Pournelle,Jerry - War World II - Death's Head Rebellion

War World II:

Death’s Head Rebellion

Jerry Pournelle

1990

Contents

Chronology

THE FACE OF THE ENEMY-DON HAWTHORNE

STRONG BLOOD-G.C. EDMONDSON

BRENDA -LARRY NIVEN

SOME THINGS SURVIVE -JOHN LAVALLEY

NO SUCH THING AS A NON-LETHAL WEAPON -JAMES A. LANDAU

LOVED I NOT HONOR MORE -MARTIN TAYS

THE FIELD OF DOUBLE SOWING -HARRY TURTLEDOVE

FAR ABOVE RUBIES -SUSAN SHWARTZ

Chronology

2032 Captain Jed Byers of the CDSS Ranger discovers a planetary sized moon of a gas giant and

names it Haven. It is not so much a niche as a loophole for life.

2037 Garner Castell buys the license to establishNew Harmonysettlements on Haven

2038 Sauron is discovered by Avery Landyn, a survey pilot for 3M. World is rich in radioactives

and heavy metals.

2040 CoDominium Bureau of Relocation begins mass out-system shipment of convicts and

undesirables. Colonization ofSpartaand St. Ekaterina, First convicts arrive on Haven.

2046 Two thousand American miners sent to Haven after the Great Lakes Iron Revolt. When they

discover the strict laws prevailing inCastellCity, they found their own town, Hell's-A-Comin'.

2052 Shimmer stones are discovered on Haven. Word leaks out by tramp ship and miners begin to

flock to Haven.

2058 CoDominium sends a brigade of Marines and an ambassador to Haven. The new viceroy lays

the foundation forFortKursk.

2079 Sergei Lermontov becomes Grand Admiral of the CoDominium Space Navy.

2098 Saurons evict the CoDominium and declare their independence. They begin to build their own

space navy.

2103 Great Patriotic Wars. End of the CoDominium. Exodus of the Fleet.

2250 Leonidas I ofSpartaproclaims the Empire of Man.

2258 Seventy-seventh Division ("Land Gators") of the Imperial Marines is commissioned on Haven.

Principal duties, garrison and peacekeeping on Haven. Mobile Reserve for Twelfth Army.

2250– 2600 Empire of Man enforces interstellar peace.

2434 First Cyborg is created on Sauron.

2603 St. Ekaterina is nearly destroyed by the Saurons. Secession Wars begin.

2613 Lavaca is liberated from the Saurons during the Lavacan Campaign.

2618 Third Imperial Fleet is nearly destroyed off Tabletop.

2623 Seventy-seventh Division is withdrawn from Haven along with all Imperial officials.

2637 Sauron supported Secessionist armada and Claimant fleets fight to a draw at the Battle of

Makassar.

First there was the CoDominium, an uneasy alliance which kept the peace on Earth, but at a cost

greater than many were willing to bear. Then came the Alderson Drive, which gave mankind the stars;

and those who hated the CoDominium could leave, and many who did not want to leave the Earth were

exiled.

Mankind had the stars, but not wisdom; and when a hundred worlds were settled, the CoDominium

could no longer keep the peace. CoDominium became chaos, and from that rose the Empire, built on

dreams but held together by the Navy. And the Empire grew its own seeds of destruction, to dissolve

into the Secession Wars.

Through it all Haven endured. Then the Saurons came.

THE FACE OF THE ENEMY-DON HAWTHORNE

The Universe exists in chaos;

Man is the measure of the Universe. The ultimate chaos of man's existence Is the human endeavor

called War. By mastering War, we master the Universe.

Children's song taught in Sauron primary schools, Translated by Colonel Nigel McKeegan,

Director of Imperial Forces of Occupation, Secession Wars Historical Task Force, 2643

"What are we?"

The question was directed toward a viewport of the Sauron heavy cruiser Fomoria, but was

addressed to the figure behind the speaker, who blinked in surprise at the words.

The officer at the viewport stood with hands clasped behind his back, watching the immensity of

interstellar space before him as if he might actually discern something amid all that blackness. If any

human-spawned eyes were capable of it, his were. Vessel First Rank Galen Diettinger turned from the

viewport and fixed the young Soldier before him with a piercing stare. "I asked you what we are, Fighter

Rank Severin."

