Shadow of the Blue Ring (33 page)

It could have been worse, at least the rest of the commanding officers were at least willing to listen to him. It would have been a huge mistake on their part to ignore what he had to say. James returned to his chair and sat in thought for a moment. They had a large and powerful fleet at their command but the enemy ship would still cause them massive casualties as soon as it was in range. They needed a plan, a solid plan that would allow them to take this monster down with minimum fuss and minimal casualties. He did have one plan though, something that had occurred to him from his earlier reading. It would be a long shot though.

“Mr Ivanov…” he began, “. . . did you ever read Karlov and Romanov’s edition of The Military History of the Freedom Alliance?”

“Yes sir,” Ivanov replied, “I studied the early history of the alliance as part of my academy research. I won a commendation for my work on the first battles of the Tolian alliance and… have you been reading my academy work?”

“Never mind that for now,” James quickly changed the subject, “chapter six, part two, the Maelstrom-Helix formation, you know it right?”

“Yes, it was the formation admiral Zalikev of the Tolian fleet used to defeat the Vulian forces in the first war two hundred years ago, a combination of trapping tactics and quick hit-and-run strikes if I remember correctly.”

“Hey I’ve heard of this one before,” Julio piped up in the background, “I read about it a year or two ago when I was doing my own research proposal at Lorridan academy. The maelstrom-helix is supposed to be an absolute death-trap for both sides. When it’s pulled off successfully it’s almost unbeatable but if you get it even slightly wrong, it can backfire on you horribly. Only one admiral ever pulled it off successfully and that was admiral Zalikev. Using it here would be insane… but pretty cool at the same time.”

“It was specifically designed for this type of encounter though,” said James, “the formation was designed to trap a heavily outnumbered enemy and finish them off using hard-to-counter tactics. There is only one Al’cari vessel inbound, if we trap it with this formation, it gives us a real chance of taking it down and reducing casualties in the process.”

“It’s very risky,” said Ansare, “most of the captains in this fleet will never have attempted a move like this before, I doubt many of them will even have heard of this formation before today. What makes you think we can organise it in under half an hour?”

“I have a plan for that too,” said James, “Iyacs, upload the Alliance in Chaos simulation game to Mr Ivanov’s tactical console and create a virtual battlefield using our current fleet versus one Al’cari battlecruiser. Upload the formation, maelstrom-helix and deploy the forces accordingly.”

“I will attempt to do so now,” said Iyacs, “give me a couple of seconds and I will provide the readout for you.”

James, Ivanov, Kalmar, Ansare and Julio all gathered around the tactical console as Iyacs provided the readout that James had requested. He had to admit, it looked good, it was just a case of whether or not they could pull it off in the short time that they had before the Al’cari arrived.

“It looks risky,” said Kalmar, “using an untried tactic against an enemy like this could have pretty dire consequences if it goes wrong. Do you think we can get the fleet into position in time?”

“It has to be worth a shot,” said James, “if we go head to head with this thing it will inflict heavy losses on our fleet. If we at least try to adapt these tactics, we are still placing the vast majority of our fleet right at the edge of it’s weapons range. Even if we don’t get it totally right, it still reduces the number of casualties we take as a whole.”

“I suppose that is one way to look at it,” said Ansare, “and I guess that if we can organise the fleet into the correct positions in time then we could at least trap the Al’cari ship and keep it surrounded and under continuous fire.”

“It’s the best plan we have,” said James, turning back to the view-screen, “Marek, are you hearing all of this?”

“Loud and clear, captain Tavarez,” Juarez replied, “the maelstrom-helix, huh? Thats a bold tactic but after seeing you in the revolution it doesn’t surprise me one bit. Would you allow myself and my combat analysts to look over the data?”

“I’ll have Iyacs send the plans over to you now,” said James, “tell me what you think.”

Juarez and his team, as well as the other admirals who were also on the same channel, took a minute or two to look over the plans. Ideally they would have needed a much longer period of time to go over the formation and set up a battle plan to incorporate them but as it was, they had very little time to prepare for the incoming Al’cari ship.

“It’s a risky tactic but I think we can pull this off if we get it right,” said Juarez, “your AI really seems to know what its doing. Most of the pilots in the fleet will not have seen this kind of strategy before though so we have no idea how they will be able to handle it.”

“I have studied this formation, general, I think I can make it work,” James said confidently, “I know it wont be easy but I know I can do this.”

