Week of 2022/12/19 - SSFF - Chapter 36 - 38

Only three chapters this week. Writer's block really sucks. This may also be a more realistic and achievable upload rate for me to maintain in the long term.

Chapter 36: Deceptions. Deceptions Everywhere. 

SL195-E-0. That was the name of the Imperial Siren-class heavy cruiser that served as the flagship of Task Force Epsilon of the 195th Silver Lance Fleet.

In the same way that the 195th Fleet was just a tiny part of the sector-spanning armada that was Battlefleet Silver Lance, Task Force Epsilon was one of the many smaller units that made up the 195th Fleet. Granted, Epsilon was one of the larger task forces, with its Force Commander being one of the high-ranking officers assigned to aid Commodore Thea by her father. This was why Task Force Epsilon was given the important mission of conquering and holding one of the four planets in the system by itself.

The Task Force included a total of 19 cruisers of all classes and sizes and 48 smaller escort ships. At the start of the invasion of Diego Nine, Task Force Epsilon used its superior numbers and firepower to push the Republic garrison fleet away from the planet, allowing the 329th Infantry Division to land on the planet and perform a ground assault. Its starfighters and starbombers assisted the ground troops by providing much-needed air support, decimating the Republic G60 starfighters but failing to keep the Republic garrison from reaching Prosperity.

Now, after the heavy losses suffered by the 329th at the hand of the unidentified forces, Task Force Epsilon would once again demonstrate the might of the Imperial Navy by crushing the enemies of the Imperium with overwhelming force.

In the private quarters of SL195-E-0, Force Commander Arthur Liam leaned back in a leather sofa large enough to fit four people. He had been the captain of the ship for seven years, and he had made this vessel his second home. Any piece of furniture in this office was likely worth more than the salary a sailor would get for their entire career, and when it came to things on the ship whose sole purpose was to make the commander's life more pleasurable, the pieces of furniture weren't even close to the most expensive.

There were some fresh fruits and delicate drinks on the counter next to the sofa. They were hardly expensive on Diego Secondary where they were produced, but the cost to bring these fruits all the way here from another planet turned even the most common products into luxuries that only the wealthiest could afford. There was a reason most food supplies given to common soldiers and sailors were nutrient pastes that could last people the longest and were the cheapest to transport.

In the end, power had its benefits. Battlefleet Silver Lance was what allowed Lord Vitz to maintain an iron hold on the sector both against external threats and internal ones. Their loyalty came at a cost. Lord Vitz devoted a lot of resources to make sure everyone in the armada, from the common sailors and marines to the admirals, commodores, and fleet commanders, were happy with their lives.

There were a number of screens on the wall, displaying the feed from the different scanners and cameras installed around the vessel. A hologram showed the location of the group of Imperial warships currently descending toward the planet's surface.

This process of re-entering a planet’s atmosphere was too basic to require the personal attention of the Force Commander, which was why the man was in his private quarters instead of the ship’s command bridge.

“I am having trouble understanding something, father.” A young woman sat down on another sofa next to Commander Liam, one with a red leather exterior. She was in a naval uniform with the insignia of a lieutenant on her shoulder and a shield symbol that represented the Imperial Navy on her chest. Her eyes landed on the symbols in the hologram that represented the Imperial ships sent on this mission.

“Yes, Sarah?” Commander Liam turned to the young woman and asked patiently.

“This flotilla you have deployed on this mission to the planet’s surface…it feels a little excessive.” The young woman paused. “You said it yourself when you talked to Commodore Thea and General Pierre. The enemies only have minor anti-air emplacements and no orbital or air capabilities. A single Calypso class or Minotaur class can likely provide enough support for our marine units to take the enemy position. So…”

“So why did I deploy my flagship and a quarter of the Task Force? Why did I waste expensive fuel on an enemy that can be defeated with a fraction of the resources?” Commander Liam nodded gently. “You are a smart girl, Sarah. That is obvious. You don’t get to graduate with honors from the Cornelia Naval Academy by being dumb, but there is a reason we often have fresh graduates like you shadow experienced commanders like me before you are given command. The situations you run into in reality are often more complicated than the simulations or the exam questions.”

He carefully examined his daughter’s expression and was glad to see she was listening to his words carefully. It wasn't too surprising. He always knew that his daughter worshipped him. In her eyes, he was the perfect Imperial commander. Brave. Cautious. Decisive. Strict yet fair.

“Let me ask you something. This force that we have yet to identify…what do we know about them so far?”

Sarah Liam’s answer was quick. She might only have the rank of lieutenant, but she had been working closely with his father ever since she graduated from the academy four months ago. She participated in every meeting he did. The Force Commander also made sure his daughter could access data and reports way above her pay grade. It was technically a questionable decision, but no one, not even the Imperial Security Corps Overseers attached to the Task Force, would challenge it.

Things like this were way too common in every corner of the galaxy. Almost every single person of some stature wanted to train and prepare their sons and daughters to inherit their positions, resources, and ambitions. The Corps was there to insure the Leviathan’s will reigned absolute, not to destroy nepotism.