"Your pardon, First Rank, but the question is out of context. Are you referring to this ship and her

crew, or to you and me, or is the nature of the question metaphysical?"

Diettinger nodded slightly, seeming satisfied and disappointed at the same time. "The context is

immaterial, Fighter Rank Severin. You have answered the question." Diettinger took his seat at the desk.

"Sit," he ordered. Severin sat. "You commanded the reconnaissance flight to Tanith System this morning.

Report your impressions of the situation there."

Severin remained impassive, but inwardly he was disapproving. He was part of that group of younger

Saurons, born since the start of the Secession Wars, who believed personal interpretation of data to be

at best an outdated tradition and at worst a dangerous indulgence. Accurate information, in sufficient

quantities, made it unnecessary to "read" the enemy's intentions; whatever his intentions might be, his

actions would be dictated by the actions of the Saurons.

But Diettinger was of an older school, one that thought prudence to be as crucial as boldness, an idea

Severin's generation could barely understand, let alone embrace. The First Rank even had an Old Earth

antique in his office, something called a "sampler" from the Peninsular Campaigns of the Sauron role

model,Wellington, which read: "Discretion is the better part of valor." Whatever that meant.

"First Rank, enemy fleet dispositions at Tanith are three Chinthe-class destroyers, the light cruisers

Strela andKonigsberg, and the Imperial battlecruiserCanada."

Diettinger waited until the silence began to discomfit the Fighter Rank. "Ground force deployments,"

he said.

"Deployments, sir?" Severin was confused. "Sensors indicated one battalion of mechanized infantry,

one of heavy armor, and four of foot infantry, with assumed attendant support units and an unidentified

concentration presumed to be a special operations brigade, standard for Imperial ground forces of this

size."

"You seem unconcerned, Fighter Rank."

Severin shrugged. "Their lack of armor support or infantry vehicles suggests overall poor combat

readiness."

Diettinger's face remained blank. "How low was your reconnaissance pass, Fighter Rank Severin?"

"Low, sir?" Severin was taken aback; doctrine directed that reconnaissance ops be conducted from

high orbit, to allow the maximum spread of the sophisticated sensor gear aboard the fighters. "Standard,

First Rank, 150 kilometers."

Diettinger almost smiled. "While you were optimizing the scanning equipment on board your fighter,

did you make any use of the scanning equipment in your head?"

"First Rank, Tanith is under almost perpetual cloud cover, I saw no reason - "

"Tanith is under such cloud cover, Fighter flank, because it is hot, extremely so. It is a veritable jungle

in every place above sea level where it is not swamp, or sheer cliff, or broken ground. That is the reason

for the low vehicle-to-infantry ratio. With very few exceptions, armored vehicles are worthless on Tanith,

while infantry with airlift support, and particularly special forces groups, comprise the dominant forces in

battle. Your failure to provide accurate disposition of these enemy forces has endangered the success of

our mission and the lives of hundreds of your fellow Soldiers."

"But, First Rank, they are only human norms!"

Now it was Diettinger's turn to be surprised. Recovering, he stood and looked down at Severin.

"What have you learned since release from your training creche, Fighter Rank? Have you forgotten that it

has been 'human norms' across known space who have bled Sauron white in this war?"

Severin went cold; this type of conversation was perilously close to treason. Sauron reverses in the

last few years of the war could clearly be attributed to manpower and materiel superiority of the enemy

forces; even at that, such Imperial victories as had been won were, to say the least, pyrrhic. The situation

at Tanith was a classroom exercise; the Sauron heavy cruiser which could not utterly destroy such a

meager opposing force as Severin had reported was not worthy of the name.

"Your squadron will immediately make secondary reconnaissance sweeps and report directly to me.

These will be low altitude passes, 100 meters or less, with augmented visual recording gear. If your

second report is satisfactory, you and your squadron will not be remanded to combat overwatch during

the battle. Dismissed."

Diettinger watched the young Soldier leave.

The new ones arrive filled with the invincibility of Sauron, he reflected. Their historical training is being

neglected, or they would know that only losing armies do that to their young warriors.

Diettinger reviewed his orders once more. "Massive quantities of pharmaceuticals on Tanith awaiting

convoy for off-shipment," they read, and then one word: "Secure."

