The Void War (Empire Rising Book 1) (18 page)

Three hours later
Drake
received a signal from
Valkyrie
. James had the message put up on the main holo-display for all the bridge to see.

“Commander,” Admiral Jensen’s image began. “I have some new orders for you.
York
identified a shift passage leading away from the Void towards Chinese space. I’m detaching the rest of my survey ships to explore it. I’m putting Commander Jackson of
York
in charge of the search. She will remain at the entrance to the shift passage and direct the search. I need regular updates so I don’t want any ships running off on their own. You should be receiving the coordinates now, good luck Commander.”

*

12th of March 2465 AD, HMS
Drake,
shift passage adjacent to the Void

James was beginning to remember why he despised the survey fleet so much. The last months had been full of all the excitement he had been dreaming about for the previous two years. Yet for the last week
Drake
had been transported back in time. Once again she was carrying out the monotonous task of micro jumping, surveying the dark matter, micro jumping again and surveying again. The main shift passage had reached a dead end after only three light years. However, so far
York
and her fellow survey ships had identified thirty minor passages leading away from the Void. Only five had been fully mapped out so far and any of the rest could lead to Chinese space.
Drake
was currently sitting stationary, mapping out the surrounding space after a micro jump.

“Sir, I have finished the scan of the dark matter,” Fisher reported. “There is a twist in the passage ahead, we’re going to have to make a smaller than usual jump ahead to determine which direction it turns before we can head up it.”

“Very well, send the navigation data to Hanson, we’ll make the jump when you are both satisfied.” James replied.

Suddenly the main holo-display automatically switched to show the gravimetric plot and a siren sounded twice to alert everyone on the bridge. At once everyone but Fisher shifted their focus to see what it was displaying. A large number of red dots were appearing just under a light hour away from
Drake’s
current position.

“Gupta, put us into stealth mode immediately.”

Thankfully,
Drake
wasn’t accelerating anywhere so these newcomers couldn’t detect them.
Drake
had only been at her current position for ten minutes so no infrared radiation should have reached this new fleet’s position yet. With luck, they would just be rounding the twist in the minor shift passage and jumping as soon as their shift drives had charged. They would be gone before any sign of
Drake
reached them.

“Fisher, I want you to compare their jump signatures with those of the Chinese fleet that we saw jump into V17. See if you can estimate type and class for each ship and get me a final count on their numbers.” James ordered.

Exactly thirty-four minutes after exiting shift space, the Chinese fleet jumped again. This time all of
Drake’s
sensors were focused on them. After the last ship disappeared, Fisher put the computer’s estimates on the main holo-display. “Based on the gravimetric anomalies created from their exit and entrance into shift space, the computer estimates that the fleet consists of one battleship, one heavy cruiser, four other cruisers and five other smaller ships.” Fisher reported.

James stood up from his seat in shock. “Are you sure?” he demanded.

“Positive sir,” Fisher replied. “We got a good look at that battleship at V17.”

“Damn,” James shouted. “They are only supposed to have one battleship.” He reached over to bring up the intelligence on the Chinese construction program but Gupta was already ahead of him.

“The lasts intelligence report say the next Chinese battleship won’t be completed for at least ten months.” She commented sourly.  “And that report is only two months old. There is no way they could have rushed her out of space dock that quickly.”

“I agree,” James said nodding. “They must have constructed a second one in secret. It’s too similar to their first battleship. Intelligence says the new battleships they have under construction have had a few major alterations to their design. This one looks identical to the one at V17.”

Everyone on the bridge seemed to be transfixed with the rundown of the Chinese fleet. At best, James knew that his uncle had been expecting it to take weeks for the Chinese to organize themselves before sending more ships. Yet for these ships to be here now meant the Politburo must have sent immediate orders for reinforcements to head towards the Void. The presence of the battleship showed just how badly they wanted to kick the British out.

“Ok everyone, we’re just going to have to deal with the situation we’ve been dealt. Admiral Jensen needs to know just how badly outnumbered she is. Combined, the two Chinese fleets out mass Jensen’s fleet at Excalibur by almost two to one. Navigation, plot us a least time course back to Excalibur, we have no time to waste. If I had to guess I’d say those ships are going to join up with their comrades and make straight for Excalibur. They’ll be hoping to knock us out of the Void before we have had a real chance to establish ourselves here.”

