won almost all of the fleet engagements. Slowly, Hamilton had found his feet again. By his own admission, it had been more than a decade since Hamilton had seriously considered leading ships into battle. Thankfully, James knew Hamilton trusted him. So far Hamilton had been taking most of his suggestions on board. Together, James was confident they would make up for each other’s deficiencies.

Minutes before the point where Titan’s shuttles would launch, James sent a message to the commander of Titan’s marines wishing him luck. Major Smith was very different to James’ old friend, Major Johnston. Smith wasn’t a special forces marine for one thing. He was also much younger than Johnston. Younger than James in fact. Though he still oozed confidence and menace. Johnston had been promoted to Brigadier General. The last James had heard, he was overseeing the training of a new cadre of marines. Though James hadn’t developed the same friendship with Smith, he knew the commander of his marines was a good officer.

James smiled at Smith’s reply. He was promising to bring Lieutenant Scott a live specimen to examine. Smith had been assigned to Titan after her refit, since leaving Earth he hadn’t even tried to hide his intentions towards Lieutenant Scott. It seemed he was hoping to impress her. James hadn’t seen Scott give Smith any indication she was interested in him.

When the time came, more than fifteen shuttles launched from the British squadron. James watched them rapidly decelerate. As Titan and her consorts passed the colony, the shuttles descended through the planet’s atmosphere and out of sight. James dismissed them from his thoughts. He had confidence that Smith and over two hundred marines could easily handle whatever aliens were held up in Jackson’s spaceport. Turning back to the main holo-display on Titan’s bridge, he studied the alien ships.

They were close enough to be easily made out. Though each looked slightly different, Titan’s computers estimated the internal volume was similar. Each ship was like a mini replica of the larger ships that had been involved in the attack on Farnsworth. Their appearance was strange to James’ eye and they looked extremely dainty. Like one proximity hit would shatter them into a thousand pieces. From the recordings of the battle at Farnsworth, James knew that wasn’t the case.

“Any sign of unexpected technologies?” James asked Lieutenant Scott, she was manning Titan’s tactical console. Normally a ship’s Second Lieutenant would be on the auxiliary bridge. They would take over in the event Titan’s bridge was destroyed. However, Scott had proved herself to be especially adept at coordinating Titan’s point defenses. She had a great head for numbers. James had therefore assigned Third Lieutenant Rodgers to the auxiliary bridge. Like Romanov, she was a new addition to James’ crew, though she seemed to be settling in to having Commodore Hamilton on her bridge with her.

“Not that I can detect,” Scott answered. “It looks like the three frigates have four missile ports each, one aft, one forward and one on each of their port and starboard sides. In addition, they have two laser cannons each. Beyond that, they don’t appear to have any other significant offensive weapons. The acceleration profiles also match the larger ships that were at Farnsworth. Their maximum speed is impressive though.”

When James checked the holo plot he had to agree. It had taken the alien warships a lot longer to reach their maximum velocity. Whatever engines they used, they were nowhere near as powerful as Titan’s impulse engines. However, the alien ships had maxed out at 0.54c. That was quicker than most British warships, at least those built more than ten years ago. Nevertheless, even with their impressive maximum velocity, the alien ships were being hauled in quickly by Hamilton’s squadron. The alien ships had started to flee whilst in orbit around Jackson. Hamilton’s squadron had already been travelling at 0.2c towards the colony. There was no way the aliens could outrun them.

Forty minutes before the British ships got into range, Sub Lieutenant MacArthur broke the silence. “Three new contacts. Missile launches.”

James swung away from the images of the alien ships he was studying to look at the gravimetric plot. Three new contacts had just detached from the alien frigates and were accelerating towards the British squadron. “Tactical, what is your assessment? How long until they reach us?” James asked.

“The contacts appear smaller than the missile carriers the alien fleet in Farnsworth used,” Scott answered. “Either the alien frigates carry smaller missile carriers, or their stern tubes are smaller. At their current rate of acceleration, they will reach us in thirty-five minutes. I expect them to release their missiles in about thirty-three.”

“Acknowledged,” James replied. He sent a short message to Hamilton suggesting that the British fleet alter their formation. From what they had observed from the attack on the Farnsworth colony, the alien missile carriers each carried ten smaller missiles. It was possible the smaller missile carriers had less. Either way, if the British squadron arrayed all their flak cannons against the incoming threat, they should be able to protect themselves. Hamilton agreed and the British squadron altered its formation.

“Note the range those frigates opened fire on us,” James said to Scott. “It will give us an expected maximum range of the alien missile carriers for future engagements. No doubt their larger missile carriers have a slightly different range, but at least we have a benchmark.”

“Aye Sir,” Scott replied.

James didn’t say anything more. The alien’s maximum range was as bad as the military scientists on Vulcan had theorized. They didn’t know how long it took the aliens to reload their missile tubes to fire another volley of missile carriers, however, even if it took twice as long as it took his ships to reload, the range advantage the aliens had was going to prove costly.

Fifteen minutes after the first salvo, the alien frigates fired another three missile carriers at the British squadron. By the time the first salvo reached his ships, James reckoned the aliens would have a third salvo in space heading towards them. This isn’t going to be good, he thought. Though he was confident the British squadron could fend off the missile salvos, inevitably one or two missiles would get through their point defense screen and cause some damage.

“Captain,” Sub Lieutenant MacArthur said. “Can you take a look at something for me?”

“Certainly,” James replied as he looked at the holo projector on his command chair. A series of sensor data points MacArthur had sent over scrolled in front of him. “What am I looking at?” he asked as he sent the data to Lieutenant Romanov.

“I’m not sure,” MacArthur answered. “Most of the squadron’s sensors are directed towards the incoming alien missiles. However, our passive sensors have been getting the odd reflection in this sector of space. It could be nothing, but I wanted to make sure.”

James overlaid the sensor anomalies onto the main holo projector. MacArthur’s sensor contacts could simply be a couple of small uncharted meteors that were occasionally reflecting starlight towards Titan. Yet there was something strange about them. As soon as James saw their location his instincts began to warn him. His mind went back to Haven. There, an Indian Admiral had tried to hide missile pods in space and use them to lure the British fleet into a trap. Without waiting for Commodore Hamilton’s permission, James sent orders to one of the frigates in Titan’s flotilla to break formation and investigate the contact. At the same time, he ordered MacArthur to launch a recon drone towards the potential contact. He didn’t want the British squadron to be caught in some kind of trap.

When Hamilton contacted him to find out what was going on, James shared his concerns. Hamilton agreed with his decision to send Conqueror to investigate. The conversation was cut short by Scott. “Firing flak cannons in thirty seconds,” she called.

“Let’s weather this storm before we worry about another potential one,” Hamilton said as he cut the visual COM link.

“Agreed,” James said as he turned his attention to the incoming alien missiles.

“Firing,” Scott said moments later.

Hundreds of flak cannon rounds shot into space. James had suggested that the flak cannons be used to engage the missile carriers at extreme range. With only three targets, the flak cannons were able to focus their fire.

The explosive shells detonated in front of the incoming missile carriers, firing thousands of pieces of shrapnel in all directions. One of the alien missile carriers was struck by a number of flak pieces, shredding it instantly. Several of its missiles detonated, turning the carrier into a giant fireball. Sensing the danger, the other two missile carriers launched their missiles. Several flak cannon rounds exploded right in front of one, destroying four of its missiles before they could accelerate. The third missile carrier safely launched its six missiles. Though, they still had to pass through the wall of shrapnel the British ships had thrown up. Only three missiles made it through the hail of flak cannon rounds. They were easily destroyed by the British squadron’s other point defenses.

They used the time between the first and second alien salvos to analyze all the data they could. It appeared that the aliens had done the same. The three missile carriers disgorged their eighteen missiles well outside of flak cannon range. They quickly spread out so that the British ships had to greatly thin the concentration of their flak cannon fire. Seven missiles made it through. Once again, the British squadron shot down the missiles before they could get close enough to do any damage.

Now it’s our turn, James thought as Titan and the rest of the British ships launched twenty missiles from their bow tubes at the three alien frigates. Before he could see how effective their weapons technologies would be against the aliens, a third alien missile salvo came crashing into the British ships. This time, the flak cannons destroyed eight missiles. The remaining ten all targeted one light cruiser. Quickly, the British ships reoriented themselves to help the light cruiser. Nine missiles were destroyed, however one got through.

At the last moment, every ship in the British squadron powered up their ECM to full. The alien missile was momentarily confused and overshot its target. Sensing failure, it detonated as close to the light cruiser as it could.

James grimaced as he saw a wave of explosive force wash over the cruiser. “What is Albany’s status report?” James demanded

“Minimal damage,” Romanov replied. “It appears her valstronium armor held. A couple of point defense laser cannons were destroyed. They are a little shaken up, but otherwise fine.”

James nodded. It was good news. The analysis of the alien attack on the Farnsworth colony suggested that each alien missile was less than half as powerful as their human counterpart. The aliens relied on swarm tactics where multiple missiles were designated to hit one target to destroy it. A light cruiser or anything larger should be able to brush off a proximity hit from an alien missile. The smaller British warships weren’t likely to be as lucky.

“Our missiles are approaching the alien frigates,” Scott reported a couple of minutes later.

“Here we go,” Romanov said. Glancing over, James saw he was sitting on the edge of his command chair.

The twenty British missiles had been split across the three alien frigates. As the missiles got close, hundreds of laser beams shot from the frigates. “They’re concentrating all their fire on the missiles that are targeting contact Zulu one,” Sub Lieutenant MacArthur called.

James could see what the Sub Lieutenant was implying. It looked like two of the frigates had given up any attempt to protect themselves. They were trying to protect their comrade. The tactic almost worked. Of the seven missiles targeting Zulu one, six were destroyed. The final missile got close enough to Zulu one to score a proximity hit. On the visual display, the frigate wobbled. The force of the missile blew off a number of sections and sent it into a spin. The other two alien ships disappeared into giant fireballs as multiple missiles penetrated their armor and detonated.

“Prepare our remaining two shuttles with boarding parties,” Hamilton ordered over the COM channel from the auxiliary bridge. “Once we weather this missile salvo, we’ll try and board that frigate. It looks like it’s heavily damaged. We could get a lot of valuable intel.”

“Agreed,” James replied. “I’ll make the arrangements.”

Three minutes after the British missile salvo struck their targets, the last three missile carriers released their missiles. Two missiles made it through the point defense fire, a lucky last-second laser beam destroyed one and a masterful evasive maneuver from a destroyer dodged the second.

James allowed himself to relax. Their first combat with the new alien threat was over. They had survived without losing anyone. Though once we’re fighting more than frigates it’s going to be different, James said to himself. The aliens had shown themselves to be competent warriors.

“Captain, I’m detecting a strange signal from Jackson,” Sub Lieutenant MacArthur called from the sensor station. “It looks like some kind of powerful laser COM message. It’s directed towards the remaining alien frigate. It’s either encrypted, or in some extremely outlandish code, I can’t make heads nor tails of it.

“Wait,” MacArthur continued before James could say anything. “It’s cut off. It only lasted a couple of seconds.”

“The aliens on Jackson’s surface must have found what they were looking for,” Romanov said. He sounded less than happy.

“Target the alien frigate with another salvo of missiles,” James ordered Scott. “If it shows any sign of turning towards the system’s mass shadow, fire on it immediately.”

“The frigate is gone,” Scott called from the tactical console. She sounded stunned.

“What?” James demanded.

“There’s no sign of it on our sensors,” Scott answered.

“MacArthur?” James called, spinning to look at the sensor officer.

“It was there just a moment ago,” MacArthur answered. “Then it vanished. It was as if it jumped into shift space.”

“Impossible,” Romanov said. He frantically tapped buttons on his command chair. “None of the other ships in the squadron can detect the frigate either,” he reported.

“Launch a recon drone towards the frigate’s location,” James ordered. Though he feared he knew what the answer would be. MacArthur had been right, there was only one way a damaged frigate could disappear from the squadron’s sensors. They were too close for the frigate to have switched on some kind of stealth technology. It had to have jumped out of the system. Yet the frigate was still a full hour away from the edge of the system’s mass shadow. A full hour away from where we can jump out of the system, James reminded himself. The shift drive that human ships used to travel between the stars used the force of gravity to rip a hole into shift space. The shift drive couldn’t be initialized anywhere near a large gravitational body, such as a sun or a planet. With some refinement to the shift drive, it wasn’t impossible to conceive that a ship could enter shift space much closer to a large gravitational body, James thought.

“Scott,” he said. “What do you think?”

“MacArthur is right,” she answered. “They must have jumped into shift space. Either they have a better shift drive than us, or some completely new means of FTL travel.”

James grunted, he didn’t like the implications of either prospect. What was worse right now though, was that it was possible the alien frigate had escaped with star maps of the entirety of human space.

“Commodore Hamilton has sent a message to all his ships,” Sub Lieutenant Edwards called out from her station. “He says we all fought well and should be proud of ourselves.”

James nodded and allowed a smile to spread across his face. Hamilton could figure out the implications of the frigate’s escape, yet they had to put on a brave face. The squadron had performed well in their first action fighting as one unit. They deserved some praise. James felt like they had failed. If the frigate had escaped with a star map of the American colonies, losing two frigates was more than a fair trade.

“Captain,” Sub Lieutenant Edwards called. “Conqueror has sent a COM message. Captain Reynolds says the contacts were three human freighters. They were trying to hide from the alien frigates. They tried to flee when Conqueror detected them but a couple of warning shots forced them to surrender.”

“Surrender?” James asked.

“Yes, Conqueror’s Captain believes they are smugglers. That’s why they had such sophisticated stealth technology. He has taken one Hamish McCarthy into custody.”

Romanov let out a whistle. James understood why. McCarthy was the most famous smuggler in the human sphere. More than once James had tried to catch him whilst he had been stationed at Haven. The smuggler had brought a number of shipments of illegal materials into the system.

“Signal Conqueror and request that she transport McCarthy over to Titan. Then tell Reynolds that she is to order the three freighters to return to Jackson. The colony will likely need them to help bring in supplies and whatever they need to repair the damage the alien frigates have done.”

“Yes Captain,” Sub Lieutenant Edwards said.

Glancing at the holo display, James saw that Rosecrans had settled his fleet into orbit around Jackson. “Romanov, prepare a brief battle report and send it to Rear Admiral Rosecrans. He will want to hear our preliminary analysis right away.”

“Aye Captain,” Romanov answered.

Chapter 8

There is one golden rule of first contact. It’s a rule almost every holo-drama breaks. Never give away your homeworld’s location. Doing so invites disaster.

- Excerpt from Empire Rising, 3002 AD.

Major Smith, wearing his combat armor, was strapped in behind the two navy pilots. As their shuttle burst through Jackson’s atmosphere, laser beams zipped past either side of them. Smith was thrown about in his harness as one of the pilots twisted and turned their shuttle to avoid the incoming fire. Straining to see was happening, Smith got a glimpse of the spaceport below them. There were several weird shapes sitting in its landing area. The laser bolts were coming from them.

“Opening fire,” the shuttle’s co-pilot announced. Several plasma cannon bolts instantly covered the distance from their shuttle to the planet surface. A distant explosion was clearly visible through the shuttle’s view screen. Other plasma bolts erupted from the shuttles that were flying in formation with his. More explosions erupted on the planet’s surface. After a couple more seconds, the shuttle levelled out. The laser beams had ceased.

“It looks like the Planetary Guard have established a perimeter around the spaceport,” the shuttle’s co-pilot said. “We’ll put you down behind the perimeter. I’m guessing this is the temporary HQ the Planetary Guard has set up.”

Straining to see over the co-pilot’s shoulders, Smith came to the same conclusion. “That will work,” he said.

Smith was the first one out of the shuttle. A number of men and woman in combat fatigues where awaiting him. One had insignia ranks on his shoulders indicating that he was a Colonel. Smith approached him and saluted. “Major Smith of HMS Titan, we are here to help, what’s the situation?”

“Colonel Nathan Hyde, Jackson Planetary Guard,” the man replied as he returned Smith’s salute. “An alien fleet entered the system about twelve hours ago, they destroyed our defense station. Most of the fleet moved on, however they landed ground forces that took over the spaceport. Those three frigates your fleet chased off remained in orbit. They have been bombarding our capital and my forces ever since. We only managed to set up this perimeter after your ships arrived. The frigates had us all hiding in bunkers. As soon as we got out and surrounded the aliens, I launched a couple of probing attacks, but the aliens are well dug in. The landing sites around the spaceport are a perfect killing field. The weapons on their shuttles are also deadly accurate, though I see you’ve taken care of them.”

“Did you get the COM message from my Commodore?” Smith asked. “About the possibility of the aliens seeking our star maps?”

“I did,” Hyde answered. “However, both of my probing attacks were beaten back with heavy casualties. We don’t have combat armor in the Jackson Planetary Guard. My soldiers were cut to pieces. A frontal attack would just have lost me all my men.”

“Very well, that’s why we are here,” Smith said. “Rear Admiral Rosecrans’ fleet will be here in forty minutes, if needs be, they will be able to lend us another three hundred American marines. However, I hope to have secured the spaceport by then. Can you show me what you know of their defenses?”

“Certainly,” Hyde said, “this way,” he continued as he led Smith towards a small tent that someone had set up under a number of thick trees.

The tent was too small for Smith to walk into with his combat armor so he had to exit the armor before following Hyde. Inside, there was a small holo projector displaying the spaceport and the surrounding area. “We reckon there are at least three hundred aliens within the compound,” Hyde explained. “They have at least fifty warriors patrolling the outer fence that marks the extent of the spaceport. The rest are in the spaceport itself. We believe they have set up a number of mortars. The warriors manning their outer perimeter were able to spot our probing attacks. Fire from their shuttles and mortars drove us off before we could breach the outer perimeter.” Hyde tapped a couple of buttons and the image on the holo projector changed. “This is why we call them warriors,” he said.

Smith watched with a mixture of curiosity and horror. The recording was obviously taken by one of Hyde’s soldiers. Three Planetary Guard soldiers rushed towards the large fence that surrounded the spaceport. One of them was carrying a small plasma torch, clearly with the intention of cutting through the fence and allowing the Planetary Guard to continue their advance. Suddenly, a large creature hurdled the fence and landed amidst the three soldiers. As it reared up, it stood head and shoulders above them. It had four legs, but only one thick arm. The creature was encased in combat armor. That, or it had a thick shell that protected its entire body. At the end of its arm, it held a large weapon, an alien adaption of a battle-axe. The creature swung its weapon back and forth. It decapitated the soldier holding the plasma lance, then it cleaved one of the other two soldiers in half. The rest of the American soldiers were stunned by the appearance of such a creature. No one opened fire. Not until the alien had hefted its battle-axe and rested it against its shoulder. Laser bolts erupted from the battle-axe. Shells looped into the air from the distant spaceport. Moments later, explosions erupted all around and the recording cut off.

“Only four of the fifty soldiers I sent forward came back from that attack,” Hyde said. “We were more successful with the second attack, we killed two of the aliens. Our plasma cannons penetrate their armor, though it does take a number of hits to bring one down.”

“Your men did well,” Smith said. “I doubt they ever received training for such a situation.”

“Thank you,” Hyde replied. “What is your plan?”

“We need to act fast,” Smith answered. “We could have just leveled the spaceport with our shuttles, but we want to take prisoners. This is a golden opportunity to gain some vital intel. How many soldiers are under your command?”

“I have over six hundred stationed around the spaceport,” Hyde answered. “More are coming in every minute.”

“With the hundred and eighty marines I have with me, six hundred should be enough,” Smith said. “Here’s what I plan to do,” he continued as he stepped up to the holo projector. “We’re going to lay down a smokescreen around the outer perimeter of the spaceport and within its landing zones. We’ll use smoke grenades and high intensity light grenades. They should blind the aliens and infrared technology. Our shuttles’ point defenses will neutralize the alien mortars. Do you think your soldiers can take the spaceport’s outer perimeter in those conditions?”

“I’m sure of it,” Hyde said. “Those frigates have destroyed nearly a fifth of Andale, where most of my forces are drawn from. They have family and friends who have suffered at the hands of these aliens. They will be more than happy to drive the aliens back.”

“In that case, I want your forces to take the perimeter. As soon as the perimeter is taken my marines will charge the spaceport from the north-east corner here,” Smith pointed at the holo map. “That’s the shortest distance from the perimeter to the spaceport itself. Your soldiers can take cover behind the perimeter fence and provide covering fire. Once we make it to the spaceport, we’ll clear it of aliens. Hopefully, we’ll manage to capture one or two. We need to move fast, I know our squadron will catch the alien frigates before they escape, but we don’t want the aliens getting our star maps nonetheless.”

“I’ll pass the order to my unit commanders,” Hyde responded. “As soon as they see the smoke and high intensity light grenades going off, they will advance.”

“Very good, I’ll prepare my men for their part, we will fire the grenades from our shuttles as soon as we’re ready to advance. Good luck,” Smith said.

“And to you,” Hyde replied.

Both men saluted and Smith exited the tent. Commanding the one hundred and eighty marines that were with him, he had three Captains and five Lieutenants. Opening a COM channel with them all, he explained his plan of attack.

Moments later, the shuttles lifted off and surrounded the compound. “Let’s go,” Smith said to his marines. Breaking into a sprint, Smith led Titan’s forty marines towards the point where they would launch their attack. The rest of the marines took up positions to either side of his force. “Launch the grenades,” Smith ordered the shuttle pilots.

All across the open space between his forces and the central buildings of the spaceport, explosions signaled the detonation of the grenades. The shuttles had launched several hundred of them, depleting their entire stores. Soon the spaceport and its outer perimeter disappeared in a thick cloud of smoke that reached more than fifty meters into the air. The American soldiers rose to their feet, hurdled their own defenses, and charged into the smoke. More than one let out a vicious battle cry as they ran. Lasers tore through the lines of American soldiers. However, only a few hit their mark. Most missed completely. Smith gritted his teeth. So far so good, he thought. There had been no way to tell what technologies the aliens used to locate their targets. The smoke and high intensity light grenades might have proved useless. Overhead, shells tried to rain down into the billowing smoke. However, all but two of them exploded high above the ground. Plasma bolts and laser beams crisscrossed across the open sky from the shuttles as they provided cover for the American soldiers.

Breaking into a jog, which, with their combat armor, was faster than the American soldiers’ run, Smith led the advance. As they got closer and closer to the large fence, more dead Americans came into view. However, there were a number of aliens lying dead as well. When the low concrete wall that was at the base of the large fence came into view through the smoke, Smith was pleased to see more than twenty American soldiers crouched behind it. They were occasionally popping up to fire plasma bolts towards the spaceport. Though the thick smoke meant they had no idea what they were shooting at. As soon as they saw the British Marines closing on them, they cheered. Others had clearly tried to cut sections out of the large fence to let the marines through. Smith grinned, obviously these American soldiers weren’t fully aware of the capabilities of combat armor. Launching himself into the air, he hurdled the fence.

As soon as he hit the ground, Smith launched himself into a sprint. There was less than a kilometer to cover to the spaceport. However, in their bulky combat armor, his marines were quite a big target. Thankfully, for the first thirty seconds of their charge, no laser beams tried to kill them. In that time, they covered half the distance to the spaceport. Then the aliens realized the marines were charging them. Laser beams zipped past Smith. One grazed the shoulder of his combat armor. He grunted as he felt the heat radiating into his body. It only lasted a couple of seconds. His armor injected pain numbing solutions into his body and deflected the rest of the heat. He hefted his plasma rifle and returned fire. The other marines did the same, one or two falling as laser beams struck them.

They can’t see us, Smith thought as he kept half an eye on the status of Titan’s marines. So far only two had been killed and another three hit, though not seriously. If the aliens had been able to detect them, many more would already be dead. “We’re almost there,” he called. “Show them no quarter. We’ll take prisoners further into the spaceport.”

A large shadow descended through the smoke. Suddenly, an alien was standing just meters in front of him. It raised its battle-axe to sweep it through Smith’s torso. Throwing himself to his knees, Smith skidded under the blow, he had to lean back to make sure it missed his head. Spinning as he slid past the alien, Smith was startled to see it had already spun and was raising its battle-axe again. Smith grinned, he was already raising his plasma rifle. For a split second, Smith saw a look of shock on the alien’s face. Then he blew it away. You’re not fighting ordinary humans now, Smith thought as he jumped to his feet. The alien had obviously been expecting a human not in combat armor. It had been stunned by Smith’s lightning reflexes.

In the space that he could see through the smoke, he counted five more aliens who were engaging his marines. At least two marines were lying dead at their feet. However, others were rushing towards the aliens. Smith saw one marine duck under a battle-axe, then jump up into the alien, nano knife in hand. The marine shoved the nano blade through the alien’s armor, piercing its chest. Other marines used their plasma rifles to blast the aliens out of existence. One alien, recognizing that its battle-axe was proving useless, hefted it to its shoulder. In quick succession, it blasted two marines with laser beams. Smith brought its attack to a halt as he poured five plasma bolts into the alien. The bolts burnt through the alien’s armor, cutting it in half.

“Keep charging,” Smith ordered. The laser beams coming from the spaceport’s main buildings had slackened. The aliens likely didn’t want to hit their own warriors.

Ten seconds later, the spaceport appeared through the smoke. An alien fired at Smith and the marines around him from an open viewport. Tens of plasma bolts drove the alien away but not before it killed the marine beside Smith. Smith ignored his fallen comrade for the moment. Instead, he fired a series of plasma bolts into the nearest viewport. Shattering the glass, he propelled himself through the opening. As he landed, he rolled and sprang to his feet. He scanned the room. It appeared to be a small storage compartment. Thankfully it was empty. Several marines jumped into the room with him. “Ready?” Smith asked. They nodded. Smith activated the access hatch and the marines charged into a large open area, fanning left and right. It appeared to be a customs clearance point. There were several large scanning machines in the center of the room.

A number of aliens were milling around the center of the room, while a handful of others were standing on walkways that looked down into the open area. Plasma bolts reached towards the aliens. They reacted quickly. Taking cover, they returned fire. For a second it looked like Smith and his marines were going to be wiped out as they sprinted to cover of their own. Fire from the center of the open area, and the aliens above, killed two marines. However, plasma bolts enveloped the aliens as more and more marines rushed out of other rooms. Four of the aliens fled, the rest were quickly killed.

“Secure the exits,” Smith ordered. “We’ll secure this section of the spaceport, and then move forward to the main computer data banks. If they’re after star maps, that’s where the aliens will be focused. Lieutenant Coe, you may take your two squads to secure the south section of the spaceport. Don’t take any unnecessary risks.”

“Yes Major,” Lieutenant Coe replied.

Smith nodded to the two squads of marines as they filed past him. They had slung their plasma rifles over their shoulder and pulled out their stunner pistols. He had tasked Coe with capturing at least one alien alive.

“This section of the spaceport is secure, we are ready to move out,” Captain Piper reported.

“Acknowledged,” Smith replied. “The Americans are reporting that the fire coming from the rest of the spaceport has slackened. The aliens must be moving to block our advance. This is going to get intense. Let’s move out quickly. We can’t let them reorganize. All units advance.”

Smith fell in behind the rest of Titan’s marines. He had handed over command of them to his second in command, Lieutenant Bradford. Bradford quickly had them moving. Smith had assigned his marines to the task of making it to the spaceport’s computer data banks. His marines forced open an access hatch and barreled down a corridor that led towards their target. An alien head appeared around the far end of the corridor, quickly followed by the alien’s weapon and a couple of laser beams. One struck the lead marine’s leg and he tumbled to the ground. Plasma bolts forced the alien back behind cover, then a grenade was hurled down the corridor. The explosion blasted the alien into the air. It landed in front of them, it wasn’t moving.

After helping the injured marine to one side, the charge continued. Twice they had to overcome groups of aliens. Each time, plasma bolts and grenades put an end to their resistance.

“We’re almost there,” Smith said to Bradford over their personal COM channel. He had been monitoring their progress on the schematics of the spaceport on his HUD. “The databanks should be up and to the right of the end of this corridor.”

“Acknowledged,” Bradford replied. “We’ll blow the access hatch as soon as we get there.”

If Bradford was going to say anything more, she was cut short. An alien stepped out of an adjacent room right in front of her. It raised its battle-axe and sent it sweeping towards her head. Instinctively, she raised her plasma rifle to deflect the battle-axe. It saved her life. The battle-axe shattered her weapon but was deflected enough that it missed her. Before she could get her wits about her, the alien swung its battle-axe back towards her. The blunt rear of the battle-axe connected with her chest and sent her flying into the wall.

Smith watched horrified. The alien seemed bigger than any of the others he had seen before. Its armor or shell was more intricately decorated. There were blue and red stripes down its chest. As if its attacks were all part of one movement, the alien pivoted away from Bradford and swept its battle-axe through the torso of a nearby marine. Then, the battle-axe swung again, killing another marine. Smith roared as he raised his plasma rifle and fired at the alien. Four marines joined him. Plasma bolts peppered the alien. However, it kept coming, even as the plasma bolts burnt through its armor, it swung its battle-axe for a third time. But for a last-minute stumble from the alien, Smith was sure the axe would have killed a third marine. Even so, the battle-axe reached the marine’s arm, sliced through the combat armor and removed the marine’s hand. Screams filled the unit’s COM channel.

Rushing forward, Smith checked on Bradford. Her vital signs seemed okay but she was badly shaken. Propping her up against the corridor, Smith turned to his objective. “This is it,” he said over the squad’s COM channel as he highlighted a hatch just in front of them with his HUD. “Set explosive charges and get ready to breach,” he ordered.

Within seconds, the hatch was blown in and the marines barged into the room. The room was at least twenty meters square. In rows along the middle of the room there were large servers. There were several aliens within the room, all were turning and raising weapons. Smith raised his plasma rifle and killed one. Then something else caught his attention. Right in the center of the room there was a weird looking cylinder. One glance told him it wasn’t human. Two small aliens, neither of them wearing any kind of armor, where kneeling over it. From the cylinder, several wires reached towards the nearest computers.

“Kill them,” Smith said as he highlighted them with his HUD. “Don’t damage the machine. That’s the kind of thing we’re here for.”

As soon as he finished speaking, he had to dive behind a computer terminal. Plasma bolts and laser beams were crisscrossing throughout the room. Tentatively, he poked his head above the terminal. He sighted on one of the aliens near the machine and sent two plasma bolts burning through it. Before he could readjust to the next target, it tapped a button. A blinding light erupted from the cylinder. Smith’s visor reacted instantly, vastly reducing the amount of light it was letting through. Even so, the light pierced Smith’s eyes and he raised his hand to block it. For a second he kept his eyes firmly shut. Then, taking a risk, he cracked one. The majority of the light was being directed vertically out of the cylinder. It had already burnt its way through the spaceport’s roof.

It’s a communication laser, Smith realized. Closing his eyes, he put two hands back on his plasma rifle and stood. Holding the trigger in, he sent a blaze of plasma bolts towards the cylinder. As much as he knew Lieutenant Scott would want to investigate the machine, it had to be destroyed. As soon as he could no longer feel the light burning through his eyelids, Smith opened them. He was greeted by a fireball racing towards him. It picked him up and smashed him against the wall. As the fireball engulfed his combat armor, alarms went off warning him of excess heat. They quickly faded as the fireball receded.

Pushing himself onto one knee, Smith glanced around the room. Another one of his marines was dead and the rest were picking themselves back up. All the aliens were dead. Opening a COM channel with the rest of his subordinates, he checked in with them. They had succeeded in securing the spaceport. Lieutenant Rodgers had even managed to capture five aliens. Smith smiled, he knew Scott would be upset to hear he had destroyed the alien device. Yet he would at least be able to give her some aliens to investigate.

Chapter 9

Human ingenuity is what propelled us into space. It is what has allowed us to survive against all the enemies we have made over the last half century. Sadly though, in every generation there are those who have used it to break every law the Empire has instigated for personal profit.

- Excerpt from Empire Rising, 3002 AD.

HMS Titan, Jackson System

“Show him in,” James said when Lieutenant Scott contacted him to let him know McCarthy had been transferred to Titan.

Titan was lying stationary with the rest of the British fleet near the remnants of the two alien frigates they had destroyed. They were salvaging as much of the alien frigates as they could. Rear Admiral Rosecrans was approaching with his squadron. The Rear Admiral had already sent an update from Jackson. The alien forces had been defeated. However, they had managed to access the spaceport’s databanks. It was likely the frigate that had escaped had taken whatever information the alien ground forces had managed to get their hands on with it. Worse, Jackson’s governor had reported that a much larger alien fleet had actually attacked the colony. They had then jumped out of the system in the general direction of the Marshall system. Rosecrans had broken out of orbit from Jackson as soon as he had heard that. Marshall was a far larger colony with a population of nearly twelve million. They couldn’t let the aliens destroy it. There was no time to spare. James had decided to accept McCarthy’s request for an audience.

“Captain Somerville,” McCarthy said as he stepped into James’ office.

“McCarthy,” James replied, trying to hide the respect he felt for the smuggler. Caught, arrested and facing the prospect of a lengthy prison sentence, or perhaps even death, the smuggler looked supremely confident. As he walked into James’ office and took a seat opposite James, it almost seemed as if he was the one that was about to interview James. Certainly, his appearance gave him a sense of gravitas. McCarthy was easily six foot four. A large muscular body filled out his frame and piercing green eyes gave off the impression of an intelligent mind. To try and put McCarthy in his place, James stared at him, making him wait.

McCarthy just stared back. A small smile on his face. “Why did you request this audience?” James asked, giving up on trying to intimidate the smuggler.

“Your reputation precedes you Captain,” McCarthy said slowly. “You’re a man of honor and of your word. I wish to make a bargain with you.”

“There’s no bargaining with smugglers,” James replied. “You’ll be sent back to Earth and tried accordingly.”

“Perhaps,” McCarthy said, sounding as if he thought the idea unlikely. “Though I know, that you know, that people like me have their uses. The Royal Space Navy turned a blind eye to more than one shipment of supplies that company brought to Haven right after the final battle with the Indians. Then, you were happy to make use of my skills to help the people of Haven.”

James remained silent. He hadn’t been the one to okay the unregistered freighters that had come to Haven seeking to sell much needed supplies. That had been Admiral Cunningham, though he and Suzanna had been happy for the help. Even so, he despised McCarthy. The smuggler had used Haven’s difficulties for his own profits. Once the situation on Haven had stabilized, James had done everything he could to put a halt to McCarthy’s profits.

“I thought you were a man of truth,” McCarthy said as he sat back in his chair, clearly unperturbed by James’ silence. “No matter, I don’t want to put you in a compromising position.”

“No amount of good can make up for the crimes you have committed,” James said eventually. “Whatever good you claim to have done, it is meaningless. Even if you did help the Havenites, you did it to make a profit. You used their difficulties to fill your own pockets.”

“Of course,” McCarthy said as his smile widened. “Though you should check your facts. I sold those supplies at a fair price. That’s not to say I didn’t make a profit. But I cheated no one.”

James seriously doubted McCarthy’s claim, but calling him a liar wasn’t going to change anything. “This is the last time I’ll ask you, what do you want? Rosecrans’ ships will be here within twenty minutes. As soon as they arrive, we are leaving Jackson and you’ll be headed for Earth.”

“I wish to make a bargain,” McCarthy said. “I have some information that I think you will find to be of vital importance. I will trade it for my freedom and the freedom of my crew and my ships.”

James wanted to laugh, but McCarthy sounded serious. “What information could you possibly have?”

“You know my reputation,” McCarthy replied. “I have never been caught before. If it wasn’t for those alien ships showing up in the system, I would still be free. I will share with you one of the secrets to my success.”

“I have no interest in becoming a smuggler,” James replied.

“No,” McCarthy chuckled. “I don’t suppose the esteemed Captain Somerville would ever stoop so low. However, I think you might find my information helpful all the same. You know the one thing that makes avoiding customs patrols child’s play? Knowing a few shift passages nobody else knows about. I know the alien fleet left heading towards the Marshall system. It just so happens, I know a shortcut.”

James paused. He didn’t know what to say. How could he trust someone who spent their entire life flaunting the law of almost every one of the colonial powers? Yet what if he is telling the truth? James thought. Millions of lives could depend on his information.

“I see you are thinking things through,” McCarthy said with a wink. “I’ll give you a moment, though the way I see it, you don’t have a choice. Even if there is a ten percent chance I’m telling the truth, my freedom has to be worth it. No?”

“I could just have the information taken from your mind,” James replied.

“Now now, Captain,” McCarthy said as he tapped his finger on James’ desk. “We both know you would never order such a thing.”

“Maybe not,” James replied. “But if I hand you over to Admiral Rosecrans, I’m sure he would be more than happy to. American lives are on the line after all.”

McCarthy’s confidence took a slight dip. “You wouldn’t do that,” McCarthy shot back. “Legally, I am a prisoner of the Royal Space Navy.”

“A hostile alien race is attacking and destroying human colonies. How much do you think I care about an insignificant piece of legislation that says I can’t hand you over to Admiral Rosecrans? You were caught in an American system after all.”

“All right,” McCarthy said as he rested both hands on James’ desk. “It’s a series of shift passages that will get you to the Marshall system two days quicker than through the shift passages the Americans know about. All I’m asking is that you let me and my ships go on our way. Surely that’s a trade worth making?”

As much as James hated to admit it himself, the answer to McCarthy’s question was obvious. Though every bone in his body didn’t want to trust him, never mind make a deal with him. “I’ll give you your freedom for the information,” James said slowly, not even trying to hide his reluctance. “You can take a shuttle and be on your way. However, your ships and your crew will remain in custody.”

“No deal,” McCarthy said, shaking his head. “My crew are my family. I won’t sell them out.”

“Honor among thieves?” James asked skeptically.

“You do not know me, nor my crew,” McCarthy snapped back. “You couldn’t understand.”

“Perhaps,” James replied. He imagined that serving together in the same ship for four years, facing danger and dodging customs patrols, would create a strong bond of unity. Not unlike the one forged between crew members on a warship. “But I’m not simply going to let you go straight back to making a profit at others’ expense.”

“Then we are at an impasse,” McCarthy said as he stood. “I guess I can be returned to whatever brig you intend to lock me up in.”

“Wait,” James said “You know I am a man of my word, are you one of yours?”

“Always,” McCarthy replied. “I may be a good smuggler, but I don’t need to lie to get what I want. And just so you know, I don’t make it my business to get rich at the expense of others’ misfortune. I simply operate under the laws of supply and demand. Where there is a need, I’m happy to be appropriately compensated for my services. What do you have in mind?”

“The people of Jackson, they are hurting. A significant portion of their capital city has been destroyed. They will need a lot of help to rebuild. Help that may be very slow in coming if other colonies along the American frontier have been attacked,” James answered. “I’ll trade you your information for your freedom, if you give me your word that you will help the people of Jackson, free of charge. Then, once you’ve brought them what they need, you can go back to doing whatever it is you want to do.”

“You’re very trusting Captain,” McCarthy said as he sat back down. His mischievous smile once again spread across his face. “I’m not sure my crew members will appreciate working for free.”

“I’m sure that if you have developed such a bond with them, they’ll be happy to follow your lead,” James replied. “Especially if it gets them their freedom.”

“I suppose you make a good point,” McCarthy said. He held out his hand. “I agree to your terms. And I’ll even throw another one in for free. For letting my crew go, I’ll owe you one.”

“I don’t want your favors,” James replied. “But I’ll hold you to your word,” he said as he reluctantly grasped McCarthy’s hand. “If you don’t help the people of Jackson, or your information turns out to be false, I promise you, I will personally hunt you down.”

“Of that I’m sure Captain,” McCarthy said as he released James’ hand. “Don’t forget, I know your reputation. I knew who I was dealing with when I came in here.”

“Just so long as you know,” James said as he tapped his COM unit.

Moments later, Lieutenant Scott walked in to his office. “Take McCarthy to the auxiliary bridge. He is going to give you a series of shift passages that lead to Marshall. They are not marked on any galactic map. After that, return him to his ship. Order the rest of his crew returned as well. We are letting them go.” Lieutenant Scott looked like she was about to argue. James held up his hand. “That’s an order Lieutenant, I’ll explain later. Just get McCarthy back to his ship before Rosecrans catches up with us.”

“Aye Captain,” Scott said, clearly confused. “This way,” she said to McCarthy as she motioned for him to follow her.

“Lead on Lieutenant,” McCarthy winked at her. “Until we meet again Captain,” he added as he threw James a mock salute.

James shook his head. McCarthy was far too cocky for his own good.

*

James was in Titan’s conference room. The British squadron falling into formation with Rosecrans’ ships. They were heading for the shift passage that would eventually lead to the Marshall system. Rosecrans had requested a conference with all his Captains. James was listening to a rundown of the scant information Jackson’s governor had been able to give Rosecrans on the alien fleet’s attack.

“In total then, we believe the alien fleet consists of twelve cruisers roughly equivalent to our medium cruisers, twenty destroyers and another twenty or so frigates. Commodore Hamilton’s engagement with the three alien frigates and our data from the attack on the Farnsworth colony suggests that the alien fleet could have a broadside of up to seven hundred missiles,” one of Rosecrans subordinates was saying.

No wonder they easily destroyed the Class 1 Liberty defense platform, James thought. The alien missiles were a lot less powerful than human missiles, but they still packed a punch. Hamilton’s squadron had a broadside of one hundred and ninety missiles. Rosecrans squadron could fire two hundred and thirty. Even combined, they could only match two thirds of the number of missiles the aliens could put out. And they have a significant range advantage.

“You can all do the numbers,” Rosecrans said. The holo projection of his head moved to the center of the circle of Captains. “If this fleet gets to the Marshall system, they will be able to brush the defenses aside with ease. The colony and all the mining operations strung out around the system will be at their mercy. We must get to the Marshall system as fast as possible. To that end, any ship that cannot keep up with our fleet will be left behind. We cannot lose a second.”

“Shouldn’t we send the British ships ahead of us?” One of the American Captains asked. “With their higher maximum velocity, they could make the trip to Marshal at least seven hours faster than us”

“That is my intention,” Rosecrans replied. “I have already sent Commodore Hamilton a draft of my proposed orders. He will be taking his ships to Marshall as fast as he can. If he catches up with the aliens before Marshall, he is not to engage until we re-join him. However, if he gets to Marshall and the alien fleet is already there, he is to join with the American ships there and help defend the planet. I wanted to hear everyone’s thoughts on our situation before making my final decision though.”

James held his tongue. He understood Rosecrans’s thinking. The aliens needed to be stopped at all costs. Yet, if the British ships were caught on their own by the aliens, they could be easily destroyed. If that happened, it was unlikely Rosecrans’ ships would be powerful enough to stop the aliens either. The aliens could destroy Marshall and then continue rampaging through the American colonies. On the other hand, the aliens had already shown they had advanced shift drive technology. If Rosecrans didn’t send the British ships on ahead, the aliens could reach Marshall days before any help would arrive.

“I will be happy to take my ships on ahead,” Hamilton said. “However, there is another option. You know we captured McCarthy, the infamous smuggler. Well, he revealed some interesting information. He gave us details of a previously unknown shift passage. If we take it, we should be able to get to Marshall two days quicker. We could get ahead of the aliens and join our ships to the squadron defending Marshall.” As he spoke, Hamilton uploaded the new shift passages to the holo map of local space.

“There is no way to verify this information,” Rosecrans’ Flag Captain, Pamela Carruthers said. “If we take this route and it is a fake, we would be dooming the Marshall colony.”

“Even if we chase after the alien fleet, the Marshall colony may already be doomed,” James said. “You have all seen where the aliens were able to jump into shift space. They have a distinct advantage over us. It’s unlikely we can make up the head start they already have. This new shift passage gives us our best opportunity.”

“And why do you think we can trust this smuggler?” Rosecrans asked. “I can’t just send our ships away on a whim.”

James knew he was about to be laughed at, but he had no other answer. “He gave me his word. I believe him.”

“That is all?” Rosecrans replied. The look on his face and the tone of his voice betrayed his shock. “Have you not interrogated him?”

“No,” James answered. “I doubt it would do any good. Besides, we don’t have time to do that and I already released him. He traded the information for his freedom.”

“You let him go?” Carruthers almost shouted.

“It was the only way to get the map of the new shift passage,” James answered. “I did what I thought was best.”

Carruthers snorted. Rosecrans looked far from happy. “You intend to take your squadron along the shift passage, don’t you?” he said as he turned to Hamilton.

Hamilton glanced at James before answering. “We have discussed it, I believe it is the best chance the Marshall system has. If we go together, we can cut two days off the time it would take us to get to the Marshall system. If we beat the aliens there, we can combine our squadrons with the squadron defending the Marshall system. Together, we should be able to fight them off.”

Rosecrans shook his head. “I cannot follow you. It’s too great a risk. I was going to ask you to push ahead and try and beat the aliens to the Marshall system. But I know I cannot command you. If you do this, and the Marshall system is wiped out, you know it could end any hope of our two fleets working together. Everyone in the American colonies will blame you.”

“We understand,” Hamilton replied.

“Then all I can do is wish you luck,” Rosecrans said, though the bitterness in his tone belied his words. It almost sounded like he had resigned himself to the Marshall colony’s destruction. “If you do make it there ahead of us, you can try and hold up the aliens for as long as possible. We will come in behind them and help you finish them off.”

“We will do our best,” Hamilton said.

“I will let you and your Captains go then,” Rosecrans said. “I have plans to make with my own.”

“And if you find it a dead end, and come chasing after us. At least you’ll be able to collect our bodies,” Captain Carruthers said. “You can be assured that we won’t go running off on a wild goose chase, we will gladly lay down our lives to defend our people.”

James sensed that Carruthers was speaking for the majority of the American Captains. He fully understood their feelings. Rosecrans was trying to be more diplomatic. James felt guilty. It wasn’t nice seeing the look of betrayal on so many of his allies’ faces. Yet he and Hamilton had to do what they thought was best. “I know you will,” James said. “We hope to prove the same to you.”

“Farewell,” Hamilton said before any of the American Captains could reply.

One by one the holo projections of the British Captains disappeared. James was the last one to leave. He nodded to Rosecrans and then disappeared himself.

“I’m going to my quarters,” Hamilton said as he stood up from where he had been sitting beside James in Titan’s conference room. “Send the order to the rest of our squadron, take us towards McCarthy’s shift passage. And let’s hope to God it pays off.”

“Aye Commodore,” James said, saluting Hamilton as he walked out of the conference room. It hadn’t been easy convincing Hamilton to agree to James’ plan. But once committed Hamilton had stuck to his guns. Soon they would find out if James had just made a fool of himself and cost the lives of several million civilians.

Chapter 10

Even today, with Jump Gates and Sun Gates, mapping the dark matter between the stars is a key component in the expansion of the Empire’s borders.

- Excerpt from Empire Rising, 3002 AD.

An hour after the conference with the American Captains, the American squadron jumped out of the Jackson system. Five minutes later, the British frigate Collingwood jumped into shift space as well. The next twenty minutes were the longest in James’ life. Collingwood had been sent ahead to test out the first section of McCarthy’s shift passage. The passage they were going to jump down was extremely tight and twisty. In terms of distance travelled, it was actually longer than the shift passage that Rosecrans was taking to the Marshall system. The advantage came from the fact that McCarthy’s shift passage only passed through one planetary system. Whereas Rosecrans would have to exit shift space and traverse through three systems in normal space.

The first section of the shift passage narrowed to a point less than a tenth of a light second across. That was why it had been missed. Presumably decades ago, American exploration ships with what were now outdated sensor systems had missed the shift passage, mistaking it for a dead end. McCarthy, or someone else, must have resurveyed the area recently with modern sensors.

As the gravimetric sensors beeped to alert Titan’s bridge crew to a new contact, James forced his shoulders to relax. At least Collingwood made it back, he thought. If the shift passage had been a dead end, the frigate could have been destroyed.

“Collingwood is signaling,” Sub Lieutenant MacArthur called. “They are reporting the shift passage exists.”

James allowed himself a sigh of relief. “Signal Collingwood to continue exploring the shift passage. Then send a general order to the squadron to proceed up the first section of the passage.”

Twenty minutes later Titan and the rest of the British squadron exited shift space right in front of the narrowest point of McCarthy’s shift passage. The point was so narrow that only a couple of ships could pass through it at once. One by one, James watched as the squadron jumped through the kink in the shift passage. By the time Titan jumped, Collingwood’s Captain was already signaling to say that the next section of the shift passage appeared to match the data McCarthy had given them. Sending another frigate ahead to continue to scout out the shift passage. James ordered the British squadron to form up, waited for Collingwood to recharge her shift drive capacitors, and then jumped the fleet further down the shift passage. It appeared McCarthy’s word was trustworthy. Even so, as the fleet progressed, James felt his shoulders tightening with tension. At any moment, their shift passage could end. The further along they went, the further they would have to return if McCarthy had tricked them.

*

Five days later, relief flooded through James. Collingwood had just jumped out of shift space. Her Captain was signaling that the passage led all the way to the Black Forest system. From there, the Americans had already charted a shift passage to the Marshall system.

“It looks like our gamble has paid off,” Hamilton said over the COM channel from the auxiliary bridge. Both he and James had been waiting for Collingwood to return.

“No one is more relieved than me,” James replied. “Let’s just hope we are in time to help Marshall.”

“If we’re not, no one can lay any blame at our door. Though if the colony is destroyed, I’m sure worrying about blame will be the last thing on our minds,” Hamilton replied.

“Indeed,” James said. After a few moments, he continued. “May I arrange a briefing on what Lieutenant Scott has found from her analysis of the alien technology and prisoners? She has been dying to update us.”

“Of course,” Hamilton said. “We can hear what she has to say during our next stint in shift space.”

“I’ll let her know,” James said. He had been holding off on arranging the briefing. His thoughts had been elsewhere as they had travelled up the unknown shift passage. Now he was ready to think about something else.

Ten minutes later, James, Hamilton, Lieutenants Romanov, Rodgers and Scott, and Major Smith were all squashed into James’ personal briefing room. It was just large enough to hold them all. James preferred it to the larger general briefing room, here everyone was so crammed together they couldn’t feel intimidated by Hamilton or himself.

“Over to you,” James said to Scott. She was standing in front of them all.

“Thank you,” Scott replied with a nod. “As you can imagine, I’ve spent almost every waking hour sifting through all the information we have gathered. Alexander, the ship’s Doctor has been very helpful in examining the deceased aliens we collected from the wreckage of the three frigates. For a lot of the rest of the information, I have been working on educated guesses. However, overall, I think I have a pretty clear picture to present. I want to start here,” Scott said as she switched on the holo projector.

An image of an alien standing over a marine appeared in front of the gathered officers. Smith snarled. It looked like the alien was about to cleave the marine in two with its battle-axe. “As you know, these are the aliens Major Smith and the rest of the marines encountered on Jackson. These, and the alien bodies we recovered in space, are all anatomically very similar. The aliens have four legs, a torso and head somewhat similar to us and then a single arm. Their arm is able to rotate almost 360 degrees around their body. Their battle-axe is a deadly weapon at close range. Their range of motion means they can strike almost anywhere. As a ranged weapon however, it is less impressive. From the weapons Major Smith recovered, it appears the battle-axe doubles as a laser rifle. That said, the rifle only carries enough charge for about forty beams. After that, the weapon would have to be reloaded with a new energy cartridge.”

“That seems very primitive,” Major Smith said. “Anything could happen in the seconds it takes to reload. Why would they bother with that?”

“They bother because they have to,” Scott replied. “As far as I can tell, their energy storage capabilities are very primitive compared to ours.”

“What about their armor? What did you find out about it?” Smith asked.

“I was getting to that,” Scott answered as she changed the image on the holo projector to show a dead alien. “I have classed these aliens as from their warrior caste. We tried to cut open the armor they are encased in. The armor itself is biological, at first, we thought it was grown to suit each warrior. However, upon further analysis it appears that the armor is a part of the alien. They are either born with it, or genetically modified to grow it. It provides them with a significant level of protection. Only a very powerful blow from one of their own battle-axes would penetrate the armor. Laser beams are partially reflected and it takes a number of our plasma bolts to burn through it. As Major Smith has demonstrated though, they can be defeated.”

“What do you mean by a warrior caste?” Commodore Hamilton asked. “You mean you think there are other castes?”

“I believe so,” Scott answered as she brought up two new images beside the dead warrior. “The image on the left was taken from Major Smith’s HUD recording. The second is of a dead alien we collected from the wreckage of the alien frigates. As you can see, they are almost identical. In addition, the aliens share the same anatomical features as the warriors. However, they vary greatly in terms of size. The aliens in the warrior caste appear to be more than twice the size of this other caste. And of course, this second caste has no armor. I’m tentatively designating them as from a scientist caste. That’s based almost entirely on the fact that two of these aliens were overseeing the laser COM array that transmitted whatever information the aliens garnered from Jackson to their frigates in space. We found more of these aliens in the wreckage of the frigates, however, there were relatively few of them. I could be wrong, but I believe they oversee the alien’s spaceships and other technological devices.”

“Which class rules their society?” James asked. “Did you find anything to give us a clue?”

“Sadly not,” Scott answered. “There were warriors and scientists on both frigates. Either, or both castes could be involved in providing leadership to their society.”

“Given how the aliens have acted,” Romanov said, “my money is on the warriors. They have shown no mercy and no remorse in bombarding civilians from space.”

“An engineer or scientist could just as easily decide to do such things,” Hamilton said. “If it made logical sense for them to wipe us out, then it could be a scientist calling the shots just as easily as a warrior. At this stage, it is far too early to make any assumptions. Even splitting them into warriors or scientists is a human distinction. It may not apply to these aliens.”

“You’re right of course,” Scott responded. “Though, at the very least, it appears their species is divided into different sections, each with a specialized role.”

“Agreed,” Hamilton said. “Now tell us, what have you found from the prisoners Major Smith managed to capture?”

“Next to nothing,” Scott answered. “Major Smith has been assisting me in the interrogation. As far as we can tell, the translation technology the Kulreans gave us works with them. I believe they understand everything we say. However, they have only ever replied with one word. Die.”

“Wonderful,” Romanov said.

“What about food?” James asked. “Have you been able to ascertain what they eat?”

“They drink water readily enough,” Scott answered. “So far they haven’t shown any interest in any other beverages we have offered them. At first, they didn’t eat any food we gave them, but by the second day they began to eat. I don’t think it is particularly to their taste. Doctor Alexander estimates their metabolism is at least forty to fifty percent higher than the average human’s. I think in the end, they have been forced to eat whatever we have given them.”

“Then the prisoners have proved all but useless,” Romanov said.

“Not quite,” Scott answered. “We’ve already learnt a lot about their physiology that we couldn’t have learnt from the corpses we collected. We’re also learning some important psychological information from them. The fact that the aliens are eating and drinking means they are not trying to kill themselves. That shows they have a desire to live, even if they aren’t free and with their own kind. That bodes well for the future. If we can defeat their fleets and threaten their way of existence, they may be willing to negotiate with us. On the other hand, as far as we can tell, the aliens have shown almost no sign of distress at being imprisoned. That may mean a number of things, though one of them would be that the aliens are able to cope well with difficult or even impossible circumstances. If that’s a species wide trait, it may suggest they would fight on, even against overwhelming odds.”

“That is a lot to extrapolate from several prisoners,” James commented.

“Indeed it is,” Scott replied. “But for now, it’s all we have to go on. Imagine a number of humans were captured and imprisoned by the aliens. Some might fare well under such an imprisonment, others would struggle. Such responses would tell an alien species much about our species would it not? There are many humans who would willingly fight to the death to protect their homeworld or their families. Yet, there are others, who faced with certain destruction or harsh circumstances, would flee or surrender. The fact that none of the alien prisoners have shown any signs of giving up, says something about them.”

“I see your point,” James nodded. “Now, what I’m really interested in is their technology. What have you found?”

“The technology is a mixed bag,” Scott answered. “In some aspects it is very similar to the Vestarians’. We managed to get our hands on an intact heavy laser cannon. It’s all but identical to the laser cannons the Vestarian Overlord used. There are some small differences. Perhaps even enough for someone back on Earth to claim they were developed separately. However, I think it’s at least as likely that both the Vestarians and these aliens used the same schematics and technological inventions to build their laser cannons. The level of their fission reactor technology is also similar to the Vestarians. However, their propulsion systems are different. I don’t know how their engines operate, but from what we have salvaged, I know they work on principals I don’t yet understand. This, added to the fact that they definitely have a more advanced shift drive is perplexing. On one hand, aspects of their technology are far below ours, while on the other, they have things we have not even thought of before.”

“That sounds eerily familiar,” James said.

“I know,” Scott said. “There’s no doubt in my mind now. The Vestarian Overlords and these new aliens have come into contact with another source of technology. Even if there is just another race out there selling weapons technology to the highest bidder. There has to be a connection between the Vestarians and these new aliens.”

“If there is a connection, and I stress the word if,” Hamilton said. “Then it doesn’t bode well. I hope you won’t be offended if I don’t accept your conclusions at face value. The Admiralty will have hundreds of scientists pouring over this data once it reaches them. If they conclude there is a connection between the Vestarians and these aliens, then I won’t doubt it. However, assuming you are correct, the fact that both these alien races have attacked us isn’t good. If there is another alien race out there, their intentions can’t be good. For now though, whether you are right or wrong, it doesn’t change things. We still have an alien fleet to catch up with. Have you found anything that can help us in the short term?”