Pharmaceuticals on Tanith meant one thing: borloi. An addictive vice among the human norms that

comprised the Empire, borloi in its most concentrated form was the only drug capable of anesthetizing a

Sauron for surgery. With the fearful weapons both sides were employing in this war of secession, more

and more Soldiers were being wounded and maimed, and while their superior healing ability and

resistance to trauma increased their survivability vis a vis their Imperial counterparts, they couldn't grow

back lost limbs or organs without help.

At least, Diettinger thought, not yet. And until the Breedmasters perfect that capability, we can't fight

the Empire with paraplegics. Regeneration might be an exact science, but grafts and regrowth implanting

were not painless, particularly for burn victims. Sauron needed that borloi, and Diettinger's ship was the

closest to Tanith for the mission.

He accessed data on the vessels Severin had reported in orbit: three destroyers, two light cruisers,

and the original of theCanadaclass of battlecruisers. TheCanadawould be over fifty Standard Years old;

perhaps the Empire was straining in this war, as well.

Sauron ship designations were derived from weaponry and mission profiles, rather than tonnage, but

the Fomoria was more than a match for the Imperial BC. The other ships would be dangerous inasmuch

as Fomoria would have to ignore them while she engaged theCanada, during which time all the Imperial

vessels would be firing on her, attempting to overload her Langston Fields with energy weapons and slip

missiles past her point defense systems.

Though space was the only battlefield where the Imperials could engage Sauron forces on something

like an even footing, Diettinger himself had developed tactics to redress that problem, tactics which were

now standard procedure wherever the Saurons faced the Imperial Navy. The naval aspect of the raid

was thus the least crucial. The problem was the raid on Tanith herself.

Library data gave him the general layout of Tanith's main spaceport, but it was accurate only to ten

years ago, making Severin's reconnaissance update crucial; still, until he knew more, the First Rank

would work with what he had. After a few minutes' planning he had arrived at what he felt was an

acceptable battle outline.

He scheduled the Staff meeting for one hour after the return of Severin's squadron.

Captain Will Adderly of the INSS Canada and commander of the Tanith Patrol Fleet launched his

pen across the room toward the dart board for another bull's-eye. It was something he did to relieve

tension, and it was almost second nature to him now.

Design Notes:

The Chinthe-class destroyers (Type D-76) were originally designed by Prabash and Beng, Ltd.,

ofMakassar, as fast merchant vessels. However, at the time of their design the possibility of a breakdown

of the Empire had apparently occurred to certain people in the firm.

So the ships (designated the P-8 Class) were given high speed, a limited self-refueling capability,

compartmentation to military specifications, oversized computers, and a number of compartments that

could easily be converted to weapons' mountings or ammunition storage.

The result was a ship with limited armament for its size (greater than most light and some heavy

cruisers) but high speed and (when lightly loaded) exceptional range. These qualities became valuable

from the early days of the Secession Wars, as hostile forces disrupted the Imperial Navy's network of

bases.

Consequently, an order was placed for twenty-six P-8's with a built-in armaments suit. . . .

- From Jane's ALL THE GALAXY'S WARSHIPS 19th Edition (Sparta, 2645)

He read the reports again, hoping they would say something different this time, but it was not to be.

The Talon-class Sauron heavy cruiser Fomoria was still out there, a ship as fearsome as the reputation of

her commander. Sauron heavy cruisers were designed to be all-purpose vessels, carrying fighters, ground

troops, and far more armament than their Imperial Navy counterparts. They were an Admiral's dream,

the first ships in human history truly able to "outfight what they couldn't outrun, and outrun what they

couldn't outfight." Adderly launched another pen. Unfortunately, the very flexibility of such a ship made it

impossible for him to guess what it might be doing here. A force of transports and battleships meant siege

and invasion, a force of carriers meant a strike, but one heavy cruiser only meant trouble.

The Saurons had arrived in-system three T-weeks ago. As usual in this war, they had been preceded

by automated bombs, high-yield nukes on simple clockwork timers, sent ahead along the Alderson Point

tramline to soften up anybody waiting on the other end. The disorientation effects of Jump Lag made such

a tactic mandatory, since all humans, even Saurons, were so debilitated by the phenomena that a monitor

waiting on the other end could destroy them with ease if it happened to be close enough to the tramline's

exit point. Computers fared worse, but even Jump Lag couldn't disrupt a spring and a handful of gears.

