The Void War (Empire Rising Book 1) (20 page)

“Admiral,
Xing Lun
is under attack. Three missiles have just appeared and are angling towards her,” one of the bridge officers called.

“What! Where did they come from? Have they more ships behind us?” Zheng demanded.

“I’m not sure sir, the missiles seem to have been fired from a ship or two in stealth. We are searching the area now with our high intensity radar.”

Zheng could only watch as the three missiles closed in on
Xing Lun
. She tried to weave and duck but alone beyond the protective point defense fire of the fleet she could only destroy two of them. The third struck a glancing blow but it was enough to set off its warhead and
Xing Lun
disappeared in the explosion. 

A moment of panic flashed through Zheng, how many more ships were out there lying in stealth? The second British fleet was angling away from his. They clearly didn’t want to enter plasma range but they weren’t running away with abandon. They might just be trying to keep the range open for a missile duel to lure him into another trap of some kind.

“Sensors, are we close enough for a visual inspection of the second fleet yet?” Zheng asked.

“Yes sir, I’m reviewing the take now.”

“How many of their flak ships does this second fleet have?”

“Hold on sir, I can make out at least two of their flak corvettes and one, possibly two flak frigates.”

Everyone on the flag bridge looked away as the Admiral let out a string of curses in mandarin. He had to grip his hands into fists to stop them shaking. His anger was turning into fear. Even if the British didn’t have any more ships out there in stealth, this second fleet would be able to soak up a lot of his missiles. It would take a while to hammer them into dust in a long-range missile duel. And their ECM missiles would ensure they continued to get hits on his ships.

He made up his mind. “Tactical, plot us a route out of the system. We can’t risk the battleships. We can repair and come back again to finish this.”

“Aye sir, I’ll transmit the orders to the fleet.”

“Good, once that is done I want you to work up a firing solution on those colonies. We’ll fire a salvo of ground attack missiles as we pass.”

Ground attack missiles were missiles tipped with pure titanium instead of nuclear warheads. Accelerated to high speeds they would penetrate deep into the planet’s crust, causing colossal local damage. At least he would have the last say in this engagement Zheng consoled himself.

Captain Wolfe had been watching the entire battle longing for the chance to get her ships into range. She had felt the death of each of the British ships. She was proud of what they had achieved but now she wanted to get her revenge. Her fleet could fire a much larger salvo compared to Jansen’s and she wanted to make it count.

“Captain, the Chinese are changing direction,” her sensor officer reported. “It looks like they are trying to avoid action.”

“What?” she questioned.

It didn’t make any sense. The Chinese still out massed her by more than two to one. Her flak guns and ECM penetrator missiles would even the odds some but the Chinese would still have the advantage.

“Navigation, try and keep them in range. I want to get off as many salvos as we can before they blow past us. And be prepared to reverse course, it may be a trick to try and get us to come into plasma range.”

Despite her and her navigation officer’s best efforts Wolfe couldn’t prevent the Chinese from escaping. The fleets passed close enough for them to fire one missile salvo each. The British ships put out eighty-two missiles. Knowing that it would be her only salvo, Wolfe had ordered that her cruisers load two ECM penetrator missiles each.

The remaining Chinese could only manage a salvo of one hundred and eighty but it was still significant. When it became clear that almost all the missiles were targeted at the flak frigates and corvettes, they pulled away from the rest of the fleet. The British had learnt from the Damang Incident. Each ship ignored the missiles angling towards it and instead focused on protecting her sister ships. The move worked well, knocking out most of the Chinese missiles but, in the end, both flak frigates took proximity hits and exploded. Almost all of the other missiles aimed at the rest of the fleet were knocked out with one exception. A lucky hit took out the light cruiser
Demise
.

On board the battleship
Hai Hu
concern tinged the sensor Lieutenant’s voice as he shouted, “Admiral, they have more ECM missiles in this salvo than normal. They are going to hit us hard.”

Zheng could do nothing but watch the coming destruction. All he could hope for now was that the fleet he had sent to Camelot had achieved more success. Once he combined his forces and licked his wounds he knew he would be back.

One by one the British missiles disappeared off the plot. Ten made it into attack range and a medium cruiser and a destroyer both took direct hits and exploded.
Hai Hu
shook as she took another proximity hit that knocked out more sensor nodes and another missile tube. After ensuring no more serious damage had been caused, Zheng gave the order to fire a final volley of missiles at the planet’s surface. Everything that remotely looked like a British piece of equipment was targeted.

Unopposed, Zheng smiled as he watched the missiles rain down destruction on the planet as he led his ships out of the system. Even though he was leaving the system in defeat he could at least hold onto one success. The British efforts to settle the planet had been thwarted for now, and he knew he would be back.

Onboard
Valkyrie
Jensen also smiled. Unknown to Zheng his last act of vengeance proved to be impotent. One of her first acts when she came to Excalibur had been to organize her engineers to set up fake colonies. She had hoped it would give her another tactical option in any battle. In the end they had served their purpose perfectly, luring the Chinese Admiral deeper into the system, setting up her ambush. Finally she allowed herself to relax, the battle was over. It had cost them dearly but they had achieved the impossible, they had managed to drive off two Chinese battleships.

