The Syndic path had been dictated by the paths of their targets, the lagging Alliance auxiliaries formation. The Alliance auxiliaries had kept to courses and speeds calculated so that the shortest, fastest path between them and the Syndics stayed straight through the drifting and now-totally abandoned Casualty Flotilla of badly damaged Syndic warships. Human instincts sought things to hide behind even in space and even when the objects screening them were woefully inadequate, so the auxiliaries’ movements would seem perfectly natural, a desperate attempt to shield themselves using the only possible obstacle between them and the enemy.
An enemy commander less certain that Alliance forces were disorganized, running, and close to beaten, less focused on the glory and advancement that would come with finally defeating the Alliance fleet and less angered by the renewed losses inflicted on damaged Syndic warships in Lakota Star System might have wondered why the auxiliaries had seemingly been left lightly supported. But the obvious and frantic looting of abandoned Syndic ships in the Casualty Flotilla up until the last possible moment would match Syndic expectations of an Alliance fleet desperate for supplies.
Now the entire situation appeared quite natural to someone not looking beneath the surface appearance of fleeing Alliance warships trying to keep the false cover offered by the hulks of the Casualty Flotilla between them and the threat of the onrushing Syndic pursuit force. The Alliance battle cruisers turning to rush pell-mell into battle also matched expectations, as did the belated maneuvers of the Alliance battleships also to come to the aid of the auxiliaries. It was all no doubt exactly what the Syndic commander expected.
If everything looks like it’s going according to plan, Geary’s second commanding officer had liked to say, try to spot whatever you missed that’s about to bite you in the butt.
Apparently not having had the benefit of such advice, the Syndic CEO was confidently charging along the straightest, tightest intercept his flotilla could manage, doubtless already imagining the sweet taste of victory. The abandoned ships in the Casualty Flotilla couldn’t maneuver and had no weapons operational, and so posed no threat to warships that could safely cut very close to the predictable paths of the drifting wrecks.
If not for the inspiration provided by Victoria Rione’s suggestion, the Syndic CEO might have been safe in assuming that was true. Minefields, after all, were supposed to be as well concealed as possible, not sitting out in plain sight. Mines were also supposed to be small enough to be hidden by stealth features, not as huge as the power cores of warships.
Geary watched the path of the Syndic pursuit force, the big box sweeping with its broad side forward on a vector that would cause the flattened sphere of the Casualty Flotilla to pass almost right through the center of the Syndic formation. Because the Alliance auxiliaries had headed slightly down, and the Syndic pursuit force was coming from above, the flattened sphere of the Casualty Flotilla was cocked slightly upward relative to the pursuit force’s box, reducing the angle at which they’d meet. That box had greater length and width than the crushed sphere of the Casualty Flotilla, but slightly less depth. As the pursuit force raced toward its intercept of the Alliance auxiliaries, numerous Syndic warships inside the box formation made minor adjustments to their courses, in many cases aiming to skim just above or below the ships of the Casualty Flotilla, to let the Casualty Flotilla pass through the pursuit force’s box.
The smart proximity fuses, which had been cannibalized from Alliance mines and mounted on the outside of the hulls of the hulks, their parameters adjusted to reflect the destructive effect of the improvised weapons they were now linked to, watched the oncoming enemy ships, calculating when to detonate their charges in order to catch targets moving toward them at almost a tenth of the speed of light. As the Syndic formation reached the right point, the fuses triggered overloads in the still-active power cores of the abandoned ships in a rippling mass of destruction into which the Syndics raced with no time to react.
An entire region of space lit up as so many power cores blew, including that of Audacious, the broken battleship striking one last deathblow against the enemy. A dense field of high-velocity debris, particles, and energy burst outward in all directions, reaching maximum intensity and size in the fraction of a second in which the Syndic formation sped through that area of space.
Geary watched, tense, as the center of the Syndic formation disappeared inside the massive explosions. The edges of the Syndic box were outside the zone of destruction, but its center had been caught almost perfectly.