“One thing at least,” Scott replied. “Their missiles aren’t as powerful as we thought. Neither is their ECM. Though the number of missiles their fleets can produce is impressive, we should be able to handle them. I have upgraded Titan’s targeting computers to help them deal with the alien’s ECM and more numerous missile salvos. I plan to pass on the upgrades to the rest of the squadron with Commodore Hamilton’s permission.”

“Permission granted,” Hamilton replied. “Just how dangerous are their missiles?”

The holo projector changed to show a salvo of missiles quickly accelerating towards Titan. “I ran a number of simulations,” Scott said as the visuals progressed. Flak cannon rounds, plasma bolts and laser beams reached from Titan to strike the incoming missiles. All but two were destroyed. Both of them crashed into Titan. As they hit, the projection slowed down. One missile detonated as soon as it touched Titan’s armor. The explosive force was pushed out along Titan’s flanks. The second missile clearly penetrated the valstronium armor. A second later, an explosion blew a large section of Titan’s internal structure out into space.

The simulation paused. Scott manipulated the image to zoom in on where the first missile struck. “As you can see, this missile didn’t penetrate Titan’s armor. It struck at an angle that allowed the armor to resist its momentum long enough for the missile to detonate. More than ninety percent of the armor in the location of the strike was burnt off. Quite a few point defense nodes were destroyed as well. However, there was little internal damage.”

The image shifted to where the second missile had penetrated Titan. “We weren’t so lucky with this missile. It struck almost perpendicular to our armor. It penetrated two decks before exploding. The force of the explosion was stopped by internal bulkheads five and six, limiting the damage. However, everything in between the bulkheads was all but wiped out. The results of my simulation suggest that we can easily brush off a number of proximity hits, and even a few direct hits that do not penetrate our armor. If a missile does penetrate it will largely depend on where it strikes us. If the missile takes out our engines or our fission reactors, we will be dead in the water. Likewise, if a strike takes out either of our bridges we will lose a lot of combat efficiency.”

“So, our ship should be able to weather a few close calls,” Hamilton said. “That’s good to know. Images of hundreds of missiles exploding among our squadron doesn’t induce a good night’s sleep.”

“A lot will depend on how the missile strikes the hulls of our ships. With this knowledge, hopefully our pilots will be able to better dodge, or at least limit the threat of a direct hit,” Scott answered. “Even so, that will only go for ships larger than a destroyer. A destroyer or frigate’s armor is too thin to hold off one of the alien missiles. A direct hit will be just as deadly as if they have been hit by a human missile.”

“We’ll just have to try and protect them,” Hamilton responded. “I presume you have prepared a written report on your findings?”

“I have,” Scott answered. “It’s ready to send to the rest of the Captains in our squadron.”

“Very good,” Hamilton replied. “I’ve a few more questions for you. Once we’re done you can transmit it.”

James listened carefully as Hamilton grilled Scott on a number of points. Following his lead, both Romanov and Rogers jumped in with their own questions. James, for his part, was happy to listen. His mind was elsewhere. Whilst it was true their squadron had an immediate threat to deal with, he couldn’t help but think about the long-term ramifications of Scott’s findings. When he got back to Earth, he was going to have to make it a priority to convince his uncle of the real threat. Perhaps he would have to speak to other Admirals in other navies as well. If there was an alien race out there trying to destroy humanity, the wars between the human nations were pointless. The discovery of the Vestarians had led to a war between the British Star Kingdom and the Indian Star Republic. Rather than drawing humanity together, the discovery of aliens had forced them apart. It can’t happen this time, James thought. Something has to be done.

Chapter 11

The element of surprise is a hard thing to come by in a fleet battle. When achieved, it can have devastating effects. A good commander does not seek to rely on it too much, but when the opportunity presents itself, he should seize it ruthlessly.

- Excerpt from Empire Rising, 3002 AD

Four hours after Scott’s briefing finished, Titan and the rest of the British ships jumped out of subspace into the Black Forest system. The British ships were now just a day’s travel away from the threatened colony. James heard more than one of his subordinates let out a sigh of relief. They were finally back in an explored system.

James held back his excitement. He was waiting for Titan’s sensor data to update. The Black Forest system was meant to have two orbital mining stations. It took five seconds for the sensors to display the system around them. It felt like much longer to James. When the two orbital stations were projected exactly where they were supposed to be, one in orbit around the system’s single gas giant and the other around a rocky moon, James allowed himself a small smile.

“We beat them,” Romanov said with a grin. “The aliens haven’t made it this far yet.”

“Or they just ignored the mining stations,” James said cautiously. “Sub Lieutenant Edwards, send a message to both stations. Ask them if they have seen any alien ships. Then send an order to Collingwood. I want her to proceed immediately to Marshall. Hamilton has already sent a COM message they are to deliver to Marshall’s senior fleet commander.”

“Sending both messages now Captain,” Edwards replied.

A moment later new orders came in from Hamilton, as usual he was in the auxiliary bridge. “The squadron is going to accelerate towards the final shift passage to Marshall,” James informed his bridge crew. “Sub Lieutenant Denver, follow Hamilton’s flight orders. Full acceleration. The rest of the squadron will maintain formation with us.”

“Aye Captain,” Denver replied.

James watched anxiously as the squadron moved as quickly as it could towards the shift passage that connected the Black Forest system to the Marshall system. Then the message he was waiting for arrived.

“The nearest mining station has replied,” Sub Lieutenant Edwards said. “They haven’t seen any alien ships pass through the system. They are asking us what they should do. They sound pretty nervous.”

“So would I if I was stationed on a defenseless mining station with an alien fleet rampaging about,” Lieutenant Romanov chuckled. “Should we suggest they get out of the system, if they can?”

“I think that would be wise,” James replied. “Send something to that effect back to them Sub Lieutenant.”

“Yes Captain,” Sub Lieutenant Edwards replied.

A beep on James’ command chair alerted him to the fact Hamilton was requesting his presence in his office. “You have the bridge First Lieutenant,” James said as he stood. “I’ll be back presently.”

As he walked out of the bridge and towards the turbolift that would take him down to the auxiliary bridge, James thought through the pros and cons of what he knew Hamilton wanted to talk about. Over the last five days, Hamilton, James and the rest of the Captains in the squadron had discussed a number of scenarios. Finding out the alien fleet hadn’t yet reached the Black Forest system was one of them.

“Well, what do you think?” Hamilton asked as soon as James stepped into his office.

“You know my thoughts,” James replied.

“Yes,” Hamilton said as he looked at the floor for a moment. “I suppose I do. The responsibility is mine.”

“There’s no way the commander of the American ships in the Marshall system will leave the colony unprotected and come join us. If we want to make a stand here, we will have to do it alone,” James said. “I believe we can do it.”

“The question is, how far away are the alien ships?” Hamilton replied. “If we head straight to the Marshall system, we could do a lot to help the Americans fortify the colony. Yet who knows if that will be enough?”

“We have to go on what we do know,” James said. “Our most conservative estimate of the aliens’ capabilities still gives them a good chance of defeating us, even if we combine our squadron with the ships that are in the Marshall system. To win, we need Rosecrans’ squadron. There is only one way to give Rosecrans a chance to catch up. We have already taken a risk by taking McCarthy’s shift passage. I think we need to take another one.”

“I know, I know,” Hamilton replied. “It’s just a big decision.”

“We are at war,” James said. “From here on in every decision will be critical.”

“You’re right,” Hamilton said as his voice hardened. “But we’re going to play it safe. If it even looks like the alien fleet is going to overrun us, we are falling back to the Marshall system.”

“Agreed. As much as we need to delay them, we can’t afford to let them engage us with their full strength. That will seal Marshall’s fate just the same as if we don’t try to delay them,” James replied. Inwardly he smiled, throughout their discussions, Hamilton had been tending towards just heading to the Marshall system. There, James knew he would be able to pass responsibility to the more senior American commander in the system. Hamilton was a good officer, but having spent so long sitting at a desk in the Admiralty, he was more than a little adverse to risks.

“I know what you’re thinking,” Hamilton said as he eyed James. “If it was your uncle, or Vice Admiral Cunningham, they would already be charging towards the alien fleet. I’m glad you’re here, I value your input as Flag Captain, but I have to do things my own way. Not everyone can defeat overwhelming odds again and again.”

“You’re right,” James said. “But when opportunity presents itself, we have to at least consider grasping it.”

“I know,” Hamilton replied. “That’s what we are going to do. Now, the question is, how do we go about it?”

“My First Lieutenant had a suggestion I think is worth considering,” James said as he moved over to the holo projector. He loaded a file Romanov had prepared. “It’s risky, but of all the ideas that have been put forward in the last few days, I think it is the best.”

Hamilton sighed. “You better explain it,” he said. “I guess if we’re going to do this, we’re not going to be able to avoid taking risks.”

James launched into a description of Romanov’s suggestion. Then, he and Hamilton spent another ten minutes discussing a couple of other ideas that Hamilton liked. James was surprised when Hamilton decided on Romanov’s plan. Hamilton included a number of tweaks, but in essence it was what Romanov had suggested. He’s not as risk averse as I thought, James decided when Hamilton sat back, satisfied with what they had come up with.

“I’ll send this to the rest of the Captains,” Hamilton replied. “You go back to the bridge and communicate with the gas mining station. Send one of the frigates to the other mining station to take off its crew. They won’t like the idea of boarding a warship about to face an alien fleet, but they will be a heck of a lot safer there than sitting on a defenseless orbital station.”

“I’ll make the arrangements right away,” James said as he stood. After saluting, he walked out of Hamilton’s office and hurried to the bridge. There were a lot of preparations to make.

*

“Constance is signaling,” Sub Lieutenant MacArthur reported. “They have detected a number of anomalies at the edge of the system, towards the Jackson shift passage.”

“That was close,” Romanov commented.

“Indeed,” James said. They had spent the last six hours frantically getting ready to receive the aliens and had just finished their preparations half an hour ago.

Titan, the light cruiser Banshee and two destroyers were sitting in low orbit around the system’s only gas giant. They were using their maneuvering thrusters to keep themselves positioned so they would be hidden from any ships entering the system from the direction of Jackson. The American gas mining station was on the opposite side of the planet. The destroyer Constance and a frigate were acting as guard ships to the station. The rest of the British fleet was stationed adjacent to the shift passage that led to Marshall.

“Acknowledge Constance’s COM message,” James ordered. “Romanov, make sure all the duty watches are sent to get food in the next hour. After that, they may not have time to eat for a while. Let the cook know to put on something special.”

“Aye Captain,” Romanov said with a smile. “I’ll ask him for my favorite, lasagna.”

For the next four hours James watched from Titan’s bridge as the alien fleet slowly made its way into the system. As they had seen in the past, the aliens didn’t have the most impressive acceleration rates, nor maximum speed. Yet their advantage in missile range almost makes up for it, James thought. If the alien’s missile range matched theirs, human ships could run rings round them. However, the aliens far longer range meant the British ships couldn’t risk getting too close.

“They’re certainly taking the bait,” Romanov commented.

“That they are,” James agreed. “Let’s hope your ploy works, or we are going to be in trouble.”

“Any moment now,” Scott said from the tactical console.

Her timing was almost spot on. Titan’s sensors beeped to alert them that new contacts had been detected. The gravimetric sensors were detecting ships accelerating into the Black Forest system from the direction of Marshall. The rest of the British squadron was making its play under Captain Drinkwater of the medium cruiser Brute. The British ships, accompanied by a number of drones that had been augmented to omit gravimetric waves, were trying to trick the aliens into thinking a large American fleet had just arrived.

“Look,” Romanov said as he sat forward in his command chair. “It’s working.”

James didn’t say anything. He was waiting to see how the alien fleet split up. A stealth drone was sitting in orbit between the gas mining station and Titan and Constance was using it to relay her sensor data via a laser link. The destroyer had detected more than forty alien warships. It appeared the fleet bearing down on them was the one that had attacked the Jackson colony. As James watched, the fleet split. One cruiser class alien ship and four frigates continued on towards the gas mining station and Constance. The rest of the alien fleet pivoted towards the new contacts.

“Just one cruiser, we can take it no problem” Romanov smiled.

“It’s a start,” James said. “But I’ll take it. We just need to make sure Titan doesn’t receive any serious damage or we could end up falling under the guns of the entire alien fleet.”

Romanov nodded. If Titan took any damage to her engines. She wouldn’t be able to outrun the larger alien fleet.

The rest of the British ships angled away from the center of the Black Forest system. The alien fleet’s current intercept trajectory took them very close to the system’s fourth planet and the mining station that orbited its rocky surface. The British ship’s change of course meant that in order to intercept them, the alien fleet had to alter course as well. Their new course would take them away from the second mining station. Romanov wanted the alien fleet to think that the British ships were trying to save the mining station. In reality, the new course the alien fleet would have to take took them much further away from Titan. It meant that the larger alien fleet wouldn’t be able to aid their comrades once Titan and her consorts struck.

For another hour the alien cruiser with its four escorting frigates continued towards the gas mining station. Then, they launched a salvo of eight missile carriers towards Constance and the American station.

“That’s going to be a lot of missiles,” Romanov said.

“Hopefully nothing we can’t handle,” James said confidently. The look he gave his First Lieutenant was clear. The bridge crew didn’t need any negative thoughts distracting them. The alien missile carriers would be able to disgorge a lot of the small alien missiles. However, the British point defenses should be able to handle them. And even if they couldn’t, the missiles were much smaller than the British ones. James knew what Romanov was thinking though, a lucky hit could spell disaster.

Over the next thirty minutes the five alien ships fired another two salvos of missile carriers. Constance and the frigate with her were forced to sit still. The aliens still hadn’t come close enough for them to open fire.

“Now,” Hamilton ordered over the COM channel.

Titan and her consorts broke out of orbit. They accelerated around the gas giant and took up station with Constance. As soon as the ships took a defensive formation they fired a hail of flak cannon rounds. The alien missile carriers had obviously been updated to account for previous engagements with human ships, for they released their missiles before the first flak cannon rounds got near them. Fifty-four alien missiles accelerated towards them.

As they flew through the first cloud of shrapnel, twelve were destroyed. Then, plasma bolts, laser beams and AM missiles reached out from the British ships to shoot them down. From the gas mining station, more than two hundred AM missiles shot out. A number of launchers had been taken from the British ships now being commanded by Captain Drinkwater in order to fortify the station. All but seven of the alien missiles were destroyed by the British point defenses. A final wave of shrapnel fired by the reloaded flak cannons took out five more. One missile targeted a British frigate. Using its powerful engines, the frigate carried out a series of evasive maneuvers which tricked the missile causing it to overshot its target. Nevertheless, it detonated, scoring a proximity hit. A small part of the explosive force brushed against the frigate, thankfully its armor held. The smaller alien missiles had to get very close to do any damage with a proximity hit. James saw the second alien missile had targeted the gas mining station. He gritted his teeth, there was no way the station could avoid a direct hit. The missile easily punched through the station’s hull and detonated. The explosion ripped the station apart. The gas giant’s gravity sucked the chunks down into its atmosphere. In less than a minute, there was no evidence that the station had ever existed.

“All ships target the frigates,” Hamilton ordered over the COM channel to the ships under his command. “Open fire.”

Twenty-eight missiles leapt out of their missile tubes and accelerated towards the alien ships. Then, eight minutes later, another twenty-eight missiles leapt out, this time, every one of them was targeted at the alien cruiser. The British ships switched over to point defense mode. Another fifty-four alien missiles were closing in on them. Forty made it past the first wave of flak cannon rounds. Then eight closed to attack range. The British ships all performed evasive maneuvers whilst powering up their ECM and firing off desperate last-minute plasma bolts and laser beams. Scott let out a whoop as she shot down one and then two alien missiles. Even so, James saw one more missile homing in on his command. With a shout he warned Sub Lieutenant Denver.

She threw Titan into a tight dive away from the missile. Her maneuver partially worked, the missile overshot Titan and detonated, sending a wave of explosive force towards the heavy cruiser. James felt his ship shake under him. From the strength of the vibrations, he knew it wasn’t serious though. He kept his eye on the holo image of the other British ships. The frigate Pride, which had so skillfully evaded a missile from the first alien salvo, was being targeted by another missile. This time, its pilot ran out of luck. Flicking the frigate in a random direction, he turned Pride towards the alien missile just as it was turning to compensate for a maneuver Pride had already made. The alien missile scored a direct hit. It punched through the frigate’s armor and exploded. As the explosive detonation receded, James saw no sign of Pride. The frigate had been vaporized.

“Damage report,” James called in anger.

“We lost a number of point defense plasma cannons,” Romanov reported. “They were burnt off the outer hull. However, our armor held. I think we were hit with one of the smaller alien missiles from one of their frigates. No other damage has been reported as yet.”

“And our other ships?”

Sub Lieutenant MacArthur answered from the sensor station. “Just one other proximity hit to Daring. The light cruiser is not reporting any serious damage.”

Before James could say anything else, Hamilton issued new orders. “We’re moving back around the gas giant,” he said. “I’m sending a new course now.”

“Get us moving,” James ordered Sub Lieutenant Denver.

Breaking formation, the British ships quickly accelerated around the gas giant. They dropped closer and closer to the planet until they almost touched its atmosphere. Just before the alien ships that were attacking them disappeared from sight, James launched a recon probe so they could watch the impact of their two missile salvos.

Chapter 12

Sometimes discretion is the better part of valor.

- Excerpt from Empire Rising, 3002 AD.

Titan’s sensors blared as the next salvo of alien missiles rounded the gas giant. The missile carriers, finally detecting their targets, released their missiles. The missiles vainly tried to use their maneuvering thrusters to decelerate and prevent them from overshooting the gas giant’s gravity field. Of the fifty-four, only eight managed to slow down enough to slot into a high orbit. As those eight swung by high above the British ships, point defense weapons reached out to destroy them. Six were destroyed. The remaining two swung right around the planet, desperately decelerating to lower their orbit and hit the British ships. By the time they reappeared on Titan’s sensors, they were going so slow the British ships easily shot them down.

James turned his attention to the sensor data coming in from the stealth drone. The five alien ships were already pumping laser beams towards the British missiles. Here and there they were scoring hits, however the British missiles, with their seemingly far more advanced engines, quickly closed the distance to their targets. Each of the four frigates had at least one missile targeting it. As they closed in, multiple explosions erupted all around the alien ships. When the sensor data cleared, three of the four alien frigates were gone.

“Our second salvo should do it,” Hamilton said.

“I believe so,” James replied. “That was good thinking taking us into the gas giant.”

“I might be old and a little rusty,” Hamilton said. “But I still have a few tricks up my sleeve. With luck, the next two alien salvos won’t fare any better than the last one.”

“Maybe we can help them along the way,” James said. “If we launch a series of drones, and placed them up in a high orbit, they can mimic our sensor profiles. Those missile carriers will only have a couple of seconds to detect the drones and us, choose a target, and then launch before they overshoot. We won’t have many drones left if we do this, but there is no point having them sitting in storage collecting dust.”

“Do it,” Hamilton ordered.

By the time James had finished sending his orders to the other Captains, the second salvo of British missiles had caught up to the alien cruiser. The cruiser turned to bring as many of its point defenses as possible to bear on the missiles. Its efforts were in vain. It only managed to shoot down eight. The other twenty closed in on the cruiser, a couple missed their target, but the majority struck home. The cruiser was obliterated.

Despite their victory, Titan’s bridge crew didn’t cheer. There were still two salvos of alien missile carriers accelerating towards the gas giant. As the first missile carriers came to the point where they could detect Titan and the other British ships, they released their missiles. Nearly half banked towards the drones James had launched, some exploded among the drones while the others shot off into space. The rest of the alien missiles tried to angle down towards Titan. They all failed to decelerate enough and switched to trying to loop around the planet and come back for a second strike. Once again, when they came back into sensor range, they were going so slow that they were easy targets for the British point defense gunners. The second alien salvo appeared twelve minutes later, they had no better luck against the British ships. Every missile was destroyed or shot past the gas giant.

“Take us out of orbit,” Hamilton ordered, sending a new formation to his command.

As the British ships accelerated, James watched the gravimetric plot of the system. The main alien fleet was trying to close with Captain Drinkwater and her ships. It looked like Drinkwater was successfully keeping the alien fleet at arm’s length. Almost as soon as Titan and her consorts accelerated, Drinkwater acted. James was able to watch her movements in real time due to the gravimetric disturbances her course corrections caused. Half of Drinkwater’s ships decelerated hard and banked away from the alien fleet back towards the shift passage to Marshall. The rest, the contacts James knew to be drones, continued on their original course. For a moment the aliens did nothing. Then, the entire fleet turned to pursue Drinkwater. The alien Admiral had figured out they had been tricked.

“No sense in hiding our abilities now,” Hamilton said. “Full acceleration.”

Hamilton’s flotilla shot forward. Drinkwater, seeing what Hamilton had done, followed suit. Soon both British flotillas were rapidly accelerating towards each other. It took three hours, but eventually Drinkwater’s ships fell into formation around Titan. The alien fleet was close on Drinkwater’s heels, her breaking maneuver had allowed them to close with her, but they still hadn’t managed to get into missile range.

“I estimate that we have delayed the alien fleet by about three hours,” Scott said. “Rosecrans squadron is still about forty hours away.”

“Let’s begin phase two,” Hamilton said. “Take us towards the shift passage to the Marshall system.”

“Aye Commodore,” James replied. He nodded to sub Lieutenant Denver at the navigation console.

Denver began Titan’s prearranged turn. The rest of the British ships kept station with their flagship. The aliens turned to follow them. With their superior acceleration rates and maximum velocity, the British ships easily kept out of missile range. However, they slowed as they approached the edge of the Black Forest system’s mass shadow.

As soon as the alien fleet got into missile range, they opened fire. Fifteen minutes later, another missile salvo, and then another reached out towards the British ships.

“We are approaching our firing point,” Lieutenant Scott said four minutes before the first alien salvo was to reach them.

“Fire as soon as you’re ready,” Hamilton responded. “Send the same command to the rest of our ships.

One hundred and twenty missiles were launched by the British warships. Then, after an order from Hamilton, James jumped Titan into shift space. The rest of the British squadron jumped with her. The alien missiles, losing track of their targets, simply accelerated until they ran out of energy. Then they continued on a ballistic course into outer space.

As soon as the human ships jumped, the aliens altered course, coming onto a trajectory that would bring them to the point where they could jump into shift space sooner. It was exactly where Scott was expecting them to go based on where the alien frigate in the Jackson system had been able to jump into shift space.

The British missiles targeted at the alien fleet followed their course change and homed in on them. Having been fired at their extreme range, the missiles didn’t have enough energy in their capacitors to carry out any evasive maneuvers. Instead, as planned, as soon as the first point defense fire was detected coming from the alien ships, every one of the British missiles exploded. For a brief second, the alien sensors were blinded.

The explosion of so many missiles nearby was the signal the British stealth drone was waiting for. Powering up its active sensors, it bathed the alien fleet in electromagnetic radiation. As soon as it detected the alien ships, it sent a signal to the dormant missiles scattered all around it. The missiles received their targeting data, used their maneuvering thrusters to re-orientate, and then ignited their main impulse drives.

Suddenly, one hundred and fifty missiles were accelerating towards the alien fleet. The missiles had started towards the alien ships with a relative velocity of almost zero, even so, their proximity didn’t give the alien ships time to react. As their sensors cleared, the one hundred and twenty British missiles that had just exploded were somehow replaced by even more. Frantically, alien Captains called out orders to their subordinates and thousands of point defense laser beams reached towards the British missiles. Soon, missiles exploded among their ships.

On board Titan, James was picturing what was happening in the system they had just left. He didn’t know how effective their final ploy would be, he just hoped it would take out enough alien ships to delay them for a few more vital hours.

*

11th October, HMS Titan, Marshall System

Just over a day later and Titan and the British squadron settled into orbit around Marshall. Before Titan had come to rest in her allotted spot, James and Hamilton were boarding a shuttle. As the shuttle flew out of one of Titan’s shuttle bays, James eyed the two Freedom defense platforms. A part of him felt reassured now that Titan was sitting between them. Twice as powerful as a Liberty platform, they were very impressive.

Soon the majority of the American squadron protecting the Marshall system came into view. Rear Admiral Gibbon had her battlecruiser Bison, two medium and five light cruisers, along with eight frigates under her command. All but two of the frigates were clustered close together in orbit around Marshall. The other two frigates Titan had already passed several hours ago. They were patrolling the shift passage to the Black Forest system.

As the shuttle approached Bison, it wasn’t hard for James to see that the battlecruiser was of an older design. She only had two more missile ports than Titan in each of her broadsides. There was no sign of a flak cannon. The other American ships looked to be about the same age as Bison. James wasn’t surprised; the Admiralty always sent their older ships to the smaller British colonies. When the shuttle touched down on one of Bison’s hanger decks, James and Hamilton unstrapped themselves and moved to the descending rear ramp. An American in a Captain’s uniform was already waiting for them.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you both, Commodore, Captain,” the Captain said. “My name is Jim Hooker, I am Rear Admiral Gibbon’s Flag Captain. The Rear Admiral is waiting in her briefing room.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” Hamilton replied. “A pity it is under such circumstances, but a pleasure nonetheless. Lead on, I’m sure Gibbon is keen to talk strategy with us.”

“Indeed she is,” Hooker replied. “Please follow me. Ever since we heard about Farnsworth we have been doing what we can to prepare for an attack. The populace has been living in constant fear. When your frigate appeared yesterday with news of the approaching fleet, pandemonium broke out. Your success in the Black Forest system has at least given us some hope.”

“The odds are still against us,” James replied. “If we can delay the aliens until Rosecrans comes we should have them at a disadvantage. If we can’t, we are still in a lot of trouble. We were given files on the defenses of your outer colonies when we left Earth. How much have you been able to improve things in the last couple of months?”

“We have done as much as we can,” Hooker said. “Supplies have been slow in coming to us. The Farnsworth colony is almost on the opposite side of our colonies. Most war materials have been sent to colonies around Farnsworth. I’ll let the Rear Admiral fill you in more. We are here.” He stopped outside a large hatch and opened a sliding door. Then he stepped back to allow Hamilton and James to enter first.

Rear Admiral Gibbon was standing waiting for them as they stepped in. She smiled as she held out her hand. Her smile didn’t touch her eyes. There was more than a hint of worry there. “I’m glad to meet you both,” she said. “Welcome to the Marshall system. If we can get through this, I’m going to owe you both a huge debt.”

“Nonsense,” Hamilton said as he sat in the seat Gibbon gestured him towards. “We are allies after all. And, we all know that if we can’t stop the aliens from attacking you, Earth and our colonies will be next. Now, we may not have much time, what are you thinking?”

Gibbon’s face immediately changed. Her eyes shot to the floor for a second. “Without Rosecrans I’m not sure we have too many options. You took a hell of a risk trying that uncharted shift passage. Yet you’ve given us a chance. Without your actions, the aliens would probably already be attacking us. The fact they haven’t appeared in system yet suggests that your final missile salvo dealt them some damage. I’m hoping that has knocked the alien’s confidence. If we can make them think twice about attacking Marshall, they may hesitate. We need to delay them long enough for Rosecrans to come and relieve us.”

“You’re thinking of trying to defend Marshall from orbit?” James queried. “The aliens have a massive advantage in missile range. They could stand off the planet and bombard us to their heart’s content.”

“I know that,” Gibbon replied. “But, with their engagements with the Jackson colony and with your fleet, they have to be starting to eat into their supply of missiles. Their ships can’t carry an infinite number. If we can trick the aliens into thinking Marshall is too tough a nut to crack, they may hesitate, or fall back. If they do, we could give pursuit and they would run straight into Rosecrans.”

“How do you plan to convince them not to attack?” Hamilton asked.

“Since I got the warning from the frigate you sent ahead, I’ve been retooling every civilian ship I can get my hands on,” Gibbon answered. “So far I have five medium and seven light freighters along with another twenty civilian pleasure craft under my command. All of them are being altered to appear more like warships. We have even attached point defense weapons to some of them. If my engineers are good enough, the alien’s sensors won’t be able to tell the difference. Especially if we keep all our ships together in a low orbit around our two battlestations. It will look to the aliens like we are supremely confident in the amount of point defense fire we can put out. I’m gambling that it will make them hesitate to attack us. All we need to do is buy ourselves a few more hours. Every minute the aliens fail to show up, and every minute they subsequently hesitate to drive home their attack, Rosecrans gets closer.”

“It’s a brave move,” Hamilton commented. “What happens if the aliens call our bluff?”

“Then we’re in the same position we are in right now,” Gibbons answered. “If we break orbit and form up our fleet to engage the aliens as soon as they arrive, we will still be heavily outnumbered. Rosecrans will arrive to find both fleets destroyed and the colony nuked out of existence. If the aliens call our bluff, we will simply break orbit and charge them. That won’t be a worse situation than we are in now. If it comes to that, at least we should be able to deal them some serious damage. Hopefully Rosecrans will be able to finish them off. That said, if the aliens do try to engage us with a number of long-range missile salvos, we may be able to hold them off for a while. Since news of the attack on Farnsworth reached us, we have been working like crazy to upgrade our point defense satellites.”

“If it comes to it,” Hamilton said, “we will join you. If we have to spend our lives to stop this alien fleet, you can rest assured that every British ship will stand by your side. What do you think of the plan?” Hamilton said as he turned to James.

“I think you have the right idea,” James said as he nodded to Gibbon. “The alien’s range advantage makes it all but impossible to defend a specific location. However, you’re right. We don’t need to hold on forever. If we can weather even just four or five missile salvos it could buy us the time we need. Even so, I think there is another trick we can play. We have one clear advantage over the aliens. Our superior engine technology. I think we need to try and use it.”

“What do you have in mind?” Gibbon asked as she leaned forward.

Briefly James outlined his idea.

“I like it,” Gibbon said. “It should involve little risk but it will perhaps buy us a couple more hours. Every one counts. Can you take charge of the separation Commodore? I should stay on Marshall and continue to oversee the final preparations of our defenses.”

“Of course,” Hamilton replied. “If we’re going to do this, we should move fast. The alien fleet could appear at any moment.”

“Let’s get going then,” Hooker said. She sounded eager at the prospect of action.

Chapter 13

The first space battles between two races are studied the most at our naval colleges. It is fascinating when two completely different battle doctrines clash. However, unless a resounding victory is won by one of the combatants, the battles rarely influence the outcome of the war. In the long term, it is usually the species which can adapt the quickest that wins.

- Excerpt from Empire Rising, 3002 AD.

Four hours after their brief conference, James, Titan and the combined British and American warships were cruising towards the area where the alien fleet was expected to appear. They had moved above the system’s ecliptic and were now heading down towards the shift passage. There was no sign of the alien fleet.

“Forty minutes until we will have to decelerate,” Scott said from the tactical station.

“I know,” James replied. Absentmindedly, he tapped his fingers on his command chair.

“I can’t believe we’re hoping for the aliens to arrive,” Romanov shook his head.

“We won’t have lost anything if they don’t,” Scott replied. “Rosecrans should be less than twenty hours away. The longer the aliens delay, the more they play into our hands.”

James sat forward in his command chair. The American frigate Retriever had just changed direction. Then she changed direction again. It was the prearranged signal. The two American frigates that were patrolling the point the alien fleet was expected to exit shift space, or whatever form of FTL travel they used, had seeded the area with stealth drones. They had then fallen back to a safe distance. Retriever’s course change signaled that one of her drones had detected the alien fleet.

“How long?” James asked.

“Three minutes,” Sub Lieutenant Edwards answered from the COM station.

“Sub Lieutenant Denver,” James began. “Plot us a course back to the Marshall system. As soon as we fire, we are reversing course.”

“Aye Captain,” Denver replied.

Exactly three minutes later targeting data arrived from Retriever. As soon as every ship in the combined fleet had prepared their missiles, Hamilton gave the order to fire. One hundred and seventy missiles shot from the human warships. Immediately, every human ship decelerated and turned towards Marshall. Hamilton’s ships had been travelling at 0.48c, the maximum speed of the American’s slowest ship. The warships’ missile tubes accelerated their missiles with an extra velocity of 0.2c. The missiles themselves then used their impulse engines to accelerate up to their maximum velocity of 0.9c. The initial velocity of the missiles allowed Titan and her consorts to momentarily overcome the alien fleet’s range advantage.

As Titan raced away from the alien fleet, James surveyed the data that was coming in from Retriever and her stealth drones. There appeared to be two destroyer class ships missing from the alien fleet. James was disappointed there weren’t more ships missing, clearly their attack in the Black Forest system hadn’t proved as successful as he had hoped. One reassuring fact was that the stealth drones had picked up the alien ships exiting shift space. When a ship exited shift space, it gave off a small gravimetric burst that was detectable up to a light minute away. That the drones had detected the alien fleet meant the aliens did use shift drives. At least we don’t have to worry about them having some other form of FTL drive, James thought. As the alien fleet reacted to the sudden appearance of a missile salvo closing with them at almost the speed of light, James watched in fascination. Up to this point, Titan hadn’t been able to detect the alien ships. That changed as soon as they accelerated. They were actually moving away from the British ships and the incoming missiles. Somehow, the alien commander had guessed the human missiles were operating at the limits of their capabilities. He, or she or it, James thought, is trying to prevent our missiles from having enough energy left to carry out any evasive maneuvers.

“Will it work?” James asked.

“To a certain extent,” Scott answered as she updated the holo plot to show the predicted course of the alien ships. “If they keep their current acceleration, our missiles will still get within attack range, however, they won’t have much juice left to incorporate evasive maneuvers into their final attacks.”

“It hardly matters,” Commodore Hamilton said from the auxiliary bridge. “They’re accelerating away from the Marshall system. Every minute they flee is one less we have to hold them off over Marshall. It looks like our attack in the Black Forest system has taught these aliens a bit of caution. That bodes well for Rear Admiral Gibbon’s plan.”

“Let’s hope so,” James said.

The bridge fell silent as everyone watched their missile salvo approach the alien fleet. As the alien fleet was in effect retreating, there was no risk of them returning fire. The officers were able to watch the progress of their missiles without any distractions.

“Missiles are entering attack range,” Scott said. “They’ll be beginning evasive maneuvers now.”

Not being able to watch the visuals of the missile’s progress in real time, everyone on Titan’s bridge was focused on the gravimetric plot. Each of the human missiles began to wobble slightly as they carried out evasive maneuvers. Contrastingly, the alien ships continued on their course unabated. Though James couldn’t see it, he easily pictured the hundreds of laser beams reaching out from the alien fleet to intercept the human missiles. Their analysis of the battle with the alien cruiser in the Black Forest system indicated that the alien ships had nearly five times as many point defense laser cannons as an equivalent British ship had. The British ships had plasma cannons, AM missiles and flak cannons to compensate, even so, the alien ships put out an impressive amount of point defense fire. Quickly, it began to tell. The number of human missiles rapidly decreased. James counted less than twenty that managed to close with the alien fleet. Then, within a couple of seconds, they all disappeared. To James’ disappointment, none of the alien ships did. However, three altered course and fell out of formation with their consorts.

“Three is better than nothing,” James said, sensing the dismay around him. “Our aim was to delay the aliens. If nothing else, we have bought ourselves another couple of hours.”

James’ plan had accomplished more than that. As soon as the threat had disappeared, the alien fleet had decelerated and reversed course. “The alien fleet still hasn’t returned to the maximum acceleration we saw them produce in the Black Forest system,” Scott reported. “It looks like they plan to continue on to Marshall at a speed their most damaged ships can maintain. At this rate, it will take them an extra hour to reach Marshall. We’ll get to Marshall a full three hours ahead of them.”

“We’ve done what we could. Now it’s over to Rear Admiral Gibbon,” Hamilton said.

Almost as soon as he finished speaking, orders reached the British and American ships from Marshall. Gibbon was directing the human warships to their allotted spots in orbit. As James surveyed the fleet dispositions, he had to nod in approval. Gibbon was going to every effort to make sure their ships presented the best possible field of point defense fire. She was even repositioning most of the colony’s point defense satellites to cover the fleet. Gibbon had ordered the colonists to evacuate all of the major cities. She had warned the population of Marshall that they would struggle to protect the colony from orbital bombardment. Already streams of ships were lifting off from the planet and heading for safety. James guessed that less than one percent of the population would make it off world. The rest would be totally reliant on the human fleet. I hope there are good bombardment shelters, he thought as he tried to picture how the coming battle would go.

*

“The alien fleet is about to enter missile range,” Lieutenant Romanov reported from the bridge five hours later.

“I’ll be there presently,” James answered. He had been involved in a holo briefing with Gibbon and a number of other Captains. They had been exploring any and every tactic they could use to fend off the alien’s coming attacks and delay them further.

Stepping onto the bridge, James sensed the tension. Everyone could do the maths. Rear Admiral Rosecrans was still fourteen hours away from the Marshall system. Even then, it would take him almost two hours to reach Marshall from the edge of the system. In that time, the alien ships could fire every single missile their magazines held at the forces trying to protect Marshall.

“Open a COM channel to the ship,” James ordered after sitting in his command chair.

Sub Lieutenant Edwards nodded to James when the channel was open.

“Men and women of Titan,” James began. “You have all seen the images from the Farnsworth colony. This alien attack could have happened anywhere. It could have been Britannia or Cook or even Earth that was destroyed. Whoever these aliens are, they are yet to show any mercy or a willingness to negotiate. There can be no doubt about their intentions towards Marshall. There are more than twelve million people below us. Twelve million people who cannot protect themselves. But we can. They may not be British citizens, but they are human beings, that should be enough for us. You all know the situation. We have to hold out for sixteen hours. Commodore Hamilton and I, along with Rear Admiral Gibbon and the other Americans have a few ideas of just how we can do that. Rest assured, we are a long way from being defeated. However, it will require every single one of you to be performing at your best. Many of you don’t yet know me as well as I would like. But I know you, I’ve watched you come together as a single crew over the last couple of months. I have confidence in you all. Fight well, and do your duty.”

“Message has been transmitted throughout the ship,” Sub Lieutenant Edwards reported.

“Thank you,” James replied. Already he could feel a slightly different atmosphere on the bridge. “Titan’s survival will fall largely on your shoulders,” James said to his bridge crew. “Let’s not let our crew or the rest of the fleet down.”

“You can rely on us,” Romanov replied. Many of the bridge crew nodded at his words.

A series of beeps and alarms drew everyone’s attention back to their computer consoles. “The aliens have opened fire,” Scott reported.

And so it begins, James thought. There were ninety-six missile carriers approaching Marshall. They would be able to disgorge nearly five hundred and seventy missiles when they got close enough to release them.

“They should have been able to fire a second volley by now,” Scott reported just over fifteen minutes later. “They’re holding back.”

“They are testing our defenses,” James guessed. “They’re probably looking for a weak spot. It’s what I would do if I thought I had no time restrictions. With all the freighters Gibbon has posing as warships, the alien fleet commander has to have some doubts about his ability to break down our defenses. If he fires all his missiles and fails to destroy the colony, he will have to return to wherever he came from to resupply. His attack on our worlds would come to a quick end.”

“So, what do we do?” Romanov asked.

“We try and keep our bluff going as long as possible,” James answered. “I imagine as soon as the alien commander gets a good idea of how to destroy us, he will unleash every missile they have.”

“Message coming in from Rear Admiral Gibbon,” Sub Lieutenant Edwards reported from the COM station. “The outer point defense satellites are not going to engage this first volley.”

“Acknowledge the message,” James said. Gibbon was obviously keeping that surprise for later.

“It looks like the missiles are targeting the two defense platforms,” Scott said ten minutes later. “They are still five minutes out, but they’re forming into two distinct groups.”

“Gibbon is ordering the fleet to take up formation alpha three,” Edwards said.

“Bring us to our assigned position,” James ordered Sub Lieutenant Denver.

Formation alpha three moved the ships with the best point defenses into position to cover the defense platforms. Each Freedom defense platform was the size of a battleship. However, they had next to no engines. Instead, their entire superstructure was dedicated to missile tubes and point defense weapons. It meant they could put out a deadly amount of fire yet, they were far from maneuverable. Instead of trying to dodge enemy missiles, they relied on their point defenses. With so many alien missiles targeted at them, they were going to be vulnerable.

“We’re in position,” Denver announced once Titan settled in close to one of the defense platforms.

James nodded, Gibbon had placed most of the British warships around the same defense platform. “Follow Gibbon’s instructions,” James ordered as he looked at the tactical station.

“Aye Captain,” Scott replied. “We will be firing the first wave of flak cannon rounds in several seconds.”

Here we go, James thought as the familiar sound of Titan’s flak cannons firing filled the bridge. One of the cannons was attached to the hull several decks above. Sensing the launch of the flak cannon rounds, the alien missile carriers released their missiles. The gravimetric plot was filled with five hundred and seventy-four new contacts. They immediately accelerated towards Marshall. As they went, they angled for the two defense platforms. Then, the flak cannon rounds exploded right in front of the missiles. Thousands of pieces of shrapnel flew towards them. Nearly one hundred alien missiles exploded. Moments later, laser beams, plasma bolts and AM missiles reached out towards the rest of the alien missiles. Explosions filled Titan’s holo projection of space around Marshall as missile after missile exploded.

“We’re not going to get them all,” Scott shouted seconds later.

James didn’t reply, he just continued to watch. The alien missiles had been reduced to less than two hundred. In the next two seconds they were reduced to one hundred and fifty. Then, another wave of flak cannon rounds was launched. Just sixty alien missiles burst through the cloud of shrapnel. More point defense fire reached out to knock them down. Scott’s prediction was going to prove correct. Twelve missiles reached attack range, eight of them were targeting the two defense platforms, the other four had locked onto other targets. Last second point defense fire destroyed three more. One missile hit an American freighter and destroyed it instantly. Another three missiles struck the defense platform Titan was protecting. A colossal fire ball engulfed the platform. James held his breath. Then he released it when the platform appeared again as the explosive force dissipated in the cold vacuum of space.

“Connecticut’s armor held!” Sub Lieutenant MacArthur called.

Snapping his eyes round to look at the other defense platform, James saw four explosions erupt across its surface. Then another explosion caught his eye, the British light cruiser Leopard looked like she had taken a proximity hit. It looked like the final alien missile had missed the American destroyer it had targeted. It was accelerating off into space. The American destroyer had managed to dodge the missile.

James stared at the two defense platforms. They had both taken multiple hits, yet they looked largely intact. “I want damage reports sent to my command chair as soon as we get them,” he ordered. He turned his attention to the alien fleet. It was sitting stationary relative to Marshall. As yet, it hadn’t opened fire with another missile salvo. It would take several minutes for the visuals of what had happened to reach the alien fleet. James guessed they would open fire again as soon as they analyzed the effectiveness of their salvo. The fact that the aliens had managed to get several missiles through Marshall’s point defenses would let the alien commander know that he could take the colony. It was just a matter of time and missiles.

“Leopard is reporting minimal damage,” MacArthur reported a couple of minutes later. “I sent the initial report to you. Information on the two defense platforms is coming in as well. Both Connecticut and New Hampshire have lost some of their armor. They have also lost about ten percent of their point defenses, but they are very much in the fight.”

“That’s good news,” James said as he opened the files and scanned through them. We can’t afford to lose a defense platform so early in this battle, he thought. Thankfully, the damage was minimal.

After reading the reports, James analyzed the data on the alien missiles. He knew many of the British and American Captains would be doing the same. If they could find any new information from the alien’s latest attack, it might help them fend off future salvos.

“They’re firing again,” Sub Lieutenant MacArthur shouted from the sensor station.

Chapter 14

In the early years of the colonial wars between the emerging human space powers, space battles were usually sharp and short. As bigger and bigger ships were built, and larger fleets squared off against one another, battles became long, drawn out experiences.

- Excerpt from Empire Rising, 3002 AD.

As the second wave of enemy missile carriers approached, James felt a growing sense of foreboding. Just like the first wave, there were ninety-six missile carriers. Just like the first wave, it was very likely some of them would reach their targets. Normally in a fleet engagement, the enemy’s missile salvos would reduce as return fire destroyed some of the enemy’s ships. Simply sitting in orbit around the colony, watching an enemy fleet fire salvo after salvo was distinctly unpleasant.

“It looks like they’re targeting our ships this time,” Lieutenant Scott reported as soon as the missile carriers released their missiles. “They’re probably trying to take out enough of our smaller ships to target the two defense platforms again.”

“Agreed,” James said. “Prepare to change formation Denver.”

Moments later, new orders came in from Rear Admiral Gibbon. Titan and the rest of the fleet moved into a tight ball. It forced the alien missiles to stick together. As the first wave of shrapnel reached towards the alien missiles it destroyed nearly one hundred and fifty of them. As soon as the human warships stopped firing flak rounds, new orders from Gibbon spread them apart, allowing them to aid each other with overlapping fields of fire.

Before Gibbon’s ships had taken up their new positions, they opened fire. Space all around Marshall was lit up with hundreds and thousands of point defense weapons. Even so, twenty missiles made it through and exploded among the human fleet. As none were targeting Titan, James ordered a sudden course correction. It allowed Scott to bring many point defense weapons to bear on two missiles that were targeting the light cruiser Sparrow. Shots from Titan or Sparrow destroyed one of the missiles less than a second before it struck its target. The second could not be stopped. It scored a direct hit on the light cruiser. Thankfully her armor held.

Once he was sure Sparrow was all right, James turned his attention back to the fleet. Several ships were critically damaged. They were falling out of formation, being sucked towards Marshall by the planet’s gravity. Where a couple of other ships had been, there were only expanding balls of debris.

“What’s the status of the fleet?” he called.

“The Americans lost a destroyer and our frigate Bulldog was hit as well. Her Captain has ordered an evacuation, she has lost power and is falling towards Marshall,” Lieutenant Romanov called.

“Offer them any assistance we can,” James replied. “And make sure Bulldog has enough functioning maneuvering thrusters to avoid any major population centers. If she doesn’t, we will have to destroy her with our heavy plasma cannons.”

“Captain Jenkins has already signaled to assure us she will be able to put Bulldog down close to the planet’s north pole. There are no American settlements within a thousand miles.”

“Very well,” James said. “What about the rest of the fleet? More than two ships were hit.”

“Four freighters have been destroyed, two other American ships took hits like Sparrow, however they are still in the fight,” Romanov answered.

“This may change their strategy,” Scott suggested.

“It may,” James said, guessing what she was thinking. If the aliens thought they could destroy large numbers of human warships with ease, they would likely forget about the two defense platforms until they had significantly reduced the number of human warships. The fact Rear Admiral Gibbon had so many freighters posing as warships meant the alien salvo appeared to be even more effective than it was. “It hardly matters either way, sooner or later we’re going to have to face reality.”

In their discussions about how things would unfold, both Romanov and Scott had expressed hope that the aliens would concentrate their fire against the orbital defense platforms. That would have given Titan some respite. But, unless they could hold the aliens off until Rosecrans arrived, it would have just been delaying the inevitable.

“The Alien fleet has just fired its third salvo,” Sub Lieutenant MacArthur reported.

“Forget about them for now,” James ordered. “Let’s focus on getting our damaged ships fully repaired and Bulldog’s crew to safety. We have half an hour before we have to worry about that salvo reaching us. Plus, I expect Gibbon to try her first surprise.”

The next twenty-five minutes passed quickly as James threw himself into the reallocation of Bulldog’s crew. Every single crewmember who wasn’t injured was going to be needed before the day was out.

“Rear Admiral Gibbon is signaling,” Sub Lieutenant Edwards called from the COM station. “Her message simply says twenty seconds.”

“Understood,” James replied. “Switch the holo projector back to the alien missile carriers.”

The missile carriers were close enough to be tracked in almost real time. James counted down the seconds. Right on cue, a light show erupted around the missile carriers. More than thirty of them were destroyed. Several of the officers on Titan’s bridge cheered. None of them had known about Gibbon’s plan. She had moved nearly a quarter of the small point defense satellites out of Marshall’s orbit and placed them beyond the planet. All alone, they were now sitting ducks for the aliens. However, the aliens would have to expend another missile salvo to destroy them and they had almost halved the current salvo, severely reducing the threat it posed.

Only two missiles got through the hail of point defense fire that Marshall’s defenders put out. One struck a freighter, destroying it, the other only managed a proximity hit on an American destroyer. It shrugged off the missile’s explosive force. The satellites had more than proved their worth.

“The aliens have fired again,” Scott reported almost as soon as the last alien missile exploded. Fifteen minutes later she reported another salvo of missile carriers shooting from the alien fleet.

“It looks like they’re giving up on their cautious approach,” Romanov said.

“They could just be expecting their closest salvo to take out the defense satellites, then the salvo coming in behind them will be free to attack us,” Scott suggested.

“Let’s hope so,” James said. “The longer they delay in throwing their full weight against us, the more they play into our hands.”

The fourth salvo of alien missile carriers launched their missiles well outside range of the point defense satellites. The satellites shot down quite a few of the alien missiles as they approached, however, they were completely overwhelmed and all but three of them were destroyed. As the fifth alien salvo approached, they managed to shoot down five missile carriers. It wasn’t much, but it was something.

Before the fifth salvo of missile carriers released their missiles, Rear Admiral Gibbon sent another command to the human warships in orbit around Marshall. They launched two hundred and fifty missiles towards the missile carriers. As the two groups of contacts converged, the human missiles detonated. Twenty of the missile carriers disappeared.

“It worked,” Romanov shouted as his fist shot into the air.

James grinned. Using anti-ship missiles to take out incoming hostile missiles was a tactic he had used a number of times. The energy given off from the detonation of a thermonuclear warhead in space didn’t produce a large explosive force. However, the intense levels of electromagnetic radiation produced by several hundred missiles exploding so close together was enough to fry the seeker head of a human missile. It seemed the same was true for the alien missile carriers.

James’ grin only lasted a couple of seconds, for the remaining missile carriers released their missiles. Once again, the human ships and orbital defense platforms were thrown into a life-and-death showdown with more than three hundred and fifty alien missiles. Five of the last eleven freighters were destroyed. The British light cruiser Constantine took three direct hits. Two of them penetrated her armor and caused serious internal damage. The third destroyed a number of point defense and sensor nodes. Several other human warships took proximity hits. Constantine was out of the fight. Hamilton ordered her to take up station behind the rest of the British ships.

“The alien fleet is moving,” Sub Lieutenant MacArthur called. “They’re closing with the planet.”

“They analyzed what we did,” Scott said. “I bet they’ve been firing their missile carriers from extreme range to allow them to accelerate to their highest velocity. When they get near us, they don’t have enough fuel to carry out evasive maneuvers. Closing with us will allow them to carry out evasive maneuvers before launching their missiles. That will make it much harder for our missile salvos to target them.”

“Great,” Romanov said. “They’re not going to give us a break, are they?”

“Our missiles will still do some damage, it will have to do,” James replied

It took the alien fleet fifteen minutes to get to a point where they were happy to fire. Then, another ninety-four missile carriers erupted from their ships. It took the carriers twenty minutes to close the distance to Marshall. As before, Rear Admiral Gibbon ordered the human ships to fire their anti-ship missiles. The wave of thermonuclear detonations destroyed eleven missile carriers. The rest avoided the explosions and released their missiles.

“They’re still targeting our ships,” Sub Lieutenant MacArthur called.

“Get ready for evasive maneuvers Denver,” James said.

They were needed. The flak cannons and other point defense weapons destroyed four hundred and ninety of the alien missiles. That left nearly seventy to close in on the human warships. James lost track of how the fleet was doing as three missiles homed in on Titan. Powering up the heavy cruiser’s ECM, Scott desperately tried to shoot down the missiles. One seemed to lose track, but Scott didn’t hit either of the other two. Knowing that she was going to be unsuccessful, she shouted to Denver. The Sub Lieutenant executed a series of evasive maneuvers. Both of the remaining missiles were unfazed. They matched Titan’s maneuvers and dove in for the kill. At the last second, Denver pivoted Titan so that both missiles hit the warship with just a glancing blow. They detonated less than half a millisecond apart.

James was flung around in his command chair, his restraints automatically tightening to keep him in place. From the vibrations rumbling through his feet and body, he feared the worst. As soon as the vibrations stopped, he looked at Romanov. He was already scrolling through information on his command chair. “Neither missile penetrated our armor. Our hull has taken a lot of damage, but structurally we’re still intact. I’m guessing we’ve lost quite a few point defense weapons though.”

“Get damage control teams to the affected areas immediately,” James ordered. “Their priority is the point defenses. We need to get as many of them back online as possible.”

“Aye Sir,” Romanov responded.

With a sense of foreboding, James brought up a display of the human fleet. He winced as he saw several ships missing. From Commodore Hamilton’s squadron, the destroyer Valour was gone. Another destroyer and a medium cruiser were reporting proximity hits. From the American ships, James saw that a medium cruiser had been completely wiped out. Several missiles must have struck it at once. Rear Admiral Gibbon’s battlecruiser, Bison, was also reporting damage. They had taken one direct hit.

“The next alien salvo will reach us in thirteen minutes,” Scott reported. “They have fired another one as well. It will be fifteen minutes behind the next. It looks like the aliens are going for the kill.”

James didn’t say anything for several seconds. He didn’t think there was anything he could say. “You all know your duty,” he eventually replied. It would have to do.

Following his own orders, he threw himself into assisting Commodore Hamilton in dealing with the British squadron. It was the responsibility of a Flag Captain to oversee many of the necessities of organizing a fleet. He had to trust Romanov with Titan’s repairs. As fast as he could, he organized rescue shuttles to look for survivors from the destroyed ships. At the same time, he coordinated the repair efforts while liaising with Commodore Hamilton regarding the best formation the surviving British ships should take up to help protect their more damaged consorts.

“Opening fire,” Lieutenant Scott called.

James glanced up in surprise. It seemed as if he had hardly accomplished anything. From the surviving human warships, one hundred and ninety-six anti-ship missiles accelerated away to try and disrupt the alien missile carriers. They were moderately more successful than the last human missile salvo. As soon as the remaining missile carriers released their weapons, the point defenses opened up.

James forced himself to watch the holo projection of the human fleet as thirty alien missiles broke through and exploded among them. He breathed a sigh of relief when only one ship disappeared in a blinding fireball. Though, he could see explosions washing around the hulls of other ships. Once again, Titan shook underneath him. For a second, James thought the worst. He hadn’t even thought a missile was targeting his ship this time. The vibrations ended almost as quickly as they had begun.

“It was just a proximity hit,” Romanov called. “Though that’s more point defenses gone. One of our heavy plasma cannons is not responding.”

“Acknowledged,” James replied. “You’re doing well with the repairs, keep it up.”

“They’re targeting the second defense platform,” Sub Lieutenant MacArthur called when the next wave of alien missile carriers released their missiles. The relief in his voice was clear.

“We’re getting new orders from Rear Admiral Gibbon,” Edwards reported. “All ships are to move to provide maximum cover for Connecticut.”

Moments later, Commodore Hamilton sent orders to his ships. Sub Lieutenant Denver moved Titan towards her assigned spot. Scott was hammering away at the alien missiles with Titan’s point defenses. Even before Titan got to where Hamilton wanted her to be, missiles were exploding around Connecticut. The Freedom class defense platform had valstronium armor thicker than a battleship. Even so, she looked to be taking a beating. James counted at least five missiles striking the defense station’s hull. Being so large, it was impossible for her to evade the missiles. In quick succession, two more missiles struck the defense platform. One hit a section of its hull that had already been weakened by a previous hit. It easily penetrated the defense platform’s armor and detonated within.

A groan escaped more than one throat as Connecticut fell towards Marshall. The defense platform had lost power to its maneuvering thrusters. Perhaps its fusion reactors had been destroyed. Before James’ despair overtook him, Connecticut shuddered and began to ascend.

“Her auxiliary power must have kicked in,” Romanov shouted with excitement. “She’s not done yet!”

“Get us into formation around New Hampshire,” James ordered Sub Lieutenant Denver. “The next alien salvo is likely to be targeted at it.”

It took several minutes, but when the damage report came in from Connecticut, it didn’t make for good reading. The alien missile had destroyed a large section of Connecticut’s primary power relay conduit. Nearly a third of the defense platform’s systems were without power. That included a lot of her point defenses and missile tubes. Slowly but surely the aliens were wearing the human defenders down.

When the next salvo of alien missile carriers released their weapons, James’ prediction proved correct, they were all targeted at the second defense platform. Desperately, the American warships repositioned to use their point defenses to full effect. The British ships focused on trying to destroy as many of the alien missiles as possible. Despite their best efforts, fifty-four missiles got into attack range of New Hampshire.

Another groan escaped the lips of his officers as one, then two, then multiple missiles detonated against New Hampshire’s hull. The strikes came in such quick succession that the defense platform disappeared behind a growing wall of explosive force.

“Order Banshee to get out of there,” James shouted. The frigate had carried out a series of evasive maneuvers to avoid a missile that had locked onto it. Its maneuvers had brought it dangerously close to New Hampshire. James’ warning was too late. The defense platform couldn’t withstand the sheer amount of explosive force bombarding its armor. Several missiles punched through a weak section. As they detonated within milliseconds of each other, they blew the defense platform apart from the inside. The explosion released a giant wave of debris. Banshee was struck by a large section of New Hampshire’s hull. The force of the collision ripped Banshee in two and moments later both sections exploded.

