The Guardians of Sol (33 page)

February 27, 2290. Centurion Flagship,
Battle of Jupiter
.

All of the weeks of waiting and of sneaking were finally paying off. Barak quietly lowered himself through the hatch of a Jeffries tube and into a new section of the engineering section. With a ship of this size there were usually around five hundred or so engineers on duty at a given time. He had eliminated fifty of them since the beginning of the battle. Speaking of which...

A pair of unarmored men in what Barak had come to recognize as engineers uniforms passed by his shadowed corner. They were excited, but not particularly wary. He supposed the battle looked like it was going well for them. He planned on changing that. Barak quietly stalked after the engineers. The first he killed from behind with a swift throat hold that snapped the neck. The other man quickly suffered from a collapsed trachea before he could call out in alarm. A second blow caved in the skull. Barak lifted the second man to his shoulder and dragged the first behind him as he went back to the Jeffries tubes. They seemed to be seldom used, particularly during battles. They would continue to hide his kills well.

That task finished, Barak chanced a look down the hollow center of the ship to seek the central control room that was his target. Coupling a need for secrecy with a slow translation process it had taken him several days to discover basic schematics for the ship. Listening in on enemy commanders had been more productive than breaking into their systems. It had been something of a first in Barak's experience; even more so because he barely understood their mongrel language. It had been enough to send a warning to the Sentinel about their plans and expected timetable though the beacon. The Hound smiled wickedly to himself. If he knew Michael well at all the enemy fleet would be well received.

He flicked a magnetized explosive wafer onto a nearby reactor coil and briefly wondered if the Centurions found the multitude of decks as annoying as he did. It would likely take him another hour just to get to the central control room undetected. He did spy a spot several levels down that looked like it would benefit from one of his wafers, however. He checked his cache of the useful things. There were still plenty to make his plan a little more entertaining.

*****

His pouch was empty of all but the last two wafers by the time he finally reached the right level. His kill count was up in the eighties now. He pulled out one of the little toys that Michael had given him before he'd left Guardian territory. The tiny insect-like drone fluttered off of his palm and into the control room. While it was doing its recon, a tech stepped out of the room and into Barak's less than loving arms. The video showed about fifteen more men. He wished that he knew Centurion systems better. It would have been so much easier if he could have cut off the comlines and surveillance going into and out of that room. He just didn't know where to start with their designs. He would need to work fast.

He did some quick prioritization as he walked into the room. The first few engineers didn't even look up at him. In fact, none of them looked up from their tasks until he was directly in front of the engineer in charge of the combat shift. The man looked more annoyed than surprised to see him.

"Who the hell are you? If the admiral needs something then he should just open a comline. I'm too busy to mollycoddle some babysitter the brass sends down to ride my ass. So what do you want?"

At least, that was what Barak thought the man was trying to say. He stabbed the engineer in the throat with his sword. One of his knives flew into the eye of another. The first engineer that he had passed began to make a run for it. The tiny drone that had landed lightly on the back of the man's neck exploded. The mess was... unfortunate. Barak's sword took a panicky engineer in the throat. His pistol mowed down man after man until there was only one hyperventilating engineer left.

"Where are the controls for the Archimedes drive?" Barak asked gently. The man pointed with a very shaky hand. "And how do I lock this room down?"

The enemy engineer was walking a very thin edge between panic and... something else. Courage, perhaps? It didn't matter. The man showed him the lockdown procedure. Barak used it, thanked the man, and shot him in the head. The Sentinel's Hound ejected the empty clip and slammed a fresh one in before replacing the pistol in its holster.