Immediately upon recovery, they had engaged the converted asteroid sentry base, still recovering

from the Sauron nukes, that guarded Tanith's Alderson Point. In less than a day, it was reduced to

rubble.

And since then, nothing. The Fomoria still had made no move against his meager task force and he still

did not dare engage her until the convoy arrived with its escort to reinforce.

The Saurons had been probing this sector off and on for about four years now, and despite being

bloodied in three major naval engagements, they were far from beaten. It was only by grace of the travel

times between Alderson Points that the Empire had survived the initial Sauron victories of the war at all.

The decades following were filled with the constant struggle to push the Saurons and their allies back.

Now it seemed as if the Saurons were on the wane.

But twice since the tide had turned in the war, the Imperial General Staff had launched offensives

against Sauron strongholds, and twice the carefully garnered reserves and precious resources of men and

ships had been obliterated, when everything in the Staff plans had predicted otherwise.

Now they were at Tanith, one of the crossroads into the heart of the Empire. From here it was only a

short trip to Gaea, or Covenant; evenSparta, the Imperial capital would be in range of a Sauron Fleet

based at Tanith. If the enemy got a foothold there . . .

Adderly's constant requests for reinforcement had gone unheeded. He had been promised that a

portion of the convoy escort would be turned over to his control, but he couldn't leave the Fomoria out

there, unmolested, to welcome the convoy when it arrived, helpless in the throes of Jump Lag.

Adderly recalled the old military adage from over a century ago, when Sauron still provided loyal

troops for the Empire, before the Secession War: "No battle plan survives contact with a Sauron." Too

true. Perhaps even more so of this Sauron. Adderly rechecked the slim intel file on Galen Diettinger,

commander of the Fomoria.

At least it's an old warhorse like me, he thought.

One problem with being at war for generations was that details on the enemy's up-and-comers

became almost impossible to get. There simply were no Sauron defectors, and human norms who tried to

impersonate them rarely succeeded.

It wasn't all that tough for a Sauron to tone down his abilities and pass for a human norm. Rumor had

it they did not look all that different. For all the "racial supremacists" bilgewater the Imperial Propaganda

Committee put out about them, the Saurons varied in physiognomy as much as human norms; they were,

after all, "purpose-bred people." And they possessed enough human norm worlds as allies from which to

draw their espionage community. On the other hand, there seemed to be no end to the petty thieves and

bureaucrats willing to betray the Empire for a few feeble promises of neutrality or special treatment, or

just plain money.

And what did that say about the state of the Imperial society he was risking his neck to preserve?

Adderly dismissed the memory of his wife's voice. Alysha would never understand. Alysha never had,

although she had promised she would. They had married during his midshipman days at the Academy -

when no one had yet dared to label the Empire's ongoing skirmishes as the Secession Wars - he

promising to join her father's merchant fleet as soon as those skirmishes were resolved.

But the Saurons had emerged to lead the Secessionist cause, and the skirmishes had become a war.

His four years of required service became a lifelong career, despite his influential father-in-law's offers to

get him out of the Navy for "critical civilian services." His refusals had led to battles with Alysha that

rivaled those with the Secessionists.

Adderly sighed; at least this Diettinger was a more or less known quantity. The file called him

resourceful and innovative, with a flag at the last word. Sauron discipline and aggressiveness tended to

make them somewhat predictable, but they possessed their share of daring commanders. And, being

perhaps the ultimate military pragmatists, they were quick to place these exemplars where they could do

the most good.

Adderly read of engagements in which the Fomoria took part under Diettinger; none of the accounts

gave him cause for rejoicing. The Fomoria typically had been used to engage numerically superior forces,

once even here during the Battle of Tanith.

Soon to be renamed the FirstBattleof Tanith, no doubt, Adderly mused.

Diettinger had one of those records that a Civilian might have chalked up to mere genius, but Adderly

knew better. No action Diettinger commanded had ended in defeat for the Saurons unless he had been

relieved by the appearance of higher ranking officers. The man was not just good, he was lucky.