Come on Rosecrans, James said to himself as he watched the remains of New Hampshire and Banshee fall towards Marshall’s atmosphere. So far, they had endured nine salvos. The battle had lasted just over four hours. He is not going to make it, James thought. Rosecrans was still at least four hours away from the system and more from actually reaching Marshall. They would never last that long.

“If we’re going to die here, at least we’re going to die for a purpose,” Commodore Hamilton said over an open COM channel. “We’re going to rally around Connecticut and fight to the last man. This may not seem like a glorious death, but every missile we force these scum to waste on us, is one less missile they can use against civilians. Let’s make them pay a high price for our lives, shall we? Commodore Hamilton out.”

James shook himself, Hamilton’s words were just what he needed to hear. Just what the squadron needed to hear. “Move us towards Connecticut,” he ordered. “Let’s not disappoint our Commodore.” His words were greeted by a few grins. James forced himself to smile back, even the smallest gesture was important now.

When the next salvo of alien missile carriers burst through the wave of explosions caused by the British anti-ship missiles and unleashed their own missiles, Hamilton’s words suddenly seemed empty. James realized what the alien commander had done before Scott shouted.

“A third of the missiles are targeting the colony,” Scott shouted.

The alien commander had left Rear Admiral Gibbon with little choice. New orders came in immediately. Splitting into two, the American and British ships moved away from Connecticut to cover the two groups of missiles that were accelerating towards Marshall. The wounded defense platform was on its own. Forgetting about Connecticut, James focused on making sure the British ships were in as an efficient formation as possible. They had fifty-five alien missiles to intercept.

Despite the best efforts of the British Captains and the point defense gunners, three missiles made it through. James forced himself to watch as they detonated on Marshall’s surface. None hit large population centers, even so, the nuclear detonations enveloped several towns and villages. James hoped they had been evacuated, though he knew it was likely many people had refused to leave. Near the planet’s horizon, he saw two other mushroom clouds reaching into the atmosphere. Gibbon hadn’t managed to shoot down all her missiles either. Glancing towards where Connecticut had been, James wasn’t surprised to see nothing but an expanding ball of debris.

For a moment, his emotions threatened to overwhelm him. His mind was pulled back to the large fleet briefing room in Vulcan. He felt the same now as he had then. Anger and sorrow swirled around in his head. These aliens had nuked a human colony. Alongside his feelings from before, he felt a growing sense of shame. They had done so under his watch. And they’ll do it again, James thought. But you still have a role to play.

“Now they are going to go for us,” James called. “As soon as we are gone, they will finish off the colony. Let’s give them as much time to evacuate as we can.” From the other side of the planet there was a steady stream of civilian ships fleeing. Most of the planet’s population was being moved to remote areas in the hope that the aliens wouldn’t bombard the entire surface of the planet. Dying to buy an extra fifteen minutes for an evacuation that was likely to prove useless wasn’t how James expected to die. Years ago, he had made peace with the possibility that he might die in battle. Yet after four years of marriage, he didn’t feel ready. There was so much more he wanted to do with Suzanna. Anger boiled within him. You can’t think about that now, you have a crew, a squadron to look after. Focus.

“Rear Admiral Gibbon is sending a new formation for our ships,” Sub Lieutenant Edwards reported.

“Send it to the rest of our ships and move us into position,” James ordered. He knew he didn’t need to wait for Hamilton’s approval. Glancing at the holo projection of the alien fleet, he saw the next missile salvo was ten minutes away. There was another one coming in behind it, and soon the alien fleet would be launching a third.

Silence descended as the next salvo approached. Everyone knew what was coming. It was just a matter of time. Despite the reality before them, as James looked from officer to officer, he saw a grim determination on every face. “None of us have chosen to be here,” he said. “But, if we have to be here, I couldn’t think of a better crew to be by my side.”

His words brought a few nods and half smiles. Romanov held James’ eyes for several seconds and then nodded as well. James nodded back, they both understood. “Back to work,” James called a moment later. “We don’t have time for sentimentality,” though it sounded like a reprimand, his tone was soft.

Chapter 15

One of the first edicts our first Emperor released was to instigate the Imperial Cross. It was awarded to every one of the four hundred and thirty thousand two hundred and eleven fleet crewmembers who lost their lives in the Second Battle of Earth. Since that day, only seven thousand crosses have been handed out. There is no greater honor than to be numbered among those who gave their lives to protect our homeworld. Whilst no one in the Imperial navy wishes to die in battle, if they must, earning a cross is the greatest honor. Many a ship has fought to the last man against impossible odds to gain immortality among the list of cross recipients.

- Excerpt from Empire Rising, 3002 AD.

As the next wave of alien missile carriers approached, what was left of the human fleet fired one hundred anti-ship missiles. Then flak cannon rounds, plasma bolts, laser beams and AM missiles reached out to reduce the threat. Sixty alien missiles closed to attack range, as they split up to home in on their individual targets, it became every man for himself. Sub Lieutenant Denver accelerated Titan out of position. There were four alien missiles tracking the heavy cruiser and Denver was trying to build up enough momentum to make it easier to evade them.

“Now,” Romanov shouted.

Titan rolled and dived towards Marshall. Romanov launched six drones. They pumped out electromagnetic energy to look like appealing targets. Titan’s ECM doubled in strength. Three of the four missiles were fooled. The fourth continued. In just a couple of seconds it closed the distance to Titan. A lucky turn by Sub Lieutenant Denver made the missile overshoot. As soon as it sensed it wouldn’t score a direct hit, it detonated. James’ ship vibrated as the explosive force careened into Titan. Suddenly the bridge went dark. James tried not to panic. The strength of the force that had hit Titan hadn’t felt strong enough to do any serious damage. There must have been some other malfunction.

It took almost a minute for the bridge systems to reboot and power up. When they did, James received a message from engineering. The vibrations had caused several of Titan’s fusion reactors to go into safety mode and emergency power had been diverted to the thrusters to keep Titan in orbit.

The first thing James looked for when the main holo projector began to display space around his ship was the rest of the human fleet. Two more destroyers were gone, one British and the American one. There was also an American frigate missing. Twelve other warships were reporting hits. Three were serious, the rest either failed to penetrate the valstronium armor or were proximity hits. It will soon add up, James thought. Every proximity hit reduced the fleet’s point defenses and ability to protect itself. One of the screens on his command chair was reporting that Titan had already lost more than thirty percent of her point defense weapons.

As James watched the next alien salvo approach, time seemed to slow down. He sensed this one was going to be it. Their defenses were getting weaker and weaker. Sooner or later enough missiles were going to get through. As the minutes passed by, it seemed like the alien commander sensed the same thing. Behind the closest salvo, there was just one more following it. The aliens seemed to be content to wait and see if they needed to waste any more missiles. Time sped up again as the human fleet launched more of their anti-ship missiles. Almost in the blink of an eye, James was watching two more missiles dive towards Titan.

This time Romanov’s ploy didn’t work, however Scott managed to shoot down one of the missiles at the last second. The other struck Titan amidships.

“Direct hit,” Romanov shouted. “It didn’t penetrate our armor, though I’m still getting reports of significant internal damage. Starboard missile tube one is temporarily offline. Our valstronium armor is reshaping itself to fill in the damaged sections. We are down to less than sixty percent armor.”

“At least we’re still in the fight,” James commented. He was watching the reports from the rest of the fleet. Two American light cruisers and two frigates had been destroyed. The British medium cruiser Neptune was also gone. Multiple other British warships were reporting proximity hits and even a couple of direct hits. Perhaps the worst news of all was that Rear Admiral Gibbon’s flagship had taken three direct hits. Using his personal holo display to zoom in on Bison, James winced. There were two gaping holes on the battlecruiser. Her maneuvering thrusters were still keeping her in orbit, however, it didn’t look like the battlecruiser had much fight left. As James watched, a number of shuttles approached the battlecruiser and docked with it. Two frigates and a light cruiser also moved into close proximity. They were trying to protect their flagship. James zoomed out, there was nothing he could do. If more alien missiles targeted Bison, it would be all but a lost cause. Though he understood the desire of the other American Captains to protect their Admiral.

“It looks like Gibbon is out of the battle,” James said to Hamilton. “You need to take charge.”

“Right,” Hamilton said with far more assurance than James guessed he felt. “You oversee the repairs of the fleet. I’ll work out a new formation and get us ready for the next salvo.”

“Yes Sir,” James replied.

As he did his best to organize the less damaged ships’ attempts to help their more damaged consorts, James kept an eye on the human fleet. He had to nod with approval as Hamilton formed the ships up. They would be able to present as many functioning point defense weapons at the next alien salvo as they had left.

When the now customary salvo of British anti-ship missiles was launched at the alien missile carriers, James gave up on his coordination efforts and turned to face the next onslaught. As more than four hundred and thirty alien missiles made it through the first wave of flak cannon fire, James felt every muscle tense. He curled his fists into balls as the severely depleted point defense fire from the human warships appeared to be having almost no impact. The alien missiles were reduced to three hundred, then two hundred and then one twenty. A last-minute herculean effort from the human gunners reduced the number to just under one hundred. Then they dove towards their targets. Titan’s sensors were overwhelmed by the thermonuclear detonations that erupted all around her.

“Evasive maneuvers now, ECM to full,” James ordered. Titan had lost track of the four missiles that were homing in on them.

Titan shook. James guessed from the strength of the explosion that it had been a proximity hit. Then time seemed to slow down. He felt the distinct jolt of a missile penetrating his ship’s armor, it was instantly followed by a second. He knew the delay couldn’t have been more than half a second, yet it seemed like an eternity before the detonations came. When they did, all hell broke loose.

James was thrown around in his command chair so violently that he almost lost consciousness. The only thing he was aware of was the alarms blaring from every console on the bridge. Badly shaken, he tried to force his eyes open as soon as his ship steadied herself. For a couple of seconds, he could hardly see anything as blood rushed down his forehead over his eyes. Eventually, he was able to make out the bridge. Sub Lieutenant Edwards was slumped over the COM console. There was blood running down her arm onto the bridge’s deck.

“See to Lieutenant Edwards,” James called. “Then get me an update.”

As an Ensign unbuckled himself from his chair and moved towards Edwards, James turned to Romanov. The First Lieutenant had a large gash on his cheek. It looked like he had slammed it against something. He seemed oblivious to the wound as he frantically sifted through Titan’s sensor reports.

“We’ve taken two direct hits, both penetrated our weakened armor. One detonated between starboard missile tubes four and five. The other penetrated deeper into the ship and detonated near the auxiliary bridge. Damage repair crews are on their way to both sections now. I should be getting updates soon,” he called.

James was momentarily frozen. He didn’t know what to do. He didn’t want to hear the casualty reports from his own ship. He knew they would cause him immense pain. Yet the only thing that would distract him from that was to check in on the rest of the fleet. If he did that, he knew the news would be just as devastating. Hamilton could be dead, he berated himself. That leaves you as the senior Captain.

He took a deep breath to steady himself. “Show me our fleet on the main holo display.”

“Bison is gone,” Sub Lieutenant MacArthur called as Titan’s holo display updated.

James forced his face to remain impassive. Rear Admiral Gibbon’s flagship was gone, along with the light cruiser and one of the two frigates that had moved to protect it. Another medium cruiser and two more American destroyers were also missing. From the British fleet, there was no sign of the light cruiser Mars, nor the destroyer Colossus and the frigate Retriever. Almost every other ship had visible battle damage from proximity or direct hits. Two ships were falling towards Marshall. Their reactors or engines no longer functioning.

“Send out a general order,” James said to the Ensign who had replaced Sub Lieutenant Edwards. “All ships that are still capable of providing assistance are to do what they can for those nearest them.”

“Sent,” the Ensign said moments later.

“What are the aliens doing?” James asked.

“The aliens haven’t fired another salvo yet,” Lieutenant Scott replied. “I guess they’re waiting to see if they need to.”

Reluctantly, James turned towards Romanov. The First Lieutenant didn’t look happy. “The first missile almost penetrated the auxiliary bridge,” he began. “Commodore Hamilton is injured, he is being taken to sickbay. Lieutenant Rodgers is dead along with many of the other auxiliary bridge crew. The auxiliary bridge is out of commission. The second missile only penetrated one deck, yet it destroyed starboard missile tubes four and five. Almost all of both missile crews are gone,” Romanov’s voice barely rose above a whisper. He wouldn’t raise his eyes from his console.

James slammed his fist into his command chair. Closing his eyes, he tried to think. There’s nothing we can do. He ground his teeth together. They were in an impossible situation. The aliens would just fire another missile salvo, and then another if they had to. Why had he agreed to Gibbon’s plan? It had sealed their fate. Now everyone was going to die, all his crew, all of the British fleet and even the colony itself. Their deaths would be for nothing. The entire alien fleet would be able to move on and attack another colony. We should have fought them, at least we wouldn’t have died like rats trapped in a barrel. A part of James felt guilty, he knew he was being unfair to Gibbon. She had given her life for her plan. Trying to delay the aliens had been a good idea. Summoning all of his mental fortitude, James attempted to calm himself. He had a ship to oversee and a fleet to cobble together. He needed to project an air of assurance. If he didn’t, things would fall apart that bit quicker.

A sudden eruption of cheering all around him made his eyes shoot open. There were explosions erupting all along the alien fleet.

“What?” he asked bewildered.

*

Rear Admiral Rosecrans’ hands were white as he gripped his command chair. For the last two hours he had forced himself to watch missile salvo after missile salvo rain down on his compatriots and allies. The worst moment had been when the mushroom clouds had appeared on Marshall’s surface. Rosecrans felt like a failure. If only I had listened to Commodore Hamilton and followed them, he thought. Though he knew recriminations would not do him any good now, he couldn’t help himself. If he had to make the decision over again, he knew he would still choose his current course of action. Following Hamilton had been too risky. No one in his position would have followed the British squadron. Instead, he had pushed his fleet harder than any American fleet had ever been pushed before. They had made the journey from Jackson in record time. That had been in large part due to Rosecrans forcing his ships to exceed their maximum safe velocity. As a result, a light cruiser had been crippled and a frigate destroyed by cosmic particles. Yet they were here now.

After jumping into the system, Rosecrans had been faced with another difficult decision. He could have charged towards the alien fleet. Theoretically such an action would have relieved Marshall’s defenders. Faced with overwhelming odds, the alien fleet might have withdrawn. Yet the aliens could have spent another hour and a half bombarding the colony before having to flee. Rosecrans strongly suspected they would have switched from targeting the orbital defenders to going for the colony’s inhabitants.

Instead, he had approached in stealth. With the aliens’ attention focused elsewhere, he intended to put an end to their incursion into his nation’s space. Though he knew it was the best tactical decision he could make, every time a human warship exploded, he felt responsible. Then, as nearly a hundred missiles detonated among what was left of the British and American warships, he felt a stab of pain shoot through his heart. Gibbon’s flagship was hit multiple times, he knew it couldn’t survive such an onslaught. He and Gibbon had served together more than thirty years ago as Lieutenants on a cruiser. He had counted her one of his friends.

“We are in range Admiral,” one of Monsoon’s Lieutenants called.

“Fire,” Rosecrans shouted, giving voice to his rage.

Fifty-two heavy plasma bolts shot towards their targets. They covered the distance in just three seconds. The alien fleet had no time to react. As the bolts struck, they burnt through the alien warships’ armor and ate into their hulls. In most cases, they burst right through the other side. Multiple alien ships exploded as plasma bolts caused fusion reactors to overload and detonate.

“Launch missiles,” Rosecrans followed up.

One hundred and ten anti-ship missiles burst out of their missile tubes and rapidly accelerated towards the alien fleet.

For nearly twenty seconds there was complete calm. The aliens, apparently shocked, did nothing. Then their ships turned to bring their heavy laser cannons to bear on Rosecrans’ fleet. Still, they didn’t fire anything. Only a handful of the American warships in Rosecrans fleet had the heavy laser cannons that had been developed from Vestarian tech. With a superior range to the aliens, they opened fire first. The laser beams tore into several more alien ships, vaporizing them. Then the aliens finally returned fire. Heavy laser beams peppered the American fleet. A medium cruiser and several destroyers were blown apart. Damage to other ships made them fall out of formation.

Almost as soon as they fired, the alien ships turned their attention to the human missiles. Space around the alien fleet was lit up by hundreds of point defense lasers. Even so, more than twenty missiles found targets.

Rosecrans had been watching the progress of his missiles whilst keeping an eye on the status of Monsoon’s heavy plasma cannons. “Finish them off,” he ordered as soon as their status turned green.

Rosecrans eyes widened. From the other side of the alien ships, thirty new contacts had appeared and accelerated towards Marshall. He knew exactly what they were. “Every ship’s point defenses are to target those missile carriers immediately,” Rosecrans called.

Even as twenty-six heavy plasma bolts tore into what was left of the alien fleet, the American ships had their attention elsewhere. The fleets were so close that flak cannon rounds were able to reach past the dying alien ships and explode among their missile carriers. Six were destroyed. Rosecrans punched his command chair in frustration. “Send a message to our ships around Marshall, warn them of what’s coming.”

He surveyed what was left of the monsters that had attacked two of his worlds. Two alien destroyers were trying to accelerate away. Three other ships were drifting in space. Of the rest, there was nothing but wreckage and space debris. “Target those fleeing ships with our forward missile tubes, give them everything we’ve got,” Rosecrans ordered. He didn’t intend to show any mercy.

*

When Rosecrans warning reached Titan, James was already reacting to the threat. He knew full well where the alien missiles would be targeted. Without either of the orbital defense platforms, Marshall’s capital was an easy target. He had every ship that was able moving into position to intercept the alien missiles. He also ordered the smaller frigates and destroyers to move out of orbit towards the incoming missile carriers. He wanted to force the missile carriers to release their missiles sooner. With luck, the alien missiles wouldn’t have enough fuel for evasive maneuvers when they reached Marshall.

Satisfied that the British and American warships were following his orders, James contacted Marshall’s Governor. “What is the evacuation status of your capital?” James asked.

“Most of the population has either been evacuated or moved to the underground bunkers, I think,” Governor Mitchell answered. The look on her face showed her concern.

James understood, it would be all but impossible to confirm that everyone had been moved to safety. Mitchell was also no doubt worried about those in the bunkers. They were supposedly rated to withstand orbital assault, yet none had been tested before. Even if the bunkers did work, those in them would likely be stuck there for days, if not weeks.

“Send a final warning,” James recommended. “Someone might still have time to get to a bunker.”

Closing the COM channel, James turned back to the alien missile carriers. It didn’t take long for them to close with the screen of destroyers and frigates he had sent out. Sensing the threat, the missile carriers released their missiles. There were one hundred and twenty-eight of them. In an effort to conserve fuel, the missiles didn’t carry out any evasive maneuvers as they passed the screen of small human warships. The British and American ships shot down fifty.

Then it was the turn of Titan and her larger consorts. Only two medium and three light cruisers remained. Between them, they had the point defenses of three fully functioning medium cruisers. First flak cannons and then the other human point defense weapons fired. Eighty missiles were reduced to sixty, then forty, then twenty-five. As they passed by the human warships, point defenses on the other side of the ships opened up on them. Ten more were destroyed, their numbers were reduced to ten and then five.

Just as the warship’s point defenses fell silent, the four remaining point defense satellites that were in orbit above Grand Rapids, Marshall’s capital, opened fire. They took out three thermonuclear missiles. Yet two reached Marshall’s atmosphere. They struck the capital. In seconds, more than a third of Grand Rapids was demolished by the two expanding fireballs. No doubt many more of the city’s buildings were damaged by the concussive force.

Sickened, James turned away from the two mushroom clouds. He had seen enough surface detonations. He knew he would be dreaming of them for weeks to come. Instead, he glanced toward where the alien fleet had been. Now there was nothing but the debris and four damaged ships. James guessed Rosecrans already had shuttles full of American marines on the way to those ships. In the long run, they would likely prove to be extremely useful sources of information. Even so, James couldn’t suppress his desire to fly Titan out there and blast the aliens out of existence for what they had done.

What was left of Rosecrans’ fleet turned towards Marshall. They were no doubt coming to offer aid to what was left of Marshall’s defenders. James knew they needed it. A number of warships were in vital need of assistance and hundreds of escape pods in orbit around the planet were screaming for help.

James forced his hands to relax, then he worked on his shoulders and the rest of his body. The battle was over. It had been more than ten hours since the alien fleet had arrived in system. Many were dead, good ships had been lost, but Marshall was largely intact. The majority of the colony’s population were safe. Somehow, they had succeeded. Yet he couldn’t get the image of the surface detonations out of his head. He felt like he had been utterly defeated. The alien’s range advantage had proved devastating.

Never again, James promised himself as he stared at what was left of the warships in orbit around Marshall. Never again will I let them beat me, he repeated as he turned to take in what was left of Grand Rapids. Like the images of the destruction of Farnsworth, he allowed the sight to burn into his memory.

Gripping his command chair, he forced himself away from Titan’s main holo display. The aliens were far from defeated, if they could attack Farnsworth and Marshall, they could attack anywhere along the American colonial frontier. He was sure they would be back. If he was going to stop them, he had to deal with the aftermath of this day’s battle. Then he had to get the remnants of his fleet to Utah to rejoin the rest of the British fleet, he had a strong suspicion that they would be needed.

Chapter 16

Often old enemies can be turned into firm friends, yet in the unforgiving realities of interspecies politics, some enemies will remain so forever. The Empire has a long memory.

- Excerpt from Empire Rising, 3002 AD.

Staging planet Hir’ak. Warship Cleanser. Two months later.

Grand Admiral Tikal sat on his command throne pondering the holo projection of the alien species’ worlds. “Huuuman,” he said as he tried to pronounce the name of the species he was facing. They knew little about this race, what they had learnt had largely come from the information the first human ships had transmitted to his warships. The information had been all but useless except, at least, for the translation programs the humans had sent. His technicians thought they were very advanced.

There must be more of them, Tikal thought, there has to be. Scouts from his homeworld had detected the aliens five years ago. Since then, they had been secretly exploring the frontiers of the alien’s space. In front of him was a projection of twenty systems that the aliens were known to inhabit. The twenty systems roughly formed half of the perimeter of a sphere. It was assumed the rest of the alien space completed the sphere. Though none of their ships had penetrated deep into alien space yet, Tikal had no doubt there were more built up systems closer to its heart. Even so, there must be more of them.

Tikal had arrived at Hir’ak just two days ago. He had been promoted after successfully cleansing a smaller alien species. His homeworld had been planning the attack on the humans since their discovery. Now all the glory would fall on him. The aliens were about to face the greatest fleet his species had ever assembled. From the reports that had been awaiting him at Hir’ak, Tikal was glad that he had so many ships with him. Both the probing attacks he had ordered before arriving had been repulsed. The first had managed to destroy one alien world and attack another. Then it had encountered a large alien fleet and after a brief skirmish, it had retreated.

The second Tikal had ordered to attack a section of human space that was quite far away from his staging area. It had been designed as a diversionary attack to draw human warships away from the main area of operations. As yet, no reports had returned from that fleet. They were long overdue, Tikal had concluded the fleet had been lost. That, accompanied by the build-up of warships all along the human frontier, indicated that the humans were more powerful than initial reports had suggested. Already, Tikal had sent back a report to his homeworld, hoping it would encourage the High Queen to send forward more ships.

The holo plot showed that the space between the aliens’ planets and Hir’ak was becoming infested with alien scouts. They were trying to locate his fleet and potentially his homeworld. Tikal had no fear for the latter, it would take the humans years to locate the planet he had been born on. More immediately, the scouts would make it difficult for him to disguise his line of advance. Putting his mind to work, he planned a series of complex maneuvers. If he couldn’t hide his fleet from the humans, he would make it very difficult for them to figure out where he would strike. He had personally overseen the destruction of two alien species, this one might prove more difficult but Tikal knew he could handle them. Glancing out a viewport, he peered at the thousand warships in orbit around Hir’ak. Never before had so many warrior houses been gathered under one Admiral. Thanks to the High Queen’s blessing, they would all serve him as if he was the High Queen herself. They would be more than enough to deal with the humans.

His eyes turned to Hir’ak. On the planet’s surface was his prize. The High Queen had sent one of her daughters to Hir’ak to oversee the cleansing. She would soon be coming into her reproductive cycle. If he had cleansed the humans by then, he would get to mate with the Queen. One day soon, his offspring would inhabit this part of the galaxy. All he had to do was get rid of the squatters who currently held it.

“Send an order to the houses. The fleet will move out in one gra-st,” Tikal announced to Cleanser’s bridge.

*

HMS Titan, Utah System, 14th December 2472 AD

When Titan and her British consorts jumped out of subspace into the Utah system, James couldn’t help but smile. One of the first ships Titan’s sensors identified was the battleship HMS Victory. It was Vice Admiral Cunningham’s flagship. Alongside Titan, only one medium, one light cruiser, three destroyers and six frigates had survived the battle with the alien fleet above the Marshall colony. After spending a couple of weeks in Marshall to effect repairs, James had led the ships towards Utah. It had taken far longer than it should have. Many of the ships were so badly damaged they could only maintain half of their maximum speed. Twice they had had to stop for a couple of days to carry out emergency repairs. Finally, they had arrived at the fleet’s staging area. James could hand over responsibility for his squadron to Vice Admiral Cunningham and, with luck, there would be a repair bay that could see to Titan.

As his battered squadron made their way into the system, James wasn’t surprised to receive an order from Victory to report on board as soon as possible. Rosecrans had sent a couple of frigates back to Utah with news of the battle as soon as it had ended. James was sure Cunningham and the American Admiral Walker, if he was in the system, would want to debrief him in person.

It took Titan five hours to reach the Utah colony. When they had been an hour out, James was pleased to receive instructions for Titan to dock at an American repair yard. Sub Lieutenant MacArthur had identified a number of British repair yards under construction, however none were complete. An American one had been made available to them instead. “Take us in slowly,” James ordered Sub Lieutenant Denver.

“Aye Captain,” Denver said, sounding relieved.

James understood. Utah was a hive of activity. There were more than two hundred warships in orbit. Beyond that, there were at least as many freighters and literally thousands of shuttles. There were also four Freedom defense platforms and what looked like two more under construction. Utah had the American’s second-largest shipyard and it looked like it was working at full capacity for construction drones and shuttles were buzzing around it. There were also new repair and construction bays being added to it. The system was preparing for a war of survival.

“Good job,” James commented when Denver gently slotted Titan into her assigned repair bay. “You have the bridge Lieutenant Scott. See to it that Commodore Hamilton is transported to Utah’s surface immediately. There is a bed waiting for him at Saint Bartholomew’s. Send one of the Sub Lieutenants with him to make sure he is seen to.”

“I’ll make it a priority,” Scott replied.

James nodded. He knew she understood. Hamilton was in stasis. He had received some severe damage to much of his right side, including his face. Like Hamilton, Scott had once received severe burns. She had spent months on Earth undergoing surgeries and rehabilitation programs. Titan’s Doctor had been unable to deal with the serious nature of Hamilton’s injuries. The medical facilities on Utah were far better equipped to help him.

“Once you’ve done that,” James continued, “contact Admiral Walker’s flag staff and see what they want done with our prisoners. I think it’s time we got them off our ship. Someone else can have a go at trying to get something out of them.”

“With pleasure,” Scott said.

“Romanov, I want you to liaise with the senior American engineer assigned to us,” James said turning to his First Lieutenant. “No doubt there will be some teething issues with us working together, but try and make things go as smoothly as possible. I’d better go see Cunningham.”

“Yes Sir,” Romanov replied. “The repairs should be underway before you get back.”

Stepping into the turbolift, James quickly made his way to one of Titan’s shuttle bays. “Take the scenic route,” he ordered the shuttle’s pilot as he sat down and strapped himself in.

As they moved between two Freedom defense platforms, James couldn’t help but look at them differently. They didn’t inspire as much confidence as they once had. Then the British and American fleets came into view. In total, he counted five battleships. Three American and two British. Beyond that, he could make out nearly a dozen battlecruisers and many smaller ships. As the shuttle flew around one of the American battleships, James studied it, fascinated. The American battleships were ten percent larger than HMS Victory. As the shuttle moved around the stern of the ship, James saw its name. Enterprise. It was Admiral Walker’s flagship.

“Do you think she will be able to stand up to an alien fleet?” the pilot asked. James detected a hint of nervousness.

“Her armor is almost as thick as a Freedom defense platform’s,” James replied. “We have seen how much of a beating they can take. I imagine Enterprise and her consorts will give a good account of themselves if the aliens attack us again.”

“I sure hope so,” the pilot replied. “It would be nice to find one of their planets.”

James didn’t reply. He understood the pilot’s desire. Yet, he didn’t agree with it. Despite everything that he had seen, he couldn’t bring himself to condone a retaliatory strike. Many Americans on Marshall had spoken of revenge. James imagined there would be many on Utah who would be keen to bring the fight to the aliens as well. However, doing so would turn the war into a war of extermination. There had to be a way to reason with them, to come to some kind of peace settlement.

In the two weeks Titan had spent in the Marshall system after the battle, Lieutenant Scott had scoured the captured alien warships. She also joined the American officers as they interrogated the survivors. They had proved just as fruitless a source of information as the aliens captured on Jackson. None were cooperative and none wanted to trade any kind of freedom or comforts for information on their species. Even under the severe interrogation techniques the Americans had employed, none had broken. Even so, James had to believe the aliens would be willing to come to some kind of terms. They couldn’t have developed such sophisticated technologies without learning to compromise.

Thoughts of the aliens disappeared as Victory came into view. Though James had seen her up close a number of times during Titan’s refit, he couldn’t help but be taken aback by her beauty. The American battleship certainly looked impressive, yet James still preferred British design. Victory looked both menacing and beautiful.

“Once around enough Sir?” the pilot asked.

“It will have to do,” James replied. “I don’t want to keep the Admiral waiting too long.”

When the shuttle landed, James descended its rear access ramp to find a Captain waiting for him. “Welcome aboard,” she said as she held out her hand. “I’m Flag Captain Blyth.”

“Captain Somerville,” James replied as he shook her hand. “It’s good to see Victory and the rest of the fleet here. How are things going?”

“We haven’t had it as hard as you,” Blyth replied as she turned and walked out of the shuttle bay. James followed her. “At least not yet,” Blyth continued. “There have been a couple of small raids on outlying mining colonies. By the time we got here from Earth, Admiral Walker had already beaten back the fleet that destroyed Farnsworth. Since then, there hasn’t been any sign of them or another large fleet. That’s not to say the aliens aren’t out there, scout ships have been pouring in from all across the human sphere. Walker has been pushing them out beyond the American colonies to explore space in the direction we think the aliens are coming from. Quite a number of reports of individual alien ships have been coming back.”

“That sounds ominous,” James replied.

“It could be, we simply don’t know yet,” Blyth replied. “I’ll let Cunningham fill you in on the finer details.”

“What about our fleet, how is Admiral Walker planning to use it?” James asked.

“We have already sent a couple of squadrons towards the front to beef up the garrisons in the Grant and Idaho systems. It seems Walker wants to keep most of our fleet here in Utah as part of his strategic reserve,” Blyth answered. “We don’t know what forces these aliens have at their disposal. At the moment Walker is trying to keep a large section of his fleet at Utah so he can respond to any serious threats that arise.”

“I understand,” James said. “The Americans have a large frontier to protect. With attacks at Farnsworth and Marshall, Walker must be under a lot of strain.”

“You’ll see for yourself,” Blyth replied. “He’s with Cunningham at the moment. Here we are.” Blyth added as she stepped aside to let James see the sliding door with Cunningham’s Admiral insignia on it. “I’ll come and collect you once they have finished picking your brains. Perhaps we could dine together before you head back to Titan?”

“It would be a pleasure,” James said. “We lost quite a lot of our food reserves in the battle at Marshall. We’ve been on rations for the last two weeks.”

“I’ll let the cook know,” Blyth replied with a smile. “I’m sure she can rustle up something exquisite for you. It will be a fair trade for making you tell me about Marshall.”

“It’s a deal,” James said as he shook Blyth’s hand. The doors beeped to recognize that he had requested admittance. As Blyth walked off, James waited patiently. It took just under a minute for them to open. When they did, James stepped into Cunningham’s office.

“It’s good to see you again,” Cunningham said as he stood from where he had been seated behind his desk. “Once again you have acquitted yourself admirably.”

“I don’t know about that,” James replied. “More than forty thousand civilians were killed and I’m sure the death toll is still rising. That doesn’t include all the ships we lost.”

“You’re being too hard on yourself son,” the second man in the room said as he stood. James had seen images of Admiral Walker and he was immediately recognizable. The Admiral’s long grey beard gave him away. The cigar on his lips was also a well-known pleasure of the Admiral’s. “Admiral Walker,” he said as he held out his hand. “I want to thank you for what you and your ships did for our colony. My country owes you and Commodore Hamilton a great debt.”

“I was just doing my duty,” James replied. “You would have done the same for us. As would many others.”

“Huh,” Walker said as he turned back to his seat. “I’m not so sure I have the same confidence in my fellow man as you. But come, take a seat and let us pick your brains.”

“Not every country that pledged to send ships to help the Americans is living up to their promises,” Cunningham said in response to James’ quizzical look. “Argentina and Brazil have only sent a small flotilla each. We haven’t received as many Chinese ships as Emperor Na said he would send. Though the Japanese and the Germans both have large fleets on the way.”

“We have a good working relationship with both colonial powers,” Walker said. “They will live up to their promises. As for the rest, I don’t think we can count on them. We will be working with what we have got.”

“More warships should be coming from our colonies as well,” Cunningham said.

“And I appreciate every one of them,” Walker replied.

James wanted to ask more questions about the current fleet dispositions and what forces were on their way to the Utah system. Yet he sensed it was a topic Walker and Cunningham had already discussed to some depth. He knew they wanted to hear about Marshall so he sat down and remained silent.

“So tell us,” Cunningham said as he turned back to James. “What do you make of these aliens?”

James did his best to answer Cunningham’s question. It was difficult as he knew very little about them. After a few follow-up questions, the discussion turned to the battle in Jackson, then the Black Forest system and finally to Marshall. They also spent a few minutes discussing Commodore Hamilton and his injuries. By the time James had answered all of Walker and Cunningham’s questions, more than an hour had passed.

“I’m not going to lie,” Walker said. “The attacks on Jackson and Marshall were at best draws. Many on Earth will see them as defeats. The aliens managed to bombard both colonies. I imagine, once news reaches Earth, that fears will spike. Cunningham told me that before he left the entire planet was on a knife edge.”

“There were quite a few riots going on right across the planet and I know more than one government was considering introducing martial law,” Cunningham added.

“I can well imagine,” James said. “At least we have shown that we can defeat the aliens.”

“What we need now is a proper victory,” Walker said. “Something we can send back to Earth and the rest of our colonies to boost confidence.”

“How do you plan to do that?” James asked.

Cunningham leaned forward and switched on the room’s holo projector. A projection of the southern half of the American colonies filled the room. The Utah system was roughly in the middle of a sphere. Along the outer edges, New Washington, Connecticut, Idaho, Grant and New Chicago were all flashing.

“At present, this is where we are making our stand,” Walker said. “I have full garrisons in each of these colonies and, with enough early warning, the officially titled Combined Fleet stationed here in Utah can get to any of these colonies in less than two weeks. We can’t afford to lose any of these colonies, each one is more developed and has a larger population than Marshall.

“Beyond them, we have small garrisons in place. However, I have ordered most of those systems evacuated. For a couple of them it will take several months to remove all the people, but we are moving as fast as we can.”

As Walker was speaking, Cunningham updated the holo projection. There were more than twenty other systems along the edge of American space beyond the five Walker had mentioned.

“And beyond that,” Walker continued, “we have nearly every exploration frigate in the human sphere out probing unexplored space. We have been seeding every system from here out to the frontier with gravimetric relays and messenger Corvettes. The further out we push, the earlier the warning we’ll get the next time an alien fleet tries to approach our space.”

James nodded. Gravimetric relays were a relatively new technology. They were small devices that emitted gravimetric waves. As these waves could be detected instantaneously anywhere within a star system, they allowed for rudimentary FTL communication. Their use meant that messages could be transmitted much quicker. A messenger Corvette could jump into the system and send its priority messages to the nearest relay, which, in turn, could transmit the message to the other side of the system. If there was a second messenger Corvette waiting there, it could jump into shift space and onto the next system in a matter of minutes.

“So, for the moment the plan is to wait and try and thwart the alien’s next move,” James surmised.

“Unless you have a better plan?” Cunningham asked. “As yet, we don’t know where the aliens are from, or how many ships they have. We could have already defeated their two fleets. Or, they could simply have been probes. At the moment, there’s no way to know. Until we find their homeworld, or at least the direction they are coming from, our hands are tied.”

“I understand,” James said. “I wasn’t suggesting that we have any other options. I just didn’t know if there were some other plans in the works that I wasn’t aware of.”

Walker chuckled. “It may take you a few more years to fully realize it son, but the higher up you get in any fleet, the more you’ll find your options restricted.”

“What about the Marshall system and Rear Admiral Rosecrans?” James followed up.

“I’ve already sent a large squadron to reinforce Rosecrans,” Walker answered. “He will also be getting a full complement of messenger Corvettes and gravimetric relays. He has orders to do what we are doing here. Marshall, Jackson and Lawrence are the only major colonies in that direction. Hopefully, he can set up a system of scouts to detect any other fleets the aliens may send his way. He should have enough forces to fend off another attack. I can’t spare him any more ships than that.”

“I understand,” James said.

“I doubt you do,” Walker said with a serious face. “I remember when I was a Captain. I thought I knew what responsibility was then. Heck, even ten years as an Admiral hasn’t prepared me for this. Deciding the fate of colonies, weighing up whether to send three or ten ships here or there. Knowing full well that the wrong decision could spell doom for millions of people. If we find where these aliens are coming from, they are going to regret ever coming here.”

James didn’t know what to say. He wasn’t used to senior Admirals being so frank with him.

“Ha,” Walker laughed. “Don’t look so concerned son. I haven’t lost my marbles yet. All the same, if you aspire to higher flag rank, these are truths you will have to face up to. The higher up you go, the harder it gets. There are benefits of course, I would much rather be the one making these decisions than a few other Admirals I could think of. Yet, it means I have to live with the responsibility.”

“I will take it on board Sir,” James replied.

“I hope you will,” Walker said as he stood. “Now, I better get back to my command. No doubt there is a mountain of paperwork. Thank you for your time Captain. I’m sure we’ll be seeing more of each other.”

“It was a pleasure meeting you,” James said as he stood and shook Walker’s hand.

Walker shook Cunningham’s hand as well and then left to find a shuttle back to his flagship.

“He’s a good man,” Cunningham said. “I’m glad he’s the one in overall command. He is a fighter; all this sitting around is difficult for him. But when it comes to it, he will be the man for the job.”

“He certainly has a good record,” James said.

“He does,” Cunningham replied. “And working with him shows that he has earned it. You’ll find out yourself soon enough. Speaking of which, I’m promoting you to acting Commodore.”

James’ eyebrows shot up, but before he could say anything Cunningham continued. “With Hamilton injured and more and more ships coming in every week I need more senior command staff. I’ll give you a couple of days to oversee the beginning of Titan’s repairs, then you’ll have to hand over the rest of the work to your First Lieutenant. Until Titan is ready for action again, I’m putting you in charge of logistics and fleet organization. We have a constant stream of supplies, ammunition and reinforcements coming in from Earth and our colonies. At the moment, it’s a logistical nightmare. I’m sure if you give it your full attention for a couple of weeks, you will be able to work miracles. By then, we should have enough reinforcements that I will want to form a new squadron. Perhaps Walker will want to send you to boost the garrison of one of his colonies or will keep you here as part of the Combined Fleet. I also want you to join the strategic planning group that Walker has set up. Your battle experience against the aliens and your knowledge of our latest weapons technologies will be invaluable to us. We meet every day to run simulations, discuss the latest intel and work up a number of strategic options.”

James was taken aback. He had been expecting to get a few weeks to recover from the battle at Marshall and the stressful journey he had endured trying to keep what was left of Hamilton’s squadron functioning. Now Cunningham was about to thrust more responsibility on him. He couldn’t say no though. And this is what you’ve always wanted, he said to himself. As acting Commodore, you will have more say on how we fight these aliens.

“I look forward to helping out in any way I can,” James said.

“Good,” Cunningham said as he stood and shook James’ hand. “We are going to need every hand at the tiller in the coming weeks and months. I know my Flag Captain has invited you for dinner so I’ll not hold you up any more. As I said, I’ll give you a couple of days to make sure Titan is getting the attention she needs, then I’ll make your promotion official.”

“Thank you,” James replied. “I don’t want to see another mushroom cloud rising over humanity’s colonies. I’ll do whatever it takes to stop that.”

Chapter 17

It’s surprising how ancient tactics work so well on the modern battlefield. In every class on fleet tactics I teach, we begin with the battles of antiquity. If students don’t learn the lessons in the classroom, the simulations soon show them the folly of ignoring the lessons ancient commanders learnt in blood.

- Excerpt from Empire Rising, 3002 AD.

HMS Enterprise, Utah system, 7th January 2473 AD.

It took three weeks for Titan to be fully repaired. Even then, she was still missing some point defenses and one of her missile tubes. The damage was simply too severe for a repair yard to fix. Ordinarily Titan would have to be sent back to Earth to be made fully operational again. Circumstances made that impossible. Despite Titan being ready for action, Admiral Cunningham had persuaded James to continue in his role overseeing the coordination of reinforcements and supplies into the Utah system for an extra week.

Two days before he was scheduled to return to Titan, James was sitting in on the daily strategic planning group. A Flag Lieutenant was updating the various Admirals and Captains who participated in the group.

“The aliens are continuing to increase the number of frigates they have screening their advance. In the last twenty-four hours, we have added three of our warships to the list of scouts missing. Two other ships narrowly escaped after brief engagements. Scouts that have managed to penetrate the alien’s screen are tracking the advance of the alien fleets. So far, we’ve identified four fleets, each with approximately one hundred warships. They are steadily making their way towards the edge of the American colonies, though they’re not taking a direct approach, nor do they appear to be moving as fast as they could.”

James watched the holo projection replay the available data, scant though it was. Just a week ago the first reports had come back of the increased activity of alien frigates. They had begun to push in against the system of scouts Admiral Walker had set up. It was clear they were screening the advance of another alien fleet. However, it quickly become apparent that more than one alien fleet was moving towards American space. Four fleets, each double the size of the fleet that had attacked Marshall, had been detected slowly moving forward. Exactly where they were going was proving difficult to ascertain. At first it looked like two of the fleets were heading towards New Chicago. Then they had changed course and headed in the direction of Grant or Idaho. The other two fleets had initially looked like they had been going to Idaho, then they had changed their line of approach towards New Washington. Yet, the latest reports suggested the fleets could have changed direction again. Something about what the aliens were doing pecked at James’ mind. He zoned out of the Lieutenant’s briefing and watched the holographic replay again and again.

“It’s Napoleonic,” he said, not realizing everyone could hear him.

The Flag Lieutenant stopped speaking mid-sentence. Admiral Walker leaned over the desk. “What was that?” he asked.

Startled, James took a moment to collect his thoughts. A few butterflies fluttered through his stomach. He hadn’t intended to draw everyone’s attention. The idea had just hit him and he had blurted it out. Nevertheless, he pressed on. “The movements of the alien fleets. It reminds me of something I have seen before. It only just hit me now. It was a holographic representation of Napoleon’s campaign of 1805. When he drove his grand Army through lower Germany and to Vienna. He split his army into several different Corps to march them through enemy territory and disguise his true strength and line of attack. Though his Corps were dispersed, Napoleon always kept them within supporting distance of one another. If an enemy tried to attack a single Corps, they would quickly find themselves surrounded by several others who would appear within the vicinity as if by magic.

“Look at the movement of those alien fleets. If we wanted to, we could send out our entire reserve force to try and catch one of them unawares, yet if the one we attacked fell back, within a week the aliens could draw almost all their forces together. Their movements also make it all but impossible for us to figure out where they are going. When they get closer to our systems, the different fleets could mass together and strike before we could bring up our reserves to counter them. It’s just how Napoleon fought his campaigns.”

“I don’t like the reference to Napoleon,” Walker said. “I’d like to think we are facing a McClellan rather than a Napoleon. But I see your point. If we can’t figure out their true target in time, how are we going to stop them? None of the garrisons we have protecting our colonies can fend off four hundred warships. We need to know what these aliens are planning.”

“I’m not sure that we can,” James answered. “At least, not by simply using scouts. Perhaps, we could draw the aliens on to us. If we send out a large force to engage one of their fleets, it may draw the others in. Then, our fleet could fall back and draw the main body of the alien forces towards a system of our choosing. If it looks like it’s working, the rest of our reserves and even some of our garrisons could be concentrated to confront the aliens.”

“That is a damn risky plan,” Walker said. “Whatever fleet we send out could be wiped out before it could escape. And if we uncover too many of our other colonies, the aliens could strike them while we are trying to set up an ambush elsewhere.”

“I know,” James said. “But if we don’t do anything, we will be playing into the alien’s hands. Napoleon’s tactic was designed to bewilder his enemies. That way, he could choose to strike when and where he chose. If we sit back and wait and watch, we will find out where the aliens plan to strike us, but by then it could be too late. They will be able to mass their fleets, then launch a decisive strike before we can redeploy to meet them.”

“That is the last thing we want to happen,” Captain Blyth said from where she was sitting beside Walker. “However, there is one flaw in your analysis. Look at that fleet in the western edge of the alien’s advance. It is two systems away from any of the other fleets. It doesn’t seem to be following your idea of each fleet being able to mutually support several others.”

James studied their intelligence for several seconds. Then he took control of the holo projector from his briefing chair. “Either I’m wrong,” he said, “or there is another fleet out here more to the West than the one you’re talking about. Look, our scout reports are very scant in these several systems. There could be another alien fleet moving up along this line of approach.”

“You think there is another one hundred alien warships out there?” Blyth asked.

“Perhaps, perhaps there is even more than that. Napoleon always kept a reserve force back to confront any serious threat. In effect, his advance Corps were a second screening force for his main army. Behind these alien fleets we see approaching, there could be another couple of hundred warships. The alien commander could be waiting for the decisive moment to burst through our defenses and penetrate the heart of the American colonies. If you had the numbers, isn’t that what you would do?”

Blyth didn’t answer. Instead she looked at the holo projection. “I’m not sure,” she finally said. “You’re hypothesizing these aliens have a lot of ships, more ships than our intel suggests.”

“Your analysis is certainly worrying,” Admiral Cunningham said. “Sitting here doing nothing until we know something for sure is unpleasant, but it is the safest strategy to employ. Yet you may have a point.” Turning away from James, Cunningham faced Walker. “We’ve been wondering why the aliens are approaching so slowly. From what we know of them, their four fleets could be advancing much quicker. Perhaps, the alien commander is trying to figure out our positions. Just as our scouts are struggling to penetrate their screen of patrolling ships, perhaps they are struggling as well. Maybe we should give them a target to go after. At the very least, it may give us more of an idea of their true strength.”

“I don’t know,” Walker said as he stroked his long beard. “Gambling with the lives of American citizens isn’t what I’m paid to do. Yet, if they have more ships than we suspect, we need to know about it. If they outnumber us so badly, and we continue to keep our forces spread out to protect every world, the alien fleet could push right through our colonies to Earth.”

“If they really do have that many ships,” Blyth said, “then it would explain why they are moving so slowly. Think of how much effort it took to bring our Combined Fleet to Utah from Earth. We’ve brought a lot of freighters and other auxiliary ships with us. If the aliens are planning a longer campaign, they would have to move at the speed of their slowest ships. At least, until combat is joined.”

“I have to think about it,” Walker said. “Does anyone else have any other thoughts?”

When no one else spoke, James felt he had to add something. “I know many of you have seen battle before. Most of you are aware of my record, I too have seen plenty of action. Yet, the battle at Marshall was unlike any other battle. Sitting there in orbit, watching missile salvo after missile salvo rain down on us was unbearable. If we can, I think we need to be as proactive as possible. We know what the aliens will do to our colonies if they can get close to them, I’m not saying we charge out after their fleets, but we can’t let them get into a position where they can just bombard us with impunity.”

“Thank you,” Walker said as he stood. “I’m sure we can all imagine how you feel. I’ll take your words under consideration. For now, we’ll end our discussion here, Cunningham, von Kleist and Tokugawa, if you would, would you accompany me to my briefing room? I’d like to go over some more things.”

James understood, von Kleist and Tokugawa were the commanders of the German and Japanese fleets that had just recently joined the Combined Fleet at Utah. In total now, they had around four hundred warships in orbit. The plan had been to keep the Combined Fleet at Utah so as to be able to respond to any alien fleet that moved against one of the American’s more built up colonies. However, with so many alien ships approaching, every colony was potentially in danger. The Combined Fleet couldn’t protect them all. If another strategy was to be employed, the four most senior fleet commanders would have to agree on what to do. Yet even if we can figure out where they’re going to attack, or if we managed to draw them into an ambush, we still have next to no idea how many ships they have, James thought to himself. As he stood up to leave the strategic planning meeting, he was a lot more concerned than when he had arrived.

With thoughts swirling around his head, he made his way to Enterprise’s shuttle bay. “Where to?” The American pilot asked with a distinctly southern drawl.

A large part of him wanted to go to Titan to be ready for any new orders, however, he knew he still had other responsibilities. “Take me to Provo,” James said with a sigh. Provo was the capital of the Utah colony. The Americans had given their allies a number of offices on the planet’s surface. James had been stationed there for the past three and a half weeks. He still had plenty of paperwork to complete. If Walker was going to adopt a new strategy, James knew he should try and leave things as organized as possible.

*

The next day James woke in his quarters in Provo to find new orders waiting for him. He was to report to Titan immediately. As acting Commodore, he was expected to carry out the responsibilities of Captain whilst overseeing whatever flotilla or squadron Cunningham saw fit to place under his command. In the shuttle to Titan, James studied all the documents Cunningham’s flag officers had sent him. He was being given command of a small squadron. Alongside Titan, there was one medium cruiser and two light cruisers. Acting as escort for the four cruisers, he also had five destroyers, six normal and four point defense frigates under his command.

A smile spread across James’ face as he saw the Captain of the medium cruiser. HMS Carrington was commanded by Captain Georgia Gupta. She had been his First Lieutenant on HMS Drake. Drake had been James’ first command. Though their relationship had started off rocky, they had become firm friends. James hadn’t seen Gupta in more than two years. He couldn’t wait to hear how she was doing.

When his shuttle landed, James was greeted by Lieutenants Romanov, Scott, Carter and MacArthur. The latter had been promoted from Sub Lieutenant to fill the gap left by Lieutenant Rogers’ death. After shaking their hands warmly, James turned to Romanov and asked the question that had been on his mind for days. “How is she?” Though James could have visited Titan at any point during his time based in Provo, he had stayed away. Being in charge of a refit would look good on Romanov’s record.

“She’s not quite like new,” Romanov said, still, he sounded buoyant. “That said, she’s ready to get back into action. The new crew members we have received have slotted in nicely and everyone has had enough time to reflect on the aliens’ attack on the Marshall colony. We are all eager to avenge Lieutenant Rogers and the rest of the crew we lost.”

“I’m glad to hear it,” James said. “I don’t know what we will be doing, but hopefully it will be something more than sitting in orbit around Utah. Have you all seen the most recent scout reports?”

“We have,” Scott answered. “Whatever is about to happen, I’m sure we will be in the thick of things. We were all glad to hear about your promotion and we can guess what it means. Cunningham will want to use you where you are needed most.”

“I’m not sure about that,” James replied. “But hopefully we will get new orders soon.”

“They’ve already arrived,” Romanov said. “Victory sent a communication to all British warships in the system to prepare to break orbit. More detailed orders are awaiting you in your office.”

“Then I’d best head there right away,” James said. “I want a full tour of the ship as soon as possible but right now we better find out what Admirals Walker and Cunningham have in mind. Would you care to join me?” Not bothering to wait for a reply, James strode towards the turbolift that would take them to his quarters. On the way, he asked his Lieutenants a number of questions about Titan’s repairs.

When they got to his quarters, James showed his Lieutenants into his personal briefing room. Once they had all sat down, James called his steward and requested refreshments. Then he opened the computer terminal by his chair and sought his orders. As he expected, they came from Admiral Cunningham. While his Lieutenants waited, James scanned through the orders twice.

“The British fleet is going to Grant,” he said, looking up. “From there we will head to the edge of American colonial space and then into the unclaimed systems. By then, the alien fleet should be getting close to American space. If we can, we’re going to push through their screen of frigates and try and get a better idea of just what the aliens are up to.”

“Reconnaissance in force then,” Romanov asked. “Isn’t taking our entire fleet overkill though? It leaves Walker with a lot less of a response force.”

“Reconnaissance in force will just be one of our missions,” James answered. “Admiral Walker is planning to move his fleet from the Utah system to Fargo. He is also going to send a lot of the point defense satellites from Utah and Fargo to Grant. Our primary mission will be to scout out the aliens’ intentions. However, if we can, we’re also going to try and draw their forces towards Grant. It will force them to fight us on our terms.”

“And if the aliens don’t take our bait?” Scott asked.

“We will be sending daily messages back to Admiral Walker. If we get any hint the alien fleet is heading towards the eastern sectors of the American colonies, Walker will be updated as quickly as possible. It’s only five days journey between Fargo and Utah. If he has to, Walker should be able to head back to Utah and then to Idaho, Connecticut or New Washington if they are threatened. If we are operating out beyond the American frontier, and able to push through the alien’s screen of frigates, we should be able to give Walker an earlier warning than he would otherwise get.”

“Assuming we don’t get ambushed ourselves,” Carter commented.

“Indeed,” James said. “We’ll be operating in unexplored space. That will be a serious risk. We have to be constantly vigilant. That is all for now. Admiral Cunningham wants to have a conference call with Rear Admiral Davidson and his Flag Captain. After that I’ll take a tour of the ship. I expect we will be breaking orbit before lunch.”

“We’ll go and make sure Titan is ready to leave,” Romanov said as he stood. “It’s good to have you back on-board Captain.”

“It’s a pleasure to be back,” James said as his Lieutenants filed out.

He read through his orders again as he waited for Cunningham to be ready for the holo conference. He was excited to be finally doing something. The time he had spent on Utah overseeing incoming reinforcements and supplies had been less than stimulating. At the same time, he felt some trepidation. It had been two months since the battle for Marshall. He was still having the occasional nightmare about what had happened. He couldn’t stand the thought of having to watch the aliens bombard another planet. Yet, he knew there was a very real chance he would find himself in similar circumstances in the not too distant future. The attackers had all the advantages. There were simply too many American systems to adequately protect them all.

Chapter 18

In the last one thousand years humanity has made strides no one from Earth could have imagined. We inhabit thousands of systems, we have technologies that boggle the mind and our numbers are counted in the trillions. Yet there is one thing that hasn’t changed in all that time. Our more distant ancestors would understand it as well as we do now; in war, armies and fleets need leaders. It is the quality of those leaders who determine the fighting effectiveness of those under them. New colonies, new technologies, encounters with alien races – nothing we have accomplished in the last thousand years has changed this. That is why Naval Colleges exist in every sector of the Empire. The Imperial navy will always be hungry for new recruits.

- Excerpt from Empire Rising, 3002 AD.

After his conference call with Cunningham and Davidson, James sent orders to his squadron. They would be breaking orbit within the hour. Admiral Walker was keen to see the British ships get going. Though James had never met Rear Admiral Davidson before, he seemed competent. The Rear Admiral had arrived two weeks ago with another battleship and twenty other British warships. Davidson was now the second most senior British naval officer in the American colonies. Due to Hamilton’s injuries, James was now the third. Just a week ago, he had watched Commodore Hamilton be transferred to a freighter that was returning to Earth. Hamilton had undergone several serious operations. It was estimated his recovery would take at least six months. All the same, Hamilton had been in good spirits. His only complaint had been that he wouldn’t be able to see the aliens finally defeated.

“Every ship has reported ready to break orbit,” Sub Lieutenant Edwards reported from her position at the COM station.

“Thank you, Edwards,” James said. “Signal the flagship, let Admiral Cunningham know that our squadron is ready to depart.”

“The flagship has acknowledged our signal,” Edwards informed him moments later.

It was ten minutes before the order finally came. Just seconds after the message was transmitted from Victory, ninety warships accelerated out of their orbital positions around Utah. James watched the movements of his squadron closely, they were all keeping good station with Titan, yet he didn’t want to leave anything to chance. This was the first time a squadron under his official command was leaving on a mission. In the back of his mind he felt like smiling, this was something he had hoped for, for years. Even so, as he looked beyond his squadron and at the rest of the British ships, he couldn’t help but feel concerned. In his first experience of war with the Chinese, or in the battles he had fought against the Vestarians and then against the Indian fleet, the strength of the ships that Cunningham had under his command would have been impressive. Now, compared to the number of alien warships that the scouts were reporting closing in on the American space, ninety ships seemed like a small flotilla.

