Chapter 3: The Battle of Aphadus Part 1

“Attention, everyone!” called out the overhead speaker. “Enemy Itrean vessels have been spotted in the system. All military personnel are to report to their stations immediately! All civilian staff are to report to the designated shelters. This is not a drill!”

Alarms began to blare throughout the base. Far above orbit, the fleet of UHN vessels began to issue their own form of alerts. Flashing lights began to pulsate on the hulls. All eyes were focused on Aphadus’s moon and what was coming.

Javier was in a mad rush from the meeting. Adrenaline was rushing through his veins. The enemy never once showed their faces on this system, and now they were here. It was the first time they encountered the enemy in several months.

“It is probably just a scouting fleet,” he said to himself, trying to calm himself down. He neared the briefing station of his assigned area. His division was waiting for him. Even if he was in charge and nervous as hell, the other division staff looked up to him for leadership. It was up to him to look like a leader.

Javier could see other staff running down the hallway. Some of the running was frantic, but some was orderly as well. The military personnel were distinct to look at since they were dressed in their red and blue uniforms, while the civilians were easier to spot with the non-uniforms. Flashing red and yellow lights were being given off as the base was letting everyone know what was happening.

“Alright...,” Javier said as he calmed himself down. He took a deep breath. “Time to check up with my division.”

The logistics department door opened to reveal four members of his division. All were present and accounted for, along with an additional member who was present as well. The extra person in the room was somebody he already knew well.

The logistics department was rocked with the alarms as well. It was not a big office. It was designed to handle most of the mail and storage of one section of the base. The room consisted of four alcoves with his desk tucked into the far corner. The biggest alcove was a reception area for the people waiting on any new shipments.

He had such a small division that he didn’t even have a chief petty officer to care for the enlisted. Regardless, he did what he could to take care of it. He already knew Petty Officer Emily, a woman of a pale complexion who had just joined the UHN. He knew of Seaman Aaedesh and Jagan, both brothers of a darker complexion who were allowed to serve in the same base. Then there was Petty Officer Campbell, a man born on Oshun. His dark complexion was a clear sign that he was born in the African colony world. The last person in the room he saw was Cason. He was standing calmly as the rest were either sitting down or standing.

“Sir,” Emily called out to him. She saluted him and showed a little bit of tension on her face. “All present and accounted for.”

“Good job, team,” Javier called out to his division.

“Who’s attacking us?” Jagan asked him. His light Indian accent was apparent.

“Shal’rein clan.”

“The sharks?” Jagan’s brother asked in a similar accent.

“Why would they want to attack here?” Jagan asked.

“I don’t know. I know that we’ll do our best to repel them. I’ll need to attend the officer’s brief so we can find out everything that’s going on. Petty Officer Emily, you’re in charge of the division until I return. It won’t take too long, and I know that you can do it.”

Emily was tense in her stance. She gave a short nod. “Aye, sir.”

Javier nodded his head to Cason. He stepped forward to him as Javier turned back to the door. It slid open as both of the men walked out together.

The door closed behind them after they exited the room. Cason seemed very collected and composed as he looked at his friend. He could see that Javier was a little bit tense.

“We go to the meeting room,” Cason told Javier.

“I know...” Javier replied as they both began to walk down the hallway. “Why weren’t you with your division?”

“The new transferrals that were going to be assigned to my division were delayed from their departure on Mars. I was going to check up to see how you were after the meeting when the alarms went off. They’ve gone to condition two and locked up portions of the base. I can’t even reach my department.”

“Did you call them? Your division?”

“Yes. They’re fine. After the officer’s brief, I will be asking access to reach my division. Don’t worry, this sort of stuff happens.”

“What? An Itrean attack?” Javier asked as he gestured with his hands.

“No ... Yeah, I know. Like I said ... I’m alright.”

“This sucks ... I can’t even think straight.”

Cason patted Javier on the shoulder as they passed a group of people running past. “Don’t worry. If an Itrean clan fleet is going to cause trouble, we’ll blow them away. Aphadus may be a very lonely planet, but its people are indomitable. If they touch the ground, the invaders will meet every single gun-toting person out here.”

