Briefing on Colonial Naval Doctrine
It is generally accepted by naval strategists and theoreticians that the Colonial Independence Navy suffers an inferiority in both numbers and absolute tonnage. While they share the basic war fighting technology as the UNE, the Colonials have sought to compensate for this strategic imbalance with a variety of tactical and technological innovations.
Conventional UNE doctrine for dealing with capital ships is to deploy opposing ships of similar tonnage or bomber squadrons with fighter screens. The Colonials approached this problem by resurrecting the corvette, a class of ships the UNE had not built for decades. Cheaper to build and less manpower intensive to crew than capital ships, corvettes are far more survivable than bombers thanks to their greater armor and the cannons and missile turrets its larger frame allows. Combined with their armor, interceptors that traditionally form a capital ship's screen are much less likely to survive long enough to get close enough to engage, much less inflict enough damage to destroy a corvette. With their torpedoes, squadrons of corvettes pose formidable threats to capital ships if they are deployed in sufficient numbers. Still, corvettes are very fragile when compared to capital ships and any commander foolish enough to stray into the field of fire of a larger vessel is unlikely to survive long enough to correct that mistake.
The deployment of corvettes by the Colonials forced a reassessment of fleet formations by the Admiralty, with a heavier concentration of fighter squadrons instead of interceptors. In addition, weapons development and doctrine has also been forced to adapt to match the increased tonnage our small craft are expected to deal with. For example, many interceptor squadrons were equipped with BFRPCM Titan rockets in addition to the traditional S2 missiles. Development of the S2CHCM Alpha missile was also accelerated to give our fighters a way to cripple or destroy corvettes quickly and still retain the ability to strike effectively at enemy small craft, while the plasma turret conventionally mounted on capital ships has also been downscaled into the CREW 1500ep.
The new weapons and tactics helped significantly reduce the effectiveness of corvette ambushes, but the Colonials were also adapting. Two of their greatest innovations came in the form of new small craft variants, the heavy fighter and the missile interceptor.
Possessing heavy armor and a powerful plasma cannon, the Colonial heavy fighter is a formidable multi-role craft. It has demonstrated maneuverability capable of matching the UNE's Apex fighter and enough firepower to even penetrate the hull of cruisers, making them a credible threat against formations of capital ships when deployed in large numbers. Its principle use however has been as escorts and in anti-small craft operations. The heavy fighter's weapons allow it to make short work of interceptors unlucky enough to be caught in its field of fire while its maneuverability allows it to at least keep pace with the much more nimble craft. The devastating effect heavy fighter squadrons could have on a fleet's screen could easily leave the capital ships vulnerable to further attacks by dedicated craft.
The Colonials recognized early on that while their corvettes could inflict heavy damage on larger ships while remaining outside the effective range of their targets, this depended on their torpedoes actually penetrating the defensive perimeter. Point defense systems on capital ships have improved markedly since the start of the war however and unless deployed in overwhelming numbers or at very short ranges, torpedoes no longer pose the danger they once did. The Colonial's answer to this problem was the missile interceptor, a small craft agile enough to avoid retaliation by a capital ship's heavier weapons but packing enough firepower to inflict heavy damage.
The missile interceptor is simply a conventional Colonial interceptor with its plasma cannons replaced with a pair of missile pods. The missiles these interceptors are equipped with are extremely powerful and a squadron is easily able to overwhelm an unprotected capital ship. Their greatest weakness is that the core interceptor frame is very fragile, but their maneuverability makes actually hitting one difficult. Missile interceptors also have been observed to focus first on a capital ship's point defenses before taking their time dismantling the rest of the ship.
In light of these developments and the increasing emphasis on light craft, it is urgent that the UNE pursue programs to counter the tactical advantages the Colonials have achieved. At the same time, the Colonials understand that capital ships are necessary to actually maintain control of a planet or system, as only capital ships can mount the necessary weapons to kinetically bombard surface targets. To win the war, the Colonials know that they must achieve an extremely lopsided kill ratio in capital ships. Their approach to this problem has been to engage UNE forces with lighter craft while keeping their few capital ships in reserve and only committing them in extreme situations. If however the UNE can neutralize the effectiveness of their small craft, the Colonials will lose the ability to conduct effective raids and allow the UNE to mount concentrated operations, forcing their fleet to meet us in open battle. Achievement of this will effectively allow the UNE to destroy the Colonial Independence Navy and force the capitulation of the rebelling colonies.
