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Nellie and the Nanites - Bk4 - Ch.15
🕑 Added 2024-08-22 08:00:04 +0000 UTCChapter Fifteen
Escalation
“At least they are living up to the reports of innovative tactics,” Hardwicke noted as he tapped the report of the sighting of Nanite Imperium ships at an obscure system. “An unknown jump point connection, apparently.”
“Somewhat irritating,” Stibbert admitted. “A blockade is only a blockade if they are trapped. Otherwise, we are all merely out here burning money.”
“Accurate as ever, Stibbert,” Hardwicke nodded. “There are always little gaps at first. Luckily, Lang will see this one closed.”
“Could we perhaps send some of the merc fleet to replace him, Sir?” Stibbert suggested.
“Lang is a capable commander,” Hardwicke insisted.
“He’s a greedy perv with a rich uncle, Sir.” Stibbert offered.
“Correction, Stibbert. He is a greedy pervert with an extremely rich AND WELL-CONNECTED uncle.” Hardwicke turned his head aside as he smiled. There were few things in life more rewarding than serving with a friend who trusted him enough to be honest.
“We could call it additional protection to ensure the safety of a Captain of the Line,” Stibbert suggested thoughtfully.
“We could, couldn’t we?” Hardwicke frowned in thought. It was actually a perfect cover. The uncle would appreciate it, and it would ensure that idiot Lang spent his time sampling the crew instead of fucking up. “See to it, Stibbert.”
“Yes, Sir,” Stibbert nodded. “But first…”
“Yes,” Hardwicke smiled at his friend. “First, we must teach this Nanite Imperium that evading the blockade will come with punishment.”
The two men got down to choosing the force they would send into the system. It needed to be powerful but also fast. The one and only battle report from the Quick Response Fleet mentioned the use of a beam weapon. They needed something that could evade that while still doing enough damage to send a message. Situations like this were more about making a point to the other systems than the actual target of the blockade itself, or they would simply flood the system with their combined fleets and end this all in a day.
No, everyone needed time to learn the lesson. Fuck with the Line, and we will starve you to death in your own system, slowly closing the noose until you kill yourselves or submit to total servitude.
It was a much more effective deterrent than a simple massacre.
The whole idea was to make people wish they had been massacred instead. It was an art.
Their cordon was established, which made a point. Now, they would send a punishing mission inside to damage and kill before returning and waiting again.
The system would get more and more desperate, and the punishments worse, until everyone in twenty systems had heard, and learned, of the fate of those who messed with the Imperial Line.
If painted with enough suffering, this one blockade would ensure that those twenty systems signed any contracts the Line wanted for at least fifty years. Thus, the Line would show a profit.
After a bit of back and forth, they decided on a trio of light cruisers and an escort and signal relay vessel to ensure they had a good view of the battle. A lightning strike force to take out one of the enemy vessels and perhaps a few satellites before escaping back out of their jump point, where Hardwicke and his fleet waited to welcome any pursuers.
The orders were issued, and Hardwicke allowed himself a little indulgence. It was not something he would typically do, but his crew was going to be stuck out here for a long time. They needed some form of entertainment.
“All crew, all crew, this is the Captain speaking. I am declaring the incursion into Nanite Imperium space to be an off-duty shift for all non-emergency personnel. Galley, prepare a buffet, and we can all gather to watch an upstart learn their first lesson.” Hardwicke smiled in satisfaction as cheers echoed around the ship.
“Popular move, sir,” Stibbert said. “What about the emergency crew?”
“Inform them yourself that they will have three off-duty shifts in a row to enjoy the replays,” Hardwicke said, allowing his friend to earn himself a little goodwill as well.
“Aye, Captain,” Stibbert smiled. “Shall I order the incursion detail to depart in one hour?”
“Make it two,” Hardwicke ordered. “I want to take a few laps in the pool first.”
===<<<>>>===
Captain Monteith ordered the sensors to resume function the moment they dropped out of Transit Space and into the enemy system. The ships behind him were a part of his command, so he knew their captains well enough to trust they would hold formation while he gathered decent readings.
“Sir, sensors reporting non-functional,” the scan tech frowned. “It’s weird, sir.”
“Check in with Villiers and his people,” Monteith ordered. “I want good data before we make ourselves known.”
“Unable to contact them, Captain,” the comm officer looked up in alarm. “It’s—”
“Pilot, full speed! Evasive maneuvers!” Monteith ordered. “Signal the other cruisers with flash-code to let them know about the scattering field.”
“MINES!” The Pilot screamed as he attempted to force the ship through an abrupt turn. “Mines!” He gasped as they slid beneath the mine cluster by meters.
“Sensors are clearing, Sir,” Scan reported.
“On my terminal, get active scan up and running immediately,” Monteith ordered. There was no way they were still unnoticed after all of that.
A flash showed on his screen almost the instant the scans cleared. A second later, more followed. Someone had gone right into the minefield.
“Sir, Captain Martel reports damage. Their engines are offline, operating on thrusters and backups only.” The comm officer called back, a hint of worry in the voice.
