Star Crusades Nexus: Book 09 - The Black Rift (24 page)

“I do not understand. What is the problem?”

The machine moved from watching them to face him.

“We fought for years against the Helions and their allies. You diminish us by suggesting you can do what we never did, in less than one day.”

Spartan coughed and cleared his throat before addressing the ethereal creatures. He started speaking even as they conferred with each other. One-Zero-One attempted to stop him, but he stepped out of his reach.

“You brought me here because you know my skills and my reputation. If I achieve this victory, it will be because of you placing me here. Let me bring the Helions to their knees, and we will do the same to every race that gets in our way!”

Thayara looked to Spartan and lifted her hand in front of her face, in mock shock at what she was hearing. She took two steps to him and spoke quietly, in the vain hope that nobody else would hear.

“This plan, it might work. But what of your own people on Helios? They have already landed more soldiers there. Will you destroy them with nuclear weapons as well?”

Spartan smiled.

“We will demonstrate our power against all of their worlds. When we arrive at Helios Prime, they will beg us not to do the same. I doubt we will even need to fire a single shot.”

He hadn’t intended on letting the Biomech leadership hear him, but all of them had stopped speaking to listen to him speaking to Thayara. Spartan was so intent on getting his idea across that he continued, completely unaware of his great audience.

“Thayara, we can stop this fighting by sacrificing a small number. This will be better for every one of us, not just the Biomechs. Even the Helions will live better under our control. No more war and no more injustice. They will play their own part in this new order, and I know that if they help, as we have, they will be granted a place alongside the machines.”

He then turned back to look at the creatures.

“We will change things for the better. I can start this war for you easily, but there is nobody else that can end it the way I can. I will be your sword, and not one soul will dare stand before me after I have razed Helios Prime.”

The creatures all said something in unison, their voices spreading like a ghostly crowd. Then their images faded to leave only the models of the worlds and the position of fleets.

“What’s happened?” Spartan asked.

One-Zero-One appeared stunned. Thayara asked the same question, and finally he answered.

“The great council of my people has spoken. You will put our enemies to the sword, just as you have promised. If you are both successful, you will be the first outsiders to be offered the chance to join our ranks.”

“As a Ghost Warrior, like you?” Spartan asked.

The creature hissed just one word.

“Yes.”

“On this ship?”

The machine answered without really considering the question.

“You would join us on homeworld. Until it is time for us to…”

The machine stopped and then looked back to him. It clearly had not intended to go any further with its explanation. There was a short pause, and Spartan immediately regretted asking the question. The machine hissed and continued to speak.

“First you must be victorious.”

Spartan walked up to the ledge and looked down at the columns of Ghost Warriors. Dozens of armored machines twisted and shifted a little to look up at him. He lifted his hands up high, and they did the same, each joining him in a simple gesture of solidarity. Spartan found he was smiling as he watched them almost cheering him on.

Do not worry, my friend, I always am.

He turned around to face his two comrades.

“Prepare the Rift Engine. It’s time to start this thing.”

“And the fleet?”

Spartan looked up at the model of the Helios System.

“This is what we’re going to do.”

Spartan is a name none will ever forget. His name was taken from that ancient Laconian race now almost unknown. His family background was known to few, and the events of his childhood known to even fewer. The culmination of all these experiences was to create an independent warrior, a man that would do whatever it took to get the job done. No one could disagree that every decision Spartan made was for the greater good, the only question that remained was whether that included the people directly affected. Terra Nova is often cited as one example of his savagery, but this moved to an entirely higher level at the Black Rift.

The Rise of Spartan

ANS Warlord, Micaya Shipyards, Helios Sector

The Grand Alliance, as the media was now dubbing it, stretched out in a massed formation. This great fleet of Byotai, Khreenk, and Alliance vessels watched and waited, their gun ports open and fighter squadrons flying patrols. They were less than eighty thousand kilometres from the great Helion shipyards that had supplied the fleet for centuries. The main Micaya Shipyards were actually a massive artificial series of structures positioned over a million kilometres from Micaya, and a hundred times that distance from the Helion primary star. This position was known to humans as a Lagrangian point, an area in space where combined gravitational pull of two large bodies such as Micaya and its star provide exactly the centripetal force required to orbit with them.

Impressive, very impressive,
thought Admiral Anderson.

In reality, the site might easily have been mistaken for an artificial moon by anybody unfamiliar with the sector, but the Helions had chosen well for its use. The orbital configuration made transportation and communication easy while keeping dangerous supplies and potentially faulty vessels out of harm’s way. Even if a ship were to suffer a catastrophic reactor breach and exploded, there would be little chance of the debris coming anywhere near the planet. It was as useful as it was elegant.