“Yeah...” Javier said. “The defense fleet is bigger than it ever was ... and Mars and T’rintar have our backs too.”

“Alright, everyone, listen up!” Commander Himanshu said as the room began to quiet down.

It was a few minutes later as Javier and Cason entered the officer’s briefing room. It was the same room that he did his presentation just prior. The single table was filled to capacity. There must have been over hundreds of personnel present. The rest of the other officers and chiefs were standing to listen to the briefing that would determine what would happen next. The room was tense as a sense of unease filled the area.

Commander Himanshu was the third-highest rank in the base under Admiral Anaya and Fleet Admiral Gray. He was a man of mixed complexion and a Sikh, as everyone knew him for his large beard and turban.

Javier noted that Admiral Anaya and Fleet Admiral Gray were not present. Under a situation like this, they were not to be a part of this meeting. They were kept in their respective posts to command the battle properly. This left Himanshu as the man to pass the buck to the lower chain of command.

The digital screen turned on as Himanshu used his augmented hand to access the presentation system in the room. A projected screen menu was on his left hand, where he interfaced with the main display.

The screen began to show an overhead view of the solar system. The black void of space was just a 3d image, but it showed the small red dwarf star of Aphadus in the center. As it zoomed out, you could see the orbiting planet of Aphadus and its small distant moon. There were two other gas giant planets, but the image was too zoomed in to show them.

“Seven minutes ago,” Himanshu explained. “We detected five Shal’rein warships on the edge of the eastern hemisphere of Chhota Yaatree. The warships appear to be three Qitilix Class Battleships and two Kiyliy Class Dreadnoughts. They have slowly wandered from the other side of the moon into our visual range. The base has been put into high alert status. The fleet is being mobilized to go and intercept them.”

The projection centered on Aphadus itself. It zoomed in close enough to show the defense fleet in position. The UHN controlled at least twenty warships. The fleet consisted mostly of ancient Ikra Class Battleships that the T’rintar lent to the UHN forces. The rest were Magellan Class Battleships or older armored cruisers. The lead flagship was the Nelson Class Battleship, the UHN Angre. A single stealth cruiser, the UHN Ohio, was also present in the fleet.

“Right now,” Himanshu continued. “We have detected no further warships that are present in the system. The enemy fleet remains in position and is ignoring our hails. Martian command and the other fleets are formulating a strategy to push them out of the system. Right now, command feels the best strategy is to take our defense fleet and meet them head-on.”

The projection switched as it showed a holographic simulation of the Aphadus defense fleet going straight towards the Shal’rein fleet. The projection simulation showed the Shal’rein ships being destroyed.

“While our fleets are far superior to the Shal’rein attack fleet, we anticipate the possibility of the Shal’rein to use their railguns to shell Aphadus. Expect the possibility of bombardment. I want everyone to stay with their divisions and be ready in case they commit to this action. That is all that I have. We have all been trained for every scenario out there. I trust the staff to be able to make the correct decisions. Be prepared for possible causalities. Are there any questions?”

“Are the Shal’rein going to try to land?” a random officer asked.

“We do not see any assault ships in their fleet,” the commander replied. “We have, however, anticipated the possibility of anything. The marines are being prepped for a land invasion. The local militias have also been notified and preparing to defend the cities.”

“Why not just have the UHN fleet open up gates near the Shal’rein fleet and attack them head-on?” another officer asked.

Javier himself even already knew that the answer was obvious. Most officers were generally too green not to see the reason.

“While that might seem like a reasonable idea,” the commander answered. “If we open a jump gate too close to the attacking fleet, the Shal’rein will simply turn their guns at the opening gates. Our fleets would get devastated before they could even fly through it. Besides, our defense fleet can still engage and destroy them at a distance.”

“It’s just another scouting fleet trying to test out UHN defenses,” a random officer noted under his breath. “Now, it’s Aphadus’s turn to repel one.”

