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. While the red dwarf star was still seemingly far, it was far closer than most stars were to their planets. All eyes were focused on the red dwarf star and what was coming.

Javier was in a mad rush from the meeting. Things seemed to go so well, but this was not the time to think about it. 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 encountering the enemy in over 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 staff of his division 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 runnings were frantic, but some of them were orderly as well. The military personnel was distinct to look at since they were dressed in their red and blue uniforms. 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 door to the logistics department opened up to reveal four members of his division. All were present and accounted for. There was an additional member that 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. While email and digital messaging had clearly replaced the need for mail, there were some occasional occurrences where simple paper was still used. It was a way that secret information could be processed without the fear of somebody hacking into the computer networks. There were, of course, the random supplies and goods that would get shipped around the base as well. 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 take care of 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 that just joined the UHN. He knew of Seaman Aaedesh and Jagan, both brothers of a darker complexion. Brothers were rarely assigned together in the UHN in the same location, but Aphadus went ahead and allowed it. Then there was Petty Officer Campbell, a man born on Oshun. His dark complexion was a clear sign that he was born from the African colony world. The last person in the room was a person he saw was Cason. He was standing calm as the rest were either sitting down or standing uneasy.

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

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

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

“If the warships are purple, then it would be the 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 will do our best to repel them. I will need to attend the officer’s brief so we can find out everything that is going on. Petty Officer Emily, you are in charge of the division until I return. It won’t take too long, and I know that I 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 people 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 have gone to condition two and locked up portions of the base. I can’t reach my division.”

“Did you call them? Your division?”

“Yes. They are 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 said as he gestured with his hands.

“No ... Yeah, I know. Like I said ... I am alright.”

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

Cason patted Javier in 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 will 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 clan 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 that he wore. Aphadus was the planet where former India and North America met together as one. The cultures naturally blended together to have some of the strangest rules and laws while trying to respect past traditions. The people of the room represented the blending of these two prominent cultures. Some people were of a darker complexion, while others were of a lighter skin tone. There were, of course, a few people that stuck out as well, with Javier being a man whose one parent was born outside of Aphadus.

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 respected 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 as he pressed a few buttons here and there.

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. 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 Aphadus’s star eastern hemisphere. The warships appear to be three Qitilix Class Battleships and two Kiyliy Class Dreadnoughts. They have slowly wandered from the other side of the star 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 that was in position. There were at least fifteen warships that were controlled by the UHN. The fleet consisted of mostly the ancient Ikra Class Battleships that the T’rintar lent to the UHN forces. The rest were Magellan Class Battleships. The lead flagship was the Nelson Class Battleship named the UHN Angre. A single stealth cruiser named the UHN Ohio was present in the fleet as well.

“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 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, anticipate the possibility of anything. The marines are being prepped for a land invasion. The local militias have also been notified and preparing for anything as well.”

“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. We also have to be careful not to be too close to the star. The enemy fleet is close to the intense heat. Itrean ships can handle the heat a little bit better than ours.”

“Probably just another scout fleet trying to test our defenses,” a random officer noted under his breath. “Now, its Aphadus’s turn to repel one.”

Javier had to admit, the Shal’rein did a reasonable maneuver. They used the star to hide their approach and then come out of cover to meet the UHN defense fleet. Some things began to bother him though on 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 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. These events did occur in the last several months. 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 did occur from it, but again the possibility was very low. Most of the actions seemed to be a way of demonstrating a form of physiological warfare onto 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 did know that railgun fire would most likely target the place of most importance, and that was the base. The very room could get pummeled from a hypervelocity round.

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

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

“I agree it is bad but, I know we will be fine,” Cason said with a shrug. “Besides, it’s my turn to be relaxed about everything. You are happy and cheerful when things are calm. I am all gloomy and shit in return. The action is where I am 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. 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. Military life is ever that. It has moments of what some could consider extreme boredom. If you joined to fight in a war, you still might never see it. Even if you did, the fight might be very short.

“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 have seen enough recordings of them when they show up.”

“Hmmm ... I don’t think you have. Something is wrong with people thinking that is.”

“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 scout ships. They are 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 scout ships. There are no scout ships in the fleet that is by our star right now. The battleships and dreadnoughts are more designed for standoff tactics.”