It was a rare Sauron who claimed a consistent record of naval victories. Ship to ship, the Imperial

Navy was equal to anything the Saurons could muster. It was all that was winning the war against them. It

was also why Sauron ships were built to be twice as powerful as any opposing vessels of their type.

If the Sauron moved before the convoy arrived, Adderly knew that any battle plan he could come up

with would be only the first casualty.

He decided it was time to confer with the commanders of the light cruisers Strela andKonigsberg, and

called his First Officer's duty station. "Jimmy, get Captains Casardi and Saunders on line for a briefing in

two hours. Thank you."

Will Adderly had been in the Navy for twenty years, all of them at war, all fighting Saurons or their

allies, and he had developed a smell for trouble. He looked at the holo of the Tanith system above his

desk.

It stank.

"The enemy convoy is due in-system at any time. We may expect heavy support in addition to the

transport ships. The issue is therefore to be resolved as a raid, with rapid deployment of ground forces to

the spaceport to determine the location of the borloi, secure it, and maintain the perimeter against local

counterattack while the material is being up-loaded to the Fomoria."

Diettinger turned to the commander of his ground force complement, Deathmaster Anson Quilland.

"Status?"

"All forces at operational strength, First Rank. Heavy anti-armor unit outfitting now, heavy antiaircraft

units will be ready in one hour."

"The Imperial force deployments indicate they are moving their ground units to reinforce the

spaceport, evidently to secure it from our attack, but only two enemy infantry battalions have reached it

as yet. Augment your force with twice-normal anti-personnel weapons. Use captured projectile weapons

as they become available. It will add to the enemy's confusion if he sees non-energy weapons like his

own firing from within the spaceport."

Quilland smiled; he considered himself fortunate to be in Diettinger's command. The First Rank was

crafty and thorough, and under him, Quilland had been promoted quickly. No one else of his creche had

yet attained the rank of Deathmaster, the authority to decide whom among their Soldiers would be

committed to large battles, and thus who would live, and who die.

"All means at your disposal are authorized to secure the perimeter. The enemy must be aware of our

presence in-system and cannot fail to eventually guess your objective, but the longer we keep them

believing that an invasion bridgehead on Tanith is our goal, the less difficulty we will have in off-shipping

the borloi." He looked to his left. "Speak."

"What are loss parameters for the operation, sir?" Second Rank was compiling the database

necessary for the coordination of the plans by her Staff department.

"None." Diettinger acknowledged the reactions of the other Soldiers with a nod. "High Command's

orders were to secure that borloi. No options were indicated." Diettinger turned to the massive form at

the end of the table. "Cyborg RankKoln."

Heavy facial bone structure, little subcutaneous fat and the short, lank hair of the Cyborgs

gaveKolnthe look of a hungry skull. Diettinger had heard that human norms called the Cyborgs "death's

heads," after the crossed bars and skull-shaped nuclear cloud of the Pathfinders' insignia. He had begun

to suspect that was not the only reason.

"Your Pathfinders will, as usual, precede the first landings to mark and secure the drop zones and,

most importantly, locate the borloi. Your forces will have to split up sufficiently to maintain pressure on

the spaceport until reinforced, however."

Kolnshook his head. "No difficulty, First Rank. Four Pathfinder Cyborgs can locate the borloi while

the rest of the force maintains the feint."

"Be aware that we cannot risk the nuclear pre-strike standard in your operations; the borloi is useless

if radioactive."

"Understood."

"Very well. In four hours the Fomoria will move to engage the Tanith patrol fleet. Finish your

operational plans and coordinate with Second Rank; she will have your timetables for you in ninety

minutes. Dismissed."

After the others had left, Diettinger turned to Second Rank. "The convoy will be escorted with

additional Imperial warships. Double the density of mines at the Alderson Point. Detach a squadron of

heavy fighters to engage and delay anything that gets through." Diettinger considered the improved quality

of the latest reconnaissance. "Give the command to Fighter Rank Severin."

Second Rank raised her head. "Comment, First Rank."

"Speak."

"Will not all fighter squadrons be required to engage enemy spacecraft?"

"Hopefully not, because your next task is to dispatch an emergency distress buoy through the

Alderson Point back to Second Fleet. Tell them that we are encountering heavy and unexpected

resistance, with more enemy ships arriving daily, and to dispatch all available reinforcements."