After watching his ships form up around Victory and accelerate for twenty minutes towards the shift passage that led to Fargo, James assured himself that his Captains knew what they were doing. “Send a message to the ships in our flotilla, I’m requesting every Captain meet me for a holo conference in ten minutes,” he ordered.

“Message sent,” Edwards informed him. “I’m beginning to receive acknowledgements.”

“Very good,” James replied. “Let me know if any Captains aren’t able to make it. Romanov, you have the bridge.”

“Aye Captain,” Romanov said as he stood to take James’ place on Titan’s main command chair.

Making his way to his personal briefing room, James requested strong coffee from his steward and then sat down to think through what he wanted to discuss with his Captains. Cunningham had informed him and Rear Admiral Davidson that he would be sending a general update to the entire fleet to let them know what they were about. However, Cunningham had suggested that both he and Davidson run the Captains under their command through the general plan in person. James understood, both he and Davidson were operating with Captains they weren’t entirely familiar with. The more face-to-face contact they had with each other, the better they would understand each other when the missiles began to fly.

Five minutes before the holo conference was scheduled to start, the COM unit beeped to let him know someone was requesting a connection. When James saw who it was, he accepted the request immediately. Powering itself up, the holo projector created a near-perfect representation of one of his oldest friends.

“Commodore Somerville,” Gupta said with a wide grin. “That title has a nice ring to it.”

“Acting Commodore,” James reminded her, though his smile almost matched hers for width.

“Ah, that’s just a formality,” Gupta said. “I’m sure a messenger corvette from the Admiralty will arrive soon to confirm your promotion.”

“That’s the least of my worries,” James replied. “Besides, it seems I am not the only one who deserves some congratulations. You have taken a step up the ladder yourself since I last saw you.” A strange look came across Gupta’s face. James recognized it immediately. She was both sad and proud at the same time.

“Discovery was a good ship,” Gupta said. “I had three and a half years with her. She went in for a refit eight months ago in Britannia. The Admiralty felt that their exploration cruisers should carry the latest stealth and weapons technology. Instead of overseeing Discovery’s refit, I was given Carrington. She’s a good ship too, but she is not quite the same.”

“I know what you mean,” James replied. “The faces are different and there are people missing. Especially after the fourth battle of Haven. Still, you’ll warm up to Carrington. After a couple of battles, it will feel like you’ve never been in another ship.”

“Well, if any man knows about surviving a few battles, you’re the one to speak to,” Gupta said as her grin reappeared.

James rolled his eyes. Gupta was always exaggerating his achievements. “I daresay before the end of this, we are all going to have seen more battles than we wish.”

“Do we really not know anything about the alien’s motives?” Gupta asked, turning deadly serious.

“I may be an acting Commodore, but you know as much as I do,” James answered. “The only signals we’ve ever received from their warships have been a command to die. None of the prisoners have said anything useful.”

“So, it is a fight to the death then,” Gupta said.

“At least, as far as they’re concerned it certainly seems to be,” James said.

“Well, if that’s the way it has to be, I couldn’t pick better senior commanders to lead us,” Gupta said. “Between you and Cunningham, I’m sure you’ll see us through. Even if we are charging out to take on the entire fleet by ourselves.”

“That’s not quite what we’re doing,” James replied. “But I appreciate your confidence. I just hope it proves to be well founded. It truly is good to talk to you again,” he ended with another smile.

“And you too,” Gupta replied. I wanted to speak to you before the conference. I wasn’t sure I could hold myself back from teasing you in front of all the other Captains.”

“I’m glad you thought to call ahead then,” James said, shaking his head. “Speaking of the other Captains,” he continued as his COM unit beeped. “They are beginning to request permission to join the holo conference. “I’m sure we’ll have plenty of time to speak as we head towards Fargo and then out to Grant and beyond. You’re my most senior Captain, I have a number of ideas I want to run by you and I’m sure you have a few ideas of your own for us to discuss.”

“I look forward to it,” Gupta replied.

Tapping his holo projector, James nodded to each Captain in turn as they appeared around the table. At first the Captains appeared life-size, but then as more and more joined the conference, the holo projector shrank their bodies so they could all fit around the table. James knew it would feel weird if he wasn’t so used to such meetings.

When they were all there, there were seventeen men and women facing James. Beyond Gupta, he knew three on sight. Others were Captains he had known of and was now putting a face to. The rest were unknown, though he had studied each of their personnel records.

“Welcome, all of you,” James began. “I am acting Commodore Somerville. In an ideal world, we would be meeting in person, and not whilst on our way to potentially engage an unknown alien fleet. However, such are our circumstances. It’s a pleasure to meet you all nonetheless, I’m sure we’ll all get to know each other much better as the days and weeks progress.

“For now, we will have to make do with a brief meeting. You will have to introduce yourselves to each other at a later date. In a couple of hours, you will receive an overview of our orders from Admiral Cunningham. Before that, I want to give you a general sense of what we are about. The task before us is not an easy one. There are a number of ways that it could go wrong. Yet, if we can succeed, it should give us a chance to confront the alien fleets that are approaching American space.”

James displayed the southern half of the American colonies. “You have all seen the latest intel. The aliens are approaching from galactic south. New Chicago, Grant, Idaho, Connecticut and New Washington are all under threat. As we speak, efforts to evacuate the outlying colonies around those five systems are being stepped up. However, even though we know the general direction the alien fleet is taking, they could strike any one of those five colonies. If Admiral Walker sends his fleet to the wrong colony, the aliens could destroy several others before they are brought to battle. Idaho is the smallest, yet there are over eighty million colonists there. We cannot let the aliens reach even one of these five systems.

“Therefore, we are going to try and draw them out. Cunningham’s mission is to proceed from Fargo to Grant and then beyond American space via the Farnsworth system. We’re going to attempt to engage the fourth alien fleet. It’s the eastern most fleet in their approaching formation. It is our hope the alien commander will react by drawing in his other fleets to engage us. We will then retreat towards the Farnsworth colony and Grant. In the meantime, Admiral Walker will be moving his Combined Fleet to the Fargo system. If we prove successful in drawing the aliens to us, he will then move his entire fleet to Grant. There we will attempt to stop the alien invasion.”

Pausing, James looked at each of his Captains to see their reaction. Essentially, he had just told them the British fleet was going to be used as a twig to poke a very dangerous and angry bear. Silence descended for a few moments. Not knowing him well, James guessed some didn’t know what kind of participation he expected. Glancing at Gupta, James raised an eyebrow.

“It’s risky,” Gupta said. “If the aliens have more ships out there, we could easily find ourselves outnumbered and cut off. If we are defeated, Walker’s Combined Fleet will be left seriously outnumbered.”

“I expect the aliens do have more fleets out there,” James said. “In part, that’s why we are being sent out, I suspect there is another alien fleet approaching to the west of Grant, it’s probably moving towards New Chicago. If we push out towards the approaching aliens, we are likely to find out if they have more ships. That in itself is a vital piece of information.”

“So, we’re not going to engage unless a favorable opportunity arises?” Captain Morris of the destroyer Basilisk said.

“That’s the idea,” James replied. “We’re going to try and punch through the aliens’ outer screen of patrolling frigates to get a better idea of their intentions. If we get a chance, we will engage one of their fleets, however that is not our primary goal. I’m sure the aliens, once they figure out a large fleet is operating against them, will try to take us out.”

“Are we going to be operating alone or as part of the main fleet under Admiral Cunningham?” Captain Parker of the frigate Weasel asked.

“As yet, that is undecided,” James answered. “Though I suspect we will be operating detached from Cunningham’s main fleet at times. Once we move through the alien’s outer screening ships, we may have to split up to recon a number of different systems. If so, I’m sure we’ll be operating alone.”

Parker nodded and glanced at one of the other frigate Captains. James knew what the glance meant. Frigates, and often destroyers, were the eyes and ears of larger fleets. A young Lieutenant often dreamt of captaining a small warship for it usually meant independent command and freedom from traipsing around after a slow flagship. To Parker and some of the younger Captains, the idea of operating alone was exciting. James understood, a part of him still felt the same.

“To that end,” James continued. “I will prepare a number of battle simulations for us to run through in addition to the fleet simulations Cunningham will be sending us. I’m aware that many of us have not fought together before. The best way for us to get to know each other will be to carry out as many simulations as possible. It may prove time-consuming, but in the end, I think we’ll be thankful for it.”

A few of the Captains nodded, James saw a couple of others keep a straight face. He marked them down. Running a ship and participating in the drills and simulations Admiral Cunningham would send to them would no doubt take up a lot of time. With James’ additional simulations, he knew his Captains wouldn’t be getting as much sleep as they might like. If he had to, James would personally speak to any Captain who seemed like they were holding back in the simulations.

“Are there any other questions or concerns you want to raise?” James asked.

“How long do you expect we will be away from Utah?” Captain Hess asked. “Paladin just arrived a couple of days ago. We weren’t able to fully replenish the supplies we consumed on the journey from Britannia.”

“I imagine we will be operating away from our bases for no longer than a couple of months,” James answered. Light cruisers like Paladin were designed to carry six months of supplies. Though Paladin could have been lacking some material or equipment before she left Britannia. “Your supplies should be sufficient until we return. However, I will instruct my First Lieutenant to carry out a survey of all the supplies our squadron has. If need be, we can transfer supplies to your ship.”

“Thank you,” Hess said with a nod.

Following Hess’s question, almost every Captain began to discuss Admiral Walker’s plan or some of the finer points that would arise from the squadron operating together. Occasionally James answered a question or jumped in to steer the conversation, but for the most part he let his subordinates bounce ideas off one another. He wanted to get a feel for the men and women under his command and this was one of the best ways to do it.

Gradually the conversation slowed as the merits of Admiral Walker’s plan had been weighed and a number of future strategies and tactics were evaluated. “All right,” James said when it looked like no one else had anything to add. “I will let you return to your duties now. We all know what we are about. These aliens have shown no intention of halting their desire to destroy the American colonies. As long as that continues, we are not going to show them any mercy. If we can, we’re going to give them a bloody nose. If not, at least we will help Admiral Walker prepare a plan to destroy their entire fleet. You’re dismissed.”

James wasn’t surprised to find Gupta was the last Captain to leave. “Do you have something else to add?” he asked.

“Not at all,” Gupta said with a smile. “I just want to repeat what a pleasure it is to be serving under your command once again.”

James rolled his eyes for the second time in an hour. “Get going,” he said, trying to sound stern. “Or else I will find some extra duties for you.”

“Aye Commodore,” Gupta said as she saluted and shot him another mischievous grin. Then her face disappeared as well.

On his own, James allowed a small smile to spread across his face. His first captains’ conference as a Commodore had gone well.

Chapter 19

When the shift drive was first discovered, humanity thought the stars had been opened to our species. In some ways they were correct. As we all know now, later technological advances have far surpassed what the initial shift drives could accomplish.

- Excerpt from Empire Rising, 3002 AD.

Four hours after his Captain’s conference, James was sitting in his command chair on Titan’s bridge. He was excited, his squadron was leading the British fleet towards the edge of Utah’s mass shadow. In front of them was a giant ring. Its diameter was more than ten times the length of HMS Victory. A little over four years ago James had seen the designs for one of these rings on Haven. He knew the Admiralty had been testing them since they had acquired the designs from the Havenites, but he had never seen a finished jump gate before.

“Jump gate control is signaling to say they are ready to initiate their shift drive,” Sub Lieutenant Grey reported.

“Tell them to proceed,” James ordered.

To the naked eye, nothing seemed to happen. Yet Titan’s gravimetric sensors detected a sudden large burst of gravimetric energy from the jump gate. “Tell Captain Gupta to take her flotilla through,” James ordered.

Gupta’s medium cruiser Carrington, the light cruiser Pelican, three destroyers and four frigates moved towards the jump gate. As they passed through the large ring, they disappeared. James slowly counted to ten and then gave his next order. “Take us through,” he ordered Sub Lieutenant Denver.

As his heavy cruiser moved towards the jump gate, James felt an air of apprehension. He allowed himself a small smile. After flying through the Gift, a jump gate was nothing to him. When Titan passed through the gate, there was a small jolt and then nothing. Just as when Titan used her own shift drive to jump into shift space, there was no other sign that they were now travelling at speeds far beyond the speed of light.

The shift drive worked by tearing a hole into shift space. Within shift space, ships could travel at unimaginably quick velocities. However, the velocity they carried into shift space was directly proportional to the energy released by the shift drive when it tore its hole. The more energy released, the faster the ship could travel. In theory, that meant a ship could cover distances in shift space almost instantaneously. In practice, it was far from feasible. The energy required to travel at ever-increasing speeds got exponentially larger. Due to the twisting nature of shift passages and the need to exit shift space, re-orientate, and tear a new hole, human ships normally travelled at a set velocity. As a ship’s energy capacitors had to be recharged before the shift drive could be engaged, it usually proved quicker to spend around half an hour charging a ship’s capacitors. Then, once the minimum energy required to tear a hole in shift space had been built up, the ship would jump at the velocity that energy allowed. Spending the time to charge their capacitors for longer actually increased the length of most trips.

The jump gate changed that. Each jump gate had twenty fusion reactors and a massive bank of capacitors. It was able to tear a hole into shift space that allowed ships to reach a velocity twice what they could attain on their own. The current jump gate designs could also keep their hole into shift space open for up to ten minutes. That allowed not just one ship, but an entire fleet to pass through.

James stayed on the bridge for the two hours it took Titan and her consorts to travel along the first branch of the shift passage to Fargo. When Titan exited shift space, the next jump gate was already powering up. Gupta and her flotilla were approaching it. As they passed through its ring, they disappeared.

When Titan exited the next branch of the shift passage, a third jump gate was waiting for them. After the third jump gate, the British fleet had to use their own shift drives. Even so, when the British fleet reached the first uninhabited system they had to fly through, a journey that would have normally taken ten hours, had taken just four. By the time the British engineers completed the relay of jump gates from Utah to Fargo, the journey time between the two systems would be reduced from five days to three. Of those three days, one and a half would be taken up with having to fly through two uninhabited systems. In time, as fusion reactors and capacitors improved, the other one and a half could be reduced even further.

From Fargo, the British fleet moved to the Grant system. There, another small squadron joined their fleet. Commodore Maynard had been sent to Grant to reinforce the garrison. His six light cruisers were added to Cunningham’s fleet. After travelling through Grant, the British fleet passed through two more uninhabited systems before coming to the Farnsworth system. Flying past what was left of Farnsworth was an eerie experience. There were several ships in orbit investigating the colony, though the hope of finding any more survivors had long since gone. Beyond that, there was no activity in the system.

Farnsworth itself was dead. The level of radiation on the planet meant next to no life would be able to thrive there for centuries. James spent several hours staring at the colony. He knew Marshall had come close to suffering the same fate. If he and the rest of the human commanders couldn’t stop the approaching alien fleet, many more colonies would end up just like Farnsworth. It was a very unpleasant thought.

From Farnsworth, the British fleet passed through one more American system, the Hampshire system, which was the first American system attacked by the aliens. Then they entered unclaimed space.

For the past two and a half months, nearly every exploration ship owned by humanity had been operating along the borders of the American frontier. They had been looking for the shift passages the alien fleet had used to launch their attacks. Amazingly, the UN planetary commission had agreed unanimously to forego laying claim to any newly discovered systems along the border of American space. No doubt in the future intense arguments would erupt over who owned what system, but for now, everyone was working together to figure out where the aliens were coming from.

The first unclaimed system the British fleet entered, designated X-1, was a hive of activity. Titan’s sensors detected more than fifty ships along the edge of the system. They were mapping out the dark matter that surrounded the system. Dark matter prevented ships from passing through that area of space in shift space and only passages through the dark matter could be used to travel between star systems. A shift passage had been discovered leading away from this system to another further away from American space. Titan and her consorts therefore continued on towards the next unclaimed system.

When they got there, it too was a hive of activity. There were nearly a hundred exploration ships in this system. Of primary importance however was an American light cruiser. Its Captain was overseeing the exploration of the system and of several newly discovered systems beyond. Alongside this, its Captain was also coordinating the scout ships Admiral Walker had operating in this area. From whatever up-to-date information the cruiser’s Captain had, Cunningham would have to decide what to do next.

*

HMS Titan, X-12, 24th January 2473 AD.

Two hours after entering the system, Cunningham called a holo conference with his command officers. James was the last one to connect with Victory. As soon as he appeared, Cunningham began to speak. “We have analyzed the scout reports Captain Edwards sent us. So far, the aliens haven’t changed their line of approach. As we expected, the nearest alien fleet is getting very close to us.” As he spoke, Cunningham projected the holo map of space around the British fleet.

James looked at the holo plot. Three shift passages led away from X-12, the system they were in. One led back to American space. Another led west, to a system designated X-13. The third led south, to X-14, a system deeper into unknown space. Both the systems to the west and the south led to other systems, which in turn led to others. A symbol on the holo map identified one of the alien fleets. It was two systems away from the British fleet along the shift passage that led to the south. It was still on an approach course for the system they were currently in. A couple of new systems had been added to the map. The human scout ships had discovered more systems in the last two months than they had in the last decade. Most of the discoveries were coming from the fact that the human scout ships were following alien frigates and discovering the shift passages they used.

“So far, no alien frigates have been detected in the system to our immediate west,” Cunningham continued, “however, beyond that, our scouts are detecting the advancing screen of alien frigates. For the moment, I don’t intend to bring the bulk of our ships any further away from American space. If there is a second alien fleet operating out to our west and we push south, it could close in and trap us. To that end, I’m going to send Commodore Somerville and his squadron to X-14 to push through the aliens’ line of frigates and make contact with their fourth fleet. Commodore Maynard will take his squadron to X-12 and then push south. If there is a fifth alien fleet out there, he should be able to make contact with it. I want both of you to poke the aliens, we have to see which way they jump. If you can, I want you to try and lure some of the alien ships back towards us. If the aliens split their fleets to try to deal with you, it will give us a chance to give them a bloody nose. They shouldn’t know we are here in such force yet. Beyond that, I don’t want you taking any chances. I’m going to beef up the number of screening ships for both of your squadrons. As you push forward, I want you to drive off as many alien frigates as possible. If we can keep our main fleet hidden, we may be able to surprise the aliens. Remember, our mission is to ascertain the aliens’ main target. As soon as you get any indication of what the alien fleets are up to, I want you to pull back. We need to get the information to Walker.”

James nodded, Walker was twelve days away from them. If the aliens did make a move in another direction, he needed to know immediately.

“Time is of the essence,” Cunningham said. “If the other alien fleets have pushed up as far as the one ahead of us, then they will be nearing striking distance of the American frontier. So far, they have approached slowly, but that could change at any moment. We need to find out what they are doing so that we can fall back to support the American colonies. If there are no questions, I will send you your official orders momentarily. Commodores, I want both of your squadrons to leave at once.”

James remained silent. They had discussed a number of strategic options during the journey. There was no need to discuss things further. Everyone knew what was expected of them.

“Then I’ll let you both leave to see to your squadrons,” Cunningham finished. “Good luck.”

“Thank you, Admiral,” James replied.

Commodore Maynard acknowledged Cunningham’s words and then looked at James. Both men nodded to each other. They knew they were going into harm’s way and may never see each other again.

Reaching over to switch off his COM unit, James disappeared from the holo conference. Standing, he strode out of his office and onto the bridge. “Send a message to our squadron, tell them to prepare to leave the main fleet. Navigation, plot us a course to the southern shift passage. As soon as you have it ready, send it to our squadron.”

By the time James sat in his command chair, Cunningham’s orders had appeared. James scanned them and then sent the list of the light ships that were being attached to his command to Sub Lieutenant Grey and Romanov. “Send our course to these ships as well, they’re being attached to our squadron.”

“Aye Commodore,” Grey replied.

“As soon as all the ships in our squadron acknowledge our new course, get us moving Denver,” James ordered.

“Yes Sir,” the Sub Lieutenant said.

“Romanov, work the new ships into our formation, keep them fanned out around our central flotilla. I want them in position to hunt down any alien frigates we encounter.”

“Yes Sir,” Romanov said as he bent over the file James had sent him.

James sat back in his command chair and watched the British fleet split into three. The bulk of the most powerful ships remained with Cunningham. However, he had assigned a large number of light ships to James and Maynard’s squadrons. They were going to be needed. The aliens had many frigates screening their advance.

*

The tension on Titan’s bridge could be cut with a knife. James’ squadron was minutes away from jumping out of shift space into X-14. The intel they had received from Captain Edwards was eight days old. James expected the alien screening frigates, if not the fourth alien fleet itself, to be in the system ahead of them. He contemplated sending in a couple of frigates to scout the system first, but if the aliens detected their arrival, they might have anticipated more ships coming in and set up an ambush. He had decided to jump in blind, though they would be coming in right at the edge of the system.

“Twenty seconds,” Denver called from the navigation console.

James unconsciously gripped his command chair.

Titan jolted as she reverted to normal space. James jumped as alarms blared. Scott leapt into action. “Two contacts off our port bow.”

James stared at the main holo display, waiting for it to update. When it did, there was no mistaking what the two ships were. “Engaging them with our heavy plasma cannons now,” Scott called.

Titan was the first to fire, James wasn’t surprised given Scott’s lightening quick reactions. The other British ships followed suit. Both the alien frigates succumbed to the destructive force of the human plasma cannons. The plasma bolts easily tore through their armor, reducing both ships to scrap metal.

At least one of the ship’s crews reacted before being destroyed. James was thrown to one side as Titan shuddered underneath him. “Direct hit,” Lieutenant Carter called from the repaired auxiliary bridge. “It was a laser beam, I’m getting damage reports from our aft sections, decks one to three.”

“Acknowledged,” James called out. He left the damage to Carter. One laser beam shouldn’t have done too much damage. He turned to the main holo plot. It was constantly updating to show what Titan’s electromagnetic and gravimetric sensors were making of the rest of the system. The space immediately around Titan seemed clear now that the two alien ships had been dispatched. Yet James knew that if the aliens had assigned two frigates to watch the shift passage they had just exited from, there would be more ships somewhere.

“They’re here,” Sub Lieutenant Grey called.

James saw what she was referring to seconds later. A large mass of ships was moving through the system. They weren’t accelerating so the gravimetric sensors couldn’t detect them. However, so many ships were next to impossible to hide. So far, their dealings with the alien ships hadn’t indicated that the aliens had developed any stealth technology. The electromagnetic sensors had detected nearly a hundred and fifty contacts moving through the system. The data the sensors was picking up was nearly three hours old and the alien ships were likely much further into the system than they appeared.

Interestingly, the alien fleet wasn’t heading towards James’ squadron. They were heading from the shift passage they had obviously used to reach X-14 towards another point in the system. According to the survey data, there was no shift passage where the aliens were headed. Yet that didn’t mean there wasn’t one there. If there was, James guessed it headed to the east end of American colonial space and the colonies of Idaho, Connecticut or New Washington.

“Order one of our messenger corvettes to return to Admiral Cunningham at once,” James said. “It is to send its sensor data to Victory.” Cunningham would know what the aliens’ line of approach meant. It seemed Grant was unlikely to be the target of this alien fleet. That meant Admiral Walker was out of position at Fargo. Unless of course we can persuade them to tangle with us, James thought. “Take the squadron in towards the enemy fleet, one third of our maximum acceleration,” James ordered. “I want the squadron in formation alpha four.”

Less than a minute after his ships accelerated, the alien fleet reacted. The gravimetric sensors allowed him to watch in real time. The front fifth of the alien fleet turned onto an intercept course with his squadron and accelerated rapidly. A little more slowly, eighty more alien ships turned towards Titan. From the power readings the gravimetric sensors could detect, a number of their ships were larger and more powerful than any alien ship Titan had yet encountered. The rest of the alien fleet, nearly fifty ships, decelerated and moved towards the center of the system. James guessed they were freighters and other support ships.

“I guess we got their attention,” James said. “Send another messenger corvette to Cunningham with an update on the alien fleet’s maneuvers and the new ship class.”

The question is, what do we do now? James asked himself.

Chapter 20

I have toured a number of warships from the twenty fourth and twenty fifth centuries at the naval museum in Mars orbit. Even now it amazes me that so many of our ancestors went off to war in such small tin cans. The dreadnoughts and superdreadnoughts of our day out mass entire squadrons of ships from just a few hundred years ago.

- Excerpt from Empire Rising, 3002 AD.

“What do you make of these new contacts?” James asked Lieutenant Scott.

“We designated previous alien ships as roughly analogous to our frigates, destroyers and cruisers,” Scott began. “Given the power readings these new contacts are giving off, I’d say the aliens skipped battlecruisers and went straight to battleships.”

James nodded, careful to keep his face impassive. So far, no scout had forced one of the new alien fleets into carrying out any serious maneuvers. As a result, they hadn’t detected the new alien ships. The presence of alien battleships was going to send shivers down a few spines.

“They could be playing into our hands,” Romanov said. “If we fall back, that lead alien squadron could pursue us.”

“Agreed,” James said. “Though then we might lose contact with their main fleet.”

Silence descended. James didn’t mind. He was racking his brain to figure out what to do.

An explosion drew his attention. “Weasel took out a target with her plasma cannons,” Sub Lieutenant Grey reported. “An alien frigate had been hiding powered down.”

“Send Captain Parker our congratulations,” James said. “Then order the rest of our screening ships to be extra vigilant.”

The formation he had ordered, alpha four, had most of his screening ships spreading further and further out from Titan. They were pumping vast amounts of electromagnetic energy into space as they scanned the area all around them. The formation was designed to look for other alien frigates that might be powered down or cruising at a fixed speed and so invisible to gravimetric sensors. Though one alien frigate had been detected and dealt with, James expected more.

Leaving his screening ships to it, James returned to his thoughts. He couldn’t just run straight back to Admiral Cunningham. If he did, the alien fleet was as likely to revert to their original course as they were to pursue his ships. We need to give them a bloody nose first, James thought. That should entice them to chase us. He opened a COM channel to Carrington. He had an idea he wanted to run by Gupta.

Ten minutes later, James sent new orders to his squadron. They turned onto a new trajectory that would bring them close to X-14’s star. As expected, the lead alien squadron and main fleet altered their courses, though as James hoped, their new trajectories differed somewhat. James was trying to make it look like he was using his ship’s superior speed to get behind the alien fleet and attack their transports. The forward alien squadron, designated Bogie-1, had altered course to close with them. The main alien fleet, bogie-2, was moving to cover their transports whilst still closing with the British ships. As a result, both alien fleets diverged from one another. For a full two hours James kept his squadron moving towards the center of the system.

“Order the squadron to extend their gaseous shields, then execute the turn,” he ordered.

As Sub Lieutenant Denver fired Titan’s maneuvering thrusters, the rest of James’ squadron followed suit. It took just five minutes to re-orientate Titan’s trajectory towards the second planet in the system. It was a rocky barren world not unlike Mars. For fifteen minutes every ship decelerated as hard as they could. Once they had arrested their forward momentum, the squadron used the planet’s gravity to slingshot themselves onto a new course back towards the shift passage they had used to enter the system.

“Full acceleration,” James ordered, “Level us off once we reach 0.64c.”

“Yes Sir,” Denver called.

James nodded to Denver. The velocity James was ordering was higher than the recommended safe velocity of every ship in James’ squadron. Cosmic radiation and strikes from cosmic particles could prove dangerous. Yet James didn’t intend to maintain their speed for long.

“They’re not blinking,” Romanov said.

“So it would seem,” James said with a nod.

Thanks to James’ maneuver, his ships were now moving on a trajectory that would take them across the noses of the ships of bogie-1. Their velocity meant the aliens would only get to fire one missile salvo before the British ships could return fire. If James wanted to, as soon as they got into missile range, he could order his squadron to decelerate and close with the alien squadron. Alternatively, he could maintain their current velocity and pass by the alien squadron after a brief missile exchange.

The alien squadron didn’t have as many options. They were already travelling at their maximum velocity. If they wanted to take a risk, they could accelerate. However, the aliens had never been observed taking such a risk. Plus, increasing their velocity would decrease their range advantage. They don’t really need to do anything, James told himself as he observed the alien squadron. The main alien fleet wasn’t too far behind them. Even if the first alien squadron was destroyed engaging James’ ships, they would be able to do more than enough damage to make sure the slower main alien battle fleet could finish them off. Given their numbers, the aliens would probably be happy to trade one squadron for another. We are the ones who have to try and preserve our ships.

“Aliens should open fire in seven minutes,” Scott reported.

Right on cue, thirty-three missile carriers were launched by the alien squadron.

“Fire,” James ordered when the time came. He wasn’t sure if the aliens they were facing would know about the battle of Marshall. Given no alien ships had escaped he hoped they wouldn’t, though they could have had other ships hiding within the system observing the siege. Either way, it was worth trying the tactic that had worked so well in Marshall.

One hundred and forty missiles shot towards the alien missile carriers. When both sets of contacts converged on the gravimetric plot, all the human missiles disappeared. Twelve missile carriers were also destroyed.

When the remaining twenty-one got close enough to the British ships, they released one hundred and sixteen missiles. Flak cannons barked as they flung shrapnel rounds into space. They were quickly followed by point defense plasma, laser cannons and AM missiles. Just four alien missiles made it through the storm of point defense weapons. James grimaced as he saw one missile strike a frigate. The small warship disappeared in the resultant explosion. Other explosions rocked his fleet, though within seconds reports came in indicating that they had only been proximity hits. No other ship was reporting major damage.

Suddenly James felt an emptiness well up inside him. The lost frigate had been HMS Weasel. Her captain, Parker, had impressed him when she had joined in strategic discussions on the journey from Utah. Weasel was one of the ships from his original squadron, not one that Cunningham had temporarily assigned to his command. She was the first ship he had lost under his command.

Fighting back a curse, James forced his feelings aside. More ships might be lost before the day was out and even more would be lost before the aliens could be driven off. He couldn’t afford such sentimentality in the midst of battle. “Any sign of survivors from Weasel?” he demanded.

“I’m not detecting any escape pods transmitting on the emergency frequency yet,” Sub Lieutenant Grey reported.

James didn’t respond. Instead he turned back to the alien fleet. Almost as soon as he looked at them, they fired a second salvo. The alien fleet was more than close enough to allow their missile carriers to carry out evasive maneuvers and they spread out into a much wider formation.

This time it didn’t matter. James ordered his squadron to fire their anti-ship missiles at the alien squadron. Before they could hit, the alien missile carriers released one hundred and eighty missiles.

James gripped his command chair tightly as twelve of them burst through the wave of point defense fire his squadron put out. “Evasive maneuvers,” he called. One of the missiles was closing with Titan.

Denver was ahead of him. Before he had finished speaking, Titan rolled and banked away from the missile. Romanov upped the heavy cruiser’s ECM to full and Scott fired several AM missiles. They detonated almost as soon as they left their launch tubes and created a distraction for the alien missile. Despite their best efforts, the missile struck Titan’s armor. Its angle of attack was so acute that it glanced off before detonating just meters from the hull. Everyone was thrown about as the explosive force rocked the ship.

From the feel of the explosion James knew Titan wasn’t in trouble. He turned his attention to the rest of his squadron. Two destroyers were reporting proximity hits and Gupta was reporting that Carrington had taken a direct hit. Thankfully, like Titan, the missile hadn’t penetrated the medium cruiser’s armor.

Now it’s our turn, James thought.

As his missiles came crashing into the alien squadron, seven found targets. An alien destroyer and two frigates disappeared in thermonuclear explosions. Other ships suffered damage from proximity hits.

It was a good start, but James wanted to hurt them more. “Are we ready to fire yet?” he asked impatiently.

“Momentarily,” Scott replied.

Before she could say anything more, alarms directed James’ attention to the gravimetric plot. The alien squadron had fired again.

“We are firing,” Scott finally said. Marking the truth of her words, another one hundred and thirty-four missiles shot into space.

Though the aliens fired first, the British missiles, with their higher rate of acceleration, reached their targets first. Seconds before the alien ships’ point defenses opened fire, the number of British missiles doubled. James had ordered all his ships to include two penetrator missiles in this salvo. The dedicated ECM missiles played havoc with the alien’s sensors. Just seconds later, the British missiles detonated among the alien ships. When the explosions cleared, James saw two more destroyers and several frigates were missing. He hoped quite a few others had taken damage.

“Firing again,” Scott announced.

James didn’t try to suppress his smile. The aliens may have a range advantage, but the British ships could reload and fire significantly faster than they could. Up to this point in the war with the aliens, two fleets hadn’t gone toe to toe in open space combat. Now the aliens were about to see the true cost of facing a human fleet on equal terms.

Almost immediately after firing their second salvo, the British ships had to return to defending themselves. Once again Titan and a couple of other warships suffered a proximity hit. One of the destroyers Cunningham had assigned to James’ squadron was struck by two alien missiles. Both penetrated her armor and detonated within. The twin explosions easily blew the destroyer apart.

“Target their cruisers with the next salvo,” James ordered. The heavier missiles from the alien cruisers were a much bigger threat than their other missiles. Their larger mass meant they had greater momentum and could more easily penetrate the British ships’ valstronium armor.

“Aye Commodore,” Scott replied.

Less than a minute before the fourth British salvo reached the alien ships, they released another wave of missile carriers. As soon as the last missile carrier left its launch tubes, space around the alien squadron was filled with point defense weapons fire. Then the British missiles came crashing in. The two groups of ships were close enough that James could watch in almost real time. Twenty missiles avoided everything thrown at them and closed with the alien ships. Almost as if one mind was controlling the alien squadron, every ship jinked and twisted around in space. Their evasive maneuvers were only partially successful, James counted at least ten explosions among the alien fleet. One took out a cruiser and another a destroyer. Three other ships dropped out of formation. Then a fourth followed seconds later.

James saw what the alien squadron was doing before Romanov reported it.

“The alien fleet is turning and accelerating,” Titan’s First Lieutenant reported. “They’re preparing to enter into a stern chase.”

“Just what we want,” James said.

The aliens, if they had desired, could have kept their current trajectory and passed behind James’ squadron as it raced out of the system. It would have allowed both sets of ships to continue firing full broadsides at each other for another twenty minutes or so. But then the range would have opened again. The aliens could have used their range advantage to fire a couple more salvos at James’ ships. Yet, after that, the British squadron would have been free to escape unmolested. To prevent this, the alien ships were maneuvering to enter a stern chase. They would be able to keep the British ships within missile range for much longer, however, they would only be able to fire their forward missile tubes.

“Signal Raven and Savage, tell them to carry out their orders when the approaching alien salvo reaches us,” James ordered.

“They’ve both acknowledged,” Sub Lieutenant Edwards called a moment later.

James nodded to Edwards, then turned back to the approaching alien missiles. Soon point defenses reached out to swat them out of existence. Nevertheless, multiple missiles evaded every effort to destroy them. Fourteen came barreling in to his fleet. The second light cruiser in James’ squadron, Pelican, took two proximity hits. The destroyer Edgehill took a direct hit. For a moment, James thought the missile had failed to penetrate its armor. Then an explosion blew out three of the destroyer’s port missile tubes. The destroyer fell out of formation. The frigates Raven and Savage also disappeared, though James knew they were both intact.

“Do we have communications with Edgehill?” James asked.

“Not yet,” Sub Lieutenant Edwards reported.

“They’re launching their shuttles and escape pods,” Romanov shouted.

Edgehill’s current trajectory had her falling back towards the alien squadron. They would have her within laser weapon range in less than ten minutes.

“The shuttles should make it to us,” Scott reported. “There’s no way their escape pods will though.”

“And those on the shuttles will have encountered a serious dose of cosmic radiation,” James said, finishing Scott’s thought. The shuttles weren’t rated for travelling at such high relativistic velocities. “Signal the shuttles and tell them to make for Titan. Then inform our doctor that he is going to have a lot of radiation poisoning to deal with.”

“What about the escape pods?” Romanov asked.

James thought for a moment. “Tell them to go dark, chances are, we will be sending a number of scouts through the system within the week. That’s their best chance. I doubt the aliens will show them any mercy if they detect them.”

“I’ll contact them myself and explain the situation,” Romanov said.

“Thank you,” James said.

“Edgehill’s Captain has just signaled, she is still on board her command,” Edwards called.

James knew what was about to happen. “Let me speak with Oaks,” he said as he turned to look at Scott. “Get ready to coordinate her fire with our next missile salvo.”

“Understood,” Scott said with a nod.

James accessed the COM link Edwards had opened. “It’s not too late to make it to an escape pod,” he said, though he knew what Oaks’ response would be.

“I’m not leaving my ship,” she said as she lifted her chin. “Edgehill isn’t done for yet. She is going to take a few alien scum down with her.”

“I’m sure she will,” James said solemnly. “In that case, I want you to know it has been an honor to serve with you. Good luck Captain. I will make sure your valor isn’t forgotten.”

“Thank you, Commodore, now get back to kicking some ass,” Oaks said.

“I will, you have my word on that,” James said as he saluted Oaks.

She saluted back and then cut off the COM channel.

James checked the messages that had been sent over from Edgehill. Sure enough, he found one from Oaks. It was marked for her family. James promised himself he would visit them one day and tell them just how their daughter had died. It was the least he could do.

“We’re ready to fire our last salvo,” Scott called, drawing his attention back to the battle.

“Fire,” James ordered.

It only took the British missiles six minutes to close with the alien squadron. Just before they got into attack range, three heavy plasma bolts shot from Edgehill. Each struck a frigate that was protecting one of the two lead alien cruisers, destroying or disabling them. Then the missiles came crashing in with calamitous effect. Every one of them had been aimed at the cruisers. With their support ships compromised, the cruisers failed to shoot them down.

One cruiser disappeared as four missiles struck it. The second suffered at least one direct hit and a couple of proximity hits. It fell out of formation with the rest of its comrades. A couple of missiles failed to lock onto either cruiser, by chance, both targeted the same destroyer. While the destroyer managed to shoot down one, the other burst through the destroyer’s armor and detonated. The explosion splintered the destroyer into fragments that shot off in all directions.

When the holo plot settled only four alien cruisers, five destroyers and eight frigates continued the pursuit.

Every alien ship lashed out at Edgehill with their heavy laser cannons as soon as the stricken destroyer came into range. The British ship disintegrated as the lasers vaporized almost the entirety of its superstructure. Within a second the ship had been reduced to nothing but fragmentary debris. Continuing their quest for revenge, the alien squadron launched seventeen missile carriers from their forward missile tubes.

“Slow us to 0.56c. It’s time to put part two of our plan into action,” James said. As the aliens had passed the stern of his squadron, the range was quickly opening between the two groups of ships. Staying at 0.66c was too dangerous and unnecessary. “Fire our stern tubes when ready,” he added.

In response, thirty-four missiles shot towards the pursuing alien squadron. Having been launched from relatively close range, the alien missile carriers released their missiles first. Eighty-nine accelerated into attack range.

Scott identified four of the alien missiles. Within fifteen seconds, point defense fire reached out and destroyed the other eighty-five. As the four Scott had identified closed in, ECM, decoy drones and a final wave of point defense tried to take them out. Two were shot down less than a kilometer away from their targets. The third was confused and overshot Titan, whilst the final one scored a proximity hit on Carrington.

Between the explosions of the third and fourth missiles, a massive explosion erupted from Titan’s hull. Seconds later, a similar explosion erupted from Paladin. Seemingly as a result of the damage, both ships fell out of formation, losing forward momentum. In reality, both hits had been faked.

James counted a full minute before he issued commands. “Order Paladin to move into formation with us. Then send for our escorts to fall back.”

“Sending the orders now Commodore,” Sub Lieutenant Edwards reported.

With a couple of taps on his command chair’s COM unit, James opened up a COM channel to Carrington. “You have your orders Captain. Look after the rest of my squadron. We’ll see you in a few days.”

“Yes Sir,” Gupta replied gruffly. She looked less than happy. He understood, she had made her view on his plan known hours ago. She had wanted Carrington to be where Titan was now.

“Look on the bright side,” James said. “If this doesn’t work, you could find yourself acting Commodore in no time.”

“That’s not funny,” Gupta said, sounding cross. “Just be careful. Don’t do anything stupid. We’ll deal with this squadron in X-12.”

“You know me,” James said as he flashed Gupta his best grin. “We’ll be fine. I just wanted to say farewell before things get any more hectic.”

“Farewell then,” Gupta said, trying to lighten her tone. “Good luck. After that stunt you owe me.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” James promised.

“I’ll hold you to that,” Gupta said as she closed the COM channel. She gave James a nod before she did.

As soon as his subordinate’s face disappeared, James turned to the main holo plot. From his squadron, four destroyers and eight frigates fell back into formation with Titan and the approaching Paladin. James had selected them as they were the oldest ships in his squadron. The rest were able to increase their velocity to 0.6c. Quickly, they pulled even further away from the apparently damaged Titan.

A glance at the alien squadron showed they had largely managed to deal with the British salvo. Only one missile had found a target and scored a proximity hit on an alien frigate. The frigate was dropping back from the alien squadron, though it looked intact.

The alien squadron fired another salvo. In return, Gupta and her ships fired their stern missile tubes, then, as those missiles passed Titan and Paladin, they added their own. The British missiles reached their targets first, it looked like one cruiser suffered two proximity hits, but it continued nonetheless. The aliens shot down every other British missile.

Thankfully, the screening ships James had ordered to fall back reached Titan and Paladin before the alien missiles. They were all targeted at Titan. Concentrated so closely together, the flak cannon fire from the British ships destroyed more than half of them. The other point defenses easily dispatched the rest.

One more exchange of missile salvos followed, though neither group of ships had any success. Then a calm descended around Titan as the alien squadron fell behind, though they were accelerating hard to catch up. It would take the alien squadron an hour and a half to re-enter missile range. Then they would bombard Titan and her consorts again.

“Look at the main alien fleet!” Romanov called. “They’re sending reinforcements.”

“Indeed, they are,” James said. Two cruisers, four destroyers and eight frigates had broken away from the main fleet. They were accelerating to join the squadron that was pursuing them. Plotting their course, James breathed a sigh of relief. The reinforcements wouldn’t reach the squadron attacking them until after Titan jumped into shift space and safety.

“They’re obviously hoping to catch us in X-12, those extra ships would allow their salvos to quickly overwhelm our defenses,” James said. “The question is, will the main fleet follow us too?” His plan had been designed to get the lead alien squadron to pursue them towards X-12. With luck, Gupta would get to X-12 in time to warn Cunningham and let him set up an ambush. The plan would work even better if the main alien fleet decided to head to X-12. It might cause the alien commander to concentrate his other fleets in and around X-12 and then push towards Grant where Walker would be waiting for him. It’s early days yet, James reminded himself. The alien commander could still jump a number of different ways.

As soon as they got into range, the alien squadron opened fire. For the next hour Titan, Paladin and her escorts exchanged missile salvos with them. Both Titan and Paladin suffered proximity hits. However, for the most part, they easily dispatched the alien missiles. Though they looked far more heavily damaged to the alien squadron pursuing them, it was largely superficial. Their point defenses were working just fine. Likewise, their slow velocity was a ploy designed to draw the alien squadron in. It was working.

“We’ll be ready to jump out in three minutes,” Romanov reported.

“Jump as soon as we cross the mass shadow,” James ordered. Gupta and her ships had jumped out an hour and a half ago.

“Let’s get to work repairing our real and fake damage” James said as soon as they were safe. “I’m going to visit sick bay and then I’ll join you. As soon as we get to X-12 we need to be ready to fight again.”

“Aye Captain,” Titan’s bridge crew replied.

*

Captain Hawkins sat silently watching the alien ships on the bridge of HMS Raven. Less than half an hour after his Commodore’s flagship jumped into shift space, the squadron that had been pursuing his ships jumped as well. It took the main alien fleet two more hours to reach the point where they could enter shift space. As soon as they did, they jumped towards X-12 too.

As per their orders, a ship suddenly appeared on Raven’s gravimetric sensors. Savage had been appointed to be the first frigate that would return to Admiral Cunningham with news of what the main alien fleet did. It took the nimble frigate just forty-five minutes to reach the system’s mass shadow and then jump out. Hawkins guessed that Savage would reach X-12 before the main alien fleet, just. Whilst the aliens could enter shift space closer to a system’s star, they appeared to travel at a slower velocity through shift space. It was likely their reactors and capacitors weren’t as advanced as humanity’s. The differences in technology meant that for some shift passages, those with few empty star systems that needed to be traversed, human ships were faster. On the other hand, where ships had to exit shift space and travel through a star system in normal space, the aliens had a speed advantage. She’ll be cutting it close, Hawkins thought, but Commodore Somerville and Admiral Cunningham need to know.

Once Savage was gone, Raven was on her own. A small smile spread across Hawkins’ face. This was just the type of mission he loved. He widened the bridge’s main holo projector to display the entire system. Around forty contacts were still easily detectable near the center of X-14, they were undoubtedly alien supply freighters and a few escort ships.

Shaking his head, Hawkins inwardly cursed Somerville. Though there was no malice to it. The Commodore had given him very specific instructions. Under no circumstances was he allowed to engage the alien supply ships. Hawkins thought he understood why the orders were so explicit. He knew Commodore Somerville had made his reputation launching surprise attacks from stealth on unsuspecting ships. A group of alien freighters was a very tempting target, Somerville’s orders were intended to curtail any temptation Hawkins might feel towards attacking them. Hawkins didn’t mind too much, he knew that taking out a couple of them wouldn’t change much in the long term – though it would be fun. Getting intel on the alien fleet’s movements was far more important.

Chapter 21

New technologies always give rise to new strategies.

- Excerpt from Empire Rising, 3002 AD.

HMS Carrington, 2nd February 2473 AD.

As soon as Carrington exited shift space into X-12, Gupta ordered an omnidirectional encrypted signal be transmitted. Moments later, a reply came back from the nearest gravimetric relay and Carrington’s communications officer uploaded a report. Once the relay received the report, it sent pulses of gravimetric energy into space.

The gravimetric relay couldn’t transmit data in a conventional sense, it could only send out pulses. As a result, the Allied fleets had worked up a code for communications, not unlike Morse code. It took the relay a full fifteen minutes to send Gupta’s report to Cunningham. A short time after it had finished, Carrington’s sensors detected a second gravimetric relay pulsing.

“It’s Admiral Cunningham,” Carrington’s communication officer reported. “The message reads, ‘Acknowledged. Moving into position now. Prepare to cut off their escape.’”

“Send a message acknowledging Cunningham’s order,” Gupta said. “Then send an order to the rest of our squadron to enter stealth mode and keep station with Carrington.”

*

HMS Titan

Four days and four hours after jumping out of the X-14 system, Titan, Paladin and their escorts jumped into X-12. James ordered his ships to accelerate towards the center of the system. Still pretending to be damaged, they quickly reached their top velocity of 0.44c. James could feel the tension in his shoulders. This was the riskiest part of his plan. The alien’s FTL technology meant they could jump into the system much closer to its star. In theory, the alien squadron pursuing them could jump in on top of them as they fled. If the aliens had somehow caught up with them even a little bit, they could be in trouble. The one thing that had encouraged James to pursue his plan was the fact they hadn’t had to travel through any other star systems to get to X-12 from X-14. In theory, his ships should have had an advantage in covering the distance.

Yet now that the crucial moment was upon them, he couldn’t help but second-guess himself. If the alien squadron jumped out on top of them, their heavy laser cannons would make fast work of James’ depleted squadron. Cunningham and Gupta would still finish them off though, James reassured himself. It wasn’t the most reassuring thought, but it helped.

As they crossed the point where they expected the alien squadron to appear, James found himself holding his breath. You’re being setup… he began to say to himself. He was cut off by a high-pitched alarm. It was the gravimetric sensors. The aliens were arriving.

“Where are they?” James shouted, sounding slightly breathless.

“It looks like they’re coming in half a light hour away, further out towards the edge of the system,” Romanov reported.

Thank goodness, James thought. For a moment he thought he had led his ships to their deaths. “They suspected a trap,” he said. “They didn’t jump into the system as far as they could so they could see what’s going on before committing themselves. Smart.”

“They could have had us,” Romanov said, “if they had thrown caution to the wind.”

“They could have,” James agreed, though he knew he was admitting he had made a mistake. “Clearly they can increase their travel speed in shift space if they have to.”

“It looks like they detected us,” Sub Lieutenant Grey called. “They’re accelerating.”

“I don’t think their unexpected position will change much,” Scott said. “If I was Cunningham, I would have my ships either here or here,” she added as she highlighted areas of space above and below the approaching alien squadron. “Either way, he should be in a prime position to launch his ambush.”

“Increase our velocity to 0.48c,” James ordered. Hopefully, to the aliens it would look like they were desperately trying to get away. With luck, they wouldn’t think anything else was afoot.

“Let’s hope you’re right about Cunningham,” Romanov said to Scott. “We have fended off enough of that squadron’s missiles, now that their reinforcements have joined them, I don’t particularly fancy another long stern chase.”

“Agreed,” James said. “There’s nothing we can do now but wait.”

*

HMS Victory

When Titan and her consorts increased their velocity slightly, Cunningham looked at his tactical officer and raised an eyebrow.

“It won’t make any difference, if we close to plasma cannon range, the alien squadron will still be able to fire two missile salvos at Commodore Somerville’s ships,” the officer said.

Cunningham nodded and went back to considering his options. For the last week he had been holding his fleet in stealth, in a position roughly equidistant to the two shift passages he had sent probing squadrons down. He had wanted to be in a position to aid either squadron if they had to flee back to X-12. As soon as Captain Gupta’s message had reached him, he had moved his fleet into an ambushing position as quickly as they could whilst remaining in stealth. His intention had been to be in a position to engage the alien squadron with his ship’s heavy plasma and laser cannons. Not unexpectedly, the aliens hadn’t played into his hands. Arriving early and further out of the system, Cunningham’s ships were not yet in place. If he wanted to continue to close with them in stealth, he would have to leave Somerville on his own. We’ve lost enough ships already, Cunningham said to himself. “Fire our missiles,” he ordered.

It took his subordinates just seconds to send the command to the British fleet. From the three battleships, five battlecruisers, eight heavy, twelve medium and fourteen light cruisers, and the twenty smaller screening ships, five hundred and eighty missiles shot towards the alien squadron. Less than ten seconds later, another fifty missiles appeared on the gravimetric plot. They accelerated towards the alien squadron from directly behind them. Gupta is joining the fight. She had timed her missiles so that they would reach the alien ships almost exactly when his did.

Cunningham had to give the aliens credit. They reacted almost immediately. Twenty-three missile carriers shot from the alien squadron towards his fleet. Then the alien ships rapidly decelerated and turned. It was clear they were trying to jump back into shift space and avoid the incoming wave of death. Though the minimum amount of time it took the alien ships to charge their shift drive capacitors was unknown – if they even had shift drives, Cunningham was betting it was more than the twenty minutes it took most human ships. As far as his scientists could tell, the alien’s capacitors and fusion reactors weren’t as advanced as humanity’s.

For eighteen minutes Cunningham willed his missiles on. He could feel the other officers on Victory’s auxiliary bridge doing the same. With the aliens having the potential to disappear at any moment, everyone wanted the missiles to reach their targets as quickly as possible.

“Got them,” Cunningham said as soon as the alien squadron opened up with their point defenses. If they had been confident of jumping out before the missiles reached them, they wouldn’t have bothered. In the thirty seconds it took Cunningham’s missile salvo to pass through the wave of point defense fire, the aliens shot down over three hundred missiles. That still left a devastating number to explode amongst their fleet. Victory’s gravimetric and electromagnetic sensors blurred as the energy given off from so many thermonuclear explosions overwhelmed them.

When they cleared, the alien squadron was a ragged mess. Of their six cruisers, only two remained. One was so badly damaged Cunningham was surprised it hadn’t broken apart. Only two destroyers and a frigate were left of the rest of the squadron. Around them, there was nothing but debris.

“Blyth, take the rest out with another salvo from Victory,” Cunningham ordered over the COM channel to his Flag Captain.

Two minutes before Victory was ready to fire again, the alien ships made Cunningham’s order redundant. The intact cruiser, one of the destroyers and the frigate disappeared off Victory’s gravimetric sensors.

“Send our marines to board that cruiser and destroyer and organize a number of shuttles to survey the debris in case there are any technologies we can salvage,” Cunningham ordered. “Then send orders to our fleet to prepare to pull back. We will assume formation delta-six, I want Commodore Somerville and Captain Gupta and their ships to join us as well.”

A part of Cunningham wanted to keep his fleet where it was and try and ambush the main alien fleet if they tried to jump into X-12. Yet, the cat was out of the bag. The remnants of the alien squadron would warn the rest of the alien fleet that a large number of human warships were operating in X-12. Another ambush was out of the question.

When Savage jumped into the system just an hour and half after the alien squadron had fled and updated Cunningham on the alien fleet movements, Cunningham pulled his ships even further back. With Somerville’s squadron depleted and Commodore Maynard’s squadron still out of contact, any battle with the alien fleet would be on equal terms at best. Their battleships were as yet an unknown quantity, but Cunningham suspected they would prove formidable. Wasting his fleet in such an even battle was out of the question. If they were going to overcome the alien’s advantage in numbers, they had to engage them on favorable terms. Their job was to draw this alien fleet and the others towards Grant.

*

HMS Titan, X-12 system, 9th February 2473 AD.

James could see the weariness of his subordinates as he looked at each of them. Most had their backs to him as they were hunched over their command consoles. Even so, their body language spoke of what they had all been through over the last week. The main alien fleet, the one that had been designated the Fourth Fleet, had jumped into X-12 just four hours after Cunningham’s successful ambush of the advance alien squadron. Slowly they had made their way into the system. As they advanced, Cunningham had slowly fallen back to keep the alien fleet out of missile range. Everyone, including James, had expected the alien fleet to push Cunningham back to the shift passage to X-1 and force him to jump back towards American colonial space. Yet, after cruising into the system for six hours, the alien fleet had halted.

The ensuing seven days had been a stand-off. Both fleets had maneuvered around the system from time to time, though neither made a direct attempt to confront the other. Occasionally small battles flared up as screening ships engaged one another. Both Cunningham and his alien counterpart had been trying to sneak frigates around each other to scout the systems beyond. Despite the lack of any major combat, Titan’s bridge crew where showing signs of weariness. The stress from having to be ready to engage the enemy fleet at a moment’s notice was impacting everyone.

It didn’t help that there had been no word from Commodore Maynard and what news the frigates and scout ships that were operating behind the alien Fourth Fleet brought back was inconclusive. James knew Cunningham was hoping the alien fleet’s reluctance to engage meant the overall alien commander was moving up his other fleets to X-12. Yet, these additional fleets hadn’t yet been spotted by any scout ships that were reporting back to Cunningham. Several times a day Cunningham was sending courier ships back to Fargo and Admiral Walker with updates. The last James had heard, Walker was still at Fargo with the Combined Fleet awaiting news on what the aliens were planning. Yet, that information was more than ten days old. For all he and Admiral Cunningham knew, Walker had received news the alien fleets were concentrating against Idaho or New Washington or even New Chicago. Walker could have moved to engage them days ago.

A sudden pulsing of the gravimetric plot caught James’ eye. One of the gravimetric relays near the shift passage Commodore Maynard had used to go to X-13 was signaling. James looked at Sub Lieutenant Edwards at the COM station. “What is it saying?” he asked.

Edwards took a moment to reply. “It’s a message from Commodore Maynard, he has just jumped into the system.”

Another change in the gravimetric plot indicated that the alien fleet had dispatched two frigates to close with the gravimetric relay. The relays were extremely stealthy, though as soon as they activated they were easy to track and destroy. The aliens had been destroying every relay that gave away its position.

“Maynard encountered a fifth alien fleet beyond X-13,” Edward continued. “But it appeared to alter course and head east. I’m putting the star map Maynard is transmitting onto the main holo projector.”

When Maynard’s data appeared, James felt a sinking feeling. Maynard had spotted the fifth alien fleet heading east a week and half ago. If the fleet had been heading to X-14 with the intention of then coming to aid the fourth alien fleet, Cunningham’s scouts would have spotted it by now. They hadn’t, suggesting the alien fleet was moving further east. That meant their target was either Idaho or the New Washington system. We are badly out of place, James thought, his concern made his pulse quicken. We need to act.

“Victory is signaling,” Romanov said. His tone of voice suggested he knew what Maynard’s intel suggested as well.

James nodded, he could see the gravimetric pulses coming from Cunningham’s flagship. “He’ll be sending orders for courier ships to head straight to Fargo. Walker needs to know right away. Then he’ll order Maynard to rendezvous with us.”

Moments later, from Cunningham’s fleet, eight frigates broke formation and rapidly accelerated towards the shift passage that led back to American space. James guessed what they were about. Courier ships where fast, but their limited armor meant they couldn’t exceed their maximum safe velocity without dire consequences for the crew. Frigates could, though there were still huge risks involved. Cunningham was risking the lives of the crew of those frigates, just to buy Admiral Walker a few hours of earlier warning.

“We’re getting orders from the flagship,” Edwards called out. “It’s a new formation and course.”