Commodore Evan Truman
Director, Operational Analysis
Office of Naval Intelligence, United Nations of Earth
Chapter 4: In Valor Met
"No word from Aleksey?"
Taylor shook his head. "No ma'am. Admiral Suvorov has been scouting in our wake but has yet to encounter the stragglers."
Kosygin sighed. "They've proven themselves quite unpredictable and a bit too good for my peace of mind."
"Reports indicate that the stragglers only have four capital ships right now," Taylor pointed out.
"Except there's at least one other frigate that we can't seem to account for," Kosygin countered. "I don't like it. They've obviously split their forces for a reason, Victor."
"Perhaps ma'am, but Admiral Suvorov outnumbers the Unies in hulls and his pilots are just as good as theirs. Even if that loner returns to rejoin them, the admiral would still have an advantage."
"Even with Kanzeon thrown into the mix?"
Taylor's mouth narrowed into a thoughtful frown. "I will admit Kanzeon's performance has exceeded our wildest imaginations ma'am, but it's hardly a deus ex machina. It's still one ship, one that can be killed."
The admiral conceded the point with a grunt. "Well, assuming Aleksey doesn't end this in the next couple of days, at least we'll be a bit more prepared if the Unies are crazy enough to come after the main fleet."
The bustling activity of the bridge seemed to agree with Kosygin as her bridge staff wrapped up final preparations for the fleet wide simulation. No live weapons would be fired and the ships would not actually be physically performing maneuvers so the exercise would be purely virtual. There were limitations with this kind of training but Kosygin needed to be a bit frugal with her available resources until they could get supplies from Taranto.
The fleet had done well enough in taking the UNE outpost on the way to Earth even without the use of the Relic, but the skirmish had revealed quite a few rough spots. The time it was taking to move the Relic to Earth was giving Kosygin and the other flag officers time to adjust doctrine and formations in ways which should deal with the issues. These changes however needed to be tested, hence the current exercise. At least this way they had a chance of discovering new problems in relatively safe conditions instead of while being shot at in a battle.
In addition to the above however, there was one additional variable being tested today. Based on all the data the CIN had managed to collect on Kanzeon thus far, Taylor and Summers had created a mockup of the ship and inserted it into the simulation. It would be controlled by one of the fleet's best pilots to make it more realistic, though there was no telling how close to the real Kanzeon pilot's style this copy would be.
The rest of the aggressor force was built around the core of capital ships the stragglers were composed of plus theoretical reinforcements from other UNE detachments that were not at Sybille. All in all the opposition should prove a respectable challenge for Kosygin's fleet and she knew Taylor well enough to expect a few more surprises waiting in the wings.
"Ma'am, all ships report preparations complete," Summers said.
Kosygin nodded. "Very well." She turned to Taylor. "Commodore, if you would."
One consequence of having set up the simulation parameters was that Taylor would not be participating directly. His responsibilities had been shifted over to Summers and while Kosygin felt a bit guilty about effectively doubling the younger woman's workload, it was only for the simulation. Besides, it would be a good learning experience for Summers in preparation for flag rank in the future.
"Yes ma'am."
Taylor activated the simulation and the entire fleet went to general quarters. The men and women aboard the various ships waited in anticipation but a full minute passed and nothing appeared. Then another minute, and another. Kosygin raised an eyebrow as she glanced over at her chief of staff but Taylor remained focused on his own terminal. He did not look particularly worried, which suggested the waiting was intentionally trying to grind on people's nerves.
"Fold signature!"
The shout was filled with both relief as trepidation and the bridge was suddenly a flurry of activity.
"Detecting eighteen capital ships!" Summers reported. "Three carriers, five cruisers, and ten frigates!"
The numbers were a bit on the high side for what they believed the UNE would be able to concentrate, but better to be over prepared than to be caught short when it counts.
"Looks like, they've already got fighters and interceptors deployed," Kosygin noted. "Any indication of bombers?"
"No ma'am," Summers replied.
Kosygin spared a glance at Taylor but otherwise kept her focus on the plot. The UNE fleet had obviously disgorged its light craft before jumping in so the absence of bombers suggested they were preparing an ambush. That being the case, her best option would be to keep her forces concentrated.
