Exodus: Empires at War: Book 2 (41 page)

BOOK: Exodus: Empires at War: Book 2
5.27Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub

The few dozen crewmen
who were still alive didn't have enough time for thought as every containment
vessel on the ship failed under the hundreds of gigatons of force that had
pummeled them.  Several hundred warheads, the containment pods attached to the
main reactors, and the fuel that was stored for a future that would not come,
tons of the oppositely charge material, contacted matter and released
additional hundreds of gigatons of energy.

HIMS Archduchess
Constance Leonardo
converted to plasma in an instant, blasting outward with the energy of a
miniature star.  A star that radiated for mere seconds before its plasma had
spread out far enough for the light to dim.

Three other battleships
survived to see the flagship's destruction.  They and the four remaining
escorts were destroyed soon after.

Chapter 18

 

 

For centuries we have
looked for the ultimate weapon, the device that will make all enemies fear to
attack us.  Ladies and Gentlemen, we have always had that weapon.  It is men
and women like yourselves, willing to put their lives on the line, that is the
ultimate weapon.

Grand High Admiral
Hiraku Yamaguchi in an address to the graduating class of Peal Island Naval
Academy.

 

 

Low Admiral Hrissnammartanama
cursed as he looked over the damage figures of his fleet.  He knew it could
have been much worse, and in fact was very light considering.  But no commander
wanted to see damage to their own forces.

Two of his twenty
battleships were complete wrecks, one totally destroyed, the other a floating
hulk.  Three were too badly damaged to risk another engagement, while four,
including the flagship, had sustained light damage.  He had also lost four
cruisers with another five damaged, and eight scouts had been taken from his
order of battle.  Which meant he still had two thirds of his initial firepower
to throw at the planet.

The enemy still had the
cruiser force that had hit them from the flank, though he was sure his return
fire had at least damaged some of them.  And the ships that had carried the
fighters.  Those fighters had boosted over his formation and were on a heading
out of the system.  His forces on the perimeter of the system would take care
of them, or they would end up being of no consequence.

“Detach a battleship
and four cruisers after their cruiser force,” he ordered his tactical officer,
who began to relay the orders to the fleet.

“What about the ship
they sent away before the battle?” asked the tactical officer, looking over at
his Admiral.  “They must have been important to remove from the enemy's order
of battle.”

“Order two of the
cruisers and a quartet of scouts to go after them,” ordered the Admiral.  “Also
send signals to our outer system cordon to not allow that ship to pass.  I don’t
want them escaping into hyper and getting whatever it is they want to protect
back to their space.”

The tactical officer
shook his head in assent and turned to send those orders as well.

*     *     *

On
Sergiov
,
Lieutenant SG Sean Ogden Lee Romanov watched on the repeat of his viewer that
was appearing in his link as the human fleet was destroyed by the enemy.  He
knew that the action was in the past, having occurred at least fifteen minutes
before, but still winced as heavy warheads exploded within the fleet, taking
ships and thousands of fellow fleet officers and crew into oblivion.

In the hollow pit of
his stomach he felt his betrayal of the fleet and of all the men and women who
had just died. 
Not that our staying would have accomplished anything
,
he told himself, watching the plot of the enemy fleet that was still on course
for orbital insertion on the planet.  Their presence would at most have
resulted in the death of another enemy battleship.  Probably not that much,
more likely the destruction of a scout ship or a cruiser.

He thumped his hand
against the side of the acceleration tank, needing to feel the pain of the blow
to force the condemnation from his mind.  He did not need to drop into a pit of
despair at this moment.  If what he had been told was true he was now the
reigning Emperor of the Terran Empire.  At time of war, against the threat they
had all feared might someday come.

