June 6, 3087, 0200 GMT, 0200 Hilton Head Time, somewhere in the outer belts of Saturn...https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tfGjbPTmGOU&list=RD6oTluzrthb4&index=11Coast Guard 13/C/12, CGS Tranh Truk NgoHer ancestors came to Terra last, as part of Kerensky's final push against the Usurper. Amanda studied not only his war diary, but the descriptions left by Commodore Anh Cu'ong, the Coast Guard officer sent by Kowloon to support the 171st Volunteers. Cu'ong's notes on the system defenses at the time were extensive, the analysis of a Rockjack officer raised in a culture of numbers, calculations, and innate understanding of space warfare.
"Secure from jump, keep sails reefed for now, thruster power to one-quarter, there's going to be a hell of a lot of enemy firepower here. Engineering, keep our battery primed, but start a trickle charge to the main core."
"Aye mum."
Nicole Minh with 11th Squadron had made contact with the Metis Coalition and a few of the other Belter communities, they had mapped out the Blakist system defenses, but to get those defenses thinned enough for Star Admiral Jorgensson to bring the main force through, means sending in squadrons first.
In six hours, the Star League's combined Allied Navy would be coming through the stable points in the Solar system-not just the Zenith and Nadir points that Kerensky relied on, but
all of them.The plan meant the Kowloon Coast Guard was committing an entire cutter
Division, twelve squadrons, to clear the beaches for the assaulting force.
nearly their entire active duty force.
"Sensors up, deploy outriders, passive magnification three, let's go hunting."
Ninety percent of Command, is looking confident to your subordinates. Amanda was junior-in-time to most of her crew, but senior-in-grade, the only thing she could really hang any of it on, was the legend of her mother, and her relationship with Li. borrowed prestige, easily lost.
so she managed to hold poise even though the post-jump visions had been nauseating and horrific, and she was fighting a crushing headache.
"Commander, you're bleeding." her XO told her, offering a sponge-rag to wipe the blood away from her eyes.
"Thanks." There
was that. Amanda's TDS was a lucky symbol to the Rockjacks in the Guard. The fact she'd plotted an intercept on a neutral gravity point this close to a gas-giant without smearing the ship across half of hyperspace is a thing her people attributed to that TDS, to being 'touched' by slipspace.
"Enemy contact! Four dropships, running heavy mass for the hull planform, Thermal indicates high-output engines pushing warship-grade mass profiles."
a few seconds and the rest of her Patrol came through, appearing like a trail along their target asteroid's orbit.
She didn't breathe relief until the last one came through, confirming her calcs were on-the-nose.
"Shake out the formation, arm weapons."
Somewhere out there, Bianh Vu Dao's Squadron would be appearing to strike targets in Jovian orbit, while Nikki Minh's forces would be making for the Nadir point, drawing enemy interception inward, and Chao's 10th Squadron would be doing the same at their target locations.
"Targets are diverting from their path, moving to intercept ours."
"prep first volley as bearings-only, ready secondary weapons and a second volley of shipkillers, outriders are to run missile interception, but stay clear of direct-fire weapons."
Dear Diary, I don't know what I'm doing, so I'll do what Li and the T.O.'s at Spider Moon taught me to do, and hope for the best."XO, suggestions?"
"Oh, do what you're doing, Amanda." her executive officer urged, "but maybe adjust course and start running evasive patterns while we're at it?"
"Yeah, exactly that.. you guys heard the XO. do what Silverberg 831 said. evasive pattern, conn, you've got choice of pattern." her throat felt like it would close up with anxiety, and deep inside, she felt like she looked foolish.
god don't let me screw this up, please god..."you're doing fine." Silver told her with a reassuring hand on her shoulder, "It's a good trait, listening, just focus on thinking ahead a little more, we'll handle the details."
somewhere out there, missile plumes turned to nuclear blooms. the battle for Sol had begun.