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14

The enemy fleet was right on top of Clement’s flotilla, which was now only three minutes from missile and energy weapons range of the forward forces in the attack group. Clement had Adebayor raise Captain Yan aboard the Agamemnon. It took seconds to get her on the line.

“It looks like the situation hasn’t changed, Captain. The enemy is still leading with their heavy cruisers and using their destroyers to plug holes in the formation. They will be coming at you with everything they have in about two minutes. What’s your plan?”

“I was about to ask you for recommendations, Admiral,” she said, “but just in case, I had my own ideas ready.”

“I’d be interested to hear those.”

“I’m thinking we’ll open with the Rods of God. I have two hundred of them, but I think forty should suffice for an initial volley.”

“Nothing like some kinetic energy weapons to get a battle off to a vigorous start. Might even catch some of their missile volleys.”

“My thoughts exactly. We’ve raised the gravimetric defense fields; that should help in pushing any incoming ordnance away from our main hull.”

Clement nodded, even though she couldn’t see him over the voice-only com. It was a solid opening plan. “I wish I’d taken the time to put that technology in all of our ships. But I didn’t plan on us coming here and fighting a war.”

“It would have been advantageous,” agreed Yan, “but there was no way for us to know we would be in this much trouble on our first settlement mission.”

“I’d almost forgotten why we came here in the first place. Carry on, Captain. I will communicate any advice I have through the tactical system.”

“Good luck to you, Admiral.”

“And to you, Captain.” With that Clement closed the line and called down to his weapons bay, where Lieutenants Telco and Tsu were on duty. Telco answered the line.

“Weapons bay here, Admiral.”

“Mr. Telco, I need you to load my nukes.” The Beauregard still had five of the small-yield nuclear missiles on board. Clement hadn’t thought he would need them on this mission, so his was the only gunship that carried this heavy ordnance. They were ten kilotons each, enough to take out an unshielded destroyer, but likely not effective against the heavy cruisers or a battlecruiser.

“All five of them, sir?” asked Telco.

“No, just four. I want to keep one in reserve. Load the other two launchers with conventional warheads.”

“Yes, sir. That leftover nuke isn’t for self-destruction, I hope,” said Telco in his usual cheery way. But this wasn’t the time for humor.

“I will let you know when I need them, and what I need them for,” snapped Clement. “Right now I need you to do your duty without question. This isn’t a lark, Lieutenant. Good men and women on both sides of this battle are going to die in a few minutes.” He cut the line abruptly, unwilling to listen to the young lieutenant’s likely apologies. He simply had no time for it.

“Time, Mika,” he asked.

“Thirty-nine seconds until their forward cruisers are in range of the Agamemnon, sir.” Clement didn’t respond, but watched the clock count down to the beginning of a battle he may have already lost.

The two fleets came together in a slow ballet of steam and fire. The fire came from the Directed Energy Weapons of both fleets; the steam came from the trails of incoming missiles. The enemy had led with ten cruisers, all of which fired eight missiles each from their forward launch bays. Yan had countered with the Rods of God, fifteen meters of solid titanium shot out of her forward rail gun launchers. The kinetic force of those forty “telephone poles,” as Clement had referred to them once, could be devastating. They were hard to “aim” in any conventional sense, but there was no defensive field, gravimetric or otherwise, that could really stop them. Only the largest of war vessels, the battlecruisers, could even carry weapons this large and massive. They were usually used for close infighting, ship-to-ship combat between capital ships. In this case, Yan had led with them from a longer distance, and that was undoubtedly a surprise for the enemy’s forward heavy cruiser captains.

A few of the rods were damaged by missile hits, which pushed them off in odd directions. In some cases they could be more destructive spinning crazily through space, trying to shed their kinetic energy, than they would be if they were fired directly at an enemy. Most of the incoming missiles missed the rods, which had no propulsive heat signature, and corrected course toward the Agamemnon. Yan countered this development with a barrage of defensive torpedoes and DEWs from her forward launch tubes and coil cannons. They were joined in this chorus by the supporting light cruisers of the Five Suns fleet, which also used a substantial number of torpedoes to blunt the first attack. The torpedoes were lighter and smaller than conventional missiles, with smaller warheads, but also much more accurate. Yan’s counter was an effective one, with a flurry of torpedo/missile impacts in the middle of the battlefield. A handful of missiles got through, but they were easily dispatched by Yan’s DEW weapons and her gravimetric shielding. Agamemnon had survived the first enemy volley.