*

12th of March 2465 AD. HMS
Valkyrie
, the Excalibur system.

Admiral Jensen was sitting in
Valkyrie’s
flag command chair. British warships typically had a main bridge and an auxiliary one. When a ship was used as a flagship the Captain was set up in the main bridge while the Admiral based on the ship took their station on the auxiliary bridge. That way the Admiral could direct the movements of the fleet without getting distracted by the running of their flagship.

Jensen still felt it was unnatural. Unless the ship was at battle stations, only a minimal crew manned the auxiliary bridge. She liked to pass her time sitting in her command chair but she felt naked without the bridge crew surrounding her as she had become accustomed to during the twelve years she had been a Captain. Even so, it was clear from those who were on the bridge with her that there was an air of excitement moving across the fleet. Everyone was eagerly looking forward to the next few hours. It had been over two days since the last Chinese scout ship had tried to enter the system and spy on her fleet. After the last attempt Jensen had decided to mix things up a little. Her light ships had now completed their full scan of the inner system. Up until that point she had been keeping her ships within the shift limit. The Chinese had, therefore, been jumping in only half a light hour from the limit before powering their drives and boosting into the system.

Since the last Chinese ship, Jensen had pushed all her light ships but the point defense ships beyond the shift limit. She had also worked out a signaling system that used the gravimetric acceleration profiles of her ships. That way, when one ship picked up an incoming Chinese ship it could go to full burn on its engines, immediately alerting the rest of her fleet about the newcomer.

For her benefit, the sensor officer on watch addressed
Valkyrie’s
First Lieutenant louder than necessary. “Lieutenant,
Arrow
has just gone to full burn. Her course and speed indicate that she has picked up a vessel exciting shift space.”

The main holo-display switched to show
Arrow’s
position at the edge of the system closest to the Chinese end of the Void. A line extended from Arrow towards the shift limit, giving an estimate of where the ship she had picked up was. Moments later another blip appeared where the line intersected the shift limit.

“Sir, we have the new contact, they are going to full burn too.”

Jensen sat up in excitement. No ships were expected back from spying on the Chinese fleet for another day and
York’s
next progress report on the survey of the shift passage wasn’t due for another three days. Whether a friendly or another Chinese spy something was finally happening.

Aboard
Drake,
James already had his ship accelerating at maximum toward Excalibur. As soon as
Drake
had come out of shift space and he had confirmed that the Chinese fleet wasn’t in the system yet, he had sent a general message to all the ships in the system. The Chinese were coming.

The first tactic taught at any naval academy when it comes to fleet engagements has always been this: ambush your enemy and destroy him before he has a chance to fire back. Yet, in reality, this almost never happens in space warfare. The distances are simply too great and ships are simply too hard to hide. Every now and again though it has been known to happen and these instances are always closely studied at every naval academy in an effort to try and repeat them.

-Excerpt from Empire Rising, 3002 AD

28
th
February 2465 AD, 8pm. HMS
Arrow
, the Excalibur system.

Twenty minutes after
Drake
had dropped out of shift space, her IFF signal reached
Arrow
. Along with her IFF,
Arrow
also received the data stream James had broadcast to the entire system. It gave a breakdown of the new Chinese fleet and James’ belief that it was on its way to Excalibur. Commander Farquhar tended to agree with Somerville and so he ordered his navigation officer to alter
Arrow’s
acceleration.

Aboard
Valkyrie,
Arrow’s
course change was immediately spotted, “Captain,” her sensor officer called to Chambers who had just taken over the watch from
Valkyrie’s
First Lieutenant. “
Arrow
has cut her acceleration. Wait, she is going to ninety percent now. That’s the signal she has identified the newcomer as a friendly.”

Just as everyone began to relax the officer called out, “She has cut her acceleration again.” A few moments slowly passed as the officer hunched over her control terminal watching the senor fed. “Sir,” she shouted with concern this time. “Her new acceleration pattern is the signal for enemy fleet approaching.”

“Acknowledged Lieutenant,” Chambers said much more calmly than he felt, “forward your readings to the auxiliary bridge. Inform the Admiral we have a Chinese fleet on its way here. Then warn the crew they’ll be called to battle stations soon.”

