War's Reward (Free Fleet Book 6) Page 3

  The shuttle rose and moved forward. Bregend changed his HUD view so he was watching both the battle on Daestramus and the orbiting Free Fleet warships as they fired down onto the planet. From between the rail cannon fire, shuttles formed up and headed down into Daestramus’ atmosphere.

  It was one hell of a sight. There were thousands of complex operations going on to create the display he now saw. He felt pride in his chest at his fleet and his people.

  The shuttle shook as it started to enter Daestramus’ atmosphere.

  “Fuck this is weird,” someone said.

  “How?” Another asked.

  “Every simulated drop you’re being shot at. The Kalu don’t even fucking care. Just want to fight us on the ground, fucking wolves,” the first replied, using the slang for the Kalu.

  Some had tried to use dogs, but come on, dogs are pretty awesome and they don’t deserve that kind of moniker.

  “Complaining that you’re not getting the full Free Fleet shuttle express? I can ask the pilot if he wants to try and get his wings?” Someone, senior by the sound of it, said.

  “No Company Commander I rescind my statement! This is a lovely day, why look at those nice ice fields over there, it does look like that is where the people of Daestramus expect us to hold the Kalu back,” the first one replied. Bregend saw the alert coming in. He checked it out. It wasn’t his place to say anything, he was just along for a ride on a shuttle.

  “It is a small world,” Bregend said, letting out a laugh and shaking his head as much as his helmet would allow.

  “Who are you? You don’t look like fourth HAPA squad.” The mouthy one was bored again.

  Bregend put it down to nerves, but it was getting annoying.

  “That you friggin idjit, is Ship Commander Bregend!” The senior woman from before said.

  “Uh, sorry sir,” the complainer said.

  “No worries,” Bregend answered, comfortable in his harness.

  “What’s a small world?’ The complainer asked.

  Bregend couldn’t help but smile.

  This kid is relentless, His face soured and he puckered his lips. When the hell did I start thinking of twenty-somethings as kids? I’m only twenty-one! He shook away his errant thoughts, remembering the Commando’s question.

  “That’s the facility that Salchar was being held at. It was the one that the Free Fleet assaulted to get free those held hostage by Marhtu,” Bregend said.

  “No shit,” the Commando’s voice wasn’t rude just a bit shocked.

  The shuttle flared out, slowing their descent and turning to make the ramps face the defenses.

  Ramps started opening moments later. The shuttle touched down, the first HAPA’s and Commandos dismounting in almost the same moment.

  Bregend freed himself from the harness and worked his way towards the trenches. His path altered slightly, seemed someone know he was down on the planet.

  Hopefully they didn’t try to get him to stay back and coddle him. He was going to put an end to that damned quickly. He plodded on, checking feeds. He barely noticed as he walked into the underground facility, past the Daestramus forces, Commandos base staff and civilians that filled and moved in the halls.

  Getting to the command center was quick, it was large and with open doors, there were so many people rushing around it didn’t make sense to seal them.

  He walked in, someone turned, letting him know that they had seen him, and waited for him to approach.

  “Commander Bregend, I am Commander Narvu,” The HAPA wearing individual said as soon as he got close enough.

  “Good to see you in the flesh, as it were,” Bregend said, getting a soft laugh from Narvu.

  “Quite, I was wondering if you would like to accompany me and my platoon.” Narvu opened his visor and looked to Bregend.

  “I wouldn’t want to keep you at the rear,” Bregend said cautiously.

  “Well hopefully with two commanders they won’t be able to harass us back to the rear like mother Heka,” Narvu said with a human smile.

  “One may hope,” Bregend smiled, seeing the Heka in his mind, looked something like a chicken, but about five times larger, so an ostrich sized chicken.

  Something shuddered through the base.

  Narvu’s helmet slammed close, Bregend followed suit.

  “The Kalu have entered the first perimeter,” one of Narvu’s aide’s said over the channel.

