A New Beginning Ch. 07

The writing had been on the wall and Ketterick had seen it clearly enough to reach out to his old friend who had risen to the rank of General within the Holy company's Planetary Infantry. He had hoped to have his one time friend negotiate a peace treaty and perhaps some form of immunity if he handed in his ships and capitulated to the Holy Company.

With nearly thirty well-armed and fast ships. Ketterick was the most wanted pirate still loose and he hoped the Company would see this as easier than facing him in a last ditch battle. The one thing he knew for sure was that the Company didn't like to waste expensive ships.

Niles had made a counter offer though. One that Ketterick was quick to snap up as his small but deadly fleet dodged the ever increasing HC's patrols.

"Come work for me, I have a place in mind where your talents will be used and your crews given safe haven... all I ask is your total loyalty to ME and me alone." Was General Niles's offer.

Now, twenty years later. Ketterick was about to fully pay his debt. The gigantic fleet he commanded as Admiral was filled and crewed by many of his old Captains and crew. Bulked out with H.C. fleet rejects and people from all over the systems that had a grudge against the Holy Company and it's strong boot on everything and everyone's neck.

It had taken a long time to mould those people into a disciplined and effective team. But Ketterick had done it and had already proved his tactics worked. Sending well-coordinated attacks against the Holy Company as Niles smuggled arms to any rebellious groups throughout the eight other systems.

Ketterick keyed in the code and his image appeared in front of all his captains on their bridges.

"Gentleman, you have your orders and know what to do... Lets go kill some Company bastards." He said to them and gave the signal to Jump.

The Jump would be short. They were close but not too close. It would take just under forty minutes in FTL to reach the Holy Company's fleet. In which time those ships would only just be picking up Ketterick's fleet on their long range scanners.

Scan's which would be useless because he had already jumped to FTL and would be on top of them as they realised the amount of ships he had. Far too late to do anything because he planned to be blowing them to smithereens as they panicked and tried to either run or form a new defensive pattern.

*****

Admiral Jensen stood on the bridge of his Dreadnought as the last reports came in about the Pleasure Girls obviously coordinated attack.

He didn't have to consider anything other than what he had been taught. Five years ago a similar incident had occurred on a space station in the Shellan system and the company had simply 'spaced' every PG on the station to ensure it's following cover up was totally effective.

"Space them all." He growled out to his COMM's officer in response to numerous requests as to what action should be taken.

Dutifully the officer relayed the order. He didn't think it was terrible or wonder to it's morality. PG's were just that... Pleasure Girls. They weren't human and had no rights.

That small issue dealt with. Jensen turned his mind to the far more worrying thought that this was clearly a pre-emptive strike for a larger attack.

He might not have been the nicest of men or even the brightest. However he wasn't stupid and had years of experience as a fleet Captain and now Admiral.

A large scale battle involving massed ship to ship combat hadn't been fought in nearly a hundred years. The fleet still trained for it though and every cadet learnt the complexity's it involved. You couldn't make captain without passing those simulations.

Ketterick didn't have that knowledge and couldn't have predicted what Jensen did next.

Even with so many Captains dead. The Fleet required it's higher command officers to be able to take command. So it wasn't a problem when Jensen passed the order that hadn't been used in nearly a century.

"Phalanx formation... NOW." He commanded and the order was sent as a red alert command.

The formation wasn't a true Phalanx, the name had been taken and used for the formation because it suited the way the fleet quickly formed up to provide each ship with overlapping covering fire from the next ships Gatling screen.

The whole fleet could pivot on order too. This would make them 'broadside' any enemy fleet that dropped out of FTL within minutes.

It took less than twenty minutes for every ship bar the 'Jean-Paul' to get into position and as those minutes ticked by Jensen fidgeted and started to wonder if he was overreacting.

Jensen also wondered if he had been a fool to let Rawlings get so far from the main fleet. One captain didn't make that much difference but Rawlings was a hero and in this situation Jensen wanted his captains to have that.

Political animal that he was. Jensen also worried about Chen and the other so called 'Great Captains.' If it came to a fight would they make even greater names for themselves and totally outshine him.