The enemy cruisers, though, had a different set of problems. The Rods of God were still spinning their way directly into the heavy cruiser group’s path. They would only have seconds to correct their courses or take serious damage. A few of their captains acted quickly and got their ships out of the way. The heavy cruisers, though, weren’t nimble like a destroyer or even a light cruiser would be. They were slower to react, harder to turn, and thus, much more vulnerable to an unexpected type of attack, like the Rods of God.

The rods slammed into three of the forward heavy cruisers. Those ships exploded with multiple impacts, taking heavy damage, and although they were substantially built, they couldn’t take the level of kinetic pounding that they were receiving. They were at a minimum knocked out of the battle for now. At best, they would have to be evacuated and abandoned. At worst, they would go down with all hands lost.

Two of the other cruisers suffered glancing blows from the rods, and as a result they had some heavy tears in their hulls, but they were still operational.

Clement looked at the tactical board, and made a decision.

“Take us in, Pilot, full burn. Navigator, set a course for those two damaged heavy cruisers. Let me know when we’re within missile range.”

Ori got the Beauregard moving fast. Both of the enemy cruisers were clearly damaged and struggling to stay in contact with their healthy siblings. Clement saw Yan moving Agamemnon into a position to attack the cruisers with a missile volley, but that would leave her starboard flank vulnerable. Clement got on the com and told Yan to hold her ship back. “We’ve got this, Captain,” he said.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes. Maintain your current posture and continue to attack the center of their lines.”

“Glory hog,” he heard her say before she signed off. He smiled.

The minute it took for the Beauregard to get within nuclear missile firing range seemed like an eternity to Clement, and probably everyone else on board too. But when they reached the firing threshold, the admiral didn’t hesitate.

“Mika, target and fire our full complement of missiles at those cruisers.”

“Aye, sir!” replied Ori, but she didn’t really need to. Her commanding officer knew she would do her job.

The enemy captains must not have anticipated this kind of rogue move from Clement, attacking cruisers with a single gunship, but they were wounded birds. They didn’t react to the incoming missiles, two nuclear and one conventional targeted at each of them, until it was far too late. The missiles locked on and exploded directly onto the hulls of both retreating ships. The results were devastating. Those cruisers, likely with crews of close to two hundred people, were completely disintegrated in the nuclear fire. That made five enemy heavy cruisers destroyed. They had given the enemy a serious bloody nose in the first real fight they had been in. Both sides took the opportunity to put some distance between their fleets before taking any additional action. They had succeeded in taking out one quarter of the enemy’s heavy cruiser complement. It wasn’t decisive, but it was a start.

“Round one to us,” said Clement. “Fourteen more to go.” The reference was to old-style championship boxing, which lasted fifteen rounds.

Mika Ori had already executed an escape burn before Clement could even order it. As the Beauregard streaked back to a position of relative safety, Kayla Adebayor called from her workstation.

“Incoming communication, sir,” she said.

“From Captain Yan?”

“No, sir. I make it as coming from the enemy battlecruiser, sir.”

Clement sat down deep in his captain’s couch. “Put it through, Lieutenant,” he said, knowing full well who’s voice he expected to hear.

“Well done, Clement,” said the husky female voice on the other end of the line. “But you’re going to have to do better than that to take out my entire fleet.”

Clement sat back in his chair, contemplating a response. The voice was undoubtedly that of former Five Suns Navy Fleet Admiral Elara DeVore.


“Cut out the bridge com,” ordered Clement. “I’ll take this in my quarters.” He stood up brusquely and left the bridge, and his crewmates, behind. Once inside his cabin he sat down at his worktable and brought up his tactical desk plasma, then tapped his ear to activate his personal com link.