“Likely some covert spec ops unit.” The lieutenant paused as she realized this simple and obvious answer wouldn’t satisfy her father. “Since this was a Republic world…maybe it’s the security forces of some major defense companies in the Republic? Lemma Corporation? Winchester Co? These companies have their private armies, and their research teams are some of the best in the galaxy. They may be responsible for the advanced weapons. As for what they’re doing here…it’s obviously a mission deemed by their leaders to be important enough to expose and potentially sacrifice such an elite unit.”

“Perhaps you are right, but until we can find any more evidence, that is nothing more than a wild guess. One that is meaningless to us and our objective.” Commander Liam shook his head before explaining. “It would obviously be preferred if we know who we are dealing with, but now that this is impossible for now, let’s throw our hypotheses aside and look at what we do know. And what do we know? We know they are well trained and well equipped, and we know they are here and they have assaulted Imperial forces for a reason. Now…if they are just a small group of isolated infantry troops with no means of challenging our ships, then what they did is suicide. Most likely, we will be facing more than just a few hundred troops. We will be facing resistance.”

“But…” Sarah raised her eyebrows in confusion. She was there during the meeting her father had with Commodore Thea and General Pierre, the same one where she witnessed her father mercilessly mock the general for taking losses due to these forces. “But the things you said to the Commodore. The confidence…”

“Of course I was confident back then. How else would I exclude General Pierre from this operation? You said it yourself, Sarah. These forces are likely here for an important mission, one that we will hopefully soon learn more about. When we find out what they're after, whoever thwarted their mission will be heavily rewarded for their service. Why would I split this accomplishment with an Imperial Army general when my fleet alone can get the job done?”

Even as he continued, his eyes were fixed on his daughter’s face to see her reaction. What he just said didn't exactly fit his selfless, heroic personality, but he still said them nonetheless. It was always going to be a matter of time before he showed his true color to Sarah.

“Of course, this doesn’t change the fact that I will be as careful as I can be when dealing with this force. That’s why I deployed a quarter of the Task Force and put the rest of the Task Force on high alert. That’s why I’m bringing along the only heavy cruiser in the unit. Whatever tricks these forces have up their sleeves, we will make sure they fail.”

Sarah’s brows darkened, and her father immediately noticed it. His daughter didn't seem to be taking this revelation too well. Unsurprising, given that she had quite a naive view of the world around her that the naval academy only helped foster. It was something he hoped to change.

“What’s wrong?”

“It’s just that…this is not what I expected being a naval commander involved.” The young woman said quietly. “I…I thought I would be serving the Imperium. Serving Lord Vitz. I never thought I would have to think about these… deceptions.”

“We are serving Lord Vitz and the Imperium. It doesn’t contradict looking out for ourselves. If anything, the higher your rank is, the better you will be able to serve the Imperium.” Commander Liam sighed and stood up. It seemed like his daughter was not taking his lesson well, but he was confident he could change her mind given the time. That being said, this conversation was about to come to an end.

After all, he would soon have a battle to command.

“1 Siren-class heavy cruiser. 4 Calypso-class light cruisers. 8 Arachne-class Frigate. It seems like we have indeed caught the Imperium’s attention.”

Unbeknownst to Imperial Task Force Epsilon, their movement hardly surprised the terran forces on the ground. Even as they were leaving the planet’s orbit and heading for the surface, one of the three Imperial satellites in the planet’s orbit, put in place by Task Force Epsilon itself, was sending key tactical information about the flotilla to the orbital command in the terran base.

The transformation from commander center to orbital command had been completed within three hours of Athena giving the order. The process changed many aspects of the command center, with the most obvious modification being the giant satellite dish that was now fixed on top of the terran structure.

As soon as the construction was completed, the orbital command attempted to gain access to the three satellites in the planet’s orbit. After a few more hours, the orbital command managed to bypass the defenses of security protocols. It wasn’t able to fully control the satellites due to a lack of time, but what it did get was read access to the pictures the satellites took and the movement pattern of the satellites.

When the access was acquired, the adjutant gave Athena a lot of information about the satellites. The three satellites in the planet’s orbit were all S-78 multi-purpose satellites, capable of serving a variety of purposes, including communications, military reconnaissance, and missile detection.

More importantly, S-78s were geosynchronous satellites, meaning they hovered over the planet’s surface at a fixed location. This made plenty of economical sense as the Imperial Navy couldn’t afford to put in a whole network of satellites over the planet, but it also meant the Imperium had less control over the rest of the planet than Athena had anticipated.

All three satellites were above Prosperity and its proximity, which was to be expected given that the mining city was the only point of interest on the planet.

In other words, the SCVs and bases she had around the planet were unlikely to be discovered in the near future by these satellites. Granted, the longer they were there the higher the chances of discovery by other methods, but it meant Athena could modify her plan a little.

When Athena launched the assault on Starport Cinder, she moved most of her SCVs away from her main terran base in the valley in case of an immediate counterattack. This meant they were never seen by the satellites, which allowed Athena to direct most of her 2,000 SCVs to the location of where her new, hidden base would be.

An unnamed mountain range that stretched hundreds of miles across the surface of Diego Nine, located over a thousand miles away from Diego Nine and the Imperial forces.