He stared at the console for a moment. The controls looked right, even if the language was an even more indeterminate mess than Russian or Mandarin. He hooked his cypher AI into a likely looking data port. There was enough of a basis for conversion for it to begin putting those translations onto his HUD. His quantum mathematics were a bit rusty, but he didn't need to be very specific for his purposes. He quickly overrode the safety measures that beeped incessantly at him as he picked a random location for the jump that was light years beyond anything considered a safe distance. While he was at it, he locked the command deck out of that system. It would take them more time than they had to get around it. He took a breath before he committed to the step he couldn't walk away from. He activated the Centurion's version of the Archimedes drive and pulled out the detonator for explosive wafers. As the drive thrummed it’s peak output just before translocation, the Venator whispered to himself, or to the corpses around him, in Hebrew.

“If I whet my glittering sword, and mine hand take hold on judgment; I will render vengeance to mine enemies, and will reward them that hate me.”

And then he pressed the detonator.

February 27, 2290.
The Liberation
, Battle of Jupiter
.

The size of the enemy fleet had been an unpleasant surprise, but it was nothing insurmountable. The
Gate of Dawn
was holding position 'above' Jupiter station on the solar plane along with a hundred other, smaller, ships. It was a shame that the
Gate
's sister ship wasn't combat ready yet, but it had only been completely staffed for a week or so with no chance for a shake down cruise yet. Technical data from the
Gate's
shakedown was being used to preemptively prevent a few problems. Telamon wasn't prepared to risk an asset like the
Hand of Fate
before it was ready. He still wasn't sure who came up with the names for these ships. The third
Citadel
-class dreadnaught hadn't even received a name yet, but would be functional by the end of the year.

Telamon looked down on the holographic display at the center of his command deck. His team of Swordmasters were glancing at that display, but mostly waiting for him to begin giving out orders. He took a deep calming breath and rested a hand on the new helmet currently attached at belt level. Word was that he would get to keep his Sentinel armor even after he stepped down from the position.

"Eric, Benjamin: Begin analysis of the enemy fleet. Find the most likely ships that might be bearing their flag. Then give the Jovian lunar forces their instructions. Teysa," he addressed one of the few female first tier Swordmasters. Her uniqueness was mainly due to most women in the Corps having other interests to pursue. "Send the prepared message to Luna, then coordinate the second and third fleets with Raven."

Telamon studied the board a little more. "Garrett, have the first fleet take a defensive position around Jupiter station as if they weren't expecting reinforcements any time soon. Everyone else," he told his last three Swordmasters. "You know the general strategy. Do what you can to smooth things along. If anyone needs help then help. Or ask."

"Sir," Eric flagged his attention. "The enemy fleet has a very strong fighter screen between their ships and the moons. They must have gotten more information from the Mars ambush than we expected."

"Someone must have gotten a call through. Oh well, have our fighters from the moons and other forward ops bases try to draw them off so the assault shuttles can make it through." The monstrous enemy dreadnaught finally jumped into the midst of the Centurion fleet. "What the hell is that thing?"

"It bears a striking resemblance to the
Chiron
colony ship from a century ago," Teysa responded, looking up from her flight path calculations.

"Entering it into calculations and simulations," Eric replied. “There is a ninety-eight percent likelihood that that is the enemy flagship. Redirecting and updating the assault teams’ orders."

"The enemy fleet will be in optimum flanking positions in approximately thirty-eight minutes," Garrett informed everyone. "That will put them at the edge of Jupiter station's firing range. If we hit them just right they'll be forced into the brunt of its shots."

"Adjusting the second fleet's flight path around Jupiter," Teysa reported.

"Updating the third fleet's timetable and entry coordinates," Raven followed up.

The tension grew as everyone did what little they could from where they were. Until the fleets met that was pretty much just waiting. Telamon was glad that they had taken the time to have the
Gate
retrieve the
Gaea
and the
Hermes
strike force; that added about twenty much needed ships to the Corps' fleets. The colony patrol fleets were down to bare bones strength right now. If the enemy had been more interested in collateral damage this would have been a terrible time for the colonies.

