AMP Private War (4 page)

It was a plan that was easy to visualize, but as Frig had stated, there were too many unknowns remaining for it to be put into play. For one, it relied on the Milgari fleet to be moving towards a target. Standard formation and common sense would place the bulk of the fleet in front with the massive ships following behind.

We reasoned that the Milgari would stop short of a full attack, drawing the Prassi out to meet them while the massive ships pummeled their stations and planets from afar. It was the reason the massive cannons were constructed. If the Prassi were indeed the intended target, we would have to fly a ship forward with a warning.

How the Prassi would react to a coming attack would be another unknown. We would help if we could, but not if it meant certain death. That would be reserved for a fight for the Grid itself and only for those of us who were Human. This was "our" private war and it would be fought on "our" terms.

The following day the Milgari began their move. The Prassi worlds were the target and the gigantic fleet had aligned its ships in the pattern that we had hoped. The bulk of the fleet started out up front with the massive ships following behind. The sides and the rear of the force were guarded by thousands of frigates, a ship whose firepower we could easily defend against.

I gave orders, "OK. Shadow those ships from as far back as possible. And keep your eyes peeled for more ships joining that fleet. We don’t want to get caught with another fleet coming up behind us. We will be taking the Swift to the Prassi home world. I am hoping to relay a warning to them of what is coming their way. If they can keep the Milgari busy up front, it may improve our chances at taking out the big ships."

Three days later we arrived at the Prassi system. A message was broadcast that included the size of the Milgari fleet as well as information on the five massive ships and what they were capable of. We then turned the Swift back towards the others.

Frig spoke, "Sir, I can’t help but wonder what the Prassi will do with that information. They have an impressive fleet, but that fleet is not a match for the Milgari. I fear their worlds will be devastated by those massive cannons if we can’t take them offline."

I had been having the same thoughts. "I hear you. This could be a preview of what’s in store for the Grid. I am wondering if it will be ready to go when the time comes. I heard rumors that the hydrogen store on the Grid takes eight to ten years to fill. We have been in this sector for a decade now, but I wonder if those in charge have been on top of their duties."

I continued, "If there is not enough fuel for those gravity drives the distance we can travel is reduced, which means the Milgari will catch up even faster next time. I really wish there was a way to end this war. Constantly running is not living. Even with all our screw-ups as a people I still think we deserve a shot. We don’t screw up any more than anyone else in this galaxy!"

I pulled back on the throttle as we circled in behind the Milgari fleet rejoining the others. The status of the fleet’s movement had not changed. The main fleet was followed by the massive ships and thousands of frigates. We began to put our plan in place for an assault. We debated the merits of attacking before the fleet reached the Prassi.

I spoke, "No. We can’t attack until the bulk of that fleet is engaged. Otherwise, they will turn and come after us before we can accomplish what we need to accomplish. If we attack and fail, we won’t be able to help the Prassi at all. If their battleships and cruisers are engaged with the Prassi fleet we have a shot at taking out those massive cannons. If we fail, the Prassi will fall, placing the Grid square in their sites."

Frig then broke into the conversation, "Sir, if we attack now, perhaps we do enough damage to deter the entire Milgari attack. A six month delay, with the knowledge we have, would only work to our advantage. It would also give us another six months to alert the Grid of the coming threat. By the way Sir, why have we not made an attempt to alert the Grid? Not through Zimmerman, but with the Grid politicians themselves."

I again paced back and forth on the deck. "I don’t want to stir up that bee’s nest until we are certain of what is coming. Remember, once they start that beast moving there is no stopping for passengers. We would only have a week to get aboard her with everything we want to take. And they may not allow our little fleet access when that time came. We aren’t exactly in compliance with Grid law at the moment. And some of our team here may not want to abandon their own people. It’s not as simple as hoping aboard for a ride."

Frig’s comment had me thinking about that very issue. When the time came, and it would come, how would we get our ships aboard the Grid to take with us? We could not risk abandoning them or leaving them behind for others as we could not afford to have the technology fall into the Milgari’s hands. We had a whole new contingency to plan for.

As we approached the Prassi system our plans were thrown into chaos when the Milgari fleet changed its formation. They came to a complete stop with the massive ships centered amongst their battleships. We sent the Hammer out to gather intel on the Prassi and to find out why the Milgari had stopped. Two hours later the Hammer returned with information.