James didn’t need to look at the orders to know what Cunningham was doing. Every ship needed to head back to Fargo and then Utah to be able to support Idaho or New Washington. They couldn’t waste a second. If the alien fleets were converging in the direction of either colony, they could overwhelm their defenses before Admiral Walker could come to their aid. Especially if the aliens attacked before waiting for their Fourth and Fifth fleets to join them. They wouldn’t attack before massing their entire strength, would they? James asked himself. Right away he knew what he would do if he managed to outmaneuver his opponent. His sickening feeling deepened as his pulse spiked again. It had been his idea that had brought Cunningham’s fleet to X-12 and Walker’s fleet to Fargo. Now they were both badly out of position.

Just an hour after turning for the shift passage back to American colonial space, their fears were confirmed. The alien Fourth Fleet also began to maneuver. They turned around and headed back to the shift passage to X-14. They were on their way to join the attack on whatever colony the aliens had chosen as their primary target.

*

Nine days later, 18th February 2473 AD.

Admiral Walker was awoken just two hours after falling asleep by the loud beeping of his COM unit. As soon as he tapped it his Flag Captain began speaking. “Two frigates have just appeared in system, they’ve come from Admiral Cunningham. The gravimetric relay is still signaling us as we speak. Cunningham is reporting that a fifth alien fleet has been spotted moving east, the fleet that was shadowing Cunningham has also fallen back moving east as well.”

“Initiate order sixty-six.” Jumping out of bed, Walker threw on his uniform from the previous day and rushed towards Enterprise’s flag bridge. Order sixty-six initiated an emergency evacuation of the Combined Fleet to Utah.

*

Four days later, 24th February 2473 AD.

Thanks to the fourth jump gate the British engineers had got up and running, Walker was staring at the Utah colony just four days and fourteen hours after initiating order sixty-six. Despite their speed, Walker was dejected. The aliens had played him. By keeping their Fourth Fleet in the same system as Cunningham, they had diverted his attention from the rest of the space he was supposed to be protecting. The reports coming in from the scouts operating beyond Idaho and New Washington were clear. The first three alien fleets had rapidly increased their approach towards American space just days after Cunningham had ambushed the alien squadron in X-12. They were converging on New Washington. The colony was in significant danger. Walker had already sent orders to pull ships from the garrisons of New Chicago, and Grant. He knew Admiral Cunningham would be charging to catch up with him as well. Yet those ships would be too late for New Washington. Even as his ship jumped towards Connecticut, Walker didn’t know if he would be in time.

Chapter 22

Thankfully, my home, Avalon, has never experienced the threat of invasion. Our two-hundred-year history has been one of uninterrupted peace. Yet I have visited many colonies near the borders of our Empire. There the threat of invasion or an alien raid is ever present. It makes for an uneasy life.

- Excerpt from Empire Rising, 3002 AD.

USS Charleston, Plantation colony, edge of American colonial space beyond New Washington, 24th February 2473 AD.

Commodore Musk knew his charge was in danger. Plantation had been founded forty years ago. It had a population of approximately one hundred thousand people. Nearly half of them had already been evacuated. Yet, Musk feared there would be no time to see the rest to safety. Since the alien attack on Farnsworth, five new systems had been discovered beyond Plantation. For the last two months, Musk had been watching a steady stream of courier ships head back and forth from the edge of explored space to Utah to update Admiral Walker. Six days ago, reports had come in suggesting the aliens’ First Fleet, the one that had been steadily approaching New Washington, had increased its rate of advance. Four days ago, reports of a significant increase in alien screening frigates had arrived. Since then, there had been no news from any of the human ships operating beyond American colonial space. Knowing what that meant, Musk had ordered the evacuation of Plantation to go into overdrive. Still, there were tens of thousands of colonists on the planet’s surface.

When a gravimetric relay signaled from the shift passage that led towards X-18, Musk felt a slither of hope. Perhaps a scout ship had returned to report the alien fleet had changed course. As soon as his COM officer sent a report to his command chair, Musk’s hope faded. The gravimetric relay was signaling that it had detected more than a hundred warships jumping into the system. Such numbers meant only one thing.

Just two minutes after the gravimetric relay stopped pulsing, Charleston’s gravimetric sensors lit up as one hundred and six new contacts accelerated. They were on a direct course for Plantation. Looking at his XO, Musk nodded. They had already discussed what they would do if the alien fleet attacked. Within seconds, his XO sent a prearranged message to all the evacuation freighters in orbit. They had twenty minutes to load as many people as they could physically cram into their hulls and prepare to break orbit. There was no time to waste.

When the moment came to break orbit, Musk received a number of angry COM messages from the colony’s Governor and other important figures who hadn’t yet been evacuated. As his light cruiser accelerated away from the colony he had been ordered to protect, Musk forced himself to watch each of them. They had been recorded by people who he had doomed to death. They deserved to have their last messages heard. One by one, the messages called him a coward and swore profusely at him. Musk understood, though he knew he was no coward.

“Twelve frigates are breaking off from the main fleet to pursue us,” Charleston’s XO reported. On the holo display a new projection showing the frigate’s course appeared. Due to the slow rate of acceleration and low maximum velocity of the evacuation freighters, the alien frigates would intercept their fleeing flotilla an hour before they could jump into shift space.

For four hours, Musk watched the alien fleet approach Plantation. Many of his subordinates looked away as nuclear missiles rained on the colony. Musk didn’t. “Turn us about,” he ordered once the bombardment stopped.

Charleston, the two destroyers and four frigates under his command decelerated and turned towards the twelve frigates closing with them. An hour later they entered missile range. As both groups of warships were accelerating directly for each other, the aliens had a dilemma. Just as Musk had intended. He had known from the beginning the alien fleet could send frigates to chase his flotilla of evacuation ships. His current course of action had been the only way to see them safe. If the alien frigates wanted to catch the fleeing freighters, they had to engage his ships in a close quarters duel. There was no guarantee any of their ships would survive. On the other hand, they could pull back and bombard Musk’s ships from range. Though they would be letting the freighters get away.

“They’re not changing course,” Musk’s XO commented. There was an edge to his voice.

“They’re going to regret it,” Musk said.

From the first alien salvo, four missiles made it through the defenses of Musk’s flotilla. One of his frigates was hit and destroyed. Charleston suffered a minor proximity hit. The second salvo took out one of his destroyers and severely damaged another. The third took out a frigate. In return, the American warships got off two salvos of their own. Each one destroyed an alien frigate. When the fourth alien salvo came crashing in, the final frigate keeping station with Charleston was hit multiple times. Charleston sustained a direct hit and three proximity hits.

“We’re still in the fight,” Charleston’s XO called over the blaring alarms.

“Hit them with everything we’ve got,” Musk ordered through clenched teeth.

Charleston was equipped with six heavy plasma cannons and four of the new laser cannons. As soon as she got into range, six plasma bolts shot towards an alien frigate. Seconds later, four laser beams shot out as well. Then, from her remaining operational missile tubes, eight missiles were released. Four seconds later, the alien frigate’s laser cannons entered range. Twenty laser beams dissected Charleston. In her wake, she left eight crippled alien frigates.

Forty-five minutes later, the flotilla of evacuation ships jumped into shift space. Six thousand more colonists had made it to safety.

*

USS Hancock, New Washington System, 1st March 2473 AD.

Five days after the attack on the Plantation colony, Rear Admiral Browne sighed in dismay. A scout ship had just returned from Cumberland. It was a system that connected Plantation to New Washington. The scout was reporting two alien fleets were quickly moving through Cumberland. There was no doubting their target now, they were on their way to New Washington. At most, they were two days away. Yet, the latest report she had from Connecticut was that Admiral Walker was still more than three days away. New Washington wasn’t going to survive.

Browne closed her eyes and took a few moments to calm her thoughts. She allowed images from her childhood to flash before her. She could see her mother and father, her two sisters, their house and the garden she loved playing in. Slowly, she resigned herself to what was going to happen. With an effort, she banished her memories and turned her mind to figuring out how best to hurt the alien invaders. They weren’t going to take her homeworld without a fight. Another Admiral might pull her ships back to join Walker, but not her. If the aliens were going to bombard the world of her birth, they would have to kill her first. And she intended to take as many of them with her as she could. When she decided what she would do, she sent out a call to her fellow New Washingtonians for volunteers.

*

Thirty-eight hours later Browne watched the two alien fleets exit shift space on the very edge of the New Washington system. They weren’t taking any risks. They had jumped out well before New Washington’s mass shadow. Both fleets accelerated towards New Washington. Spreading out in front of the main formations of warships, frigates and destroyers pushed ahead, scanning space all around them.

Further into the system, New Washington itself was a hive of activity. There was what looked like more than a hundred warships moving around in orbit. In reality there were far less, she had many freighters and other ships posing as warships. Below them, and all around them, were more than a thousand other ships. Some were breaking orbit, others were still taking on as many people as they could fit. Anyone who owned even a small pleasure yacht was trying to escape the coming onslaught.

Good luck to you, Browne thought. Turning away from them, she focused on the two alien fleets. Her navigation officer had updated the plot to show the trajectory of their fleet and the two alien fleets. Intel suggested that the alien fleets could accelerate faster if they wished. It seemed they were continuing to be cautious.

“Order the fleet to alter our course to heading 0.743. Keep our velocity the same,” Browne ordered. “Do it slowly, I don’t want them getting a whiff of us.”

“Yes Admiral,” one of her flag officers replied.

Over the next ten minutes, the trajectory of her fleet slowly altered to transect the projected trajectory of the rearmost alien fleet. Her ships were currently cruising at 0.42c. The alien fleets had jumped in almost at rest in relation to New Washington’s star. Their slow rate of acceleration meant it would take two hours for her ships to close to point blank range. The alien fleet Browne had selected as her target had two frigates above and to the rear of their formation. They were scanning space around and in front of them, however, they were paying little attention to the area Browne was approaching from.

More than a day ago, after getting all the volunteers she needed, Brown had taken her fleet beyond the New Washington system into the dark matter clouds that prevented the shift drive from functioning. There she had turned and accelerated her ships back towards the shift passage the alien fleet would use to attack New Washington. She had hoped the aliens wouldn’t expect an attack from deep space. So far, her strategy was working. For the entire time it took her ships to close with the alien fleet, Browne kept her gaze on them. She couldn’t bring herself to look towards her homeworld.

“The amount of electromagnetic energy from those frigate’s scanners being absorbed by our stealth coating is starting to increase,” a flag officer announced. “It will likely take several more minutes before they detect us, but the freighters could be detected at any moment.”

“Antietam and Guam have their orders,” Brown said. “Be prepared to order the fleet to accelerate as soon as they act.”

Browne fell back into silence. What was about to happen was out of her hands. If they were detected too soon and the main alien fleet had time to veer away from them, her gamble would fail. The long seconds turned into a minute, then two and then three.

Detecting something suspicious, one of the alien frigates altered course slightly to bring her main sensor array to bear in the direction of Browne’s fleet. Ten seconds later, the amount of electromagnetic energy striking Hancock’s hull dramatically increased. Just two seconds after that, the alien frigate exploded. Having been watching the frigate through Hancock’s optical sensors, Browne saw the four plasma bolts burn through her hull. Moments later, the second alien frigate exploded. Four more plasma bolts had dispatched her.

Together, Antietam and Guam turned away from the alien fleet and accelerated to safety. They had fulfilled their purpose. Now Browne wanted the alien commander to think the two frigates were acting alone. Even if it made him hesitate for just a few seconds, she would take it.

Reacting almost instantly, nearly half of the alien fleet turned and powered up their main sensor arrays. “Our stealth coating won’t last more than ten seconds or so,” an officer called out. “The freighters could already be detected.”

Browne nodded. She was still staring at the alien fleet. As yet, it hadn’t altered course. Then, she saw one of the large battleships begin to dip its nose away from her fleet. “All ships accelerate,” Brown ordered. Reaching down to her command console, she highlighted the battleship. She had found Hancock’s target.

The forty warships that were in formation with Hancock burst into life. Around them, the one hundred freighters that had volunteered to join Browne initiated their engines and made themselves known. Every ship accelerated far beyond the limit their impulse engines were designed for. A reactor meltdown or an engine overload was irrelevant at this stage.

“Fire our missiles,” Browne ordered.

Two hundred and eighty missiles shot out. Sixty came from Hancock. She was one of the newest American battleships. Never before had she fired a missile salvo in anger. They closed the distance to the alien fleet in two minutes. Before they hit, the alien fleet released more than three hundred missile carriers. Just as the carriers turned towards their targets, Browne’s missiles detonated. Only thirty missile carriers made it through the wave of explosive force.

“They’re trying to decelerate and turn away from us,” the navigation officer called out.

“Alter course to .0765,” Brown ordered. There was no way they could escape now.

As the American ships closed with their prey, the remaining alien missile carriers released their missiles. Point defense weapons swatted the alien missiles away. Within a minute, the American ships closed to plasma cannon range. One hundred heavy plasma bolts shot across space, causing explosions to erupt all across the alien fleet. Moments later, twenty heavy laser beams reached out, destroying more ships. Then the alien fleet returned fire. Almost all of their laser beams were directed at the American warships. Just as Browne wanted.

Hancock shook under her as the battleship took several hits. Her extremely thick valstronium armor fended off a couple of hits. Others penetrated several bulkheads but none did significant damage. Hancock’s consorts hadn’t fared so well. Thirty of her warships were gone.

“Target all of our heavy plasma cannons at that battleship,” Browne ordered. The alien battleship had absorbed four heavy plasma bolts and looked almost no worse for wear. This time she was going to get twelve. “All freighters are to target alien battleships and cruisers,” she added.

“Firing,” one of Browne’s subordinates called. She couldn’t tell who it was. It didn’t matter, her eyes were fixed on the alien battleship. As the twelve plasma bolts struck home, four of them burst through the other side of the warship. Seconds later, it exploded in a blinding flash. Browne let out a scream of triumph.

Among the alien fleet, other ships exploded as the other nine American warships fired their plasma cannons and then their heavy laser cannons. The alien fleet returned fire. Gritting her teeth, Browne expected death to take her. As she was thrown around in her command chair, her restraints tightening to keep her from losing consciousness, she thought it was the end. But then, when Browne expected a fireball to engulf her, nothing happened.

“We’re still in the fight,” one of the officers on the bridge called out. “We took two hits, one destroyed our impulse engines. But we’re still heading straight for the alien fleet. Most of their laser beams targeted our freighters.”

They figured out what we are doing, Brown thought. Glancing at the holo projector, she saw only twenty freighters remained. It would only take one or two laser beams to destroy a flimsy freighter.

“We’ll have time to give them another salvo of plasma bolts as we pass through,” Hancock’s Captain called from the command bridge.

“Give them everything we’ve got,” Brown replied. “Use the point defenses as well.”

Whoever had taken command of the alien fleet had the same idea. As soon as Hancock got into range, hundreds of small point defense laser beams peppered her armor. The three warships and twenty freighters that were still in formation with her drew the same attention. Four freighters exploded instantly, as did a frigate. Then, they were passing through the alien fleet. From Hancock, ten heavy plasma cannons, seven heavy laser beams, ninety anti-ship missiles, one hundred and twelve point defense plasma cannons, sixty point defense laser beams and more than two hundred AM missiles fired in all directions. Multiple alien warships exploded under the weight of her fire. Amidst the confusion, ten freighters managed to collide with their targets. Alien battleships and cruisers disappeared in huge fireballs.

Despite drawing the attention of so many alien ships, Hancock’s thick armor fended off most of the smaller weapons fire. Nevertheless, Browne could feel her ship bouncing and rocking about under her as she suffered hit after hit.

“We are through,” a Lieutenant called.

As soon as he spoke, calm was restored as Hancock stopped taking hits.

“What about the rest of our ships?” Browne demanded.

“We are on our own,” the Lieutenant answered.

Glancing at the holo plot, Browne saw he was correct. Hancock was the only ship that had passed through the alien fleet.

“What’s the status on our weapons?” she asked.

The reply came back quicker than she was expecting. “Two heavy plasma cannons and four heavy laser cannons are still functioning,” another Lieutenant reported. “We still have fifty-five operational missile tubes, but what’s left of the alien fleet will have recharged their laser cannons by then.”

Browne turned to look at what was left of the alien fleet. The data was patchy as Hancock had lost most of her sensor nodes. Nevertheless, she felt a sense of satisfaction flow through her. The alien fleet had consisted of one hundred and twelve ships. Now Hancock was only detecting forty. Most of them were destroyers and frigates. There were only two of the original ten alien battleships and of their cruisers, only a handful had survived. “Target this cruiser,” Brown ordered as she selected a partially damaged cruiser.

No one got a chance to obey her order. A hundred new contacts had just exited shift space. Just two seconds later, another group of ships appeared. Two more alien fleets, Browne thought as her heart sank. Her efforts had been for nothing. Not nothing, she told herself as she looked at the fleet she had just devastated. The aliens will remember the day they attacked New Washington.

Before she could form any more thoughts, more than thirty heavy laser beams from the survivors of the fleet she had ravaged struck Hancock. The American battleship disappeared in a blinding explosion.

Chapter 23

Defeat is never an easy pill to swallow. Yet how one responds can define a war.

- Excerpt from Empire Rising, 3002 AD.

USS Enterprise, 2nd March 2473 AD.

Admiral Walker stood and walked straight off the bridge. As soon as he got to his quarters, he fell into his office chair and hung his head. Slowly, he ran his hands through his hair. He had been about to jump his fleet down the last section of the shift passage to New Washington when a flotilla of fleeing freighters and a squadron of warships had exited shift space near Enterprise. New Washington was gone. Rear Admiral Browne had defeated one of the alien fleets, yet the rest had easily destroyed most of New Washington’s defenders and the six Freedom defense platforms the colony had in orbit.

Sixty million people, Walker said to himself. How could they? He had no answers. Worse, as much as he blamed the aliens, he blamed himself more. He had been outsmarted. The alien commander had baited him into sending a force out to intercept his fleets. On his way from Fargo to Connecticut, intel reports had been constantly coming in. As soon as the alien commander had detected Cunningham’s fleet, all of the alien fleets but the one that faced Cunningham had pivoted. They had rapidly increased their rate of approach towards American colonial space and moved to concentrate against New Washington. Having moved his fleet to Utah, the intel reports had taken too long to reach him for him to respond. Even pushing his ships as hard as he could, he had been too late. The blood of sixty million people was on his hands.

Though he knew he should feel the weight of their loss the most, it was Browne’s death that had driven him from Enterprise’s flag bridge. She had served with him as a Lieutenant when he had been a Captain. Then, as Admirals, their relationship had deepened. Though Fleet Command seriously frowned upon any intimate relationships between command officers, they had pursued one nonetheless. Both knew their postings as Admirals to the colonies would last years. They had both known commanding a fleet was a lonely position. Everyone else looked up to you. Either they tried to please you, or to use your power for their own ends. Together, he and Browne had been able to find some form of happiness and normality. Though they had chosen to keep it a secret, they had been able to meet up regularly as they visited each other’s commands.

Now she was gone. He had failed to protect her. More than that, he had let her down professionally. She would have placed all her hopes on him and his fleet coming to her rescue. Instead, he had failed her and allowed her homeworld to be destroyed. If she had of survived, she would never have forgiven him. That knowledge would haunt him for the rest of his life.

A slight jolt let him know that Enterprise had jumped into shift space. It drew him out of his thoughts. He was an Admiral, Browne would expect him to do everything he could to avenge New Washington’s destruction.

Whatever he was going to do, it would happen at Connecticut. The Combined Fleet was on its way there now. The aliens had three hundred and forty warships in the New Washington system. There were at least two more fully intact fleets on their way. There was also the fleet Cunningham had tangled with. Plus, whatever other ships they have coming in behind their forward fleets. So far, no scout ships had managed to penetrate beyond the five fleets the aliens had approached American colonial space with. For all anyone knew, there were hundreds more fleets coming in behind them.

One thing was certain, the aliens would push through to Connecticut. It was almost as developed as New Washington. As soon as the aliens discovered it, they would attack. That they would discover the system was inevitable. The aliens had the flight trajectory of hundreds of human ships to lead them to the shift passage. Connecticut is where we’ll make our stand, Walker promised himself. Whether there were one thousand or one hundred thousand alien ships, he wasn’t going to let them destroy another world without having to go through the fleet of warships humanity had gathered to face them.

Opening a data file, he began to dictate orders. As soon as his fleet returned to Connecticut he was going to send out every courier ship in the system. It would take the aliens at least a week to map out the shift passage to Connecticut. By then, he wanted every warship he could muster in Connecticut. Once he finished his orders, Walker opened the report the senior Captain of the survivors of New Washington had sent him. For the next several hours he went over Browne’s attack on the alien fleet and the subsequent alien attack on New Washington. Slowly, a plan began to form. He wasn’t going to let her down a second time.

*

HMS Titan, Connecticut system, March 12th 2473 AD.

More than a month after leaving X-12, Titan exited shift space into the Connecticut system. Cunningham had ordered his fleet to exit right on the edge of the system. They didn’t know what would be awaiting them. News of what had happened at New Washington had reached them by the time they arrived in the Utah system. To say the fleet’s morale was low was an understatement. Even Cunningham had seemed down. That was reflected in his caution. Everyone in the British fleet and the other ships that had joined them was half expecting Connecticut to be under attack.

As Titan’s sensors updated them on what was happening within the system, James thought for a moment that it was. There were three large formations of ships maneuvering around the colony. Quickly though, Titan’s computers recognized the ships were of human origin.

Romanov let out a long whistle. “That’s a lot of firepower,” he commented.

“I’ve never seen so many warships in one place,” Scott agreed.

“Do you think it will be enough?” Sub Lieutenant Edwards asked.

When James looked away from the holo plot, he saw she was looking at him. “We have to hope so,” James said. “If not, at the very least, we will give a good account of ourselves.” The report they had received at Utah indicated that New Washington had been attacked by over four hundred warships. In front of him, James knew Walker had gathered more than enough ships to handle four hundred alien ships. Yet, their intel suggested that the aliens had more.

“Victory is signaling, our fleet is to move towards Connecticut,” Edwards reported.

“Acknowledge the order,” James said. “And keep station with Victory.”

As Victory turned towards Connecticut, she began to move off at a slow rate of acceleration. James understood why. In a tight formation around Victory, there were one hundred and twenty British warships. Some of them were fresh ships that had arrived at Utah from British space in time to join Cunningham’s fleet. Slightly spread out from Victory, there were sixty Chinese warships, including two of their battleships. The Chinese had finally sent some of the ships they had promised. Three other smaller formations also flanked the British fleet. The Brazilians, Argentinians and Indians had sent ships to fend off the alien incursion.

“The gravimetric relay is pulsing from Connecticut,” Edwards reported moments later.

“Send me the information as soon as we have it all,” James ordered. He knew Cunningham had already sent a report to Admiral Walker via the gravimetric relay that was at the edge of the system.

James studied the fleet formations around Connecticut. Walker is up to something, he thought. Around Connecticut itself, it looked like most of the American warships were in orbit. Yet out beyond them, there were three fleets. One seemed to be made up mainly of French ships, the second German and the third Japanese, though sprinkled amongst them there were ships from other human nations. Each fleet was carrying out intricate maneuvers and live fire drills. They are practicing working together, James surmised.

It took fifteen minutes for Walker to transmit his message by a gravimetric relay. When it was finally complete, James opened it. The first part was orders for the senior commanders of the newly arrived ships to rendezvous on his flagship. After that, there was a full report on the alien attack on New Washington, and an update on their most recent activities. James focused on the latter. As yet, no alien frigates had been detected entering the Connecticut system. Yet, they were being detected further and further along the shift passage from New Washington. It was only a matter of time. Far more worrying however, was the next piece of information James read. He had to bite back a shocked croak when he read what Walker had sent. As expected, the other three alien fleets had already arrived in New Washington. But then, just five days ago, another colossal fleet had jumped into the system. It numbered five hundred warships. They did have more ships behind their five fleets, James thought. The alien commander’s moves were Napoleonic. And they are here to stay. In addition to the more than one thousand warships, scouts had detected nearly a thousand more freighters and their escorts. The aliens intend to wipe us out, James realized. If they get past us here, Earth will be in serious danger. From the number of human warships he had seen within the Connecticut system, James doubted humanity could gather a larger fleet to defend Earth. More than two thirds of the British and American fleets were now at Connecticut. Whilst other human nations had significant numbers of warships, the British and the Americans counted for nearly a third of all of humanity’s ships. This next battle will be all or nothing.

Most of the rest of the transmission consisted of fleet formations and battle simulations. The Chinese, Brazilian, Argentinian and Indian ships with Cunningham had been assigned to the three fleets that were drilling around Connecticut. Walker wanted their commanders to begin familiarizing themselves with the fleet they would be joining. Alongside the orders for the other admirals, Cunningham had orders as well. Whilst James couldn’t access the details, he guessed what they were. The British ships would be forming their own fleet in anticipation of the coming battle.

James’ suspicions were confirmed when Cunningham sent new orders to his senior commanders and captains. Twenty minutes later they were participating in a battle simulation. Then another, and another. Only when they neared Connecticut did Cunningham call an end to the simulations.

*

As he sat down amongst the other Admirals and Commodores, James couldn’t help but feel nervous. Alongside the commanders of the ships that had accompanied Cunningham’s fleet to Connecticut, there were French, Japanese, German, Canadian, Australian and Spanish commanders. It seemed almost every human nation that had a military presence in space was represented in the room.

“Welcome all of you,” Walker said as he stepped into the briefing room. “Many of you know my proposed plan of action intimately. I thank you for coming anyway, having spent the last seven days drilling, I expect you to have some updates or suggestions for me. For those of you that have just joined us, you are especially welcome. Indeed, you are vitally welcome. The task we have before us will be a turning point, one way or another. Let me outline my plan for those who are not familiar with it. Then we can delve into the details. It will take four days for the alien fleet to move from New Washington to Connecticut. As soon as they find this system, I expect them to attack. Therefore, we have some time to make preparations, yet it will be brief. Our estimates suggest the alien scouts will find Connecticut within another day or two. We must be ready by then. Here’s what I’m planning.”

James listened carefully. He had already guessed the basics. The drills Walker had sent to Cunningham had given away some of Walker’s plan. Each fleet was going to fight as a separate entity, yet Walker would be coordinating them using the gravimetric relays. Walker intended to use the superior acceleration human warships had to maximum effect. Each fleet would take up positions around the shift passage that led from New Washington to Connecticut. As the alien fleets arrived, human fleets would swoop in to engage individual alien fleets together. They would catch the alien fleets in a cross fire.

“That’s all very well,” High Admiral Woo of the Chinese Imperial Navy said. “But the aliens can combine their separate fleets into one massive fleet. What will we do then? If we are spread out all around the system, they will move on Connecticut and destroy it before we can defeat them.”

“We want them to combine their fleets. That is our objective,” Walker answered. “Look at this.”

The holo plot changed to a recording a scout had made of the final massive alien fleet as it jumped into New Washington. It was impossible to tell just how many warships were in the fleet, though a counter underneath the projection displayed five hundred and six. “That is a lot of ships,” Walker continued, “but look closely. Part of why it is so hard to estimate just how many ships there are is that their formation doesn’t allow every ship in the fleet to engage a sudden threat. Their formation will only allow about eighty percent of their ships to fire missiles.”

“But they can simply change their formation,” Woo followed up. “Or adopt an entirely different one when they decide to attack us.”

“Perhaps,” Walker said. “But then why didn’t they use such a formation as they entered New Washington? They knew they were entering a hostile system. They should have come in prepared for action. Beyond that, can you imagine how difficult it would be to alter the formation of so many ships efficiently in the midst of battle? Add to that the extra confusion that would arise if their five other fleets all tried to combine with this superfleet. Their efficiency in battle would drop significantly. This is one of the main problems we are facing at the moment. Never before have all our ships tried to fight together. We have different tactics, different orders. If we combine all our ships into one fleet, we would quickly lose cohesion. I think the aliens may suffer from the same problem.

“Our scientists have found something very interesting from the battle debris they have analyzed. As you know, every starship picks up stray cosmic dust from the systems they visit. The two fleets that initially attacked Farnsworth and Marshall showed very different cosmic dust on their hulls. It was as if they operated in different systems before coming to our space. Our analysis of the scout frigates we have destroyed from three of the new alien fleets also indicate each fleet operated in a different area of space before attacking us. I believe the aliens gathered the fleet that is assembling at New Washington from various sources within their society. They may be as unaccustomed to fighting as one large fleet as we are. If we can force them to combine, their numbers will work against them. With our gravimetric relays, we can keep cohesion even if we are spread apart.”

Woo nodded as he stared at the holo plot. It looked like he was thinking deeply. James was excited by Walker’s words. If his analysis was correct, it would give them a chance. Never before had a space battle included large formations of ships operating independently. The reason was obvious, if one formation got out of position, it could be picked off easily. The gravimetric relays allowed Walker to coordinate his ships in a way never tried before in battle.

“What about Connecticut?” Rear Admiral Davidson asked. “Even if the alien fleet loses its cohesion, there are still so many of them. They could easily push past us to Connecticut and bombard the colony.”

“That’s why I’m splitting my ships. One hundred will form their own fleet to engage the aliens when they arrive. The rest of the American fleet will remain in orbit around Connecticut. We want the aliens to try and make a move for Connecticut. I have something special planned for them.”

*

USS Dolphin, two days later

“Prepare to jump us out of the system,” Captain Smith ordered. Inwardly, she let out a sigh of relief.

Admiral Walker had given her specific instructions, she was to scout the alien fleet in New Washington and return with an update as soon as she could. For the last six hours, her crew had held their breath as Dolphin snuck into the system under stealth to get a good look at the alien fleet. For once, she felt like she had good news to bring back. No more alien warships had arrived.

“Belay that order,” Smith shouted as an alarm went off on the gravimetric plot. A new contact had just exited shift space into New Washington from the direction of Connecticut. Moments later, it accelerated towards what was left of the planet of New Washington. Then strangely, it twisted and accelerated in a different direction. Moments later, it changed course again.

“It’s a message,” Smith’s XO called out in excitement. “The aliens must use prearranged acceleration profiles as messages like we did before gravimetric relays.”

“But a message saying what?” Smith asked. As if the alien fleet around New Washington heard him, they moved. The main alien fleet that was orbiting the colony accelerated out of the colony’s gravity well. The rest of the alien fleets turned. Their trajectories were all the same, they were heading towards the Connecticut shift passage.

“They have found Connecticut,” Smith said, answering his question. “Jump us out immediately, we need to get to Admiral Walker.” They had a message for their Admiral. The aliens were coming.

Chapter 24

HMS Enterprise, Connecticut system, 18th March 2473 AD.

Admiral Walker was sitting in his command chair when the first gravimetric relay pinged. He knew what it would say. The lead elements of the alien fleet had arrived.

It took five minutes for the gravimetric relay to send all of its data. When the enemy fleet formations were updated on Enterprise’s main holo display, Walker understood why. The entire alien fleet had exited shift space. It had taken the relay some time to transmit all the data it had. There were six alien fleets in total, designated bogies one to six. They were roughly arranged in an arrowhead formation. The largest alien fleet, bogie-six, was to the rear with the smaller fleets arranged around it. They were coming into the Connecticut system from quite far back along the shift passage. Clearly, they hadn’t wanted to risk being ambushed. All around the alien formation, more than two hundred frigates were pumping electromagnetic energy into space as they scanned for danger. They’re taking no chances, Walker thought.

For the next ten minutes Walker closely studied the alien formation. Then he dictated orders. Soon, the gravimetric relay on Enterprise was pinging as orders were sent to the various human fleets. Walker was all too aware that the battle for Connecticut, and quite possibly for humanity’s survival, had just begun.

*

HMS Titan

“We’ve received our first orders,” James called to his bridge crew after reading the message Cunningham had sent to Titan via laser COM link. “We’re going after bogie-three, the one second back on the port side of their formation. Denver, alter course with the flagship in five minutes.”

“Aye Commodore,” Sub Lieutenant Denver responded.

“Just an hour until contact,” Romanov said as the holo projector updated to show the new trajectory. “We are leading the first attack I imagine.”

James looked at the holo plot for a moment. They knew roughly where the other human fleets where, however, Cunningham’s updated orders hadn’t included the orders the other fleets had been given. The British fleet was likely to be the closest fleet to the alien formation though. “It would seem so,” James replied. “But I doubt we will be on our own. And we won’t be the first to engage, that privilege will fall to others.”

Romanov nodded and watched the holo plot. He knew what James was referring to.

*

USS Dolphin

As soon as her target began to move, Smith knew the alien frigate had detected them. “Fire,” she ordered. From Dolphin, three missiles shot towards the alien frigate. “Target their missile carrier with our heavy plasma cannons,” Smith followed up. It was a long shot, but they were close enough to the alien frigate that they could open up on its missile carrier almost as soon as it fired.

It took seven seconds for the alien frigate to lock onto Dolphin. Then a single missile carrier shot from the frigate.

“Damn,” Dolphin’s XO swore as the heavy plasma bolt narrowly missed the missile carrier.

This is going to hurt, Smith thought. We’ll get you first though.

It took just one minute for Dolphin’s missiles to come into range of the alien frigate’s point defenses. One of the missiles was a Confusion ECM missile. As a result, the alien frigate’s point defenses suddenly found themselves facing seven sensor contacts. In the ensuing muddle, one of Dolphin’s missiles struck the frigate. It easily penetrated the frigate’s weak armor and exploded. Though there were no secondary explosions, the frigate stopped accelerating and lost all power. It was out of the fight.

Gritting her teeth, Smith watched as her frigate’s flak cannon and other point defenses engaged the alien frigate’s missiles. The missile carrier had disgorged five missiles at Dolphin. Three were shot down, her navigation officer managed to dodge the fourth. Yet the fifth struck home. Hitting Dolphin at an acute angle, the missile barely penetrated her armor. Even so, the explosion tore into Dolphin’s internal structure. Alarms went off all across the bridge.

“Status report?” Smith demanded.

“The missile hit us on our starboard nose section,” her XO called out. “Decks one to three are reporting damage and there are several casualties, it doesn’t look like any vital systems have been hit though.”

“We’re still in the fight then,” Smith said. “Though our stealth capabilities are gone. Put us onto heading .175, we need to get out of here and regroup with Admiral Walker’s fleet. We will be no good to anyone like this.”

*

HMS Titan

“There goes the first one,” Romanov called as three new contacts appeared on the gravimetric plot at the far side of the alien formation. The three missiles quickly accelerated towards an alien frigate.

Several other new contacts appeared around the alien formation. Then more. In seconds, more than two hundred missiles were accelerating towards their targets. In almost every instance, those targets fired their own missiles at their attackers. All around the outer shell of the alien formation human and alien scout ships died.

“New orders coming in from Admiral Cunningham,” Sub Lieutenant Edwards reported. “He is ordering a slight course correction.”

“Acknowledge it and put us onto the new course,” James called.

As the holo plot updated to show the new course, James nodded in approval. Their course correction would allow them to get much closer to the alien fleet without being detected. Several of the alien frigates that could have detected them had been destroyed. Admiral Walker had anticipated the alien fleet would send out a thick screen of frigates. In almost every battle to date with the aliens the British or Americans had used their superior speed and stealth technology to sneak into missile range. Walker had guessed the alien commander would be nervous about encountering a similar tactic. In response, Walker had put up his own screen of smaller warships. Those ships had now blown multiple holes through the aliens’ outer screen of ships. The alien commander would suspect some kind of stealth attack, yet there were so many holes in his patrols that he couldn’t predict where it might come from.

“Look,” Romanov said as he pointed at the holo plot.

“The alien commander knows something is afoot,” James replied. More than eighty frigates were accelerating ahead of the main formation to fill the holes in the outer screen of frigates.

“We should still be able to slip through,” Scott said as the holo plot updated to show the estimated trajectory of the new frigates.

“Let’s hope whoever is joining us is able to do the same,” James said.

Fifteen minutes later, it became apparent that they hadn’t been so lucky. From a point further above the alien formation relative to Titan’s position, twenty new contacts suddenly appeared on the gravimetric plot. They accelerated away from a single point in two directions towards two frigates. James knew what it meant. A larger warship had been forced to engage the two frigates before they could detect the fleet that was operating in that area. If James could figure it out, he suspected the alien commander could as well.

Sure enough, even before the two frigates were destroyed, other frigates began to maneuver to close with whoever had attacked their consorts. Five minutes later, their target, the alien fleet Walker had designated bogie-three, altered course slightly to bring its port missile tubes to bear on the area of space the human fleet was likely in. It took just two minutes for one of the alien frigates to detect the human ships. In response, bogie-three opened fire. From the one hundred and six warships, two hundred and ten missile carriers were launched.

The human ships didn’t respond. Instead, they closed with the alien fleet in stealth. Then, five hundred and forty missiles shot out, filling the gravimetric plot with new contacts. Immediately after firing, the human warships came out of stealth and decelerated hard. Titan’s sensors identified many of the ships. It was the combined French and Chinese fleet. They were coming in on a slow enough velocity that they would be able to arrest their momentum and pull away from bogie-3 before the aliens could fire more than one additional missile salvo. Unless they try to give chase, James reminded himself. Already, bogie-4 was maneuvering to close with bogie-3. The alien commander clearly wanted to try and catch the French and Chinese fleet in a crossfire. That’s why we are here, James thought with a smile.

“Firing in ten seconds,” Scott called as she received orders from Victory.

When the time came, nearly six hundred missiles were released by the British warships towards bogie-3. Then, like their French and Chinese consorts, the British ships rapidly decelerated.

“Look at the Americans and Germans!” Romanov shouted in excitement.

Someone else on the bridge let out a whoop. On the gravimetric plot, more than a thousand missiles from two separate directions had suddenly appeared. Both groups were accelerating towards bogie-1. Behind the missiles, the American and German fleets were accelerating and turning away from the front of the alien’s arrowhead formation. The Americans were curving up and over the alien formation while the Germans moved down and below relative to Titan.

“Look at their confusion,” Scott added, the excitement in her voice easily heard.

Bogie-1 had been turning to bring the Chinese and French fleet into missile range. Now it was suddenly trying to turn back and alter formation to defend itself from the two salvos of missiles closing on it. At the same time, it was trying to bring as many missile tubes as it could to bear on the fleeing American fleet.

“They will get one missile salvo off,” James said. “But I suspect that will be it.”

“Bogie-3 is about to get hit,” Sub Lieutenant Grey reminded everyone.

James swung his attention back to their prey. Bogie-3 had released another salvo of missile carriers. However, the missiles from the French and Chinese fleet came crashing in just moments later. The alien point defenses destroyed all but twelve of the missiles. Yet even as those twelve exploded among their ships, they were having to alter formation to receive the missiles Cunningham had fired. As a result, twenty-two of the British missiles burst through the thick waves of alien point defense fire. Alien frigates and destroyers exploded as they took direct hits. At least one cruiser was also destroyed. Other cruisers and even one of the alien battleships took direct or proximity hits. It was hard to tell from such a distance.

“We’ve hurt them,” James said after the last missile exploded. “And we’ve been lucky, let’s hope our French and Chinese allies can protect themselves.”

As the first wave of alien missile carriers got closer to the French and Chinese fleet, new contacts suddenly appeared. Several point defense frigates must have stayed in stealth instead of reversing course with their fleet. Missile carriers exploded. The frigates were engaging the alien missile carriers with abandon. Those that survived disgorged three hundred and eighty missiles towards the French and Chinese fleet.

“Those frigates will never be able to decelerate and turn back now,” Romanov said as he studied the holo plot. “They’re on a suicide mission.”

James nodded, it wasn’t a tactic Walker had discussed with his French or Chinese counterparts, at least as far as he knew. They had come up with the tactic on their own. It had worked well, nearly forty of the alien missile carriers had been destroyed. Yet, there was no way the point defense frigates could decelerate to escape bogie-3. As he suspected, they didn’t even try. Instead, they put themselves between their parent fleet and the second wave of alien missile carriers. “Brave,” James said. Though he wanted to watch how they got on, more important things were happening. The French and Chinese were engaging the first alien missile salvo with their point defenses.

Just eight missiles made it through their point defenses. Five got hits, though none appeared to do any significant damage. The alien missiles weren’t nearly as effective in small numbers.

“They’re engaging the point defense frigates,” Scott called as the second wave of alien missile carriers neared the Chinese and French frigates.

Several of the alien missile carriers released their missiles early. More than forty missiles closed in on the five point defense frigates. None of them survived. The rest of the alien missile carriers continued unmolested to their targets. They released four hundred and eighty-seven missiles at the Chinese and French fleet. As they exploded, James saw at least one Chinese medium cruiser suffer multiple hits. Then, two more missiles struck it and the cruiser disappeared in a giant explosion. Around it, several other ships disappeared as they too were struck by more than one alien missile.

“That was costly,” James said once the French and Chinese losses became clear. Alongside the medium cruiser, a destroyer and two frigates had been destroyed. “But the aliens still came off worse.”

“New orders coming in from Admiral Cunningham, Walker has a new course for us,” Sub Lieutenant Grey reported.

In all the commotion, James had missed the pulsing from Enterprise. Walker still had his flagship and a fleet of more than one hundred and twenty warships in orbit around Connecticut. They were a long way from the action and it was easy to miss them. Cunningham was to take his fleet away from the alien formation, re-enter stealth and maneuver to engage bogie-4. It would take them a full hour to complete their maneuvers, by then, James suspected other human fleets would have launched more follow-up attacks.

*

For the next three hours, the five human fleets swarmed around the alien formation like wasps. Walker had formed an American fleet, a British fleet, a French and Chinese fleet, a German fleet and a Japanese fleet. Using his gravimetric relay, he orchestrated every attack. As the giant game of cat and mouse continued, James believed his tactic was paying off. In every attack but one, Cunningham had managed to maneuver two human fleets against a single enemy fleet. As a result, the alien fleets were taking significant damage. Though the human fleets were suffering as well. James had lost the light cruiser Paladin and a destroyer from his flotilla. In any other battle James knew he would already be greatly mourning their loss. Yet he knew that two ships would be nothing compared to the losses they were going to suffer before the day was over. He had to harden himself to his squadron’s fate.

“I think the alien Admiral has had enough,” Scott said as she watched the outer alien fleets maneuver. As if one mind was controlling them, they turned towards the large alien fleet, the one Walker had designated bogie-6.

It took just half an hour for the five alien fleets to merge with bogie-6. As soon as every ship was in formation, the alien fleet, now numbering over nine hundred warships, accelerated.

“They’re going right for Connecticut,” Sub Lieutenant Grey reported.

“The alien Admiral is trying to force us to stand and fight,” James explained. “If we want to defend Connecticut, we will have to stand up to him.”

“The numbers still don’t look good,” Romanov said, though only loud enough for James to hear. “By my count, our five fleets have lost about fifty ships. The aliens nearer a hundred. Even so, if we combine with Walker’s fleet around Connecticut, that gives us about six hundred and fifty ships. We are still vastly outnumbered.”

“I know,” James whispered back. “Don’t forget, this is what Walker wanted.”

“New orders coming in from Victory,” Sub Lieutenant Grey reported. “We are to return to stealth and rendezvous at point gamma-two.”

“Acknowledge the order,” James said. “Navigation, prepare to move us to point gamma-two.”

Two of the human fleets suddenly revealed themselves. The French and Chinese fleet and the German fleet accelerated as hard as they could. They were moving on trajectories roughly parallel to the alien fleet, though they were on opposite sides of the alien ships. Their intent was clear, using their superior acceleration and top speeds, they were going to beat the alien fleet to Connecticut and form up with Walker.

“More orders from Victory,” Grey said. “They are for your eyes only Commodore, I’ve sent them to your command chair.”

“Very good,” James said. He opened the file and read over them. They were fleet formations. The British, Japanese and American fleets were going to rendezvous at gamma-two. There they would form into a fleet and remain in stealth until Walker called on them. The second phase of the battle is about to begin, James thought as he studied the position his squadron was to take.

Chapter 25

Not until the War of Doom did humanity experience a battle the size of the Battle of Connecticut again. In that war, even the losses of Connecticut would seem trivial.

- Excerpt from Empire Rising, 3002 AD.

USS Enterprise

It took three hours for the German, French and Chinese ships to reach Connecticut. During that time, Walker busied himself studying the massive alien fleet. As in the New Washington system, the fleet’s formation was inefficient. At least, it prevented the aliens from using every ship to engage a threat from one direction. It did however, allow the alien commander to fend off multiple threats from multiple directions with as much firepower as he could bring to bear. We have scared him, Walker concluded. His coordinated attacks had proved more successful than he had hoped. Yet, the alien commander has already shown himself to be a proficient strategist. Things are not going to go all our way. Glancing at the holo plot in front of him, Walker saw the counter was almost at zero.

“Send the order to our fleet, every ship is to prepare to break orbit,” he ordered.

“Yes Admiral,” one of his flag officers responded.

Taking a moment to look at Connecticut on one of Enterprise’s secondary holo projectors, he held the image of the colony in his mind. Then, he switched off the projector. He didn’t want anyone on the bridge being distracted. He had already talked with the colony’s Governor at length. Everyone who could be evacuated had already left. The rest were seeking what shelter they could. Beyond that, he knew he could do nothing more. This battle wasn’t just for Connecticut, he had to think about the entire American colonies.

“Break orbit, put us on a direct intercept course for the alien fleet,” Walker ordered.

Three hundred human warships accelerated away from Connecticut. Alongside them, six freedom defense platforms lifted out of orbit. Several freighters had been fastened to the hull of each platform. The freighters were using their engines to push the platforms out of orbit. Arrayed around the human warships were one hundred more freighters. Some of them had been armed with point defenses to help defend the fleet, others were filled with defense satellites. Walker had stripped Connecticut of its orbital defenses.

Due to the defense platforms and the freighters, the Combined Fleet moved out of orbit slowly and only accelerated towards the alien fleet at half the rate the warships could have alone. Even so Walker’s fleet would enter missile range of the alien fleet in one hour.

As the holo plot changed again, Walker was momentarily taken aback. Arrayed around the large alien fleet there were nearly two hundred screening frigates. From almost every single one of them, new contacts appeared on the holo plot. What are they shooting at? Walker asked himself. All his ships were arrayed around Enterprise or at rendezvous point gamma-two. The aliens couldn’t hit either of them. Then it hit him. He really is paranoid. I guess I can’t blame him though, Walker concluded. The alien commander knew there were at least three hundred more human warships somewhere within the system. They’ve guessed how our stealth coating works. They’re trying to find the rest of our ships.

As the alien missile carriers released their missiles and the missiles shot off on various trajectories, Walker’s guess was confirmed. The missiles exploded roughly equidistant from the center of the alien fleet. The alien commander was trying to create a wave of electromagnetic energy that would reflect off ships in stealth. It was an extremely wasteful use of missiles, but then, the alien commander must have realized that his opponents were throwing everything they had against him. Now wasn’t the time for conserving ammunition or supplies.

“Signal Admiral Cunningham using our gravimetric relay, order him to move into position,” Walker commanded. “Then keep the gravimetric relay pulsing randomly. Let’s let our opponents think we are coordinating multiple attacks.”

“Yes Admiral,” Walker’s COM officer replied.

Closing his eyes, Walker played out the coming battle in his mind. The alien Admiral would know that he planned to use the warships that were in stealth to attack the alien fleet from multiple directions at a critical point. That the alien Admiral was still charging straight for Connecticut meant he had confidence in his numbers. He’s probably expecting me to order the rest of my ships to attack separately, as they did in the past, Walker thought. That means he will have smaller fleets ready to detach to engage them and hold them off. That’s what I would do. In that case. Walker opened his eyes. “I’m writing up new orders for Cunningham, send them out in between the random pulses of the gravimetric relay.

Once the orders were sent, Walker turned his attention to the alien fleet. There was nothing more he could do now. Everything was in place. It was a battle to the death, only one fleet was going to survive the next two hours.

As both his fleet and the alien fleet rapidly approached each other, Walker fell silent. Following his lead, his subordinates on Enterprise’s auxiliary bridge barely spoke. When they did, they only passed on key pieces of information. Everyone sensed Walker’s mood and didn’t want to disturb him.

When the alien fleet was just two minutes out from missile range, Walker stood. “Record this message to transmit to our fleet, and send it via the gravimetric relay to Cunningham’s. ‘To all who fight for Connecticut and the rest of our colonies. Today calls for uncommon valor, may it be a common virtue among us all.’”

Walker wasn’t sure some of the other Admirals and Captains would fully understand the message, but he knew his American subordinates would, as would most of the British.

“Saratoga is wobbling,” a sensor officer called out. “So too are some of the other ships. Wait, all of our ships are doing it.”

Walker adjusted the main holo plot to show his fleet in more detail. Normally a warship wobbled along its axis to welcome a new command ship into a fleet. It was a more modern equivalent of a fourteen-gun salute. All his ships were doing it, and some of the French and German ships as well. Soon, every ship in his Combined Fleet was doing it, even the Chinese. They were responding to his message. They all understood. They were all ready to make the sacrifice his battle plan was calling for.

“Order Captain Blythe to wobble Enterprise in return,” Walker commanded.

As the Combined Fleet ended their momentary maneuver, Enterprise returned the compliment. Then everyone’s attention was pulled towards their gravimetric plots. The alien fleet had opened fire. Fourteen hundred missile carriers had been released.

Someone on Enterprise’s bridge gasped as the numbers became apparent. Walker bit back the desire to reprimand them. No one should have been surprised by the number of weapons the aliens could fire. In fact, the number was a slight mercy. The alien fleet’s formation prevented every ship from firing.

“Signal freighters one to four, tell them to prepare to launch their cargo on my mark,” Walker ordered.

“Alien fleet is decelerating hard,” a flag officer called out.

“As expected,” Walker said calmly. The alien commander would want to keep the distance open for as long as possible to utilize the longer range of his missiles. “We still have them where we want them.”

As both fleets were heading straight towards each other, it would only take the alien missile carriers twenty-two minutes to cover the distance to their targets. Walker waited until they were ten minutes out and then he gave his order. “Tell them to launch.”

Four of the freighters turned to present their cargo bay doors to the alien fleet. Then, as their doors opened, they released orbital defense satellites. Within twenty seconds, more than a hundred satellites had been shot into the path of the alien missile carriers.

The defense satellites were designed to be stealthy. The intention had been to make them difficult to destroy as they sat in orbit above a colony. As they moved out in front of his fleet, the satellites disappeared off Enterprise’s sensors. Now their stealth abilities were going to allow them to play a different role. Walker hoped the aliens wouldn’t figure out what they were. He had stolen this tactic from Rear Admiral Gibbon.

It took five minutes for the wave of satellites and alien missile carriers to meet. Unable to track them, the first sign that Walker’s plan had worked was the explosion of one of the alien missile carriers. Before anyone could speak, more and more missile carriers exploded in groups of three, four or even five. From the one hundred defense satellites, more than four thousand small plasma bolts shot towards the missile carriers. It had only taken a small software tweak to the defense satellites’ targeting computers to allow them to target the missile carriers. Due to the relative velocities of both groups, the satellites were only able to open fire for three seconds. Yet in that time, they destroyed five hundred and sixty missile carriers. The alien missile carriers were far larger than the human missiles the defense satellites had been designed to destroy. They were easy targets.

“Alien fleet is altering course slightly,” an officer called.

“Damn,” Walker swore. The alien commander had figured out what he had done almost immediately. Or at least he had made a good guess. The defense satellites only had minimal maneuvering thrusters. The alien fleet’s change of direction meant the satellites wouldn’t be able to target the second missile carrier salvo. “Order freighters five to eight to fall to the back of our formation. We need to protect them at all costs.”

In the two minutes it took the freighters with the rest of Connecticut’s defense satellites to fall back, the first wave of alien missile carriers closed to attack range. They released two thousand eight hundred missiles. Almost as soon as the missiles accelerated, the flak cannons opened fire. They were quickly followed by the rest of the point defenses.

Even after the success of Walker’s strategy, more than a hundred missiles evaded all efforts to shoot them down. They were soon exploding among the human fleet. Enterprise shook as a missile scored a proximity hit. One German heavy cruiser was hit multiple times and exploded. Several smaller ships were destroyed and a handful were hit once or twice and fell out of formation. Even though his fleet was accelerating slowly, they had been too severely damaged to keep up.

“The alien fleet has fired their second salvo,” an officer reported

“Order freighters five to eight to move up, they are not to release their satellites until I say so,” Walker replied. This time he intended to wait. If the aliens were smart, they would have instructed their missile carriers to carry out a couple of course changes. Releasing the satellites too early would waste them.

“Open fire with our anti-ship missiles once we get into range,” Walker ordered a minute later. The rate at which both fleets were closing meant that the alien’s range advantage would only let them fire two missile salvos first. From Walker’s fleet, two thousand missiles shot towards the aliens as soon as they could.

After making sure they all got away cleanly, Walker turned his attention to the missile carriers. When they were nearly at the point where his first wave of satellites had attacked them, they altered course then, two minutes later, they altered course again back towards his fleet. Walker waited until they were four minutes away from the point where they would release their missiles. “Order the freighters to release their satellites,” he called.

As soon as the freighters pivoted to release their cargo, fifty alien missile carriers released their missiles. Walker knew what the aliens were doing. They were copying one of the tactics humanity had used against them. The two hundred alien missiles spread out to form a perfect two-dimensional square in front of the rest of the missile carriers. When the defense satellites passed through them, they all exploded. The explosive force and the intense electromagnetic radiation, fried a number of defense satellites.

Enterprise’s sensors didn’t detect how many had survived. However, as point defense plasma bolts fired in all directions from the midst of the swarm of missile carriers, Walker knew some had. Within three seconds, three hundred and eighty alien missile carriers were destroyed.

“Nearly one hundred and fifty ships are breaking away from the alien fleet. They are heading in roughly the direction of Cunningham’s fleet,” the sensor officer on Enterprise’s auxiliary bridge called out.

Walker focused on the ships that were splitting from the larger alien fleet. That should give Cunningham a nice target, Walker thought.

The familiar sound of Enterprise’s flak cannons opening up drew Walker’s attention back to his own fleet. At least four thousand missiles were about to rain destruction on his ships. As the flak cannon rounds exploded, and the other point defenses joined the battle, the number of alien missiles quickly diminished. Yet, not quickly enough. More than one hundred and fifty missiles found targets. Multiple human warships disappeared under their bombardment.

It took Walker five minutes to survey the damage to his fleet and rearrange his formation. By the time he had his ships ready to receive another missile salvo, the alien missiles were just ten minutes away. “Fire our next salvo,” he said as soon as every ship reported their missile tubes were reloaded. “Order our defense platforms forward,” he commanded once every human missile was launched.

From the midst of the human fleet, the six defense platforms appeared and moved to take up lead positions. Putting them front and center was all but sealing their doom, yet they only had to hold off two more alien missile salvos. Then Walker’s fleet would get in range with their heavy plasma cannons. At that point, all hell would break loose.

“Cunningham has revealed his ships, they’ve opened fire,” a subordinate shouted.

Glancing at the gravimetric plot, Walker saw nearly one thousand eight hundred missiles accelerating towards the small alien fleet that had tried to chase the lead element of Cunningham’s fleet.

“The alien Admiral is reacting,” a sensor officer called.

The bulk of the alien fleet pivoted and decelerated onto a trajectory that intercepted Cunningham’s ships. Nearly eighty destroyers and frigates continued on their original course.

Walker faced a dilemma. The alien admiral had switched targets. Almost the entirety of the alien fleet was about to engage Cunningham’s ships. The frigates and destroyers closing with his fleet were meant to distract him. If he didn’t engage them, they would close to heavy laser cannon range and ravage his already damaged fleet. On the other hand, if he didn’t engage the main alien fleet, Cunningham would be heavily outnumbered.

“Stick with the main alien fleet. Send orders for Rear Admiral Jackson’s squadron to stay on our original course. They are to accelerate ahead of our fleet and intercept those destroyers and frigates,” he ordered. Jackson’s squadron numbered just twenty ships, it was all but a suicide mission. Yet Walker couldn’t let Cunningham fight the alien fleet on his own. “Keep the next salvo targeted at the main alien fleet.”

“The fleet is firing,” an officer reported.

Two minutes later, another salvo of alien missiles came crashing in. Two of the defense platforms were destroyed. All of the others took hits. The American battleship Nimitz suffered multiple hits and fell out of formation. In total, fifteen other warships were destroyed.

Walker barely had time to take in the losses. There was another alien missile salvo coming in. Behind it, was a small salvo fired from the destroyers and frigates that were charging his fleet. Walker ground his teeth together. His losses were mounting. Yet after the final alien salvo, they would enter plasma cannon range. Then they would get their revenge.

Chapter 26

HMS Titan

“They’ve taken the bait,” Romanov called as one hundred and fifty alien ships broke from their main fleet to intercept the fifty Japanese ships Cunningham had sent ahead of his main fleet. The Japanese ships had intentionally moved too close to one of the alien frigates and allowed an alien missile to explode near their formation. The electromagnetic energy given off by the nuclear warhead had overloaded the stealth coating on several of the ships. It was meant to look like they had been detected prematurely. It seemed to have worked, an alien fleet was moving out to crush the Japanese ships before they could escape. In response, the Japanese ships were rapidly decelerating as if they were trying to get away. In reality, they were simply falling back to re-join Cunningham’s fleet.

“They’re firing,” Sub Lieutenant Grey reported.

From the one hundred and forty alien ships, two hundred and sixty missile carriers were launched into space and accelerated after the Japanese ships. The tracking information that appeared on Titan’s holo plot showed the Japanese ships would reach Cunningham’s fleet before the missile carriers reached them.

