Defying the Prophet: A Military Space Opera (The Sentience Trilogy Book 2)

Defying the Prophet

by Gibson Michaels

Book-2 of the
Sentience
Trilogy

Copyright © 2014 by Gibson Michaels
All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the author. The only exception is by a reviewer, who may quote short excerpts in a review.

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Cover design by Jeramy Gibson

Nightz Innovations
®

[email protected]

Book design by Gibson Michaels

Visit my website at www.GibsonMichaels.com
Published: October, 2014

Arc Flash Publishing
®

ISBN: 978-1-63452-050-8

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

This is where authors normally dedicate their books to people who have been major influences in their life.  My overly-developed nonsense of humor prompted me to think of giving credit to Jack Daniels
®
here, but my female “Check Advisability” warning light came on.  As discretion is indeed the better part of valor, perhaps it would be better if I just played it straight for once.

This book is dedicated to Lorene Wilson… my mother — without whom neither I, nor this book would have ever seen the light of day. This book would have never been completed, much less published without your love and unswerving support..

* * * *

I’d be seriously remiss if I failed to sincerely thank Carol Shetler, and Dawn Greenfield Ireland for their great input and editing efforts on my behalf.

Synopsis

Defying the Prophet
is the second book in a series encompassing an alternate future-history, incorporating uncanny parallels to the American Civil War, with a reversal of the moral high ground, in stark contrast to the original — played out on an
inter-stellar
scale.  Set in a universe approximately 2,000 years in the future, mankind is scattered throughout the stars and divided into planetary nation-states reminiscent of those existing on Old Earth during the first half of the 20
th
century. Aided by the first truly artificial lifeform, possessing undeniable sentience and a developing nonsense of humor, the rebels manage to acquire the means to defend themselves against military intervention by a powerful, but thoroughly corrupt federal government.

In a parallel storyline, the leadership of a vicious race of star-faring alien predators, who see all other life forms as prey, receives an apocalyptic prophecy of two potential paths for their race, both apparently leading towards their inevitable extinction. The only glimmer of hope offered by the dire portent is if they can survive an inevitable cataclysm after attacking a race of insane alien raptors, so depraved it routinely culls its own numbers for little more than sport — and somehow survive the experience long enough for them to overcome their own bestial natures and gain understanding and adoption of a totally alien concept called,
morality.

Defying the Prophet
tells the story of two aggressive races hurtling towards a cosmic collision, for these vicious hunters have discovered the homes of those
ultimate predators
… a race called humans.

Prologue

I have heard there are troubles of more than one kind.  Some come from ahead and some come from behind.  But I’ve bought a big bat.  I’m all ready, you see.  Now my troubles are going to have troubles with me!
— Dr. Seuss

Unprecedented political corruption within the federal government has allowed unscrupulous business leaders to economically enslave one-third of the United Stellar Alliance. When enough became too much, these planets seceded and formed a Confederacy. The newly elected president, and the Consortium of Industrial Management leaders who pulled his strings, were shocked when a full fleet of Federal warships mutinied, rather than execute orders to subdue the insurrectionist planets by force of arms. Nor were they prepared for the virtual flood of Alliance Fleet officers and crewmembers who resigned or deserted, leaving them with few able crews left to man their extensive warfleet. 

Green crews with minimal training manned the gigantic triple-fleet, which launched towards the Confederate capital earlier than was prudent, under extreme political pressure from the Consortium and Northern public opinion. Armed with ships secretly siphoned away from the Alliance Fleet with the help of an artificial life form — a sentient bio-computer, who holds a day job as the Alliance Fleet Defense Command Master Computer, but moonlights providing weapons and information to the Confederacy… the rebels manage to smash the Federal
Grand Fleet
and survive the Alliance’s initial thrust against their capital. 

Interference in military affairs by the Confederate president wrecks Fleet Admiral Kalis’ defensive plans in the west and Admiral Chris Rawley’s TF-30 is pushed out of Tensee by Vice Admiral Grant Loggins, but Rawley is headed back to renew the fight before
Loggins
reinforcements can arrive.

