Into the Black

(Flag Bridge, BSN Ama-no-Murakumo-no-Tsurugi, Kolriolia System, Ihm Space)

In the end, it was decided that, with Skethis Base being located in the Kolriolia System, on the edge of the expanding Eye of Despair, it was best for Black Star to tackle that target, while the Imperials took out the research base. After all, we had the most experience with Hellspace, even if it only came from our studies. More importantly, we were the ones who had shields that were designed to keep the creatures of Hellspace out.

There was no way I was giving those toys to the Chaos Brigade, and not making sure I had them for myself, after all. At the very least, I needed to know how to defend my people from the demons, right? And I still needed to find reliable ways to kill the demons.

That did put me at a better initial position than the Imperials, though, so Black Star’s job was to take down their primary recruiting base. Thankfully, stealth assaults were practically our bread and butter. Even better, Anchor Drives worked, even when their tachyon static machines were working, meaning that we would have a better chance at escaping once we were done.

Now, it is a simple fact that, due to basic physics applied on the scale of a solar system, the overwhelming majority of mass in a system is gathered within a few degrees above and below the ecliptic. This meant that almost all travel within a solar system happened along the ecliptic, since 99% of the time the best course between two points in a system, whether it was a least time course or a greatest efficiency course, would be inside that same range of a few degrees above and below the ecliptic. Because of this, anyone who was scanning for, say, invading stealth ships, did so primarily along the ecliptic.

So, if you wanted to slip a fleet of stealth ships into a fortified system without tripping alarms, going above or below the ecliptic was the best choice. Which is why we were now on a ballistic course, perpendicular to the ecliptic, as we entered the system. Even in space, people always forget to look up.

“Report.”

Raven nodded once. “I am detecting fifty ships in system, Admiral, plus civilian shipping, mainly around the shipyard and planet. All warships appear corvettes and frigates. According to Imperial Naval Intelligence, these should primarily be older model ships used for training purposes.”

“Patch me through to the Gugnir.”

“At once, Admiral.”

A moment later, Commodore Dakha’s face appeared on the screen before me, and she offered a salute. “Admiral, all ships ready for the attack.”

“Glad to hear it, Commodore. What are your opinions of the system, now that we have eyes on? Any changes to the attack plan you would make?”

The former Ihm commander looked back at her screens. “The system is much as I remember it from my time here. I even recognize a few of these ships. They are all at least two generations out of date, some are from before the first Ihm-Empire War. There are also two squadrons of fighters and one of bombers that should be stationed at these locations.” She transmitted three locations, which were then pinned on the map. “They are all mostly for training purposes, though they could still pose a danger if underestimated.”

I frowned. “That seems like a pretty weak defense for such an important system. I would have thought they’d at least more defense emplacements and the like.”

Dakha shook her head. “This system is so far to the interior, that it is considered a low defense priority overall. Other than the base, there’s nothing worth defending here. And considering that the homeworld is so close, the overall thinking was that by the time someone fought their way this far into the Imperium, then wasting any more defenses on this system would be a waste for the last defense of Ihmana.”

Well, that, made a lot of sense. “All right, I can see that. So, other than the handful of outdated ships, three squadrons of fighters, and what armaments are on the base itself, this system is basically undefended. How soon can it be reinforced, if an alarm goes out?”

“A year ago, I would have said a week, unless a task force was already on the way, or passing close. With the Hellspace Drives, though, they could be here within minutes or hours, of the ‘currents’ are with them. But with the Homeworld destroyed, that could change.”

“Yes, I know the government was centralized on Ihmana. With the planet gone, what happens now?”

“According to Imperial Law, the administration of the Imperium will be moved to Venahiri, the Archive World. From there, there will be a period of rebuilding, and a new Empress chosen. With the changes, and the Empress becoming the Imperatrix, I can’t say what is going to happen.”

“What are the fleets that were around Ihmana likely to do?”

“Without the War Council? Unclear. They’re probably still jockeying for position. I would say that their response will either be significantly delayed, or someone will jump at the chance to take their fleet elsewhere, either to avoid the fight or to gain credits to their name, and we’ll see them as soon as they can make it. So, we may be able to complete our mission without outside interference, or we may have all the company we can handle in short order.”

“Right. Target lists will be going out shortly.”

(Sethek Barracks, Skethis Base, orbiting Kolriolia Prime, Kolriolia System)

Thux Thratlut yawned loudly as he pulled himself out of his bunk, and made his way to the common area, and its massive viewport in the ceiling, showing the deep dark of space. It was impossible to get a decent night’s sleep in these barracks. The beds were hard, which wasn’t bad when one thought of the ‘traditional’ faux-burrow setups they had back home, but they were too narrow. No room to curl up or spread out as you liked.