That thought almost
sent him down another tunnel of despair.  His father and mother, dead.  His
elder brothers, ahead of him in the succession, dead.  It had never been
planned for him to take the throne.  He had planned for a naval career, maybe
retiring as a Captain or minor Admiral.  Maybe an ambassadorship or some other
government office.  Then becoming the favorite uncle of the next set of heirs,
sitting them on his knee and telling them lies about his adventures in the big
bad galaxy.

No
, he screamed in his
mind as he watched a replay of the destruction of the fleet. 
This is not
supposed to be happening.  I am not the proper material to make an Emperor.  I
am not what my people need at this time.  They need someone with the confidence
to rule.  I'm not even that good a junior naval officer.

Sean felt the tears
come to his eyes, dripping into the glasses he wore in the acceleration tank. 
A fat lot of good he would be to the human race, when he could not even control
his own emotions.  When all he could do was wallow in a pity pot that
threatened to become the focus of his existence for years to come.

“Your Majesty,” came
the voice of Captain Ngano over the com circuit.  “We are heading out system at
best acceleration.  As far as we can tell there is nothing ahead of us.  Which,
unfortunately, doesn't mean a damned thing.”

“And what are we going
to do when we get to the hyper barrier?” asked Sean, wondering if he really
cared.

“We have two choices,
your Majesty,” replied the Captain.  “We can either turn over within the next
twenty hours, so we can transit the barrier into hyper as soon as we reach the
limit.  Or we can go full bore out into interstellar space, turning over in a
couple of days and making transit in interstellar space.  I would recommend the
later course.”

“You're asking my
permission on the course of action?” said Sean, wondering why the Captain was
bothering.

“You are our ruler,
your Majesty,” said the Captain.  “You are the one we swear allegiance to.”

“Some ruler I am,” said
Sean, shaking his head in the fluid.  “You didn't even think much of me as an
officer under your command.”

“You are all that I have,”
said the Captain in a pleading voice.  “You are all that any of us have.”

Sean thought about that
for a moment, feeling the despair rising again.  Despair for himself.  Despair
for the human race.  He pushed the despair down, remembering his heritage.  He
was descended from the imperial line, from the Ogden's, the Lee's and the
Romanov's.  From the people who had led the human refugees from a handful of
starvelings into becoming the greatest political and military entity of this
sector of the galaxy.  It was time that he grew up and faced what was, not what
he wanted things to be.

“Then I guess I'll have
to become what you need,” he said to the Captain.

“We have ships
vectoring from the enemy fleet,” said the Captain.  “They may have set our
options for us.”

“I'll become what you
need me to be,” Sean whispered to himself, “if I live long enough.”

*     *     *

“It looks like someone
just fought a hell of a battle in the inner system,” said Lt Commander Maurice
von Rittersdorf, looking out of the view screen at Captain Dame Mie Lei. 
Dot
McArthur
was heading in system about a light second ahead of
Jean de Arc
,
all of her sensors straining to pick up all of the hours old information coming
out from the environs of the inhabited planet.

“I agree, Maurice,” said
Mie Lei, looking at the holo tank that displayed everything they knew about the
system.  “And it looks like our side lost.  Whoever the enemy is will storm
over that planet in eight hours.  And there is nothing we can do about it. 
Except for getting the information out to the fleet.”

“What are your orders,
ma'am?” asked the destroyer commander, leaning forward in his seat.

“One of us needs to get
back to sector HQ with this information,” she said, looking into the screen
over steepled fingers.  “It doesn't really matter which one, as long as they
find out.  If they just keep sending ships in here piecemeal, not sure of what
is happening; they'll just get chewed up.”

The Captain sat for a
moment, thinking about her options. 
The enemy can't have any ships faster
than mine in hyper, can they?
she thought.  Hyper VII was the final
dimension capable of sustaining matter as they knew it.  Wasn't it?  VIII was
only good for transmitting radiation, such as com waves.  Unless these aliens
knew something that humanity and its friends didn't, which was entirely
possible. 
And my decision might make the difference as to whether this
sector is lost to us, and maybe the Empire and humanity after that.  So I've
got to make the right decision.

