Amantus
Copyright© 2026 by QM
Chapter 28
“Admiral Carse’s support group is engaging the Tarpheli fleet,” Tuvis informed the tactical group. “It’s turning into a slugging match, though our people are dominant.”
“We’ll be finished here soon,” Dorrus mused. “Put me through to Commodore Vroote, please.”
“Yes, ma’am, channel open,” Honack replied.
“Vroote here, thank you for your aid, Dorrus,” a voice came over the comms.
“You’re welcome, Vroote,” Dorrus replied. “As we’re still more or less intact, could I ask you to move position to be able to support the Admiral while you conduct repairs?”
“Hmm, good idea, my flotilla will move away when we’re finished here,” Vroote replied. “Vroote out.”
“Gave him an honourable way to withdraw,” Horth murmured.
“Yes, he’s not bad at his job,” Dorrus confirmed. “Just inflexible.”
“Treman Fleet are holding their own; they use stealth and electronic countermeasures far more than we do,” Tuvis informed the tactical group.
“Keep studying them, though nothing active,” Dorrus ordered.
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Green section is clear; suggest a 5G dash to get in amongst red,” Amantus suggested. “Targets marked.”
“Plot it and move out,” Dorrus ordered.
“Yes, ma’am,” Jastuc on navigation replied.
“Detecting several auxiliary powerplants activating,” Tuvis warned.
“Fourth squadron to eliminate them,” Horth ordered.
“Acknowledged,” Honack replied.
“I’d say this was too easy, only I’ve seen the condition of Vroote’s flotilla,” Dorrus observed.
“We caught yellow section by surprise, ma’am,” Amantus replied. “Now we’re in amongst the yards; it’s far harder to get at us.”
“True, we’re now approaching the defences laterally, with nothing left behind us but habitation modules,” Horth agreed.
“Yes,” Dorrus smiled. “Well done, everyone; keep it up.”
“Blue section is in range,” Tuvis warned.
“Prepare to assist Alleni’s flotilla, same tactics,” Dorrus ordered.
“Yes, ma’am,” Honack replied. “Flotilla acknowledges.”
“The Protectorate are succeeding, though certain flotillas have been mauled,” Supreme Commander Mutra observed to his command deck on the battleship Artenet.
“Standard Protectorate tactic,” Captain Pheelis nodded. “Drive in hard and fast and slug it out; it’s effective if costly.”
“Most but not all,” Mutra pointed out two flotillas that had driven into the yards at speed from an oblique angle and were now rolling up the critical infrastructure from where the Tarpheli could not easily get at them.
“Yes, clever of them,” Pheelis agreed. “They haven’t even used their fighter/bomber content yet.”
“Their Admiral’s group are holding the Tarpheli fleet away from the yards for us as well; it seems the Regent was correct for us to ally with them.”
“For as long as it lasts, yes,” Pheelis replied. “The corruption in their higher society means that sooner or later pressure will be applied for them to stop.”
“True, but the destruction of their yards here will hamstring them for quite a while whilst we deal with the Troneks.”
The Patriarch was having an informal meeting with Orliantomin Blufess, discussing the Sixth Fleet’s surprising campaign.
“I’m surprised the Fleet Advisory Committee authorised it,” the Patriarch noted.
“Both the Armot and Ferine clans were unavailable that day, unusually enough,” Blufess smirked. “They have always been obstructionist when dealing with the Tarpheli.”
“Well done,” the Patriarch nodded. “Not the only ones, I take it?”
“No, the Orrok, Danfiss and Serno clans have undisclosed business interests with the Tarpheli, though the Serno are gradually increasing their interests with the Troneks.”
“Well, as we’re not officially at war with either the Troneks or Tarpheli, it’s allowable, though probably somewhat immoral,” the Patriarch nodded.
“Indeed so, Hellarch; frankly, their loyalty is to themselves, not the Protectorate.”
“Do you wish Clan Aman’s influence?”
“Not as yet, though perhaps in the future as I suspect the Armot, Ferine, Orrok, Danfiss and Serno clans will attempt to get the campaign suspended,” Blufess scowled.
“I’ll see if I can get their corruption openly investigated by the Security Commission,” the Patriarch nodded. “It will only slow them down and cost them a lot of credits in bribes, however.”
“That will help,” Blufess sighed.
Dorrus’s flotilla tore through the blue section, finally moving over the devastated areas that Vinns flotilla had wrecked in the green section.
“We have a request to engage a Tarpheli flotilla that’s advancing on the Treman flank,” Honack passed on.
“On screen,” Dorrus ordered.
“Standard formation, though they have two, not one carrier,” Tuvis confirmed.
“Recommended an arc over the area we passed and the curl around to hit them in the flank,” Amantus suggested. “That way we’ll avoid counterfire from active sections.”