Oh, he knew why they were like that, of course. Space on ships, even those of the glorious Ihm Imperium, was always going to be at a premium. Every cubic meter devoted to living space was one not devoted to weapons, armor, sensors, and other things that were critical to completing a warship’s job of finding the enemy, surviving their attacks, and removing them from existence.

So, ‘burrow space’ on ships was incredibly limited. Usually, it was only officers that got anything close to a burrow. Well, officers and prisoners. But that was only because the cells in the brig were completely empty save for a waste reclaimer, and the metal floors did not make for a good burrow.

Because of that, the burrow space in the barracks was just as restrictive. The logic was simple enough that even he could easily grasp it. Training was the perfect time to break recruits, no matter where they came from, of the habits and conditions they were used to, and standardizing their expectations, so that when they got out of training, there would be no arguments. In fact, there were rumors by the upper-level recruits, who had finished their basic training and had moved on to their primary training, that the conditions in the barracks were actually worse than those on ships, let alone those on garrison worlds!

That made a certain amount of sense. After all, if things were comparatively better on ship than they were in training, then it would instantly make people feel better about their new assignments, no matter what they were doing. And that shared suffering in training made everyone pull together, despite where they came from.

Of course, the uncomfortable nature of the barracks wasn’t the only reason he was having trouble sleeping, lately. The night sky was almost as bright as day, now. The… whatever it was that was spreading from where the Imperatrix did the science thing that tore space, or something like that, was spreading, to the point where one could see it with the naked eye at night, a roiling, brightly-colored cloud blocking out the stars.

The Perfected called it an entrance to the Godsrealm, something that would help elevate the Imperium and the Ihm people above all others in the galaxy. Thux knew he wasn’t the smartest Ihm out there, even for a male, but he did wonder how opening a hole in space would make the Ihm stronger. After all, no matter how strong his muscles became, what good was that against a ship?

And just what was the Godsrealm, anyway? He’d never heard of it, before it opened, and the Imperatrix discovered a god. He’d seen the vid of the Imperatrix, after her change. She was bigger than a male, and had wings! Winged Ihm were something out of myths from the time where they still hadn’t conquered all of Ihmana.

Ihmana. That thought brought him up short. He wasn’t from the Homeworld, but every Ihm felt the loss. How could a whole planet just get blown up like that? And why didn’t the Armada stop it? Weren’t they the greatest military the galaxy had ever seen, especially now that the Perfected were with them?

He didn’t like those questions. They were full of jagged edges, and he didn’t know the answers to them. He was a simple male. He’d been a farmer on an agriworld, before he joined the military. He was strong, and knew how to work on his family’s tractor, but school was wasted on males, everyone knew that.

Not that he bothered asking anyone else. The other males in his squad were all like him. None of them were the rare smart males. Those all went to special Officer training.

And talking to the females was not an option. Most of them were Perfected, and he knew enough to know that the Perfected did not like people questioning. They punished anyone who did harshly. Some even had people killed on the spot, just for asking the question!

They said it was to promote loyalty, and unity, as the Ihm began moving towards Perfection. Thux was not a smart male, so a lot of the words they used meant nothing to him. Maybe that was why he saw that there were no males among the Perfected on base.

Even if he looked at the vids and the news, he couldn’t find any reports of a Perfected male. Not one, out of the entire Imperium. Not even the Imperatrix had Perfected males as part of her guard. Did Perfected males not exist? Thux was not a smart male, but he was smart enough to wonder why.

Unfortunately, Thux never got to figure out the answer to his question, because at that moment one of the rounds from the main gun of a Black Star ship ripped straight through the viewport, ending all his worries, forever.

(Flag Bridge, BSN Ama-no-Murakumo-no-Tsurugi, Kolriolia System, Ihm Space)

Raven turned from the screen she was examining. “Confirmed strikes on all targets, Admiral. Orbital structures and docked ships in the system have been destroyed.”

I nodded. “Very well, then. All ships activate tarpits and transition to Phase Two. Wipe out the enemy ships that remain. Civilian shipping to be destroyed. We do not have the capability to haul freighters back with us using the Anchor drives, and fighting our way out of Imperium space is not on my list of things to do today.”

“As you command, Admiral.”

I stood there, watching the screens, as my ships broke stealth and began accelerating. The enemy, what remained of it, was scattered, clearly unsure of how to respond. Some were clearly panicking, and looking to make a run for it. Others turned to fight, but there was no coordination in their actions, while my fleet flowed like a single entity.

The ships were old, out of date, and only used as trainers for new recruits. The fighters, such as they had, were all lost when their launch bases were destroyed. Defense platforms had been obliterated in the initial strike. That left a mere fifty or so ships to oppose my fleet of over one hundred and eighty, if I included the little gunboats in the count.

This was a slaughter, not a battle, but it needed to be done, and done as quickly as possible.

“Admiral, Hellspace rifts forming!”