“Then I’ll leave it up to you,” said Juarez, “James, take control of the fleet and do whatever it is that you have to do.”

“Hang on just a minute…” the Voronian admiral Raviano butted in, “. . . you are not seriously going to allow captain Tavarez to assume command of the fleet and lead this attack himself using untested strategies and a very risky battle plan, are you?”

“Admiral, if you have a better idea, now is the time to put it on the table,” Juarez contested, “Tavarez has a plan, its the best one we have by a long shot and after seeing him in action first hand in the past, I have confidence in his abilities.”

“I too have my doubts about this course of action,” the Vulian executor Kyrakian added his thoughts to the discussion, “a concentrated bombardment using the full power of our battlecruisers can overwhelm the shields on this ship and bring it down far more quickly. Yes, there would be losses but not as many as we would suffer if this plan goes awry.”

“I can do this,” James said, maintaining his air of confidence in front of the alliance and Vulian leaders, “Iyacs knows what it is doing and so do I. I promise you, I can pull this off.”

“I concur,” the Churian admiral, Valentina, added, “general Ravenn has told me great things about young captain Tavarez’s skill in battle as well as his abilities to lead. I vote in favour of his plan and to award him command of the fleet in this battle.”

“I second this,” said Juarez, “if anyone can pull this off, I know captain Tavarez can.”

“As an admiral of the freedom alliance, I also give my vote of support for captain Tavarez to assume control of the fleet,” said Ansare.

“As do I!” Came the call of support from a rejuvenated Kasha Saavoy, back on the bridge for the first time since before they had left for the surface of Sharstrom. “What? You didn’t think I was going miss out on this did you?” He asked, everyone’s attention drawn to his sudden reappearance and his new cheery nature, “anyway, I’m an admiral too so I guess I get a vote in this and I say give James command of the fleet and let him work his magic.”

“I don’t suppose we have much of a choice then,” Raviano sighed, “captain Tavarez, know that if this plan falls through and people die because of it, every one of those lives will be on your hands.”

“I understand, admiral,” said James, “I know what is at risk here but I would not be asking this of you if I didn’t think I could handle it.”

This had all gone a lot better than he had expected. Best case scenario would have been to turn the fleet around and get them back to Tolis and out of harms way but this was the next best thing. With Kalmar’s experience of fighting the Al’cari and the expertise of Iyacs, James had everything he needed to co-ordinate the attack. With the intel passed on to Juarez and the other admirals, the fleet began to move into position, forming up into this unusual and little-known battle formation.

“Guys, I’m confused…” Kosare began, “. . . how exactly does this formation work and why does everyone keep saying its an absolute death-trap?”

“It’s a trapping technique,” said Saavoy, “it’s one I’ve always wanted to see used in action because when it’s used correctly, it can be near unbeatable in a situation where you hold the greater numbers in a conflict. The battlecruisers will create a perimeter around the Al’cari ship, moving in a continuous circle in and out of range of it’s weapons, trapping it in one place, just like a maelstrom. As they do, the smaller flyers and frigates will launch a series of hit and run strikes across the Al’cari vessel, retreating out of range should they be damaged and allowing more to take their place as they do. It’s incredibly effective in use but it’s also incredibly difficult to successfully pull off.”

“Iyacs has organised each fleet into it’s own role in the conflict,” said James, drawing their attention to the tactical console once more, “we’ll place the Suran, Voronian, Churian and Tolian warships to form the main portion of the maelstrom part of the formation. These ships will move in and out of range of the Al’cari ship a few at a time, striking quickly then retreating back out of range. The Juyoans, Naisans, Comerans and the Andurians will form the outer section of the maelstrom, moving in to replace any ship that becomes damaged and has to pull out of the formation. Outside of this, we’ll place the Vulian fleet behind the Al’cari ship, cutting off it’s escape. They will move in from the rear to complete the trap around the Al’cari vessel and push it into the maelstrom. Once it becomes trapped, we will divide the smaller and faster vessels into several groups and they will then launch a series of quick hit and run strikes from all angles of the battlefield, catching the Al’cari in their blind spots and moving into positions out of their weapons range.”

“Its really not that complicated if you ask me,” said Saavoy, “as long as we time the hit-and-run strikes effectively and we keep the ships in formation, we really have nothing to worry about.”