On the auxiliary bridge Jensen had received the same message from her own sensor officer, even before the alert from the main bridge came to her command chair. She waited with apprehension. Her smaller ships were spread out around the system, trying to ambush a single Chinese scout. If the Chinese had decided to push their entire fleet into the system she would be caught without a good proportion of her screening elements.

After another thirty seconds she asked the question she already hoped would have been answered, “Has
Arrow
changed her acceleration pattern to give us a direction for this fleet?”

It was the Third Lieutenant who answered, he was with the navigation officer on the auxiliary bridge, looking over her shoulder at her console, “No Admiral, they are just sending us the same message, enemy fleet approaching.”

“So be it. Order all our light ships to return to Excalibur. Get me
Broadsword
on a COM channel.”

Moments later Captain Wolfe appeared in front of Jensen. “Captain, I think we have an enemy fleet approaching Excalibur; one that hasn’t arrived yet. The friendly ship
Arrow
identified can only have come from the shift passage to Chinese space or V17. If there is a fleet coming, wherever they are coming from they won’t be far behind our friendly. Here’s what I have in mind.”

Five minutes after Jensen went over her plan with Captain Wolfe and then Captain Chambers,
Valkyrie
and the other ships that had been lying in stealth around Excalibur boosted out of orbit under minimal thrust.  Meanwhile every other ship in the outer system, bar one, went to stealth and turned to head for Excalibur and
Broadsword
.
Pelican
jumped out to warn Commodore Williams at Camelot.  On Excalibur’s surface, the men who had landed there began the tasks they had been assigned.

It took seven hours for
Drake’s
message to reach
Valkyrie
but when it did Jensen breathed a silent sigh of relief. She had taken a big gamble by splitting her forces. Even more of a one given how many more Chinese ships were bearing down on Excalibur than she had thought. Everyone on the bridge was shocked by the news that they could be facing two battleships. No one expected
Valkyrie
to stand up to one, never mind two.

However, her smart thinking had given them chance to get in the first decisive punch, hopefully it would be enough. She had already altered course on the assumption that the delay meant that the Chinese would be coming from V17. Now all she had to do was wait and hope the Chinese Admiral hadn’t adjusted to fighting in the Void yet. If the Chinese approached from a completely unpredictable direction, she would be caught badly out of position.

Aboard
Drake,
James, along with everyone else was very nervous. They were the only ones who had seen firsthand both Chinese fleets. The thought that they had combined their strength and were on their way was frightening indeed. As more time passed, this possibility was becoming more and more of a certainty. James had half expected the Chinese fleet to beat them to Camelot. That they had not meant they must have gone to join up with the first Chinese fleet at V17. The next most logical course of action would be to head straight for Excalibur and strike before the British even knew they had overwhelming numerical superiority.

“Commander, where do you think Admiral Jensen is?” asked Lieutenant Becket, who was manning the tactical station. 

James took a few moments to consider his response. “I’m not sure, but if I was a betting man I would put money on her laying an ambush somewhere. Either she had some ships in the outer edges of the system already in stealth or she took whatever was in stealth around Excalibur out of orbit when she got our message. One way or another she’s going to try and hammer the Chinese if they push into the system.”

“Then why are the rest of the outer pickets coming back in towards Excalibur under stealth,” Becket followed up.

“Simple, if the Chinese jumped in and saw that every ship in the outer system was already firing off their drives at full burn they would know they had been made. The outer picket ships are coming under stealth so that by the time the Chinese do arrive they’ll still be close enough to meet up with Captain Wolfe and
Broadsword
and yet not give away Jensen’s plan. I understand your concern though. If Jensen is caught out of position, the ships still in orbit are going to be left well and truly isolated.”

For his part, James had ignored Jensen’s order to head for Excalibur. Having come out right on the edge of the system’s mass shadow it would take him hours to reach Excalibur under stealth. If a battle were going to be fought he would only end up out of position and no help to anyone. Instead
Drake
was angling to get ahead of any fleet that would jump in from the direction of V17. Due to
Drake’s
angle of entrance into the system, heading straight for Excalibur would have put him right in the firing line of the Chinese if they came straight from V17.
Drake
would either have had to remain in stealth and watch the battle or open fire and go down fighting.