Javier had to admit that the Shal’rein had done a reasonable maneuver. They used the moon to hide their approach and then come out of cover to meet the UHN defense fleet. However, some things began to bother him with the tactics being used. It was a funny feeling, but he decided to keep it under wraps. The chain of command knew what they were doing, and even with the possibility of the Shal’rein shelling Aphadus, they would only get so far. The attacking fleet was at a disadvantage. Scouting fleets were still a possibility even this far into the war.

“Scouts...,” Javier said quietly, realizing something. It was enough for Cason to overhear it. He turned his head to look at him.

“If there are no further questions, then dismissed,” the commander informed everyone.

It was like being told that metal rain was about to be dropped on everyone’s heads. The reactions were noticeable. Some believed it, and others felt like nothing was going to happen. Javier remembered the events of the last year. Occasionally, the attacking Itrean clan would get off a few shots onto the surface before the scouting fleet would get destroyed. The chances of getting hit by one of these shells were small. Deaths could occur from it, but again, the possibility was very low. Most of the actions seemed to demonstrate a form of physiological warfare on the population. Enemy missiles could be shot down, but railgun fire could not.

The officers and chiefs began to leave the room quickly. Some were more in a hurry than others. Javier knew that railgun fire would most likely target the place of most importance, which was the base. A hypervelocity round could pummel the very room.

“Relax, man,” Cason told Javier. “You look jumpier than you should.”

Cason seemed so calm that it even bugged Javier. “How could you be so relaxed about all this? The Shal’rein might start shooting us.”

“I agree it’s bad, but I know we’ll be fine,” Cason said with a shrug. “Besides, it’s my turn to be relaxed about everything. You’re happy and cheerful when things are calm. I’m all gloomy and shit in return. The action is where I’m at. Let them bring the rain. I got an umbrella.”

“To stop hypervelocity rounds?” Javier asked him with shock in his face.

“Nah, I just catch them with my teeth and spit back at them. This is what I signed up for.”

Javier knew that Cason’s first name was Janus for a reason. It was the perfect name for a character of two personalities. He was the type to get positively excited in a shooting match, while the desk jobs seemed to be the worst for him. He had been used to it by now, but Javier could always see it in his face.

“Hmmm...,” Javier said as he looked at his friend.

The room began to empty out more and more. A few stragglers were still talking to each other to form their own game plan in case the worst happened.

“Let me ask you something, Cason,” Javier said.

“What?” Cason replied as he folded up his arms.

“Do you believe this is a scout fleet?”

“Most likely. I’ve seen enough recordings of them when they show up.”

“Hmmm ... I don’t think you have. Something feels off.”

“Why is that?”

“Where are the scout ships?”

“The battleships and the dreadnoughts,” Cason replied confidently.

“No,...,” Javier said as he shook his head. “All Itrean clans have their own dedicated recon ships. They’re disposable warships that go and scout an area or solar system. Scouting raids tend to have a battleship or two in it, but the rest are usually scout ships. There are no scout ships in the fleet sitting by our moon right now. The battleships and dreadnoughts are more designed for standoff tactics.”

“So? In the end, we’ll chase them out. If it’s a scouting fleet, then we’ll chase them out. If they aren’t, then we still fight them.”

Javier shrugged. “I just feel like there is something else going on. Maybe it’s just me.”

A few minutes passed as the two reached the supply office. Cason activated the digital screen in Javier’s alcove. He lifted his augmented arm and switched on his projected display menu. He tapped a few buttons while he tried to contact the authorities.

“Javier,” Cason called out to him. “I went and switched on the communications channel so we could overhear the command office.”

“Good,” Javier said as he looked at his desk. The speakers were turned on. Both men could listen to the communication chatter of the chain of command. With the base on high alert, Javier needed to make sure that he could stay up-to-date with the news on the status of the events that were to take place.

“I’m still trying to get in contact with somebody...” Cason said as he continued tapping the buttons on his display.

Javier stroked his beard as he could overhear a little bit of his staff talking amongst themselves. People were tense, but it seemed somewhat collected.

“I still can’t believe the Shal’rein would come here...,” Javier said.