“Targeting data is coming in from Victory,” Scott reported. “Our first salvo is to target enemy destroyers and frigates. Our second will concentrate on their heavier ships.”

“Acknowledge the order,” James replied. “It looks like Cunningham wants to deal with this fleet in just two salvos.”

“It should work,” Scott replied. “The alien Admiral didn’t send any battleships with them. The number of missiles we can put out should rip their cruisers apart.”

The forty Japanese warships fell into formation with the rest of Cunningham’s fleet. Within seconds, every ship in Cunningham’s command announced its presence by launching a massive salvo at the smaller alien fleet. The alien missile carriers released their missiles and the human point defenses responded with a wave of flak cannon rounds.

James had never seen so many point defenses operating in tandem. Space around Titan looked more like a holo drama depiction of space combat than the reality he was used to. Thousands of green plasma bolts and just as many AM missiles streaked through space. Laser beams and a second wave of flak cannon rounds added to the color and destruction. The sheer weight of fire cut down all but four of the alien missiles. By chance, two of them struck a cruiser, knocking out its engines. The other two scored proximity hits but didn’t do any significant damage.

Just eight minutes after firing the first salvo, Cunningham’s fleet fired again. Then they had to fend off another salvo of alien missiles. It proved just as unsuccessful as the first. The weight of point defense fire Cunningham’s three hundred warships could put out simply couldn’t be penetrated by one hundred and forty alien ships.

As soon as the last alien missile was destroyed, James turned his attention to the small alien fleet. Their first missile salvo was about to strike home. There were eighty destroyers and frigates in the alien fleet. With one thousand five hundred missiles bearing down on them, every one of them was targeted by more than twenty missiles. As the alien ships exploded, James lost count of how many disappeared. He had to wait for Titan’s computer to analyze the data and put a projection on the holo plot. When it did, Titan’s sensors were only detecting twenty alien destroyers or frigates left.

From what was left of their fleet, the survivors launched ninety missile carriers. Then, just eight minutes after being struck by one thousand five hundred human missiles. Another one thousand five hundred came crashing in. Only six ships survived the colossal salvo.

“They are done for,” Romanov shouted, a wide grin on his face. “Now onto the main alien fleet.”

Romanov didn’t have to wait long to get his wish. Just seconds later, the main alien fleet launched one thousand three hundred missile carriers at Cunningham’s fleet. Silence descended on the bridge. They had all seen the alien fleet fire similar salvos at Walker’s fleet. It was different when they were coming at you.

“Well,” James said as calmly as he could. “Now the real battle begins. We will be getting new orders from Cunningham any moment now. This is it. Everything we’ve done over the last few months comes down to this. We must stop them.”

Almost as if James had a telepathic connection to Admiral Cunningham, orders came in from the flagship. A cursory glance over them told James all he needed to know. Cunningham was preparing his ships to accelerate towards the large alien fleet. Like Walker’s fleet, they were going to close to plasma cannon range if they could. With both human fleets attempting to charge the main alien fleet, one of them would ravage the aliens.

It took the massive wave of alien missile carriers twenty minutes to reach Titan. By that time, Cunningham’s fleet had fired two missile salvos at the aliens. Walker had also closed the distance to the alien fleet and had hit them with two more missile salvos. Yet, his fleet was suffering terribly, all of his orbital defense platforms were gone and there was still one large alien missile salvo approaching his ships.

“Look,” Romanov said as four ships accelerated away from Cunningham’s fleet.

When James saw that they were all Japanese frigates, he knew what they were doing. They were sacrificing themselves to thin out the number of missile carriers coming towards their larger consorts. Detecting the frigates’ move, sixty of the missile carriers launched their ordinance early. Two hundred missiles closed on the four Japanese frigates. Not one of the frigates tried to defend themselves, instead, they used their point defenses to shoot down the missile carriers that were coming in behind the alien missiles. They only managed to shoot down seventeen of them, yet their sacrifice wasn’t in vain. Nearly eighty alien missile carriers had wasted their missiles destroying four frigates.

More than one of Titan’s bridge officers swore as the remaining missile carriers released their missiles. Four thousand six hundred accelerated towards Cunningham’s fleet. As flak cannons fired waves of shrapnel towards the swarm of death coming at them, the alien missiles rapidly thinned out. There were so many of them the flak cannons were proving especially effective but James knew they were still going to receive a battering.

Four hundred missiles, more than one missile per ship, made it through the point defense fire. Titan was rocked by a number of hits. James felt them through the vibrations in his command chair, one after the other in quick succession. He thought he counted four, but it was difficult to tell. His subordinates were thrown about in their command chairs as well. “What is our status?” he called as soon as the vibrations stopped.

It took nearly twenty seconds for anyone to reply. They were all furiously tapping on their consoles. “They were all proximity hits, I think,” Romanov answered. “So far no damage control teams are reporting any hull breaches.”

James let out a breath of relief and turned to Sub Lieutenant Grey. “Our squadron?” he asked.

“Iron Duke and Southampton were both destroyed,” Grey answered. “It looks like Agincourt suffered a direct hit, but they are still keeping station with us. I don’t think they suffered any serious damage. Orion is reporting a proximity hit as well.”

James nodded. They had lost a light cruiser and a destroyer. More than a thousand lives gone. We’re going to miss their point defenses more, James thought. It was cruel, but when the rest of the American colonies and even Earth itself was on the line, destroying the alien fleet was all that mattered. As he looked at the rest of Cunningham’s fleet, he saw that many more ships were missing from the order of battle. Before he could count just how many ships had been destroyed, Grey drew his attention away.

“Admiral Walker has gunned his engines,” Grey called. “He’s closing in for the kill.”

James studied the holo plot. Walker had weathered the last alien missile salvo that had been fired at him. Of the three hundred ships he had started the final stage of the battle with, only two hundred and twenty were left. With all the slow-moving orbital defense platforms destroyed, Walker had ordered his ships to rapidly increase their acceleration. They would reach plasma cannon range before the alien fleet could fire another salvo. The human warships exceeded their maximum acceleration rates and continued to increase their velocity. One, then a second ship suffered a malfunction, stopped accelerating and began to coast. The rest continued on.

For a second James wondered why Walker was risking his ships, then he saw it. The first salvo Cunningham had fired at the alien fleet would reach the aliens in just two minutes. Walker wanted to hit the aliens with his plasma cannons just as Cunningham’s missiles were coming into attack range.

Moments later, Walker’s fleet launched their own missiles. The timing was perfect. Their missiles would strike just before Cunningham’s. The alien fleet was suddenly facing three potentially devastating threats.

“Walker’s going right through the middle of them,” Scott shouted, “look at his course change.”

“He is using their numbers against them,” James said, shouting as well.

Everyone on Titan’s bridge stopped what they were doing to watch. Even though there were another thirteen hundred alien missile carriers coming towards their ship, no one cared.

*

USS Enterprise

“We have them,” Walker shouted as his fleet launched a missile salvo towards the alien fleet. So far, their attacks had barely put a dent in the number of alien ships that were moving to close with Cunningham’s fleet. That was about to change. Even with their numbers, they couldn’t reorganize their fleet to efficiently handle two missile salvos approaching from very different directions.

“Send one final order to our fleet, as the fleet opens fire, every ship is to begin a deceleration burn. We’re going to spend as much time amongst their fleet as possible. All weapons are to be used against the aliens,” Walker ordered. He had seen the recordings of Browne’s flagship’s last assault amidst the heart of one of the alien fleets that had attacked New Washington. It was fitting that he would get his revenge for her death by following her lead.

With his last command given, he sat back in his command chair, pulled a large cigar out of his jacket pocket and lit up. In the same pocket, he had a small picture of Browne. He studied it one last time then watched the timer count down on the main holo plot. As soon as the close quarters fighting began, he knew it would be every Captain for themselves. There was nothing more he could do.

Ten seconds before the counter reached zero, waves of point defense laser cannon fire reached from the alien fleet towards Cunningham’s missile salvo and the one he had just fired. Missiles detonated as the laser beams found their targets. Then, more than six hundred heavy plasma bolts shot from his fleet. Explosions rippled through the alien fleet. The ships in his fleet equipped with the latest laser cannons added to the carnage. Then the alien ships replied. In the blink of an eye more than one hundred and thirty of his warships disappeared.

Walker was buffeted about in his command chair as Enterprise took several hits. Yet, the lights remained on in the bridge and the tone of the warning sirens told him his flagship was still in the fight. More explosions tore through the alien fleet. The missiles he and Cunningham had fired had reached their targets.

Walker’s remaining ships flew into the maelstrom of exploding ships and missiles at 0.2c. They added to the carnage as AM missiles, and point defense plasma and laser cannons shot at anything that they could reach.

Nearby alien ships tried to return fire with their own point defense weapons. All around human ships exploded under the weight of fire being directed at them. Even so, many of Walker’s ships continued to barrel through the alien fleet, causing horrendous damage. The sheer size of the alien fleet meant that as his ships flew through its heart, the alien ships on its outer shells couldn’t target them past their comrades.

As lights on the status board turned green on one of his auxiliary holo displays, Walker punched the air. From Enterprise and the remaining ships around her, another eighty heavy plasma bolts fired. Explosions erupted amidst the heart of the alien fleet. A sudden jerk threw Walker forward and despite his restraints he almost lost consciousness. Shaking himself, he saw an alert flashing on his command chair. There was no response from the bridge. Looking around, he saw the auxiliary bridge crew in disarray. A number of terminals had exploded. Whatever damage Enterprise had suffered, she was almost out of the fight.

Glancing at the main holo plot, he saw they were almost through the alien fleet. Overriding Enterprise’s flight controls, he input a new trajectory. Enterprise’s surviving engines flared into action as they pushed the American flagship towards Walker’s target. Enterprise smashed into one of the massive alien battleships. Both ships disappeared in a blinding flash. Following her Admiral’s lead, other American warships altered course as well. Just before they exited the alien fleet, they sacrificed themselves striking battleships and cruisers.

*

HMS Titan

Of the two hundred and twenty human warships that had closed to heavy plasma cannon range with the alien fleet, thirty came out the other side. For nearly thirty seconds, no one on Titan’s bridge spoke. They were all staring at the devastation in front of them. Walker had cut the heart out of the alien fleet. Titan’s sensors were only detecting five hundred ships that were showing signs of power. Many of them were likely damaged. Of the fifty battleships that had made up the core of the alien fleet, only twenty-two remained.

“Victory is signaling. ‘Now is the time to make their sacrifice count,’” Sub Lieutenant Edwards reported.

James visibly shook himself. As he glanced at the alien salvo that was approaching, he saw the missile carriers were just three minutes away. It was the last full salvo the alien fleet would ever fire. They had to weather it if they were going to finish what Walker had started.

“Open a COM channel to Carrington,” James ordered.

“Move your cruiser up to Titan,” he said as soon as Gupta’s face appeared. They had both lost the light cruisers that were meant to be supporting their ships. “We’ll form a single flotilla with our escorts. This is going to be it.”

“Aye Commodore,” Gupta said, her expression grim. They had both seen many friends lost today. “We’ll not let you down. Carrington will have your back.”

“I know I can count on you,” James replied as he nodded to Gupta and cut the COM channel.

“More frigates are breaking formation,” Grey called. “American, and Japanese frigates are moving forward. Wait, two British frigates are going as well and there is a Canadian one too.”

James didn’t reply, he was watching the alien missile carriers as he clenched his fists. More people were giving their lives so that the more powerful ships in Cunningham’s fleet could survive to keep fighting. Then, James gasped in surprise. The devastation Walker had caused to the alien fleet had clearly distracted whoever was overseeing the attack on Cunningham’s ships. As the salvo of alien missile carriers reached the frigates that had moved out to sacrifice themselves, none of them released their missiles. Instead, they flew right into point defense range. The frigates, delighted at their good fortune, tore into the missile carriers. The missile carriers disappeared in their hundreds.

Far too late, someone in the alien fleet recognized what was happening. More than a hundred missile carriers released their missiles at almost point-blank range. All the frigates that had moved out died within a second of each other. Yet they had severely reduced the number of missile carriers. Of the initial thirteen hundred, only eight hundred remained. When they got into range, they released three thousand four hundred missiles.

The point defense fire Cunningham’s fleet put out was significantly less effective than against the first alien missile salvo. Many ships were damaged or simply missing. Even so, only one hundred alien missiles made it into attack range. Once more Titan buckled under James’ feet. They had suffered a direct hit. In alarm, he looked at Romanov, they couldn’t afford to be out of the fight.

“Our starboard nose section,” Romanov shouted over the alarms. “Damage sensors are going off on decks one and two. Repair teams are on their way now. Engines and missiles are still fully functioning.”

James nodded, relief washing over him. If it was only two sections the missile couldn’t have penetrated too far.

“The alien fleet is altering course,” Sub Lieutenant Grey reported. “They are reforming and turning towards Connecticut.”

Chapter 27

James clenched his fists. Lieutenant Scott swore. Now that Walker’s fleet was gone, there was nothing stopping the aliens from striking their target. They may have lost half their fleet, but their commander intended to get revenge.

“New orders from the flagship,” Edwards called. “I’ve sent them to your command chair.”

James quickly read them. It’s all or nothing, he thought. Cunningham intended to keep his fleet alongside the aliens. He was going to engage them in a missile duel to the finish. It was now a competition to see who could endure the longest. The alien fleet was heavily damaged, disorganized and moving at a reduced velocity, thanks to Walker’s attack. Yet, they were very close to Connecticut. James estimated they would reach firing range of Connecticut within one hour. By then, Cunningham’s fleet needed to have destroyed them or Connecticut would be wiped out.

“We’re getting new targeting data,” Sub Lieutenant Edwards reported. “We are to target damaged battleships and cruisers, then to switch to intact battleships and cruisers. Cunningham says he wants the heart blown out of their formation.”

“Acknowledge the order,” James replied.

Zooming in on a section of the alien fleet, he singled out a damaged battleship. It looked like it had taken several heavy plasma bolts from one of Admiral Walker’s ships. “We’ll take this one,” he said as he selected it.

“Firing,” Scott said as Titan launched missiles along with the rest of the ships under Cunningham’s command.

James settled into his command chair. The aliens were still trying to reform into a single fleet to defend each other. Their delay meant they hadn’t yet fired another missile salvo.

“It looks like we’re going to get two free shots at them,” Romanov commented. “That should even the odds some.”

“I think so,” James said, projecting an air of confidence. There were still five hundred alien warships facing them. They were outnumbered more than two to one.

Just eight minutes after Walker’s final attack on the alien fleet, thirteen hundred missiles came crashing into them. The alien commander had just managed to reform his fleet in time to present coordinated point defense fire. Fifty missiles still made it through and forty found targets. James counted twenty-eight alien ships that either disappeared or fell out of formation.

Just a minute after defending themselves, the alien fleet launched five hundred and thirty missile carriers in revenge. Then, a second missile salvo came crashing in against their battleships and cruisers.

James couldn’t track the individual missiles Titan had launched, they were too easily lost in the storm of point defense fire the alien fleet put out. Yet, when the battleship he had selected disappeared as two missiles struck it, he pumped his fists and let out a howl of delight. The alien battleships were bigger than Enterprise had been. Walker had targeted almost every single one of them with heavy plasma bolts. Most were damaged and the two missiles that had struck James’ target had finished it off.

It was time to defend against the alien missile carriers. They released three and a half thousand missiles. For once, none targeted Titan. It only made the next thirty seconds marginally easier for James. With no immediate threat holding his attention, he was forced to watch ships explode all around him. He winced as Carrington took a direct hit. The explosion blew a hole in her starboard missile tubes. Thankfully, she didn’t drop out of formation. As soon as the human ships reformed, they fired again.

For twenty minutes both fleets hammered each other. Titan’s luck didn’t continue. She suffered two proximity hits and a direct hit which took out two of her port missile tubes. Yet, she held together. The other ships in James’ squadron weren’t so lucky. The light cruiser Pelican had been hit by two missiles at the same time. She hadn’t been completely destroyed, but she had been forced to fall back. Raven and Scorpion, a destroyer and frigate, had also been destroyed. James’ squadron had been reduced to one third of its original numbers. Its fighting efficiency was closer to twenty percent. The rest of Cunningham’s ships weren’t much better off.

Despite the losses, James’ hope was growing. The alien fleet was faring even worse. Cunningham’s tactic of targeting their heavier ships was paying off. Twelve battleships and eighty-three cruisers had been destroyed. As a result, the weight of fire they were able to bring to bear against Cunningham’s fleet was quickly decreasing.

“Look at this,” Scott said as she altered the view on the main holo plot. “This battleship here, every time we destroy some of the ships escorting it, they are replaced from other flotillas within the fleet. I think this might be their flagship.”

James quickly replayed the sensor data. Scott was right. Ships were constantly being drafted in to defend the battleship she had identified. Opening a COM channel to the surviving ships under his command, James ordered every Captain to target the battleship as they fired their next salvo.

Before he could see the outcome of his orders, Titan and her consorts had to fend off another salvo. There were only two thousand four hundred missiles in it, however, the point defenses of the human warships were diminishing in effectiveness each time an alien salvo struck home. As the missiles reached their targets, another destroyer under James’ command was blown apart. Titan narrowly avoided getting hit herself, only a last-minute evasive maneuver by Sub Lieutenant Denver kept the missile at bay.

“Good flying,” James shouted to the Sub Lieutenant over the alarms. He turned to stare at the holo plot. Their next missile salvo was approaching the alien fleet. Both fleets were close enough that James could watch their missiles’ progress in real time using Titan’s optical sensors. The alien battleship’s flotilla had sixty missiles targeted at it from James’ squadron. It looked like another thirty missiles were coming from other ships as well. Laser point defenses quickly thinned those numbers, yet not quickly enough.

Three alien frigates were destroyed first as they had placed themselves between the battleship and danger. Then the remaining missiles reached the battleship. Only five had survived, yet all of them found their target. For a second, James thought the battleship had somehow managed to shrug off five direct hits. Then, from within the battleship, an explosion blew out into space, shattering it into unrecognizable chunks of melted and distorted metal.

Several of the bridge crew whooped. James tried to keep himself under control. He watched the alien fleet closely, he wanted to see what impact losing their flagship would have.

“Something has changed,” he said twenty seconds later. The alien ships were fragmenting, the fleet splintering into several smaller groups. They seemed to be forming their own fleets. Each fleet was centered around one particular battleship or cruiser. They were easy to identify for all the other ships were falling into formation around them.

“That last battleship had to have been their flagship,” Scott said. “They’re splintering into their original fleets. Remember our analysis of the debris? We suspected many of the alien fleets had not operated together before. Their Admiral must have been giving them the cohesion they needed to fight together. Now they have lost it.”

“Agreed,” James replied. He opened a COM channel directly to Admiral Cunningham. As quickly as he could, he relayed his theory to Cunningham.

“I think you’re onto something,” Cunningham replied. “We’ll try and take their lead squadron.”

Moments later new targeting orders came in. Every ship in Cunningham’s fleet fired at the lead alien squadron. It was centered around a battleship and consisted of a further sixty ships.

“The other fleets are not moving to intercept our missiles,” Romanov said, sounding shocked. “Surely they would help their comrades?”

“Someone is trying to,” James replied as one of the smaller squadrons altered course to close with the lead alien squadron. “It looks like you are right though. The rest are leaving their friends to it.”

As the missiles from what was left of Cunningham’s fleet closed with the lead alien fleet, the point defense weapons from all the alien ships opened up on them. Yet, because of their dispersed formations, some of the newly formed alien fleets weren’t able to use their weapons very effectively. Sixty missiles came crashing through the lead alien fleet’s point defenses. The one battleship in the formation was destroyed along with three cruisers, eight destroyers and nine frigates. Almost half of the squadron was wiped out in one go.

“New targeting data, we are going to hit the second alien squadron that moved up to aid the first,” Sub Lieutenant Edwards called as new orders came from Victory.

Almost as soon as the human ships fired, the alien squadrons reacted. Not together, but one after another, they decelerated and turned away from Cunningham’s fleet. “They’re running,” Scott shouted as a large grin split across her face. “We have them, they don’t have the stomach to fight together against us anymore.”

James could hardly believe it. The aliens still had a slight advantage in numbers. They were just twenty minutes from missile range of Connecticut. They could have destroyed the colony and then fled. Yet, his eyes had to be believed. Each alien squadron was turning onto a new trajectory. None of them seem to be coordinating, for each was taking a slightly different escape route.

Even as James watched, the missile salvo Cunningham’s fleet had fired at the second alien fleet closed in for the kill. The remnants of what had been their lead squadron was falling back to join them, but James knew they were just sealing their own doom. When the missiles hit, every cruiser was taken out along with ten destroyers and seven frigates. Just eleven damaged ships remained.

Then, new orders came in from Cunningham. In unison, his ships decelerated. As they did, the separated alien fleets finally fired of a salvo of their own. Yet, it was haphazard. Not every fleet fired together. Thus, when the missile carriers released their missiles, the missiles came in in disjointed waves. The human point defense weapons were able to destroy almost all of them. Only a cruiser and two destroyers were lost.

When the time came for Titan to fire again, no orders came from Victory. “What is going on? Scott asked. “We are ready to fire again.”

James looked over to Sub Lieutenant Edwards. She shook her head. “We haven’t received any new firing orders from Victory.”

“Why aren’t we firing? Or turning to pursue the alien squadrons?” Romanov asked in alarm.

James didn’t answer, instead he requested a direct COM channel to Admiral Cunningham. It took thirty seconds for the request to be granted. For a second, James thought Cunningham had been injured or killed. Yet, surely his Flag Captain would have taken over and sent out firing orders.

When Cunningham’s face appeared, James was relieved, though his confusion increased. “I suppose you want to know why we’re not firing?” Cunningham asked. His voice was crisp. The tension on his face was clear to see. “I’m trying something, just trust me.”

Before James could say anything, Cunningham cut the COM channel. He shared a look with Romanov and Scott, and then shrugged. “He’s got us this far, let’s see what he is planning.”

With nothing else to do but to settle into his command chair, James watched the alien fleets as they pulled away from Cunningham’s fleet. When the time came for them to return fire, they didn’t. James stared at them dumbfounded. Had they suddenly lost their nerve as well? Then it hit him. Both fleets had had enough destruction. Neither was going to fire anymore. Or at least, that’s what Cunningham wants them to think, James said to himself. As the alien fleets spread apart, James saw what Cunningham had anticipated. If the alien fleets weren’t prepared to fight together, they wouldn’t flee together. Each fleet was heading away from Cunningham’s fleet and towards the shift passage to New Washington at their best possible speed. Due to the damage many of the ships had suffered, each squadron was moving at a different velocity. On top of that, there was a long line of even more severely damaged ships that were falling behind their comrades. As James watched, the alien ships spread out more and more. Soon, it would be impossible for them to support each other, even if they wanted to.

“Victory is requesting a full damage report from every ship in the fleet,” Edwards informed James.

“See to it,” James said as he looked at Romanov.

*

It took Cunningham’s fleet half an hour to come to a halt relative to Connecticut. Then for twenty minutes they sat stationary as every ship carried out as many repairs as they could. During that time, a constant stream of orders came from Victory. Cunningham reorganized the one hundred and eighty functional ships he had left into three squadrons. James found himself commanding one third of what was left of the British fleet. Rear Admiral Davidson had been killed when his battleship had been destroyed. Cunningham had also attached what was left of the Japanese fleet to James’ command, they had lost both of their Admirals.

Then, once Cunningham was satisfied the alien fleets had spread themselves far enough apart, he ordered two of his squadrons to pursue. The third was made up of ships too damaged to continue the battle. They set about looking for survivors and aiding other warships that were adrift.

With James leading one squadron and Cunningham the other they used the superior acceleration rates of their impulse engines to catch the rearmost alien fleet in a pincer movement. It took just two missile salvos to finish the squadron off. Then, they turned after the next alien squadron. Along the way, they destroyed any stragglers that came under their guns. Not once did an alien ship try to surrender.

The second alien fleet, instead of trying to flee, turned to face their pursuers. Cunningham ordered both human squadrons to join together. Using their superior numbers, they bombarded the alien squadron until every ship was destroyed. Then the human ships moved off in pursuit of the third alien squadron.

It had got far enough ahead that James’ command only managed to fire a couple of salvos with their forward missile tubes. Two destroyers and a frigate were taken out. Then, the alien squadron jumped into shift space. Three other fleets had already jumped out ahead of it.

As the last alien warship disappeared, James relaxed. As soon as he did, he almost fell out of his command chair. Only his restraints kept him upright. The sheer weight of tension and pressure he had been feeling overwhelmed him. They had been fighting non-stop for more than ten hours. In all that time, James hadn’t eaten or drank anything. His mind had been focused on defeating the aliens. Glancing down at his arms, he saw they were shaking. As he thought about the rest of his body, he became aware of the knots in his neck and the strain he felt coming from every muscle. Rolling his shoulders, he felt like heading straight to his quarters and his bed. Yet, he now had seventy warships under his command.

Looking around, he could see the rest of his bridge crew were feeling the same. Instead of letting out a cheer or whoop at the victory, they were staring at each other wide eyed. It seemed no one could believe they were still alive.

“I have a final count on the alien ships that fled,” Sub Lieutenant Grey reported after James called her back to reality by making a request for the numbers. “Three battleships, forty cruisers, seventy destroyers and one hundred frigates escaped.

James nodded. He didn’t know what to say. That they had actually driven off the massive fleet of alien ships was almost unbelievable. Yet at what cost?

“That means we destroyed or disabled over nine hundred alien warships,” Grey said excitedly. “What a victory!”

When James didn’t speak she looked hurt. Yet she pressed on, “Isn’t it a great victory? We won, we saved Connecticut.”

“It is,” James said. His mind wasn’t on the alien ships. It was on the losses they had suffered. Of the six hundred and forty-six warships Admiral Walker had started the day with, there were only two hundred and four left. Many of them were so damaged they might have to be scrapped. Connecticut was safe, but the price had been colossal. The only positive James could see was that Carrington had survived. Somehow, he and Gupta had managed to beat the odds.

But for how much longer? James asked himself. If the aliens had more ships out there, it would be impossible to stop them. Your mission is all the more important now, James thought as his mind turned to New Washington and another one of his former subordinates. Walker might be dead, but his strategy was still in play.

Chapter 28

The Battle of Connecticut: of the six hundred and forty-six human warships that fought in this monumental battle, only two hundred and four survived. Victory came at a high price. For the survivors, the only consolation was that the invaders paid a higher price. Of the one thousand one hundred and fourteen alien ships that entered the system, eight hundred and ninety-three died there.

- Excerpt from Empire Rising, 3002 AD.

HMS Endeavour, New Washington system, 19th March 2473 AD.

As Captain Rachel Becket sat in the command chair of Endeavour, she couldn’t help but think the whole situation was surreal. She had forty destroyers and frigates under her command. Never before had she commanded more than one ship, yet now she was responsible for nearly a fleet worth of ships. More than that, while almost every warship within American colonial space was preparing to fight to the death to protect Connecticut, she was stealthily cruising towards a dead world. It was nearly three weeks since the aliens had overrun New Washington. Yet, the level of radiation the planet was giving off was so high that if she hadn’t known better, she would have thought the aliens had nuked the planet yesterday.

“Beginning deceleration burn,” Endeavour’s navigation officer reported.

“Carry on,” Becket responded. If the other Captains were following the timetable she had given them, the action was about to begin. After jumping into the system a day ago, Becket had thought long and hard about how to carry out her orders. She had asked herself one simple question, what would James Somerville do? First on Drake, then Raptor and then Endeavour, Becket had watched James outsmart his opponents time and time again. Now she was trying to put what she had learnt into practice.

“New gravimetric contacts,” the sensor officer called.

“Show us on the main holo plot,” Becket requested.

Thirty new contacts appeared in front of her moments later. They were coming from the direction of the shift passage that led back to Connecticut, and were accelerating straight towards the fleet of supply freighters in orbit around New Washington. Fleet was perhaps an understatement. Armada was more accurate. Endeavour’s sensors had identified six hundred freighters of various sizes protected by sixty frigates, ten destroyers and two cruisers.

As soon as the new contacts appeared on the gravimetric plot, the alien warships reacted. They increased the amount of scanning radiation they were pumping into space. Then, the cruisers, six destroyers, and twenty frigates formed into a fleet and moved to intercept the approaching threat.

In the midst of all the maneuvers, twelve new contacts materialized beside the fleet of freighters. Each accelerated towards a freighter. A smile spread across Becket’s face. Confusion quickly took hold among the alien ships. The warships that had formed up to confront the human ships approaching the planet tried to reverse course to provide point defense cover for the freighters. The other alien frigates rapidly accelerated towards where the missiles had come from. They were trying to seek out the ships that had snuck up to the fleet of freighters.

The two ships Becket had ordered to attack were American stealth destroyers. They were even more advanced than Endeavour. Becket’s squadron of ships were among the stealthiest ships humanity had yet built. Yet the Americans were the cream of the crop. Even after firing and giving away their position, the alien frigates were having trouble detecting the two American ships.

Whether because they were focused on finding the new attackers, or they were still in shock, the frigates did a bad job of shooting down the twelve missiles. Six reached their targets. Each missile destroyed an alien freighter.

More new contacts appeared on the gravimetric plot as the human ships coming from the Connecticut shift passage fired sixteen missiles towards the alien freighters. Ordinarily, human missiles couldn’t have been fired from anywhere near the range that they had been launched from. As they accelerated, they increased their velocity at a far slower rate than normal. They were supposed to look like a new design of long range missiles. In reality, the missiles had no chance of reaching the freighter fleet with any energy in their capacitors. As a result, they would not be able to maneuver to hit any targets. Yet, the aliens didn’t know that.

When the two American stealth destroyers launched twelve more missiles, the alien freighter Captains cracked. Pandemonium broke out. None wanted to sit stationary and await destruction. Almost as one, the freighters broke orbit, though without any coordination, they quickly turned into a muddled mess. The sudden movement of so many ships caused more than one near collision. The frigates that were supposed to be shepherding the freighters had to make dramatic course corrections to avoid hitting their charges. All the movement didn’t help the alien warships shoot down the second salvo of missiles. Eight struck freighters, destroying them instantly.

The eight explosions in their midst only increased the panic among the freighter Captains. More than two thirds of the freighters began evasive maneuvers, clearly fearing more missiles were about to strike them.

Though the freighters were scattering like a herd of frightened sheep, the alien warships were showing signs of being commanded by a single mind. The fleet that had formed to confront the ships Becket had approaching from the Connecticut shift passage reversed course and moved to intercept the human ships. Nearly thirty frigates were maneuvering to cover the side of the freighter fleet that the two American stealth destroyers had attacked. Even if they didn’t detect the two American ships, they would have ample point defense weaponry to shoot down any more missiles they launched.

Despite the aliens’ improved response to the sudden threat, Becket was still smiling. Everything was happening exactly as she had planned. For twenty more minutes, she watched as the alien freighters fled New Washington and the approaching human warships. Twice more the American destroyers launched missiles though only three further freighters were destroyed. The attacks served to keep the freighters fleeing though.

The next development came when two destroyers and a frigate that were amongst the human ships approaching New Washington decelerated as hard as they could, the rest continued on. The holo plot updated with their new trajectory, showing that the three ships would be able to get away from the approaching alien fleet before the fleet could open fire.

For thirty seconds the alien fleet didn’t respond. Then, every ship pivoted and began their own deceleration burns. The alien commander is a smart one, Becket conceded. The rest of the ships that were apparently continuing on to engage the alien fleet weren’t ships at all. Becket had taken every drone out of the ships under her command and altered them to give off enough radiation to appear, at least from a distance, like warships. Only the three ships that were about to escape had been real, there to help the illusion.

Rather than taking a direct approach from the Connecticut shift passage to New Washington, Endeavour and the rest of the ships Becket was commanding, had taken a roundabout route to the far edge of the system. Then they had slowly cruised up to New Washington under stealth. The entire armada of alien freighters was now fleeing right towards them.

“Target the two nearest frigates with our plasma cannons,” Becket ordered. “Keep one missile in each of our broadsides in case we need to finish off either frigate. The rest of our missiles are to target freighters.”

“Aye Captain,” her tactical officer replied.

Not knowing exactly which way the alien freighters would flee, Becket had strung out her ships to cover a wide area. As it happened, the heart of the freighter fleet was headed right for Endeavour. If the rest of the ships in her fleet were still in formation, at least seven other ships would be within plasma cannon range. Others would be able to open fire with their missiles. The rest would have to alter course and come out of stealth to make their attacks. Likely, if Endeavour and the other ships that fired first could destroy the escort frigates, the human warships that were out of position would have time to join the battle.

Becket held her fire until one of the frigates was almost at point blank range. With so many freighters moving around the alien’s sensors seemed unable to detect Endeavour. “Now,” she shouted.

Six heavy plasma bolts shot into space. The three that hit the closest frigate all struck the center of the ship. They cut the frigate in half, sending both parts spinning away from each other. The second frigate didn’t fare any better, all three plasma bolts tore through the warship and burst out the other side. There were no secondary explosions, but the frigate lost power and rolled out of control.

Eighteen missiles accelerated out of Endeavour’s port, starboard, stern and forward missile tubes. Two more joined them when her tactical officer was sure the two frigates he had targeted where no longer a threat. Every missile rapidly accelerated towards a distant freighter. The closer ones were being saved for the plasma cannons when they recharged.

As soon as she fired, Becket ordered Endeavour to maneuver. As the freighters were moving in the opposite direction to her ship as they fled from New Washington, she wanted to keep them in weapons range as long as possible.

“Destroyer alpha-seven is maneuvering to engage us,” Endeavour’s sensor officer called.

Becket checked the holo plot to locate alpha-seven. “Hold the starboard missile tubes, target them at alpha-seven as soon as it comes into range,” Becket ordered.

“I think frigate beta-sixteen is also going to try and take us on,” Endeavour’s First Lieutenant reported. “Look at her acceleration profile.”

“I see it,” Becket acknowledged. “We’ll deal with the destroyer and then the frigate.”

Becket was thankful she had so many eyes watching the holo plot with her. Within seconds of Endeavour opening fire, the other human warships within range had joined in. Seventy missiles were accelerating towards the freighters. Three other frigates and six freighters had already been destroyed by plasma cannons. From further out beyond the edges of the freighter fleet, other human warships were coming out of stealth and accelerating to close with their prey. The freighters themselves were scattering in all directions, trying to escape the harbingers of death that had suddenly appeared in their midst. In contrast, what alien warships there were amongst the freighters were trying to close with their enemy. As a result, the holo plot was a confusing mess of contacts.

Making things slightly easier, the number of contacts decreased by twelve as the human warships finished charging their plasma cannons and fired again. Then the missiles reached their targets. Throughout the fleet of alien freighters, explosions erupted.

“Alpha-seven has fired,” Endeavour’s tactical officer reported. “Two missile carriers incoming. They will release their missiles in thirty seconds. Beta-sixteen will get a clear shot at us by then as well.”

“Keep hitting their freighters with your plasma cannons,” Becket ordered. “Leave the point defense gunners to their work. They should be able to handle two destroyer missile carriers. Taking out freighters is our priority.”

“Yes Captain,” the tactical officer replied with a nod. He went back to frantically tapping on his console.

“Should we target beta-sixteen with our port missile tubes?” Endeavour’s First Lieutenant asked.

“No, we’ll take the frigate with our plasma cannons once it gets closer,” Becket replied. There was no time to explain further, for Endeavour’s point defenses opened up as the two missile carriers released six missiles each. All but one were shot down. Endeavour’s ECM and an evasive maneuver caused the last one to overshoot. Nevertheless, it detonated, trying to catch Endeavour in its explosive force. A few warning sirens went off on Endeavour’s bridge as some of the exploration cruiser’s hull sensors detected the explosion. Thankfully, no serious damage was done.

Ten seconds after the missile exploded, six more heavy plasma bolts reached out to strike six freighters. Four of them exploded, the other two lost power and stopped accelerating.

“Alpha-seven is still closing with us as fast as it can, I think they’re going to try and enter laser cannon range,” Endeavour’s First Lieutenant reported. “We should have them before that. Our missile tubes will be reloaded in two minutes.”

“Take care of them, fire as soon as you’re ready,” Becket ordered.

Despite her desire to oversee their efforts, Becket forced herself to think about the wider picture. She cursed herself, she was responsible for all the ships in the battle. She should have been trying to coordinate their attacks now that she could signal them in the open. It only took a couple of seconds surveying the holo plot to see the human warships in the midst of the alien freighters were all being engaged by alien frigates. Like Endeavour, they were using whatever weapons they didn’t need to fight the frigates to strike freighters. There was nothing she could do to help any of them, they were too spread out to work together. The other ships under her command were a different matter. They were all accelerating towards the expanding ball of alien freighters. Quickly she selected four frigates that were at the edges of the freighter fleet. Transmitting their positions, she ordered the approaching ships to concentrate their fire on them. If they could destroy them quickly, it would make it much easier to focus on the alien freighters.

Only once she was satisfied there were no other orders she could give did she turn her attention back to Endeavour. Her First Lieutenant had already fired his missiles at the destroyer alpha-seven. There was also a missile carrier coming in from the frigate beta-sixteen. It released its four missiles towards Endeavour, but Endeavour’s flak cannon and other point defenses shot them all down. Moments later, alpha-seven engaged Endeavour’s eight missiles. As the penetrator missile within the salvo powered up, there were suddenly fifteen contacts on Endeavour’s sensors. The destroyer shot down five real missiles. Three avoided all efforts to stop them. Two of them scored direct hits on the destroyer. After the thermonuclear explosions dissipated, what was left was barely recognizable as a warship.

“Are we just going to let that frigate get in to laser cannon range?” Becket’s First Lieutenant asked.

“Yes,” Becket replied quickly. “Let me worry about it, as soon as our missile tubes are reloaded, target everything we have on more alien freighters.”

“Yes Captain,” the Lieutenant replied.

“Tactical, cease fire with the heavy plasma cannons. Let them recharge and target that frigate. Fire when I order,” Becket followed up.

After the tactical officer acknowledged her commands, Becket turned to watch the alien frigate. It took twenty seconds to close to the point she was waiting for. “Fire,” she ordered. As six heavy plasma bolts ripped through the frigate it exploded in a blinding fireball.

At the same instant, Endeavour was rocked as a laser beam struck her hull. Becket felt her ship groan under her as the beam burnt through Endeavour’s armor and tore into her interior.

“Damage report,” she snapped.

“The frigate grazed us on our port side,” Endeavour’s Second Lieutenant called from the auxiliary bridge. “Damage sensors are going off in missile tubes five and six. No one is responding from them. They could be out of action.”

“Keep me informed,” Becket said.

“We’re clear,” Endeavour’s tactical officer called. “There are no more alien warships maneuvering to engage us.

“Let’s make the most of our time then,” Becket replied. “Fire everything we have at the freighters.”

For the next six minutes Endeavour blasted as many freighters as her navigation officer could bring within range of her heavy plasma cannons. One more missile salvo roared out of the exploration cruiser, destroying many more freighters. Becket was tempted to wait for her gunners to reload another salvo of missiles but the alien squadron that had been tricked into pursuing her decoy squadron was quickly approaching. “Time to leave,” she ordered. “Put us on a heading of 0.432. Transmit our proposed trajectory to the rest of our ships. They are to fall into formation as we pass.

“Aye Captain, transmitting your orders now,” Endeavour’s COM officer replied.

As Endeavour sped away from the approaching alien squadron, the other human ships fell into formation. Becket counted five frigates and three destroyers lost. The aliens had fared far worse. Two destroyers and nine frigates had been destroyed. Far more importantly, Endeavour’s sensors were indicating that four hundred and seventeen freighters had been destroyed or disabled. Even if the aliens won in Connecticut, they wouldn’t have the supplies to continue their conquest.

For the next two hours, the alien squadron pursued Endeavour in a vain attempt to get revenge. The superior impulse engines the human warships were equipped with allowed them to easily escape. As soon as they were far enough away, Becket ordered her ships to return to stealth. Then, slowly, over a day and half, they worked their way through the New Washington system back to the shift passage to Connecticut. Becket entertained the possibility of launching another attack. The alien warships were protecting what was left of their freighters with a lot more vigor, but a concentrated attack with all her ships could have broken through them to get at the freighters again. In the end, she decided heading back to Connecticut was the right choice. She was desperate to find out what had happened in the main battle. As her ships jumped out, she hoped good news was awaiting their return.

Chapter 29

Beside actual combat victories, winning the biennial fleet exercises is the most prestigious accomplishment a Captain or Admiral can attain. Typically, over four thousand ships from the Imperial navy take part in the live fire exercises. In the end, only one flotilla can win.

- Excerpt from Empire Rising, 3002 AD.

HMS Titan, Connecticut system, 26th March, 2473 AD.

A full week after the Battle of Connecticut, James was still reading damage reports. Cunningham had retained overall command of the Combined Fleet and transferred command of the surviving British ships to James. Whilst that sounded like a significant promotion, even with the ten new ships that had arrived from Utah after the battle, there were only thirty British ships in the Connecticut system. Of those that had survived the battle, most had suffered significant damage.

In total, Cunningham had one hundred and forty-two warships that were technically classed as battle ready. Within a day of the alien fleet’s retreat he had been forced to send nearly eighty more heavily damaged ships back to the Utah system and its repair yards. Keeping them in Connecticut would have consumed the limited resources the less damaged ships needed. Cunningham had been desperately trying to get his ships ready to face the aliens if they returned.

Since those ships had left, everyone in Connecticut had been frantically trying to effect repairs. As the commander of the British portion of the Combined Fleet, James had spent hours reading through damage and readiness reports. He also had to oversee the movement of crewmembers and Lieutenants from ship to ship to make sure all his ships could function as efficiently as possible. Titan’s repairs had been left entirely in Romanov’s hands. Thankfully, everyone under his command had worked double shifts until the British ships had something approaching the ability to fight in another fleet action.

Despite the victory, everyone knew the aliens were still a threat. Two hundred alien warships had escaped. Combined with the ships the aliens had serving as escorts for their freighters and the ships that were guarding the systems they had already conquered, the aliens could have returned to finish off the Combined Fleet.

Only when Captain Becket and Endeavour returned two days ago had the tension eased. With the news that a significant proportion of the alien’s freighters and supplies had been destroyed, the likelihood of their fleet reforming and returning for another attack had diminished. At least in the short term.

A beep from James’ COM unit let him know it was time to finish his reports. He was relieved. He had been working on the final list of dead from the British ships. Their victory had been the costliest battle in British naval history. Seventy ships had been lost, more than half the number that had started the battle. By his count, the number of dead was at thirty-five thousand, four hundred and fifteen. Four more people had succumbed to their injuries over the last twenty-four hours. James had found it hard enough dealing with the losses he had suffered when he had been Captain of just one ship. First as Flag Captain and now as Commodore, the losses he had to deal with were quickly mounting.

Trying to push the number out of his mind, he stood and stepped from his office into his quarters. There he donned his best dress uniform. The beep had been to give him time to get ready for a meeting Cunningham had called with his senior commanders. James suspected Cunningham had decided it was time to act. Since the battle, they had received forty fresh ships, latecomers who hadn’t been able to obey Walker’s command to concentrate in Connecticut in time for the battle. The new additions, plus the now largely repaired ships that were still in Connecticut, were a powerful force. As far as James was concerned, it was time to go on the offensive.

Stepping out of his quarters, he walked the short distance to Titan’s bridge. Poking his head in, he caught Romanov’s eye. “I’m off to Victory, when I get back I’ll brief you and Scott on any important updates. After that, I would like to take a tour of the ship. We’ll take in the whole ship, but I want to focus on the damaged sections.”

“Very well Commodore,” Romanov replied. “I’ll give the department heads a warning you’re coming. They’ll be ready to fill you in on all the repairs.”

“Thank you,” James said. “I’ll be back shortly, you are in command of the fleet.”

Romanov’s jaw dropped. His shock was unmistakable. James couldn’t help but smile. “It didn’t occur to you did it?”

“No,” Romanov shook his head. Then he slowly turned to look at the holo projection of the British ships. They were drawn up around Titan in orbit above Connecticut.

“As my First Lieutenant, when I’m indisposed, you are to take over my responsibilities. As you know, if something happens to me, Captain Hughes of Argyll will assume command of the fleet. But when I’m simply at a meeting or otherwise indisposed, you are in charge.”

“Ah, yes Sir, I know the regulations,” Romanov said. “I just hadn’t thought it through. That’s all.”

“Well look after my fleet,” James said as he turned to leave. “Don’t do anything stupid.”

“I’ll try not to,” Romanov called after James, sounding less than confident.

Making his way to one of Titan’s shuttle bays, James checked how much time he had until the meeting with Cunningham was supposed to start. “Take us once around Titan,” he said to the shuttle’s pilot when he saw there were a few minutes to spare.

As he stared at his command, James couldn’t help but grimace. Titan had taken two direct hits in the battle with the alien fleet. Her number two port side missile tube had been missing since the battle of Marshall. Now starboard tubes six and seven were also out of action. The hole in her hull had been sealed, but without spending a significant amount of time in a shipyard, there was no way to fully repair her. She needed entirely new missile tube compartments. Titan had also suffered five other proximity strikes. Most of the sensor and point defense nodes the explosions had burnt off her hull had been repaired or replaced. Yet, the valstronium armor that had been lost was impossible to replace so far from British space. Even to James’ eye, Titan’s armor looked dangerously thin. His command was not the same as the heavy cruiser he had left Earth with. Inside, he knew she was also not the same. Structurally Titan was still sound, but a part of him was dreading his tour of the ship. Fifty crew members had been killed in the fighting around Connecticut. Whilst he didn’t know all of their faces, he knew there would be some key crewmembers missing as he went from compartment to compartment.

“She will still be able to give a good account of herself,” the shuttle pilot said, breaking into James’ silence. “If those aliens try to come back; old Titan will see them off again.”

“Aye,” James replied. “That she will.” There was no doubt in his voice. Though his ship wasn’t as powerful as it had once been, he knew she would still put up a good fight.

*

“So, tell me,” Cunningham said after some small talk, “how is your First Lieutenant doing with his expanded responsibilities?”

James was taken aback. He had thought he was going to a general planning meeting with all the flag officers of the Combined Fleet. Instead, he was sitting alone with Cunningham, answering questions he hadn’t expected to be asked. The planning meeting was scheduled for half an hour’s time.

“He’s doing well,” James answered slowly. “Certainly, I have no complaints. He has handled Titan’s repairs without needing my assistance. Though by now he has plenty of experience repairing her. She has taken a few beatings over the last few months. My attention has been elsewhere, so I have been very happy with his performance. He has taken a lot of responsibility off my plate.”

“What about his battle performance?” Cunningham followed up. “Before joining Titan, he spent three years on half pay, didn’t he?”

“He did, though that was due to a misunderstanding. Since joining Titan, he has shown all the skill and courage that I had come to expect when he was my Second Lieutenant on HMS Drake. Romanov has my full confidence,” James replied.

“Good,” Cunningham said with a smile. “I’m promoting you to acting Rear Admiral. Romanov will be promoted to acting Captain to take over command of Titan.”

James sat up in his chair. He had to bite back a no. He didn’t want to lose his ship. Yet, he knew saying anything would put a black mark against him. No command officer was ever expected to refuse a promotion.

“Don’t worry,” Cunningham said, clearly sensing James’ conflicting thoughts. “I’m going to let you choose your own flagship from our fleet. If you want to remain on Titan, you can. Though I suggest you talk it over with Romanov. He may want a fresh start if he is going to stamp his authority on his ship. Either way, I can’t have the senior commander of the British fleet being a lowly acting Commodore. Promotion to Rear Admiral will give you more authority and clout. In addition,” Cunningham continued as he leaned forward. “I have a mission for you. So, are you going to accept your promotion?”

“Of course,” James replied levelly. “With so many senior commanders lost among the Combined Fleet, I will help you in whatever way I can. It’s just, even as acting Commodore, I’ve always thought of myself as a Captain first and Commodore second. Without my own ship to command, that will change.”

“Indeed it will,” Cunningham replied, “but you’re ready for it. You are one of the most battle experienced officers the RSN has. I expect by now you have fought in more battles than your uncle. I’m sure you will fulfil your new duties admirably. So, let’s get down to business. I have received three key reports in the last several hours. I believe it is time for us to act.”

This time it was James who leaned forward. “Yes?” he prompted.

A small holo projector powered up and displayed a map of American colonial space. “An alien fleet of one hundred and six warships tried to attack the Marshall colony. Thankfully, Rear Admiral Rosecrans got early warning of the fleet’s approach and massed the defenders from Jackson and Marshall to confront them. He drove the alien fleet off, both sides suffered heavy losses but Marshall was unharmed.”

James nodded, Rosecrans was a skilled commander. With enough scout ships and gravimetric relays, he could easily see how the American Rear Admiral had outmaneuvered a sole alien fleet. “What about the rest of our borders?”

“Everywhere else has been quiet. I believe the fleet that approached Marshall was meant to be a diversionary attack, though we didn’t get news of it until after we knew where the aliens were massing their main fleet. It’s a good thing, we needed all the ships we had here.

“Elsewhere, there’s been the occasional sighting of groups of freighters heading east, escorted by smaller warships. Presumably, they have all been heading towards New Washington. Beyond that, no other system has been threatened.

“As for New Washington itself, the latest scout ships are reporting there are now only one hundred warships within the system. Many of the more damaged ships have left. Presumably, they are heading back to their own space, or at least the staging area they launched their attack from. Which brings me to this,” Cunningham said as he altered the display on the holo projector slightly.

Four new systems appeared. They were designated X-34 to X-38. Together they formed a line that headed deeper into unexplored space.

“After the alien fleets’ move towards New Washington, one of our scout ship commanders came across a damaged alien cruiser. I believe it was one of the cruisers that came off badly in the battle you fought in X-14. The American Captain followed the damaged cruiser through three systems and to this fourth system. This is what he discovered.”

The image from the holo projector changed again. This time it showed a rocky planet. There was almost no sign of life on the surface. Just one small area that was giving off a lot of light. In orbit though, it was another matter. There were hundreds of stations of varying sizes in view. Some of them, James easily identified as repair yards, possibly even construction bays. Others were likely orbital warehouses and still others looked like they could be defense platforms.

“This is where the alien fleet gathered to attack us I take it?” James asked. He doubted there could be any other answer. It didn’t look like the planet had enough ground installations to be a colony. Yet, its orbital infrastructure was massive. Just the kind of thing a fleet of more than a thousand warships needed to prepare for an invasion.

“That’s the preliminary conclusion my analysts have come to,” Cunningham answered. “To be honest, we still don’t know enough about the aliens to know for sure. They could be a nomadic race with no colonies. This could be their homeworld. There species could live in space. Though, I’m betting this is just a staging area. Clearly, the aliens have been preparing for their attack for some time.”

“What about the rest of the system?” James asked. “Were there any other alien fleets within the system. Any other sign of more ships preparing to attack us?”

“No,” Cunningham smiled. “The system is all but unprotected. There were just twenty warships in the whole system. I believe the fleet that attacked us last week was the vast majority of the ships the aliens have sent against us. It doesn’t mean they don’t have more. If I’m right, and we haven’t found their homeworld yet, then they could still have many more ships, even many more fleets out there somewhere. Yet for now at least, it looks like we have survived their onslaught. This gives us an opportunity, even if they have more ships, if we can destroy their staging world it will slow down any future attacks. That’s where you come in.”

James felt a stir of excitement. He had made his name in the navy launching surprise attacks against enemy installations. Destroying the alien staging planet would be a fitting reprisal for the losses the Combined Fleet had suffered in the battle of Connecticut. As Cunningham outlined his plan he readily agreed, only suggesting a couple of small changes.

“Very good,” Cunningham said after ten minutes. “If you’re happy with this plan of action, we will bring it to the rest of the senior commanders. If they all agree, I will be dispatching you by the end of the day.”

“I am,” James replied. “It will be good to finally take the fight to these aliens. Maybe, if we show them we can’t simply be wiped out, they will be prepared to open talks.”

“I don’t hold out much hope for that,” Cunningham said. “But, it may work out that way.”

*

James watched the surviving senior commanders of the Combined Fleet file into Cunningham’s briefing room. Admiral Von Kleist was the first to enter, he was the senior commander of the German forces. Then came acting Commodore Sato. Before the battle of Connecticut, he had been a Captain. Now he was the most senior surviving Japanese commander. Cunningham had given him a field promotion to acting Commodore. There was no way the Japanese High Command would recognize Cunningham’s authority to do so, but for now, his subordinates and the rest of the Combined Fleet recognized his position. That was enough. When Rear Admiral Armstrong limped into the briefing room, James was surprised. The Rear Admiral had been severely injured. Yet now he was on his feet, though he looked far from well. James understood. As the senior American commander, far too much responsibility fell on him for him to stay in his sickbed. Admiral Woo of the Chinese fleet was the last to enter. He too had survived the battle with the alien fleet, though his ships had been severely mauled. Only fifteen remained.

“Thank you for coming,” Cunningham said. “Have you all seen the reports I sent to your flagships?” When everyone nodded or gave their assent, Cunningham continued. “After our victory, we have the initiative. It’s time to take it. I intend to launch two operations. The bulk of our fleet here in Connecticut will move to New Washington and seek to drive the aliens out of that system. Then, as circumstances allow, we will push them right out of American space. The remnants of the alien fleet may attempt to stand against us, if they do, we will wipe them out. If they flee, we will give chase, at least until they have been forced to relinquish the systems they have taken off us. At the same time, I intend to send now acting Rear Admiral Somerville with the British and Japanese contingents of our fleet back to Utah.”

Armstrong and von Kleist nodded, seemingly in approval of James’ promotion. Admiral Woo kept his face impassive. James wasn’t surprised. Though Woo hadn’t fought either Cunningham or himself in the British and Chinese war, there was no doubt Woo saw them both as rivals. Letting it go, James turned back to Cunningham as he continued.

“From there, they will take the shift passages to Grant and Farnsworth and then out into unclaimed space. Their goal will be the newly discovered alien staging planet. Somerville will have orders to destroy everything in orbit. This is our opportunity to strike back at the aliens and prevent them launching another attack against us in the near future.

“Outside this system I have no legal standing as the commander of this fleet. None of your governments have given me authority over your ships. You have all followed my orders so far, but I understand that those orders have been limited to readying the defenses of Connecticut in case the aliens returned. Now that I’m proposing offensive actions, I want your approval and input. We have a chance before us to strike two blows against the aliens. Blows that will put an end to the invasion. Yet, we still need to work together. I want to hear your thoughts. We command the majority of the ships of the Combined Fleet. If we agree on this course of action, the other commanders will follow us.”

“Moving our ships to New Washington and out beyond our colonial space will leave many systems uncovered,” Rear Admiral Armstrong said. “Though offensive actions will put the aliens on the back foot, it’s still a risk. If there is another full-strength alien fleet out there, they could strike us somewhere else while we are moving on New Washington and the other systems they have conquered.”

“You are entirely correct,” Cunningham replied. “But what other course of action do we have open to us? If we stay here in Connecticut and shadow the alien ships in New Washington, another alien fleet could strike us somewhere else anyway. Rosecrans was fortunate his scout ships detected the fleet that tried to attack Marshall. Not many other systems have the same defenses and there’s not much we can do for them from here.”

“You’re right I suppose,” Armstrong said. “I don’t like leaving more systems uncovered, but I don’t see that we have much choice. I suppose we’ll have to hope going on the offensive will delay any other plans the aliens have.”

“I agree,” von Kleist said. “It’s about time we showed these aliens that we won’t just sit around and wait for them to attack us. The best form of defense is a decisive offense. Though, I think I’m the one who should lead the attack on this staging planet we have discovered. I’m the second most senior commander here.”

“I thought about suggesting you lead the attack on X-38,” Cunningham said. “But I decided against it. Moving on X-38 will be risky. The aliens could detect our ships coming and prepare an ambush. Or, alien reinforcements could reach the staging planet from wherever their homeworld is before our ships get there. To be frank, Rear Admiral Somerville is expendable. We need you here, not just for your abilities, but because of the political position you hold. If you’re lost, who will take over the German forces? To a large extent, continued reinforcements from our home nations relies on our leaders knowing they have reliable Admirals commanding whatever forces they send out. If I’m killed, or if you or Admiral Woo are killed, reinforcements may dry up. Besides, you need to be here for another reason. If I’m killed in New Washington, we need someone to take over command. The Combined Fleet will follow you just as easily as they follow me.”

“He’s right,” Rear Admiral Armstrong said. “My government will accept Cunningham leading the Combined Fleet, at least until more American ships arrive. They would also accept von Kleist as senior commander. I’m not sure what they would make of anyone else.”

More than one pair of eyes stole a glance at Admiral Woo. Everyone knew what Armstrong was saying. Between the British Space Empire, and the American, Japanese and German governments, there was a degree of friendship and cooperation. Historically, the Chinese had been viewed with a degree of suspicion. They had always kept their colonial space closed to outside investment and development. Since the British and Chinese war, things were changing. Relations were warming. But it was a slow process.