Barg spoke, "Chief, the Prassi are gone. Their fleet is gone, their stations are gone and there is no sign of life in the entire system. It looks like they have picked up and moved somewhere else. That is an impressive feat to accomplish in a few short days. Not sure what we do now Sir."

The Prassi had abandoned their worlds in only a few short days. Every citizen had been moved to somewhere else. The giant mound cities of the Prassi appeared to be lifeless. Their forms of transport and commerce sat silent. The imagery brought back by the Hammer was surreal. The entire population had vanished.

The Milgari slowly moved into the system, eventually landing troops on the ground and establishing a base. Over the several weeks following the Prassi disappearing act we stayed and observed the goings on. Several hundred more Milgari ships had arrived to join their fleet. The Frost had been sent back to the Felgar sector and soon returned with the news that the construction docks were on the move. The Milgari were taking over the Prassi system and making it their own. War had moved closer to the Grid.

The debate raged amongst us over what our next move would be. The Milgari had settled in and awaited the construction dock's delivery. We were left at a standstill. The Prassi disappearance had been a stunner. It was difficult to fathom a civilization that would abandon all and flee, that is, until I came to the realization that it was exactly what we Humans had been doing for a thousand years. The Prassi had only followed our lead.

Barg spoke, "Chief, I don’t know about the others, but I think we need to make a run at one of those big ships. We could fly in with five ships as a web to hold off the rest of the fleet, while two hold the big ship in place and a third hits those cannons. Even if we only get one and leave we could still claim victory. I can’t see where we are doing much good at all just sitting here."

As I began to pace, taking Barg’s suggestion into consideration, chaos erupted on the planet. Thousands if not millions of Prassi were pouring out of their abandoned mound cities with blasters blazing. At the same moment, thousands of Prassi ships appeared on our screens.

Forty Milgari battleships and 60 cruisers were caught off guard. They had parked on the surface and were in the process of either doing light maintenance or they had their troops dispersed to secure and evaluate the captured territory. The Prassi were ferocious fighters and the Milgari ground troops were quickly being overrun.

Minutes after the ground assault began the Prassi fleet showed its intentions. Every ship that could move was loaded with Prassi Marines and aimed at the invader’s stationary fleet. A hundred Prassi battleships were cannon fodder as they assaulted the massive Milgari ships. The heavy battle cannons cut the advance ships to shreds but their numbers were overwhelming. Only seconds after their arrival the Prassi were loading troops onto the first massive Milgari ship.

I took the opportunity to make a call. We were going in! "All Defenders! Join me in creating a web between those big ships and the rest of the fleet. If we can hold off that fleet for 15 to 20 minutes the Prassi will do our job for us. It looks like they are targeting the massive ships first."

As we powered up and began to move we were again confronted with a new development. It was Zimmerman and his stealth fleet. More than 300 fast and powerful frigates, cruisers and a handful of his newest battleships appeared at the far side of the Milgari fleet with their ion cannons blazing. The Milgari ships were caught off-guard as they faced away from the attackers.

Three minutes after we flew into position the ion inhibitor web was beginning to build. A handful of Milgari ships made it through the web before the next hundred stopped in place. The ships following behind the trapped ships stopped in place. Confusion ensued.

The ships trapped in the web sat idle, unable to fire their weapons while the ships that remained on the other side were unable to fire through it. The web stopped each of the ion bolts cold, allowing their energy to dissipate in place. Many of those ships soon turned to race back towards Zimmerman and his fleet.

The Prassi assault quickly turned to the second and third massive ships. Again the losses were extremely heavy as the lead ships were decimated by the massive ship defenses. But thousands of Prassi troopers continued to board each vessel. Over comm chatter we could hear the Milgari crews screaming for reinforcements, reinforcements that we were holding at bay.

The Prassi ground assault continued in earnest. It was soon clear that the Prassi had gone deep underground while waiting for an attack to begin. The surface fighting lasted for several hours before the Milgari ground troops gave up their arms in surrender. The Prassi were ruthless and continued with their assault, killing every Milgari that had set foot on their planet.

The two Prassi space stations then appeared and moved in close to the fourth massive Milgari ship. Again the Milgari cannons caused heavy damage as the stations fought their way in close. That's when we got our first view of the firing of the massive cannons.