As the SCVs were moving, Athena lifted the other commander centers out in the wild and directed them to the mountain range. As both the command centers and the SCVs arrived, Athena's order was simple.

Dig open the mountain and set up a full terran base inside.

This was Athena’s plan. Terran bases on the surface of the planet were at risk of being easily discovered by aircraft or scouting vehicles, so why not hide them in places nearly impossible to find via conventional means? Such as inside mountain bodies or underground?

A base made up of ordinary human soldiers and workers, even the most loyal ones, wouldn’t even think of sealing themselves into a mountain. Even throwing aside the psychological issues, there would be no way for supplies to go in and resources to go out. It would be suicide.

The terran SCVs had no such concerns. They could construct supply depots within the closed caves to sustain themselves. The minerals they returned to the command centers were automatically accessible to Athena as well as other terran units on the planet. The nature of their being also made sure they wouldn’t be driven mad by the prospect of living underground potentially forever.

There were still downsides, of course. While the SCVs were mining, they also had to spend a lot of time and resources to build neosteel structural supports and make sure the mountain wouldn’t just fall on them. Still, this made sure that a scouting aircraft or surveillance drone flying overhead wouldn’t notice anything wrong. Even if the satellites repositioned themselves over the mountain ranges, they would be too late to spot the terran units.

Athena had considered this possibility a long time ago, but this was a huge project that, according to the adjutants, could take a week even with tens of thousands of SCVs.

By the time she got six SCVs out in Valley Charlie, she knew the satellites would be online soon, and if one of them spotted thousands of SCVs digging into a mountain, it would ruin everything. Only now that she confirmed the satellites wouldn’t look that far could she safely start this project.

Part of an adjutant’s role was to coordinate forces for their commanders, and SCVs were no strangers to this type of procedure. Under the adjutants’ directions, the SCVs wasted no time getting to work. They started drilling into the mountains, removing pieces of stone, and returning the stones to the command centers where they would be converted into minerals. At the same time, the command centers started producing SCVs nonstop, adding to the busy workforce.

As the construction project continued, some of the SCVs started reinforcing the structure of the newly formed tunnels with neosteels while others continued digging deeper into the mountain.

The Imperial warships made their move on the terran base two days after the assault on Starport Cinder. While the SCVs were still working, Athena was informed by the adjutant at the orbital command about the attack.

“We still have some time, but this Imperial fleet is too much to take out. If they came at me a few cruisers at a time, I can take them out one by one and build my forces with the vespene gas, but a dozen ships all at once is too much. The Imperial commander is more cautious than I hoped.” Athena said as she entered the game and bought herself more time to think. “Luckily, right now I don’t need to be able to hold off the Imperials to mine from this world.”

“In that case, commander, one option you have is to pull your forces back and abandon the base in the valley,” Nova suggested. “The Imperials are unlikely to pursue too long. Even if they do, your units can throw them off eventually. However, this may cause the Imperials to search the planet.”

Athena frowned. If she was the commander of the Imperial Navy fleet and she saw this, what would she think? An elite unit attacked a starport of the local garrison and then proceeded to ambush a regiment of the same garrison. Athena knew she got what she wanted, but the Imperials didn't know that. They would simply be extremely confused by the lack of purpose in this operation.

At this point, Athena had achieved everything she could hope for by interacting with the Imperials. She had unlocked the starport and collected plenty of vespene gas. Sure, she could keep building more units and fighting, but now that the Imperials had their full attention on the terrans, getting good, efficient engagements would become more and more difficult.

If her terran troops fled into the wild and away from the gaze of the Imperium, the Imperials would suspect there was something else going on in this world. The result would be a lot more scouting aircraft and satellites deployed. Even if they didn't have the means to do a full planetary search now, they might do so eventually. This would be problematic.

On the other hand, if the terran troops all died here while fighting the Imperials, then whatever questions the Imperials had would die with them. As far as the Imperials could see, whatever plan the terran troops had failed already. There would still be questions about where they came from, but with the threat neutralized, other pressing matters would take priority.

She explained her thoughts to Nova, and the advisor nodded in agreement after some consideration.

“It may a better idea, commander. The one possible concern is that this may allow the Imperium to get a chance to further explore the basic structures and units of the terran forces. I can confirm that they will not be able to copy the terran technologies due to the nature of their existence, but they may learn the capabilities of some of the units and structures.”

“That has always been unavoidable. There will always be casualties in war.” Athena replied. As strong as terran units were, hoping that the enemies would never get their hands on a terran corpse or the remains of a terran vehicle or aircraft was foolish. Even now the Imperials have retrieved remains of terran CMC armors and gauss rifles. As long as the Imperium couldn’t copy her technologies and make their own gauss rifles or CMC power armor, she would still have the advantage.

Even though she made up her mind to sacrifice the terran units and base, Athena wouldn’t just let the terran units go down for free. No…both to convince the Imperials that nothing was wrong and to get some more returns on her investments, she had to make this fight good.

Chapter 37: Missile Turrets

The flotilla that Force Commander Arthur Liam brought to the planet’s surface included 13 ships of three different tonnages and classes.