“No dash?” Horth asked.
“With two carriers, we’d be exposed to a lot of counterfire from bombers lying in wait, as we’d be travelling too fast to do anything when we detect them,” Amantus explained. “Unless we get lucky shots in on small fast ships.”
“Good point,” Horth nodded.
“We can use our fighters within our formation to aid in dealing with them,” Amantus continued. “Suggest we launch bombers within our defensive formation, once we’re past any ambush, followed by a dash to hit their flotilla at the same time as the bombers.”
“Good thinking; that should work,” Dorrus approved.
“The reduced speed also gives us time to plan out alternatives; and the timing means we can still intercept the Tarpheli flotilla before they reach the Tremans,” Amantus added.
“Yes,” Horth nodded. “A bit of caution here is called for.”
“Agreed,” Dorrus added.
The flotilla accelerated at a modest speed, moving in a curved path that would take them to the enemy flotilla.
“Detecting bombers,” Tuvis warned.
“Templar, to launch fighters,” Dorrus ordered.
“Order acknowledged, ma’am,” Honack confirmed.
“Here they come,” Tuvis announced.
“Secondaries, weapons free,” Horth ordered.
“Acknowledged, sir,” Honack confirmed.
“Fighters, take them out,” Dorrus ordered.
“Templar acknowledges,” Honack replied. “Fighters are underway.”
“ECM is operating; hopefully the fighters can make them dodge as they’re lining up their shots,” Horth stated.
“Accentuate jink,” Amantus ordered. All ships begin lateral weave!”
“Order sent, sir,” Honack acknowledged.
“Missiles launched, only five though,” Tuvis advised. “Fighters caught them.”
“Good,” Dorrus replied. “Status on the missiles?”
“Three down, no four,” Tuvis stated. “Battlecruiser Callat was hit, but still in the fight.”
“Launch bombers,” Dorrus ordered.
“Templar acknowledges, ma’am,” Honack replied.
“Pick up speed, 3G.”
Amantus adjusted some figures on his perscomp and watched the countdown change.
“Now, ma’am,” he finally said.
“10G burst,” Dorrus ordered. “5G deceleration when we hit beam range!”
“Flotilla acknowledges, ma’am,” Honack replied.
The flotilla shot forward, heading directly towards the Tarpheli formation. They arrived exactly when the bombers targeted the outer edge of the formation and used the chaos of the dodging and damaged destroyers of the outer shell to attack the capital ships of the centre directly. The Tarpheli fought back, naturally, though they lost their two carriers in the first volley and struggled to maintain cohesion as Dorrus’s flotilla proceeded to tear them apart with its heavier firepower and speed.
Both Amantus and Tuvis were busy, she picking out targets, he plotting the means to get at them as the Devastator rocked occasionally from missile strikes. The end, however, came quickly as the Devastator finally destroyed what Tuvis had designated the enemy flagship and the Tarpheli scattered and raced for the XD boundary.
“Damage reports?” Dorrus ordered.
“We’ll need extensive armour repairs,” the engineering Lieutenant reported. “But nothing vital was hit, ma’am.”
“Casualties?”
“Several crew are being treated for impact damage and burns, ma’am,” Honack replied. “No reports of any deaths.”
“Good,” Dorrus nodded. “Recall the pursuing ships.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Any targets of significance left?” Dorrus asked Amantus.
“No, ma’am,” Amantus replied. “The Tremans have accomplished their task, and the flotillas attacking the yards have completed their tasks.”
“OK, we’ll head towards the Admiral unless we get ordered elsewhere,” Dorrus decided. “Well done, all of you.”
Sixth finally made its way back to Conveelt. Many were in the repair yards, which prioritised the lightly damaged ships, such as the Devastator, to get them back in service quickly, before towing the badly damaged ships in for long-term repairs.
Amantus was back in his normal shift pattern and was spending his free time reviewing the battle and whether he could have done things better. He was also generally aware of various ongoing reviews throughout the fleet. However, he did not expect a promotion to come his way, as Dorrus’s flotilla had accomplished its tasks with few losses. Whilst several in the crew were decorated for their achievements, Amantus was not; instead, he was assigned a new dress uniform, courtesy of Dorrus, in place of a medal.
“You deserve more,” Dorrus admitted. “But your status makes that impossible. I can’t even mention you in the crew citation.”
“I understand, ma’am,” Amantus replied with a wry smile.
“Good, though I have had to fend off several requests to transfer you to other flotillas who did not perform as well as they ought to have,” Dorrus chuckled. “Same as Tuvis.”
“Well done, my son,” Helia congratulated Amantus.
“The crew of the Devastator and the flotilla in general performed brilliantly, mother, unlike other flotillas in the Fleet,” Amantus replied.
“Good, though pressure is building within certain clan groupings to rein in the current campaign,” Helia nodded.