"Heavy fighters and missile interceptors to engage," Kosygin ordered. "Corvettes are to launch torpedo runs in support. Remaining light craft are to remain in formation."
"Aye ma'am!"
"Bring the fleet about in a parallel approach," Kosygin continued. "I want clear lanes of fire for our cruisers once we're in range."
The Colonial warships began spreading out into a line as individual cruisers formed into a wall facing the approaching UNE fleet. Frigates maneuvered above and below the wall, staying clear of the cruisers' weapons but remaining close enough to offer support if anything broke through. Even the three carriers began to roll so that their topside cannons could be brought to bear with the rest of the fleet.
The void between the two fleets was quickly filled as light craft from both sides met. Fighters weaved and rolled about trying to kill each other while the missile interceptors simply tried to pass through the maelstrom to reach their true targets. Surprisingly the UNE fighters focused much of their attention on the Colonial heavies so quite a few missile interceptors broke through. They were however quickly confronted by swarms of UNE interceptors, ships that could match their flight performance and specifically designed to kill other light craft.
With the heavy fighters so thoroughly engaged by the UNE fighters, the missile interceptors had few escorts and were soon too busy trying to stay alive themselves to launch any attacks on the UNE capital ships. The deadlock between the light craft would have likely dragged on for quite some time but Kosygin's own fleet was now approaching weapons range.
"Concentrate fire on enemy cruisers," Kosygin said.
"Aye ma'am," Summers replied as she allocated the fleet's fire on specific targets.
With their fewer numbers, the UNE fleet could actually maneuver all of their ships into firing range much more quickly than Kosygin. Technically Kosygin could have ordered her ships to individually open fire immediately upon the enemy the moment they came into range, but the admiral had no intention of pursuing such a slugging match. A few calculated broadsides would be more than enough to deal with the UNE fleet.
"Fold signature!"
Kosygin's head snapped towards the voice before returning just as quickly to the plot. Dozens of new signals appeared right on the edge of the fleet's defensive perimeter. The majority was quickly identified as bombers but mixed amongst them was a squadron of fighters, and Kanzeon.
Kosygin chuckled. It was a clever maneuver, though sending in such a light screen for a bomber run would normally be suicidal. Perhaps now they would get to find out Kanzeon's worth.
"Interceptors moving to engage," Summers said.
The attackers were outnumbered three to one with just the initial wave of interceptors moving to meet them. If this somehow proved inadequate, Kosygin could always pull units from other positions to bolster the attacks. The light craft met and began beating upon one another. The UNE fighters were doing an admirable job whittling down Kosygin's interceptors even as they themselves fell one by one. As Kosygin's screen moved to deal with the bombers however they received a nasty surprise as waves of missiles burst forth and smashed into them.
Interceptors dropped left and right as dozens of the tiny swarm missiles locked onto their targets and zoomed in from all directions. Individually weaker than a standard light craft missile, swarm missiles were however incredibly fast and locked onto targets almost instantly. Even as the interceptors racked the bomber formations with their own fire, the larger ships were cutting a bloody swathe through the much more lightly armored craft. At the rate they were going, they might well break through to initiate torpedo runs.
"Move fighters to deal with the bombers," Kosygin ordered.
"Yes ma-Ma'am! Kanzeon!"
The sudden cry was a heartbeat late as a fold signature erupted on the plot. Seven interceptors disappeared in the first few seconds, followed by ten more moments later. The flare then died down but the gutting of their numbers meant the interceptors engaging the UNE fighters now suddenly found themselves outnumbered. It did not take long for the survivors to also disappear and a solid mass of UNE signals moved to rejoin the incoming bombers.
"Order frigate squadron seven to move to support our interceptors," Kosygin ordered.
"Yes ma'am!"
The quartet of frigates peeled away from their assigned cruiser and dove straight toward the incoming enemy. Kosygin shifted her attention back to the main UNE fleet as it was now coming into range.
"Ms. Summers, initiate bombardment."
"Aye ma'am!"
