Lee maintained a direct link to the tactical screens aboard the main fleet flagship, the one commanded by his uncle, Admiral Nate Allen. Even though his forces were too far out for the contacts to appear on his screens, tapping into his uncle’s monitors gave him a running commentary on what the other Human fleet was encountering.
As it turned out, Admiral Allen’s greatly depleted fleet had entered the Falor-Kapel star system in hot pursuit of the fleeing Juireans. The alien fleet had been whittled down from over eight hundred ships to now around two-hundred-fifty. Although Allen’s force outnumbered them only slightly — at two-hundred ninety-five — the Humans had proven to be more than simply a one-to-one match for the Juireans, even in light of the deception the Humans were carrying out. The Juireans would know they were doomed to defeat when they entered the dead-end region of the system called the Kapelean Corridor. At least that’s what they wanted the Humans to believe.
Allen and his Human fleet had graciously obliged, and followed the Juireans into the Corridor. And then, to nobody’s surprise, nearly three hundred additional Juirean battleships suddenly appeared on the Human tac screens, emerging out of dark status with the activation of their shallow gravity drives.
The Human forces bunched together near the center of what was now a cloud of Juirean ships surrounding them. The ships along the outer Human perimeter were the first to receive fire; they raised their shields and sent answering salvos of their own electric-blue energy toward the enemy. Some ships from both sides suddenly vanished from the screens. The battle was now joined.
Chapter 54
Captain Lee Schwartz and his shadow fleet were located at the edge of the Falor-Kapel system, about a quarter of a light year away. At deep-well speeds he could be at the battle scene in half an hour, and now that the Juireans had revealed themselves and committed to the battle, Lee no longer saw any need for secrecy. He gave the command, and his massive fleet tore up the space around them with hundreds of deep-gravity wells, and sped off to engage the enemy in the Kapelean Corridor.
The orientation of the asteroid belts, as well as the huge gas giants, forced all the combatants to operate within the same narrow confines. This had been the Juirean’s goal all along. It also restricted Lee’s access to the battlefield. He would have to enter from above the plane, just as all the other forces had, not allowing him to out flank the enemy. Once his force joined the fray, the Juireans would more-than-likely retreat from their enveloping positions and regroup toward the back of the Corridor. This would work just as well. Then Lee and Allen could press against the Juireans as a unified force. It was going to be bloodbath.
Lee had not bothered to transfer his flag to one of the larger attack vessels he had at his disposal, but rather chose to stay aboard his twenty-five-man Klin Fleet Vessel — A Series, or KFV-A. He had spent the past seven months with this crew, and the familiarity of having them at his side served to calm his nerves. Yes, Captain Lee Schwartz, USN, was nervous, but not from the anticipation of battle. Instead, he was nervous about command of the fleet, hoping beyond hope that he didn’t screw things up.
As the gas giants grew in this viewport, Lee moved his ship to the apex of the attacking phalanx. His aim was to get in at least a few good licks before having to retreat to a safer position in order to coordinate his forces. This maneuver would undoubtedly bring about the ire of his uncle, but it was a small price to pay for a few more chances at the enemy.
Lee sat in the pilot’s seat of the KFV-A, while the rest of his crew either manned the generators, the weapon systems or the monitoring screens on the bridge. Tim Carlson, his 2G technical advisor, sat at a station to Lee’s right. Tim was intimately familiar with all the systems aboard the ship and would be invaluable in coordinating any damage control efforts, if need be. Lee snorted softly to himself. If he needed damage control, then he would be royally screwed with his uncle. That would mean his ship had been hit, and that was something a command vessel should never allow to happen. Too many others were relying on the decisions coming from the top.
Yet Lee was a renegade. He figured just a few short minutes of battle, and then he would head off to safer ground and his command responsibilities.
Chapter 55
Overlord Kackil Fe Nulon watched as the orange indicated lights of his Juirean fleet enveloped the forces of the now-much smaller Human fleet. The feeling of satisfaction and relief were easily displayed on his calm countenance and large, bright eyes. The strategy had worked, and now not only the Juirean people, but the galaxy as a whole, would know the redemption of Kackil’s name. He was not the one who had been beaten into submission by the Human invaders, but rather he was their executioner.
Senior Guard Hoan Ga Chold stood next to the Overlord’s chair on the bridge of the Class-5 battleship UN-374. For several minutes now the bridge had been relatively quiet as the techs and junior Guards went about their duties with modest efficiency. The battle was progressing very smoothly; there was nothing much for the senior commanders to do now but watch and wait.
Unfortunately for Kackil and Hoan, their peace was about to be shattered.
A tech pressed back from his stationed and turned abruptly toward his supervisor on his right. The supervisor, a Guard-third, leaned over the screen of his technician with a look of wide-eyed panic. He stood and faced Hoan.
“My Lord, there are multiple new contacts approaching from outside the Corridor,” the young Juirean announced.
“Hoan and Kackil both jerked their heads in the direction of the Guard. “On screen!” Hoan yelled.
Immediately the forward tactical screen zoomed out to a larger view of the battlefield. Clearly, the enveloping screen around the Humans within the Corridor could be seen, but now there was a stream of new, undesignated contacts coming out of the top left side of the screen. There were hundreds of them.
“Analysis!” Overlord Kackil yelled as he stood out of chair, staring intently at the screen in front of him.
Moments later a voice rose up from somewhere behind the two senior Juireans. Neither turned to face the speaker, but rather continued stare at the large screen before them. “Signature analysis matches that of the Human forces. Initial count is over four hundred contacts and rising as more come in range.”
Within moments the last of the cluster of contacts had formed on the screen, with the leading edge nearing the top of the Corridor. “New count: five hundred eighty-five individual contacts. Nearing the perimeter at this time.”
Five hundred eighty-five new Human ships! Kackil felt all the blood drain from his head and his vision grow faint. He staggered back against his chair and fought to keep his balance. To his right he heard Hoan barking orders. “Move a counter force to the damper field. Prepare for multiple contacts emerging. Fire when ready.”
“Yes, my Lord,” someone yelled from behind.
Chapter 56
The effect of his force showing up on the screens of the Juireans had indeed changed their strategy. The enveloping screen of Juirean ships surrounding the main Human fleet had begun to break off and move to either side of Admiral Allen’s cluster of forces. Lee was just about there; in another minute he would be within the Corridor-
Suddenly, Lee heard a loud descending whine reverberate throughout the ship, as power levels dropped to near zero. He twisted around to face Tim Carlson. “What the fuck just happen?” he yelled at the frenetic 2G.
“The well has dissolved, and most of our reserve energy has dissipated. We’ve entered some kind of disruption field!”