As it was, James had put
Drake
in a position to choose her time of attack. Hopefully, the Chinese fleet would not get close enough to detect them and force their hand.

*

29
th
February 2465 AD, 4am,
Hai Hu
, approaching Excalibur system

An air of invincibility emanated from High Admiral Zheng as he sat in his command chair on the flag bridge of the People’s Spaceship
Hai Hu
. His rage had been growing and growing over the last two weeks. The appearance of the British forces had caught him by complete surprise. The disappearance of the destroyer
Tian’e
had turned his surprise to anger and the constant British scout ships showing up at V17 had sent him over the edge. It had only been his own scout ships inability to get a good look at the British fleet that had prevented him attacking the system the British were now calling Excalibur. Then his reinforcements had arrived along with the latest intelligence reports. Minister Chang and his intelligence service estimated that the British couldn’t have more than a handful of cruisers in the Void by now. Zheng had leapt at the opportunity. His reinforcements significantly tipped the balance of force in his favor and now he was on his way to crush the British at Excalibur and Camelot.  He would send the British back to Cambridge with their tails firmly between their legs.

One of his flag officers broke into his thoughts. “Admiral, we will be exiting shift space in five minutes.”

Zheng grinned; it was time to see what his battleships could do. As
Hai Hu
came out of shift space he watched the sensors update the various displays. Faint traces could be detected of ships in orbit around the habitable planet but nothing else. Satisfied his own fleet was alert and in formation he ordered them to move forward.

As his fleet’s acceleration gave their presence away, he watched the British react. First, the ships around Excalibur began to break out of orbit and form a cohesive unit. Then it seemed like every picket ship they had in the system came alive as they too went active and made to rendezvous with the larger ships.

Zheng waited for the moment the British would turn tail and run. His sensors had managed to identify no more than five cruisers in orbit around the planet. They were outnumbered more than three to one. This wasn’t the
Damang
system, here they had nothing to protect. Yet as he watched, the cruisers finished forming up, turned towards his fleet and made their intentions clear. They were going to fight. It didn’t make sense, Zheng thought, unless there was a reason he hadn’t anticipated.

“I want a full sensor sweep of that planet. I want to know if there is anything there.” Zheng called out. He had to wait impatiently for almost a minute as the sensors were redirected from the approaching fleet.

“Admiral, there appears to be at least a couple of energy sources on the planet. We can’t make out anything more than that at the minute but their strength indicates that the British have at least a couple of colonies or military bases up and running.”

Impossible, Zheng dismissed with a thought. They hadn’t had the time. Yet how did they manage to get ships to the Void so quickly? Suppose they had known about it for longer than they had let on to the UN. Then they would have had ample time to get together the men and materials needed to begin to fortify Excalibur. Only they mustn’t have had the time they needed to complete their orbital bombardment shelters. There was no other reason; the fleet approaching him must be seeking to protect a planetary base. Standard Chinese and British protocol was to build their colonies with bombardment shelters that would protect their military and colonists from everything short of a series of thermonuclear missiles.

The British fleet obviously hoped to delay him enough for the bases to be evacuated. Zheng knew he had a great opportunity before him. The British population was weak. If he could present them with a stunning defeat, one where their own colonists had been bombarded from space, they would lose their heart for war. They may even lose the heart for sending their children off to new colonies with dreams of wealth and success. The Void would fall to the Chinese by default! Sure, it meant he would have to fire on civilians, but wasn’t that why he had been chosen for this mission?

“Signal all my Captains, inform them that I think the British are going to fight. Tell them to be prepared and to double-check their missiles. I want our first salvo to be devastating.” Zheng ordered.

*

As the Chinese fleet charged into the system, Jensen watched them until they were only light seconds away. During that time she had been constantly weighing up the decision before her. She had almost pulled off the perfect ambush, almost. The Chinese were charging right for the planet as she had expected. However, their trajectory into the system was slightly off her prediction. Slowly, she had been working her fleet towards them but the differing speeds made things difficult. The Chinese were still accelerating and had almost reached their top speed.
Valkyrie
and her consorts had been limited to five percent of their maximum thrust to ensure they weren’t detected. Getting her slow moving fleet to cross paths with the stampeding Chinese without being detected had been difficult.