The Black Guardians: Book 4 in the Black Guard series, page 18
Noam nodded. “Yes, Olivia," Noam agreed. "We are most vulnerable at home, but for now, I believe it is the last place Joshsa will attack. He is hotheaded and vengeful but not reckless. He knows the cost of failure."
50 – Answers
"Captain Knight, what do you think of the Jax navy?" Joshsa asked the tall, dark-haired captain standing at a parade rest in front of his desk. The man was impressive in his dark blue uniform that had over twenty ribbons, several for meritorious service during combat and stripes indicating over twenty years of service.
"The Jax have good cruisers with the latest technology, and their captains are tenacious, which makes them difficult opponents, but they are human, make mistakes, and are not invincible," Knight snapped off without hesitation.
Joshsa was pleased with his response. He didn't belittle the Jax, recognized their strengths, and didn't fear combat with them.
"I have a special assignment you may enjoy, Captain Knight. As you are probably aware, there are multiple rumors floating around about the recent engagements with the Skulls. They sound exaggerated to me." Joshsa paused for Knight's reaction.
"I would agree, sir," Knight said. "The Skulls were experienced raiders and had the numbers to more than make up for any cruiser disparities. Maybe one Jax cruiser could win against two raiders, but the Jax cruiser would need major repairs. No way could it take on four cruisers even with amateur crews."
"So either the rumors are false or some other factor is involved," Joshsa said and Knight nodded. "I want you to command a fleet of three cruisers: the Dagger, Stiletto, and the Karambit. Your assignment is to engage the Black Panther with two of your cruisers, and the third will watch from a distance, in case the rumors are true and the Jax have some unknown surprise. My sources tell me the Black Panther will be leaving tomorrow for the system Kenmora in the Hydra Federation. You are to return immediately and report the results to me personally."
"Yes, sir, it will be my honor to resolve the rumors."
51 – Black Leopard Ambushed
"What do you think of Noam becoming an admiral and his new command?" Colonel Helon asked at dinner. After entering Kenmora space, Captain Lambar had invited the marine brigade commander, Helon, the XO, Commander Santo, his fighter wing commander, Commander Ursala, and the Black Guard, Captain Ceder to dine with him.
"I don't know," Lambar said, shaking his head. "The new command is shrouded in rumors and mystery. I originally thought that General Noam had retired, then I heard he was on a leave of absence. Noam's exact position has never been clear. He has always been considered Special Operations, and the reason he held an army rank of General, but since joining the Jax Committee, he has never been in charge of a unit."
Lambar stopped to take a sip of his wine before continuing, "I don't think his return was noticed until he was suddenly made an admiral and given command of this new unit, J-SOC, that should be commanded by a commodore. It appears to have something to do with fighters, testing, and advanced training. In fact, I understand we have a contract with Malin to teach their pilots. But neither the rumors nor the so-called facts can pass the taste test: looks like an orange but tastes like a lemon. Why does J-SOC include the Black Guard? How did the War Horse destroy four Skulls cruisers? Where is Sky Lake Station? Lastly, how can the test instructors and squadron leaders be barely two years out of the navy indoctrination school? I think what we see and reality are not the same. I think the Jax Military Committee is preparing for war, but damn if I see how."
Colonel Helon laughed. "I think you have the right of it, Captain. It's a magic act. We are being distracted while the magician, Noam, performs an act."
"I have been led to believe that every cruiser is going to have a squadron of Besra fighters," Commander Ursala said, frowning. "Fighters are not going to win the war."
Helon laughed. "Interesting. A Besra is a type of sparrow hawk, which implies fighters. However, this cruiser is called the Black Leopard when it is neither black or a leopard." Helon laughed again. "There is something in the magician Noam's hat, and I would wager it isn't a sparrow hawk."
"What do you think, Captain Ceder?”
"From my perspective, nothing much has changed. Our candidates still come from the army introduction schools, our home base is still on Sasser Mountain, and Wexler remains our immediate commander. The only change is that Commander Wexler now reports directly to Admiral Noam rather than the Jax Committee." Ceder frowned. "Now that I think about the chain of command, it was strange that Wexler didn't report directly to General Lerman, but then no stranger than now reporting to an admiral rather than the Committee." He laughed.