First Battle of Excalibur: battle report

On the 1st of March 2465 AD a Chinese fleet under High Admiral Zheng attacked the British forces guarding the Excalibur system. The British forces commanded by Rear Admiral Jensen were outnumbered by a factor of almost three to one. However Jensen managed to get a portion of her fleet into plasma range and rake the Chinese warships.  Soon after the Chinese were forced to retire from the system.

Chinese loses: One battlecruiser, a heavy, medium and light cruiser along with five destroyers and four frigates.

British losses: One heavy and two light cruisers along with one destroyer, three frigates and one corvette.

Outcome: British victory.

-Excerpt from Empire Rising, 3002 AD.

1st March 2465 AD. HMS
Pelican
, the Camelot system

HMS
Pelican
excited shift space on the edge of Camelot’s mass shadow. Her Captain was about to order Admiral Jensen’s warning to be transmitted when his sensor officer stopped him.

“Sir, I’m picking up lots of radiation bouncing around out there. I think we are too late. The readings are consistent with a high number of nuclear detonations.”

“Shit,” Jennings said, “are there any signs of friendly ships?”

“Negative sir, I’m not picking up any vessels in the system.”

“Ok, continue scanning while our jump drive charges. Navigation, I want to jump us a further six light hours out of the system, let’s see if we can pick up anything from the battle.”

Jennings had always thought it strange that a ship could jump further from a system and in effect look back in time. If he could get a telescope powerful enough he could jump to a position where he could watch his great, great grandfather back on Earth. Yet now it was going to prove useful. He could jump further out of the system and look back at the battle that had already occurred.

Half an hour later the entire bridge watched silently as the sensors picked up a large group of Chinese ships heading into the system. The British had already reacted and Commodore Williams was leading his forces to engage the intruders. At this range it was impossible to do anything more than identify the number of heat sources. Estimating type and class was out of the question. They could however, detect the heat and radiation of nuclear explosions.

The Commodore’s ships survived the first two waves of missiles and managed to take out one of their opponents with their return fire. However, as the third set of explosions blossomed around his ships two of Commodore Williams’ eight blips disappeared. Then two more disappeared in the next salvo. Finally, the fifth salvo from the Chinese ships destroyed the last British ship. In all, four Chinese ships had also disappeared from the plot yet no one on board had cheered their loss. The RSN had never lost an entire task force before. No amount of Chinese losses would make up for the men and women that had just disappeared in front of
Pelican’s
eyes. 

*

3
rd
March 2465 AD, HMS
Drake
, the Excalibur system

Two days had passed since the first battle of Excalibur. Most of Rear Admiral Jensen’s ships were in orbit around Excalibur effecting repairs. The initial joy over the defeat of the Chinese had given way to dismay at the news from Camelot. Almost all of the ships in the Void had served as one unit back at Britannia and so everyone had lost friends in one or both systems.

James was eager to get out of Excalibur and return to V17 to see what the Chinese were up too. Yet every functioning ship was needed to patrol the approaches to Excalibur in case a Chinese ship tried to sneak into missile range.  Admiral Jensen had contacted him personally to commend him on his actions in the battle. She suspected the Chinese would have driven on and destroyed Wolfe’s task force if
Drake
hadn’t spooked them off. As a reward, she had promised she would release
Drake
to go and watch the Chinese fleet, but not until enough ships had been repaired to set up a proper picket system.

“Commander,” Sub Lieutenant Fisher said from her position manning the sensors console.  “Two ships have just lit off their drives and are coming out of orbit from Excalibur.”

“Acknowledged Lieutenant,” James replied. “Navigation, plot us a course out of the system that will line us up for a jump to V17.”

It took just over two hours for the message James had been expecting to reach
Drake
from
Valkyrie
. Admiral Jensen had sent a video message and so James put it on the main holo-display.

“Commander, we now have enough ships back in fighting trim to allow me to spare you. We need to know what the Chinese are up to. I want you to jump into V17 but don’t enter the mass shadow. Watch for as long as you need but once you have a good idea of their strength and intentions, head straight back. And again pass on my thanks to your crew.”

When James had first spoken to the Rear Admiral after the battle she had looked tired and haggard. Now she seemed back to her calm and controlled self. That was reassuring.

“Navigation,” James ordered, “Bring us onto our new vector, it’s time to return to the lion’s den.”

*

Hours later, Rear Admiral Jensen watched
Drake
disappear from the system. She had been desperate to send someone to poke their nose into V17 but she hadn’t had enough ships to properly protect her fleet. Already she had sent one badly damaged destroyer back to Cambridge with news of the battle and a request for immediate aid. The Chinese light cruiser that had been damaged and then surrendered was almost ready to be sent home as well.