It looked like Guardian fighter squadrons had torn a few holes in the enemy fighter screen. The display didn't have icons for the assault shuttles. For that they would have had to be broadcasting their IFF beacons and that would have completely defeated the purpose of developing stealthy shuttles. The pilots should report in once they returned to their various docking bays. A countdown at the corner of Telamon's personal screen hit zero. Theoretically, that meant that the strike teams were inserting into the enemy dreadnaught. The first fleet and the Centurion fleets were still about twenty minutes apart. The second fleet was beginning a slingshot maneuver that should bring them into flanking positions around the enemy. The Centurion dreadnaught began turning out of its previous flight path.

"I've got assault shuttles reporting insertion success from Ganymede and Io!" Benjamin reported. "It looks like we have at least an eighty percent success rate."

"What's that dreadnaught doing?" Telamon demanded.

"It's... angling toward Ganymede," someone replied hesitantly. "That doesn't make sense, they shouldn't know about the station. It isn’t even on that side of the moon if they wanted to attack it."

"Well it isn't leaving it’s fleet behind."

Every single one of his Swordmasters was stymied. There were fifteen minutes until projected fleet contact. The dreadnaught aligned its bow with the planetoid. Visual displays showed a sharp crack of light as some kind of particle beam blasted into Ganymede's surface. As that beam began to fade it was followed by a second one and a third after that. Each beam was, according to various sensors, at least as powerful as the
Gate's
main cannon. And the dreadnaught had fired three times. The enemy flagship returned to its previous course.

"I'm getting reports of increasing tectonic disturbances all over Ganymede," Eric alerted everyone. "The moon is breaking itself apart. I'm sending the order to evacuate the research facility. They'll make their way to Europa and Callisto."

"Good. Now see what you can do to keep that monster out of firing range of Jupiter station. If you need to accelerate any plans feel free to do so," Telamon told them.

*****

It was amazing watching the Swordmasters use the fleets to spar with the Centurion Admiral. The man obviously had a good reason to have received his rank. Telamon idly wondered if the Admiral had his own teams helping him coordinate his fleet. Most of the actual fighting had been limited so far. Instead he watched a lot of maneuvering of ships and fighters around each other and the orbital debris. Things would get really interesting if the battle were still going in a few hours when remnants of Ganymede would drift through.

The battlefield was much like that of a match between chess masters, or perhaps one between two master swordsmen. Every little change in posture bought one from the enemy. Fighter screens came together and moved apart before shots could be fired.

A group of Guardian ships were clumped just a little too close together in front of the dreadnaught and were obliterated by one of its particle cannons. The
Gate of Dawn
reciprocated, and while it missed the dreadnaught it did hit a few other vessels. Smaller Centurion ships let loose with their own lesser beams, but their targets were usually angled out of the way by the time they should have gotten hit. The Guardians did lose a few
Aegis
destroyers during those exchanges.

The third fleet finally jumped into orbit and took up harassing positions around the enemy rear. The numbers were a bit more even now, perhaps even slightly in the Guardians' favor. Raven was coordinating the second fleet with one of the other Swordmasters to begin separating the dreadnaught from its entourage. In response the dreadnaught moved further into the middle of its own fleet. Conical destroyers and ellipsoid frigates closed ranks around its aft. The biggest ships of the third fleet let loose with their MAC guns. Most of the ferrous slugs that came close to the dreadnaught were hurled away by the ship's EM shields. The few rounds that hit anything only destroyed a few small frigates.

The dreadnaught fired its cannons at another cluster of Guardian destroyers. This time, the
Gate
was close enough to use its own EM emitters to disburse the beams enough for the other Corps ships shielding to handle. The spray of charged particles momentarily blinded the ships' sensors instead of destroying the vessels outright. The dreadnaught tried again and again every time its cannons charged but met the same effect both times.

The enemy admiral tried to use the blinding side effect to ambush affected ships with his own vessels. The first fleet took some nasty losses before the Swordmasters figured out how to compensate. The
Gate
fired at angles that the dreadnaught couldn't reciprocate the former's behavior.