"What is your assignment on Kenmora, Captain Ceder?"
"Rather a typical assignment. The duke of a province died, leaving his young son, Petrix, in the line of ascension. His guardian believes he and the boy, who hasn't reached his age of majority, are in danger from older relatives who believe the boy is not ready to rule, and they should rule instead. They may also consider removing the guardian and appointing someone sympathetic to the older relatives. In other words, it is a very volatile situation with multiple players–”
"Captain, the Bridge is reporting three cruisers just went active," Santo said, listening to his communication device.
"Went active, meaning they were waiting for us?” Lambar asked and watched Santo nod. "Can we identify to whom the ships belong? "
"They are definitely Outpost cruisers, and they aren't trying to hide it," Santo said after a minute listening. “Two are accelerating and are ten minutes from their maximum missile range. The third cruiser is remaining close to the Wave."
"XO, call Battle Stations," Lambar said while rubbing his hand across his lips in thought. "Noam must be making Ace Joshsa nervous, and the rumors aren't helping. So, Joshsa sent two cruisers to test us and one to observe. Ironically, he picked the wrong cruiser to test. All right, ladies and gentlemen, let’s teach Outpost the cost of grabbing a leopard by the tail." Lambar turned and headed out of the room toward the Bridge with Santo following.
"Santo, have the pilot turn to port. I want to keep the Outpost cruisers on the port side of us. Tag them O1 through O3 where the one at the Wave is O3." Lambar sat in the captain's chair while studying the three-dimensional hologram of space floating in the center of the Bridge. “The two Outpost ships have no option but to turn with us and take the inside track or allow us to race toward the Wave exit and challenge O3 on the way out of Kenmoral space. Target the inside cruiser O2 exclusively and fire when they do but not before. I want it clear they started the war."
Lambar clicked on Helon's communication link.
"Colonel Helon," the voice responded immediately.
"Colonel, load the Black Guard into two shuttles. Let's drop them at minimum power when the shooting starts and hope they can make it to Kenmora. The chance of us surviving to report Outpost started the war is negligible."
"Yes, sir," Helon said.
Silence hung like a shadow over the Bridge for the next fifteen minutes as the three cruisers turned, putting the three ships on a parallel course three thousand kilometers apart and within missile range. Lambar was beginning to think the Outpost captain would not fire the first shot when the ECM operator shouted, "Four incoming!"
"Colonel Helon, release the shuttles," Lambar said into the link he had left open with Helon. Then he said, "XO, continuous fire."
For the first five minutes, the contest was relatively even with only one hit on the Leopard and two on O2. When cruiser O1 maneuvered clear of O2, the hit ratio on the Leopard increased. The Leopard got five hits on O2, while O2 and O3 scored eight. At the twenty-minute mark, they had moved five hundred kilometers closer, and O2 and O3 had scored twelve hits and Jax seven on O2. A minute later, O2 exploded.
"Helm hard to port!" Lambar shouted and clicked on to Ursala's channel. "Good hunting, Commander. Take no prisoners. Ursala, it's been an honor serving with you." His eyes misted. He knew the pilots couldn't survive without the cruiser this far from the planet. Consequently, their only option was to ignore any of the enemies' fighters and attempt to ram the ship.
Four minutes later, one of the fighters did manage to ram O1, which evoked a roar from the Bridge personnel, short-lived as O3 turned to approach the barely functional Black Leopard.
52 – Mostly Good News
"Captain Van Hadt, what news from the encounter with the Black Leopard?" Ace Joshsa asked, trying to appear relaxed. He had had to wait two weeks for this report, which might well decide whether Jax would survive another several years or could finally be terminated immediately with cause. The waiting had been exciting as he fantasized over crushing the Jax fleet and then the planet, and equally depressing as he considered the worse-case scenario resulting from sending Captain Knight to poke the Jax. If Jax did have a magic bullet, they could have destroyed the Dagger and the Stiletto, decided it was an act of war, and be on their way to destroy Outpost, Valhall, and Lariw. In those moments, he had woken with his bed soaking wet and him dripping with sweat. To his relief, Captain Van Hadt didn't look nervous or panicked.