“We were always prepared for the possibility,” Cason replied.

“Yeah, but it’s been several months since the last attack on any UWA world. The Aksren supposedly even had a bioweapon to deploy on us...”

“Maybe they saw the propaganda porn? Maybe they saw that the Itreans and the humans could have children together. I don’t know. Maybe they see that the T’rintar are backing us up and don’t want to test our defenses.”

“I don’t know either. It seems like it made them second guess on everything...”

Cason interrupted Javier as a person’s face popped in on his display. It was a woman’s face, but Javier couldn’t tell who it was.

“Chief of security,” Cason said as he brought his projected screen closer to his face. The camera on his arm recorded and broadcasted his message to the other person on the line. “My name is Lieutenant Cason. I need to get access to section 4B of the base. I was isolated when the alert went off. I need to rejoin my staff.”

“Alright, Lieutenant,” the female chief replied. “Come to section 4A, and we’ll let you through.”

“Thank you, chief.” Cason pressed a button on his arm as the projection and channel closed down.

Javier was still busy listening to the comm chatter coming through the command room of the base. Most of it was personnel passing along necessary information on the base’s status. He could overhear a little bit of what was going on in space. A few captains from the warships would pass information to the ground.

In the fringes of space and away from Aphadus’s orbit, eighteen UHN warships were heading away at full acceleration burn. Almost in formation, the aging Ikra battleships and cruisers traveled slightly behind two Magellan Class Battleships and the sole Nelson class Battleship that was in the center of the fleet formation. The dim red star illuminated the gray hulls as a bright blue trail of heat and flames emitted from the ships. Their destination was heading straight towards the moon and the Shal’rein clan fleet. The ball of rock was not wholistically big, being no larger than the size of Enceladus or Ceres.

The Shal’rein warships looked very similar to T’rintar warships. The three battleships were blocky and cylindrical in appearance. They had two centripetal rings near the rear thruster and power module that spun to generate artificial gravity for the crew inside. Large twin-barrel railgun turrets were on the dorsal and ventral sides of the ships. Additional lighter railguns lined the sides of the vessels. Near the bottom front was a particle beam cannon. The vessels had numerous thrusters mounted by the starboard and dorsal sides, allowing the ships to fly forward or reverse easily. A series of CIWS weapon emplacements lined the hulls. Each turret had two box-like structures connected to a Gatling gun and a fin-like array system. Like a shark’s fin, the warships looked like ancient sea creatures swimming through the oceans of former Earth. The most prominent feature was the purple hull. The three clans of the Itreans always color-coated their warships to help identify one another. The star’s illumination caused the Shal’rein clan warships to be lit up for everyone to see.

The dreadnoughts, on the other hand, looked like a bigger version of the battleships. They were 1/3 larger in size. They still had a similar look to the battleships, but the engines were bigger. The railguns were much larger, as well. The bridgehead was more prominent, almost giving the appearance of an alligator head, including two particle beam cannons in place instead of one. The fin-like missile arrays were more prominent as well. The forward-mounted thrusters were more box-like and closer to the starboard and port sides of the ship.

From Chhotta Laatree, Aphadus was still a tiny ball of a planet in the distance. Even on conventional drives, the defense fleet wouldn’t take too long to meet head-to-head against the Shal’rein fleet.

As the three battleships and two dreadnoughts got away from the moon’s outer boundary, the lead dreadnought was the first to act. It turned its ventral dual-barrel railgun turret and pointed it toward the direction of Aphadus. Suddenly, a bright flash of blue and purple emitted from the barrels as a hypervelocity round was shot at blazing speeds toward the colony world. The turret followed a second shot as another particle trail emitted. The trail dissipated quickly in the vacuum of space. The other warships followed suit as they began to fire their railguns at Aphadus.

The defense fleet had no choice but to continue pressing forward. Their engines were burning blue-hot as they kept flying in formation. In desperation, the UHN Angre turned its own railgun turrets and tried to fire at the Shal’rein fleet at extreme range. Blue and purple particles showered the gray cylindrical hull of the UHN ship. Rounds that would travel for several kilometers a second would still take some time for one another to hit.