The flagship SL195-E-0 was a Siren-class heavy cruiser. This class of heavy cruisers was over 720 meters long and had an active personnel count of 5,000 people, including 4,000 crew members and 1,000 marines. Compared to other types of heavy cruisers, the Siren class mostly relied on its thick armor, Class A+ shield generator, and dense network of missile and artillery assets to break the enemy forces. Its survivability was one of the things that made it a top pick among mid-level naval commanders for flagships.

The first among the Siren’s impressive armaments were the railguns. This included 2 heavy railgun turrets, 8 medium railgun turrets, and 32 light railgun turrets, all of whom were mounted in various locations along the armored platings of the ship and could adjust the firing angle as needed.

Like the railguns, 32 multi-purpose missile launchers were situated around the ship to avoid being brought offline at the same time by heavy damage in one part of the ship. They could fire a variety of missiles, including anti-aircraft missiles that were designed to be as fast and agile as possible, anti-ship missiles that focused on armor-piercing capabilities, and anti-ground missiles frequently used to bombard enemy targets from high altitudes. These missile launchers allowed the cruiser to handle a variety of combat situations that it might find itself in.

Four torpedo tubes were built into the front of the heavy cruiser, capable of firing guided anti-ship torpedoes at hostile targets. Unlike the cheaper missiles often deployed by starfighters or multi-purpose missile launchers, the torpedoes were costly tools with every single aspect of them designed to help them hit their target and nothing else. Built-in sensors could help the torpedoes avoid being distracted by flares or other defensive mechanisms. The thrusters worked with the built-in computers and the sensors to adjust the torpedo’s speed and angle to avoid interception. Even the armored hull could protect the expensive missiles from point-defense turrets for a while. If it wasn’t for cost concerns, some insane Imperial engineers might even have added costly shield generators for these one-time projectiles.

Finally, there were the 64 point-defense turrets. They were completely ineffective against enemy capital ships, not that they needed to be. Their only job was to assist the light rail gun turrets and MMLs and shoot down enemy squadrons, boarding crafts, and torpedoes.

Four other ships in the flotilla were all Calypso-class light cruisers. Out of the four main types of light cruisers used by the Imperium Navy across the galaxy, the 417-meter-long Calypso class was the most versatile one for a simple reason. It was more a combat spacecraft carrier than a battleship.

Each Calypso-class light cruiser could house, maintain, and deploy one squadron of Mamba-class starbombers, two squadrons of Rattlesnake-class starfighters, and four squadrons of Krait-class interceptors. In addition, Calypsos could deploy their marine units for offensive purposes using their Sabertooth-class combat dropships or Taipan-class assault boarding crafts. In comparison, their armaments were relatively minimal. There was only so much space on the ship, and both the hangar and the additional crew members needed to maintain the various spacecraft took up much of it.

Finally, there were 8 Arachne-class frigates. These were 210-meter-long vessels that were often deployed in groups to complement larger naval warships with their speed and maneuverability. They were also a relatively cheap option for patrol missions. Their armaments included 2 multi-purpose missile launchers, 2 light railgun turrets, and 8 point defense turrets.

These 13 ships included over 20,000 crew members and 8,000 marines, and they were just a quarter of Task Force Epsilon, which itself was a piece of the 195th Silver Lance Fleet. There was a reason Commander Liam had such low regard for General Pierre. Task Force Epsilon could wipe out the 329th and ten divisions just like it with ease.

By the time Force Commander Arthur Liam and Lieutenant Sarah Liam stepped into the central bridge of SL195-E-0, the flotilla had followed the battle plan and arrived at their intended positions. The 13 ships had split into three distinct groups and formed battle lines around 200 miles north, south, and east of the terran base. The frigates made up the groups in the north and south while Commander Liam and the four light cruisers were in the south. The only side without a group of ships was the west, which was where Prosperity was. This was to prevent the enemy troops from fleeing their base once they realized they were attacked. Frigates weren’t designed to take out ground targets, but that didn't mean they couldn’t do it at all. Missiles were still missiles.

Of course, it would be easier if the naval ships had the support of the armored and mechanical units of the 329th, but Commander Liam had made sure to completely exclude the Imperial Army.

As the ships held their position, the hangar door on two of the four Calypso-class light cruisers lifted open, and two squadrons of Mamba-class starbombers and four squadrons of Rattlesnake-class starfighters shot out of their carriers. These 72 starfighters and starfighters formed an attack formation and headed for the terran base.

They were the first wave of attack. Their job was to launch precise air strikes on the enemy positions and remove as much resistance as possible to make it easier for the marines to make their landing.

The Siren and Calypsos had multi-purpose missile launchers capable of firing long-range anti-ground missiles from low orbit, but these missiles were a little too powerful in this situation. A single missile could level a third of Prosperity. Fire one of these missiles at the enemy base, and any chance of taking prisoners could be lost.

Even as the first wave just left the hangars, around 40 fully loaded Sabertooth-class combat drops were waiting in the hangars of the other two Calypsos. Once permission was given, they could move to deploy 500 Imperial Navy marines to the terran base. They should be more than enough to mop up the remaining foes who survived the air raid.