"Sir, I captained the Karambit and observed the engagement between the Dagger, Stiletto, and the Black Leopard," Van Hadt began slowly. Joshsa wanted to shout for the man to get on with it but managed to relax back in his chair and look calm. "We were near the Wave powered down to a minimum with our systems in passive mode when the Black Leopard exited the Wave. Captain Knight gave the Jax a full hour’s lead before ordering the Dagger and the Stiletto to full power and all systems active. When the Black Leopard detected the Dagger and Stiletto, they immediately began turning in what looked like an attempt to exit the Wave. Captain Knight followed until the Leopard had turned ninety degrees, hoping the Jax would fire on him, but they didn't. So the Dagger launched a missile attack on the Leopard.
“I watched for thirty minutes and saw nothing unusual. The Leopard directed all their missiles toward the Dagger and eventually, it was destroyed. At that time, the Leopard had been pounded near to junk and released its fighters against the Stiletto. All were destroyed but one, which managed to ram the Stiletto. Seeing Leopard barely functional but capable of making the planet, I moved the Karambit in position to destroy the Leopard."
"Well done, Captain," Joshsa said. The news was not as good as he had hoped since he lost two ships, but it was not the nightmare scenario it could have been, meaning the rumors were fabricated or just embellished to hide the truth. "So, in summary, you saw nothing unique or surprising about the Jax's response?"
"No, sir. If it hadn't been for the lucky fighter getting close enough to ram the Stiletto, it would have been a one-to-one kill. A good showing against a Jax cruiser."
"Thank you, Captain Van Hadt," Joshsa said and waved the man off, ending the interview. The triad had twelve cruisers and the Jax seven, originally. Now the triad had ten and the Jax six. If they could eliminate three more in one-to-one engagements… That would leave Jax with only three cruisers to defend Jax against the triad's seven. It would be costly but worth it. He poured himself a half glass of Macallan's scotch and relaxed in his favorite real-leather lounge chair.
Over the next week, Joshsa thought about what Van Hadt had said and the potential ramifications. If they lost two ships every time they engaged the Jax, the triad would finish with zero ships and the Jax would still have one. But Van Hadt had indicated that the Stiletto destruction had been from a fighter ramming the ship, which was a near impossibility and at minimum a rare probability. If they engaged even one more, Jax would be down to five cruisers and the triad nine. Given that scenario, what would Jax do? They needed the money they received from their lucrative contracts, so they could not afford to keep all their cruisers to defend Jax.
If the triad attacked when two Jax cruisers were used on contracts, it would be nine against four, and they could destroy the other two when they returned from their contract. Alternatively, they could continue to ambush the Jax cruisers transporting the Black Guard to their contracts. The latter strategy would put a serious strain on the Jax economy and force them to send two cruisers to deliver the Black Guard to their contracts, further reducing the number of cruisers on Home guard. A very safe path to victory, he thought as he finished his drink and fell into a restful sleep.
A week later, Joshsa sent for Captain Van Hadt.
"Captain Van Hadt, reporting as ordered," Van Hadt said as he saluted Joshsa.
"At ease, Captain. I have had disturbing news that the Black Guard made it to their contract on Kenmora."
"I did not see any shuttles released, sir," Van Hadt said, turning a bit pale. "They could have been dropped at minimum power while the missile battle was in progress and before any fighters were launched. Even if someone on the Dagger or Stiletto noticed, they would have been ignored during the heat of battle as inconsequential. The Karambit was too far away to notice."
"As it turns out," Joshsa said, noting the captain's increased tension, "that was fortunate as the Jax will have to send a cruiser to pick up the stranded Black Guard team. You will take the Karambit, Mamba, and Doberman to Kenmora and destroy whichever cruiser the Jax sends. As before, leave a scout to observe the battle. I doubt the Jax will realize that we destroyed their cruiser since the Black Guard would not have been on the Bridge but more likely in the commandos' area. Like with the Skulls engagements, there is nothing but rumors. I want you on your way tomorrow as we cannot be certain when the Jax will send someone."
53 – A Guessing Game
"Well, Noam, what do you think about losing the Black Leopard?" Geller asked, looking tired, as did Lerman. Noam concluded the two had been up late discussing the issue.
