The Battlestar Glory Ch. 02

(This is not a sexy story. It is a space war thriller.)

Chapter 2: The Brief Battle for June

Chapter 2: The Brief Battle for June

Admiral Whyold Zarat was the soldier in charge of the Directorate's fleet defenses.

North's opinion of the League's civilian leadership was only slightly lower than Admiral Zarat's opinion of the Directorate's civilian leadership. Until one year ago the Directorate, the junior partner in the Alliance with the League, was under the brilliant leadership of Steven Quick. Quick, widely accepted as a supergenius, had founded the Directorate and ran it as an enlightened dictatorship for as long as Zarat could remember.

Quick took over from the previous corrupt and inefficient bureaucrats of the old Cahill Republic and created a model of government that even the League, which had a traditional disdain for dictatorships, found so admirable that they sent their people over to study how their bureaucracy worked. Quick also built up and modernized the Directorate fleet and made it a vibrant partner in its coalition with the League, especially during the early years of the war against the Insects.

But all that changed a year ago when Quick's ship blew up under what could only be termed suspicious circumstances. Quick's handpicked successor, Administrator (now Director) Tel Kalin immediately took over, and quickly made a mess of things.

First there was the explosion of the reactor at the enormous military base on Tentus IV. Somehow a chain reaction started which vaporized the base. The result: 20,000 sailors and their families dead, 20 ships lost. It was a tremendous blow to fleet morale. Kalin made things worse by pinning the blame on several of the Directorate's most distinguished Admirals, forcing a number of them into retirement before their time, even though most of them had nothing to do with the accident on Tentus.

Then as part of a "modernization" program Kalin retired fifteen perfectly capable ships of the line before their replacements were made ready. In fact, since Kalin had taken over, Zarat hadn't seen a single replacement ship come off the assembly lines. There were "problems in production" he was told.

Then the final straw came two months ago when a drive explosion on one of the newest class of battlecruisers forced all ten of those battlecruisers out of service for "inspection". Despite repeated inquiries, Zarat had had no word on when he was going to get those ships back either.

So there he was commander of a once mighty fleet of a little more than 100 ships, now down to a demoralized group of 55 ships, all because of the incompetence of their leadership. There was already talk in the ranks about getting rid of Kalin and putting a new leadership in place, a military leadership, and if the situation didn't improve soon, Zarat might be forced to take sides. Kalin's predecessor, Quick, had been a civilian, but he had shown by example that he knew how to run the military. Kalin didn't have that touch.

Currently the fleet was stationed in orbit around June, the capital of the Directorate. Well, at least Kalin had had the good sense not to agree to send the fleet to this ridiculous armistice the League had agreed to with the Insects. Zarat knew it would be a trap; the only question in his mind is how many League ships would survive the trap. There had been no word from the League fleet since the meeting at Vitalics had begun, several hours earlier.

"Admiral, I'm getting a communication from Director Kalin, for your eyes only," said a crewer.

Kalin entered his ready room, and keyed in a code. A hologram of the Director appeared in front of his desk.

"Admiral, you're there. Good. Prepare the fleet for attack."

"Attack, sir?" From the Insects? How could they attack this far into their territory without being detected?

"The Insects are about to attack June," said Kalin.

How did Kalin know this? "Sir?"

"We haven't much time. The Insect fleet will outnumber and outgun your fleet by at least two to one. Your orders are to engage them in one pass only."

"One pass only?" This was only getting more confusing. "And then what?"

"Disengage and make for open space. Head out and stay alive as long as possible."

"You would ask us to abandon June after a show of no more than a token resistance!" Despite his dislike for Kalin, Zarat was prepared to obey reasonable orders. But this wasn't a reasonable order, not by a long shot. He should leave the Directorate open to invasion? For a moment Zarat started to think that maybe Kalin wasn't merely incompetent; perhaps he was actually a traitor. That would explain the weakening of the fleet.

"I realize these orders are hard for you to accept. And I also realize that circumstances have forced us to have a rocky relationship."

"Nothing you can say will make me abandon the Directorate. Sir." said Zarat stonily.

Kalin paused, checking something. "This conversation is scrambled. If you stay and fight your fleet will eventually be destroyed. And it's important for your fleet to survive."