“Order her to stay back and guard the jump point,” Monteith called. “We will handle the rest of the mission.”
“Aye, Captain.”
Looking back at the scan data, Monteith had to admit he was impressed. A satellite was probably the source of the scattering field, with clusters of mines arrayed at various distances and angles around the jump exit.
Jump points would not be needed if it weren’t for the accuracy required to end up in the right system, but Transit Space seemed to have its own laws. Centuries of experimentation hadn’t changed that fact or gotten them closer to understanding it.
Within a system, you could do as you like if your computers were quick enough and your scanners accurate enough, but between them, Transit Space required entrance and exit at specific points.
“Contact, enemy ship detected.” Scan reported, highlighting the area on the map. “Single engine source, cruiser size.”
“Call the others into formation and plot intercept course,” Monteith ordered, switching his screen to show armor, shield, and weapon readouts for his ship. “Reverse V formation, let’s give the folks back home a good show.”
“Aye, Captain!” His crew called in unison.
They closed on the Imperium ship, with the second cruiser flying to his port side while the relay and scan ship kept back a little but close enough to transmit and protect.
“Targeted,” Weapons Control informed him.
That meant they had the bearing, range, course, and speed of the enemy cruiser plotted to allow them to account for movement while firing.
After a couple more seconds, they reported a lock.
With the sensors locked on the enemy, Monteith started to get information on their target. It was a nasty beast with thick armor and strong shields. What really made him worried were the weapons signatures. Those were more the kind of things he expected on heavy cruisers.
“Inform Villiers to watch for—” Monteith stopped as the cruiser vanished in a flash.
“They jumped!” Scan reported, as if he could have missed it.
“Find them!” Monteith commanded. “Pilot, hard right, now!”
The expected attack never came, and Monteith followed the right turn with a hard left, turning to face the other flank.
Where the hell were they?”
“Got them!” Scan called. “Past us and, oh, shit!”
Monteith launched himself over to the scan console, pulling the officer out of the way in time to see the Imperium cruiser vanishing into the scattering field.
“They are going after Martel!” Monteith punched the console and ordered them back to the jump point.
Even at full speed, he knew it might be too late. The scattering field rendered their scanners useless, and all they could see were weapons flashes as they reversed course as quickly as possible.
A bright flash spoke to the death of a ship a split second before a signal emerged from the scattering field.
“Imperium cruiser is closing, collision course!” Scan informed Monteith.
“Reinforce forward shielding and order Villiers to concentrate fire with us.” Monteith smiled grimly. It was time to see what kind of Captain he was facing. “Helm, prepare an emergency avoidance maneuver for when they jump.”
“Weapons range in three, two, one. FIRE!” Monteith called.
The viewscreen flared as laser arrays and missile trails blocked the image for a split second. A second volley came a split second later from Villiers.
“Brace for impact!” the security officer called a warning before their enemy returned fire.
“Report!” Monteith demanded.
“Their shields reinforced just as we fired, Sir!” Scan reported. “We dropped them to minimal, and several missiles struck. Their forward armor is damaged!”
“Good—” Monteith was thrown from his feet as his cruiser shuddered.
“Severe damage to the forward plating!”
“They hit us with a kinetic, sir!”
“Brace!” Two more impacts caused the light cruiser to shudder.
“Switch lead!” Monteith ordered, buckling himself into the Captain’s chair.
They lost sight of the enemy cruiser as Villiers took the forward spot, covering Monteith with his own ship. This was an old trick they had used on these kinds of missions before. They were forcing the enemy to constantly fight the one with the highest armor and shields.
“Prepare for the enemy to jump,” Monteith growled, having the helm flip them end for end while they continued on their current ballistic path. When the enemy jumped behind them, Monteith would be ready. “Damage party, what did they hit us with?”
“Sir! We can only find debris, sir!” The reporting officer sounded breathless. “No explosive residue. Purely ballistic weapons.”
“Slugs?” Monteith almost laughed. “They are throwing slugs at us?”
“There is magnetic field residual on them, Captain.”
Monteith closed his eyes and offered a small collection of curses.
“Comm, inform Villiers they have a rail gun.” Monteith kept his voice calm.
Rail guns were an absolute nightmare for space vessels. Their shields were great against energy weapons, but ballistics were another matter. They had plenty of armor plating, but the solid metal projectiles from a rail gun could punch holes straight through ships if they hit the point where two pieces of armor plate met.
“I think he knows,” Comm said in a dead voice as the cruiser ahead of them shivered and pulled away, a large hole punched in their forward armor.
“Cover him,” Monteith said, shifting their shields to cover their rear while preparing to burn engines on full power once the enemy jumped.
“Uh, Sir,” Scan said, pointing to the scattering field, where a limping cruiser emerged with its weapons lit.
“Martel! That’s a girl!” Monteith cheered his fellow captain. She must have managed to repair it enough to enter the fight. “Have Villiers go form up with her; we’ll lead this bastard into all three of our ships!”
