Battle for Proxima (21 page)

“Good. I’m sure your units will all perform admirably and in the way I would expect any marine to conduct himself. Remember, every combat operation conducted is fluid. Force disposition and resources change, but always remember the goal. Maintenance of the aim is critical. Spaceport and city are the twin objectives. Both are to be secured quickly and efficiently. Improvise and overcome, so we achieve our objectives with the minimum losses to our forces and the civilians. We expect reinforcements with the Vengeance battlegroup to be with us in less than thirty hours. If all goes well, they will just be needed to help mop up. Good hunting, people!”

* * *

 “Damage report!” shouted Commander Andrews from his position deep inside the CiC. The ship shuddered from another massed barrage of cannon shells that slammed hard into her armoured flank. Though the vessel was of considerable bulk, it was possible to feel the impacts this far inside the ship. The tactical officer called over from his seated position.

“Sir. We’ve sustained light damage to the starboard flank. One weapons battery out of action. The ablative layers have sustained minor damage. No hull breaches reported, Sir.”

Commander Andrews pulled down his intercom from the mount on the wall.

“This is the XO of Crusader. I need frigates to screen our flanks, fast!”

A flurry of confirmations came back from the myriad of smaller vessels that swarmed the capital ships like flies.

“Admiral. We’re within range of the main guns of the enemy. Shall we return fire?”

At the back of the CiC, looking like a skulking cat, Admiral Jarvis stood, flanked by two marine guards.

“Negative, hold your fire and proceed to the target.”

“Aye, Sir.”

Admiral Jarvis looked back to the tactical map of Euryale and the many ships circling the planet. Around it, and also in a large group a distance from the planet, were a series of icons representing the enemy forces. On one of the screens was a direct video feed from the Bunker Hill, the largest of the three marine transports.

“Are you sure about this?” asked the General.

“Which part of the plan?”

General Rivers selected a section of the map and highlighted it on her screen. It showed the largest group of ships representing the bulk of the enemy capital ships and a large number of troops transports.

“Here. From what I can see, you are sending the first wave of our forces, eight capital ships and nearly thirty escorts, up against two-dozen warships and transports plus an unknown number of escorts. Wouldn’t it be better to move to the planet and hold them off while my ground forces land.”

“No. We need to keep the big guns off your Assault Division as long as possible. You only have seven military transports with their twelve battalions of troops, in place. It is barely enough for the job they have. I cannot afford to risk your men, General. One false move on my part and we will lose the best trained and equipped ground forces in the whole of Proxima. Twelve thousand men doesn’t sound a lot, until you no longer have them.”

She zoomed back out on the map to the front of the Confed Fleet, specifically two green columns of warships containing most of the capital ships.

“As planned, my primary force is advancing in two groups, Crusader leading the first column and Rear Admiral Churchill with the Royal Oak, leading the second. That gives us a total of five armoured cruisers, one assault cruiser and the Crusader. We also have three squadrons of heavy frigates and a dozen destroyers in the attack. The gunboats and fighters of the Wasp and Royal Oak will help as a missile screen and provide torpedo fire support. Our force is sufficiently powerful that they will have to face us or risk annihilation by splitting up.”

“I agree. It is a formidable force, but what of the enemy? I am not sure I have seen these vessels before. If you hit trouble, my troops will have no defence against a counter-attack.”

“General, if my ships can’t hold them off, then we are well and truly finished anyway. This is all we have!”

She brought up several screens showing the schematics and disposition of the enemy vessels ahead. The ships contained some similarities to the vessels in the Confederation Fleet but there were some marked differences, the first being their colour scheme. They were more numerous that the capital ships, but contained vessels not much larger than heavy frigates and light cruisers. Before either could speak, another series of blasts rattled down the hull of the ship.

“Admiral, the enemy fleet is forming up into a line of battle. Their larger vessels are presenting a solid wall with their primary weapons ranked along our bow. There’s at least one, possibly two, air defence cruisers in the centre. They are trying to jam us, but it looks like the Leviathan may be the larger cruiser in the centre of the second formation. Shall we refuse the line and…”

“No, Captain, my orders are clear. Both columns will continue forward towards the centre of the enemy forces. Put us on a direct course with the Leviathan,” she paused and looked at the view screen with the General, “one moment.”