“What do you want, Elara? I’m trying to fight a war here.”

“Maybe you don’t need to, Clement. You do have other options.”

“Such as?”

“Surrender now, before things get serious. Unnecessary killing isn’t your style.”

“I’ve considered that already, if you must know. But I’ve rejected that option based on what I know of my enemy. And besides, I just won the first battle.”

“The odds are still weighed heavily against you; you know that from one look at the tactical screen.”

“True, but that fact isn’t enough for me to trust you with my life, and the life of my crew.”

“You don’t trust me that I would give you favorable surrender terms?”

“Not in the slightest. Also, there are certain things that are worth fighting for, Elara, like the freedom from slavery, freedom to choose your own life and not have it imposed on you, things you wouldn’t understand. Those things are worth defending. To the death, if necessary.”

“And if it’s not necessary? What then?”

“Then you’d have to convince me that your version of reality is true. At this point, I don’t believe a word you say. And besides that, who exactly would I be surrendering to?”

There was a pause then, before DeVore spoke again. “I represent a government called the Solar League. It encompasses Earth and the other Sol system colonies: Luna, Mars, Ceres, Titan, and the rest. It is a unified government and it’s a just one.”

“They sent a military Ark to enslave the natives of Trinity,” Clement said flatly.

There was a heavy sigh, then a reply from DeVore. “That’s not correct. The Earth Ark that was sent here was launched almost eight decades ago, Earth time, by another, more corrupt government. A remnant of the old Pan-Korean empire on Earth. Their intent was conquest and colonization, but the Solar League’s is not.”

Clement held his response for a second, contemplating her answer. He wasn’t satisfied she was telling the truth. “Let’s suppose I believe what you say, for the sake of argument. Just how much contact have you had with this so-called Solar League? And how much can you trust a government that’s more than forty light-years away?”

“I’ve met with their government leaders, at the highest level. I trust them because I’ve looked them in the eye and spoken to them in their language, and ours. The Solar League is primarily run by descendants of the people who colonized Helios, from the old Earth country of Brazil. They are very dedicated to spreading peace and prosperity throughout the stars, and to new colonies. But they are determined to colonize the Trinity system,” she said.

“That’s something they may have to bring up with the natives. And another question, how did you make this contact? It’s a long journey to Sol. I’m guessing you gave them the LEAP drive.”

“Of course I did. What else did I have to bargain with? I went to Earth a full year before your mission to Trinity, and I gave them the LEAP technology in exchange for an alliance. In return, they warned me about the sleeper Ark that had been sent by the Pan-Korean empire remnant, and how soon it would be arriving in-system. That’s why I needed you, Clement, as a scout, to measure their strength. I never thought you’d end up in an all-out war with them. That was my fleet’s job.”

“So, you gave this Solar League LEAP technology? Do you realize how dangerous that could be? You never thought I would develop a super weapon like the MAD based on that technology. What if they develop it?”

“That was something we hadn’t planned on. Our engineers, and theirs, never saw an application like what your man Nobli came up with. If I’d known how smart he was I’d never have let you take him with you.”

Clement was frustrated at the conversation, bordering on exasperation, and he became verbally short with her. “All of this is quite interesting, Elara, but the fact remains that you have a better fleet, but I have the ultimate weapon in this star system.”

“True, your MAD weapon is a risk, I’ve seen what it can do, but I can also read your energy signatures, and your ship is not running a warm LEAP reactor, so I’m guessing maybe your super weapon is off-line.”

“Guessing is a big risk. I have other ships with LEAP reactors, and by deduction, they could all have MAD weapons,” he lied.

“They could, but I suspect that’s a technology you’d want to keep secret for as long as possible. It’s far too dangerous a weapon to be used haphazardly, or to be trusted to inexperienced junior ship captains.”

Clement had reached the end of his patience with the verbal sparring between them, so he decided to change the subject. “So, I take it that it was this Solar League that rescued you and your crews from the surface of Alphus?”

