“Okay. The other item isn’t as easy. Waverly noticed that we don’t have a good retreat mechanism, and he’s right. In the infantry, they leap-frog. A unit provides heavy firepower against the enemy while everyone else pulls back. Then another unit does the same while the main unit pulls back. The process keeps repeating. I’m not sure how that would work here, but I’d like the guys to have something they can try. What do you think?”
“I think we don’t have time for training, and this would require training, but let me think about it. This sort of thing is M’Coda’s specialty. Anything else?”
“Maybe. The slow ships might have an easier time pulling back if you send fast ships to their rescue. The fast ships can keep the enemy squadrons from following.”
“That’s a major realignment of our attacking forces. We’ll look at it. It’ll slow down the battle, but it’s a good idea. Anything else?”
“No. I haven’t spent much time on the big picture. How are we doing?”
“Our fast ships are superb. No losses among them yet. The slow ships are suffering. Overall, the Rebels are losing six to our one.” He cut the connection.
Trexler wondered about the remainder of Seeton’s reserves. Where were they? At this point, they would be so far out of position when they came in that they wouldn’t be of much use.
Suddenly, the Queen was back on the air, her First Knight beside her.
“I am Ellandra of the Chosen. The line of Chosen continues, through me. I am Queen of your Empire. I am here leading the battle at Aldebaran I.
“For you reserves new to the battle, hear my call, for I am the only legitimate ruler of Empire, and I have been chosen by you, all of you, Rebels and loyal Empire forces alike.
“To those of you on Rebel ships, I say to each and every one of you personally, I have not forsaken you. Rise up against your cruel and cowardly leaders. They have failed you today, and they will fail you always. I will accept the surrender of any ship that asks, but I will not permit retreat.
“To you loyal Empire officers and sailors, I say stay the course. You have chosen rightly and well. Though it might not seem so, my commanders tell me the battle is won.”
She leaned into the pick-up, just as she had earlier, until her face completely filled the display. “I see you Struthers. I know where you are. Your men have fought bravely, though they fail, just as your grand plan is failing. Come to me, you coward. I dare you in front of all your men. I am in a small frigate. Choose any single ship, even a cruiser, and come to me. I will guarantee your safe passage through my forces, and I will fight you one on one, with no quarter asked and none given. A leader would accept the challenge. A coward will flee. Show your men what you’re made of.”
She backed away. “Rebels, surrender or die. I beg you to surrender.”
Trexler and Waverly looked at each other in amazement. “Is she foolish?” Waverly asked.
“She’s calculating and, I think, brave. Did you know the Chosen cannot lie?”
“I’ve heard. I’m not sure I believe it.”
“It’s generally accepted out here in the Empire to be true. She will fight him if he comes, and Chandrajuski will have to let him through. She can’t tell a lie, but she doesn’t have to tell the whole truth either, and she’s clever about it. She didn’t tell him she’s in a fast ship. I would give a fast frigate a fair chance against a slow cruiser. If nothing else, she could just stay out of range of his guns, taking occasional pot shots at him. She’d wear him out until he gives up or runs, but his men here don’t know that. I wonder if he’ll come?”
“Maybe we’ll just have to keep an eye on those four command ships.”
“Maybe now would be a good time to take them out,” Trexler said with a smile. “I don’t doubt for a minute that Chandrajuski is thinking the same thing. Their use to us is over. Any surrenders will be on a ship by ship basis, possibly a unit or a wing here or there, but those top commanders are unlikely to approve a general surrender.”
“I would when it reached a certain point, and it’s going to reach that point. Are you giving them full credit? They’re just as good at commanding as we are. They have to care about their men.”
“Chandrajuski will be the better judge of that. A lot of these guys got their appointments by replacing the A-teams; they’re second string and might not have the seasoning it takes to admit defeat. Is there anything harder for a warrior to do?”
“No, unless it’s watching your men die.”
Twenty minutes later, two of the command ships far out in the system winked out, having jumped into hyperspace. After two hours passed and they had not reappeared, Chandrajuski announced to all ships, Empire and Rebel, that the top Rebel command had fled. He offered surrender as the only Rebel option. He pulled all of his slow ships from their targets and let the fast ships remain engaged.
Rebel ships began fleeing, but they were days away from jumping into hyperspace. Some risked jumping early, and their fates were unknown, but most stuck to doctrine. Chandrajuski waited until trajectories of fleeing units were known, then issued instructions to the remainder of Seeton’s reserves to intercept them. When the additional 273 squadrons emerged from hyper, essentially simultaneously, one of the far Rebel command ships contacted Chandrajuski and surrendered. The battle was over.
Chapter Twenty-six
Reba entered the nearly empty sick bay. Everyone but Trexler had been transferred to another ship. He was in the net and did not sense her entrance.
She announced to the room, “Ship, alert Admiral Trexler that he has a visitor.”
The phone beside Trexler’s bed began vibrating. She picked it up.
“General broadcast is not permitted in sick bay.”
“There’s no one left in here who is sick. Notify Admiral Trexler.” She hung up and waited.
It wasn’t long before Trexler removed his helmet and looked around at the vacant room. His gaze settled on Reba. “Hi, Lady.”
“Hi, yourself. Where is everyone?”
“I’ve transferred everyone from sick bay to other ships. The command staff will be on their way out of here shortly.”
An eyebrow ticked up on Reba’s face. “Why?”
“Because I’m taking this and another fast squadron to Earth. They are the only two squadrons that are undamaged.”
She visibly sagged with relief. “I’m so glad to hear that. We left them essentially defenseless.”
He nodded. “We left Korban undefended, as well. Chandrajuski has agreed to send two fast squadrons to him. I don’t know how long he’ll get to keep them, but he’ll at least have them until we can get him some slow ships.”
“Do you have to go to Earth personally?”
“No, but I won’t be staying long. I just want to get a feel for how Buskin and Godfries are doing, and I want to check on the new projects we’ve begun there. I’ve been out of that loop for too long. As soon as Buskin’s ships get back, I’ll return here with my fast squadrons. I hope to work with Waverly for a while.”
She grinned. “You’ve been reading minds.”
“Whose?”
“Ellie’s and Mike’s. They’re here talking to Chandrajuski. They’ll be down to see you any minute. So…” she began with a twinkle in her eyes, “Two down, 68 more to go.”
He grimaced. “I hope not. I don’t want to do this one by one. A lot of good people died out here this week, good people on both sides.”
“I’m glad to hear you say that,” a new voice piped in.
Trexler looked around Reba to the door and nodded his head. “Your Majesty.”
Two Protectors sprang into the room, followed by Mike, Val and Josh. Ellie came to Trexler’s bed and brushed a hand fondly across his head. “You’ve done well, my friend. Chandrajuski gives you full credit for winning the two largest battles in the history of Empire. I give you credit for sending Struthers running with his tail between his legs. He will be a long time recovering from these losses.”