  “Very well, then we shall continue with our plan. It sounds like the artillery have already started warming the Kalu up for us…” Narvu said, petering off as he thought about something.

  “Have the Free Fleet HAPA’s and Commandos on watch for the Kalu fighters and cover their shuttles. I want constant updates on our defenses here, and at the other four bunkers,” Narvu said.

  “Yes Commander.” The person clicked off, they had a lot to attend to.

  “I believe that it might benefit us to see the Kalu in action a bit closer. I would also be interested in any information you have on the Kalu that might assist us,” Narvu said, turning and heading for the doors.

  Bregend followed.

  “I may have some points, but my Commando Contingent Commander might be of greater assistance,” Bregend added.

  “I would love to talk to him as well if at all possible. Here we must make our stand. With only Five kilometers of reinforced icy trenches. Though we do have some tricks that the Kalu are not likely to enjoy,” Narvu said.

  “I’ll get him. I know we would both love to hear about plans to ruin the Kalu’s day,” Bregend said, his fingers tapping his HAPA’s awaiting joysticks.

  “Well how well do you think a Kalu swims?” Narvu asked.

  “I like where this is going,” Bregend said.

  ***

  Cheerleader looked over the ship as it shook again, one of the Kalu ships must have been holding onto a missile.

  Screens shorted out and a fire started from an electrical overload, fire suppression systems killed it and lights wailed on. The ship had been depressurized long ago and everyone was working in their powered armor. Cheerleader’s harness kept her in place, but others had been thrown.

  Thankfully their armor had keep them functional. Someone fell out of the second floor screens onto the first floor. They took a moment and got back up, heading back to their station.

  None of the Free Fleet ships had shields anymore, most of them didn’t have much armor left. Her ploy had worked a little too well. It seemed that these Kalu, far enough from the watchful eyes of Orshpa and Falhu were more than happy to chase down ships instead of attack their intended target first.

  “The Dreadnought Flaz was just hit... Fuck, she’s gone,” Jorvut said, Cheerleader watched as the Dreadnought’s rear power plant ate her side, someone must have attempted an eject. It was the only reason the ship wasn’t just a growing field of debris.

  Its guns had gone silent and its engines were gone.

  She had seven of the thirty-five ships she’d set out with. They had no magazines, little armor, bomb-thrust was impossible and they had less than one in six small craft that they’d started out with.

  But we’re holding the fucking line, and that’s what we’ll fucking do.

  “I’ve got something on the sensors, looks like wormholes,” Jorvut said, practically jumping out of his seat.

  “Mother of fuck,” Cheerleader said, hoping, but prepared to have her dreams smashed.

  “They look to be Kalu,” Jorvut said, his voice strained as the system went through the identification process.

  “Incoming message, encoded,” Onur said. Cheerleader could hear the tired hope in his voice. Min Hae never openly displayed who he was or where he was sending a message from.

  “Open it,” Cheerleader said, coughing, it seemed that some of the smoke that had made them evacuate atmosphere had gotten into her helmet.

  “Cheerleader, I didn’t want to disturb you until the last possible moment. Try and pull back your ships. The Independents will mix i
n the traditionalists. I will be there within the hour,” Min Hae’s voice said through her helmet.

  “Defensive position, fastest speed away from these fuckers. Don’t fire at the incoming ships, mark them as friendly,” Cheerleader said, coughing again.

  Fucking smoke! She drank on her tube, the gunnery seemed to get some more fire in them. The hope monkey had them all, and damn if they couldn’t see the light at the end of the tunnel.

  War-leader of the Independent Kalu, Kalvin watched as his fleet emerged from their wormholes.

  He looked to the incoming information.

  Twenty-three thousand Kalu ships were fighting to jump on the remaining Free Fleet ships. They were closer to the jump limit than he had ever hoped.

  “Power for the Kalu fleet, tell them we are reinforcements, praise them and ask to join their war-clan,” Kalvin said, his people knew their tasks but he wanted to make sure.

  After seeing the Free Fleet in action, he had a new need to show them what he could do.