Admiral Anderson’s officers had returned to their own contingents, with General Makos returning to his own fleet, while Admiral Lewis rejoined the battered remnants of the force that had relieved Helios Prime. There was a stark different between the ships that had been out here fighting bloody battles for weeks and months and his own. The fresh vessels that had come through the T’Karan Rift were a mixture of seasoned combatants from the fighting at Prometheus and newly launched ships from the shipyards of the Alliance. Unlike in previous battles, he was not spreading out his forces, or making any particularly complicated plans. He had just a single trump card, and he was keeping it at the shipyards.

This is going to be the simplest and the bloodiest battle in the history of our Navy.

He looked out at the mainscreen and the icons that signified the combined Biomech forces in the Helios Sector.

“Tactical, give me a full analysis of what’s out there.”

He already knew what was there, but that wasn’t enough, he wanted to hear the words from somebody else.

“Admiral, the first wave will clear Micaya into our direct line of sight within seventeen minutes. Total strength is one Ark, codenamed Beelzebub and…”

The man swallowed and tried again.

“Just under three-hundred enemy capital ships in total, Sir. They must have sent everything here.”

Anderson looked at the imagery, but none of it seemed to faze him.

“Tell me about their configurations and deployment.”

The man swallowed again and then began to point out the various forces.

“They have one hundred and seventeen Biomanta warships plus seventy-one Ravager class vessels. They are surrounding this force with some kind of high-power jamming equipment that is stopping us performing deep scans.”

He moved his hands as he made a few configuration changes.

“Their deployment is almost non-existent, Sir. The best way I can describe it is as a large box formation. The Ark is toward the rear and centered between a large formation of Biomantas.”

“How about command ships?”

“Three Cephalon vessels, and they are moving directly behind the Ark.”

“And the status of the Ark?”

He pressed on the screen, and the imagery shifted to concentrate on just the slightly blurred image of the Ark. It was truly massive, and even he felt a slight shudder in his stomach.

“The Ark has already opened up and released warships. They’re learning, Sir.”

Admiral Anderson raised an eyebrow to this suggestion.

Perhaps, but are they learning the right thing? This must look like a desperate last stand for Micaya.

He rubbed his hands together.

Good. That’s exactly what I want them to think.

“And our disposition matches my plan?”

The man brought up a flattened two-dimensional view of the shipyards.

“We have deployed our lines at the eighty-thousand kilometer marker. At this position, they will see our ships ninety seconds before spotting the shipyards.”

The overhead imagery confirmed that, although from the dispositions, it looked as though a large number of the ships were in queues to dock at the shipyard.

“Good, and T’Kron has activated the ships on the lower gantries of the shipyard?”

“Yes, Sir, I am detecting over a hundred powerplants active on the site.”

“Excellent. So we are ready, then?”

“Yes, Sir.”

“Thank you.”

The tactical officer moved back to his duties, and Admiral Anderson looked to the mainscreen. It was a massive fleet, there was no doubt in his mind about that, but his own forces were equally impressive. By stripping ships from Helios Prime and Spascia, his own fleet had increased in just twenty-four hours to a size he had not thought possible. T’Kron had also managed more than he’d expected on this special mission. He looked at the figures and found a smile forming. The alien had somehow managed to bring an extra twenty-two Helion ships in various states of repair. There was something else that he’d done though, and even he had been surprised. T’Kron had activated more than a hundred wrecked, decommissioned, or partially scrapped ships.

That is one hell of a diversion.

He scanned through the myriad of vessels, and it took a moment to find the one operational ship anywhere near them. With so much debris, scrap, and wreckage at the place, he had to rely on the secret IFF signature. He’d done everything possible to ensure ANS Explorer would remain undetected amongst the pylons, gantries, habitation blocks, and hundreds of decommissioned ships.

“Get a message to Explorer. She needs to get her IFF switched off and fast.”

The tactical officer confirmed and then sent the appropriate message. In seconds the transmission stopped, and the large Alliance vessel vanished into the clutter. Admiral Anderson looked at the large clock he’d had positioned above the tactical display. It now read just six minutes. He felt completely alone on board the ship, even though he was surrounded by some of the best men and women in the fleet. All the crew of his age and experience were off leading the other contingents. He leaned toward the tactical display and activated the command module. The hazed shapes of the Byotai and Alliance commanders moved into view.

“Admiral,” they said at the same time.

“Your ships are ready?”