"What is the sense of surviving if we're not going to be able to defend our planets?"

Kalin lowered his voice. "I was told, if you resisted this order... I was told to tell you to trust me, I know what I'm doing."

Told? Who tells the First Director to do anything? And then the words struck home. "Trust me, I know what I'm doing." There was only one person in the galaxy who had used that line frequently, when talking to Zarat.

Suddenly, an incredible thought burst into Zarat's mind. Kalin, watching the transformation of his face, nodded. "I see you understand. But you are to tell NO ONE about this conversation, not even your most senior officers." He then proceeded to give Zarat a series of secret instructions that he needed to commit to memory, and also provided him with three names.

"Understood," said Zarat, when he was done. "Director? Will this really work out?"

Kalin sighed. "In the short run.... no. But at least this way we'll have a chance of restoring what we're about to lose."

Zarat swallowed. Well, at least he knew the truth. "What about you, sir, will you need evacuation?"

"Don't worry about me, Admiral, just take your fleet to safety. Kalin out."

Zarat sat alone for a moment. Then he activated ship-to-ship. "I need to speak to the following three officers, alone. Secured channel." He called for the names of three communications officers on three different ships.

When Zarat returned to the bridge he said, "Prepare for battle."

"Battle? Against whom?" said an aide.

"Admiral! A large number of enemy ships are showing on our scopes!" cried the scanner officer. Suddenly, the ship was on alert.

Zarat didn't even ask a single question about the size or composition of the enemy. Instead, he simply said, "Prepare to conduct a single pass. Then set course out of the system."

"We're just leaving?" said an aide, stunned.

"Follow my orders!" Zarat barked.

"Where will we set course?" the aide asked.

Zarat considered for a moment. Kalin had told him to set course for deep space. And yet... War Admiral North's League fleet was at Hunt's World. That was only a stone's throw from June. Suddenly, it all made sense. Zarat had wondered why North had stationed the fleet at Hunt; strategically, it made no sense. But now he realized why; Hunt was the League world nearest to June! North had intended to join forces all along. If he survived whatever the Insects had planned for him, Zarat was sure he would send his ships to June. In fact, he might even be on the way there now.

Zarat checked the long range comm. The Insects were jamming all frequencies. But it all made sense.

"Once we get clear we'll set a course for Hunt." Once they linked up with North's forces, then they would head out into deep space.

The Insect fleet, 70 ships strong, came blazing into the June system. The June orbital defense stations opened fire, and the Directorate Fleet raced out to engage the Insect fleet. But after a few brief seconds of laser fire, the Directorate fleet whipped right past them! The Insects braked and turned in a leisurely fashion, confident that the Directorate Fleet would turn back and meet them.

But the Directorate fleet kept going... all was going according to plan, until they reached the edge of the June system, where they ran into the rearguard, 22 Insect heavy cruisers.

The command chamber on the Insect flagship was filled with holographic displays showing the movements of the Insect fleet across League and Directorate space. Hive Queen Zsst watched the screens with satisfaction, flexing her many arms and tendrils as she chittered softly to herself. She was so distracted that she almost didn't notice the hooded creature enter her chambers. Almost. It was impossible not to notice the curtain of fear that descended everywhere the went.

"All goes well," says Zsst. "The human fleet at Vitalics was completely wiped out."

"I know," said the hooded creature. "But what of Norman North's fleet, or the Directorate fleet?"

"Mere mopping up operations," said Zsst dismissively, waving one of her arms. "Their fleets are small and inconsequential."

"Then how did Norman North's 'small and inconsequential' fleet defeat the much larger one you sent against it?"

"What? How do you know this? I have yet to hear reports-"

"Norman North is alive, and his fleet is intact," said the hooded creature. A hint of green peeked out from under the hood. "And as you know from personal experience, while Norman North is alive, he is a threat. Dispatch three more fleets to find and intercept him."

"I will," said Zsst. "But we will have to try and project where he will go."

"I have already provided this information to the Admirals of your fleet. I launched them on their mission ten minutes ago."

"You gave orders to my fleet!" thundered Zsst.

"To be fair, they thought the orders came from you," said the creature, undisturbed.

"Watch your step, Baraki," said Zsst. "One day you may go too far."