It was a telling moment to his character that he took the time to think of those things as he prepared to face what he thought was going to be a battle against a smaller fleet. Still in the mind set that whatever Niles had it would be less than what he did.

*****

Rawlings grabbed at the doctors arm.

"No." he said forcefully as the Doc tried to sedated him.

"Sir, we HAVE to operate." The Doc argued back.

Rawlings shook his head.

"Give me stims... that's an order." He growled out and winced at the lancing pain inside of him.

"Fleet Regs say I'm in charge Jerry... I'll have you on your feet in less than an hour." Replied Dr Jennifer Collins with a stubborn glint in her eye.

Rawlings swore softly. He knew she was right and that in this case she could do whatever she wanted with him. As chief medical officer Jenny had the power to declare him unfit for duty.

"Okay.. Okay... but don't sedate me Jenny." He said with gritted teeth.

Dr Jennifer Collins shook her head at the stubborn fool.

"Fine Jerry. But this is would be easier if you just let me do my JOB." She said in annoyance as she prepped the lasers and switched her hypo to a local anaesthetic.

Rawlings didn't reply as a fresh wash of pain went through him like a million hot needles.

He breathed hard and fast. Grunting through it.

"we're too far out." He groaned.

Dr Collins wasn't sure what that meant but over the years had come to respect and like Jerry Rawlings. Whatever he was trying to say was probably important and she keyed the medical bays communications to the bridge.

"Chief Medical officer to the bridge. Captain Rawlings says we are too far out. Does that mean anything to you?" she asked as she set the lasers and administered the local.

XO Daniel Wilks answered immediately.

"Understood. Thanks Doc. We are already moving towards the main fleet." He said.

Rawlings grunted as the lasers went to work. The local anaesthetic didn't fully shield him from the pain.

Still he was clear headed enough to ask.

"How's the fleet deployed?"

Daniel Wilks was shocked to hear his Captains voice and question. Still he answered clearly and professionally.

"Phalanx formation Sir... we are headed to meld with Captain Chester. The Lilith will link too." He informed Rawlings slightly stiffly.

Rawlings gritted his teeth again.

Dr Collins winced. She was aware of the pain he must be going through and tried to go as fast as was safely possible.

"What's the general order? Enemy sighted yet?" Rawlings ground out as he repressed the need to scream.

"Only general order is to space all PG's. enemy not sighted yet Sir." Replied an increasingly nervous Wilks.

Every muscle in Rawlings body convulsed briefly as the lasers and nanites cleared his body of the last fragments of metal.

"SSSSHHHITTTTTT." He yelled. The sound echoing over the com link to the bridge.

Everyone on the bridge shared a gasp and winced.

At the same time Rawlings brain was miraculously multitasking as well as the best woman that ever lived.

Breathing hard and fast he still panted out.

"Belay the general order... Get us in Position."

"Yes Captain." Wilks said and then keyed his link to the Brig.

"Brig.. belay the fleet orders."

*******

XO Wilks swore under his breath. They were close to the "St Vincent" and Captain Chester, another Five minutes would have them in position.

"Fuck me." He said softly as he witnessed the massive fleet that General Niles had built arrive.

Well over two hundred vessels blinked into view as they exited their FTL jump.

His training kicked in though and he was quick to give his orders.

"launch Hornets. Gatling's online. Fire at will." He said calmly enough it was almost like having Rawlings on the bridge.

Tactical officer Alison Hicks was quick too and the orders flowed out smoothly as she brought the Gatling guns online and targeted the nearest ship with lancers. The already hot torpedos launched before the Destroyer she had targeted had time to spool up it's Gatling screen. The crew of the "Jean-Paul." Had trained and fought to the point where they were the first to fire.

The Lilith was even faster. Her crew was made up of some of the best Rawlings had trained and Commander Holly Reed was doing what Rawlings would have done. Letting her Tactical team work without her interference and trusting them to do their job.

The rest of the fleet weren't far behind but precious seconds were lost by their less experienced and orthodox crews as Ketterick and his fleet opened fire.

Still the massed ships of the Company's fleet got their Gatling screens up in time to stop most of the incoming Lancers. The overlapping screens effective to the point that on board his dreadnought. Admiral Ketterick grunted in annoyance.