Dozens of beams lashed out from along the Colonial formation and they all smashed into only four of the UNE cruisers. Save for carriers, UNE ships tended to be much tougher than their Colonial counterparts and even with her overwhelming numerical advantage Kosygin could not have guaranteed kills if she had spread her fire across the entire enemy fleet. By focusing on only four cruisers, Kosygin was effectively guaranteeing their neutralization after a single salvo. The admiral was not disappointed as three of the cruisers exploded outright, the beams having cut deeply enough to breach containment of the ship reactors. The fourth broke apart, its hull fragmented and spinning off even as the ship drifted out of formation.
The fleet began allocating responsibility for the remaining cruiser and carriers but before they could open fire alarms erupted.
"Sir, enemy bombers are making runs on cruiser squadron nine!"
"What!?"
Shifting the plot over, Kosygin watched as torpedoes rained down upon her ships. At least a third of the bombers had been killed but the survivors were more than capable of ripping apart the cruisers now that they were so close. Her own fighters had been reduced to a mere handful trying to stay ahead of the pursuing UNE fighters while the frigates Kosygin had ordered to support them hung powerlessly in space. They were still intact and the system feed indicated significant but not crippling damage to their hull. Their weapons however were completely trashed and only their torpedo tubes were online, making them absolutely useless against the attacking light craft.
"Direct screen elements five through twelve to deal with the light craft," Kosygin ordered. "Ms. Summers, continue the bombardment."
"Yes ma'am!"
The second salvo roared, albeit slightly less loudly with four of Kosygin's cruisers too busy maneuvering to avoid torpedoes to contribute. Their help was not missed however as the last UNE cruiser died. The carriers fared better, somehow surviving the initial strike but showing critical damage. Kosygin might have been able to ignore them, but their continuing fire marked them as threats she was obliged to put down for good.
Two of Kosygin's cruisers died almost simultaneously and the other two cruisers of squadron nine did not look good. The pilot selected to control Kanzeon was obviously still feeling his way through the ship's projected capabilities, but he was learning very quickly. Thus far he had managed to single handedly interdict the interceptors and fighters sent after the bombers, leaving his charges free to wreak havoc on the capital ships. The bombers themselves were going for close on approaches and focusing on the larger cruisers to minimize any chance of their torpedoes missing. The frigates now moving in to support their comrades were finding their attention divided between trying to swat bombers and fending off the surviving fighters nipping at their heels.
"Bombers are moving onto cruiser division four!"
Kosygin cursed and brought up the rough sensor data for Kanzeon. It was brushing aside her interceptors and fighters with contemptuous, ludicrous ease. She needed to find some way to deal with it otherwise those bombers were going to tear a hole through her fleet.
"Deploy the reserve heavies," Kosygin ordered. "Tell them to bring down Kanzeon at any cost!"
"Aye ma'am!"
Squadrons of heavy fighters that had hung back with the carriers now peeled off and charged towards the skirmish. More fighters and interceptors joined behind them, waiting to break through once they could distract Kanzeon long enough.
"Ma'am, the Unies are hitting our rear flank."
Kosygin nodded in acknowledgment and watched as the plot updated with the damage reports. The UNE fleet had been pouring fire into her own formation for quite some time now and a good percentage of her ships had suffered at least some superficial damage. Now however they were focusing on the same section their bombers were tearing through, trying to inflict as many losses as possible before they themselves went down. That would not take much longer as the third salvo from Kosygin's fleet ripped through the three enemy carriers.
"Ma'am, the frigates are accelerating towards us," Summers said. "Their approach vector is going to take them right through the light craft."
With all of their heavier combatants down, the frigates were no longer restrained to holding formation. They accelerated straight for Kosygin's fleet, firing their heavy plasma turrets continuously. It was an admirable effort but ultimately futile, even if they were being clever about their approach.
"All ships weapons free," Kosygin said. "Select targets as you will."
No longer constrained to synchronizing their fire, the Colonial warships unloaded. Plasma and beams pelted them but the UNE survivors had planned their formation with care. Four ships arrayed themselves between the Colonial formation and their comrades, absorbing most of the fire while the other six charged. Moving along a perpendicular vector, more and more of Kosygin's ships found their field of fire obscured by their comrades.
"Clever," Kosygin said. "They might actually have made it close enough to engage at knife range."
Might have, save for the other reserve force Kosygin had kept back.
"Initiate beehive."
"Aye ma'am."