Baraki, the hooded creature, stepped closer to Zsst, saying nothing. Zsst became noticably uncomfortable, and suddenly flinched as if struck, and pulled back.

"We shall see," said Baraki.

"Any word from June?" said North, pacing back and forth in the command area on the bridge.

"There's still jamming in place," said Commander Wren. "We're about halfway there; there's only about four more hours to go. Almost there."

"It's very fortuitous that we happened to be so near June in the first place," Captain Dulin remarked.

If he was asking a question, the War Admiral gave no answer.

"Sir, picking up ships, on the scanner!"

"Battle stations!" said North. Then, over the klaxons, "Identify!"

".... 51 ships... They're Directorate ships, sir, all of them. Looks like they've been in a fight...."

"We should be able to punch through the interference locally. Get me Admiral Zarat."

The holographic field shimmered and a Directorate naval officer dressed in white appeared. "This is Captain Alada of the Directorate Flagship June Defender."

"Where is Admiral Zarat?"

"Admiral Zarat is dead, War Admiral," said Captain Alada. "I count only 34 ships on your end. Where is the rest of your fleet?"

"All destroyed." said North.

"All destroyed?" Alada looked stunned. "At Vitalics?"

"At Vitalics," North confirmed. "I commanded only a small portion of the fleet, and we took some losses when we were ambushed at Hunt's Moon. We came here to help as soon as we could."

"Appreciated, Admiral, but we're quite all right. We only lost four ships in the attack on June."

"How did you escape with such light loses?" said North, frowning.

"We didn't engage the first wave and immediately headed out system. It was only when we ran into the backup group that we took losses; that's when a missile struck the bridge and killed Admiral Zarat-"

"Didn't engage the first wave? Why not?"

"Admiral's orders. Or rather, orders he received from June."

"Really," said North. His frown only grew deeper. "What else were your orders?"

"I'm not sure. Admiral Zarat received them orally in private during a conversation with Director Kalin. All he told me was that we were to link up with you at Hunt's Moon. Beyond that, I don't know what his plans were."

"I see." North was silent for a moment, hands clasped tightly behind his back, as he paced back and forth a moment.

"War Admiral? We have to act," said Alada.

"What? Yes," said North, snapping out of it. "I suggest we travel to Orotis, where we can get resupplied-"

"Orotis is on the far end of the League."

"Precisely. It's probable that the Insects won't have gotten that far yet."

"We have imminent reports of an invasion of Jarja," said Alada. "Twenty two transports, with only ten escort ships. We could take them easily."

"What about the fleet following you?" North said.

"We have no indications we've been followed; they're probably just as happy that they've chased us away from June."

"Assuming you're correct, how do you know there's not a secondary escort fleet following a safe distance behind the Jarja attack force?"

"War Admiral, you're being too cautious-"

"I tend to get that way when 90% of my fleet gets destroyed. We are the only effective fighting force left in the Alliance."

"And what would you have us do with this fighting force? Run away?"

North drummed his fingers on his console. "We don't know the disposition and location of the enemy force. We don't know exactly how they destroyed the fleet at Vitalics. They may have some new weapon or kind of ship we have yet to see. I don't favor rushing in when we're the only attack force left."

"Well, I have a different interpretation."

"What about your orders?"

"I don't know what my orders were beyond this point, and transmissions in and out of June are being jammed." Alada's holoimage faced North directly. "We're going in. Are you coming with us?"

North shook his head.

"Then we'll just have to do it on our own. I hope you decide to take a stand somewhere, Admiral," said Alada. He made a motion, and his image faded.

"What are we going to do?" Captain Dulin asked. "Are we going to assist them?"

North stared off into space.

He shook his head, mostly to himself. "The fools," said North. "The poor, bloody fools."

The Insect fleet burst into the Jarja system unopposed. Jarja II was a medium sized colony world that didn't have any ground or orbital defenses. The other planets in the system were uninhabited. The Insect fleet had just reached Jarja IV when the Directorate fleet under Captain Alada caught up to it. The Insect escort ships immediately peeled off and engaged Alada's forces, but they were outnumbered.

The Directorate fleet blasted through the escorts, and in a few short minutes wiped them out. The fleet turned to chase the Insect transports, when all of a sudden, a massive Insect attack fleet pounced on them--twenty battleships, twelve battlecruisers, thirty four cruisers, and thirty destroyers.