It wasn’t going to be easy by any stretch of the imagination though. They were not fighting any enemy that any of these people had ever seen the likes of before. James had experience of commanding ships in battle but this was no revolutionary fleet made up of fleeing rebels, outcasts and defectors, this was the combined force of many of the best that the alliance had to offer, each one of them trained for battle and each one of their ships battle-ready and upgraded with the most advanced Jaiytid technology discovered over the past few years. It was a different proposition altogether to what he was used to. He believed in himself though, he knew he could do it and so did everyone else around him.

The Al’cari ship was moments away. The fleet was in position and were awaiting his orders, the admirals in charge of the fleet had handed control over to him and he was ready to engage the Al’cari ship as soon as it appeared. James ordered the Evening Star to the head of the fleet, ready to carry out his part in all of this… the bait.

“You know they’ll come straight for us as soon as they drop out of warp,” Ivanov warned him, “they know we caused them problems before and they know that we have part of the Shadow Bringer. They will be out to settle the score with us.”

“I’m counting on it,” James said as he sat in his chair, staring out into the space before them, waiting for the enemy to reveal itself, “it isn’t just the Al’cari who have a score to settle here, they killed plenty of our people before we entered their space and there are plenty of people in the fleet who will be looking to get even.”

The empty space in front of them was lit up by a flash of light. The Al’cari ship dropped out of warp in front of them, moving fast in the direction of the alliance fleet and the Evening Star. The front section of the ship was showing damage to it’s front starboard section, right where the Evening Star had hit it on their last encounter. It was the same ship as from Sharstrom, likely still hunting them to recover the Shadow Bringer from them. James wasn’t going to let that happen though, this time they had the upper hand.

“Weapons range in thirty seconds,” Ivanov informed him. “Hold steady,” said James, “as soon as it’s in range, open fire and take evasive maneuvers. Once we’re on the move, signal the Vulian fleet to spring the trap and prepare to form the maelstrom formation around the Al’cari vessel.”

Any second now… the Al’cari vessel closed in, it’s weapons powered up and ready to strike as soon as it was in range. It was time to see what the new alliance fleet was made of. It was time to see just what Iyacs was capable of…

Chapter
Fourteen

Th
e
Ambush

“NOW!”

Daniels swung the Evening Star out of the way of a wave of Al’cari fire and maneuvered them into an attack position.

“Lets do it just like we did on Sharstrom. Fire the shock cannons!”

Taking aim against the damaged forward portion of the Al’cari ship, the Evening Star’s mighty shock cannons opened fire once more, striking in the same concentrated pattern, right where the shields were vulnerable. A second wave of fire from the Al’cari ship came at them, Daniels dodging out of the way once more but not before one of them made contact with the starboard side of the ship.

“Shields are holding,” Ivanov quickly informed him, the Evening Star’s defensive capabilities now back up to a hundred percent after the previous battles.

“Easy does it,” said James, “circle around the Al’cari ship then make for the centre of the formation, lets see if we can’t get them to follow us.”

Just as James had ordered, Daniels sent them speeding past the Al’cari ship and looping around behind them, striking the rear of the ship with several torpedoes as the went. As planned, the Al’cari ship began to follow behind them, not wanting to let James and his crew make a fool of them. Daniels had to dodge another wave of fire from the Al’cari but it was becoming routine for him now and he sped away towards the centre of the maelstrom that the alliance fleet had set up. Predictably, the Al’cari followed with the Vulian fleet moving into position to spring the trap, just as planned, the rest of the alliance fleets in position to circle the enemy and complete the trap.

“The enemy vessel is in position,” Juarez informed the Evening Star’s crew, “we’re ready to begin the first phase of the attack.”

“all right, prepare the attack frigates for their strikes on the Al’cari ship,” James ordered, “we want no more than two groups in the kill zone at any one time and have each group retreat the moment they complete their hit. We need all ships out of range before the Al’cari have a chance to take them out and we need any damaged ships to break off and take cover among the circling cruisers.”

“Sending in the first group now. Keep drawing the Al’cari’s fire.”

Continuing to evade the Al’cari ship, the Evening Star made a sharp turn, prompting the Al’cari to follow them and turning them away from the approaching group of Voronian and Naisan attack frigates. The two groups opened fire on the Al’cari, hitting their shields with everything they could muster. While small and agile, they lacked the punch of the Evening Star and their weapons were not making any kind of an impact.

“Minimal damage to the enemy vessel,” said Ivanov, “they’re not even taking any notice of the other ships.”

“As long as we keep them focused on us, the others can attack safely make hit-and-run strikes,” said James, “prepare groups three and four for their attacking runs.”