The UNE frigates were now making their final approach even as Kosygin's formation loosened to meet them. They never reached her ships however as over a hundred corvettes folded in and unleashed a wall of torpedoes. There was no time for the frigates to evade and to their credit they let loose with everything they had even as they continued the charge. Over a dozen corvettes were caught in the inferno before the UNE frigates fell under the onslaught of the torpedoes, well short of Kosygin's own formation.
The surviving UNE light craft were now in equally hopeless straits as the entire Colonial fleet fell upon them. The bombers continued their runs down to the last man and the fighters succeeded in taking at least a couple more of Kosygin's own light craft with them as they went. Kanzeon was literally swamped by heavy fighters and the storm of signals appearing and disappearing made it almost impossible to discern what was happening. Finally however the chaos subsided and Kanzeon was no more. The final toll was horrendous in its imbalance. Nearly a hundred interceptors and over half that many heavy fighters destroyed before Kanzeon's own death. As the simulation ended, Kosygin took a deep breath and considered just how accurate the model was. A part of her found it ludicrous a single ship could do that much damage. Another part was beginning to wonder whether Suvorov was prepared for the grinder he was about to reach into.
"-and the yards expect to have another two cruisers ready for shakedown within the next month or so," the officer reported. "We have better news on the frigates, at least six more are due for shakedown before the end of the month."
Lancreast nodded. Overseeing the actual administration of the yards was not his responsibility, but as the commanding officer of Taranto's defenses he at least should keep abreast of what was going on. The CIN losses at Sybille was not devastating but they would need to be made good, especially if enough UNE forces survived and sought to exact revenge against the colonies. Protecting so many worlds would force the CIN to disperse its strength and the only way they could concentrate enough assets to guard each world adequately was if they could get more ships.
The building program originally laid out after Taranto's capture had placed a heavy emphasis on building more frigates. Despite being smaller and less well armed, or perhaps because of, frigates were faster to build than cruisers and much faster than carriers. The only problem was the frigate design the CIN employed. No sane naval officer would ever mistake a Kodiak freighter, despite its massive bulk, to be a warship. Even now the heavily modified frigate design based off of it was more akin to mounting a hammer in an eggshell and its relative fragility made deploying them in battle a constant source of apprehension.
Since then however, the emphasis had shifted more and more towards building cruisers and the occasional carrier. There was a growing recognition amongst the CIN's flag officers that they could only go so long in avoiding major fleet engagements with the UNE. While they had hurt the UNE over the years and even scored a few major victories, none of that would be enough to win the war. Even worse for the CIN, the UNE navy had demonstrated that it could learn from its mistakes. The deadweight in its officer corps that had not been weeded out through combat had been systematically beached and their replacements were proving to be just as good as any of their Colonial counterparts. That was at least the case for one Gregor Lancreast at the Battle of the Targon Nebula.
Lancreast shook his head as he dismissed the thought. That debacle had cost the CIN an entire fleet even if he managed to trash most of the UNE Fifth Fleet in the process. For that matter, his former carrier flagship had been shot up so badly it was still in the yards undergoing repairs.
Glancing out the bridge windows, Lancreast caught sight of the tiny speck that was the yard currently working on the Michelangelo. It would be months yet before the work was completed and even then Lancreast was not sure if he would get the ship back. He was lucky enough not to have been dismissed for the defeat and some on the civilian Council had indeed demanded his head. Admiral Kosygin had however adamantly refused to scapegoat anyone and even snuck in a promotion a few months after the battle. Lancreast knew some of the civilian leadership was still angry with the admiral for that one. It might well be better for him to keep his flag where it was for a bit longer. In the meantime he still had a duty to perform and he intended to do the damn best he could.
"Admiral, priority comm from Fleet Admiral Kosygin."
Lancreast turned and nodded. "Put it through to my terminal."
"Yes sir."
"We'll go over the drills after I deal with this," Lancreast said.
Leaving the huddle at the rear of the bridge, Lancreast walked over to his chair and plopped down before accepting the transmission. Despite the bandwidth limitations of FTL comms, the image displayed on Lancreast's screen showed enough detail for him to see the exhaustion and even sorrow on Kosygin's face. Both emotions were shared by Lancreast himself.