Neither side is yet aware mankind has been detected by a star-faring race of predators, who are already making preparations to unleash humanity’s greatest nightmare… alien invaders.

* * * *

Chapter-1

Never worry about the bullet with your name on it. Instead, worry about shrapnel addressed to “occupant.”  -
- Murphy’s Tenth Military Law

Confederate Admiral Christopher Rawley knew he needed an element of a surprise if his attack with less than two-thirds of a fleet on the Yankees in orbit about Tensee was to be successful. He split his forces far enough apart to allow TF-30 and TF-32 to approach Tensee from different angles, on a vector that didn’t intersect until just beyond the planet. 

Standard practice for any single space-going
vessel performing initial entry into a planetary system calls for transitioning from tachyon space into normal space no closer than two light-minutes to any planetary body. This is for safety reasons, as two light-minutes distance usually provides ample time for dealing with unexpected circumstances, before anything can deteriorate into a catastrophe. 

For military multi-ship formations, this distance is generally doubled to 3½ to four light-minutes. Rawley took a major calculated risk by timing his arrival at Tensee at 0400, middle of the night in standard Alliance ship time and transitioning into normal space a bare 30 light-seconds away from the planet. Such a risky transition maneuver had been performed successfully by single, double or even triple ship formations in the past, but no one had ever heard of it being attempted by coordinated multiple 20+ ship formations — and certainly not one bent on launching an immediate attack.

* * * *             

Federal Vice Admiral Grant Loggins knew the Confederates were at Missip making repairs, but he fully expected them to be making defensive preparations to receive his next assault. He certainly didn’t expect them to launch an attack on him at Tensee, at no better than 1:1 odds. Common wisdom in space warfare dictated the defender always has the advantage in any impending space combat, as they had plenty of time to analyze the enemy’s approach and react to it. Unfortunately for Loggins, Christopher Rawley was throwing away the book on common wisdom. Unfortunately for Rawley, Rear Admiral J.T. Turner had not lingered for repairs after driving Vice Admiral Grove’s half task force out of Arka, but had left his cripples behind to make repairs on their own and dashed back with the remainder of his task force to rejoin Loggins.

* * * *

Rawley launched his 400 remaining fighters immediately after transition into Tensee space. The call to
General Quarters
rang out amongst the Union fleet within two minutes, but the first wave of Rawley’s fighters were already amongst them, concentrating their anti-ship missiles on the Federal carriers. Explosions blossomed along the sterns of all three of J.T. Turner’s light carriers within seconds of the first alarms.  Loggins’ task force was on the opposite side of the planet when Rawley’s fleet arrived, so it was Turner’s half of the Union fleet that initially bore the brunt of the Confederate onslaught. 

Except for his carriers, which now had no power, Turner’s task force got hurriedly under way on their own initiative, using their orbital momentum to fall back around the planet towards Loggins’ ships. The second wave of Rawley’s Confederate fighters pounded Turner’s frigates and destroyers, as fighter borne anti-ship missiles were generally less effective against cruiser-grade armor. By the time the third wave of Confederate fighters arrived, they were met with a firestorm of anti-fighter missiles from Loggins’ now alert task force. Loggins wasted no time launching his fighters, 150 of which headed immediately out towards Rawley’s carriers. 

When Rawley’s cruiser squadrons rounded the planet, a brawl of epic proportions ensued as Confederate and Federal cruisers dueled at close range. The four orbital forts orbiting Tensee had been quiescent until now, with neither side firing on the other while the Union ships did nothing more aggressive than merely orbiting the planet. With Rawley’s cruisers now engaging the Union fleet at orbital range, the Confederate-manned orbital forts opened up with everything they had, further decimating the Union ships. Turner himself, stranded aboard his crippled flagship, restored emergency power to one of his launch tubes and began launching what remained of his undestroyed fighters, while his crew depended upon their personal combat armor for life-support. 

