Publica Section 2 Part 6

Part 6

Focused, Hasitus led his fleet of ships in a cone against the scattered Federation forces. They swung themselves back around the gas giants and struck them at their weakest point. With a volley of barrage shells, they came into the battle with a fresh display of glory. White fiery bolts thrust themselves through the hulls of three barbarian ships, tearing them to pieces. Blinding flashes exploded above the orbit of the gas giants as power cores breached.

The lead ships let rattled their repeaters renting gaps in a Federation carrier. First plasma burst from an engine before a power cell erupted. The flames spread through the Fed dog tearing it in half and leaving the rest a lifeless hulk of metal. Still more were felled before the barbarians could react.

Like a dragon awoken, the Federation reacted. A hundred starlights sprouted from their ships carrying dreaded hypernuclear weapons. Hasitus braced himself as flash after flash of radiation shutdown his sensors, only to return to life with a few less Publica ships on display. The ship began to groan as the hull was pelted by energy-chemical shells used by the Federation ships.

A direct hit struck the starboard antiproton drive sending the innards of Hasitus command ship slamming against the floor. More shudders reverberated through the ship, but none as intense. The sounds of officers, crackling fire and screams told Hasitus how well the battle fared.

“We’ve cleared through the Federation forces,” Posydin said as the tight formation of republican ships slipped through the hole they had punched in the barbarian fleet.

They had lost fifteen capitals from their first run but a second one would be suicidal. Hasitus was surprised that they had even lived through that quick foray. With an almost pleased voice, he ordered the ships to withdraw to the recon outpost. It was his full intention to fight a battle within the atmosphere of the planet. The better accuracy and firepower of the Federation ships would be nullified if he ambushed them as they descended on the base.

“Well, we’re still alive,” Posydin said as their ship raced toward the rendezvous point.

Hasitus looked toward Harma, realizing he had not informed him of his plan of action. The wing commander was the one command personnel that routinely slipped his mind in the passage of information. He beckoned the stalwart soldier closer to the holographic display.

“Harma,” Hasitus began. “We will ambush them at the recon base, but if the damn Serpens don’t help us there, we will be so sorely outnumber we may not even be able to withdraw. We have to buy time. We have to hit them somewhere where they’ll think to regroup and allow reinforcements to arrive.”

Harma peered over the display quietly. “Germanicus has split his forces,” he suddenly stated.

Hasitus and Posydin both snapped their necks to the Serpen force. One had positioned itself in the skies above the city and the other waited on the other side of the planet. The tactic baffled him while Posydin was angered. The man slammed his fist on the table and spit out curses but Hasitus remained quiet. He could not, as a centurion of equal rank, give any orders to Germanicus. Any attempt would insult the man’s prestige within the republic.

“Very well, he can do as he pleases,” Hasitus replied.

As Posydin whispered his distaste for Germanicus’ tactics, the Arma fleet positioned itself above the recon outpost in the ever present storm clouds. Below, amongst the barren brown rocks and craters lay the Publica recon outpost. Its insignificance was underscored by the utter lack of meaningful defences beyond a few symbolic guards. Thirty five capital ships were all that remained to defend it against over four hundred Fed dogs. Hasitus felt hopeless but he did not intend to be slain by cyborgs and living ships.

They waited amongst the lightning and thunder. Soldiers huddled close to their consoles, listening carefully as if they could hear the rumble of an approaching barbarian horde through the ship hull. Hasitus joined them in their wait. He pictured the enemy fleet descending upon them.

For many years he had fought these barbarians, alongside republican forces and the allied barbarian nations. Only now did he ever think that he rarely called the minor nations barbarians. When he stood side by side with their brave soldiers, he called them Grandeur, Tracien or Nutridian. Brutality spoke of barbarianism and the Terra-born were filled with such demented lust.

Suddenly, Posydin cursed. “Here they come,” he said under his breath.

On the display, a detachment of two hundred capitals descended into the planet’s atmosphere. The roar would have been heard across the planet, but they were within the confines of a spacecraft. They dropped from orbit and entered the storm clouds, oblivious to their presence. Hasitus braced for combat and readied his voice to order his fleet to open fire.

The ships came over them and pass them. The barbarians did not even glance at the recon base before flying off.

“The city!” Harma shouted, alarmed at the sudden vulnerability of the citizens.

Hasitus ordered his fleet to chase after the enemy but the Federation craft were far quicker than their own. Within seconds, the enemies came upon the only city of Gladius, to be ambushed by Serpen ships. Out of the towering black clouds came white bolts of energy to strike down the dogs of war. Explosions erupted amongst several Federation craft breaking their engines and the ability to remain in the sky. Leaving a trail of smoke and fire, the broken barbarian ships crashed into the city.

At their aft, Hasitus turned night to day with a shower of barrage shells. Caught unprepared, the Federation ships broke formation, as others were merely obliterated by the firepower. Twirling starlights carrying conventional Federation explosives struck back upon their ships, downing three or four. Hasitus did not have time to look at his losses.

They closed upon the enemy and switched to plasma torpedoes and energy repeaters. A satisfying thunk echoed through the ship as they fired the first missiles at the barbarians. The warheads struck dead on an enemy cruiser, slamming into its central spine. Green and blue plasma burst across its deck when it spun uncontrollably. Hasitus could see the ship writhed under the impact.

In an eerie display of unison, the barbarian fleet turned toward the Serpen ships and opened fire with their cannons. The republic ships were crushed under the fury. Fires burst from ships, holes were rent in armour and smoke filled the sky. After the first power core breached, the storm clouds turned a terrifying yellow, red and orange of fiery plasma. Curved trails of smokes were the only images left of many other ships.

Hasitus grimaced at the loss of so many ships. Too many had died in that one second of combat. All aboard those ships had lives, families and spent years learning in the military academies. In a single moment in the fury of war, they were all extinguished.

On the display, Hasitus could see the disorganized display of barbarian ships had only one consistency. They protected a single medium sized craft in the centre. Guessing it was a command ship, Hasitus pointed and his fleet opened fire. Outside, the burning heavens of Gladius masked the glowing trails of ever more plasma torpedoes being fired by the Arma ships. The barrage struck its target and those around it, splintering the ships into a thousand melted pieces.

The effect was immediately seen on the Federation fleet. Ships began to run about aimlessly for some minutes. Both the Arma and Serpen ships took the opportunity to down more of the barbarians but it was a short lived moment before they regained coherency.

Every Fed dog regrouped themselves into a tight formation. Once together, they ascended back into space. Hasitus smiled then but it was gone when he could see a single dot appear on the holographic display.

“Defiance of Eres,” Harma muttered and even Posydin shared the religious curse.

The dot moved without obstacle down to the air above the only city on Gladius. With a single flash as a warning it erupted in a great explosion. Fire reached out to part of the sprawling low level town. A second white explosion spread out underneath the orange flames of the original blast. Everything within was turned to ash.

With the skies burning, and the city destroyed, the Federation forces returned to space. A single hypernuclear device was all that was necessary for the barbarians to complete their task. Even as he had seen great brutality on the part of the Terra-born barbarians, this was crass disconcert for civilian life was unusual.

“Centurion, look at the other Serpen craft,” Harma indicated, pointing to a display of ships that had outflanked the remaining Fed dogs that had stayed in space. The Serpens assaulted a curious formation of infantry transports, destroying them with plasma torpedoes and dangerously close range barrage shell volleys.

After the troop transports were destroyed, the Serpen ships quickly retreated. The Federation did not follow. Regrouping was the option they had chosen. As soon as the second group of barbarian craft returned to them, they retreated back to the gas giants.

“Looks like those were hopper infantry transports,” Posydin reported.

Hasitus nodded slowly realizing the reason for the barbarian withdrawal. “Hopper infantry are only used for elite surgical strikes. They must have had a plan.”

“What plan could involve destroying a whole city?” Harma replied distressed. “How did Terra come to be inhabited by people so barbaric?”

Hasitus clamped his hands onto the display again, drawing up another method of survival for tomorrow’s battle. It would be a vain hope to believe life made of metal and wire would require rest before battling once again. The Fed dogs would strike soon enough and they needed to be able to survive it. He counted only twenty five remaining Arma ships and thirty Serpen ships. Despite his earlier reluctance to commit forces, Germanicus had sacrificed many ships at the city.