The destruction of Hydra was bad enough but Ackers' death made it all the more personal. There were very few actual flag officers in the CIN. Most detachments, even ones charged with the defense of a colony, were simply commanded by the senior captain, who was accorded a provisional rank of commodore while in command. There were only two officers that held a permanent rank of commodore and both were staff officers, one on Kosygin's and the other on Suvorov's, not formal fleet commanders. The CIN was simply not large enough to require that many flag officers and the difference between a rear admiral and a vice admiral was mostly a matter of seniority or achievements, not size of command. There was only one full admiral and Kosygin's rank as fleet admiral was to ensure she outranked everyone as the commander in chief of the entire Colonial Independence Navy.
Because there were so few of them, all of the flag officers knew each other well. They got along for the most part even if each had quirks that could irritate the hell out of someone amongst their numbers and some very close friendships had formed over the course of the war. Before his promotion to rear admiral however, Ackers had served as Lancreast's flag captain. The two men worked together for many years and became good friends in the process. In fact, when Ackers' promotion was first handed down, the younger officer had offered to decline it to remain with Lancreast. Lancreast was moved but insisted that his friend accept the promotion, not just because he knew the man deserved it but because the CIN needed all the capable fleet commanders it could find. And now Ackers was dead because he had followed Lancreast's advice.
Shaking off his sorrow, Lancreast greeted the fleet admiral. "What can I do for you ma'am?"
"You've seen the analysis on the Unies' new toy?"
Lancreast nodded grimly. "Kanzeon. Though not quite sure I understand where that name came from."
"Buddhist mythology, a goddess with a thousand arms. Though the pronunciation is of the Japanese variant."
An eyebrow rose. "Vincent's doing?"
"He's always been a student of history. And apparently another variation would have ended up with the pronunciation Kannon."
"Ah. Well, Kanzeon it is."
"Anyway, the reason I commed is because I need you to get as many heavy fighters as you can shipped up to us."
"Heavy fighters ma'am?"
"We just finished reviewing a fleet exercise where we had a simulated Kanzeon in the opforce. Based on the results, heavy fighters are the only ones with enough armor to avoid getting blown out of space outright by Kanzeon's missiles. And considering how tough that damn ship seems to be, the challenge for our own light craft will be to survive long enough to kill it. That makes the heavies the best bet we have."
"Understood ma'am. We should be able to get at least an entire wing to you, even if I have to tow them using corvettes."
"Good. The sooner-"
Alarms blared and Lancreast's head snapped up. His eyes fell on the plot as dozens of signals sprang up.
"Fold signatures! Multiple bogies inbound!"
"Gregor!?"
"It looks like we're under attack. I'll need to get back to you admiral."
"Understood. And give them hell, Gregor."
"Will do. Clear."
The display closed, replaced by a tactical feed.
"What do we have?" Lancreast asked.
"Platforms are detecting three squadrons of fighters and two squadrons of bombers sir!"
"Any sign of that new class?"
"No sir."
Lancreast considered the situation. The presence of bombers suggested this was more than a mere raiding force but his own interceptor squadrons overwhelmingly outnumbered the UNE force. The attack was complete suicide unless there were even more ships just waiting to pounce.
"Interceptor squadrons are the focus on the bombers," Lancreast instructed. "Stop them before they hit any of the shipyards."
"Yes sir."
Despite having several cruisers at his disposal, Lancreast was not prepared to scramble all of them to respond to this single attack just yet. UNE forces had demonstrated remarkable skill in springing surprises recently and there was always the risk of a multi-pronged attack.
"Get cruiser division eight back here," Lancreast ordered. "Have other ships beginning spinning up their drives in case we need them."
"Aye sir."
Focusing his attention on the fighters, Lancreast watched the dots on the plot flash in and out. A lot of EM interference was filling that volume of space but he could still get a fairly complete picture of what was happening. Unfortunately, the news was not good.
"Sir, those bombers are equipped with swarm missiles!"
Lancreast nodded grimly. Individually considerably weaker than even the most basic fighter missiles, swarm missiles had the advantage that they locked on very quickly. Two or three hits were more than enough to rattle an interceptor and the bombers were using them to great effect to keep those that got past their fighter screen from effectively engaging.
"Frigate pen 4 has been destroyed!"
As the signal from the pen faded, Lancreast slammed his fist. "Where are the cruisers!?"
As if responding to his cry, a flash erupted before fading to reveal two massive warships. They moved to protect the remaining ship pens, but there were too many potential targets.