Moments later the display updated, evaluating the Syndic pursuit force’s status as it shot out of the still-expanding death throes of the Casualty Flotilla.
Muffled cheers erupted around Geary. Captain Desjani gasped a brief sound of glee. He simply stared, shocked at how much damage had been inflicted on the enemy.
Every ship in the Casualty Flotilla had disappeared, of course, totally destroyed by the explosions of their power cores. Most of the Syndic HuKs in the blast area had also vanished, those caught in the densest portions of the explosions blown into pieces too small to be worth tracking. Larger chunks of debris marked the remains of light cruisers and those heavy cruisers which had been caught dead on by the blasts. Two heavy cruisers emerged from the edges of the detonation field intact, but with their systems blown, falling off helplessly down and to port. Only five heavy cruisers survived in the outer parts of the Syndic formation.
Every Syndic battle cruiser in the zone of destruction had been knocked out, some literally broken into pieces and others still in one piece but with no operating systems. Of the thirteen battle cruisers the Syndic pursuit force had boasted, nine were either destroyed or out of commission.
Out of the pursuit force’s thirty-one battleships, twenty had been caught in the blast zone. Eight of those were still intact but knocked out. Another nine were badly hurt, staggering onward with shields blown and many systems out. The other three were damaged but appeared still combat-capable.
“I think the odds just shifted in our favor,” Desjani announced, her eyes bright with battle lust as the opposing forces began to come together.
Chances were the Syndic CEO in charge of the pursuit force had either died in the destruction of the Casualty Flotilla or was on a ship with all systems blown and unable to communicate with his own ships. Lacking new orders, the surviving Syndic warships stuck to their last commands, bearing down on the fleeing Alliance auxiliaries. Their formation now resembled the outline of a box, with the center torn out and trailing behind as crippled ships fell away.
Furious and Implacable, their hopeless charge now facing a much-diminished enemy, tore across one side of the now-empty Syndic box, concentrating their fire on the leading Syndic battleship as the moment of firing opportunity came and went in a flash. The Alliance battle cruisers’ escorts focused their own fire on the lighter units with the Syndics, taking out a few HuKs and two light cruisers.
As Captain Cresida’s warships rocketed away and began the vast turn required to make another firing pass at the Syndics, the enemy battleship, which had caught successive volleys of specter missiles, grapeshot, and hell lances, began sliding out of position, its aft propulsion systems still at full strength, but its forward sections torn and battered.
“Furious took several hits, one hell-lance battery and null-field projector out of commission,” the combat watch-stander reported in a precise voice. “Implacable has lost two hell-lance batteries and suffered minor damage to one propulsion system. Both battle cruisers expended all of their missiles and grapeshot on that pass. Utap has lost all combat systems but remains able to maneuver. Arbalest and Raven’s Beak have taken serious damage but can remain with their formation.”
Less than two minutes later the Alliance subformations began arriving at their intercept points. Captain Tulev led Leviathan, Steadfast, Dragon, and Valiant against another edge of the Syndic formation. The Alliance battle cruisers once again concentrated their fire, and this time as they p
ulled away one Syndic battleship had taken severe damage and one of the remaining Syndic battle cruisers drifted with all systems dead.
Captain Duellos brought Courageous, Formidable, and Intrepid in next, badly damaging another Syndic battleship, then the five surviving battle cruisers of the Sixth and Seventh Divisions ripped past and took out two of the last three Syndic battle cruisers.
Then it was the Fourth Battle Cruiser Division’s turn. As important as it was for Dauntless to reach Alliance space intact, Geary hadn’t been able to think of any way to keep her out of the battle. Even if he had told everyone that Dauntless held the enemy hypernet key, her crew would still have clamored to have their proper place in battle and been deeply ashamed if kept away from the engagement.
Not to mention the shame that Tanya Desjani would feel. Knowing her, she’d probably resign her command rather than endure such a disgrace.
