The Rebel reserves appeared two hours later, 105 squadrons, all chasing the Queen’s frigate. Chandrajuski believed from the numbers that they would form into 8 wings, each with a separate command squadron and one overall commander. Not that he cared: it wouldn’t matter. He called for 200 more of Seeton’s reserves, and they appeared two hours later in hard pursuit of the Rebel reserves. With the addition of Seeton’s reserves, and for the first time, Empire ships held the advantage over the Rebels. The Queen’s frigate raced ahead of the Rebels, leading them further into the system and making it very difficult for them to escape the trap.
Chandrajuski unleashed his forces, and the battle was joined. Trexler, along with Waverly, Stevens, and Walters, observed from the net. He was not needed as a fleet commander: Chandrajuski, M’Coda, Sam Taylor, and to some extent Seeton, had the conn for this battle.
Instead of looking at the big picture, Trexler chose to look at the small picture now. He had the net section off his display into attacks against three Rebel wings. Two attacks were by groups of 6 slow cruisers, and one was an attack by two fast ship squadrons.
The fast ships hit first, and they took the Rebels by surprise. Trexler couldn’t tell at the start if they were up against Chessori or Rebels, but within minutes, someone had tagged the enemy as Chessori. One Chessori cruiser went dead in the first two minutes as both Terran cruisers opened up on an unprepared target. Clearly, it had taken the Chessori too long to get their act together. The second cruiser they picked lasted twenty minutes, mainly because the Terrans had to keep breaking off the attack as other Chessori squadrons came to assist the squadron under attack. But the Terrans kept coming back at the same Chessori squadron until its cruiser ceased to exist. Then, in a complete surprise to the Chessori, they went after the command squadron. It, too, fell. Someone tagged the two Terran cruisers’ battle readiness at 96% and 94%, so they must not have taken too much damage. They picked another Chessori squadron and went after it.
The slow squadrons had a much different challenge. They could not easily jump away, and the odds against them were two-to-one, but since they were operating as two-cruiser groups, they could only attack three targets, leaving many Rebel ships free to gang up on them. Four Empire cruisers went after the first unit of four Rebel cruisers they came to. The remaining two-ship split up into individual units whose purpose was to harass and delay the remaining Rebel units from assisting. That wing was soon colored as Chessori. The first Chessori ship to be attacked was, again, slow to shift from Rebel to Chessori control, and it didn’t last long. The second didn’t last long either, but then the Chessori got their act together and started fighting back. The battle quickly turned into a melee, and the Terrans all reverted to two-ship operations, hitting one Chessori hard, then shifting to another when too severely threatened. Two Terran ships fell, and when readiness numbers of the remaining Terrans appeared in the display, Trexler was dismayed. After the first 30 minutes, the Terran ships were down to 50% shields and 80% weapons, and those numbers would continue falling, probably at an accelerating rate as the damaged ships became less effective. There were not enough Terrans to make repairs. He knew the same thing was being repeated many times over throughout the Aldebaran system, and it was disturbing. Should the two-ship concept be scrapped for the slow ships? In retrospect, they should have sent 12 slow ships against each wing.
Then he remembered the feeling he’d gotten during the engagement at Orion III. It had seemed to him that they had not so much taken out the cruisers’ weapons as they had overloaded its shields, then quickly punched through to vital internal parts of the target.
He called Chandrajuski. “I see that the slow ships are having some difficulty.”
“They are.”
“Look, they’re doing their best to each take a different side of the target.”
“That was their instructions.”
“Try having them both focus all their guns on the same side of the target. They’re more likely to overload the target’s shields, and they’ll have plenty of guns facing outward to ward off reprisal.”
“Difficult flying, Ray. Very difficult.”
“I know.”
Chandrajuski cut the connection. What more could be said?
The other group of slow ships had encountered a purely Rebel wing. It was not slow to respond, but it sent its smaller ships in ahead of the cruisers, as was standard Empire practice. The Empire attackers ignored them and immediately focused on the cruisers. At two against one, it didn’t last long. Surprisingly, the Rebel ships that were not targeted did not come to the assistance of those under attack. Either they had orders to bull their way through to the planet at all costs, or they simply stayed with standard doctrine, which stipulated that squadrons operated independently. After the first two Rebel squadrons fell, all six Empire ships focused on the two remaining squadrons of that unit, then moved on to the next unit. The second unit fell, but so, too, did two Empire ships, and the remaining Empire ships were so badly damaged that they could no longer fight. They had to pull back for repairs.
Waverly couldn’t believe his eyes. “Don’t they know how to retreat, Ray?”
“Who? Our guys or theirs?”
“Well, both, but I only care about our guys. Look at those readiness numbers. They’ve been walking wounded for a long time. I’m surprised more didn’t fall. They’re staying in there far too long, and it’s not necessary. The Rebels still have a long, long way to go to reach the planet. There’s plenty of time for our guys to pull back and make repairs, then reengage.”
“It’s pretty hard to pull back with ships, Jim. When they’re evenly matched, the bad guys can keep up. We generally hang in there and plan for support.”
“What support? Everyone’s committed.”
“Maybe we should uncommit some of the fast ships, is that what you’re saying?”
“No, but it’s not a bad idea. In the infantry, retreat is a real ballet, but if properly executed, it’s highly effective. A couple of guys lay down maximum firepower while everyone else pulls back. When everyone has gone back a ways, two more guys lay down heavy fire, and the first two guys run back and join the main group. They keep leapfrogging like that until they’re clear. I don’t see anything like that happening here. You have no exit strategy, Ray, and your guys are staying in there too long.”
“You’re right. Let me think about this.”
He called Chandrajuski again. “Sir, the slow ships are hanging in there too long. I haven’t been following the fast ships, but they might be, too.”
“The fast ships are fine. We’re pulling some of them back to support the slow ships.”
“Look, our guys don’t need to hang in there until the bitter end. It’s many days before the first Rebel ships reach the planet. We have plenty of time for our guys to fall back, make repairs, then go back at it.”
“The Rebels will also be making repairs.”
“So what? We’ll out last them if we keep our resources in good enough shape. We’re throwing lives away as it is, to no purpose.”
“What is your suggestion?”
“Issue an order requiring disengagement for any ship that falls below some safe number. Set the number high, maybe 50%. Let them get out while they can still protect themselves.”
“That will completely throw off the dynamics of the two-ship, Ray. If one ship leaves, the other must leave with it or be exposed.”
“Then have both of them pull back. Better yet, put your group commanders to work reassigning. They can keep healthy ships together. The whole group might eventually fall back, but it’s better than losing them.”
“Let me think about it.”
“Think fast, then get back to me. I have another thought.”
Chandrajuski was back in a couple of minutes. “M’Coda agrees. The order is going out. We’ll study the results.”