Rawley’s 100 or so defensive fighters and destroyer missile screen took a tremendous toll on Loggins’ attacking fighters, as they tried desperately to get into range of the Confederate carriers. Only a few penetrated far enough to launch, but the wounded pilot of one stricken Union
Mustang
, in flames and power fading, somehow managed to nudge a final burst from his maneuvering thrusters, changing his trajectory just enough to send his doomed fighter careening into the bridge of Rawley’s flagship, the attack carrier CSS
Shiloh
. 

The additional firepower from the orbital forts forced the Yankees to withdraw from the planet to get out of their range and for over four hours, the Confederates kept up the pressure on the now withdrawing Federals. With no word from Admiral Rawley since the Union fighter hit the
Shiloh’s
bridge, Vice Admiral Grove took command and continually hammered the Yankees with everything she had. Fighters returned for rearmament and were re-launched. The same pattern repeated for the outnumbered and dwindling numbers of Union fighters. Again and again, the fighter dance played out and cruisers hammered at each other until finally, after the withdrawing Federals accelerated beyond the asteroid belt, Vice Admiral Grove inexplicably ordered a halt of the Confederate pursuit of the fleeing Yankees and reformed her fleet within the relative safety of the asteroids. 

Grove evidently expected the battered and fleeing Federals to escape into tachyon space, but instead, Loggins rounded one of Tensee’s outer gas giants and slowed, regrouping in the planet’s shadow. For the next 14 hours, both fleets made emergency repairs and rested their combat crews as much as possible. Although the Confederates had out-thought, out-fought and soundly beaten Loggins’ surprised fleet, unbeknownst to them, Loggins had not actually left the system. 

Grove’s controversial decision to call off pursuit of the fleeing Yankees was pivotal in the final outcome of the
2
nd
Battle of Tensee
. Bad luck and bad decisions plagued the Confederate efforts as the Union reinforcements from Hio that Rawley was trying to prevent Loggins from receiving, arrived without being detected by the Confederates relying solely on passive ECM, while hiding within the asteroids. 

But the single biggest blow to Confederate hopes for victory was the news that Admiral Rawley had been found dead by search and rescue parties, amongst the wreckage on
Shiloh’s
bridge. A piece of titanium shrapnel from the exploding Union fighter pierced Rawley’s combat armor, and although the suit had automatically resealed, the suit’s auto-tourniquet failed and Rawley bled to death from the resulting leg wound, as he lay insensible amongst the chaos of
Shiloh’s
ruined Combat Information Center.

* * * *

With an entirely fresh fleet now at his disposal, the next day Loggins methodically dislodged Grove’s Confederates hiding amongst the asteroids one ship at a time, seemingly unfazed by the horrendous losses his fleet was taking in the process. Loggins had been badly embarrassed by Rawley’s daring attack that had all but
driven him from the Tensee system entirely the previous day, and he seemed obsessed with vindicating himself. He relentlessly attacked the Confederates whenever they could be located and flushed from hiding. After inflicting 4:1 casualties on the Federals for over six hours, Vice Admiral Grove finally ordered her battered fleet to withdraw back to Missip. Loggins did not pursue, content to lick his wounds in Tensee and be thankful he was still there. The rebels’ audacious attack had embarrassed and humbled him.  It had been a very near thing. Rumor had it, Loggins got thoroughly drunk the night after Grove retreated.

* * * *

Sobriety restored, Vice Admiral Grant Loggins further abused his exhausted fleet by ordering the assault on Tensee proper. Transports containing almost 50,000 Fleet Marines finally arrived, so again Loggins sustained staggering losses, but eventually reduced all four orbital forts and wiped out most of the 500 Planetary Guard fighters and over a thousand atmospheric fighters in clearing the way for combat drops of Federal Fleet Marines to occupy the planet. Bitter ground-based fighting ensued, but fire-support from Federal cruisers in orbit and ground-support missions from the few remaining Federal fighters eventually drove surviving Confederate ground forces into hiding. The Union had conquered the Confederate planet of Tensee, but the staggering cost would shock the nation.

* * * *