They’d listen to him, they’d learn, but if he pushed too far, they’d rebel against what they saw as humiliation. Geary had to accept that.
Dauntless, Daring, and Victorious bore down on a portion of the Syndic formation holding an already-damaged battleship and the sole surviving Syndic battle cruiser. With the Alliance warships traveling at close to point zero eight light speed and the Syndics still just above point one light speed, the moment of actual battle was far too brief for human senses to register. The Syndics were ahead, then they were behind, Dauntless still shuddering from the hits on her during the millisecond in which she’d been within range of the enemy weapons.
“Spot failures on forward and port shields,” the damage-control watch reported. “Hell lance battery one alpha has lost one weapon. Structural damage at frames forty-five and one twenty-seven.”
“Very well.” Desjani nodded, her eyes on the display where the results of the Alliance battle cruisers’ firing pass were appearing. She grinned fiercely. “Got him!”
Geary felt himself smiling grimly as well. The last Syndic battle cruiser was spitting out escape pods, then blew up as its power core overloaded. The already-damaged Syndic battleship had taken more hits and was slowly losing speed.
Then his smile vanished. The Alliance battle cruisers were all turning to make more firing passes, the battleships and the rest of the fleet were still coming on, and even though the Alliance auxiliaries and their escorts had put on a burst of speed and curved their courses up and to the side, the remaining Syndics were closing to firing range. With the fleeing auxiliaries and their close escorts going in the same direction as the oncoming Syndics, the relative speed of the warships was much slower. This encounter would play out slowly enough for human senses to observe.
Geary saw Desjani watching him and indicated the auxiliaries. “If we lose them, then it doesn’t matter how many Syndic warships we kill today. We’ll still have lost this battle.”
“You had to risk it,” she said in a low voice.
“I know.”
Warrior, battered at Vidha and again at Lakota the first time the Alliance fleet was here, swung out to block the Syndics aiming at Titan and Goblin. A pair of Syndic HuKs apparently thought they could dart past the badly hurt Alliance battleship, but learned that Warrior could still punch as her few still-working hell lances ripped into the lightly protected HuKs. A Syndic light cruiser right behind the HuKs tried to trade fire with Warrior, only to be knocked out as well.
But behind the light cruiser came two almost untouched Syndic battleships. Missiles leaped from them, aiming for Titan and Goblin. Warrior and the Alliance destroyers with her targeted the Syndic missiles, taking out most of the missiles but leaving them unable to engage the battleships directly.
Moving almost painfully, Warrior swung again, sliding right across the path of the two Syndic battleships, which concentrated their fire on the Alliance battleship and in moments mangled the warship, knocking out every system on Warrior. Geary muttered a brief prayer as he imagined the havoc that barrage had inflicted on Warrior’s crew.
That left Conqueror, Orion, and Majestic along with the few heavy cruisers, light cruisers, and destroyers accompanying them. Having watched Warrior die, Conqueror seemed frozen, staying on the same course and speed as the two Syndic battleships closed. Orion began sliding upward, then headed back for a spot close to Conqueror as if seeking the safety of a position near the undamaged battleship.
Geary would never know what Majestic started to do, whether the rearmost surviving battleship was trying to turn to engage the enemy or to flee. In charitable moments, he imagined that Majestic’s crew and commanding officer had been inspired by Warrior’s sacrifice, had finally found their spirit and tried to make up for past failures. Whatever Majestic ’s intent, her crew finally paid the price for the slow pace of repairs they had made to her weapons and defenses.
The Syndic battleships volleyed their remaining missiles at Majestic, aiming to overwhelm her defenses. Three missiles got through and hit aft, wiping out the battleship’s propulsion units. Then as Majestic spun out of control up and over, the Syndic battleships altered course to get within hell-lance range of the helpless target. Grapeshot from the Syndics collapsed Majestic’s remaining shields, then the enemy hell lances tore into inadequately repaired armor with too many weak spots.