"Recall the remaining cruisers and have them cover the yards!"
"Yes sir!"
With his ships spread throughout the system, it would take time for anyone to respond. In the meantime, Lancreast could only rely on his interceptors to try to hound the enemy. Unfortunately, the UNE pilots proved to be more than a match and ripped apart their opponents. Ordering his interceptors after the bombers was turning into a costly mistake as the UNE fighters took advantage of the divided attention.
More interceptors were converging on the UNE attackers but the bombers did not even try to maneuver. They shot straight for their next target, relying on their missiles to deter any attempts to meet them head on and their shields to protect them from pursuers. The strategy proved remarkably successful with the flaming wrecks of interceptors spiraling away along the bombers' vector. The fighters guarding their flank and rear did a masterful job engaging other interceptors, preventing anyone from making a run on the bombers.
One by one, the ship pens came under bombardment and were torn apart. The desperation of the interceptors grew with every explosion but desperation in this case only compounded their errors. Not even the cruisers were able to shield the yards as the bombers approached from multiple vectors, splitting the point defense fire the capital ships could put out. Others approached hiding behind the yards themselves, giving them the chance to launch their payloads at effectively point blank. By the time the last frigate pen was a burnt wreck, the UNE fighters had finished picking off all of their opponents. For the Colonials, the broken hulks of the docked frigates caught in the explosions were bad enough but the loss of the pens themselves could prove even worse.
"Order all ships to undock!" Lancreast ordered.
"But sir, most of the ships don't have crews onboard!"
"I don't need them fighting, I need them out of the line of fire! If there isn't any crew onboard, get the yard dogs to fly the goddamn ships out!"
"Aye sir!"
Men and women scrambled to follow his orders but the UNE attackers were already on the move. Having blown apart most of the smaller pens, they were now beginning their attack on the cruiser pens.
"We just lost cruiser pen 6!"
Lancreast's face darkened. The shipyards here were literally irreplaceable. The CIN had no other systems where capital ships could be built in such numbers. Even if the Relic neutralized Earth there might well be enough UNE stragglers to continue a campaign against the colonies, in which case the loss of Taranto could become as fatal as they had originally feared.
"Get every bird we have out now! I don't care what it takes but we need to take down those bombers!"
"Sir, Unie capital ships are folding in!"
A pair of cruisers and a frigate centered around a carrier suddenly appeared just beyond the perimeter. The ships raced in, opening fire on the defense platforms while also bombarding the ship pens.
"How the hell did they get here!?" an officer muttered.
"The nebula," Lancreast bit out. "They must have snuck through the nebula."
"But sir, none of our patrols…"
The officer's voice trailed off as the pieces fell into place.
"That's right, none of our patrols reported anything. And after this battle is over, we'll probably find out that there won't be anyone reporting at all."
Even as the UNE warships burned their way through Taranto, Lancreast's own fleet was finally folding in. The cruisers moved in immediately to engage the enemy alongside his own flagship. Other cruisers were finally slipping out of their docks. Some were making a run for it but others maneuvered to provide support. Soon Lancreast had the UNE fleet outnumbered but the enemy was putting on a ferocious fight. As the capital ships exchanged broadsides, the bombers continued their work of dismantling Taranto's shipyards. More explosions ripped through the docks and stations, destroying decades worth of infrastructure. But no matter how much damage they managed to inflict, these UNE ships would soon be dead, or so Lancreast thought.
Suddenly, three of the UNE ships began pulling away. Another cruiser held its ground, defiantly spewing fire at the oncoming Colonial warships even as its consorts fled. The UNE light craft also aborted their attacks and began converging on the carrier, picking off any of Lancreast's own fighters that tried to block their way.
"All ships forward, do not let them fold out!"
The Colonial cruisers began accelerating but the lone UNE cruiser simply refused to die. It spat out beams and plasma, slowly chipping away at Lancreast's ships. But the odds were simply too much and moments later the cruiser's reactors lost containment. The explosion consumed the ship, melting through the hell and leaving mere fragments in its wake. By the time the blast faded the attackers had disappeared, having made the most of their comrade's sacrifice.