The lead Shal’rein dreadnought had already seen the shot from the Angre. Its vectoring thrusters activated as the large warship moved away from the intended location of the incoming shot. The hypervelocity round would completely miss the dreadnought.

Back on the ground, Javier was listening to the communication chatter from the command room. He sat uneasily on his chair as he could overhear the words being passed. His ears were glued to the desk’s speakers as he could hear the words being passed down.

“Fleet Admiral,” yelled one of the military staff. “I’m detecting weapons fire from the Shal’rein fleet. They have opened fire on Aphadus. Detecting an incoming volley of railgun shells. It will reach the planet in about five minutes.”

“Where are they targeting?” Admiral Anaya asked.

“The base.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Fleet Admiral Gray responded to the staff member. “That range and distance, they will be lucky to hit anything.”

Javier felt his heart skip a beat while listening to the communication exchange. He didn’t need to see their faces to know what the tension must have been like. The enemy had fired a significant salvo of hypervelocity tungsten slugs at the planet. It might have been true the damage would be light, but it might not either.

“Sir,” another random staff member called in. “The defense fleet will be in missile firing range in two minutes.”

“Roger,” Gray replied.

“Sir, I am getting a communication signal from Martian high command. Another UHN fleet is ready to make the jump to Aphadus. Should we tell Fort Golconda to open up a jump gate to Mars?”

There seemed to be a pause as if Gray was thinking of doing it. Javier felt the best course of action was to go ahead and do it.

“No,” Gray answered. “Tell Mars we don’t need any backup.”

“Fleet Admiral,” Admiral Anaya replied. “I feel we should go ahead and call in reinforcements.”

“Against five warships? They won’t stand a chance against the fleet of eighteen. I don’t care how old those lent warships are. They can still repel those sharks to the other side of the galaxy.”

Javier was once again shaking his head. That funny feeling he had earlier was starting to kick in. He sided with Anaya, but Gray was the man in charge. Something didn’t feel right.

“I recommend that we pull back some of our forces then and help protect the planet,” Anaya explained. “We don’t need to send most of the forces away.”

“I already have the UHN Polo and UHN Livingstone guarding Fort Golconda, Admiral. You’re worrying too much.”

“Wait a minute,” Javier said quietly as he kept listening. “They left two warships to defend Aphadus? The rest of the defense fleet is heading away from the planet.”

“I must protest this, Fleet Admiral,” Anaya said.

“Admiral,” Gray replied to her. “They have two dreadnoughts in their fleet. I want to make sure the Shal’rein can’t destroy any of our ships. I already have two ships defending the planet.”

“Petty Officer,” Anaya called out. Javier could hear some faint desperation in her voice. “I want you to start checking for any signs of cloaked vessels.”

Javier nodded his head. He knew that the Shal’rein clan used cloaked vessels like the other Itrean clans.

“You’re wasting your time,” Gray replied. “Our equipment can barely detect them. They only have so much firepower anyway. The moment they would start shooting, we would target them and destroy them.”

There was a long moment of silence. Anaya seemed to have made her peace. Javier once again felt this chill in the back of his neck. He felt the Fleet Admiral was careless. Gray was a man who was more used to being laid back and relaxed. But, perhaps he was correct. The defense fleet was stronger together. Two enemy dreadnoughts could still inflict substantial damage and wipe out much of the defense fleet if it got divided too much. However, his decision not to ask for more reinforcements might have been a mistake, too.

“What is the purpose of the Shal’rein fleet?” Javier asked himself. “Why would they only send five warships? Sieges require way more warships. Gray is a fool.”

He shook his head as he went back and forth with his own arguments. He felt that Anaya might be correct, but what were the Shal’rein warships doing?