“OK,” she said to her
subordinate, trying to appear confident.  “We'll split up.  I don't think that
your ship will give us enough additional firepower to fight our way out, and
splitting gives us two chances to get out of the system.  I want
McArthur
to boost upwards from the ecliptic, while we'll boost down.  Transmit all the
information you have to anyone you come in range of.  That will increase the
odds of the intelligence getting through.”

“And the convoy?” asked
the younger man, his eyes narrowing.

“They will have to fend
for themselves,” she replied, the anguish showing through her eyes.  “It's of
vital importance that we get the information back to headquarters.”

“Yes ma'am,” said von
Ritterdorf, nodding.  “And for what it's worth, I think you made the proper
decision.  If I make it through I will make sure that the admiralty knows of my
opinion.”

“Thank you Maurice,”
said Mei, flashing a quick smile.  “But my hide will be the one they hang if
it's a wrong decision.  I appreciate the sentiment, though.”

“Incoming transmission,”
said the communications officer, looking over at her commander.  “Double
encryption routine Zeta Five.”

“That's the highest
level,” said von Rittersdorf, sitting up in his chair.  “Where is it coming
from?”

“Insystem,” said the
Jean
de Arc's
com officer.  “General bearings of the battle.”

“Message decrypted,”
said the com officer.  “Putting it on screen.”

A very dark skinned man
appeared on the veiwer, his face lined with worry.  The eagle symbol of a naval
Captain appeared on his uniform, which Mei was sure was a simulation, as no one
in the inner system would be wearing a dress uniform at a time like this.  The
words
HIMS Duke Roger Sergiov II (BB 1458)
appeared at the bottom of the
screen.

“To all Imperial
warships in the Massadara system,” said the deep baritone of the man.  “This is
Captain Sebastian Ngano of the
HIMS Duke Roger Sergiov II
.  This is a
priority One Alpha message.  All ships are ordered and commanded to render
assistance to this vessel.  We have a passenger of utmost importance who must
safely leave this system.  Repeat, we have a passenger of utmost importance who
must safely leave this system.”

“One Alpha gives him
the authority to request any assistance he feels is necessary,” said von
Rittersdorf over the com.  “If he is who he says he is.”

“Data banks verify the
identity of the Captain of
HIMS Duke Roger Sergiov II
as Captain
Sebastian Ngano,” said the com officer.  “Visuals match the man's appearance in
records.  Voice analysis indicates that he is under stress, but probably not duress.”

“Tactical,” ordered Captain
Lei.  “Have you gotten a location on the transmitting vessel?”

“Aye, Captain,” said
the tactical officer.  “Location is an Imperial battleship on heading zero four
three by one seven three by two one seven.  Velocity of point five c with an
acceleration of two hundred and eighty four gees.”

“So they are tanked,”
said Rittersdorf.  “Beating ass for elbows out of the system.”

“It must have been
important for them to leave the inner system before the battle was joined,”
said the tactical officer.

“We have enemy ships on
our vector,” said the Captain on the transmission.  “Probably more that we can
handle.  They have the acceleration to catch us, and they will catch us.  Our
VIP must be gotten safely from the system.  This is an Alpha One priority.”

“Captain,” said the com
officer, her voice rising.  “Checking the Sergiov's records indicate that a
Lieutenant SG Sean Ogden Lee Romanov is serving aboard the battleship.  Maybe
that's who they are trying to get to safety.”

“Isn't he the third
living son of the Emperor,” said von Rittersdorf.  “Why the priority?  He isn't
even the spare.”

“Unless something
happened that we don't know about,” said Captain Lei, looking over at her com
officer.

Other books

La niña de nieve by Eowyn Ivey
The Ultimate Merger by Delaney Diamond
Grizzly Love by Eve Langlais
All the Lonely People by Martin Edwards
What Men Want by Deborah Blumenthal
the little pea by Erik Battut