Suddenly, the hunters became the hunted. A number of Directorate ships were instantly vaporized by the superior firepower.

"Evade, evade!" cried Alada into the intrafleet comlink. The fleet started to turn and desperately speed away, but the Insects were in hot pursuit. Alada's battlecruiser tried to turn about, but was hit by simultaneous multiple torpedo attacks, and was blown to bits.

On a nearby battlecruiser, an officer reported to the fleet's next ranking officer, Captain Bennett. "Captain Alada's ship has just been destroyed!"

Suddenly, a hologram appeared on Bennett's bridge, and the bridge of every other Directorate ship. "Attention, Directorate forces. Proceed immediately to these coordinates," said the very familiar figure in a light blue uniform with four stars and silver eagles on his collar, pointing to a set of figures on a holographic display.

It was War Admiral Norman North!

"Admiral!' said Bennett, shocked. "My name is War Captain Michael Bennett, I'm in command-"

"No time. Follow my instructions. It's your only chance," said North. He appeared to check an indicator on a console out of holoview. "If you want to live, you'd better hurry."

"Instruct all ships to hone in on those coordinates," said Bennett. "Scanners, do you pick up North's fleet?"

"Negative," said the scanner officer. Then, "Captain, these coordinates will have us going through the far side of the Jarja asteroid belt!"

Of course! North's fleet must be waiting in the belt to ambush the Insects. The Directorate fleet followed the main path through the asteroid belt set out by the coordinates provided by North. But when they reached the belt and were inside it, Bennett still couldn't pick up any sign of North's fleet hiding in the belt. Where were they?

On the other side of the Asteroid belt, the Command Carrier Glory and the rest of the League fleet was at rest, waiting.

"They've just safely past the second group, sir," Commander Wren reported.

"Very well," said North. "Activate the mines."

The Insect fleet sped across the narrow channel as mines exploded around them. Because the path through the asteroid field was so narrow, there was no way for them to avoid the explosions. After several ships in the lead were hit by explosions and destroyed, the Insect fleet skidded to a halt and tried to reverse course. Several of them couldn't stop in time, and rammed into each other.

"They're going to take the long way around, but it won't take them too long" said North, speaking holographically on Bennett's bridge. "Are all your ships capable of top speed?"

Bennett checked a damage report. "No. Four of them have drive damage."

"Scuttle them and take the crews aboard."

Bennett opened his mouth to protest.

"And quickly," said North. "That is, if you want to live. We'll be here for another 20 minutes to provide you with covering fire. Then we're leaving; any ships that want to come with us, can come; the rest stay behind," he said, bluntly. Once again, he was giving the orders.

From the Log of War Admiral Norman North,

Commander, Combined Alliance Fleet:

We're nearly four days out of Jarja and the shock still hasn't worn off. We had a combined fleet service yesterday, for everyone lost at Vitalics, for the League sailors who died at Hunt's moon, and for the Directorate sailors who were lost at June and Jarja. But it hasn't quite sunk in emotionally that all our friends who we've served with for years are gone. We know it, intellectually, but since we didn't see most of them die at Vitalics, I think everyone is holding out hope that somehow, some of them survived. To think that men I served with for decades, even centuries, are just gone, dead, is too difficult to deal with.

The bridge goes silent whenever we receive a transmission. We keep hoping we'll hear from other surviving warships. But of course we never do; even if one or two warships did survive, they would be much wiser to maintain radio silence; that would prolong, at least for a time, their survival in now-occupied League and Directorate space.

We are getting transmissions, but they are disturbing ones. We're getting images of planets being conquered, of giant ships setting down in our cities, chasing civilians down, herding others to whatever the Insects have in store for them.

At that point the transmission from a planet under attack is usually shut down as the Insects take control of the transmission facilities. But then the Insects start transmitting again, and they show disturbing pictures.

Humans in collars, whipped and beaten by the Insects, forced to provide slave labor. One particular scene burned into my memory.

A young woman, digging with a metal instrument in the ground. Something she did upset the Insect overseer. Maybe she wasn't working fast enough. Or maybe she was doing nothing wrong at all.