He had fully expected to destroy a good portion of Jensen's ships with his opening volley. As it was, the few lancers that got through early enough disabled two ships and damaged several others. It wasn't nearly enough to satisfy the ex-pirate.

Especially as he saw one of his Destroyers ripped in half by a full volley of Lancers from the fast responding "Jean-Paul" and "Lilith" before the Destroyer got it's Gatling guns firing.

First kill unexpectedly went to the Holy Company.

The space between the two fleets was lit up by small quickly extinguished explosions. Only the tiny amount of oxygen held within the torpedoes allowed combustion so each explosion was muted. There were so many of them though that it looked like a host of blinking fireflies.

*****

As the battle raged. Conner reached the brig.

"What the fuck is going on?" He asked Choi. But was relieved to see Jess was back in her marine uniform and now wearing battle armour. So were rest of the recently arrested PG's.

Hank Choi shrugged.

"It's a battle.. so nothing is going on until it's over." He said with a smile so calm it made Conner blink in confusion.

"But on the way here I heard the girls were going to be spaced." He said to maybe get a reaction out of the seemingly relaxed Marine Captain.

"Yeah.. some idiots thought that was a good idea." He pointed over to an unconscious Fleet security team who were sprawled out inside one of the cells.

Conner looked at the unconscious men and then at Choi.

"Your fucked when this comes out." He said respectfully. His tone telling Choi he wasn't the one who was going to be objecting and liked what Choi had done.

Choi shrugged.

"Maybe.. Rawlings countermanded the order to space the girls about five minutes ago. In a way I was just anticipating his decision." Choi said with a straight face. Both Conner and Choi knew that wasn't how the Holy company or Fleet command would see it.

The evidence was obvious to Conner that Choi wasn't just aware of the situation. He was actively ready for things to go bad. All around the brig the assembly were in full battle armour and checking weapons. Nearly a hundred PG's and over sixty marines.

Marines Choi trusted and men who were themselves willing to go the extra mile for Choi and take the consequences. No one here loved the Holy Company. They just happened to take the companies pay check. As for most of the PG's, they were now aware of what had nearly happened to them and Choi was the one they saw as their leader and saviour. Those girls would follow his orders and fight like demons to repay their debt.

Like All the PG's that had come from the Planetary Infantry and joined the Marines, they had found a place on the 'Jean-Paul' where they weren't treated as fuck toys anymore and given a choice if they wanted to have sex. It hadn't seemed much at first but their time onboard had slowly changed the way they saw themselves. Even the less intelligent ones had grasped the difference to their former lives.

While they hadn't been as well treated as Jessica and the PG's that had served with Choi's old recon troop. There had been a general following of Choi and his teams example by all the Marines on board.

Conner watched as the former PG's worked closely with the professional Marines, almost in sync with them after so much hard training.

"You got a plan?" Conner asked Choi. Glancing between the hard faced Marine and Jess. Jess stood close to the seated Choi and held her Sniper rifle with an air of capability.

"Jess.. it's your idea." Hank said to her with a smile. When he looked at her Conner could tell the old marine was in love.

Jessica smiled at Conner and already knew he would agree to her plan. After all, she was practically part of him now after the mind melds onboard the Dragonfly.

"We take the hanger deck when the battle's close to finishing. Board the shuttles and FTL to the Reacher outpost on Kellos. From there we can take over a ship and FTL to the outer rim... maybe make a home on one of the partially terraformed Reacher planets." She explained.

Conner nodded his head. It wasn't a bad plan. The Reacher's were a group of people who explored the outer rim and terraformed planets they thought were viable. Most weren't and many of them died trying. Still. The Reacher's had managed to escape Holy Company rule by doing so. The downside was that almost any time a Reacher colony got big enough to fully sustain itself the Holy Company came and took what they had built.

Long ago Eurasia Six had been a Reacher planet. Then Shellan Four. Then Aires two... all now under Holy Company rule.

"It could work.. what if Miller orders his men to fight though?" Conner pointed out. Capt. Miller had well over four hundred Marines to throw at them if it came to a fight.

Choi grinned.

"He won't know until we have launched. We're recon and have the best Hackers there are. All sensors will show the deck as normal." He said confidently.

Conner had always been a risk taker and grinned back.