For his part, Woo kept quiet and his face remained stony. For a few seconds there was silence, then von Kleist spoke up. “I take your point, and if I can’t lead the attack, then I suppose Rear Admiral Somerville is a fine candidate to do so.”

“I will be happy to serve as Somerville’s second in launching this attack,” Sato said. “My Captains will be happy to be taking the offensive.”

“What about the Chinese ships?” Cunningham asked as he turned to look at Woo.

“If the Combined Fleet moves to New Washington, my ships will accompany it. We have a debt to collect against these aliens. Too many of my countrymen have died at their hands,” Woo answered.

“Then it is settled,” Cunningham smiled as he rested his hands on the desk. “We will launch two strikes against the aliens. If they are successful, we will hopefully have bought ourselves a significant amount of breathing room. Now, let’s get into the details.”

Chapter 30

Hirokasu Corp is the largest trading company within the Empire. Strict laws are in place to prevent oligopolies from forming. Even so, Hirokasu has over ten thousand freighters registered at various sector capitals. Rumor has it, they have almost as many again operating on their behalf registered to other companies. For someone from a developing colony, it would seem such a company could dominate trade between the Empire’s worlds. Perhaps, if they concentrated all their ships in one sector they could dominate trade there, yet spread out across the Empire, they are a drop in the ocean.

- Excerpt from Empire Rising, 3002 AD.

HMS Titan, Utah system, 31st March 2473 AD

James had only been in the Utah system for twelve hours and he was already past wanting to leave. Space around the colony was a mess. The colony’s orbital command was overwhelmed and had lost control over many of the civilian ships. They were going wherever they wanted. The forces the colony’s governor usually used to keep control of the space around his planet had been sent to Connecticut. None of them had survived the battle. What Utah had received in return was one hundred and three heavily damaged warships. Forty of them were in repair bays, getting as much attention as the overworked American engineers could give them. The rest were sitting in orbit. It looked like each of their Captains had taken it upon themselves to barter, buy or steal what materials they could find to repair their ships.

Understandably, the American Captain Admiral Cunningham had sent back to Utah in overall command of the damaged ships, had prioritized American ships for repair. The American repair yards were set up to service American ships and they would be able to repair them quicker. Some of the other nations hadn’t taken the decision well. Some had left Utah to return to Earth, others were trying to carry out their own repairs and were waylaying supplies the American ships needed.

Thankfully, the British ships had behaved themselves. They were clustered around the five British repair yards that had been constructed. It looked like they were trying to keep themselves out of all the commotion going on around them.

What was getting James’ back up even more, were the squabbles that had broken out over who should command the damaged fleet. An Indian Captain and a recently arrived Brazilian Rear Admiral had both been trying to insist that they should be the rightful commander of the remnants of the Combined Fleet in the Utah system. The Indian Captain had been arguing that he was the most senior survivor of the battle with the alien fleet and so he, not the American Cunningham had appointed should be in command. The Brazilian Rear Admiral, whilst recognizing that the American Captain had been given command by Cunningham, insisted that with his arrival, he should take command.

To top things off, a number of political representatives from various space powers had finally been sent to Utah to see what was going on. They were all squabbling among themselves. Some were trying to see what advantage they could get for their own nation now that the alien threat looked to be checked. Others were trying to claim that it was their nation’s input that had beaten the aliens. Whilst still others were up in arms over the heavy losses.

Upon his arrival, James had been thrust into the midst of all the infighting. The only good news was that there had been no newly arrived senior Japanese naval officer within the system. If one had arrived they could have countered Sato’s decision to join James’ fleet in the attack on the alien staging planet, or worse, they might have tried to take command of the attack. It was bad enough that the Japanese’ political representative was insisting no more Japanese ships be risked against the aliens. Sato was set on ignoring the representative’s orders. James knew he couldn’t have ignored orders from a more senior officer.

James was going over readiness reports. When he had sent out a request for all adequately repaired ships to join his fleet, he had been inundated with answers. Even if some of the Captains were competing amongst themselves for the limited supplies in Utah, most were still willing to fight. The problem he was facing was that he couldn’t afford to take ships that might break down or encounter serious faults. It would take his fleet more than a month to reach the aliens’ staging planet from Utah. Any ships whose repairs didn’t hold up during such a trip would have to be left behind. James simply didn’t have the time to limp along at the pace of some of the more seriously damaged ships. As a result, he was having to carefully analyze what repairs had been done to the ships that had requested to join his fleet. Thankfully, he had the initial damage reports on each ship. Any ship that looked like it had carried out far more repairs than would have been possible during the last week, James rejected. As for the rest, he intended to keep a close eye on them. If any looked like they were not up to the task, he intended to leave them behind before they left American colonial space.

When his COM unit beeped, James groaned. It was the Brazilian Rear Admiral. He had been trying to contact James for the last several hours. James had ordered Sub Lieutenant Grey to keep him at arm’s length, but it seemed she had run out of excuses. James’ COM unit was telling him de Gama was waiting to begin a holo conference.

Tapping the COM unit, James put on his best smile. “Welcome to the Combined Fleet,” James said when de Gama’s face appeared. “My name is acting Rear Admiral James Somerville, I am in command of the British component of the Combined Fleet now that Admiral Cunningham has assumed overall command.”

“Greetings, I am Rear Admiral Saldanha de Gama,” de Gama replied, emphasizing the lack of ‘acting’ on his rank. “I have been sent to take over command of the Brazilian ships within the Combined Fleet. I have under my command one heavy cruiser, two light cruisers, three destroyers and three frigates. I must say, I find it strange that it has taken me this long to contact you.”

“My apologies Rear Admiral,” James said trying to sound as neutral as possible. “As you can imagine, I have been very busy. The ships of my fleet have to take on enough provisions to replace what they spent or lost in the battle of Connecticut and prepare for operating away from friendly space for a significant length of time. On top of that, I have had to try and sort out the mess in orbit. I have also been reviewing the readiness reports of warships that I may take into my command for this upcoming mission.”

“That is just why I have been trying to contact you,” de Gama said, cutting James off. “Given my seniority, I thought you would have sought out my help. Now that my ships are a part of the Combined Fleet, and that I outrank you, I thought you would want to hand over your mission to me. My ships can strengthen your feet, and my rank will give our crews confidence they are going into battle with a seasoned leader at the helm.”

James had to fight not to let out a laugh. He had glanced over de Gama’s file. The Rear Admiral had been involved in a small border spat with a German destroyer when he had been a Captain, fifteen years ago. He hadn’t seen any action since.

“I hadn’t thought of it like that,” James said after taking a moment to compose himself. “I’m afraid Admiral Cunningham didn’t give me any leeway to hand over control of my fleet. Sadly, there is no option of you assuming command.”

“Nonsense,” de Gama followed up. “This mission to attack the alien staging world could end the invasion. It is essential that it have proper leadership. I must insist that I assume command of your fleet.”

“I’m sorry,” James said. “But you do not outrank Admiral Cunningham, I cannot obey your orders as they directly contradict his.”

De Gama paused for a moment. It looked to James like he was thinking through his options. “Very well,” he finally said. “In that case, I would like to request to join your fleet on its mission. If I am willing to come under your command, I assume you would be willing to appoint me as your second in command.”

“I have already approved enough ships to join my fleet,” James replied, suddenly thankful that so many ships had requested to join the attack on the alien’s staging planet. “The ships that are joining my fleet all have experience fighting together, I believe adding your ships would only cause confusion and would hurt our efficiency once battle is joined. On the other hand, I’m sure Admiral Cunningham could use your ships. You could join his fleet and assume command of the Brazilian ships that are already there.”

James knew exactly what de Gama was doing. He was only in the American colonies in the pursuit of fame and glory. As James’ second in command, he would spend the entire journey to the alien staging planet trying to undermine James’ authority. Then, if James was killed, or another opportunity arose, de Gama could take the praise for single-handedly ending the alien invasion. “Your ships have been in Utah for the last six days, I’m sure you have taken on enough supplies to head to Connecticut. There is nothing to do here in Utah after all,” he couldn’t help adding.

De Gama’s outwardly controlled look threatened to break at James’ last sentence. James intended it as a mild snub. There had been no reason for de Gama to still be in Utah. He should have already reached Connecticut. Maybe if he had moved straight through Utah, Cunningham would have assigned him to the fleet heading for the alien staging planet. Instead, de Gama had stayed put, far enough away from danger to be safe. Yet close enough to the front line to cause mischief.

“What are you suggesting, Captain?” de Gama said, using James’ official rank. “Who are you to tell me where my ships can and cannot go. If I want, I will order your fleet to join my ships, then I will lead the attack against the aliens. I will not be insulted by such junior officers. I don’t care what fleet you belong to.”

“Let me be clear Admiral,” James said slowly, trying to keep his voice calm. “You have no actual combat experience. You have already shown that you are more interested in your own pride than in actually helping the Combined Fleet and defeating the aliens. You will not be accompanying me on my mission. If you insist your ships must join my fleet, then I will gladly accept them, but you will be remaining on Utah. So, either you save face and take your squadron to Connecticut to fight under Admiral Cunningham, or you stay here and look like a coward to everyone back on Earth.”

Before de Gama could respond, James muted his COM link and opened a link to the bridge. “Romanov, target the Brazilian flagship with our plasma cannons. Then send a COM message to all other warships within the system. Tell them that de Gama is taking his squadron to join Cunningham and his move to push the aliens out of New Washington. Any ships that have not been reassigned to my fleet and are repaired to a state of battle readiness are to accompany him.”

“Aye Captain,” Romanov replied. “I take it you and the Rear Admiral are getting on like old friends,” he added with a chuckle.

James didn’t reply. Instead he unmuted de Gama. The Brazilian looked like he was about to start shouting at James, but then he looked to the side, distracted by something. “You are targeting my ship!” he spat. “How dare you? That is an act of war.”

James put on the face and tone of voice he had used as a Lieutenant to scold newly minted ensigns who overstepped their authority. “I don’t want you to be confused Rear Admiral. If you try to join my fleet, or take any other action that I believe will hinder my mission in any way, I will disable your cruiser. Then I will send my marines over and have them apprehend you. I have no qualms about imprisoning you in Titan’s brig until the end of the war. I don’t have any more time to waste on you. Go home or go to Connecticut, either way, stay out of my way.”

Closing the COM channel with a quick press of his finger, James let out an angry grunt. Tens of millions of civilians had already died. Billions were still under threat. They deserved better than de Gama. Taking a couple of deep breaths, he tried to let his anger drain away. When it didn’t immediately work, he picked up the readiness report he had been reading and forced himself to finish it.

Just as he set it down, a beep from his COM unit let him know Romanov was trying to speak to him. James accepted the request. “The Brazilian squadron looks like it is about to break orbit. I’ve also been contacted by an aide to Utah’s governor. Apparently, she has just received a very angry COM message from de Gama. Do you have any new orders for me?”

“Not as yet,” James replied. “Keep our plasma cannons targeted on de Gama’s ship until it is out of range. That is all.”

“Aye Captain,” Romanov said, “There’s one more thing. A couple of marines have landed on Titan and requested a meeting with you. They are making their way to your quarters now.”

“What?” James asked. “Why didn’t you get my approval first?”

“Well, given who it is, I thought I didn’t need to,” Romanov answered.

James sensed he would look a fool if he asked who. “Very well, I’ll see them when they get here,” he said instead.

Closing the COM channel, James uploaded a recording of his conversation with de Gama to the report he was preparing for Cunningham and Earth. Then he attached a copy of the communications de Gama had had with the other ships in Utah before James’ arrival. To that, he added the report of the Brazilian squadron’s length of stay in Utah. To anyone who looked at them together, it would be obvious what de Gama had been trying to do. James had no doubt that the Rear Admiral would be sending his own complaint back to Earth. Though he was confident no real repercussions would fall on him, he also knew that whoever told his side of the story first was often the one believed. Using his authority over the courier ships, he intended to include his confrontation with de Gama in his official report. It would reach Earth long before whatever story de Gama chose to tell.

By the time he was done, the controls to his office door were reporting two visitors waiting outside. Letting them wait for a moment, James pulled up the files on the two marine assault ships in the system. He had seen them as his fleet entered Utah’s orbit, but he hadn’t paid them any further thought. They weren’t frontline combat ships and hadn’t factored into his planning. When he saw who commanded the British ship, he grinned widely and opened his office door.

“Brigadier General Johnston,” James said as he stood, moved towards Johnston and held out his hand. “It is a pleasure to see you again.”

Johnston smiled as he returned James’ hearty handshake. “It’s good to see you again Captain, or should I call you Rear Admiral?”

“James is fine,” James said with a wave of his hand. “You are looking well. I haven’t seen you so filled out before.”

“Marriage has been good to me,” Johnston said as he patted his midriff. There wasn’t a sign of a belly, but he had filled out with more muscles on his muscles. “Plus, the last time you saw me, I had spent the best part of a year living in the jungle constantly running for my life.”

“That’s true,” James said with a chuckle. “Both Suzanna and I were sad when you were ordered back to Earth. We missed you and Clare. I’m sorry I didn’t visit during Titan’s refit.”

“Don’t be,” Johnston said. “I was promoted and posted to Mars after being given a year of leave. I’ve spent most of the last two years training up my regiment. They only graduated a month before all this damned alien business blew up.”

A polite cough from behind Johnston caused them both to remember their manners. “This is Major General Bragg,” Johnston said as he stepped aside to allow Bragg to enter James’ office.

“A pleasure to meet you,” James said as he held out his hand again. He was the commander of the American marines. “Come in and take a seat,” he added, pointing his guests towards his desk. “Now tell me,” James said after taking a seat himself. “To what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?”

Chapter 31

Today what we call the Empire’s marines are vastly different to the rest of our population. The enhancements and genetic modification human recruits undergo transform them into fighting machines able to take on even the most fearsome alien foes. While that helps them in combat, it makes reintegration into our society after their years of service difficult. Unenhanced humans tend to mistrust those who look so different to them.

- Excerpt from Empire Rising 3002 AD.

“We want to join your fleet,” Johnston said. “We believe this alien staging planet will provide us with a rare opportunity.”

“But your ships aren’t designed for space combat…” James began, then he realized what Johnston had on his mind. “The ground installation. You want to try and capture it, don’t you?”

“Yes,” Johnston smiled. “Though it was Bragg’s idea, I’ll let him explain.”

“If I may,” Bragg said as he pulled a datachip from of one of his pockets and moved to place it in James’ holo projector.

“Please, go ahead,” James said.

Placing the datachip in a slot in the holo projector, Bragg switched the device on. As it hissed to life, an image of the alien staging planet came into view.

“No doubt you have already studied the images our scout brought back in great detail, however, my analysts pointed out something I missed,” Bragg began. “If you look closely here, at these buildings near the center of the ground instillation. They look newer, less weather beaten than the rest. My guess is that the ground base is quite old, possibly built when the aliens first discovered the system. Yet, they knocked down a section of their base and built these new buildings in their place. These new buildings look like they were built after the orbital industry. Now, my question is, why would you go to all the bother of building a ground base if you were already in the process of setting up all the orbital infrastructure the aliens built to prepare for their invasion?”

When Bragg paused to look at him, James realized he wanted James’ opinion. He took a moment to consider it. When no obvious answer came to him, he turned to Johnston and raised his eyebrows. “Well?” he asked.

“Think about it,” Johnston said. “Where are the main offices of the Admiralty based? In London. Yet, our shipyards and all our infrastructure are in space. It’s a waste of resources constantly flying shuttles back and forth from Admiralty House to space. Yet we all take it for granted that our headquarters are based on the planet’s surface. Every human fleet operates in the same way. So too do our colonies. No colony governor or government is based in space. They are all based on the planet’s surface. Perhaps, the aliens think the same way.”

“Perhaps,” James said slowly. “Though, projecting human ideas onto these aliens would seem somewhat foolish. So far, they have shown no inclination to dialogue with us, or even to show mercy to civilians. We already know their societal structure is very different to ours, it seems like a leap to suggest they think like us when it comes to a planet’s surface.”

“There’s a good chance you’re right,” Bragg said, “Though, I think you’re giving humanity too much credit. Think back to our history. Think of how we treated one another in the past. At certain points in history, certain nations reacted in exactly the same way these aliens have reacted to us. Many nations or tribes sought to wipe each other out with no mercy. These aliens may not be as different to us as we think. If this is a ground-based center of operations, it could contain some very valuable intel, or even high-ranking alien commanders.”

James didn’t like Bragg’s theory but he saw the American’s point. More than one people group had tried to wipe out another throughout Earth’s history. If the aliens saw humanity as some kind of morally inferior race, their attacks and attempts to wipe out human colonies seemed human enough.

“Even if you’re right about their motives,” James said. “It’s still a stretch to think they also think about a planet’s surface in the same way we do. And you do realize this will require my fleet moving into orbit around the aliens’ planet. We will have to take out all their defenses and warships within the system before you can launch your attack. You’re proposing I turn my mission into an invasion rather than a raid.”

“We know it’s potentially a long shot, but we think the possibility is at least worth exploring,” Johnston replied. “Even if the ground base proves to be nothing more than a data storage center, or a place for troops to get some R&R - if the aliens even have such a concept. There could be useful intel that we could gather by capturing the base. We’re also proposing that you leave some of the orbital stations intact. Our marines can board them and seize control of them. It is likely they won’t have the same rigorous memory wiping protocols that their warships have. We could gather some useful intel from them. We may even be able to find the coordinates of the aliens’ homeworld.”

“We know what we are asking you to do,” Bragg said. “We recognize our plan would mean opening your ships to more of a risk. In the end, the decision to launch this part of the attack will remain in your hands. If we get there and it appears clearing the orbitals would be too risky, you can call it off. But the potential for valuable intel on the aliens can’t be ignored. If this ground installation houses important aliens, or has valuable data on the aliens’ operations, we should explore the possibility of capturing it.”

“Mmmhh, I’ll have to think about it,” James said. He wanted to run Johnston and Bragg’s theories past Lieutenant Scott to see what she made of them.

“There’s one other positive,” Johnston said. “Both our ships are already fully stocked and ready for a long-range mission. Between us, our two ships have the point defenses of three American battleships. It seems the designers thought it would be good if we could defend ourselves. Simply adding us to your fleet will boost your defensive capability significantly.”

James couldn’t hide a smile. “You know how to get a commander’s attention. All right, I’ll bite. Walk me through your ship designs and plans for seizing the planet and whatever orbital structures we leave intact.”

As Johnston and Bragg dove in, James had to admit he was impressed. Clearly, there had been some coordination between the American and British marine Corps in designing both ships. Though outwardly they looked different, their capabilities were strikingly similar. Both ships were designed to be escorted by a number of fleet warships to a planet. Once there, their escorts would deal with any orbital defenses and large planetary plasma cannons. Then, the marine assault ships would descend deep into the atmosphere of the target planet. As they did, more than thirty transports crammed full of marines would be launched from each ship. Their mothership, being so low in orbit, would provide heavy covering fire with its point defenses. The transports would be almost immune to ground based anti-air missiles and other threats like atmospheric fighters. Within two minutes, each marine assault ship could have a battalion of eight hundred marines on a planet’s surface. Then, over the next hour, an entire regiment of four thousand marines, accompanied by anti-grav tanks, ground-based assault copters and atmospheric fighters could be deployed by the ship’s transports. Moreover, if the first wave of marines managed to secure a safe landing zone, the assault ship could land on the planet’s surface and have its full complement of two regiments deployed within an hour.

“Okay,” James said after Bragg and Johnston finished explaining how they would use their assault ships’ capabilities to capture their objectives. “I have to talk it over with my subordinates. But at the very least, I want to bring your ships along with my fleet, if only to make use of your point defenses. Beyond that, we’ll have to see what we find when we get to the alien staging planet. You can both return to your ships and prepare to break orbit. I intend to leave within two hours.”

“Thank you,” Johnston said as he stood and shook James’ hand again. “We’ve already put our ships on alert. I expected you would come around to our way of thinking.”

James laughed. “I haven’t given you permission to launch any invasions just yet,” he said.

“I know, I know,” Johnston said. “We are just eager to play our part. Don’t forget, we spent the last several months watching the news reports coming in. Planet after planet being attacked and wiped out. While you fleet boys have been getting your chance to teach the aliens some lessons, we’ve been sitting on our hands.”

“I understand,” James said. “If the opportunity arises, don’t worry, I’ll give your boys a chance to show us what they’re made of. For now though, I’ll let both of you return to your ships. I have a lot to get ready before the fleet breaks orbit. Perhaps, once we are on our way, you would care to join me on Titan for a meal? You are more than welcome as well Major General,” James added as he shook Bragg’s hand.

“I would like that,” Johnston said. “It would be good to get a chance to catch up properly. A lot has happened since we last saw each other on Haven.”

“I would be honored to join you as well,” Bragg said.

“Very good, I’ll put one of my Sub Lieutenants in charge of organizing it. I’ll invite a few other Captains as well,” James said as he walked both marines out of his office. “We’ll talk again soon,” he called after them as they left.

*

James let out a long sigh as he sat at the head of the table that had been set up in one of Titan’s briefing rooms. It had taken a lot more work than he had expected to get his fleet to break orbit and slot all the newly assigned ships into formation. Finally, just an hour ago, his fleet had powered up their impulse engines and moved towards the shift passage to Fargo. Now he was able to relax – at least a little.

“It looks like you’ve had a tough day Rear Admiral,” a familiar voice called from further down the table. “Maybe you should call it a day and retire to your quarters. That would leave more food for us.”

“You should be careful,” James said as he eyed Captain Gupta. “There’s more than one way to make sure the rest of us get plenty of food. I could very easily think up some new orders requiring you back on your ship.”

“All right, all right,” Gupta grinned at him and raised her hands in surrender. “I’ll behave. Besides, we’re all happy that you’re here and that you’re sitting where you are. It’s good to see you in those rank insignia. Many of us have been waiting for the day. To our Rear Admiral,” Gupta said as she raised a glass.

Everyone raised their glasses. As James looked along the two lines of faces, there was more than one beaming smile looking back at him. “To we happy few,” James said as he raised his own glass. He hadn’t thought of it before, but as he took in all the people around him, the historic reference seemed apt. When smiles broke out on those he knew best, he knew they understood his words. They had been through a lot together.

Gupta had been his First Lieutenant on his first two commands, Drake and Raptor. Romanov, who was sitting beside her, had served as his Second Lieutenant on Raptor. Immediately to his left sat now acting First Lieutenant Scott, James was coming to think of her like a younger sister, she had served with him for the last six years. He also had two Captains who had been Sub Lieutenants on Drake. Becket, who now commanded his old ship Endeavour, was sitting beside her good friend Brigadier General Johnston, someone else who James knew well. Then there was Captain Fisher. James hadn’t had much contact with Fisher since Drake, but she had impressed him then, and it seemed that in the interim, she had continued to prove herself a formidable naval officer. In the battle of Connecticut, her frigate Repulse had two confirmed kills and she hadn’t lost a single crewmember.

Beyond his friends, James had also invited Captain Hughes of Argyle and his First Lieutenant. Hughes was James’ most senior Captain and would take over command of the British ships if something happened to him. He was therefore keen to get to know his subordinate. Sitting at James’ right hand was acting Commodore Sato and further down the table beside Fisher was Sato’s First Officer. The last in the group was Major General Bragg.

“Now, let’s eat,” James said.

For a few moments silence descended as everyone tucked into the first course. Gupta was the first to pause eating. “I’ve never seen a system in as much confusion and disorder as Utah. You would think we had lost the battle of Connecticut. You marine boys were the last ones in the Sol system. What was it like there?”

“Like a powder keg and an ant colony all rolled into one,” Bragg answered after taking a moment to swallow. “Everyone was scared. More than one city had been trying to put down rioters and looters. Quite a few of the smaller governments were up in arms about the news coming from the American colonies. They were afraid our forces would be defeated and then the aliens would approach Earth. Yet they knew there was nothing they could do to stop it and so they put all their energy into shouting at the spacefaring nations to do something.

“In orbit around Earth, and Mars and the other human colonies within the Sol system, it was pandemonium, a coordinated pandemonium though. The threat of destruction has galvanized most of the spacefaring nations. I wouldn’t say they’re working together amicably, but they are working together. Every shipyard in the system is working triple shifts and almost every day new construction bays are being added. Resources for shipbuilding were being commandeered from almost every area of civilian life. I imagine that was partly fueling some of the riots.”

“I’ve read reports that the Admiralty expects to have twenty new warships coming out of Vulcan within the next two months. And that twenty more will follow three months after that. It’s hard to imagine,” Captain Fisher said.

“Not if you’ve seen what we’ve seen,” Johnston said. “Before we left, the first reports of the five alien fleets that were approaching American space had just come in. I imagine, if it’s possible, the Admiralty, and the other space faring powers will be doing everything they can to increase their output.”

“After Connecticut, the pace may begin to slow,” Sato commented. “I can’t imagine our economies can sustain such intense military expenditure for long.”

“Let’s hope they don’t slow too much,” James said. “We still don’t know what we are up against. The fleet that attacked Connecticut could just be the tip of the iceberg.”

“What about reinforcements coming to Utah?” Becket asked. “Are more British ships expected?”

“There is one squadron on its way from our colonies,” James answered. “The reports I’ve seen suggest they will arrive in about two weeks. They’ll be joining Cunningham’s fleet to make up some of our losses. From what I understand, the Chinese still have at least thirty more ships they promised to send that should be on their way too.”

“There are also more Japanese ships coming,” Sato said. “Though it will be a long time before we are able to gather another fleet the size of the one Walker led into battle in Connecticut.”

“What state do you think Utah will be in when our reinforcements start to arrive?” Fisher asked. “The system is a disgrace at the moment.”

“We are in uncharted territory,” James replied. “Never before have any of our nations lost so many ships at once, let alone altogether. Add to that the threat of extinction, and it’s a wonder that our fleets have worked together so well. I spoke to Captain Riley and the planet’s governor before we broke orbit, with de Gama gone, they should be able to reassert control over the ships that are awaiting repair. Hopefully, things will sort themselves out once everyone calms down and realizes that their ships will all be seen to eventually. If not, I left orders for all reinforcements arriving to Utah to proceed immediately to Connecticut to join Cunningham.”

“Let’s hope Cunningham puts de Gama’s ships at the front of his fleet next time he engages the aliens. Maybe that will teach the Brazilian a sense of duty,” Fisher said.

“I wish I could share your optimism about the Utah system,” Sato said. “Don’t get me wrong,” he added, raising a hand as everyone turned to look at him. “I think Captain Riley will be able to bring everyone under his command. But, I fear the level of coordination between our nations will quickly break down once the threat of invasion diminishes. Right now, we are working together because we have to. Because we want to avenge fallen comrades. But, back on Earth, the battle of Connecticut will have changed things significantly. Our nations have historic grievances with each other, and there are threats from neighbors that are still a reality. The alien attacks and the battle of Connecticut has decimated the American fleet. Your fleet and mine have suffered heavy losses. That will change the balance of power on Earth. I fear that if our mission is successful, the cooperation on Earth will end and the infighting will start. What we’ve seen in Utah could be a foretaste of the future.”

“That’s not a very reassuring thought,” Romanov said. “Though, one that is hard to refute.”

Silence descended. James thought over the wars with China and India. More and more, China was counted as a friend to the British Star Kingdom. The free trade agreement Prime Minister Fairfax had forced upon China at the end of the war was integrating their economies to such a point that war would be disastrous for either party. Though he still avoided most of the news reports about Empress Christine, it seemed she was doing a phenomenal job of winning over the Chinese populace. The more the Chinese populace loved her, the harder it was for the Chinese leaders to promote the idea that the British Star Kingdom was an enemy.

On the other hand, the Indian Star Republic had plenty of grievances they wanted to settle. Their ships had fought well in Connecticut, yet there had been relatively few of them. Given the losses the British fleet had suffered, it wasn’t an outrageous idea to think the Indians might wish to make a move to regain some lost pride. James guessed the other officers were thinking the same. Both the Japanese and Americans had their own rivals.

“So, tell me,” Becket said a little too loudly. “What are the marines on your nice shiny new ship like? They’re not all half human half machines like you, are they?” she added as she poked Johnston in the side.

Johnston’s hand shot out quicker than anyone could see and grabbed Becket’s wrist before she could pull it back. “You’d be surprised,” he answered with a smile. “They are a new generation of recruits. They don’t have all the enhancements special forces marines have, but they do have a few improvements. After Haven, the Marine Corps decided to augment all its marines. You shouldn’t be so quick to jest, perhaps you could use a few augmentations yourself.” Johnston effortlessly moved Becket’s hand up and patted her on the forehead.

If he had done it to anyone else, they would have died of embarrassment or burst into a fit of rage. Becket grinned and jabbed Johnston in the ribs again with her free hand.

James couldn’t help but smile. Johnston had taken Becket under his wing on Drake. Even though Becket was older and supposedly wiser now, it didn’t seem like their relationship had changed much.

“What about your marines Major General?” Gupta asked Bragg as she turned away from the fight that was developing between Johnston and Becket. “Are they enhanced as well?”

“No, they have just been through our rigorous training regime,” Bragg answered. “Though we are exploring the possibility of augmenting all our marines. From what we’ve seen of Johnston’s two new regiments, even minor augmentations can have impressive results. An augmented marine with our latest combat armor is a prospect many of my superiors are keen to see. I’m certainly looking forward to seeing how Johnston’s forces fair against the aliens if we get a chance to go toe to toe with them.”

“So, I hear you have some interesting theories about the aliens,” Sato said, leaning over the table towards Scott.

As other conversations broke out between the various officers, James sat back and tried to watch them all. He wanted to see how everyone interacted with each other. Judging the dynamics of his command was important. One conversation caught his attention.

“So how is married life treating you?” Becket asked Johnston, their fight over.

“I can’t complain,” Johnston said with a wink. “Clare is missing Haven. Mars is a very bleak planet in comparison. Yet, she has enjoyed visiting and spending time on Earth.”

“I’m sure that as long as you are nearby, she’s not complaining too much,” Becket replied coyly. “There aren’t any children on the way yet are there?”

“Actually,” Johnston replied slowly as a wide grin spread across his face. “She told me just before I left the Sol system. She is due in six months.”

“Congratulations,” Becket said as she returned Johnston’s grin and leant in to give him a hug.

James smiled at Johnston and Becket. He didn’t want to disrupt their conversation, but it was great news. Especially given all the death and destruction they had experienced over the last several months. While he waited for a natural moment to congratulate Johnston, Captain Fisher drew his attention.

“What impact do you think our raid will have on the war Rear Admiral?” she asked, speaking loudly enough for him to hear over the other conversations. “Do you think we will convince the aliens to leave us alone?”

As James went to open his mouth, the rest of the conversations around the table died. Everyone was looking at him. “There’s no way to know for sure,” he answered. “Though, I doubt it. Think of how much time, effort and expenses it cost our governments to build the ships that were gathered in Connecticut. The aliens went to a lot of effort to assemble their invasion fleet. Its defeat might give them pause, but the fact they started this war by shooting first and, indeed, by bombarding colonies, suggests they are not likely to give up after one defeat. It will however, give us some breathing room. In fact, it might give us years or even decades. We don’t know how long it took them to assemble their fleet, nor how far away their homeworld actually is. I expect that the threat won’t be over unless we conquer their homeworld or convince them to open up diplomacy.”

“Are we going to map the shift passage the aliens used to come to their staging planet?” Fisher followed up.

“We certainly are,” James said. “In fact, I will be writing up orders for you and several of our other Captains long before we reach our target. It’s my intention to let some of their ships escape, tracking where they go will be almost as useful as destroying their staging planet.”

When it was clear James wasn’t going to add anything more, several conversations broke out at once. Again, James sat back and watched and listened. Occasionally he drew Sato or Hughes into conversation as he sought to pick their minds and come to know them better.

After an hour and half of dining and chatting, James’ COM unit beeped to let him know his fleet was approaching the first jump gate. It was time for his guests to return to their ships.

Standing up, James lifted his glass. Everyone stopped what they were saying and looked at him. “Thank you all for coming, your presence has been a pleasure but I’m afraid duty is calling us back to our responsibilities. I want to make one final toast. To fallen comrades and future victories.”

His words were repeated along the table as everyone raised their glasses with him. After placing his glass down, James nodded to everyone and then made his way to the main doors. He shook everyone’s hands as they left. He hoped it wouldn’t be for the last time.

Chapter 32

For the last two hundred years, the Empire has colonized new worlds at a rate of four per year. For the last fifty, the rate has risen to six. Inevitably, as we reach out across the galaxy, we will encounter those who see us as invaders. Historically, where possible, the Emperor has come to agreeable terms with our new neighbors. Where that has not been the case, the Imperial navy has always been on hand to ensure our colonists are kept safe.

- Excerpt from Empire Rising, 3002 AD.

HMS Titan, normal space, near X-38 system, 1st May 2473 AD.

When Titan’s gravimetric plot beeped, James looked at Sub Lieutenant Grey. “It’s Endeavour,” Grey said. “She has returned.”

“Her Captain is sending her report and sensor data over now,” Sub Lieutenant Edwards added from the COM station.

“Put the sensor data on our main holo projector, I’ll read the report in a moment,” James replied.

When a holo projection of X-38 appeared, James’ eyes went to the aliens’ staging planet. His fleet was sitting in normal space just one jump away from their target. Endeavour had been sent in to recon the system. For a moment, it looked like Endeavour’s reconnaissance was going to force him to abandon his mission.

“That’s a lot more ships in orbit than when Portland discovered the system,” Romanov commented.

“Look at their repair bays, they’re completely full,” Scott added.

“The survivors from the battle of Connecticut must have retreated from New Washington,” James concluded. “Cunningham clearly succeeded in pushing them out of American colonial space. They’ve beaten us back here.”

He fell silent as he contemplated the data. If the ships were fresh reinforcements, an attack was out of the question. If they were the damaged survivors of Connecticut, it was another matter. Since leaving the Utah system, he had picked up a squadron of American warships from Fargo, and a few other ships from Grant. In total he now had two battlecruisers, four heavy, ten medium and fourteen light cruisers, along with thirty-six other support ships. The aliens had at least fifty warships in orbit. Beyond that, those in the repair bays would likely be able to sortie out to swell their numbers. There was also the unknown factor of the orbital stations’ defenses. A full on frontal attack would be costly. The question was, what other approach should he take? On the journey from Utah he had simulated a number of different strategies for attacking the planet with his fleet. But which one best suits our new situation? James asked himself. He opened Becket’s report and scanned through it. Almost immediately, one point caught his eye. “Open a COM channel to Endeavour,” he requested.

Within the human colonies, especially at war time, all orbital stations and ships in orbit, carried out small random maneuvers. Their purpose was to make it extremely difficult to target a ship in orbit with ballistic weapons. If random maneuvers weren’t carried out, a ship could sit at the very edge of a star system, compute the course of an orbital platform and fire ballistic weapons at it. If the ballistic weapons were travelling even remotely close to the speed of light, the platform would have next to no time to react, if they even detected the threat at all.

Becket was reporting that the alien’s random maneuvers were less frequent and smaller than expected. It was a potential weakness. The aliens seemed to think the threat of attack was non-existent. Though the future position of the alien stations couldn’t be predicted exactly, the general area they would be in could.

“Are you sure about their random movements?” James asked as soon as Becket appeared in front of him via the holo projector on his command chair.

“Yes,” she replied confidently. “I couldn’t believe it myself at first, so we waited around slightly longer than we needed to. For the whole time we were in X-38, there was no deviation.”

“And you are confident a strike using our tungsten spears will work?” James followed up.

“I believe so,” Becket answered. “I ran a short simulation as we travelled back to the fleet through shift space. In all our stealth encounters with alien fleets, they only operate their primary electromagnetic scanners at ten percent efficiency until they realize something is up. Like us, they appear to have to preserve their equipment. Also like us, they include random bursts of fully powered scans to keep a track on their surroundings. My simulation suggested a fully powered scan from an orbital station or a warship will detect our tungsten spears, but otherwise, we have a chance to take the aliens by surprise.”

“You have shown good initiative Captain, I will make a note of it,” James replied. “The UN has strict regulations in place regarding the indiscriminate bombardment of planets. If we fire so many tungsten spears at the aliens’ orbital structures, hundreds will strike the planet’s surface. I imagine in this case; the UN interplanetary committee will make an exception. Either way, I’ll take full responsibility. I like your idea Becket, we’re going to run some more simulations, if they concur with your findings, I think we will be following your plan of attack.”

“I believe they will Rear Admiral,” Becket replied. “I’m happy to be of service.”

“Very good, I’ll let you go back to your ship. Take good care of her for me.” James said as he nodded to Becket and closed the COM channel.

“Lieutenant Sco..,” James began and then cut himself off. “Captain Romanov,” he said instead.

“Yes,” Romanov replied from the command chair beside him.

“If I may, I would like to borrow one of your Lieutenants?” James asked.

“Of course,” Romanov said with a smile.

James winked at him. They were both still getting used to their new positions. “Lieutenant Scott, I want you to take Endeavour’s sensor data and work up a number of simulations. Assume our entire fleet will launch every tungsten spear they have at the orbital stations from somewhere well beyond the missile range of the defending alien warships. Work out what our best approach is. We want to maximize the damage we can do with our first salvo of spears. After that, they will have fully powered up their scanners and will be able to intercept any others we fire.”

“I understand Rear Admiral,” Scott said as she stood and moved to leave the bridge. She would be able to run multiple simulations from one of Titan’s briefing rooms. “I’ll get right on it.”

“You have half an hour to send me some preliminary results,” James replied. “I’m jumping the fleet to X-38 now.”

“I’ll have suggestions to you before we exit shift space,” Scott replied.

“Sub Lieutenant Grey,” James said. “Inform the rest of the fleet they are to jump with Titan.”

“Message sent,” Grey replied moments later. “Every ship has acknowledged,” she added after a few more seconds.

“Jump us into shift space,” James ordered.

*

Second Fleet exited shift space well beyond the edge of the system’s mass shadow. Instead of travelling down the shift passage towards the alien staging planet, James turned his fleet and headed into the dark matter that surrounded the system. He suspected the aliens would have a number of frigates watching the shift passage that led towards human space. Endeavour, stealthy as she was, had been able to head deeper into the system without being discovered, he doubted his fleet would be able to do the same.

For two hours, his fleet moved parallel to the alien staging planet, then they turned their noses towards their target and slowly accelerated. By the time James ordered the turn, he had gone over a number of scenarios with Lieutenant Scott and decided on his plan of attack. After three hours of heading into the system, the British ships under his command powered up their flak cannons. They were joined by the ships from other nationalities that were equipped with similar weapons. Together they released their tungsten spears.

Thin rods of pure tungsten, the spears were accelerated to 0.5c by the British ships’ flak cannons. After the first salvo was fired, another salvo, with a slightly increased velocity followed it. Then another, and then several more in quick succession. They were timed to strike the staging planet together.

“Signal Carrington, tell Captain Gupta it is time to move forward with her squadron,” James ordered.

It took a few seconds for Carrington to acknowledge the order and slowly move ahead of Titan. James’ command chair beeped to let him know Captain Decker was demanding an immediate COM link with him. James opened a link right away. Decker was the senior American Captain in his fleet.

“What is it Captain?” James asked.

“You’re trying to lure the alien warships from the staging planet to attack us, aren’t you?” Decker asked.

“Yes,” James replied. He had informed Sato of his plan, but he had expected the rest of his Captains to be content in following orders. “If our strike against the orbital stations is successful, I imagine some, even all of the alien warships in orbit might retreat. After their defeat in Connecticut, they still may not be working together under one commander. Gupta’s ships are going to reveal themselves to tempt the aliens to stay and fight.”

“That’s a risky mission,” Decker said. “I’d like to volunteer my ships to join with Captain Gupta. You can recall some of your ships from her squadron.”

“That’s not necessary,” James replied. He had intentionally just sent British ships. If something went wrong, he didn’t want any politicians back on Earth accusing him of needlessly sacrificing ships from other nations.

“It may not be,” Decker said. “But I insist nonetheless. It’s not your colonies that have been bombarded out of existence. My ships will gladly go into danger’s way to give us a chance to blow up some more alien scum.”

James considered his options. If the Americans wanted to fight, he didn’t see any reason to stop them. “Okay,” he nodded. “Have it your way. I understand your motivations. I’ll call back some of my ships. You may take yours to join Captain Gupta. She will have immediate command of our forward squadron.”

“As long as we’re among the ships that get the first crack at these aliens, I don’t care who I serve under,” Decker replied.

“Happy hunting then Captain,” James said.

Closing the COM channel, he opened another one to Carrington. Gupta’s face appeared moments later. “Change of plans,” James said. “I want you to send Olympus, Jaguar and their escorts back to my fleet. You’re about to have some American friends join you instead.”

“They wanted a piece of the action?” Gupta asked.

“You can imagine why,” James said. “I’m happy to oblige them. You’re still in command, so work their ships into your formation and be ready to give a good account of yourself. We’ll not be too far behind you, so don’t take any unnecessary risks.”

“Don’t worry,” Gupta said. “After surviving this far, I want to see the aliens finished. I’m not going to let them get a lucky shot in before that happens.”

“Make sure you don’t,” James said with a smile. “That’s an order.”

“Aye, Aye Admiral,” Gupta said as she returned his smile and ended the COM channel.

For two more hours, James’ ships moved towards the alien staging planet at 0.46c. Gupta’s ships had moved slightly ahead of the main fleet and then maintained their relative position.

Twelve seconds before the tungsten spears were due to hit their targets, the alien warships orbiting the staging planet erupted into a tempest of activity. Engines powered up as many of the ships put themselves between the orbital stations and the incoming threat. James didn’t need anyone to tell him the aliens had got lucky. One of their ships must have detected the spears. Titan was still too far away to watch in real time, but James could imagine point defense lasers reaching out in their thousands to take out the spears. Travelling on a ballistic course, the spears would be easy to hit.

Seconds later, the far smaller engines on the orbital stations powered up as well. Then a handful of warships launched out of the repair bays. James held his breath, if they were trying to get out of the orbital stations, the aliens thought they were at risk. When one and then another alien station suddenly stopped accelerating, James clenched his fist and tapped it on his command chair. It appeared as if their spears were getting hits.

“Visuals coming in now,” Sub Lieutenant Grey called.

James watched as almost all the alien warships turned to bring their point defenses to bear on the spears. Lasers filled space with color. Despite the aliens’ best efforts, in the space of two seconds, explosions erupted all across the orbital stations. Then, with just a fraction of a second’s delay, more explosions blossomed across the surface of the planet. The only part of the planet that didn’t suffer was the area around the aliens’ ground base. No tungsten spears had been fired at the orbital stations that were above it. James was still hoping to give Johnston a chance to land his forces.

James banged his fists against his command chair as one station with damaged warships still docked to it erupted when multiple tungsten spears struck it at once. Right around the planet it looked like other stations were suffering a similar fate. There were so many stations that it was impossible to tell with the naked eye just how much damage their attack caused.

“How many did we take out?” James asked as soon as the explosions stopped.

“Forty stations have been destroyed outright, another eighteen are falling towards the planet’s surface. Others have been damaged but appear to be functioning. By the computer’s count, about one in every thirty spears hit a target. The rest were either shot down or impacted the planet’s surface,” Scott answered.

“Sixteen warships managed to get out of their repair bays,” Sub Lieutenant Grey added. “I’m detecting four cruisers, seven destroyers and five frigates. Some of them look in a bad way. Most of them, along with the majority of the other alien warships are forming up around their four battleships. Every ship has its scanners operating at full power.”

Gupta’s ships revealed their location by changing direction, their engines going to full power. It was meant to look like her ships were moving in to follow up their attack. To add credence to their threat, her ships fired more tungsten spears at the damaged orbital stations.

The alien battleships and the ships in formation with them accelerated towards Gupta’s squadron. All three of the smaller fleets that had formed up around the cruisers moved to join the battleships.

“It looks like the aliens figured out how to work together again,” James said.

“Having one of your planets bombarded will do that to you,” Romanov said. “Look at how they brought our nations together.”

“Multiple ballistic launches from the alien fleet,” Sub Lieutenant Grey called. “They are some kind of recon drone. They’re all emitting high levels of electromagnetic radiation. Some are aimed at Gupta’s ships, others are fanning out on a wider search pattern.”

“It’s their response to our stealth tactics at Connecticut,” Romanov said.

“Indeed,” James agreed. All human fleets used both stealth and normal recon drones. In battle situations, they were fired off constantly to get accurate targeting data on enemy fleets. The aliens had never used recon drones before. The battle of Connecticut had obviously taught them that they were needed.

“Two drones are coming our way, they will detect us in four minutes,” Scott reported. “We can avoid them if we alter course now.” She updated the holo projection of local space to show the drones’ trajectory and her purposed course change.

James faced a dilemma. Scott’s course change meant decelerating and decelerating would reduce the likelihood he could come to Gupta’s aid if she got into trouble. Yet if his fleet was detected, the aliens might try to run. We’re here to destroy their orbital infrastructure, James decided. If the warships decided to run, then he would let them get away.

“Take us out of stealth and move us up to join Gupta. We’ll switch to formation delta-six,” James ordered. The alien warships opened fire. Gupta’s ships had already entered range of their missile carriers. “Order Gupta to fall back,” James added.

As his orders were carried out, he focused on the alien fleet. Once again, he was about to engage the race that had decided they wanted to wipe his people out. This time, he felt no fear. The fleet in front of him had already been defeated once. Many of them were damaged. His fleet, though bloodied, was now battle tested. For the last month, he had drilled his ships so they would fight as one unit. The experience of fighting in and surviving the battle of Connecticut had molded their crews into one fleet. Though they were from a number of different nations, they were operating together seamlessly. James wasn’t surprised to see every ship slotting into its assigned position in delta-six. There was no confusion or miscommunication.

“Send a message to our ships,” James requested. “Say, ‘It’s time to blast these alien scum back to where they came from.’”

“Message sent,” Sub Lieutenant Edwards reported.

“Lieutenant Scott, target the alien battleships and cruisers with our first missile salvo, then, keep targeting whatever ships survive. Only switch to targeting their smaller ships once we’ve wiped out the alien senior commanders,” James ordered.

“Transmitting the targeting data to the fleet,” Lieutenant Scott said.

With Titan and the ships in formation with her accelerating, and Gupta’s squadron falling back, they reunited before the first wave of alien missile salvos reached them. “Initiate our counter fire program, order the frigates assigned to observation roles to take up their stations,” James ordered when the enemy missile carriers were three minutes out.

Four frigates broke away from his ships. Relative to the incoming enemy missile carriers, two moved up while two moved down. Analysis of the battle of Connecticut had identified a weakness in human point defense tactics. Designed to engage larger human missiles, the tracking systems in human warships struggled to track the smaller alien missiles once space filled with flak cannon rounds, laser beams, plasma bolts and AM missiles. Human AM missiles were not drastically smaller than alien anti-ship missiles. Commodore Sato had suggested a workaround. James had been skeptical, it required a high degree of coordination. After many hours of testing and training, he had been happy to admit his initial hesitations had been wrong. With the level of cohesion they had developed, his fleet was more than capable of pulling off the tactic.

As soon as the missile carriers released their missiles, flak cannon rounds shot from all the warships in James’ fleet that were equipped with such weapons. Their wall of shrapnel took out sixty of the one hundred and eighty missiles. Then, for two seconds, every other human point defense weapon blasted their ordinance towards the alien missiles. Their fire then cut off and for less than half a second the alien missiles continued towards their targets unmolested. The frigates that had moved away from James’ fleet used the pause to get a more accurate fix on the alien missiles. They relayed their sensor data back to Titan and Titan’s battle computer triangulated the alien missiles. The updated targeting data was then sent to every ship in the fleet. When the half second pause came to an end, every ship opened fire once again. Then they paused, awaited updated targeting data, and fired again.

Only three alien missiles made it through the waves of point defense fire. One struck a destroyer which fell out of formation. It had suffered significant damage. The other two alien missile scored proximity hits, though neither were serious enough to warrant concern. After getting a damage report from the destroyer and sending a couple of shuttles from nearby ships with repair crews, James prepared for the next alien salvo.

It actually fared worse. Lieutenant Scott and her counterpart in the Japanese fleet analyzed the effectiveness of their strategy and made improvements in the fifteen minutes it took the next salvo to approach. Only one missile made it through the point defense fire, it only scored a proximity hit on the British heavy cruiser Champion. Seconds after the hit, reports came in that the missile hadn’t penetrated the ship’s armor.

“I estimate counter fire has improved the efficiency of our point defenses by about fifteen percent,” Scott reported. “At Connecticut, we would have expected to suffer at least eight more hits from two missile salvos of that magnitude.”

“Excellent work,” James said. “Now it’s our turn, fire as soon as we come into range.”

As soon as the alien fleet had opened fire at Gupta’s ships, it had decelerated in a vain effort to keep the range open. Though instead of trying to flee the system, they were heading back to their staging planet. With impulse engines that were vastly superior to those the aliens had, James had no intention of allowing them to go anywhere. Just five minutes after the second alien salvo tried to burst through Second Fleet’s point defenses, one hundred and twelve human missiles were launched towards the alien fleet.

James’ ships had to fend off another alien salvo before their missiles reached their targets. Three alien missiles broke through their defenses. One destroyed a frigate. The other two caused minor damage to two other ships. While Second Fleet’s coordination had significantly improved, it appeared the aliens’ had worsened. As the alien ships’ point defense fire reached towards the human missiles, it was obvious they weren’t working together nearly as well as they had at Connecticut.

Twenty-eight human missiles broke through their point defenses. Five targeted an alien battleship, one missed, but the other four scored direct hits. Several explosions erupted from the giant warship and it fell out of formation. Atmosphere, wreckage and alien bodies spilled into space from several gaping holes. Four cruisers were destroyed outright as well, while three others suffered at least one direct hit.

When the alien fleet finally managed to reorganize itself to fire another missile salvo, it was just two thirds the size of its initial salvos. Three minutes after firing, another one hundred and twelve human missiles closed with them. Both of the battleships, and all but three of the cruisers were wiped out.

“Look,” Romanov shouted as he pointed at the holo display. “They’re not breaking,”

“There must be something important in orbit, or on the planet’s surface,” James said. Unlike at the battle of Connecticut, the destruction of the alien battleships and their cruisers hadn’t affected the alien frigates and destroyers. Two were rapidly accelerating towards a point at the far side of X-38. Presumably there was a shift passage there that led to their own space. James guessed they had been ordered to take news of the attack back to their homeworld. The rest however, were still heading for the staging planet.

“Send orders to Brigadier General Johnston and Major General Bragg, tell them they are free to engage their targets. Order Captain Gupta to take her squadron in towards the alien staging planet. She is to escort the marine assault ships into orbit,” James called. “Then send this signal to the rest of the fleet, ‘all ships are to break into their flotillas and pursue targets of opportunity. These are the last of the ships that bombarded New Washington, let’s finish them off.’”

It’s time to get some answers, James thought as he settled into his command chair. He was confident his Captains could finish off the fleeing alien ships without any oversight. Instead he focused his attention on Gupta’s ships as they engaged the remaining orbital stations and the marine assault ships as they disgorged shuttles. There has to be something on the planet that will shed some light on this war.

Chapter 33

From the bridge of HMS Bulwark, Johnston watched Brigadier General Bragg’s ship close with the two largest orbital stations. Two American frigates were flanking the marine assault ship. From all three ships, hundreds of low powered plasma bolts reached towards the alien stations. They destroyed weapon emplacements, sensor arrays and other important components. Then, thirty shuttles launched from Wasp and sped towards the two stations. Wasp herself continued on. Bragg intended to dock his assault ship with one of the stations and unload as many of his troops as he could.

Turning away from Wasp, Johnston focused on the alien planet. Bulwark was rapidly approaching its atmosphere. He and Bragg had fought over who would get the privilege of assaulting the planet. In the end, Somerville had chosen the British marine assault ship. Johnston and his men had carried out four live fire drills practicing an offensive landing on a hostile planet. Bragg and his ship had only carried out two.

“Begin the breaking maneuver,” Bulwark’s Captain, Seamus O’Malley called. He was a Captain of marines rather than of the RSN, though he’d served in the RSN for a number of years.

“Inform the shuttles, transports and Barracudas, they are to prepare to launch,” Johnston ordered. He was itching to leave Bulwark’s command bridge and head down to one of the transports. He felt his place was in the thick of the action. Yet, his rank kept him on the bridge. At least for now, Johnston promised himself.

“Atmospheric contact in five seconds,” one of Bulwark’s officers reported.

Automatically, the harness on Johnston’s command chair tightened around his torso. Even with all of Bulwark’s fancy inertial dampeners, Johnston felt vibrations come up through his seat as the large ship pushed into the planet’s atmosphere. Rather than pierce straight through the atmosphere, Bulwark was orbiting around the planet as she slowly sunk lower and lower. The counter on the holo projector in front of Johnston informed him it would be another three minutes until they circled the planet to their target. If there were any other life forms on the planet’s surface, Bulwark would look like a massive shooting star whizzing across the sky.

“Target coming over the horizon,” another officer reported just before the timer reached zero.

As the sprawling alien installations came into view, Johnston focused on the area around the buildings. The aliens had chosen a good spot. To the north there was a series of deep ravines and gullies, he had already ruled out attacking from that direction. To the south, there was some kind of lake. As yet, no one knew quite what liquid formed the lake. He didn’t intend to risk his men finding out. It was from the East and the West that he intended to launch his attacks. Both of those sides of the alien base were covered by short shrub like vegetation. They would provide his marines with enough cover to secure two landing zones and prepare to launch their main attack.

“Place us directly overhead,” O’Malley ordered

“Launch the Barracudas,” Johnston followed up. “Tell the shuttles and transports to follow them in.”

“Detecting weapons emplacements powering up,” an officer shouted.

“Weapons free,” O’Malley replied.

Johnston watched several plasma bolts shoot from Bulwark towards the sprawling alien installations. Each plasma bolt caused a fiery explosion. Bulwark jolted as two laser beams reached out from the alien base and struck the assault ship. Four more plasma bolts destroyed the alien weapons that had just fired.

“I think that’s them all,” Bulwark’s tactical officer shouted.

“Good shooting, if anything else even looks remotely like another laser cannon powering up, take it out,” O’Malley responded.

“Both laser beams did minimal damage,” another officer reported. “Their weapon’s power was severely reduced by the planet’s atmosphere.”

“Barracudas are away,” the tactical officer called.

Johnston powered up the small holo projector in his command chair and pulled up the live view from one of the Barracudas. Bulwark was equipped with two of the landing craft. Rather than being stored within Bulwark’s internal structure, each was attached to the hull. They were about six times the size of a normal assault transport and instead of having space for additional marines, they bristled with point defenses. Together, they accounted for twenty percent of Bulwark’s point defense capabilities. Their job was to soak up enemy ground fire.

Almost as soon as they detached from Bulwark’s hull, small anti-air missiles and laser beams reached up from various points within the alien base. In response, plasma bolts, laser beams and AM missiles shot from the two Barracudas to intercept the enemy fire. Most were shot down, though one missile struck the Barracuda Johnston was observing. The image shifted as the Barracuda was jostled about by the explosion. Quickly though, the image settled. The Barracudas were very heavily armored. It was their job to soak up all the ground fire. Playing her role, Bulwark’s tactical officer used the larger ship’s point defenses to target every source of small arms fire coming from the alien base.

“Transports and shuttles are away,” one of Bulwark’s bridge officers shouted.

Johnston switched the image on his holo projector to shuttle alpha-one. Lieutenant Morris was on board the shuttle, he was leading the marines that would secure the eastern landing zone. The larger transports and shuttles zipped past the two Barracudas. Almost as soon as they did, another round of fire erupted from the alien base. All the alien’s heavy weapons had been destroyed, but individual aliens were appearing on the roofs of many of the buildings and firing handheld rocket launchers or laser cannons. The two Barracudas shot down almost everything fired at the shuttles while Bulwark peppered the alien base with plasma bolts.

Johnston flinched as one missile got through the point defense fire. It struck alpha-one and exploded. The image on his holo projector from the shuttle spiraled around and around before cutting off. Johnston swore to himself. Morris had been one of his best Lieutenants, now his second in command would have to take over.

Switching his display to watch alpha-two, Johnston let out a sigh of relief when the five shuttles and four transports attacking the secondary landing zone set down. Marines charged out of them. Each shuttle carried twenty marines and each transport forty. Within thirty seconds, an entire company of marines was on the ground. They fanned out and set up a perimeter. A number of the shuttles lifted off again and hovered overhead, ready to give air support. The rest unloaded the heavier gear the marines had brought with them.

Johnston accessed an aerial view from Bulwark and watched the marines set up defenses. It was their job to secure the landing zone. Shifting his field of view to the primary landing zone, Johnston saw the other company of marines hadn’t suffered any losses. Its two hundred marines were likewise setting up a secure perimeter to the west of the alien base.

“Alien movement,” one of Bulwark’s bridge officers shouted in alarm. “Two hundred meters from LZ-1 and closing.”

Zooming his aerial view out slightly, Johnston saw the coordinated movement of lifeforms that could only be an alien attack.

“There is another group approaching LZ-2,” another officer shouted before Johnston could start barking commands.