Second Rank's eyes widened. "But . . . First Rank . . . that's not true!"

Diettinger looked at her. "No, Second Rank, it is not true. Today. Nor may it be true tomorrow. It

may in fact never be true, but I am not willing to take that chance."

"First Rank, if word of this gets back to High Command, you will be executed for misuse of

resources." Diettinger did not notice that her voice was trembling.

"Second Rank, the Imperials will receive reinforcements when their convoy arrives. They will certainly

request more as they engage us, if they have not already; that is standard Imperial procedure. We, too,

will request reinforcements as they escalate, that is standard Sauron procedure. I am simply moving up

the timetable. I will have that borloi for Sauron, Second Rank, and I will take no chances that it be lost

because our Fleets are on standby, waiting to rescue one of our more incompetent allies from their own

blunders. Dispatch the buoy, dismissed."

He watched her go, back stiff. How she could be so concerned with procedure at times like this was

beyond him.

Couldn't they see, any of them? After two decades of war, the pattern I described to Second Rank is

now set in stone. Sauron has lost the ability to seize the initiative, to make the enemy react to us; the

Imperials now know what we will do; not in detail, we still hold that tactical advantage. But in procedure,

that field where battles may be lost but the war still won. Diettinger ran a hand through his hair, straight,

white and, he realized, thinning.

The Imperial commander at Tanith knows what I will do. My only hope is to deceive him as to how I

will do it.

"And the hell of it is, gentlemen, that I haven't the faintest goddamned idea of what those Sauron

sonsofbitches are going to do, nor when, nor how, nor even why!"

Adderly had been throwing his pens at the dartboard for the last ten minutes; there was a cluster of

them grouped around the bull's-eye, each later makeshift dart driven in deeper than the last. He was now

starting to pitch them hard enough to bury them in the plastic of the wall behind the board, and it was

doing no more to relieve his tension than when he'd started.

Captain Edwin Casardi of the Strela leaned back in his seat and spread his hands. "Will, take it easy;

they haven't moved yet. If they wait until the convoy arrives, they're hopelessly outnumbered. If they hit

us now, we only have to hold, harass and withdraw. One Sauron heavy cruiser against Tanith Starports

Langston Field won't amount to a pisshole in a snowheap."

Adderly stopped to look at him, then to Casardi's opposite number, Saunders. "Is that what you

think, Colin?"

Saunders was a red-haired Gael from New Scotland, fair skin and freckles making him look eternally

young. The freckles almost disappeared when he was angry, as he was now.

"Like bloody hell. Sir." Saunders did not like Casardi, and made no secret of it. The Strela's CO was

too confident for Saunders' taste, and too easy on his crew by half. Saunders' ownKonigsbergboasted

the best readiness record of her class, if not the Navy. Now here was a chance for that readiness to be

proven, and this lazy wop wanted to run!

"This Fomoria is a heavy cruiser, by their rating, a heavy battlecruiser by ours; she outgunsCanadaand

either of our light cruisers; but she canna' outgun all three ships and the Chinthes t'boot! We know she's

out there, and if she's preparing to hit us, as you say, then I say she'll ne'er be more vulnerable. Let's take

all we've got and run the bastard t'ground!"

Adderly rubbed his face with his hands. "I'm amazed, gentlemen; you agree on something." He looked

up at both of them, scowling. "And you're both dead wrong.

Pull out, or attack; either way we leave Tanith to fend for herself. Christ, men, we're the bloody

Navy! What if we guess wrong, Colin, and don't find her, and she slips in the back door with a load of

thermonukes, and Tanith gets slagged in a terror bombing while we're out beating the bush? Or say we

pull safely out of range, Ed, and wait for the convoy to pull our asses out of the fire, and suddenly, wham,

the Sauron drops a division of marines through the Field and into the spaceport just in time for their

reinforcements?"

"Will, there's almost two-thirds of a full-strength Division down there!" Casardi sounded offended.

"They'd outnumber a Sauron Battalion by six-to-one!"

After twenty years of being kicked around by the Saurons and their Coalition of Secession, Adderly

knew that the Navy's ranks had been winnowed mercilessly, leaving men who had been fighting in this

war long enough to become shrewd, dedicated and skilled in judging their Sauron foe.