"Well since I have a Fighter bomber fully armed and ready to go, plus a shuttle with full ordinance too... guess I'm IN." he told them with a laugh.

Jessica smiled.

"You switched the DF to live ammo?... and your old shuttle?" she asked needlessly.

Conner shrugged.

"Of course I did. I saw the way you were dragged away and assumed you might need a bit of help." He answered with a grin. "Plus I had Kais max out life support on them both...oh.. and she's coming with." He added.

Jessica winked at Conner. She already knew he liked Karina and was pleased he must have finally asked her.

"Glad to hear it. You should have done it before, instead of chasing me." She said frankly.

Choi glanced at Jess but didn't comment. He was wise enough to know that Jessica could handle herself. He had known Conner liked Jess but had always put it aside because he and Jessica had already worked things out.

Conner blushed slightly and nodded.

"Yeah.. I was a fool." He admitted.

Hank smiled as he realised he liked Conner a lot.

"Good man that can see it." He said and held out his hand.

Conner took it respectfully and smiled back.

Blaring sirens interrupted them.

"All hands... all hands.. rig for Harm." Every com on the ship blared out.

"Oh FUCK." Choi said softly.

*******

Five minutes in a space battle is a long time when you are not in formation with the rest of your fleet.

The 'Jean-Paul' and 'Lilith' had taken the first kill but weren't in position when they did.

Numerous Lancers headed towards them and the Gatling's blasted the first volley away. More followed as XO Wilks watched in horror at the sheer amount of ordinance headed his way.

"Evasive manoeuvre Beta one six two." He shouted.

The Battle cruisers main engines screamed to life and the old ship dived towards the 'St Vincent' at break neck speed. On board it felt no different to standing still but the ship lurched forward and it's inertial dampeners maxed out.

It was a mistake. The Gatling's mostly fired into empty space as the numerous Lancer torpedos followed their target.

"RIG FOR HARM." Shouted Wilks as he realised his mistake. If he had continued his proper link up protocols with the 'St Vincent' they would have been safer. Slightly.

Luckily for him and the "Jean-Paul" some of the torpedoes entered the widened Gatling cover from the "St Vincent." Captain Chester had thinned and widened his cover as the "Jean Paul" approached.

Three Lancers still impacted on the shielding and started to bore through the armour.

Massive explosions ripped through the impacted areas. The oxygen ignited and a brief fireball issued from three points in the hull. Men and women were immolated instantly and others torn into the vacuum of space.

The old vessel only held together as she was built in a time when the ships were expected to take and withstand massive damage. Her armour wasn't as good as the newer ships but her structure was better.

"Damage repot." Wilks asked. His demeanour calm but inside he was panicking.

"Decks four though nine on port side gone sir."... "Aft shielding down sir"... "Engine two destroyed sir." The reports came in rapidly.

Wilks looked at his tactical officer in dismay.

"Gatling's?" he asked. Dreading the answer because deck nine held the lower Gatling array while deck eight held the spools that fed the fast firing guns.

"Only at forty percent on the lower port side sir." She informed him grimly while tapping out commands to the repair crews and hoping they might be able to salvage some of the guns.

He looked over at the flight crew and told them to roll the ship.

"Bring us into firing position above the 'St Vincent.'... and keep an eye on those Dreadnoughts." He commanded. So far the four massive dreadnoughts opposing the company's fleet were concentrating their fire on the two Dreadnoughts that held the centre of the phalanx.

The 'Jean-Paul' limped into position and her Gatling's went to work, adding to the fleets defensive shield.

The 'Lilith' fared a bit better. She was a sleek ship with a good crew. Commander Holly hadn't panicked and stayed close to the 'Jean Paul' without speeding up. The vast majority of Lancers had been targeted at the other ship. Her vessel's Gatling screen worked and only one Lancer got through to do minimal damage as her Tactical team shifted the shielding completely to their Port side.

They took up position with the 'Jean Paul' to weather the next incoming storm. Her crew working feverishly to repair the limited damage while the crew of the older 'Jean Paul' tried to salvage what guns they could.

**********

Ketterick swore as another of his ships was destroyed.

"We can't get past their field of fire. Fucking formation is too good and too flexible." He said to Niles.