“Warn both LZ’s. Then order the Barracudas to lay down as much covering fire across the aliens’ line of advance as they can,” Johnston ordered. From what he could see on the holo projector, it was already too late. Quite a number of aliens were already too close to LZ-2’s perimeter. The Barracudas couldn’t risk hitting their own marines. “How did the aliens get so close without being noticed? There’s two clicks between their base and our landing zones. I want answers, now.”

“Look here Brigadier General,” a bridge officer called, drawing Johnston’s eyes to the main holo projector.

It was displaying an aerial view of four cracks in the planet’s surface that were between LZ-1 and the alien base. Aliens were pouring out of them and charging towards the landing zone. Johnston sprang into action. “O’Malley, power up all Bulwark’s main plasma cannons, target those tunnel exits. Then lay down an advancing bombardment all the way to the alien base. I want those tunnels collapsed now.”

“Aye General,” O’Malley responded. He turned and issued orders to his officers.

Johnston turned back to his own holo projector and pulled up an aerial feed from the Barracuda that had moved to assist LZ-2. The ground just in front of the LZ’s perimeter towards the alien base was awash with fire as the Barracuda poured missiles and plasma bolts into the area. Even so, aliens were already among his marines. Some were using their rifles to blast away at the marines from point blank range. The majority though, were swinging their weapons like swords. At least one marine was sliced in half.

Though they had been caught by surprise, it only took the marines a handful of seconds to coordinate their response. Those caught face-to-face with the aliens fell back. Shuttles descended to almost the height of the shrubs and blasted the aliens, covering the marines’ retreat. Then, on the two flanks of the alien attack, squads of marines appeared and poured fire into them. The aliens that tried to chase the retreating marines were cut down by the shuttles’ fire. The rest either took cover and fired at the shuttles or tried to charge the marines that were flanking them.

The flanking marines fell back as the aliens charged them. Then, more marines appeared, positioned to take the charging aliens in the flank again.

“There are similar cracks in the ground near LZ-2,” a bridge officer called.

“Take them out,” Johnston snapped without looking away from the combat engulfing landing zone two.

To the edge of his field of view, Johnston saw massive fireballs erupt seconds later. Initially Bulwark’s intervention didn’t have any noticeable impact on the firefight. Then the fire coming from the aliens ranks diminished. Refusing to fall back, and with their source of reinforcements cut off. Their position soon became untenable.

Now, Johnston thought as he watched the alien fire falter. Lieutenant Hutchinson, who had taken over from Morris, sensed the opportunity too. Almost as one, the marines of LZ-2 and the shuttles advanced on the aliens. It seemed the aliens loved close combat, for seeing an opportunity to charge, to a man, or at least to an alien, the survivors charged Hutchinson’s marines. Only two got close enough to swing their weapons. One swung and missed as a marine ducked under its attack and launched himself at the alien, driving a nano carbon knife into the alien’s chest. Another marine tried the same feat but was too slow, the second alien managed to cut off the marine’s arm before it fell, riddled with several plasma bolts. The luckless marine’s squad mates had come to her aid just in time.

“LZ-1 has cleared the attack,” a bridge officer reported. “There’s no sign of any more aliens coming out of the tunnels on either side of the alien base.”

“LZ-2 has just about fought off the aliens that attacked it as well,” Johnston reported. “As soon as the ground commanders are happy, order the transports to return to Bulwark and take on the next wave of marines. O’Malley, you have command of the landings,” Johnston added as he unbuckled himself from his command chair and stood. “Land Bulwark and prepare your attack on the alien base. You know what to do. I’m heading to shuttle bay two. Inform our guests that they will be heading to the surface momentarily.”

O’Malley looked like he wanted to protest, but he didn’t say anything. Johnston nodded to him and then headed off the bridge. He had trained O’Malley and his bridge crew well. They knew what they were doing. Johnston knew he was a Brigadier General, but he still felt his place was on the front line. That was where he was going to be.

It took Johnston fifty seconds to get to shuttle bay two. Quickly, he made his way over to his combat armor. Powering it up, he stepped into it. By then, several shuttles had landed and marines and navy technicians where loading into them. Taking a moment to check who was in each shuttle, Johnston chose one and moved towards it. Descending the ramp, he sat down beside a combat armor that looked like the rest arrayed around him. Underneath though, he knew there was a tall, dark-haired woman in a RSN Captain’s uniform. He didn’t say anything, but he kept his face turned towards her. Just as the shuttle lifted off, she looked up at him.

“Majo.. General Johnston, what are you doing here?” Captain Becket asked, startled. She identified him from the command stars on his combat armor.

“I thought you could do with the company,” Johnston said. “I seem to recall you usually get yourself into trouble when you are on one of these ground missions,” he added with a chuckle.

“I think I’m old enough to look after myself,” Becket replied as she elbowed Johnston’s combat armor. “Just make sure you stay out of my way; my mission is far more important than your desire to shoot a few aliens. And don’t get yourself killed, I don’t want to be the one that has to bring the news back to your wife.”

“Don’t worry,” Johnston said. “I don’t plan to be leading from the very front. I’m just here to watch your back.”

“Well I couldn’t be in safer hands,” Becket replied.

A bump let them know the shuttle had touched down. Right away the marines around Johnston were on their feet and moving out of the shuttle. It was clear who the navy technicians were, they were still seated and looking around, slightly dazed by the speed of things. Johnston got to his feet and opened a COM channel to them. “Come on, move out, the shuttles are needed to bring down more marines.”

Becket was the first to her feet, the rest of her team quickly followed her example and disembarked from the shuttle. Johnston waited until the last was out and then followed them. He didn’t intend to take too many risks, but he knew he needed to be a part of the attack on the alien base. None of the marines under his command had seen action before. None of them knew him beyond his role as their training supervisor. If they were going to respect him, they would have to see him fight. He also really did want to watch Becket’s back.

As they stepped off the shuttle, Johnston was met by Lieutenant Hutchinson. “I’ve sent the two platoons of bravo company who have joined us to take over watching the perimeter,” he reported. “My marines are getting ready to advance.”

“Good work,” Johnston replied. “I watched you fend off the alien attack, you handled your marines well.”

“You’ve trained us all pretty hard over the last year and half,” Hutchinson said. “Mostly the men knew what to do without needing my orders.”

“Nevertheless, you kept your nerve. That’s more than many others who have gone into combat for the first time,” Johnston said as he slapped the Lieutenant’s combat armor on his shoulder. “Now, unless the aliens find another way to attack us, it’s our turn.”

“Yes Sir, I’ll go and make sure bravo company is fitting in with my men,” Hutchinson replied.

“On you go,” Johnston said. He turned around to find Bulwark. The marine assault ship was still visible above the alien base. Many of the structures within the base were at least two hundred meters tall. Right around the base there was a wall almost a hundred meters high and at least ten thick. As Bulwark moved to the eastern landing zone, it disappeared behind the alien buildings. Johnston could easily picture what was happening where Bulwark had landed. He had simulated it hundreds of times and carried out four live training exercises. Bulwark’s nose section was designed to open to allow heavy tanks and other land vehicles to disembark. Eight other hatches, four along her starboard side and four along her port side would also be opening. From each hatch, an entire company of marines would be emerging. To the aliens, it would look like the main attack was coming from the west landing zone. That was the plan. Johnson intended to wait just long enough for the aliens to divert most of their numbers to the west in anticipation of fending off the main attack. Then he was going to strike hard and fast with alpha and bravo companies.

Chapter 34

Ten minutes later, Johnston received a COM message from Captain O’Malley. The lead elements of his first regiment were ready to move out. Johnston gave him permission to launch his diversionary attack and moved to find Lieutenant Hutchinson. “Order your men to advance to the base’s outer wall. It’s time to begin.”

“With pleasure General,” Hutchinson replied. He spun and sent orders to his men.

Alpha company took the lead with bravo company held in reserve. As the three hundred marines advanced, Johnston stayed back with Captain Becket and the navy personnel. Three squads from bravo company were acting as their escort. The navy technicians were along to identify and potentially hack into key alien computer systems. Three weeks before the battle of Connecticut, American technicians had finally hacked into the few intact alien computer systems they had salvaged. With the translation technology the Kulreans had given to the human nations, they had been able to decipher the alien computer files. They found nothing useful as most of the files had been scrubbed clean, however, the technicians Becket had with her were confident they could hack any intact computer systems they captured.

When the lead squads of alpha company got to within two hundred and fifty meters of the wall surrounding the alien base, Hutchinson ordered them to halt. Johnston came to a halt as well, fifty meters behind them. With a thought, he changed the display on his combat armor’s HUD. Linking into Bulwark’s bridge, he watched the advance of several heavy tanks and a company of marines on the western side of the alien base.

Together, the tanks opened fire with their heavy plasma cannons. The bolts struck the wall and burnt small holes through it. The damage looked superficial. Then the tanks and marines went to rapid fire. Firing slots in the wall opened and alien heads appeared over the parapets. They rained fire on the marines who were attacking them. Both Barracudas were hovering above the alien base. Fire from their plasma cannons killed most of the aliens who had appeared on the top of the wall. They couldn’t do anything about the rest of the aliens though. Quickly, the battle between the marines on the ground and the aliens firing from the wall turned into a stalemate as each group poured fire on one another.

“Now,” Johnston ordered after opening a COM link to Becket’s ship. Four plasma bolts shot through the planet’s atmosphere and struck the wall directly in front of Johnston. The frigate’s plasma cannons were significantly more powerful than that of a battle tank. Together, the four bolts blasted a hole in the alien wall more than twenty meters across. Moments later, more plasma bolts descended. They widened the breach and struck the ground in front of the wall. The flat terrain the marines had to charge over was filled with craters. What had been a perfect killing ground now provided lots of cover.

Johnston didn’t have to give any more orders, Hutchinson was already ordering his men through. For the first several seconds, the marines’ charge was unopposed. Then the aliens regained their senses, several slots opened in the wall to either side of the breach. Shots from the aliens’ laser rifles reached out to the charging marines. Three marines fell, killed instantly. Two of the platoons from bravo company who had taken up positions to provide covering fire opened up on the alien defenders. Johnston couldn’t tell if they scored any kills, but the weight of their fire forced most of the aliens to take cover.

Within thirty seconds of the heavy plasma bolts descending through the planet’s atmosphere, the first marines reached the remnants of the alien wall. Without pausing, they pushed on towards the first alien buildings. “Let’s go,” Johnston said. He set off at a fast jog towards the breach. Behind him, Becket and the navy technicians ran to keep up. Behind them, the two platoons of bravo company laying down suppressing fire would soon follow.

The force he was attacking the alien base with was small relative to the number of defenders they estimated the aliens had. He wanted the attack to be fast and surgical, a larger force would easily get bogged down. That said, there was a risk their small force could be split up. If that happened, they wouldn’t have the strength to defend themselves. They had to stay together.

Johnston got two updates from Captain O’Malley. Warships in orbit had blasted several breaches in the alien wall in the sector he was attacking. Yet, none of his forces had managed to make it to the wall. The aliens had concentrated a lot of forces against his attack. O’Malley’s second update was to let Johnston know that delta company was en-route to LZ-2 via Bulwark’s shuttles. They would land and follow Johnston into the alien base, ready to provide additional support if required. Acknowledging both updates, he focused on his surroundings.

When they got to the alien wall, Johnston paused to take in the base. It looked very different from the ground compared to the aerial views he had studied before planning his attack. The base was roughly a circle, a mile in diameter and covered in buildings that were tightly crammed together. The walkways between them looked barely wide enough to allow one of the warrior caste to walk down them.

Checking the position of Hutchinson’s marines on his HUD, Johnston saw he was making good progress. The alien base was a maze of buildings, yet a small cluster near the center stood out. Whilst most of the buildings looked old and weather-beaten, those near the center had looked almost brand new. Unless the aliens had been planning their attack on the American colonies for the last fifty years, it seemed likely the newer buildings were some kind of operations base. With zero previous experience of alien ground installations, the new buildings were the best targets his intelligence officers could identify. That was why his attack was coming from the direction he had chosen. The breach they had made in the alien wall provided their closest entry point to their target.

There was also a walkway that led directly from their point of entry to their target. The alien base seemed to be connected by a series of walkways that started along its perimeter and converged at its center. Each walkway was intercepted by yet more walkways that formed concentric circles that moved out towards the edge of the base. The marines were quickly making their way down the narrow walkway Johnston had selected as their line of attack. At each intersection, they entered buildings and cleared them of aliens. Then Hutchinson left a squad of marines to cover the intersection. So far, the marines were only encountering aliens from their science caste.

“Look at this,” Becket said as she sent a file to Johnston’s HUD.

Johnston watched the visual of several marines barging into a large building. Inside they found a group of aliens. The aliens cowered back and tried to huddle together. Clearly, they weren’t from the warrior caste.

“They’re even smaller than the science caste, though look at their torsos, they are bulkier,” Becket followed up.

Looking more closely, Johnston saw that she was correct. “What do you think?” he asked.

“Another caste perhaps?” Becket said. “I’m designating them as members of a worker caste. We can worry about it later.”

“Right,” Johnston said. Before he could say anything more, he got a priority alert from Endeavour. “In here,” Johnston ordered as he and the navy technicians came to the second intersection Hutchinson’s marines had secured. Entering the building a squad of marines was using to cover the intersection, Johnston paused to give the alert his full attention.

Orbital scans of the alien base were showing large numbers of alien warriors falling back from their defenses. They were retreating from the wall and were moving towards the newer buildings that were Johnston’s target. Other groups were moving to interpose themselves along Hutchinson’s line of attack. I think we picked the right target, Johnston thought. He condensed the information and sent it to Hutchinson, along with an order to increase his rate of advance. He sent another order to one of the two platoons of bravo company that was acting as rear-guard and moved them forward to join Hutchinson. Then he sent another message to Captain O’Malley ordering him to turn his feint into a full attack. He wanted O’Malley pinning down as many of the aliens as he could.

He waited for sixty seconds to allow the marines from bravo company to move past his position. Then he led Becket and the navy personnel back into the narrow street. As they moved forward, Johnston kept one eye on his HUD and the progress of the forward elements of Hutchinson’s marines. It wasn’t long before they came into contact with two groups of alien warriors. Both had taken cover within buildings overlooking junctions in the walkways. The first group was dispatched when four high explosive grenades were launched into the buildings. The second group put up more of a fight, though when a rocket levelled the building, the marines quickly dispatched the survivors. Johnston grunted his approval. Fighting in this urban environment was much easier than when he had been fighting on Haven. There, they had been trying to minimize collateral damage. Here, it was irrelevant. No one cared if some science or worker caste aliens were killed.

“Halt,” Johnston shouted as he raised a fist. Seventh squad from alpha company had just sent a contact alert. They were guarding the second junction ahead of them. Waiting several seconds, he watched the firefight unfold via a video feed from one of seventh squad’s marines. If the squad was overrun, their route forward would be blocked. “Second squad, move forward,” Johnston said to one of the squads escorting him.

The Sergeant and his five marines broke into a run. The junction in front of them was still being guarded so there was no need to look for cover. Once they passed it, they slowed and then burst into a building overlooking the next junction. It took them ten seconds to clear the building. As soon as they did, they poured fire into the flank of the twelve aliens that were attacking seventh squad.

Their attack caught a couple of aliens off guard and took them down. However, the rest had already reached the building seventh squad was in. After flinging in explosives, the warriors dove into the building. The signals from the four remaining marines from seventh squad disappeared from Johnston’s HUD.

Glancing at the wider tactical situation, it was clear that delta company wouldn’t be any help. Its first platoon was just approaching the breach in the base’s wall. They were at least four minutes away from Johnston’s position. In that time, more aliens would arrive to reinforce those in front of him. A quick inventory told him that none of the marines nearby had any missile launchers. They had been designated for escort duty and had no heavy weapons with them. That left only one option.

“Second squad, keep the aliens pinned down,” Johnston said. “First squad, make a right at the next intersection and advance along the adjacent walkway. Try and take the aliens from their left flank. Becket, pick your best two fighters and follow me.”

Johnston gave Becket a couple of seconds to choose who would accompany them. When she nodded at him, he moved forward. At the intersection he turned left. Then at the next intersection he turned right and moved forward more cautiously. When they got to the next intersection, he turned right and saw the firefight ahead of him. Plasma bolts and laser beams were crisscrossing the open space between the combatants. Checking his HUD, Johnston let out a silent curse. First squad had been pinned down before they could flank the aliens holding up their advance. Johnston thought about ordering the rest of the navy personnel to follow the route he and Becket had taken. They could circumvent the building the aliens were held up in and take a different route to catch up to Hutchinson. Immediately, he dismissed it. Doing so would mean traversing a number of walkways that hadn’t been cleared. They could run into another building fortified by the aliens or even be ambushed by them.

“Take position here,” Johnston said to the two navy technicians Becket had selected. “Becket and I are heading forward, get ready to lay down covering fire on my command. Understood?”

“Yes Sir,” one said for both of them.

“We’re going to make a sprint for the building adjacent to the one the aliens are held up in, from there we can surprise them,” Johnston told Becket. “Ready?”

“Ready,” Becket said with a nod.

Taking the lead, Johnston charged down the narrow walkway. He kept as close to the left side of the walkway as he could to stay out of sight. The straightness of the walkway allowed him to keep his focus on the aliens as he ran. “Fire,” he said when one glanced in his direction.

Plasma bolts from Becket’s two navy personnel made the alien duck behind cover. Traversing his plasma rifle toward where the alien had been, Johnston added his own fire as he ran. Weaving out to the right of the walkway, Johnston then turned straight left and shoulder charged a doorway. Whatever it was made from, it crumpled under the weight of his combat armor. Just behind him, Becket dove into the building. She was just in time, multiple laser beams zipped past the open doorway as she entered. Johnston heard a scream over the COM channel as one of the navy personnel was hit.

Leaving the injured woman to the other navy technician, Johnston moved through the ground floor of the building, looking for some way up. Most of the aliens in the adjacent building seemed to be on the third and fourth floors.

“Over here,” Becket called.

When Johnston came to her he found what looked eerily like a giant set of human stairs. He jumped from stair to stair. He passed the first two levels and then came out onto the fourth floor of the building.

“Set thermal charges all along the side of the building adjacent to where the aliens are,” he called. “We’ll blow the charges, disorientate them, and charge through. Any that we don’t get with the explosion, we’ll take out with rifles.”

“Understood,” Becket replied as she moved towards the wall Johnston had identified.

“You’re about to have company,” the technician that hadn’t been hit reported over the COM channel. “An alien just jumped from the building they are in down to the walkway. It entered your building before I could get a shot off.”

Becket was closest to the stairs. She dropped her thermal charges and swung her plasma rifle towards the entrance. Then she advanced towards it. Just as she poked her head out to look down the stairs, an alien weapon swung up and cut her plasma rifle in two. As it swung its weapon around for another attack, the alien lifted a leg and kicked Becket into the room. Johnston had been coming up right behind her. She fell into him and sent him tumbling.

Even as he hit the ground, Johnston was springing back up to his feet. Every augmented muscle in his body working at full capacity. A normal marine would have been killed. The alien had already entered the room and was swinging its weapon like a sword. Johnston narrowly managed to avoid getting sliced open. Before he could bring his rifle to bear on the alien, the alien released its weapon. The sword like laser rifle flew across the room and impaled itself in the wall. Its hand now free, the alien reached out and deflected Johnston’s plasma rifle.

Letting go of his rifle, Johnston whipped out his nano carbon knife. The alien froze for a moment. Then it made a skin crawling facial gesture. Johnston imagined it was a smile but he really had no idea. The alien reached up to its shoulder and pulled out a long knife from a concealed strap. Suddenly Johnston felt he understood the aliens a lot better. This alien wanted a fair fight. It wanted the honor of besting him one-on-one.

As far as Johnston knew, the aliens had never come up against special forces marines. Feinting forward, he made it look like he had misjudged his thrust towards the alien’s abdomen. The alien took half a step back, and then countered, sweeping its knife towards Johnston’s head. Going to full speed, Johnston ducked under the alien’s attack and pushed himself back up towards the alien. He drove his knife through what he thought was its neck. His blade struck its target before the alien finished what it thought was a killing blow against him. The alien’s face changed, whether it was from surprise or fear, Johnston didn’t know. Slowly, the life in the alien’s eyes disappeared.

Twisting his knife to make sure the alien really was dead, Johnston returned the blade to its sheath. He spun to find Becket. She was already pushing herself onto her feet. In one hand she held half of her plasma rifle. “I don’t think this is going to be much use any more,” she said as she dropped it. “I see you took care of our friend.” She added as she looked at the dead alien.

“Just about,” Johnston said. “Let’s get the rest of those charges placed and finish off his buddies.”

As soon as the charges were set, Johnston and Becket made their way to the far end of the building. Johnston handed Becket his plasma rifle. “Here,” he said. “You might need this.” After she took it from him, he pulled out his smaller plasma pistol. Normally it took a couple of plasma bolts from a plasma rifle to take one of the alien warriors down. The plasma pistol carried less of a punch. With his faster reflexes, Johnston knew it would still be deadly in his hands.

“Blowing the charges,” he said.

With a thought, his combat armor sent the signal to the charges. The explosion sent debris and dust pouring into the room. Ignoring it, Johnston charged. He hurdled the remains of the wall into the building the aliens were defending. Several were on the floor, either dead or injured. Four others were picking themselves up while a fifth was shooting out the window towards his marines across the intersection. None seemed to realize the explosion heralded the arrival of new attackers. Sighting his plasma pistol on the nearest alien, Johnston poured five bolts into the warrior before it fell to the ground. The sound of the bolts burning into the alien’s flesh alerted its comrades to the new threat.

The first alien that turned towards Johnston got three bolts in the face. Before it hit the ground, Johnston had already tracked in on a third alien and was sending more bolts towards it. As they hit home, more plasma bolts entered the battle as Becket finally caught up with him. All the aliens but the one firing out the building’s window fell to their attack before they could bring their weapons to bear. The final alien seemed oblivious to its danger. Johnston and Becket peppered its body with plasma bolts.

Johnston turned to the aliens that had been blown to the ground by the explosion. He hit each with a plasma bolt to make sure they were really dead. Then he opened a COM channel to the two squads and let them know the intersection was clear.

By the time he and Becket made it back to the walkway, both squads from bravo company and the navy personnel had gathered at the intersection. “First squad, take point, let’s catch up with Lieutenant Hutchinson. Second squad, cover our rear. Let’s move out, there’s no time to waste.”

Opening his HUD, Johnston saw that the next five intersections were held by marines. Beyond them, it looked like Hutchinson’s main force was about to reach the new alien buildings.

As he set off down the alien walkway, his HUD alerted him that Hutchinson was signaling him. “Go-ahead Lieutenant,” Johnston said.

“We’ve reached our objective, there are quite a few more aliens about but we’ve managed to push them back into the newer buildings. I’ve selected a breaching point, charges are being set now,” Hutchinson informed Johnston.

“Don’t wait for me, blow them as soon as you’re ready,” Johnston ordered.

Chapter 35

“Charges are set Lieutenant,” one of Hutchinson’s marines reported over the COM channel.

“Very well, detonate them on my mark,” Hutchinson replied. Poking his head out the window, he took one last glance at the large reinforced door. It was right at the end of the walkway his marines had used to get to the newer buildings. It seemed this entire section of the alien base was sealed off from the rest. “Detonate,” he said after he ducked back behind cover.

The explosion blew the reinforced door into the building. Before Hutchinson could jump out the window and charge the entrance, marines were already piling in. The first four fell as laser beams cut them down, but the rest quickly moved past him. Plasma bolts were flying in all directions as the marines lay down covering fire.

They were pushing into a large open hall. It seemed like some kind of supply bay. Crates were stacked up along the walls. The reinforced door had been blasted twenty meters into the hall and had crushed several aliens. More were lying on the floor, clearly killed by plasma bolts. From behind some of the crates and doorways further into the hall, more aliens fired as his marines charged them. Hutchinson moved to the nearest crate to take cover. Then he selected an option on his HUD. From the back of his combat armor, a section opened and what appeared to be a cloud of dust was released. In reality, they were thousands of nano drones. They spread out through the hall, through the open doorways and windows and further into the new alien buildings. As they sent back data and a map formed on his HUD, Hutchinson’s suspicions were confirmed. Though from the outside the buildings looked separate, internally they were linked together. It seemed most of the corridors lead to one central area. Ordering most of the drones to concentrate there, Hutchinson waited to see what they would find. All around him, his marines continued the fight with the alien warriors. As he waited, they cleared the hall and pushed deeper into the buildings.

Finally, several of Hutchinson’s drones moved into a large open space at the center of the buildings. It was spherical and appeared to take up nearly one sixth of the space within the newer buildings. Hutchison switched to a visual display to see what one of the drones was seeing. At the center of the sphere something moved and turned towards the drone. Then electricity shot across the sphere. Hutchinson switched to another drone as the one he was observing stopped transmitting. Before he could get the feed up from the second drone, it too stopped transmitting. Then, starting from where the spherical room was, the rest of his drones went offline.

Hutchinson didn’t know what had attacked them, but he had an idea of the layout of the newer buildings. The drones had identified three areas with a significant number of computer systems. Highlighting them on the map the drones had made, he sent their locations to three of his platoon leaders with orders to secure them and await the arrival of Johnston and the navy technicians. Then he sent the location of the spherical room to his final two platoon leaders. He didn’t know what was in that room, but he had decided it was his primary objective.

As the marines moved out, Hutchison fell in with the lead platoon that was going towards the spherical room. Twice he got involved in firefights as the marines had to fight room to room to progress.

“Behind us,” a marine shouted on the platoon COM channel.

Hutchinson swung round. They had just cleared another large storage bay of aliens and he had been about to step out into the next room. As he turned, he saw six aliens drop from the ceiling. As soon as they hit the ground, they charged, firing as they went. A marine standing beside him caught two laser beams in the chest.

With no cover nearby, Hutchinson ducked to present as small a target as possible. Then he returned fire with his plasma rifle. As they were charging, the aliens’ fire wasn’t as accurate as it could be. It seemed the marines around him had come to the same conclusion. There wasn’t time to take cover. Instead they fired at the charging aliens. More than one hundred plasma bolts tore into them.

As the last one hit the ground, Hutchinson looked at his marines. Four more had been hit, one was dead. The other three were alive but had suffered serious burns. Two marines moved to see to their friends.

“There’s no time to see to them, we have to get to our objective. Delta company will be pushing through this way soon, they will see to our injured,” Hutchinson said as he spun to continue the advance.

A beep alerted him to a COM message from General Johnston. Hutchinson answered it. “I don’t know what you’re doing in there Lieutenant, but whatever it is keep it up.” Johnston said. “I’m getting reports from Captain O’Malley and the ships in orbit that the aliens are going ballistic. I’m not far behind you and thankfully reinforcements are on the way, but it seems we are about to be counter-attacked by a swarm of very angry alien warriors.”

“I don’t know what I’m attacking,” Hutchinson replied as he sent the image from the drone that had made it into the spherical room to Johnston. “Once we take the room, I’ll update you.”

“Acknowledged,” Johnston said as he cut the COM channel.

Hutchinson lost two more marines as they fought their way through three more rooms. “I think we’ve reached it,” a sergeant said on the platoon COM channel. “It’s sealed up tight.”

“Plant more charges,” Hutchinson ordered.

“Aye Lieutenant,” the soldier replied.

The explosion went off just before Hutchinson entered the room leading to their objective. By the time he had closed to the door the sergeant had just blown in, several marines had already charged into the spherical room. As Hutchinson stepped in, he saw they had all frozen. They were staring at the center of the sphere. As he looked down he too froze. There was a giant alien down there, it was floating in some kind of thick gooey liquid. The alien was nearly four times the size of the warriors they had been fighting. Where the warriors had one arm, this alien didn’t seem to have any. In its place, more than twenty tentacle-like appendages were stretching up towards the edges of the spherical room.

“What in all the galaxy is that?” the sergeant who had blown the door in said in disgust.

“I don’t know,” Hutchinson replied. “But I know what I want to do with it.” He brought his plasma rifle to his shoulder and sighted on the alien. “On the count of three,” he added as the rest of the marines followed his example.

The alien turned to face them. Only then did Hutchinson realize it had a face. As it opened its mouth, a grating noise came out. For a second Hutchinson thought it was speaking in its own language, then he realized he could make out what it was saying. “Don’t shoot me,” the alien said in English. “I would speak to your leader.”

“Hold your fire,” Hutchinson said over the platoon COM channel. He didn’t lower his weapon. Switching COM channels, he sought out Brigadier General Johnston. “I think you should get over here right now.”

*

As Johnston stepped into the spherical room he instinctively raised his plasma rifle and aimed it at the alien. He wasn’t surprised to see every other marine in the room was doing likewise. “What is it?” Johnston asked as he glanced at Hutchinson. The Lieutenant wasn’t taking his eyes off the alien.

“It spoke to us,” Hutchison said. “It said it wanted to speak to our leader. I was about to kill it when it spoke.”

Johnson turned to make sure Captain Becket and Lieutenant Scott were with him. Rear Admiral Somerville had assigned Scott to the navy team that was to join the attack. She knew more about the aliens than anyone else in their team, suddenly he was very glad she was with them. “What do you think?” he asked.

Becket and Scott exchanged glances. “You’re our leader,” Becket replied. “I guess that means you’d better talk to it.”

“This could be the best opportunity we will ever have to get intelligence on the aliens,” Scott added.

“So, don’t blow it then,” Johnston said. “No pressure.” Turning back to the alien, he took a deep breath. Whatever caste the alien was from, it looked impressive, intimidating and disgusting all at the same time. Staring into the alien’s eyes made his skin crawl. “I am Brigadier General Johnston. I command the forces attacking your base. Why do you want to speak to me?” Johnston forced himself to say.

The alien shuffled forward slightly through the goo it was floating in. Then it fixed its gaze on Johnston. “I am Queen Qura-rnt,” the alien said in a slow grating voice. “I wish to request asylum with your species.”

“Why?” Johnston demanded. “Your species attacked us, you have killed hundreds of millions of our people. Why do you want asylum? Why shouldn’t we just kill you?”

“I don’t want to die,” Qura-rnt replied. “I can help you. I can give you information.”

Johnston turned away from the alien when another Lieutenant in Hutchinson’s company requested to speak to him. “What is it?” he asked.

“We’ve secured the complex of new buildings. The navy technicians are trying to hack into a number of alien computer banks. Delta company is joining us, though the aliens are going crazy. More and more of them are reaching the complex we are in. They are charging us as soon as they get here. I’m not sure how long we can hold the perimeter even with delta company.”

“They’re after their Queen,” Johnston guessed.

“Their what?” the Lieutenant asked.

“Never mind Lieutenant,” Johnston replied. “Just hold the perimeter for as long as you can. If they start to break through, let me know immediately, we will have to fall back.”

“Yes Sir,” the Lieutenant said as he ended the transmission.

“Can you order your warriors to stand down?” Johnston asked as he turned back to the Queen.

“No,” she replied. “They are sworn to protect me. Either they will die trying to get to me, or they will kill you.”

“We will kill you before they do,” Johnston said. “You only have a short time to prove your worth. What information can you share with us?”

“If I tell you now, you will surely kill me, will you not?” Qura-rnt said.

“That’s a risk you’re going to have to take. If you can’t prove you are worth saving, you are of no use to us,” Johnston replied. To emphasize his words, he aimed his rifle squarely at the alien’s eyes.

“Wait,” Qura-rnt said hastily. She bowed, moving closer to where Johnston stood. “I can answer some of your questions now. I will show you I can be helpful.”

Johnston remained silent for a few moments to make it look like he was considering killing Qura-rnt to just be done with her. Then he lowered his rifle. “Fine, but you’d better convince me quickly.” Stepping back, Johnston looked to Becket and Scott. “Go ahead, you two will know what to ask better than me.”

“Where are you from?” Becket asked as she stepped forward.

“My species is from a planet called Her-iach,” Qura-rnt answered. As she spoke, the long tentacles that stretched out of her back and reached up to touch the edges of the spherical room slowly receded and curled around each other. “I do not have the coordinates myself, but our computer systems do. It is approximately two resta’s travel from this planet.”

“What is a resta?” Becket followed up.

“I do not know your measurement of time,” Qura-rnt replied.

“It’s approximately three months,” Scott said. “At least according to the Kulrean translator.”

“Very well,” Becket said. “How many planets has your species colonized?”

“My species lives on several planets,” Qura-rnt said. “Though we have cleansed many more. When we need them, we will have hundreds of worlds to live on. The radiation levels will have dissipated by then.”

“What do you mean by cleansed?” Becket asked. Johnston was sure he knew what the answer would be.

“They have been wiped clean of other species. The Flex-aor own this part of the galaxy. It is our right to cleanse the worlds that belong to us,” Qura-rnt answered, as she spoke she shuffled towards Becket and Scott.

Becket felt like she was going to throw up. She didn’t want to ask the question but she knew she should. “How many species have you cleansed?”

“Thirteen,” Qura-rnt replied. “Your species was to be the fourteenth. Even if you win here, the Flex-aor will cleanse you eventually.”

Becket couldn’t think of any more questions. Thirteen other species, they have killed thirteen other intelligent races, she couldn’t shake the number from her mind.

“Flex-aor,” Lieutenant Scott said slowly. “Is that the name of your species?”

“Yes,” Qura-rnt replied.

“How many ships does your species have?” Scott followed up.

“Thousands,” Qura-rnt answered as she moved closer to Scott. “The ships that were gathered here to attack you was the largest fleet we have ever assembled. But we have many more cleansing other worlds.”

“How do you know our language?” Scott asked.

“I have been studying it for several klectas,” Qura-rnt answered. “Since we discovered your species, I was tasked with planning your cleansing.”

“From where did you get your advanced technology?” Scott asked. She held her breath as she waited for Qura-rnt to answer. It was a question she had been desperate to know the answer to for months.

“What do you mean?” Qura-rnt replied.

“We have analyzed your technology,” Scott said. “We know you did not develop your engines or weapons yourselves. Where did you get the technology from?”

Qura-rnt hesitated. “Answer or you will be of no use to us,” Scott insisted.

“The Kragorians,” Qura-rnt said. “They gave my ancestors the weapons they needed to conquer our homeworld. From there, we have cleansed our part of the galaxy.”

Scott felt a massive weight lift off her shoulders. I was right, she thought. Ever since she had spoken to the artificial intelligence on Vestar, she had been convinced there was another alien race out there who had given the Vestarians their technology. She had known there was no way these new aliens could have developed the same technology. It was too much of a coincidence. But now she knew.

“Who are the Kragorians?” Captain Becket asked when Scott had no follow-up questions.

“I do not know,” Qura-rnt answered. “It was many, many years ago that they came to our homeworld. They told us nothing of themselves except that they wish to help us fulfill our destiny.”

Becket could guess what destiny the Kragorians had in mind. “What is your role among your people?” she asked, changing tack. Qura-rnt was proving to be a wealth of information.

Qura-rnt bowed her head and floated towards the humans. Then her head whipped up. “I command those sent to destroy you,” she roared.

The tentacles that had been curled up behind her shot towards the humans. Before anyone could react, they had smashed into everyone’s combat armor. The marines tried to open fire, but Qura-rnt’s tentacles threw them off balance. Plasma bolts shot in all directions.

Two tentacles struck Johnston. He grabbed one and tried to rip it off him. As he felt it giving way under his augmented strength, the second tentacle ripped off his helmet and wrapped around his neck. An electric shock rocketed through his body, sending his muscles into convulsions. Then, an overwhelming presence bore down on his mind. It took a second to realize it was Qura-rnt. Somehow her mind was pressing into his. He tried to resist but Qura-rnt effortlessly bashed away his feeble efforts. Fear shot through Johnston when he realized he was helpless.

As if he was a stranger within his own body, he watched as Qura-rnt ravaged his mind. She searched his memories, probing him for everything he knew about his species and their military capabilities. He felt Qura-rnt’s surprise when she discovered just how many planets humanity occupied. Then it turned to delight when Qura-rnt learnt of his wife and unborn child. Johnston could sense the pleasure Qura-rnt felt as the alien queen contemplated killing them. Behind her pleasure, he could feel her shame at having to grovel to him.

“Order your marines to retreat,” Qura-rnt’s voice said directly into his mind.

“No,” Johnston began to shout. Before he finished his thought, electric shocks sent his body into convulsions. Qura-rnt’s mind pressed down on his ten times harder than before. Her tentacle lifted him into the air. As he rose, Qura-rnt took control of his mind. With a thought that wasn’t his own, he opened a COM channel to every marine on the planet’s surface. Then he listened as his mouth formed words he wasn’t thinking.

“All units are to fall back to the landing zones. We have what we need, all units fall back,” he said.

Though his mind felt weak and distant, Johnston knew what his words meant. His marines would fall back but Qura-rnt would keep him here. Her warriors would soon retake the complex and his life would be over. His thoughts turned to Clare and their unborn child. The delight Qura-rnt felt at the prospect of killing them was fresh in his mind. Rage took over. In pure anger he lashed out with his mind.

She recoiled. For a split-second, Johnston regained control of his mind and body. Then her mind returned, stronger than ever. He didn’t care, throwing all his mental strength at her, he fought as hard as he could. Even as he felt Qura-rnt regaining control, he realized she was focusing on his mind. He had control of his body. Qura-rnt read his thoughts. Concern washed over her, then she made a grab for control of his body as well. It was too late. Acting on pure instinct, Johnston pulled out his nano carbon knife and sliced through the tentacle that was wrapped around his neck. Qura-rnt screamed in agony.

As he fell towards Qura-rnt, Johnston flung the knife straight at the alien’s eyes. It struck home with a sickening thud. She screamed even louder and fell silent as Johnston plunged into the thick goo that she was floating in. As soon as he hit the bottom he pushed towards Qura-rnt with all his strength. He knew she wasn’t finished yet.

Crashing into her, he grabbed her and landed what he hoped were bone cracking punches all over her body. As they fought, the weight of his combat armor pulled them both under the goo. Reaching around Qura-rnt’s body, Johnston grabbed one of her tentacles with both hands. Straining his enhanced muscles, he twisted as hard as he could. He felt a satisfying crunch as he ripped it in half. Qura-rnt let out another gargled scream. Johnston ignored it, he had already grabbed another tentacle and was ripping it apart.

As it too separated from Qura-rnt’s body, Johnston felt multiple tentacles wrap around him. They forced him to the bottom of the goo as Qura-rnt pushed herself up, using his body as leverage. As a tentacle wrapped around his head, Qura-rnt’s mind pressed in on his again. His lungs were already burning from lack of air and he didn’t have the strength to resist her. Fear gripped Johnston’s mind. Qura-rnt sensed it and Johnston felt her delight.

*

As soon as the tentacle that was wrapped around Becket’s neck detached itself, Becket’s knees gave way and she crumpled. Her mind was swirling, Qura-rnt had probed every part of her memory, seeking out any piece of information that would help the Flex-aor cleanse humanity. Forcing herself to open her eyes, Becket saw Qura-rnt and a marine in combat armor thrashing in the goo at the bottom of the room. In horror, she realized it was Johnston.

Qura-rnt’s tentacles retracted and wrapped around Johnston. The alien Queen lifted his body into the air and then slammed it into the goo. He hit the bottom of the room with a metallic thud. As Qura-rnt pushed down on Johnston’s body, she lifted herself out of the goo into the air. At least one of her tentacles was trying to wrap round a knife protruding from her face.

Suddenly released from staring at the spectacle, Becket realized she had to act. Though her muscles felt like putty, she desperately searched for Johnston’s plasma rifle. As soon as she saw it, she grabbed it. Then, falling onto her stomach, she levelled it at Qura-rnt. Holding the trigger down, she sent a stream of plasma bolts at the alien. Anger and revulsion at having her mind ravaged by the alien kept her finger on the trigger. She didn’t stop firing until the rifle overheated and malfunctioned.

When the rifle stopped firing, Becket looked down at it. It took her a moment to realize what had happened. Then she looked back towards the alien Queen. She was dead. The plasma bolts had burnt a massive hole through the alien’s torso. Forcing herself onto her knees, she peered into the goo. Johnston was at the bottom of it. He was still wrapped in Qura-rnt’s tentacles and wasn’t moving. Taking a deep breath, Becket let herself fall into the goo. The weight of her combat armor took her to the bottom. Grabbing the now limp tentacles, she ripped them off Johnston’s body. Then, she flung him out of the goo. Kicking off, she followed him into the air. Both of their bodies crashed onto the hard floor that surrounded the outer edge of the room.

Crawling to Johnston’s side, she turned him onto his back. Reaching for a panel on his combat armor, she checked his vital signs. Johnston’s heart was beating, but he wasn’t breathing. Tapping a couple of buttons on the panel, she sent an electric shock through his body. The convulsion made his chest thrust into the air. As it fell, Johnston’s eyes shot open and he inhaled a deep breath. In alarm, his looked round for Qura-rnt.

“She’s dead, she’s dead,” Becket said as he struggled to get up. “You beat her.”

It took a moment for her words to register. When they did, Johnston lay back and took several deep breaths. “My mind,” he said as he raised an armored hand to touch his head.

“Me too,” Becket said as she rolled onto her back beside Johnston. “She had some kind of telepathic capability. She probed my mind for information. I think her talking to us was a trick. She was trying to get us to lower our guard and buy time for her warriors.”

At the mention of warriors Johnston pushed himself into a sitting position. He looked around at the others, Hutchinson was likewise trying to get to his feet. Scott looked dazed but okay. The other marines were slowly recovering their wits. With his combat armor’s helmet destroyed, Johnston opened a COM channel to Captain O’Malley using the COM unit built into his combat armor’s arm. “What is our status?” he asked.

“Brigadier General, it’s good to hear from you,” O’Malley sounded relieved. “Your COM unit went offline for a couple of minutes after you gave the order to retreat. Are you okay?”

“Yes, at least I think so,” Johnston replied. “For how long depends on what your forces are up to. Are you retreating?”

“No, not yet,” O’Malley said. “Your voice sounded strange on your last COM message and as I couldn’t raise you, I though it better I hold position until I got you to confirm your orders.”

“Good work,” Johnston replied, not even trying to hide the relief in his voice. “I’ll explain later. You need to resume your attack. We need backup in here ASAP.”

“We’re on our way. I won’t be long,” O’Malley said.

“What about the aliens, what are they up too?” Johnston asked after giving O’Malley several seconds to order his marines forward.

“They’ve gone crazy,” O’Malley replied. “Some are still attacking the marines you have defending the new alien buildings. Others are charging my units. Others are rampaging through the alien base. It’s like they’ve lost all cohesion.”

“We killed their Queen,” Johnston said. “It’s like the battle of Connecticut, once their flagship was destroyed, their fleets lost cohesion. Get your men here as quick as you can, but don’t take any risks. I think we have won for now.”

Closing the COM channel, Johnston turned to find Qura-rnt’s body. It was floating in the middle of the goo he had nearly drowned in. The massive hole in her abdomen was obvious. Glancing down, Johnston saw the plasma rifle he had given to Becket. It was flashing to alert him that it was still overheating. Standing, he held out his arm to Captain Becket. After pulling her to her feet, he reached down and picked up the plasma rifle. “I guess it was a good idea to lend this to you,” he said as he handed it back. “I think I’d better let you keep it. You seem to know how to use it.”

Becket smiled and pulled Johnston into a hug. “I had a good teacher,” she said. “Now,” she continued after releasing him. “Let’s see what my technicians have found out and get out of here. I think I have seen enough of this alien world.”

“I couldn’t agree more,” Johnston said as he glanced at the dead alien queen again.

Epilogue

For the Empire, war never ends. The vast size of our space, and the number of alien species we have encountered, means that at any time, somewhere within the galaxy, Imperial ships are facing a hostile force.

- Excerpt from Empire Rising, 3002 AD

HMS Victory, Utah system, 17th June 2473 AD.

“Well,” Cunningham said as James sat across from him in Cunningham’s office. “Your mission was a resounding success. Congratulations Rear Admiral.”

“Thank you, Admiral,” James replied. “My Captains and the crews deserve the credit though, they fought well. We have lost many friends over the last months but it has drawn us all closer together.”

“I read your report as your ships closed with Utah, but I want to get your impressions before I send a report back to Earth,” Cunningham said. “Is there anything else you think I should know?”

“It’s all in my report,” James said. “Our victory over the alien fleet was relatively straightforward. Sato’s new point defense strategy worked almost as well as the simulations suggested it would. We could have closed with the fleeing alien ships and finished them off but we wanted to find out what shift passage they would use to flee. No doubt they will bring info on our tactics back to their homeworld. The next battle we have with the aliens may not go so well but I felt it was a fair trade.

“As for the marine attacks, you would be better off talking to Brigadier General Johnston and Major General Bragg. They both managed to secure their targets and gave my technicians time to hack into numerous Flex-aor computer systems. Their losses where high, but given the prowess of the alien warriors, that was expected. I believe both generals were more than satisfied with their marines’ performance.”

“Yes, I have read their reports. I plan to speak to them in due time,” Cunningham said. “If we do find the Flex-aor’s homeworld, I hope both Johnston and Bragg are with us. They will come in handy. More importantly, I agree with your decision to let some of the aliens escape. The alien threat won’t be over until we can locate their homeworld and put an end to their shipbuilding capacity, or we somehow convince the aliens to open diplomatic channels. The former may take some time, but I hold out little hope we can accomplish the latter.”

“That would be my impression as well,” James replied. “Have there been any more attacks in our absence?”

“No, thankfully not,” Cunningham answered. “I believe your conclusion that the damaged ships you fought at X-38 were the remnants of the fleet we defeated in Connecticut is correct. After we drove them out of New Washington and Plantation, they disappeared. All across the American colonial frontier, there hasn’t been a single sighting of an alien warship during the entire time you were gone. For now at least, I think the threat of invasion has diminished. If and when they come back, we should have plenty of warning. I’m already putting together a flotilla of ships and a number of supply freighters to send back to X-38 to reinforce Captain Gupta.”

James nodded, he was relieved Cunningham wasn’t leaving Gupta alone. After securing the alien staging planet and driving off their remaining warships. He had spent a couple of days in the system with his fleet. Once his technicians had gathered all the intel they could, he had turned his ships around. It had taken over a month to get to X-38. Many of his ships hadn’t had the supplies to stay much longer in the system and still return to Utah. He had transferred what surplus supplies there were to Captain Gupta’s ship and several other British cruisers. She had been left with orders to watch the system and report back any sightings of a renewed alien threat.

“I’m sure Gupta will be glad of the support,” James said. “She has strict orders to fall back if she encounters anything larger than an alien scout ship. Even so, I imagine she is nervous. For all we know, the aliens could have another full fleet on their way to attack us.”

“Let’s hope not,” Cunningham said. “I’m hoping we have given them enough of a bloody nose to buy us some breathing space. Even so, we can’t let our guard down. In my report back to Earth I’ll be requesting permission to set up a forward base in X-38. We can use the system as a bottleneck to hold off any future alien attacks. If we can keep them well away from our colonies, it will allow us to concentrate our forces against them far easier. I think defending X-38 will be our best long-term strategy until we locate their worlds and put them on the defensive.”

“Setting up a base so far from Earth, and even from the American colonies will require a lot of resources. Do you think the other governments on Earth have the willpower to commit the finances required?” James asked.

He’d thought a lot about what direction the fight with the aliens would take now that the threat of extermination had diminished. Almost every spacefaring nation had lost a significant portion of their warships trying to fend off the aliens. Many governments would now be looking to find the resources to replenish their losses. Diverting funds to set up a forward outpost so far from human space would be an extra strain.

“The Americans will no doubt agree. Fortifying X-38 would mean any future battles will be fought far away from their space. Beyond them though, I’m not sure. Hopefully the new-found goodwill the governments back on Earth have towards one another will continue for at least a short time longer. It’s inevitable that old tensions will soon arise. Heck, with the amount of new systems we’ve discovered beyond the American colonies, I’m sure there are already greedy eyes looking to the UN interplanetary Committee in the hope that they will be given some systems. Yet, the aliens are far from beaten. Hopefully, the politicians on Earth won’t forget that.”

“One can hope,” James said, though his tone of voice made it clear what he really thought. He knew his uncle, the First Space Lord, and Prime Minister Fairfax would do what was right. But they would face pressure from Parliament not to overstretch the British Star Kingdom’s resources. When it came to some of the other space faring powers, James had far less trust in their ability to put humanity’s collective interest ahead of their own.

“Well, either way, such decisions are far above my pay grade. I can recommend the best course of military action. No doubt your uncle, and the other senior Admirals on Earth will see the wisdom of fortifying X-38. Actually deciding to do it, I suspect, will be out of our hands,” Cunningham said.

“No doubt,” James agreed.

“This conversation has gotten very pessimistic,” Cunningham said as he slapped his desk. “You’ve just returned home from defeating an enemy fleet and capturing their planet. Let’s cheer up. Tell me, what do you make of the intel your subordinates managed to gather from the alien computers?”

“Of limited use I’m afraid,” James said. “The aliens wiped most of their most important data before we could capture their computer banks. We did get one or two interesting pieces of information. We have one file that details most of Flex-aor history prior to their first steps into space. I suppose it sheds some light on their approach to other alien species. Their entire society was based around city states. It seems they were all in a constant state of war with one another. As far as I can tell, no two city states ever allied together. Instead they all fought each other. When one was defeated, the others would wipe them out. Reading between the lines, I think each city-state was ruled by a Queen. That would explain why they sought to wipe each other out. They had no use for their opponent’s population. It also explains their approach to us and the other species they have cleansed. If the Queens only rule over their own offspring, they wouldn’t have a concept of international politics or cooperation. We could look like nothing more than prey, or even just an inconvenience to them.”

“That isn’t particularly reassuring,” Cunningham said. “They sound like ants from Earth, with each Queen and her colony competing with every other ant colony. Their warriors, scientists and workers are just fodder for their conquests.”

“That was my initial conclusion too,” James said. “But Lieutenant Scott dissuaded me of that impression. Each of the aliens are intelligent and they have far more individuality than ants. We saw that in how their fleet reacted in Connecticut. After we destroyed their flagship, the aliens began to split into groups. It seems they form their own communities even if they all have the same Queen commanding them.”

“Brigadier General Johnston killed the Queen,” Cunningham said. “Do you think that will end the Flex-aor threat?”

“I don’t think so,” James answered. “One of the other files we got a hold of was a list of their famous space battles. Every one of them mentions an Admiral appointed to lead their fleet and a Queen who later mated with that Admiral. It seems that the reward for successfully defeating an alien species is getting to marry an alien Queen. What is significant regarding the Queen Johnston killed is that their list of battles mentioned several queens that were alive at the same time. If the aliens did have just one Queen per city-state in the past, they have found some way of having several coexist now.”

“Perhaps with the vastness of space, they have found a way to cooperate. Even so,” Cunningham said as his voice lightened. “That sounds like good news. If we defeated one Queen and her fleet, it may take quite a while for another Queen to take interest in us or a fleet to come after us. “What else did you learn from their battles?”

“It seems they were all largely one-sided. Until meeting us, I’m not sure the Flex-aor encountered another alien species with technology able to stand up to them in a fair fight,” James answered. “That may not be a good thing though.”

“No,” Cunningham agreed. “It means that when they come back, they will have learnt a few harsh lessons. If our history is anything to go by, losing a battle can often be the quickest way to winning a war. The lessons learnt in defeat are usually far more valuable than those learnt in victory.”

“We will just have to make sure we keep innovating,” James said. “If we had encountered the aliens before meeting the Kulreans and the Vestarians, the last few months might have gone very differently. We need to keep ahead of them.”

“If your Lieutenant Scott’s theories are correct, that shouldn’t be too hard,” Cunningham said. “Do you believe what this Queen said? It certainly confirms Scott’s theory about a third alien race.”

“I already believed her theory,” James said. “In fact, I am convinced of it. I don’t care what some of the Earth scientists are saying. It is too big a coincidence that the Vestarians and these Flex-aor have similar technologies. The Queen’s confession is just one more line of evidence. I think there is a much bigger threat out there we need to be taking more seriously.”

“The Queen could have been lying,” Cunningham said. “She was stalling for time before she could get close enough to attack Johnston and the others. We can’t take anything she says for granted.”

“I understand that thinking,” James said. “But there is another way to look at it. If their history is true, the Flex-aor have never been defeated. Even after the battle of Connecticut, I doubt their mind-set changed so quickly. The Queen probably thought she would easily overpower Johnston and his marines. Perhaps she was telling the truth because she thought she would soon kill them all anyway. Certainly, the impression Johnston, Captain Becket and Lieutenant Scott got through the telepathic link the Queen forced upon them suggested she had been telling the truth.”

“Again, the Queen could have been trying to trick them. We know absolutely nothing about telepathic communication. She could have been letting them see what she wanted them to see,” Cunningham replied.

“I know there are other explanations,” James said. “But I trust Lieutenant Scott. Her instincts are always right. She was the one who spoke with the alien ship on Vestar before it was destroyed. She has intimate knowledge of Vestarian weapon technology and now Flex-aor weapon technology. She was also one of the few who spoke with this alien Queen. I trust her conclusions.”

“If you trust her, then I trust you,” Cunningham said. “I’m going to include a warning in the report I send back to Earth. If there really is a third alien race out there arming aggressive species, their intentions cannot be good. What do you think they’re up to?”

“I’m happy you believe me,” James said. “I’ve been trying to convince my uncle, maybe together we can convince him. Finding the Flex-aor homeworld and stopping their ability to attack us is our immediate goal. Yet if there is a far more serious threat out there, we need to prepare for it as well.

“As to this mysterious alien race’s intentions, there are only two conclusions Lieutenant Scott and I can come too. Either they are a reclusive race and believe the best way to defend themselves is to stir up wars between their neighbors. Doing so would mean we and the other species around us would be too distracted fighting each other to threaten them. Or, this race is giving out these weapons technologies to aggressive species as a way of preparing this part of the galaxy for invasion. Both the Vestarians and the Flex-aor, received advanced technologies before they had developed the ability to go to space themselves. Giving them such advanced technologies would mean they would be very unlikely to further develop those technologies. Instead they would just use their superiority over their neighbors to crush them. Then, at a later date, this third species, no doubt with far more powerful technologies, could step in and take over this whole area of space. There would be no one left to oppose them.”

Cunningham remained silent for a few seconds. He reached up and scratched his chin. “I don’t like either suggestion, though the second is far more unpleasant. If we can barely defeat the Flex-aor, a far more powerful race would easily wipe us out.”

“Agreed,” James said. “Though things may not be as bad as they seem. In some areas, our technology is vastly superior to the Flex-aor. The many wars our nations have fought against one another have forced us to advance quickly. If we take the threat of this third alien race seriously, we could be ready to meet them on an equal footing.”

“Provided, someone on Earth takes your theory seriously,” Cunningham said. “I’ll do my best, but I cannot make any promises.”

One of Cunningham’s aids burst into the room. A look of annoyance flashed across Cunningham’s face. “What is it?” he asked. “I said we were not to be interrupted.”

“I’m sorry Admiral,” the aide said as he bowed his head slightly. “You weren’t responding to COM messages. “Captain Blyth insisted I give this to you right away. A messenger corvette just entered the system. An update from Earth was transmitted to us via the gravimetric relay.” Approaching Cunningham, the aide handed over a datapad.

James watched Cunningham scan the report. He knew right away something was wrong. Cunningham’s grip on the data pad tightened to the point where his knuckles turned pure white.

“Here,” Cunningham said as he handed it to James. As soon as James took it, Cunningham opened a COM channel to Blyth. “Send orders to all the fleet, tell them to prepare to break orbit. We are heading back to Earth immediately. Any ship that can’t make the journey can stay behind. Transmit the corvette’s report to every Captain in our fleet. They will understand.”

For a second James thought Cunningham was overreacting. They couldn’t pull back from Utah, if the Flex-aor returned, the American colonies would be completely unprotected. The first sentence of the report caused any such thoughts to flee. It was from his uncle. The Russian Space Federation had launched an attack against Earth. His uncle was expecting the Russian invasion fleet to arrive in the Sol system within a day of sending the report.

James set the datapad down in shock. It had taken over a month for the report to reach them. By now Earth could be in Russian hands. He couldn’t think of a strong enough curse word for the Russians. While every other space faring nation had been coming together to stop billions of American civilians being slaughtered, they had been planning an invasion. Worse, they had succeeded. There was no way the other space faring nations could have gathered enough ships to defeat the Russian fleet. Earth was at their mercy.

Glancing to the side of Cunningham’s office, James took in the holo display of the ships in orbit arrayed around Victory. Every ship had visible signs of battle damage. His own fleet was running dangerously low on supplies. They were a far more efficient fighting force than any James had served in, yet, they were weary. Will we be able to advance on Earth and drive off the Russians? he asked himself. Will we even stick together? If Earth had fallen, some of the space faring nations might flock to the Russian standard. If the Russians offered them favorable terms, they could carve up the human sphere between themselves. With that thought, another came to James. The very ships sitting around Victory could soon become her enemies. Suddenly, the galaxy seemed a very different place.

The End.

If you enjoyed this book please leave a review with some stars at the end of this book and let me know what you thought! It only takes a few seconds to leave a review but they are a great encouragement to me and help to sell more books!

If you want updates on future releases sign up to my mailing list.

And if you haven’t already check out the first book in my other series ‘The Voyage Home.’