I wonder where those men are? he thought, rubbing his eyes. "Ed, Sauron Battalions are designed to

engage Imperial Divisions; engage them and defeat them."

Casardi almost snorted. "Maybe twenty years ago, Will, but they're on the run, now, everybody

knows it. It's only a matter of time."

"Aye," Saunders snapped. "So you'd as soon avoid putting your neck on the line and let somebody

else do the dirty work?"

Casardi's eyes flashed. In her first engagement three years previous, Strela had been rammed

amidships in a battle off Kennicott, losing half her crew in an instant. Twice since then she had suffered

heavy losses, once when her fighter cover had strayed, exposing her to attack, and again when a missile

bay had taken a freak hit through a flaw in her Langston Field. The Strela was now marked; an unlucky

ship.

"My crew has seen combat, Captain Saunders. I confess I would like to try to spare them further

unnecessary "glories" which less experienced officers might find welcome."

Adderly had heard enough. "All right, that's enough, both of you. When this is over I'll officiate at a

sanctioned duel if that's what you want but until then, and I mean this, gentlemen, I will relieve you both if

you don't put your personal differences aside and start working together immediately. Is that

understood?"

The short silence that followed before Adderly's order could be acknowledged was shattered by the

battle alarm.

"NOW HEAR THIS. NOW HEAR THIS.BATTLESTATIONS.BATTLESTATIONS. ENEMY

WARSHIP DETECTED AND CLOSING. CAPTAIN TO THE BRIDGE."

"Ah, Christ on a crutch," Adderly groaned. "You two get back to your ships; Ed, I'll want Strela in

squadron withCanada. Colin,Konigsbergstands back at reserve distance until further notice."

Saunders was too well trained to object, but the bitterness couldn't be kept from his: "Aye, sir."

Casardi only looked at Adderly. "Right," he said, thinking: three destroyers, one light cruiser and a

half-century old BC against the Fomoria. This is it for Strela; our hoodoo's caught up with us, at last.

Adderly caught his look, pretending to ignore it as he ushered his officers out and raced for the bridge.

He knew the Strela's reputation for hard luck and he knew Saunders' temperament; he'd chosen

Casardi's ship to accompanyCanadafor those very reasons. Casardi would be prudent in the

engagement, while Saunders might prove reckless. And when the inevitable reinforcement was called for,

Saunders would throw his ship into the battle with all the fury he'd built up waiting on the sidelines.

If the Navy wouldn't give him geniuses, he'd have to try and use what he had with brilliance.

"Enemy ships closing, First Rank. Three Chinthe-class destroyers, the battlecruiserCanadaand the

light cruiser Strela. Engagement range in fourteen minutes."

In contrast to conditions aboard the Imperial ships, the Sauron bridge was quiet. No klaxons blared.

No stations reported readiness levels; they were always prepared for battle. Only deficiencies were

allowed to interrupt the First Rank's concentration, and aboard the Fomoria there were none.

Strapped into the acceleration couch, Diettinger watched the display on the battle screens. Tanith's

surly orange bulk crouched on the bottom left while five red circles tracked slowly about the middle of

the view. "Marine status."

"Standing by, First Rank." Diettinger's personal modification to space combat was ready; no doubt

the Imperials were prepared for it, but there was really no way they could prevent it.

The three smaller circles moved away from the larger two, moving down and to the left, across the

face of Tanith.

"Destroyers flanking to port, First Rank."

Weapons half-turned in his seat; the First Rank often waited to raise the Langston Field until the last

moment, but he was taking even longer than usual.

"Enemy systems locking on us."

"Target theCanada."

"Done."

The smaller circles were at the lower left edge of the viewscreen. "Destroyers off port bow."

"Visual to 360."

The walls disappeared. There was now only the ceiling, the floor, and around them Tanith space.

Weapons' finger hovered over the Field activation pad. "Destroyers to port," he called. "Coming

about and closing on bearing 225. Destroyers have activated their Fields."

"All enemy Fields activating." The red circles had changed to solid squares of black with red

backlighting.

Pournelle, Jerry - War World II - Death's Head Rebellion

相关推荐

开通VIP享超值会员特权

作者详情

相关内容

热门标签

举报选择: