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Book 2, Interlude: Battle Damage Assessment[]
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Zenith Jump Point
Sudeten system, Clan Jade Falcon Occupation Zone
03/04/3052
SLS McKenna’s Pride, its battlegroup, and auxiliary vessels floated within Sudeten’s Zenith Jump Point. ilKhan Leo Showers gripped the railing so hard even his hands began to hurt, the low-rez HPG video from the Great Bear showed the Typhons, HIS Battleships, getting obliterated by the guns of a numerically superior COMSTAR Fleet. Olympia’s Typhons had engaged and destroyed an immense whale of a ship, CS The Word of Blake, with all hands. McKenna’s battle-computer recognized it as the SLS Enterprise, a boondoggle of an SLDF ship, that had somehow come from the distant past to harm the Clans’ future. If it was not for that ship her Battleships would have wiped out COMSTAR’s fleet and seized or at least besieged Gabriel Station. Instead, The Word of Blake and Gregory Zwick’s Dantes had become a blunt wedge driven right into his ambitions that had cost them 5 of the 12 ships and some damage but it would take a decade or more to replace what the Clans had lost from the assault group and fleet action.
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McKenna Class Battleship, SLS McKenna's Pride
Once the core combatants were destroyed unit cohesion broke down, Quasars recalled their fighters and deployed SAR, destroyers now lacking fighter cover were chased down by fighters and attack craft until they were abandoned, destroyed, or incapacitated. Finally, the film ended with the scuttling, by internal explosion of an Athos bomb in lay down mode, of SLS Anticipation and the evacuation of many lifeboats via small craft to the Great Bear and its charges. At the end a video message from Star Admiral Natalie Ivankova of the Great Bear told him that Grand Admiral Olympia Masters had committed suicide as her surkairede for such a failure.
Leo Showers roared and slammed his fist on the table denting the metal and alarming the civilians around him in the comms room. “Olympia, give me back my battleships!”
The holotank darkened as did the very air around him, half the Clan’s combat fleet wiped out some with all hands, hundreds of casualties that would take years to replace gone, plus the albeit temporary loss of the Anne Rosse and damage to her battlegroup over Atocongo by the Dragoons and their allies. His mighty Clan Fleet was now merely on parity with those of the Dragoons and COMSTAR and unlike them REVIVAL’s logistics were reliant on protecting those ships. With a single engagement some of his initiative had to be ceded to his adversary slowing down LEAPFROG’s already excruciatingly slow progress.
Leo pulled up the present star map patched together via HPG broadcasts and couriers showing progress and ship locations from Harris Station a midway point on the Exodus Road through the Chainelane Isles to the front lines near Pandora along with time displays to their present location. Pandora and the worlds around it blinked hot red after Precentor Martial Photon Brett-Marik of the COMGuards had challenged Khan Malavai Fletcher’s Hell’s Horses, personally insulting him by calling him ‘an old mare’ in the process, and coming up with creative, colorful, cutting, and obscene remarks about their Clan whipping them into a furor like he had never seen before. He didn’t know whether Photon was brave or stupid, but Malavai and his Clan's fury had provoked a response as the Horses, originally meant to be the reserve for LEAPFROG, redeployed against the COMGuards, throwing timetables off, and drawing logistics and support assets out of position in the process.
His eyes focused on the map, the AMC and Dragoons held firm around Arc-Royal and had probably reoccupied Atocongo after the Battlegroups meant to goad their warships out had withdrawn after a disastrous showing. The Commonwealth military was putting up firmer local resistance elsewhere against the raids being conducted by the Mongoose and Nova Fox Toumans. Star Adder, Ghost Bear, and Steel Viper Galaxies were still organizing for an assault on Donegal and other Core Worlds but were waiting for progress reports from the exterior and additional reconnaissance.
Battlegroup Nova Fox, centered on the damaged Anne Rosse, was en route to Camelot Station in the Dark Nebula for extensive repairs that would likely take months. Battlegroup Hell’s Horses was patrolling the Chainelane Isles from their base around Syrstart and it would remain there no matter how much Malavai wanted it to be otherwise. The Invasion Plan and Fleet Assets would need to be reorganized and adjusted based on the new more defensive fleet posture he would need to take. For that he needed assistance and signaled to his Scribe assistant, “Summon Kael Pershaw from Harris via HPG, tell him to lead a Board of Inquiry into our recent failures. Additionally, I wish to consult with the Naval Adjutant and Quartermaster General. Find them and tell them to meet me with haste.”
The young man hastened away to the HPG Transmission room then Adjutant’s Quarters. Almost all of REVIVAL could be run from this Flagship McKenna and so long as everyone followed orders instead of their emotions REVIVAL might still be salvaged.
Leo’s eyes caught Somerset, a planet where multiple streams of ships converged. Captured early during REVIVAL, the planet, its short layover time, accommodating leadership, and an ample supply of POW labor was increasingly making it a crucial waystation for supplies coming from the Chainelanes leading to a large investment in infrastructure upon the world by the Merchant Caste. He should put a garrison on it but there was a greater need for troops on the front line or upon more rebellious worlds. Somerset despite its POW camps had been calm, too calm compared to other occupied worlds that had at least passively opposed the Clans until Occupation Troops were ordered to get them to comply.
His focus had triggered the automatic inquiry system showing the relevant details of the world he was looking at. Leadership, demographics, geographics, history, every bit of data accumulated over centuries of settlement since the Rim World’s Republic.
A young man appeared in the frame, tall, lean, handsome, a thoroughbred Warrior worthy of the Clans. Adam Steiner, Duke of Somerset.
The ilKhan puzzled over this fellow Warrior staring deep into the image’s eyes.
Could he trust this Adam Steiner and his supposed hospitality with the keys to their success?
He might need to summon him.