This was the third emergency conference Kosygin had been forced to call and the news seemed to worsen with each one. The shock of the attack at Taranto had faded some, only to be replaced by rage. The number of fatalities was still being compiled but with so many yards destroyed without any chance to evacuate, the admiral knew the final numbers would be horrific. And while Taranto was a military facility, many of the workers there were civilians. Their deaths were too reminiscent of the Akira Massacre and Kosygin did not doubt there would be people in her fleet burning to exact revenge.
Kosygin did not blame them for their desire, but she would be doing her best to keep them from following through with that desire. If the CIN was to avoid degenerating into a bunch of pirates and thugs, some lines had to be drawn. The contradiction of that line versus the fleet's current orders was not lost upon the admiral, but sometimes the only thing that could be done was to make the best of a thoroughly crappy hand. Whether they could deal with this particular hand was still an open question unfortunately.
"According to the preliminary report, over two thirds of the ships under construction at Taranto were destroyed outright," Taylor said, his voice almost clinical as he spoke. "Over 85% of the yards and fabrication plants have also been destroyed or damaged beyond hope of repair. Resource extraction is still mostly intact, but…"
"But without the yards, there's nowhere to build with the resources," Kosygin finished for her chief of staff.
The destruction of so much of the only major shipyard in Colonial hands was absolutely devastating, both in a strategic sense and a morale one. Without the yards, the CIN literally did not have the capacity to build new capital ships at a fast enough pace to replace losses, much less expand the fleet. That made it absolutely critical that they not lose any more ships in this campaign, especially if other UNE units decided to start emulating the Sybille survivors and hit more critical systems.
"The good news is that the Unie raiders did not find Jörmungandr or the yards working on it," Taylor continued. "If we divert the remaining fabricators to produce parts exclusively for the project, we can still complete her construction."
"Do it," Kosygin said.
Taylor took note of his admiral's order.
"How the hell did the Unies even get through to Taranto?" Radek muttered.
"According to Admiral Lancreast, they managed to navigate the nebula while taking out patrols to prevent their detection," Taylor answered.
"Goddamn it, if only I had nailed them."
"This isn't your fault, Henri," Kosygin said. "If anything, this is my fault for not sending you to Thule. If you had managed to hit them there with all of your ships, they wouldn't have stood a chance even with Kanzeon."
"Maybe ma'am, but according to the reports, they didn't bother using Kanzeon at Taranto either," Soren pointed out.
Kosygin nodded in concession. "No, they did not. But based on the reports, the attack on Taranto was pretty much an act of desperation and a major gamble on their part. They only escaped because one of their ships was willing to sacrifice itself to cover the others. And that willingness, gentlemen, is going to make the Unies much more dangerous. We're going to need to-"
Taylor's tablet beeped and the officer quickly accessed the message. The other officers all shifted their gaze to him, or at least where he was on their own screens. When he looked up, there was no hint of embarrassment at having interrupted his admiral mid-sentence.
"Ma'am," he began, "we just received a priority message from Admiral Suvorov. He says he caught a Unie frigate scouting Prometheus."
Kosygin's eyes widened. "Only a frigate?"
"Yes ma'am, and it matches the signature of one of the stragglers. Admiral Suvorov is pursing."
Kosygin remained silent, considering the ramifications. If the UNE really had discovered Prometheus, their recent campaign of desperation took on a considerably more dangerous slant. By slowly whittling away at her fleet and then severing its supply line, they were obviously setting up for a showdown down the road. If the UNE could retrieve the research at Prometheus and apply the same modifications that protected her own ships from the Relic, they could present a genuine threat to her fleet.
"Excuse me ma'am, but what exactly is Prometheus?" Radek asked, breaking the silence.
Blinking as she refocused, Kosygin replied. "Prometheus is where the Relic was studied. It holds an enormous amount of information on it, including how to shield ships from the Relic's storm."
Kosygin watched as understanding dawn on the other admirals as they repeated the same chain of logic she had just walked.
"Quite," Kosygin said and looked over at Taylor. "Pass a message to Admiral Suvorov please. Tell him to nail these bastards for Pierre."
"Yes ma'am."
End of Chapter 4
Trying to clear out my backlog now that I'm a bit less busy. It says sad things that this, an already completed work, stalled in simply being uploaded due to how messy the last year or so was. Fortunately the total number of chapters for Victory wasn't that high anyway, so the rest should go up, soonish.