They nodded, but Admiral Lewis spoke first.

“I must apologize for our last meeting. I’ve seen the reports from Helios Prime. Our forces are holding and digging in. You and General Rivers were right. They are settling in and waiting this one out. There’s no rush to finish that fight.”

Anderson nodded quickly.

“Understood. We have just a few minutes remaining. Is there anything I need to know?”

General Makos grunted and then began to speak.

“We are powered down, and the empty cargo containers are in position. I will need ninety seconds to get my vessels into action.”

He then looked to Admiral Lewis.

“And your own vessels?”

“At their moorings on the other side of the shipyards. It will take us less than a minute to power up. I’ve positioned the shipping containers as written in the plan.”

“Understood,” replied Admiral Anderson.

He looked back to the overview.

“The important thing is that we give the right impression. As far as the Biomechs are concerned, we know they’re coming. They have accelerated though, and we need to let them think we are desperately short of men and ships.”

Admiral Lewis nodded quickly in agreement.

“If I was approaching this, the first impression I would get is total pandemonium. We have two-thirds of our fleet around the shipyards undergoing repair and replenishment. Then we have the rest of our ships arriving in groups from Micaya in convoys. The defense force is just the first division of my own vessels.”

Admiral Lewis selected his own ships on the perimeter of the shipyards.

“So when they arrive, what will they do? Will they hit your ships, or the shipyards?”

Anderson shook his head.

“It won’t matter. T’Kron has managed to activate a large Helion contingent along this section of the facility. We have more than a hundred ships in an area nearly five thousand cubic kilometers. A quick scan will show they are cold and powering up. That has to be the target.”

He swallowed and then pointed to his own forces centered on his battleship.

“I will withdrawal from the field when they arrive. They will pursue, and if the plan works, they will hit the shipyards with everything they have. A partially powered ship is an easy kill.”

He stopped speaking and looked to his two commanders.

“In less than an hour, the battle for Micaya will be over, and I intend on finishing them, completely. No weapon is off the table, so make sure the safeties are off on your atomics. It’s time to take the gloves off, Gentlemen.”

* * *

ANS Tempest, Micaya Shipyards, Helios Sector

Captain Garcia checked the display for what must have been the tenth time in the last hour. Every single indicator said the vessel was operating in top condition, but that wasn’t enough for him.

“Sir, I think she’s ready for the fight,” said Lieutenant Takeda.

He looked to his pilot and shook his head.

“The ship might be, but not me.”

He looked up to the narrow windows and out into the blackness of space. Indicators in front of them marked out the hundreds of allied vessels as well as the projected position for the enemy.

“Have you ever seen anything like it?”

Lieutenant Takeda shrugged.

“The last few fights have been pretty...well, pretty spectacular.”

“No, I mean the fleet. Just look at them.”

He nodded in the direction of the nearest vessels. There were entire formations of Crusaders, the first of the new generation of warship and now the standard ship of the line. Mixed between formations were multiple Liberty variants, with them easily outnumbering their larger cousins. Even bigger again were the seven battlecruisers, each one configured to a special task. ANS Ticonderoga had been General Rivers’ command ship, and now it functioned as a fleet control and aviation vessel. Captain Vetlaya’s ship, ANS Dreadnought, on the other hand, had been fully outfitted as a heavy battleship.

“I never thought I would see so many battlecruisers in the same fleet; apart from a few transports, and those Anderson left at the Black Rift, they are all here. This is one of those moments we’ll look back on.”

He moved just a fraction so that he could look to the center of the fleet. This was out of the view of the front windows, and he was forced to swivel about to look through the smaller starboard window. Right there, in the middle was the heavily marked and damaged hull of ANS Conqueror. The tired looking ship had been the command vessel for the entire Helios Prime operation and now had an official tally of six enemy warship kills.

“Incredible,” said Captain Garcia.

He was now looking above the large Battlecruiser and toward the massive hull of ANS Warlord. It was an ugly looking ship, one that made even the Crusaders looked attractive.

“That has to be one of the worst looking ships I’ve ever seen.”

Both of them looked at the double-hulled battleship.

“I saw the specifications for her. It’s like they grabbed two hulks and welded them together,” said Takeda.

“Well, that’s pretty much exactly what they did. From what I heard, there were three ships being outfitted in T’Karan when the Admiral arrived to supervise construction. Apparently, there were problems with the powerplants of two of them. They units had come directly from Terra Nova and were underperforming, but the real problem was crew. He had only enough to crew one of the ships.”

Lieutenant Takeda shook her head in amazement.