General Rivers nodded and the Admiral wasted no time in grabbing her intercom.

“This is the Admiral. All vessels are to commence full burn. Execute tactical formation Trafalgar. Fighters and strike aircraft are to form up with the lead vessels. Proceed with defensive fire. Keep our bows clear.”

She replaced the intercom and lowered herself into one of the many chairs built into the CiC. Around her the other crew did the same, as they prepared for harsh acceleration of the warships. Until now they had been coasting towards the enemy, the ships thrusters used just to alter course and to maintain formation. With the after engine pushing the craft forward, the gravitational force would push the crew to the rear of the compartments. The rotating sections slowed and then stopped, their benefits now being halted by the opposing gravitational forces. She turned back to the General on the view screen, who she could see was busy issuing orders to his own force. Another series of shells struck the warship, the vibrations moving through the heavy bulkheads. Admiral Jarvis looked over to the XO who nodded, letting her know the ship was withstanding the attack.

“In that case, Admiral, I will take your leave and conduct the first phase of the ground assault.”

“Understood, General. Good luck!”

His image flickered and vanished on the displays.

Admiral Jarvis examined her tactical maps and virtual cameras so she could place herself directly into the centre of the battlefield. The enemy ships definitely matched the data she had seen from Prometheus and the Anomaly. She tapped a button bringing up the blurred image they’d recently examined and called over to the tactical officer.

“Have we been able to ascertain their capabilities yet?”

“No, Sir. They appear to be slightly smaller than our cruisers and have heavy power plants and engines. There appear to be eleven larger ships, each of a similar configuration to the smaller vessels, but with no obvious weapon mounts or gunports. The two larger ships show over thirty turret mounts. We assume they must be air defence vessels, possibly support ships. The larger cruiser is the one we think is the Leviathan, Typhon’s flagship. The smaller ships, I would guess, are based primarily around their weapons systems. They have no rotating sections of obvious crew space, so it is fair to assume they are short range with minimal crew on board. The larger ships are perhaps more transports? That is all.”

“Interesting,” she said quietly.

On the tactical map, the two columns of ships were now a matter of three hundred kilometres apart. They were easily within range of projectile weapons, and well in range of missile or drone systems. From her screen, she could see the line of enemy ships, bright lights flashing on their hulls as they fired their primitive but powerful artillery towards her ships. These weapons were not much different to those used hundreds of years earlier and were substantially less effective than the railguns on her vessels.

“Admiral, I’m getting reports from Rear Admiral Churchill, he says three of the frigates providing a skirmishing screen have just exploded.”

She tied to stand but the straps on her chair held her down.

“What! How?”

“Unknown, he says Wasp picked up a massive energy spike from three of the larger ships before thermal sensors on the frigates went off the charts. It took three seconds, and then they just exploded. No lifeboats, no survivors!”

“Dear, God! Is it a weapon system or are the ships sabotaged?”

“Unknown, Sir.”

She sat for a few seconds, stunned by the news. On the display her Fleet was now well in range. The amount of defensive fire from the enemy was creating a cloud of ammunition hurtling towards the two lead ships. Both vessels were well equipped with point defence turrets and all were fully engaged trying to explode shells before they reached them.

“Two hundred kilometres, Admiral, we have fired reverse thrusters. We will be inside their line in three minutes.”

“Excellent work, Captain. Get your crew ready, this battle is about to start.”

A continuous rattling sound hammered along the superstructure, as dozens of rounds and chunks of shrapnel smashed into the hull of the Crusader. A third of the enemy fleet had their guns trained on the massive warship and their fire was starting to wear down the think frontal armour on the ship.

“Breaches on Levels Three and Seven. Two batteries out, forty-one casualties.”

“Deal with it!” barked the XO.

More shots smashed against the ship.

“Heat surge detected!” shouted the tactical officer.

“Get some frigates in front of us, protect our bow!” responded the XO, in an even louder voice.

The CiC lit up with the chatter of pilots and their commanding officers of the warships. It took just seconds for a number of the frigates to alter their positions in front of the columns. Each of the ships carried between fifty and two hundred crew and their loss would be keenly felt. It was their job though to screen the Fleet and they did their job well.