This time it was a fleet of Churian disruptors, fast and very agile ships with considerable firepower for their size, that made their move.

“It’s not having any effect,” Kalmar observed as the Al’cari shields shrugged of the firepower of the Churian attack ships, “these ships just don’t have the same power as our shock cannons, they aren’t nearly effective enough.”

“We’ll keep at it, we’ll wear them down soon enough. Groups five and six, make your runs.”

The Suran and Andurian attack frigates made their moves now, closing in on the Al’cari ship from behind and letting loose their guns into it’s shields. The concentrated pattern of fire was striking the same position on the ship that each of the other groups had hit but the effect was just not making the required impact. Without warning, the Al’cari ship turned it’s attention and opened fire from it’s starboard side, directly at the attacking group of Andurian frigates that were now making a hurried exit from the killing ground. One of them took a hit but it’s shields just about withstood the hit, breaking off and heading back to the rest of the Andurian fleet for shelter.

“Groups one and two, repeat your attacks,” James ordered, “well, it looks like the rest of the fleet has got their attention.”

Just as planned, the Al’cari ship was now right at the centre of the maelstrom, groups of agile attack frigates on all sides, making hit-and-run attacks, expertly co-ordinated by Iyacs who was running the entire battle plan from Ivanov’s console. The Evening Star was now no longer their prime concern and Daniels was able to move them out of firing range and into the clear.

“We’ve got them right where we want them,” said Ansare, “should we move the battlecruisers into a position to engage?”

“No, not yet, it’s shields are still up,” said James, “we need a clear shot at the ship itself, we need to keep wearing it’s shields down. Daniels, move us into position to attack. Ivanov, get a lock and prepare the shock cannons and both forward torpedo launchers. Lets give the fleet a helping hand.”

The nimble alliance frigates were continuing to do a good job of keeping the Al’cari ship occupied. A few of them had taken hits but each time they did, they retreated out of the central zone and returned to the fleet for cover. Joining the attack, the Evening Star’s shock cannons fired once more, striking the Al’cari ship right on the vulnerable spot. The shields did not break though. They had been weakened but they were not going to be penetrated so easily this time. Two more Naisan frigates had taken hits and been forced to make a break for cover among the rest of the fleet. The number of ships on the hit and run strikes was thinning out and the Al’cari ship was making space for itself in the centre of the maelstrom.

“We need more firepower,” James finally agreed, the frigates struggling to cause any kind of major damage to the Al’cari shields, “as the next group makes it’s passing strike, move the Juyoan destroyer into position and tell it to open fire. That should soften them up a bit.”

Right on cue, the large silver Juyoan battlecruiser, the most powerful ship in the fleet, moved it’s massive array of broadside guns into range and opened fire while the Al’cari were distracted by a group of Voronian frigates. With the Evening Star on one side and the Juyoans on the other, the enemy were now caught in a deadly cross-fire and the force of the attack was finally weakening the Al’cari shields. The Al’cari responded by turning in the direction of the Juyoans to counter attack but as they did, two Suran dreadnoughts moved into range from the opposite side of the maelstrom and opened fire from behind the Al’cari. No matter which direction the Al’cari ship turned, it was always exposing itself to an attack from every angle. Against everyone’s expectations, the formation was working perfectly. Iyacs had not let them down with it’s expert planning of the attack.

“Their shields are down to thirteen percent,” admiral Valentina informed them over the open comm system, “captain Tavarez, are you ready to close the trap?”

“Yes sir, we’ll move the fleet in now,” said James, “Iyacs, activate the second phase of the attack.”

“Relaying information to the fleet now,” said Iyacs, “be warned though, tightening the formation will bring many more ships into the Al’cari’s firing range and increases the risk of casualties.”

“I’ll handle it,” said James, “we just need the extra firepower to break through their defences now that we’ve worn them down a bit. Can we move into a position to join the attack.”

“Not yet sir,” said Ivanov, “shock cannon power is down to thirty percent, we need to give them time to recharge. We’ll have to move with the rest of the battlecruisers and stick to our conventional weapons for now.”

“Very well, fall in with the inner circle of the maelstrom formation, prepare to engage with the rest of the fleet as soon as the Al’cari ship’s shields are down.”

The last of the undamaged Churian, Naisan and Voronian attack frigates continued to make their runs against the Al’cari ship, hitting it with their full forward firepower and then retreating out of range. Just as two more had taken damage and had to run for cover to, a torpedo from a Naisan flyer his a weak point in their shields and it impacted into the armoured surface of the Al’cari ship in a ball of fire.