  He looked over the sensor information that the systems sensor buoys gave him. He closed the channel, mixed feelings running through him.

  The Free Fleet ships had used themselves to keep the Kalu close to the jump point, in order to gain time for the other forces and the people of the system. It was a bloody tactic and it looked like it had worked. Their losses were nothing like what the Kalu had sustained, yet they were still taking Kalu fighter’s Star Warriors and Destroyers out.

  They were now headed out towards the dark of space, the Kalu still trailing them with the majority of their fleet.

  “We will be within the Kalu formation in twenty-minutes,” Lox said from his position as second in command of the independent Kalu fleet.

  With the Free Fleet’s computers, they had been able to jump in close with the Kalu. Using their bomb-acceleration, they were quickly making up time.

  “How long until Min Hae arrives?” Kalvin asked, pawing the ground in thought.

  “Ten minutes,” Lox replied.

  “We strike as the first Wormhole opens,” Kalvin said. His lead ships started to blend into the Kalu fleet. They easily faked their communications and waited.

  ***

  Min Hae sat behind and to the side of Drux’s command chair.

  The screen cleared and space reasserted itself. Min Hae flicked information onto his view screens. Drux was already passing orders. Min Hae watched as the Kalu fleet seemed to fire on one another with full compliments of missiles and weapon emplacements hidden along their sides.

  There were three thousand independent Kalu warships out there, all of them had added weapons to their sides and used multiple-warhead missiles in their magazines. With their ammunition fully stocked and their oppressor in their sights, bloodlust filled the air.

  The Independents missile tubes ripple fired, then the rail cannons down their sides added to the barrage. The Traditionalists seemed to be too focused on Cheerleader to pay attention.

  Until a missile split and ripped a Star-Destroyer apart.

  The Kalu were used to betrayal for spoils, to gain victory through a sly attack. The United clans fell apart and pushed away from one another becoming seperate clans of Kalu.

  The Independents joined their groups and followed them.

  “Ashota, get Kalvin to focus on one clan at a time, if he splits his forces they will be found and destroyed,” Min Hae said.

  “I will try my best,” Ashota said. He was slumped over his odd ‘chair’ using his paws on the floor, his hands under his chest continued to manipulate controls on the floor and in the chair.

  The traditional Kalu fired wildly, hammering the Independents and their allies alike.

  The Independents were easier to track down with their shields, but it took someone firing on them to find out.

  “It does look like your plan is working Min Hae,” Drux said appreciatively.

  “One should always trust but verify another’s intentions,” Min Hae said simply.

  “Of course,” Drux said, ending the conversation.

  “Have all ships come to bear, I want a pyramid around Cheerleader’s remaining forces. Get them the hell away from this battle,” Drux said. Min Hae winced inwardly at Drux’s words, Cheerleader now had just five ships capable of running.

  He flicked to other information, with the other HCD’s not needing to fly through the system, they could be at Min Hae’s location in thirty-seven hours.

  He looked to the intertwined fleets of Kalu, the Independents were starting to move away, but it looked like the traditionalists were intent on following them.

  A number of the Independents had fallen already. They might have shields and more guns, but their shields were weak, and their armor was as weak as the traditionalists.

  The clans separated once more and Drux picked his target.

  “Move pyramids to each of these plot points,” Drux said, information was pushed out. He sent word to the pyramid he commanded.

  “Forming wormhole and transitioning,” Helm called out, a wormhole indeed appearing, the ship dove through it, Min Hae saw the rest of the pyramid were also crossing their own wormholes at the exact same time.

  “Fire at will,” Drux said as they emerged, the wormhole stabilizers and projectors snapping down into their armored hatches as soon as they were clear.

  “Shields are online and supercharging!” Shields said, their voice punctuated by the vibrating thumps of the laser cannons ammunition going off.

  “Tactical up and running.” The Sarenmenti in Tactical moved his four jaws in amusement.

  Missiles fired from the Henry-Classed-Destroyers sides, lighting their drives and pushing for all they were worth at the Traditional Kalu.