“They had a mission planned soon after I gave them the LEAP engine. I knew they would come, and probably before you came back to Trinity. The Ark you detected in this system is theirs. They only arrived a few weeks ago, but we were able to signal them and get rescued. Per my agreement with them, or rather our alliance, I was given command of the overall Trinity mission. What you don’t know, Clement, is that there are three more Earth Arks on their way to Trinity soon. I’m not sure of their exact arrival time; it could be next week or next year, but they will be coming, and their mission is to pacify this system and prepare it for colonization from Earth.”

“Interesting. That’s a bit like what I’m trying to do here right now, Elara, but without the conquering part. I brought thirty thousand peaceful migrants to Bellus, and they’re on the surface of the planet right now. The forces you have over that world threaten those migrants. If you were to withdraw your forces from over the planet, I would be willing to give your proposal some further consideration.”

“Let’s be realistic, Clement. You know I’m not going to withdraw my forces from Bellus, and I know that you aren’t going to give up the planet without a fight. My job here is to prepare this system and all three habitable planets for those colony ships that are coming from the Earth system. If that means I can get your surrender, then great. But, if it means that I have to fight you then I’m prepared to do that as well. You’re not in a position to dictate any terms to me, and I’m not in any position to grant you what you would be asking for. I’m here to deliver Trinity to the Solar League, and that’s the end of the conversation. Now will you stand down and surrender, and allow our troops to board and occupy your ships?”

Clement thought about that long and hard. DeVore knew him, and knew this was how he was, and she gave him the time he needed, keeping the line open but saying nothing. Eventually, he replied. “You know I can’t do that, Elara. Despite your guarantees, which are questionable at best, I know nothing of this Solar League and nothing of the kind of people who comprise it. When I accepted command as Fleet Admiral of the Five Suns Navy, your old job, I took an oath to defend the Five Suns and all the people that live there, whether they’re core dwellers, or Rim rats, or even natives on an alien planet.”

DeVore didn’t respond immediately. Clement quickly looked down at his tactical display to make sure she wasn’t launching an attack while they talked. The display thankfully showed both fleets at station-keeping, staying in their respective positions. No one, it seemed, was anxious for this battle.

Finally DeVore responded. “I’ve already sent you a gesture of my goodwill, Clement. The beacon that you found in LEAP space? My people left it there for you to find, otherwise you might never have found the missing ships from your fleet. They could have been lost forever. I’m not asking you to trust me personally in this matter, but I am asking you to trust what I say about the Solar League. That gesture, the LEAP beacon, that’s part of the value system that they espouse. The natives will be taken care of. They will live productive lives, lives that will be enriched by the presence and the protection of the Solar League. Can you say the same about the Five Suns? Under our rule, the Trinity system will be developed for the benefit of all humankind. My hope is that eventually the Five Suns, Trinity, and the Solar League will all agree to merge into one.”

“Yes, one entity ruled by you and your people.”

“I admit that my governing of the Trinity system was part of my alliance with them. I believe it will be best for Earth, Trinity, the Rim, and the Five Suns. Now I urge you to accept my offer of surrender and amnesty for all the people in your fleet and the migrants on the surface of Bellus below. This is the last time I’m going to offer this compromise.”

Clement thought hard once again; the future of many thousands of people, perhaps even millions one day, was in the balance. He wanted his friends to survive this battle. He wanted them not to have to fight it at all, but there were other issues to consider besides his own personal feelings. The bottom line was he just didn’t trust Elara DeVore anymore. At all.

As he looked down at his tactical plasma display again, he saw her destroyers firing up their engines and beginning to maneuver into position for an attack on Agamemnon. Six of her heavy cruisers quickly did the same. She wasn’t waiting for his final answer, she was sending him a warning of what would happen if he didn’t give in to her demands. He kept his silence watching as the approaching fleet bored down hard on his flagship. It was a classic power move.

“You have very little time left to make a decision, Clement,” DeVore said. As he watched her cruisers and destroyers bear down on his fleet, he made the only decision he could.

He cut the com line, and headed back to his bridge.


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