“Here it comes!” yelled the tactical officer.

A series of red lights flashed up around the CiC, followed by sparks and a number of fires. Some of the displays went blank as power or circuits were damaged.

“Report?” shouted the Captain.

“We’ve taken heavy bow damage. Our frigate screen is gone.”

“Gone where?”

“Just gone, Sir. They must have taken most of the impact for us. I have severe breaches in the bow, engineers report eighty-one casualties. We can’t take more damage there, Sir.”

Admiral Jarvis sensed the deciding part of the battle was nearing. She pressed several buttons to contact Rear Admiral Churchill. His face appeared and, to her dismay, she spotted fires burning in his CiC and a number of bodies on the floor.

“Sir. We have suffered catastrophic damage, we must withdraw.”

“Negative, Admiral. Stay the course. Move up frigates and cruisers to protect your bow and ready your gunners, it is time.”

There was a short pause, interrupted by the internal speakers inside the Crusader blasting out orders from the XO. In just seconds, the two columns would meet the enemy fleet head on. It was a risky strategy, but with both columns meeting the enemy’s flank they would hopefully smash through in two points. Each ship would crash through the line and be able to fire broadsides in the bow and stern of the enemy vessels as they travelled past.

“Understood, Admiral Jarvis. We will see you on the other side.”

She looked back to the Captain, who was watching the navigation display as they moved into position. It was just seconds away now.

“5…4…3…2…1…” called out the tactical officer. Then an odd calmness travelled through the ship as the reverse thrusters stopped their burn. The ship coasted though the enemy formation at a crawl. The XO grabbed his intercom and roared through its microphone.

“All gunners, open fire! Let them burn!”

CHAPTER NINE

Particle beam weapons research was outlawed following the destruction of the Carthago shipyards. The disaster occurred during a routine test thirteen years before the Great War. A tragedy that killed over twenty thousand people.

 
The weapon used an ultra-high-energy beam of atoms or electrons, to damage a material target by hitting it and disrupting its atomic structure. The speed of a beam would approach that of light in combination with the energy created by the weapon would negate any realistic means of defending a target against it.

 
Direct Energy Weapons – An Introduction

The battle to retake the Proxima System had begun. It would prove to be the most significant battle since the Siege of Titan, similar in scale to even the largest battles of the Great War some fifty years earlier. In the opening minutes of the battle and before the two main forces of ships were fully engaged, more than a hundred crew had died from long-range fire. It was a savage start that would number the casualties in the thousands.

The primary stage of the operation began with the two Confed Navy columns smashing into the Union line. It was truly a sight to behold, as thousands of shells, projectiles and bullets tore through open space. Shreds of metal and bodies drifted in the void, yet the ships continued onwards. The climax of the battle was yet to come. The Union forces maintained their position, each vessel presenting its flank to the Confed Fleet so that they could maximise their firepower while protecting their vulnerable bow and stern.

At the front of the Confederate columns, the lead ships were heavily damaged. The immense amount of raking fire they had attracted during their high-speed rush into action was taking its toll. As they pushed between the closely spaced Union ships, the terrible truth must have occurred to the enemy. Rather than destroying the Confed columns by crossing their T, they had in fact exposed their own bows and sterns to full broadsides from the massive warships.

CCS Crusader, the heavy battlecruiser and the most powerful ship in Proxima Centauri, was the first to fire. Unlike the lighter ships, the bulk of her railguns were built into the rotating bands and sections of the vessel. This gave her a full 360° firing arc above and to the sides. Every weapon was loaded and charged. As she passed slowly between two Union warships, great streams of ionised plasma hurled from her gunports. It wasn’t the plasma that was the weapon. This was simply a consequence of weapon system blasting projectiles at a velocity and with such power. These unusual weapons were common on the larger Confed vessels and were entirely electrical. The system accelerated a conductive heavy projectile along a pair of metal rails. The core of the weapon used two rolling contacts that passed a massive electrical current through the warhead. This in turn, interacted with the magnetic fields generated by the rails and accelerated the projectile. The technology dated back to the middle of the twentieth century, but it took the powerful power plants of capital ships to allow the weapons system to flourish. There was no armour in the Confederacy that could withstand a railgun projectile, it simply obliterated anything it smashed into.