"Teysa, how long do we have before that interception fleet gets here?" The interim Sentinel asked.

"They were getting into formation the last time that I inquired. It should be any minute now, sir."

"Let me know the moment they arrive. They'll be just the thing we need to shake things up."

*****

The interception fleet arrived even later than promised. Something about drive core issues. The hundred odd
Saber
-class gunboats were about a fifth of the size of the smaller frigate variant of the
Aegis-class
, but with all of the weaponry. The Swordmasters crafted subtle lanes through the lines of the Corps' fleets that the Centurions didn't notice until it was too late. The
Sabers
moved into position.

"Gentlemen," Telamon grinned. "Cry havoc, and let slip the dogs of war."

The gunboats lurched forward and into enemy lines. They were not quite as quick or as nimble as a fighter, but they were much more so than a destroyer or battle cruiser. The gunboats were fronted by half-saucers covered in missile ports. Forward sweeping wings came up right behind the saucer. The wings held more than a few powerful plasma cannons capable of severely damaging even the densest hull plating. The last half of each craft was taken up by four powerful engines that provided the gunboats all of the energy that they needed.

Enemy frigates and destroyers went up in nuclear flames under a hail of concussion missiles and plasma bombs. The enemy battle cruisers were more resilient, and everything that came too close to the dreadnaught met its own fiery end.

"
Saber
losses are approaching forty percent!" Raven called out.

"But enemy formations are shattering," Eric returned. "I'm pulling the other Jovian lunar forces back to the station perimeter. We should finish surrounding them and then destroy them."

"They must see the same things that we are. If we offer terms they should surrender," another Swordmaster put forward his opinion. "We’ll gain valuable intelligence and resources. Maybe even get that dreadnaught for our own use."

"Don't you remember what happened when just half of a battle cruiser ended up by the Forge?" Teysa admonished. "They are far more likely to try to cause as much damage to us in suicidal attacks than they are to surrender. I recommend disruption of their power supplies if we cannot destroy them outright. Maintain a strong screen between them and Jupiter station."

"Tighten the cordon. We'll keep the station protected. Keep trying to disable the dreadnought. We'll try both avenues," Telamon told them. "Open a channel to that dreadnought for me."

The Swordmasters scrambled to do as he asked. The first fleet moved back to defensive positions around Jupiter station. The
Gate
maintained its position between the station and the dreadnaught.

"Admiral Kar Granos. Please be kind enough to answer." Telamon calmly spoke into the com receiver. After a few minutes an image of the scarred admiral came up on the display closest to the Sentinel.

"Have you finally decided to surrender?" The arrogant bastard asked. "If so, you should do it soon if you wish to spare the men aboard my ship. They are putting up a good fight but it is only a matter of time before my men eliminate them."

"Actually, I called to offer you terms for
your
surrender. But if that's not going to happen, I suppose we'll just keep whittling your forces down until there's nothing left. I'm not actually worried about my men. You see," Telamon continued genteelly. An explosion shook Granos' end of the connection. "They're some of the best in the corps. My guess is that you will be seeing some of them soon. I suppose this really was a waste of everyone's time. See you in hell." Telamon closed the connection. "Alright, I should have just listened to Teysa. Frederick, you need to work on your cynicism. Finish the bastards off."

The interception fleet moved to back up the fighters that were still fighting. The Second and Third fleets pushed in from every side. Pushed the Centurions toward the wall of the First fleet. The Centurion formation changed and sped up. They began to focus all of their fire forward, to the station and the ships in front of it. The
Gate
returned fire, and diffused or redirected most of what came into its area of control. A group of the most damaged Centurion vessels made suicide runs against the screening fleet. Many were obliterated before they could deal much damage, but they did open a hole in the formation. The Centurion battle cruisers brushed past, and even through, the smaller ships of the first fleet. The Guardians lost three Bastion-class cruisers and a handful of other ships.