“Aye, Captain!”
The enemy cruiser never jumped, and Monteith traded blows with it as he plotted a curving route back to the other ships. The enemy captain was doing well, rolling their ship to keep the plating fresh while the laser arrays moved on tracks to keep their weaponry on target.
They might even have won against another group, but Monteith and his people had been working together for a long time. They had more than one trick up their sleeve.
“Contact Villiers and tell him to get into position for the overlap,” Monteith ordered.
“Sir, Mantel is not responding to comms,” the comm officer replied.
“They were seriously damaged, but they know the move, don’t worry about it.”
“Yes, Sir!”
They accelerated suddenly, opening the distance between them and the Imperium cruiser to buy time to get into position.
“Prepare to synch shields with the other ships,” Monteith ordered as they slid into formation next to Villiers.
“Ready, Sir!”
“Execute!” Monteith turned back to the scan readout, trying to find a weak point in the enemy plating. It was badly damaged on three sides, while the shields definitely started to weaken during the last engagement. Already, it was down one weapons array.
As the shields synched with each other, strengthening their protection significantly, Monteith noticed something strange. Martel’s cruiser was not showing a single life sign on board.
Before he could ask his scan tech to check for damaged circuits, Martel’s cruiser opened fire—directly into the unshielded side of Villiers’ ship.
“Abort! Abort!” Monteith swore as his shields reset just in time to avoid the salvo from the Imperium Cruiser.
“Villiers is in trouble, Captain.”
“I know! Damn it all!” Monteith swore. “Enough! Order a retreat. Scramble back to the jump point!” He slammed his hands against the arms of the chair. “Bring us in to cover Villiers retreat!”
“Uh, I don’t think we can, Sir,” the scan officer said, his voice shaking.
Monteith looked up at the main viewscreen to see the flashes of light. Two capital ships and a pair of destroyers appeared between them and the jump point.
“Ladies and Gentlemen,” Monteith stood. “I believe it is time to consider our contracts.”
The first officer stood, drew their sidearm, and shot the Captain in the head.
“Full attack! We will break through or die trying!” They pointed the pistol at the pilot. “That was an order, mister!”
“Sir,” The pilot nodded and turned back to the controls.
“For the Line!” The first officer yelled as they accelerated toward the enemy.
===<<<>>>===
Hardwicke swore as the feed cut out from their foray into the Imperium. The last image from the relay ship showed a pair of capital ships, lights flaring as their arrays activated.
The ships were gone.
“That did not go as expected,” Stibbert said, brushing crumbs from his uniform.
“To put it mildly,” Hardwicke agreed. “I don’t suppose any of them made it?”
“If they did, I kindly ask to transfer to their command. That kind of luck you could not hope to have.” Stibbert grimaced. “But no, Sir. No one runs a damaged ship past Capitals.”
“You are correct, of course,” Hardwicke rolled his shoulders. “Order a scramble, Stibbert. I want the entire wing clustered around the exit from that jump point in case they wish to try their arm with us.”
“With respect, Sir,” Stibbert scratched his ear, “They are proving to be smarter than that.”
“We can but hope, Mister Stibbert,” Hardwicke acknowledged. “We can but hope.”
Almost two hours later, the magnetic fields around the jump point aligned.
“Large mass exiting jump, Sir!”
“It seems they have made a mistake after all, Mister Stibbert!” Hardwicke smiled. He was not a vicious man, but he was willing to admit he was looking forward to repaying them for the losses he had suffered. “Spread the wing out to combat positions! They must be coming in force!”
The next few seconds passed in mounting anticipation before a flash heralded something coming out of Transit.
“FUCK ME!” Stibbert yelled.
“SCRAMBLE!” Hardwicke ordered, but it was much too late.
He just had time to see the Exo System Drive and thrusters buried in the massive asteroid's rocky surface before it collided with the forward ships, and the viewscreen turned white for a long time.
They had thrown an asteroid at them! Who threw fucking asteroids at a fleet?
Hardwicke swallowed hard and forced himself to calm down.
“Issue orders for all ships to get distance from their jump points.”
Comments
Clayton Danvers
Absolutely, and completely.
Ninta Silverwind
If paren ever gets access to the memories about starwars we are all fucked
Avdrdr
She’ll probably build a Death Star, that’s at least mobile and recoverable
Clayton Danvers
Thanks, it took me a few tries to get it right, but I think I've got a decent handle on it now!
Scyfe
Great chapter, you're writing the space battle great - have a very clear view on what's going on
Ninta Silverwind
Only thing that might hold her back is the waste of resources.
Clayton Danvers
And let's all hope that Paren never figures out how to throw planets at people she doesn't like. Nellie might never actually do it, but Paren would be tempted just to see if she could.
Ninta Silverwind
They can still escalate to a planetoid. Entire planet would be a bit much i think
Clayton Danvers
They really do, but one has to assume that trick won't work for too long.
Ninta Silverwind
Really getting them with the kinetics huh. First railguns then asteroids. I think the line has a clear weakness