Between the orbit of Aphadus’s moon and planet Aphadus, the defense fleet continued with its full burn towards the Shal’rein fleet. The Shal’rein warships’ forward thrusters began to fire. Slowly, the vessels began to move in reverse. The railgun turrets began to readjust their aim. It was no longer facing the planet, but it was aimed at the incoming fleet. The warships didn’t open fire, however. They simply kept moving from their position. The defense fleet from Aphadus was slowly gaining ground on them, but it would still take several minutes to reach optimal weapons range. The UHN ships were leaving a beautiful trail of heated plasma in its wake. It looked like a glory parade of the UHN as they traveled in full acceleration towards its target.

Red alarms were blaring from Aphadus’s military base. The sounds of the electronic beeping and thumping drum clearly indicated what was about to happen.

Javier continued to listen to the comm chatter from his desk. His adrenaline began to kick in. He knew what was about to happen. A few minutes had passed. Hypervelocity slugs fired from space would continue to fly in a direction unless gravity pulled on it or if it met contact with something else. On a planet, there was no defense against it. It had no way of getting out of the direction of it.

“Sir, incoming volley will hit us in one minute,” the petty officer called out.

“Be ready for the rain,” Gray called out.

“How’s the status of our armor?” Anaya called out.

“All the doors are sealed,” the petty officer replied. “The city is passing out all shelling alarms as well.”

There seemed to be a pause. Javier knew that in less than a minute, the railgun rounds were about to smack the surface. Technically, the chances of getting struck by it were meager, but it didn’t stop him from being nervous. The staff seemed anxious, as well. There was nothing to really do anything about it. Even hiding underground was not enough to stop a round heading at you at several kilometers a second.

“Everyone,” Javier called out to his staff. “Brace for shelling.”

The four crew members of his office nodded their heads in reply. He could see as petty officer Emily went and raised her feet to her chair. She curled up into a ball, quietly making a prayer.

The officer leaned back to his desk. He gripped his chair hard as he listened to the communication channel going through the command room.

“Incoming volley in five ... four ... three ... two ... one.” Javier closed his eyes.

The sky above the base and the city had a brief spectacle of light. The tungsten slugs gave a slight pulse of reflected light from the dim star. The first rounds fired from the dreadnought were the first to come down. The first shell came in so hard and so fast that it could barely be seen. Only the faint trail of dust was any indication of the fast-moving shells. The first round, which was about the size of a car, slammed hard into the dirt by the military base. Gravel, rocks, and mud were shot all over the place as the shell embedded so deep underground that crews would have to take days ever to find it.

The second shell followed as the round slammed hard into the edge of the military base. The armor might as well have been a pencil stabbing into a thin sheet of tin foil. The shell crashed into a room and caused shrapnel to fly in all directions. A small explosion followed as the shockwave of the impact drove hot metal everywhere.

The next two rounds completely missed the base, hitting the dirt and creating additional explosions of mud and metal everywhere. A sizeable series of craters were created before the dust finally settled.

It was just one dreadnought, however. The rest was soon to follow. It came down like a rainstorm of blazing projectiles. It was metal rain that came down so hard and so fast that if you blinked, you would have missed it. The damage, though, was the definitive sign of what had happened.

Four projectiles from one of the battleships slammed into the city block of one of the dome cities. It pierced into the dome structure, went through a home, and buried deep into the rock. Debris, hot metal, and shrapnel flew in all directions. Another set of railgun slugs from another battleship missed and hit the grass and dirt near the city’s dome, creating a large dirt crater. The other dreadnought’s railgun rounds slashed into the same big dome building. This time, it hit the edge of two homes. The velocity and impact ripped half of the home apart as metal and shrapnel were sent in all directions.

The last set of railgun rounds hit the military base again. Three of the shells missed and hit the dirt and grass by the building, but the last one slammed almost a quarter into the dome structure. It pierced clean through and hit two offices.

Javier could feel the impact. It shook his spot slightly as a breach alarm kicked in.

“We have two impacts in the base,” the petty officer on the comms responded. “Checking the damage reports...”

“Is everyone alright?” Javier stood up from his seat and looked at his division.

“Yes, sir,” Emily replied. The others nodded.

“That was the volley. They didn’t pick up any additional weapons fire from the fleet on Aphadus.”

“Thank god...,” Emily said as she got out of her fetal position. She felt like she could retake a breath.