“Their shields are failing!” Raviano said over the open comm to the entire fleet, “I don’t believe it, Tavarez’s plan worked after all. All ships, prepare to fire on the enemy vessel.”

One by one, each ship brought it’s weapons to bear on the Al’cari ship. The Churian star-forts and the Tolian battlecruisers were the first to move in, their shields shrugging off the first hits the Al’cari landed on them, returning the full force of their broadside firepower. The impacts struck the Al’cari ship along it’s port side, blasting into it’s armour and leaving large breaches in the outer defences. The alliance ships quickly moved back into the formation to avoid any further damage, allowing the Suran and Voronian ships to make their moves from the opposite side of the field, this time launching the full force of their broadside guns into the Al’cari ship’s starboard side before themselves moving back into formation.

“Move us into position with the Andurian and Naisan fleets, prepare to join the attack,” James ordered, “we’ll go in from behind, take out it’s engines.”

Aligning itself alongside three Andurian capitol ships, the Evening Star lent it’s firepower to the battle once more. Iyacs highlighted the weaknesses in the armour around the Al’cari ship’s propulsion systems, giving Ivanov a clear target to hit. Andurian and Naisan capitol ships were renowned for having considerable forward firepower and the combined force of their attack, alongside the Evening Star, broke through their enemy’s rear defences and tore through the engines. The Al’cari had been turning to try and counter the attack and cover it’s weaknesses but the bulky cruiser’s one achilles heel was it’s slow turning speed and it could not cover it’s weakness fast enough. It’s engines were powerless and they were dead in space.

“The enemy ship has been crippled,” Raviano announced to the fleet, “all ships, move in and finish them off.”

The Al’cari ship still had enough power to launch several more waves of fire but with the fresh alliance ships taking the lead with each new wave of the attack, they did not have enough to break through their shields and as such, were not able to inflict any damage. With the enemy unable to hurt them, every alliance ship moved into range, firing everything they had into the Al’cari ship. The continuing waves of fire smashed into it’s hull, taking out it’s guns and melting through it’s armour. James watched as the fleet tore it’s way into the Al’cari’s defences and after a minute or two of sustained fire, the ship broke apart in a massive ball of fire. The alliance fleet broke off, not wanting to be caught near the explosion or hit by any scattered debris. The infamous maelstrom-helix formation had worked for them almost flawlessly, bringing down an immensely powerful enemy without the loss of a single ship. It was almost too easy a victory against such a powerful enemy.

“I expected more,” said Kalmar, who also seemed bothered by the ease of their victory, “a single Al’cari ship has decimated our fleets in the past. Even with a well executed plan, I thought there would be casualties, and quite a few of them.”

“It doesn’t matter, we took down one of their ships, the alliance fleet worked as a perfect unit,” said James, “if anything, we’ve made a statement to the Al’cari that they are vulnerable, despite their power. Marek, everything Ok over there?”

“Everyone is fine over here, captain Tavarez,” said Juarez, “I have to admit, I am damn impressed at the way you pulled that off. Using a teenager’s strategy game and an old Jaiytid AI from an abandoned facility to take down a thing like that? I think this is one for the record book. Maybe we’ll call it the Tavarez maneuver in a few years time. It was a wonderful example of what a great captain you’re becoming.”

“Ha, it was nothing, I was just doing what I had to do,” James laughed, “it’s not over yet though, there will be more of them out there. We’ll have to do this all over again in a few hours time if we come across another one of their ships.”

“We’ll be ready, don’t you worry,” said Juarez, “we’ll give the fleets some time to recharge and then we’ll move on to the next location. You take some time to congratulate yourselves on a fantastic victory. Juarez out.”

The channel to the admirals and the rest of the fleet was closed, leaving James and his crew to their own device. Despite all the compliments, James had to admit that Kalmar was right, it shouldn’t have been so easy.

“I know that look, James, “said Ansare, “you think there is something amiss here? Right?”

“That thing could have ripped through one side of the maelstrom if it had really wanted to,” said James, “they hardly put up any kind of a fight. I want to know why.”

“I believe I may have an answer to that question,” said Iyacs, “out of curiosity, I did a scan of the wreckage of the Al’cari vessel. I noticed that there was no organic matter present within the wreck.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means that there were no sentient beings on board. This ship was unmanned, likely controlled by a source somewhere nearby.”