Thirty seconds went by as the six squadrons approached the enemy base at maximum speed. Most of the bridge officers in SL195-E-0 were relaxed. They have completed countless missions like this before, and there was no reason for this mission to be any different. Force Commander Liam, on the other hand, kept his cool. He didn't think the enemies could beat his forces, but he also didn't think the enemies were stupid enough to go down without a fight.

If they really did go down so easily, then he would be quite suspicious.

That was when an officer on the bridge suddenly snapped to Commander Liam. He was a part of the team tasked with linking to the three S-78 satellites in orbit and keeping an eye on the terran base.

By their nature, warships were primarily designed to go against enemy warships and aircraft squadrons. Every piece of equipment in them was crafted with that objective in mind. The heavy cruiser had built-in scanners, but while these scanners were good at locating targets in space, they often struggled when looking at a planet’s surface. In comparison, S-78 satellites were designed to work with ground assets and targets, making them much better at that.

“Sir! The enemy forces are launching missiles! Around 14 of them. They are heading for our squadrons!”

A less experienced commander might panic at the news, but Commander Liam was unphased. He knew the enemies had anti-air emplacements. While he didn't recognize what the structures really were, missile launchers were one of his first guesses. This was hardly a surprise.

Plus, he was confident in the skills of his pilots. Like most of their counterparts in other nations, the Imperial Navy focused on quality over quantity, and one didn't become an Imperial Navy fighter or bomber pilot by being incompetent.

At the same time as the bridge officer saw the missiles coming, so did the pilots. Their radars clearly informed them of the threat they were under. These expert pilots quickly performed the evasive maneuvers they have done thousands of times in the past. A storm of flares shot out from the starfighters and starbombers. At the same time, these aircrafts pulled away from the flares at a sharp angle and reduced engine power. This maneuver was meant to distract the missiles. Since most missiles were locked onto the heat of an aircraft’s engines, they would mistake the flares as their target.

Moments later, at a speed of around 2 miles per second, 14 missiles fired from the terran missile turrets reached the Imperial starfighter and starbomber squadrons. They completely ignored all the flares and crashed directly into three Rattlesnake-class starfighters.

“What the hell…” The pilot of one of the three Rattlesnake-class starfighters barely had the chance to let out half a curse before his starfighter was blown into a thousand pieces. The shield generator built into his starfighter did its best, but six missiles were more than enough to break the shield by sheer brute force.

In this galaxy, the only enemies human beings had were each other. The targets of their missiles were often manmade aircrafts with engines. As a result, most missiles were still IR-guided missiles that could be easily confused by flares.

Terran missiles didn't rely on heat signatures from engines to track their targets. Often, terran missiles were fired at zerg or protoss fliers that didn't use the same engines as human aircraft, and IR-guided missiles could perform quietly poorly. As a result, these terran missiles ignored the flares and scored direct hits on their targets.

“Sir! The flares were ineffective. We lost Alpha-4, Alpha-7, and Beta-12.” One of the squadron leaders reported as he did his best to remain calm.

The communications officer quickly relayed the information to Commander Liam, and the man frowned before making a decision.

“Continue with your mission and push the attack. Destroy the enemy anti-air missile launchers.” The Force Commander’s voice was quiet as he gave the order. He knew the casualties that would follow, but so what? These pilots were some of the best-compensated groups in the entire sector, and their privilege came at a cost. They were valuable in the sense that he would never throw them away for free. Sacrificing them for victory, on the other hand...

The squadrons followed the orders and continued advancing toward the terran base. As they got closer, the Rattlesnakes started letting loose satellite-guided air-to-surface missiles at the terran missile turrets in retaliation.

At the same time, the terran missile turrets continued to return fire. The missile turrets had a firing rate of around 1 shot every ten seconds, and despite the best attempts by the Imperial pilots, they never missed. Much to the horror of the pilots, multiple turrets often locked onto and fired on a single target, overloading the shields and destroying the starfighters with a single volley.

As time went on, starfighters and missile turrets alike were destroyed. One of them took a lot of talent and resources to replace. The other cost 1,500 minerals and 30 minutes to build.

It didn't take long before the Rattlesnake-class starfighters exhausted their limited storage of air-to-surface missiles. After all, their primary role was to go against enemy aircrafts. Luckily for them, they have bought enough time for the two squadrons of Mamba-class starbombers to reach their position.

Bomb after bomb was dropped on the terran position, reducing the remaining missile turrets to pieces of burning wreckage. After the turrets were gone, the Mamba-class bombers turned their attention to the other defensive structures that have already been labeled to them on satellite images during the pre-battle briefings. The bunkers and trenches were the next targets.

As the terran position was set ablaze, many Imperial pilots cheered in the comms. This fight turned out to be a lot more dangerous than they anticipated, but ultimately, victory was theirs.

“Anti-air missiles…is that their trump card? Is that what gave them the confidence to challenge us?” In the command bridge, Force Commander Liam frowned. The capability of the missiles was somewhat surprising, but the enemies had to be insane if they thought a few advanced anti-air missiles could beat an entire Imperial Task Force.

“Sir, should we launch the marine units?”