A blue streak raced around the exterior of the massive ship just before the cannons emitted their ultra-powerful stream. One of the two stations in close proximity was decimated. The eight streams ripped through it fracturing its hull. The station quickly broke apart. A single shot had destroyed a hardened station that was more than 20 kilometers in diameter. I shuddered to think of the damage it would do to the Grid.

Thousands of smaller Prassi ships took the opportunity to race in close and began the task of unloading their troops. The fierce battle continued to rage for several hours before a Milgari cruiser spotted the Frost. Six cruisers immediately turned and headed its way as others identified the Hammer and the Fist. I gave the order for any Defender under attack to abandon the web and focus on defending themselves. There would be no needless sacrifices this day.

The defense guns on the first two massive ships had gone silent as the Prassi troops on-board fought from hall to hall and room to room. The Milgari defenders were inflicting heavy punishment on the attackers, but the Prassi were not deterred.

As more of the Defenders dropped off the web it began to weaken rapidly. Sixteen minutes had passed before the web collapsed and the Milgari ships began to stream into the battlefield. The Prassi had advanced their attack to the final massive ship.

Zimmerman’s fleet was playing a game of hit and run. They had superior weapons and shielding with the result being a heavy loss for the Milgari that attacked. As the bulk of the Milgari fleet now streamed towards the massive ships in their defense, the space surrounding the Prassi turned black as a billion missiles launched at once.

I ordered the others to circle around to my position and from there we would attempt to pick off some of the outlying ships. We found the task initially easy as most of the Milgari’s focus was on the attacking Prassi battleships and not on our tiny little Defenders. That all changed as we encountered a Milgari flagship.

"This is Hammer. I’m hitting that port turret if anyone would care to join me. That looks like a command ship and if we take it out it might add a little extra confusion to the surrounding battle."

Milly spoke up. "This is Frost; we are right beside you and targeting the starboard cannon now."

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Milly continued, "Hammer we just took three hard hits to our port wing. Those two forward cannons are not the only battle cannons on that boat. They have a number of those guns recessed along that red line running from fore to aft. We got the starboard nose cannon, but it cost us."

"Roger that Frost, we are spinning out in three… two… one."

Boom! Boom!

"Yeowzah, that hurts." The Hammer had took two hits of its own.

I followed the Fist into a tight turn and both ships screamed down the port side of the flagship, blasting each recessed turret from as little as 40 meters away. Our outer Tantric layers were taking a beating from the debris being kicked up, but the port side was cleaned of its heavy firepower. A Prassi frigate soon pulled alongside for a Marine assault. The flag beacon and the high Milgari official who carried it were soon seen leaving in a small transport, headed for a battleship on the other side.

Barg then came on the comm, "I tell you Chief, these negative cannons are really worth their weight in Tantric. The cuts they make through that Milgari armor are smooth and generously deep. Those cats have to be wondering what we are hitting them with. There is nothing like taking a beating from a new weapon to lower morale."

I replied. "Just keep cutting them up. And if you take more than four hits in a spot then I want you to withdraw. This is not our fight to get killed in. I'm sure that will come soon enough."

I banked hard to the left and with a single shot Frig cut the nose off of a cruiser. Flames erupted as the atmosphere within the damaged ship gassed out into the void of space. As with every space-born explosion the fires were quickly extinguished.

"This is Frost! I got two cruisers hacking at my tail. We would appreciate a little help if anyone has any to give!"

The Fist and the Saxon soon put the cruiser’s battle cannons out of commission. Two flaring rolls later the cruisers were in the process of being cut apart piece by piece.

Milly replied, "Much appreciated fellas!"

The Prassi had troops aboard all five of the massive Milgari ships. Zimmerman had a quarter of the fleet tied up on the far side of the battlefield. The Milgari counter attacks were scattered and poorly coordinated, but the Milgari were beginning to get an edge. Three hours into the mammoth battle the Prassi were beginning to lose.

Davis spoke, "Chief, we can keep picking away at these outer ships, but we are hardly scratching the surface. Those early Prassi losses are now starting to show. Those big guns are offline and I don't see them coming back soon. Might be time to cut and run."

Davis had stated what I already had on my mind. We could take out a few dozen more Milgari ships, but would it make a difference? And our own ships were continuing to take hits.