Currently, she only had
Valkyrie
and six other cruisers under her command.  She had lost almost a third of her force when the two Chinese battleships had tried to force their way into the system. If Commodore Williams’ task force was added to the equation the proportion lost approached half of the ships she had entered the Void with. Those losses had been taking their toll on her. They were all men and women who she had spent the last year commanding. Now they were simply gone. Thankfully, she had more than enough responsibilities to keep her busy and stop her mind dwelling on the losses for too long.

The last two days had been nerve wracking, to say the least. She had feared the Chinese would either come back in strength to finish the task or send their smaller ships to coast into Excalibur. The Chinese still had more than enough firepower to destroy her fleet if they came against her with everything they had. On the other hand, a small ship could enter the system under stealth and possibly get close enough to launch a spread of missiles. With so many damaged ships she hadn’t been able to properly cover all the approaches.

Her only source of hope had been the damage she had managed to deal to the two battleships.
Valkyrie
had scored some direct hits with her plasma cannons and a review of the battle had shown that some missiles had scored proximity hits as well. Both battleships were a long way from being inoperable. They had show that with their last salvo at Wolfe’s task force. However, Jensen hoped she had done enough damage that the Chinese Admiral wouldn’t want to risk them again until they were fully repaired.

A week before the battle she had received an update from the Admiralty. Vice Admiral Cunningham was only weeks away from being ready to leave Cook and make for the Void. It had taken the message three weeks to reach her. Cunningham should be on his way by now. All she had to do was hold on.

*

7
th
March 2465 AD, HMS
Drake
, edge of the Excalibur system

“Communications, send the report to
Valkyrie
,” James ordered once the sensors had updated to show that everything was as expected around Excalibur.

Drake
had just jumped into the system after spending four days patrolling V17. They had not managed to locate all the Chinese ships they were expecting to be there after the battle. James guessed some were lying in stealth within the system. However, they had identified the two battleships. They were both in low orbit around the habitable planet in the system. James had sent in a number of recon drones to try and get a look at what they were up to. Three of the four had been spotted and destroyed by the picket ships. The fourth had managed to beam back some visuals before it too had been destroyed. It seemed that both battleships were docked with the repair station the Chinese had under construction. The drone hadn’t been able to get a good look at the damage they had sustained but the fact they were both docked at the station spoke for itself. It gave the British a good bit of breathing space. As long as both ships were receiving repairs they couldn’t be mounting any offensives.

As his report was beamed into the system, James kept
Drake
just beyond the mass shadow. He expected to be ordered right back to V17 and so didn’t want to waste any time heading into the system. That said, it would still take over fourteen hours for his report to reach
Valkyrie
and a response to be sent out to the edge of the system.

Once the report was sent, James headed back to his quarters to change out of his uniform. He had ordered the cook to prepare a meal for all his senior officers. Everyone had been on edge for the last few weeks. The stress of constant patrol duty had only been heightened since the battle of Excalibur. Everyone on board had now seen real action. No one was particularly keen to have to go through it again. 

He had planned this meal to help everyone unwind and relax. Only Sub Lieutenant Hanson wouldn’t be there as he was on watch. The officer’s mess had been the only room large enough for everyone to fit in and so he was getting a rare opportunity to come into the world of his subordinates. Andrea, his friend and accountant, had sent on board a case of expensive French wine from the Bordeaux region when they had their short stay on Earth. It had been a celebration for his estate finally turning a profit.

Ordinarily, the crew of a RSN spaceship was not allowed to consume alcohol. The regulations did however, stipulate that in special circumstances the Commander or Captain had the authority to wave the rule. James had decided that now was a good time. With
Drake
sitting on the edge of the system powered down, and in stealth, they would be all but undetectable unless a ship came out of shift space right on top of them. Realistically, this was the only chance they were going to get to enjoy a period of relative safety. James wanted to make the best if it.

Satisfied that he was dressed suitably, he made his way to officer country. Along with Second Lieutenant Gupta and his Sub Lieutenants, the ship’s pursuer, who oversaw the stores of
Drake
, the chief engineer and the RSN marine Lieutenant all shared the officer’s section. Tradition meant that every British ship still carried a small compliment of marines.
Drake
had only ten, yet they had come in handy in their mission to capture the Chinese destroyer.

As he entered the dining area he saw that everyone was already there. Walking over, he took his seat at the head of the table. “Welcome everyone, or should I say thank you for welcoming me into your home,” James began with a smile. “This is probably going to be the only chance we get to relax and unwind over the next few weeks so I want you all to enjoy yourselves. Don’t think of us as commander and subordinates, we’re all equals at the table tonight, so relax. Of course,” he continued as he winked at Sub Lieutenant Becket.  “Those who are on duty in a few hours should remember to take some detoxing stimulants after they have enjoyed tonight’s lovely wine.”

As James sat, a number of crew who had been drafted in by the cook to help serve the food, appeared and began to distribute the first course. It was a blend of a traditional British vegetable soup with a popular recipe from Britannia, which mainly used native plants.

For the first few minutes everyone ate in silence. Just as James was about to give up on seeing his officers open up, Gupta broke the silence and came to his rescue. “Fisher, I hear you and Becket had a bit of fun earlier today, care to retell the story for the rest of us?”