“Yes.” The commander gave the officer a single nod. Like what he told his daughter, it was smarter to get the questions from enemy prisoners than to try to guess the answer himself.

Just as the officer was about to give the order, an officer at the communication station abruptly stood up. “Sir! We have additional missiles incoming! The other two battlegroups have reported being targeted by missiles!”

“What is the source?” Commander Liam froze. The anti-air emplacements at the terran base have all been destroyed, so where did these new missiles come from?

“A moment please, sir.” The officer pressed a few keys and made an inquiry. After around twenty seconds, he received an answer. “Sir, reports say that the missiles are coming from multiple different directions. It seems like there are more of these missile launchers located around the two battle groups. The shields on the frigates are still holding for now. Captain Park and Captain Olsen are requesting instructions.”

Commander Liam frowned and thought to himself in silence, but Sarah Liam didn't share her father’s patience.

“This is an ambush! How did our satellites not discover these launchers?”

“Calm down, Sarah.”

“We need to pull back our ships and regroup!”

“I said calm down!” Commander Liam suddenly snapped. “As a leader, it is your duty to keep a clear head no matter what happens! If you panic, then how can you expect the men under your leadership to maintain order?”

“I…I’m sorry, father.”

Commander Liam nodded gently before turning back to the bridge officers, all of whom were doing their absolute best to appear as though they didn't hear what just happened.

The commander knew a likely answer to Sarah’s question about how the satellites failed to detect these hidden missile launchers. The S-78 satellites performed reconnaissance tasks by taking photographs of a large area and then zooming in on specific points of interest. Once they knew where the target was, they could zoom in until they saw all they needed to see. At the same time, the satellites couldn’t locate a single person within a 10,000-mile radius. Not when they didn't even know where to look.

There were reconnaissance satellites that could take millions of images in an instant and quickly go through them to look for individuals or buildings, but the S-78s had neither the hardware nor the algorithm needed for such a task.

The missile launchers were much larger than a person, but individually they could be small enough to avoid being spotted. The fact that the enemy commander knew to use this trick to surprise him shows that they knew about the presence of the Imperial satellites in orbit and that they weren’t as unprepared as he had hoped.

So…now what? Send the frigates to destroy the missile turrets? Launch air-to-surface missiles from the cruisers and hit the turrets from a distance away?

“Sir.” An officer hesitantly raised his voice. “Captain Park and Captain Olsen are still awaiting orders, sir.” He knew the pair of captains were likely cursing inside. Attack or retreat, give the order!

Commander Liam didn't reply. He had done his homework about the commander of this unit. Whoever the person was, they were good at predicting the best response from their foe and using this response against them. General Pierre did what he thought was the best under the circumstances and paid the price for it.

What would be the most predictable thing for him to do now? The commander thought to himself quietly. “How many missiles are fired in each volley? Across the two battlegroups?”

“Around 30 in total, sir.”

30 missile launchers, likely scattered throughout a wide area. Their MML missiles would be overkill against individual targets. Railguns needed a direct line of sight and plenty of time to locate the launchers. The frigates wouldn't be the best answer, and their shields could fail before they destroy all the launchers. The best and quickest counter…would be to pull back the frigates and deploy the remaining starfighters and starbombers against these missile launchers. As the first wave of destroyed missile launchers proved, they were quite fragile against squadrons of starfighters and starbombers. If the fighters moved quickly enough, they might be able to minimize their losses.

A small smile climbed onto the veteran commander’s lips. So that was what the enemies wanted. If he was right about this, then his foe was even more daring than he had imagined.

“Deploy all remaining fighters and bombers to the source of the missiles.” He started giving out instructions to his bridge crew. “Instruct Captain Park and Captain Olsen to bring their frigates back to orbit to recharge their shields and repair all possible damages. Ready our interceptors, but do not launch them. Contact Captain Kincade and tell him to ready the reserve ships. They are to reinforce my position on my orders.”

The enemies wanted his flagship and cruisers to be vulnerable, and he would give them exactly what they wanted. Not only did he send out the rest of his starfighters and starbombers, he even instructed the frigates to retreat entirely instead of falling back and regrouping with his cruisers. Hopefully, this would cause the enemies to show whatever hand they had left.

Of course, by the time they showed their trump card, they would find that his forces were much more prepared than anticipated. By then, it would be too late.

Chapter 38: Ride of the Vikings

Commander Liam was indeed a perceptive man and a talented tactician, but he missed one thing. He never had any idea that Athena’s orbital command center has hacked into the three Imperial satellites in orbit, and these satellites have become the most effective eyes and ears of the terran forces. Granted, he had no reason to suspect this, but the fact was that his intentions were immediately caught on by Athena.

The first orbital command center in the valley had almost been destroyed, but the adjutant inside was still able to give Athena the necessary information.

“Commander, the enemy frigates are heading back to orbit instead of returning to their flagship. The satellites have also spotted a number of Imperial cruisers waiting in low orbit. They can reach the flagship in approximately three minutes.”

“So the Imperials have set a trap for me.” Athena realized. For a second she almost felt amused. She never considered herself smarter than all the seasoned military leaders out there and she wasn’t surprised someone saw through her plan. What did make her smile was that this was done the one time she was actively trying to lose in a convincing manner.