  “Kalvin has taken the advice,” Ashota rumbled, his voice coming from deep within his mass.

  “Good,” Min Hae said, looking away from the readings of Drux’s ship and its associated pyramid.

  The Kalu Independents were jumping on the biggest Kalu clan groupings. A number of their ships were taking a pounding. Many of them fell, but they didn’t go easily.

  Min Hae’s view shifted, Cheerleader’s remaining ships were powering away, two of them had cut their engines.

  Kalu Star warriors could be seen being driven into the Free Fleet ship’s hull. Cheerleader was now coordinating to have the HCD’s protect her, dropping off anyone that was combat capable. She had Kalu to repel from her ships.

  Min Hae looked up as the ship shook.

  “We’re down to thirty-five percent shields,” the operator said.

  “Rotate us to the third tier,” Drux said, moving his hands over his holographic sphere to issue orders for another ship with full shields to take their position at the apex.

  The pyramid shifted as ships shields fell, others with better shields taking their positions.

  “God I wish we had some fighters,” Drux said, his voice barely a whisper. Min Hae wasn’t sure if Drux knew he had said anything, but he agreed with the observation. The HCD’s were good at long-range hammering, but they had to constantly move to get new targets. The Fighters could cause chaos in close to the Kalu and give the HCD’s time to shoot instead of maneuver out of the line of fire to replenish their shields.

  A day and a half, Min Hae thought. The Kalu weren’t defeated but they had moved into clan formations which would make them more formidable. The pyramids were working on their targets; the Independents were doing the same. There were nine different Kalu groups, the current forces could only bring two under contact. If the Independents and Commander Drux’s forces held out for the other HCD’s with their fighters. Then it would turn from holding the Kalu in position and whittling them away, to directly attacking them.

  It’s going to be a damned long thirty-five hours, Min Hae thought.

  Chapter Race against time

  Bok Soo stood on the bridge off to Foshunti’s left against the command dais’ railing.

  Just eight hours ago Bregend’s Henry Classed Destroyer
s had reached Sol, they were happily adding their fire to the HCD’s already in-system and harassing both of Orshpa’s fleets

  “How goes the communication with Earth?” Foshunti asked.

  “Badly,” Bok Soo said, looking to the main screen still.

  Foshunti couldn’t see Bok Soo’s back tighten in anger under his powered armor, but he had learnt to tell the emotion from a human’s tone.

  “I heard that there were issues with having them work together.” Foshunti poked, he wanted to know just what the hell he and his squadron were getting themselves into.

  “Nearly every other known planet and system has a unified government that decides on most things, such as this. Earth doesn’t. We nearly never live in a time of peace and one group making decisions for others barely ever works. Even our larger organizations which are supposed to help nations come together in times like this, are a shambling mess after everything they’ve gone through. Getting militaries to work together is…” Bok Soo floundered trying to find a word. “A pipe dream,” he looked to Foshunti.

  “So what do we have?” Foshunti asked.

  “We have all of the Commandos in this fleet, then we have nations looking to protect their own people and pulling on their alliances to assist one another if they survive the Kalu’s first landing.” Bok Soo waved his hand at the Kalu fleet which took up the largest portion of the main screen. Even now HCD’s were moving through the formation, their lasers and missiles lancing into the Kalu. Their war of attrition was a long one, but a necessary one if the Free Fleet was to win.

  “Even with our projected kills, there will be millions of Kalu landing on Earth. Earth has millions of troops but they will be spread out and weak. They used all of their advanced weaponry to attack us. They’ll be slaughtered in open battle and they’ll be in packets across the planet. If they have time to move their troops against the Kalu, given the right hardware, then maybe they have a chance.” Bok Soo rubbed his face with his armored hand.

  “So what will our role be in all of this?” Foshunti asked.

  “Giving Earth’s forces the time that they need to get into position. We will be the stopgap hoping that Earth can pull their collective heads out of their asses,” Bok Soo said with a grimace.