Black Legion: 05 - Sea of Fire (28 page)

How have they been stable for this long?
Glaucon wondered with much amusement.

The Emperor was always the top of the system, the supreme leader and nothing short of a mortal god. Beneath him were his trusted advisors, each of which would be promoted or executed on a whim. This continual rivalry pushed the ambitious up high, and often left the most suitable to rot and die. Then came the Satraps, kings in their own right, and the supreme leaders of their Satrapies. They could be replaced by the God King and were the true power of the Empire. Glaucon smiled at Roxana as the pieces began to drop firmly into place.

“Artaxerxes is a strong opponent. We saw how he maintained order amongst his own forces. Clearchus saw him as a necessary evil, and Lord Cyrus himself placed a lot of weight behind him. But if Artaxerxes has just sent this one agent and such a vast treasury, he must have other problems.”

“The Satraps?” Roxana offered.

“Exactly.”

Glaucon steadied himself and could already feel his body was returning to normal, even if the aches and pains of the crash landing had left him feeling jaded and more than a little numbed.

“If he wants to remain in power, he will have to focus the energy of the Satraps. A weak leader could allow them to work together, and they would have him exiled in a day. He needs to keep them busy by either fighting his enemies, or each other.”

Roxana gave him a shoulder to assist, and they moved from the craft and inside the ship. Glaucon could smell sweat and oil, but the crew were moving about fast, and the ship seemed to be in good shape. He looked at her.

“Ariaeus has one chance for victory. He’s been cast out, and this is his opportunity for redemption. He failed before, just like Tissaphernes did. I suspect that sack of dung is already on his way home or dead. If Ariaeus fails, he will join him on the short route to ignominy.”

“Exactly,” said Roxana, “Either way, Artaxerxes wins. He will rid himself of Ariaeus or us, or perhaps both, while keeping his Satraps busy. They can’t rebel or cause trouble when they are too busy watching their own backs as we sail through, can they?”

Plans within plans ran through Glaucon’s mind, but each of them required local contacts, friends, allies, and supplies. No matter what he tried, it always came back to them being in a weak position.

We need an edge, something to give us the advantage.

Roxana grunted as Glaucon stumbled, and she was forced to take most of his weight as he steadied himself. Roxana continued to speak.

“Ariaeus has to show the Emperor something, a result that will win him favor and support at the Royal Court. His only other choice is exile or death.”

“Or to join us?”

They passed a Terran crewman who was busy installing a new power core into a secondary shield unit. More crew carried equipment, and the corridor quickly became cramped and hot. They pushed their way through and out into the next part of the corridor. Roxana grabbed his arm and pulled him onward.

“He won’t join us, not while he thinks there is a chance to beat us. And even if he did, would any of us trust him after what we’ve seen so far?”

Glaucon shook his head.

“Hell no, not while we’re strung out like this. We negotiate from strength. Anything less leaves us vulnerable.”

They moved on a short distance and then rounded a corner where half a dozen warriors waited. Komes Artemis was there and nodded politely at Roxana before entering the poorly lit room. They followed and found the senior officers poring over screens of data. Glaucon, however, was stunned at the view offered by the advanced VOB system. He could see the facility they had recently vacated, but also the shape of the Laconian Titan blasting away at innumerable enemy ships.

“Incredible. Where is the fleet? Who is in charge?”

One of the men turned around to face him.

“Xenophon.”

The two grabbed onto each other in a firm embrace that lasted several seconds. Finally, the two friends separated, and Xenophon pointed to the space battle.

“As you can see, we are rather busy in this fight.”

“What of the fleet? Where at the other Titans?”

Xenophon sighed.

“It’s part of a plan, one I hope will save all of our necks.”

Glaucon’s smile vanished as quickly as it had arrived. He looked back to the VOB system and did a quick count. As far as he could tell, the bulk of the Terran fleet was now gone, and less than ten ships remained against an enemy force that outnumbered them at least ten to one.

“Really? And that meant sending away over half of the fleet? Maybe we should have a look at this plan, you know, just in case?”

Glaucon rubbed his forehead and temples, gladdened by the fact that the pain was already subsiding. He looked at the Kentarchos who was busily giving out orders in the middle of their trip. Even though they were out of the fight, the alert alarm continued to run, though at a greatly reduced volume.

“Stand ready, we will arrive in less than ten minutes.”

Xenophon pointed to the starmap. There were two quadrants, with the vast Sea of Fire separating them. Shapes marked out the fleets and groups of ships from the many different factions.

“I have sent the fleet to this point, in the Sea of Fire.”

Glaucon looked at the imagery and shook his head. His expression was a mixture of shear horror and astonishment. The Sea of Fire was little known outside of the Empire, other than for its mythical treacherous trade routes and devastating storms.

“You sent the fleet to a point where shielding and communications will be non-existent? How will we even navigate our way out?”

“I have also given orders for the Strategos to follow while venting. Ariaeus will know where we are.”

Xenophon pointed at a series of waypoints.

“I have intelligence on this area. Tirbazus has positioned the bulk of his fleet to watch the border of the Sea of Fire. While the fleet assembles here, I have an entirely different destination for us and the Strategos.”

Glaucon couldn’t even speak. He just looked at the starmap and the positions of the forces. On one side, on the Carduchian border was the rearguard of the Terran fleet, right where they were now. Ariaeus and his ships were right beside them, along with the horde of local warships and mercenaries. It was a thuggish band of warriors, yet their numbers were substantial. Across the border sat Tirbazus and his entire Royal fleet, with a smattering of mercenaries mixed in with them. He turned his eyes back to the border area, a no-man’s land between two Satrapies with a mutual hatred of each other.