In that case, she would let the Imperial commander have their hard-earned victory.

Athena quickly examined the situation at the main terran base in the valley. She left most of the surviving terran units in that base, and they suffered heavy casualties from the air raid. Every single missile turret and bunker had been destroyed, along with most of the barracks, two of the factories, and one of the starports.

The remaining terran units there would make a last stand against the Imperial ground forces before inevitably going down. However, it was the vikings who would give the Imperials their biggest surprise.

Over the last two days, Athena had produced 24 vikings from her 3 starports and hid them throughout the region to avoid detection. Their job was to go straight toward the Imperial cruisers and shoot down as many of them as possible.

This suicide attack served three purposes. First, Athena wanted to test the vikings against Imperial capital ships and see how they would do. Second, she needed as much vespene gas as possible to replace her lost starports and vikings and to build more units. Third, she wanted the Imperials to believe they have truly won, and what was a better way to do so than a failed decapitation attack?

Under Athena’s command, the 24 vikings made their way out of their hiding spot and lifted into the air. Their thrusters quickly entered maximum output as the terran air superiority fighters approached the five Imperial cruisers as quickly as they possibly could.

“Sir! We have hostile aircrafts approaching fast!”

As Athena expected, the vikings were quickly discovered by the radars on the Imperial cruisers. When he heard the news, Commander Liam simply grinned. Everything was going exactly as planned.

“Should we launch our interceptors, sir?”

“No. Let them get closer.” Commander Liam shook his head. “We can’t allow them a chance to escape. Let them approach us.”

“Wouldn’t that give them a chance to hit our cruisers?” Sarah asked.

“It will take a lot more than a handful of volleys from two squadrons of fighters or bombers to break the shields of a light cruiser, much less severely damage the cruiser’s hulls.” Commander Liam explained to his daughter. “Even if our ship does take some damage, some emergency repair is a small price to pay compared to letting these fighters escape. They underestimated us and thought we are vulnerable just because we don’t have our fighters and escorts. We will make them pay a price for it.”

Due to the commander’s orders, the vikings were allowed to get closer and closer until the first Imperial Calypso-class light cruiser was within the firing range of the MT50 lanzer torpedoes. Athena had zero idea why the Imperials didn't fire on the vikings when they could. Maybe they somehow failed to see them coming? Either way, that didn't stop her from giving the viking pilots permission to open fire.

The lanzer torpedoes of vikings were stored in the pair of missile pods above the cockpit and the wings. As soon as the order to engage was given, four torpedoes shot out of the missile pods of each viking and toward the closest Calypso light cruiser.

Before the crew of the first Calypso knew what was happening, the ship was bombarded by 96 torpedoes. Most of the torpedoes hit and exploded on a thin layer of blue energy shield. The shield generators on larger ships were much stronger than those on starfighters and starbombers. Even so, the shield had been shattered before the volley was over, and at least a dozen torpedoes exploded against the armored plating of the light cruiser.

The light cruiser survived the first volley, but it didn't emerge unscathed. The viking torpedoes were designed with armor piercing in mind, something that the crew member on the light cruiser quickly experienced themselves. Meters of plating were shredded by the blast, exposing entire hallways and quarters to the outside world. One of the light cruiser’s two medium railgun turrets was torn to pieces, along with two multi-purpose missile launchers and two point defense turrets. If someone looked closely, they could see a few crew members unlucky enough to be in the compromised areas falling out of the breach.

The fate of the unfortunate light cruiser was quickly noticed by every other Imperial ship in the area, and it shook them to their core.

“Sir! SL195-E-7’s shields are down! The hull is completely breached in several areas! They are requesting immediate assistance!”

“Scramble all interceptors! All weapons open fire on these fighters! Instruct SL195-E-7 to get out of there!”

Whatever satisfaction Commander Liam had when he first saw the vikings approach was gone the moment he watched the light cruiser’s shield fail on one of the external cameras. How could he have been so stupid? He should’ve known the enemies deployed these starfighters against several cruisers for a reason! 24 fighters crippling a light cruiser in one volley…perhaps this was an accomplishment only possible for the most advanced starfighters in the galaxy. Again, where the hell did these fighters come from?

On one hand, he now understood why this unit tried to challenge the Imperials without air support. Everything made sense now. They had air support, and strong ones. If he wasn’t being extra cautious and only sent one or two light cruisers here, the results would be disastrous.

On the other hand, this revelation turned out to be extremely costly for him.

Krait-class interceptors were shot out of the hangars on the four intact Imperial ships, three light cruisers and one heavy cruiser, in quick succession. These interceptors were light and versatile spacecrafts armed with rapid-firing twin railguns. They were designed as a rapid response unit to assist point defense turrets, railgun turrets, and anti-fighter missiles against enemy fighters and bombers. They have proven their effectiveness many times against Republic squadrons.

As the interceptors were rapidly deployed, the Siren-class heavy cruiser and Calypso-class light cruisers moved into firing position. Scanners locked onto the vikings and passed their targeting information to the array of armaments on the warship.