"Like the invasion by the Skulls, there are multiple rumors, but unlike those rumors, these appear to be real rumors, and therefore have little factual information: the main theme was that there was a cruiser battle, multiple unknown cruisers were involved, and several were destroyed. Depending on the rumor, the Jax, Helix Alliance, Malin, and/or the Grus League were involved for an equal number of perceived reasons." Noam paused to pour a cup of kaffa. “Since the Black Guard is on Kenmora but not the Black Leopard, we could reasonably assume the Leopard was involved and destroyed, and that Outpost cruisers were involved and one or more destroyed. That leads me to conclude Joshsa is testing the rumors involving the Skulls and that he would like the sooner-rather-than-later option and is trying to decide if we are vulnerable now or not."
"Are we vulnerable, Noam?" Geller asked, and from the look on Lerman's face, he had the same concern.
"From his perspective, yes," Noam said, grinning. “He chose the wrong cruiser to attack. The Black Leopard and the Deathstalker are the only two who do not have a Besra squadron assigned. Consequently, his assessment will not account for the Besras. He will believe his triad has the advantage. Overall, I would say we are equal or have the advantage, depending on which strategy he decides to pursue."
"What options does he have?" Lerman asked as he and Geller involuntarily leaned forward.
"He could choose to attack Jax, in which case I would say his less than two-to-one cruiser advantage would give him even odds. However, now that the War Horse has been assigned to Home fleet and Captain Hwang knows how to deploy the Besra squadrons, I would predict a decisive win for Jax. If he chooses the safer option of picking off individual cruisers, he will also lose. How fast will depend on which cruisers he decides to attack. Only Quinn has experience, so it's hard to judge what the Besra squadron leaders and their cruiser captains will do, but Quinn will destroy everything they send. My intuition says that strategy will eventually put Jax and Outpost at parity. If that happens, we should attack Outpost and their allies and end this forever war."
"What if we choose to attack Outpost, then Valhall and Lariw?" Lerman asked.
"We would win, but our reputation would suffer irreparably." Noam shrugged. "Get rid of one problem and create a new one."
"So we wait and hope Outpost miscalculates," Geller said, her tone clearly unhappy with their conclusions.
54 – Crouching Tiger Ambushed
"Captain, exiting the Wave in ten minutes," Commander Claudette, the XO, said when the navigator flashed his hand, fingers spread apart indicating five, twice.
"XO, announce Battle Stations, systems passive," Blatt said, doubting that whoever attacked the Black Leopard was still in the area, but why take chances?
"Comm, announce Battle Stations," Claudette said, silently agreeing with the captain. Better to be prepared unnecessarily than not prepared and surprised.
The navigator flashed his hand once.
"Captain, exiting the Wave in five minutes," Claudette said, and at the captain's nod continued. "Comm, announce exiting the Wave in five minutes." She moved to the sensor suite where she stood watching for several minutes after the Crouching Tiger had exited the Wave into Kenmora space. "Captain, no active signatures."
"Maintain Battle Stations for an hour," Blatt said, preferring to err on the side of caution. It was reasonable to assume the Black Leopard was attacked by multiple cruisers, which made the nine-hour trip to Kenmora seem like waiting days for a jury's life-or-death verdict. In the end, they made orbit without incident.
"XO, contact Captain Ceder of the Black Guard," Blatt said, hoping the Guard had finished their contract and could leave Kenmora without a long delay. Admiral Noam was placing a great deal of confidence in his new Besra fighters, and they certainly had made a difference at the Battle of Jax. The Besra certainly supported an arsenal of weapons, but he couldn't understand how and somehow doubted the story. After all, he had arrived after the battle was over.
Perhaps the outcome had been more luck than this Commander Quinn or the Besras, and perhaps the new admiral needed the glory of a miraculous victory for this new command and his kid pilots. The facts were these Besras were commanded by new recruits still wet behind the ears and had no combat experience. That was another problem. Weapons, no matter how good, were no better than the people using them. Blatt gave a snort. Weapons were also no better than the captain's understanding of their strengths and weaknesses, and truth be told, he wasn’t sure how to incorporate the Besra squadron into his tactics. Fighters he understood, but not these fighters that were not fighters, and war time was not a good time to be figuring it out.