“Wait, you’re sending us on a skipping route, three small jumps so that we arrive right next to Tirbazus?”

Xenophon nodded.

“Yes. We will arrive with a single Titan and a handful of ships directly in front of the entire Hayastani navy. Once inside the Sea of Fire, our communications, scanners, and shields will be gone. Ariaeus will either have to give up the chase or follow us closely to avoid being destroyed in the storms.”

Glaucon shook his head.

“He will have guides. He could just as easily find another route on his own.”

Xenophon nodded in agreement.

“Exactly. But will he risk losing us? He will be unable to contact Tirbazus or even his forces in Carduchia. So he will have to make a decision. Pursue or abandon.”

That was when the thin smile began to form on Glaucon’s face.

“Xenophon, you’re one plucky bastard.”

He said the words quietly, but it was enough for Roxana to begin laughing. Xenophon was the only one that remained with a serious expression on his face. He looked at the VOB system and the shapes of the stars flashing past. Kentarchos Cadmus called out to his crew.

“Cut FTL unit, prepare for the next waypoint.”

Everything around them slowed, and then they were in the Sea of Fire. Each of them looked outside at the vast fiery inferno, and not even the smile on Glaucon’s face remained. Xenophon looked back to his friend.

“Let’s just hope my information was accurate.”

The Valediction arrived along with her escort, and she was still venting just as Xenophon had requested. The engines on the light cruiser were already spooling up for yet another jump when the shape of the first enemy ships began to arrive. The initial few dozen were heavy Carduchian fighters, but right behind them were the vast hulls of the Bactrian vessels. Glaucon looked at Xenophon with a raised eyebrow.

“Good luck!”

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Light Cruiser ‘Antaeus’, Bijar Prime, Sea of Fire

There were no gunshots or sounds of battle; instead the journey through the border region had turned into something of a race. The Terrans were ahead, but the shapes of the Bactrian warships and their allies were not far behind. The Terrans had managed to escape from the final waypoint just twenty seconds before their pursuers had jumped in. The timing was so close there was little chance for long-term planning, and the enemy vessels were forced to make quick calculations to continue the pursuit.

“Arrival in sixty seconds. Do you think the Strategos took the alternate route?” Kentarchos Cadmus asked.

His voice was calm, almost too relaxed as he watched the ragtag group of ships move to the perimeter of the Sea of Fire. The rest of the ships looked tiny even though they were traveling in a tight group. A thin line had been running behind the Titan Valediction and marked where the great vessel had been venting. It was nothing major, but easily more than was required to leave a trail to track throughout the deadly wilderness of the Sea of Fire. Now the great ship was gone, and in the Sea of Fire there was no way of contacting them.

“I hope so. There are only three routes at this point on the border. If he takes any other course, the Titan will be gone. If he listened, he’ll be back with the fleet and the first stage of the trap.”

Xenophon looked back at the starmap and tried to hide the nerves now almost choking him. The fleet was spread out, and with no way to communicate there were simply too many things that could go wrong.

Stay calm, and continue with the plan.

The plan was something he’d had little time to create, yet with input from Glaucon and Roxana it had been turned into something relatively simple. The simplicity was not the thing bothering him right now. It was the plan’s reliance upon a number of variables that were outside of his control. Dukas Xenias was reliable, and Xenophon was certain he would ensure the primary fleet would be ready for battle. The disposition for the minefield was just as simple, but it would take several minutes for the escorts to plant proximity charges in the preset locations. That shouldn’t present a problem, and provided the Dukas had time, there should no reason for it to fail.

Assuming he didn’t arrive to find local ships already there.

Xenophon hadn’t given that much thought, but now, as he considered it, the threat become very real. With three quarters of the ships stranded in the Sea of Fire, their only chance would be in preparation. Images of the Terran fleets appearing in the middle of the Sea of Fire haunted him. Visions of Terran cruisers surrounded by Carduchian warships made him shiver.

Don’t waste timing thinking on it, you fool. There is no sense in worrying about that which you cannot change.

They were the words of Kratez, and though he knew they were good, wise words, they did little to take the edge off his nerves. Xenophon was on the command deck, along with Glaucon, Roxana, and Tamara. The little group watched patiently as Kentarchos Cadmus prepared the crew for their final destination. After making the last few decisions, he looked back to Xenophon and then to Roxana.

“We are coming out of the Sea of Fire. I hope you’re both right.”

He looked back to his crew.

“For all our sake.”

“Me, too,” said Roxana.

The shapes and lights flashed and changed as the slowing ships passed through the final part of the border region. It took just seconds for the deceleration, and then they were out of the distortions and in open space. A low drone announced the final dropping of their speed, and it was as though they were completely static in space.

“Battle stations! Get my shields up and the gun ports!”

There was no sign of Valediction. She had already vanished and only the light cruisers, plus a few of the other escorts were with them. It was a small force, nothing more than vanguard. Gentle tones came from the consoles of the tactical officer and indicated that the external ports were open. In ancient battles this is where guns would have been pulled out to fire, now they merely created an opening through which to fire the heavy plasma cannons.

“Scan and tag. Was our information from the Carduchian correct?”

One by one the scanners tracked, identified, and then flagged the myriad of ships in front of them. Kentarchos Cadmus nearly chocked as he tried to assess what lay before them. He’d seen so many battles now that his mind was beginning to become numb at the sight of fleet after fleet. The Legion still contained the bulk of the Ten Thousand that had left for the battle at Cunaxa, but their ships were now much the worse for wear. With one Titan gone, and more than two dozen capital ships lost or abandoned, they were quickly shrinking in size.