As I reached for the comm button to reply a hail came over a common channel, "Small force on the left flank. This is Admiral Zimmerman of the Grid Military Force. Switch to designated channel B5. We would like to discuss our appreciation for your help in this affair. Please respond..."

The message was repeated several times. Frig spoke to me between firing at targets, "Sir, are you going to respond to the hail? I believe today's showing tells us which side Zimmerman is on Sir. He is not a Milgari agent."

I cut hard to the left and barely escaped a twin bolt from a Milgari battleship. "I never thought the Admiral was a traitor. It's Cortes that I'm worried about. We still have no explanation as to why he was meeting with the Milgari that day. Just doesn't make sense. And if you look at the Grid Force transponders you won't see the one that Cortes was using. Either means it was a fake or he's not here today."

Frig fired off a bolt, taking out a cruiser's battle cannon. "Sir, I'm running an algorithm to match the visual signature of the Ranger with those Grid ships out there. If Cortes is here we will know."

Several minutes passed before all the Grid ships in the field of battle had been identified. The Ranger was not in attendance.

Boom!

We took another hit to the port tail fin. "I think that is a signal for us to go. If we decide it’s a good thing to do we know where Zimmerman resides, we can contact him any time. I would like to see something that tells me Cortes is not working for the enemy. Find me that and I’ll be more than ready to talk."

Several of the massive cannons from the big Milgari ships continued to function. Their bolts were turned towards the planet’s surface. A zoom in with our visual sensors told us what they were targeting. It was the Milgari ships, ships that were now under the control of the Prassi.

One by one the captured vessels were being destroyed. When the last captured ship exploded in a blue flash and fireball the monstrous ships all began to move. The Milgari, even though the odds were in their favor, had decided to cut their losses and leave. We took it as an opportunity to peel off and leave while still in fighting condition.

All five of the massive Milgari ships had taken heavy damage with only one having weapons that remained operational. The Milgari fleet had taken tremendous losses with nearly half of their ships disabled or destroyed. The Prassi had fared much worse with just over a quarter of their once colossal fleet remaining. Zimmerman’s crew had lost 37 ships, including one of their new battleships. The remainder of his comparatively small fleet, although damaged, would be leaving the battlefield under their own power.

Our Defenders had taken 42 hits, but those hits had largely been dispersed with only two of the ships taking more than two strikes at a single point. I was proud of our team for their performance. Rodriguez had managed to escape the mire without taking a single strike.

Her comm activity echoed that fact. "Oh, look at you guys. All bruised and beaten. You know, if you took better care of your equipment out there you would have a much more attractive Defender. I hope no one sees me riding with you on the way home. That would be embarrassing!"

The other pilots were silent for nearly a minute after Maria’s braggadocio comments. Barg and Davis then responded by each firing a low level ion pulse at the Falcon. Two dark blemishes were left on the previously spotless hull.

Maria responded, "Really guys? Really? Are you so jealous of my skills that…"

I cut in on the conversation. "OK. Knock it off. Anybody else fires on our own ships, even in jest, you’ll be grounded and replaced with another pilot. That includes your engineer so any of you engineers want to keep flying I suggest you keep your pilots in line. And Rodriguez, how about a little less of the banter while everyone’s adrenaline is all pumped up. Great job on not taking a hit, but let’s save the bragging for the appropriate time."

Barg replied. "Appropriate time? Chief? When is it appropriate to have a five inch heel ground into your forehead? I mean, if it wasn’t for all my cover flying the Falcon would be looking more like an overcooked chicken! Hahahaha!"

Despite my attempts at bringing down the level of sarcastic chatter, it continued on for several hours. Other than the normal sarcasm, there were no mean or hurtful things said. The team was just blowing off steam after coming out of an epic battle, a battle where an entire species had been placed in jeopardy. The Prassi had driven off the Milgari, but it had cost them dearly and the Milgari would be coming back just as strong as before or stronger than ever.

As we headed for home we departed on a route that was not aimed at our final destination, it was standard operating procedure. Just before our turn for home Frig chimed in with an alert, "Sir, we have a ship following us. It is one of Zimmerman’s. They are just at the edge of our sensor range and in fact, they are popping in and out of view. Had Rita not precision tuned these sensors we would probably not know they were there."