Geary watched hits flaring repeatedly on Majestic, the image of the battleship momentarily vanishing under the flurry of impacts as more Syndic missiles, grapeshot, and an unrelenting storm of hell-lance fire tore the ship apart. Then a much bigger explosion lit space for a few moments as Majestic’s power core blew under the stress.
The light faded, leaving a growing field of debris through which a few surviving Syndic missiles quested vainly for a target.
“Damn them,” Desjani muttered. Geary didn’t know if she was referring to the Syndics who had just destroyed Majestic or the crew and officers of the Alliance battleship who had doomed themselves.
Conqueror, still fixed on the same trajectory, was lashing out at any lighter Syndic unit that came within range. Orion had drifted upward again while remaining as far forward as Conqueror, placing herself in an almost totally useless position as far as defending the auxiliaries went. The Alliance heavy cruisers, light cruisers, and destroyers had broken away from Conqueror, though, and were slashing through Syndic escorts trying to reach Titan and Goblin. The two auxiliaries were throwing out as much defensive fire as they could, which unfortunately was very little. A Syndic missile slammed into Goblin amidships, staggering the auxiliary. A HuK managed to get close enough to score two hell-lance hits on Titan before the Alliance destroyer Reprise rolled in from below and took out the HuK with several well-aimed shots.
It took Geary a moment to realize that Majestic’s death might not have been in vain. “When those Syndic battleships went for the kill on Majestic, it took them off their trajectory and slowed their intercept of Titan and Goblin.”
Desjani took a moment from maneuvering Dauntless to scan her display. “The Fifth Battleship Division might make it in time,” she agreed.
Might make it. He certainly couldn’t count on Conqueror or Orion being of any use. Geary swung his own gaze to the other side of the Syndic formation. The remaining Syndics were altering course to come around at Titan, Goblin, and beyond them Witch and Jinn. As a result, the edges of the box formation whose center had been blown away were folding inward, the four sides of the box collapsing in toward vectors aimed at the four Alliance auxiliaries.
But coming down on the same edges were the Alliance subformations centered on battleships. Captain Armus in Colossus led Amazon, Spartan, and Guardian straight toward one edge of the Syndic formation anchored on three Syndic battleships that had been mostly untouched up to this point. As the huge ships lumbered into contact, the four Alliance battleships volleyed everything they had at the leading Syndic battleship, then hit the second as they flashed past. In their wake, the Alliance battleships left the leading Syndic battleship a pile of junk and the second with significant damage. In exchange Colossus and
Spartan had taken several hits, but none critical.
At the same time, the lighter units on both sides clashed, the now-superior numbers of the Alliance ships telling as Syndic light cruisers and HuKs reeled from repeated blows.
Soon afterward, Relentless, Reprisal, Superb, and Splendid wiped out the two Syndic battleships and their escorts holding another edge of the increasingly chaotic Syndic formation, battering the enemy but losing the heavy cruiser Vambrace in the exchange.
Titan took another hit, then a Syndic light cruiser made a firing run on Goblin while Alliance destroyers flashed past, trying to knock out the attacker.
A surviving Syndic heavy cruiser led two light cruisers and several HuKs straight for Titan. “Damn,” Geary whispered.
He hadn’t been watching Furious and Implacable, which had finally completed their long, wide swing through space and instead of aiming for more Syndic capital ships had focused on the closest threat to the auxiliaries. Now the two Alliance battle cruisers tore past, riddling the Syndic heavy cruiser, blowing up one light cruiser and shattering the second, while the battle cruisers’ escorts wiped out the HuKs.
“Not bad,” Desjani praised, her own battle cruiser division still curving up and around. “I told you Cresida would stick with the auxiliaries if she knew you were counting on her.”
In trying to avoid the other attacks, Orion found itself directly between Titan and Goblin and the two Syndic battleships that had annihilated Majestic. Having expended all of their remaining missiles on Majestic, the Syndic battleships were trying to close within hell-lance reach while Titan and Goblin poured on all of the acceleration the damaged auxiliaries could manage in an attempt to stay out of range.