As a thousand and one weapons locked onto them, the viking pilots were hardly intimidated. With cold, expression looks on their faces, they locked onto the crippled Calypso light cruiser and unleashed another volley of torpedoes.

Once again, 96 torpedoes shot through the air and hit SL195-E-7.

This time, there were no shields to tank most of the explosions, and most of the armor in the front of the light cruiser had been stripped away already. Most of the torpedoes entered the light cruiser through the breaches made by the first volley and exploded inside the 417-meter-long warship.

Unfortunately for the ship’s captain, the command bridge was located in the core of the light cruiser. On one hand, this meant the bridge wouldn’t be compromised by moderate damage from one side. On the other hand, this meant while components such as the engine room and the hangar that were located in the rear or upper side of the cruiser survived the second volley, the command bridge didn't.

It was unclear what the ship’s captain’s last thoughts were. Maybe he had embraced his death. Maybe he was wetting himself as he desperately tried to maneuver his crippled vessel to move the still intact armored platings to face the hostile fighters. Maybe he was cursing the stupidity of his commander whose orders to not shoot the enemies out of the air at the first possible moment would cost him and his crew their lives.

None of that mattered as the captain and his entire bridge crew were blown into a thousand pieces along with the command bridge.

Even as the explosion tore through countless walls and rooms, most of the ship was still intact. It was incredibly difficult to completely tear open a vessel this size. However, the extensive damage was enough to damage a number of thrusters that had been keeping the light cruiser in the air.

In other words, the light cruiser was crashing.

The second volley from the vikings and the destruction of SL195-E-7 happened in no more than a few seconds. As the light cruiser crashed toward the ground, the vikings tried to seek a new target and fire a third volley, but the Imperials didn't give them the chance.

The various heavy, medium, and light railgun turrets were the first to open fire. Solid projectiles were accelerated to an insane velocity with electromagnetic fields before being shot out of the gun barrels. These projectiles didn't contain the explosives like missiles would, and they didn't need to. Their kinetic energy alone, a result of their high speed, was destructive enough.

At this range, it was impossible for the railguns to miss. Within a few seconds, six vikings exploded in the air, their structure punched clean through by the railgun projectiles.

The other vikings quickly started taking evasive maneuvers, but the railguns weren’t the only threat. Swarms of interceptors traced the vikings and opened fire. Anti-fighter missiles locked onto the fighters and followed them at a speed impossible to lose.

At this point, Athena knew the vikings wouldn’t achieve much else, but she still kept an eye on them. Her experience in the Imperial Army didn't really help her learn too much about what the armaments of the Navy were capable of, and now was an opportunity for her to see their weapons in action.

Vikings could survive a few light railgun shots, but the medium and heavy ones could easily kill on contact. At the same time, medium and heavy railguns were likely designed to be used against enemy warships. While their effect was often fatal, their firing rate was much slower than the light railguns. Athena suspected they were also a lot more expensive to fire.

On the other hand, the interceptors were an interesting case to observe. They were the primary example of being extremely good in one area and sacrificing everything else. They were very fast and maneuverable, but their speed came at the cost of their defensive and part of their offensive abilities. They had no shield and almost no armor, and their weapon was limited to their twin railguns. Vikings could almost always secure an easy kill against them, but interceptors often fought in groups, and sustained fire from them could quickly decimate a viking.

All in all, Athena wasn’t too surprised her vikings weren’t doing well once the Imperials started shooting. Honestly, when she sent them in, she only expected the vikings to be able to damage a light cruiser, not bring it down completely.

Ultimately, vikings were just a single component in the terran air arsenal. Their job was to take out armored ships, and as the fate of the light cruiser had shown, they were damn good at it. Other roles were filled by other terran air units. Wraiths for covert missions and to take out enemy fighters. Banshees to quietly remove ground threats. Liberators to destroy armored enemy ground targets, mostly heavy vehicles or fortifications. Both liberators and valkyries were good at taking out large numbers of enemy fighters. Ravens offered tactical support. Medivacs and hercules handled transport. Battlecruisers were the capital ships with tough armor and impressive firepower.

On the other hand, the Imperial Navy didn't reach its infamy and power by being incompetent. The Imperium devoted countless resources and manpower every single year to maintain and grow the Imperial Navy. They might have their own flaws, but they were anything but an easy foe to beat.

As the last of the vikings was brought low by a missile, Athena stood up from her seat in her office and stretched her arms. It would only be a matter of time before the victorious Imperial fleet deploy their marines and assault what was left of the terran base in the valley. Their victory was certain, but the remaining terran units there, including plenty of widow mines, would make it a costly one. More importantly, they wouldn’t be able to take any prisoners or learn any useful information from the remaining structures, so whatever hope they had of finding the origin or purpose of the terran troops would be lost. The only thing they would achieve was killing the remaining terran units.

Despite the seeming defeat, Athena's objectives were completed. Her vespene gas count has been rapidly jumping for the last minute or so as countless Imperials died in the crash of the light cruiser. She had gotten some first-hand experience with what the Imperial Navy vessels were capable of.

Most importantly of all, as far as the Imperials could see, they have won.