“So? In the end, we will chase them out. If it’s a scouting fleet, then we will 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 is just me.”

A few minutes went by as the two reached the supply office. Cason went and 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 as he tried to reach contact with authorities.

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

“Good,” Javier said as he looked at his desk. The speakers were turned on as he could overhear the communication chatter of the military officials. With the base on high alert, he needed to make sure that he knew what needed to be heard and up to date news on the status of the event that was to take place.

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

Javier went and 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 has 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 when off. I need to rejoin my staff.”

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

“Thank you, chief.” Cason went and 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 status of the base. He could overhear a little bit of what was going in space. A few captains from the warships would pass information to the ground.

Up in space and a little far from Aphadus’s orbit, there were thirteen UHN warships that we’re heading out at full acceleration burn. Almost in formation, the aging Ikra battleships 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 outer boundary of the star’s heavy heat range and the Shal’rein clan fleet.

The Shal’rein warships looked very similar to T’rintar warships in general since they were obviously Itrean. The three battleships were cylindrical in appearance. They had two centripetal rings near the rear thruster and power module that spun to generate gravity for the crew inside. In the dorsal and ventral side of the ships were large twin-barrel railgun turrets. The front section consisted of the bridge that was on the top and bottom portion of the vessel. Near the bottom front was a pair of small railguns pointed forward and some sort of particle beam cannon near the center front. The ships had numerous thrusters mounted by the starboard and dorsal sides, allowing the ships to be able to fly in forward or reverse with ease. On the dorsal side between the bridge and twin railgun turret was an extensive missile launcher system. The turret had two box-like structures that connected to some sort of fin-like array system. Like a shark’s fin, the warships looked like ancient sea creatures swimming through the ocean 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 proximity to the star 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, and there were two particle beam cannons in place instead of one. It almost looked like an alligator head to it. Numerous small quad barrel cannons dotted the frame of the warship. The fin-like missile array was more prominent as well. Instead of the battleships carrying one missile launching array turret, the dreadnoughts had four. Two launchers and its distinctive fin-like array was placed on the dorsal and ventral sides. The forward-mounted thrusters were more box-like and closer to starboard and port sides of the ship.

Aphadus was still a tiny ball of a planet in the distance, but the closer proximity of the planet to its star meant that ships could easily meet one another. Even on conventional drives, it wouldn’t take too long for the defense fleet to meet head to head against the Shal’rein fleet.

As the three battleships and two dreadnoughts got away from the star’s inner boundary, the lead dreadnought was the first to act. It turned its ventral dual-barrel railgun turret and pointed it towards 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 towards the colony world. A second shot was followed by the turret as another particle trail emitted. The trail dissipated as quickly as it was fired. The other warships followed suit as they began to all 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 a little bit of 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 began to move away from the intended location of the incoming shot. In minutes later, the hypervelocity round would completely miss the dreadnought.

Back on the ground, Javier was listening in on 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 am detecting weapons fire from the Shal’rein fleet. They have opened fire on Aphadus. Detecting an incoming volley. 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 as he kept 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 large 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 a 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 thirteen. 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 are 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, just like the other Itrean clans, used cloaked vessels.

“You would be 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 that was more used to being laid back and relaxed. Anaya at least had some sense to her. Perhaps Gray was correct. If the Shal’rein had a fleet behind the star, then the defense fleet could be falling into a trap.

“What is the purpose of the Shal’rein fleet?” Javier asked to 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 clan ships doing?

Between the orbit of Aphadus’s star 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 ships began to move in reverse. The railgun turrets began to readjust its 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. Warship after warship, it looked like a glory parade of the UHN as they went full acceleration towards its target.

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

Javier continued to listen to 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 into a direction unless gravity pulled on it or if it met contact with something else. On a planet, there was no defense against it. A planet had no way of getting out of the direction of it. Railguns were the perfect weapon to shell the ground.

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

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

“How is 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 very low, 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, which the base had, was not enough to stop a round that was 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. She seemed to be making a prayer, but she said it so quietly that Javier couldn’t hear it.

Javier went and leaned back to his desk. He gripped his chair hard as he listened to the communication channel that was 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 being 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 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.