The Spoils of War by Richard Turner

Author:Richard Turner
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Richard Turner
Published: 2018-05-30T08:00:00+00:00

Chapter 16

Captain Krystar sat in his chair staring at the data they had gathered in the few seconds they were over Ka-3. On the screen was the image of a disc-shaped ship larger than anything in the Kurgan Fleet. Spread out over thousands of kilometers in a defensive posture around the ship were twenty-three other vessels. All were circular in design. Because of their varied armaments, some reminded him of destroyers while others looked like missile frigates.

“Thoughts, gentlemen?” said Krystar to his senior staff officers.

“The enemy fleet is clearly deployed in a defensive posture,” said Commander Klish. “I don’t think that massive ship at the center of their formation is a fleet carrier. But I’ll be damned if I know what it is.”

Lieutenant Commander Kryne, the ship’s science officer, raised a hand. “Sir, I may have a theory on what that vessel is.”

“Speak up,” said Krystar.

“It’s a logistics ship,” explained Kryne.

“How did you draw that conclusion?” asked Klish.

“First off, we have no fleet carriers in this part of our territory, so there would be no need to try and match it with one of their own. Secondly, this is an invasion force and as we all know, operations far from one’s home base are heavy on logistics. When you begin a campaign you have to take everything you will need with you until you can be resupplied. And lastly, there appears to be a steady stream of transport ships heading to and from the ship to the planet’s surface.”

“I agree,” said Krystar. “The enemy has tailored his fleet around the mission at hand. Which leads me to wonder where the rest of their fighting vessels could be hiding.”

“I doubt they’re in the Kelvaris system, as there are fewer Kurgans there than on Ka-3,” pointed out Klish.

“Captain, the battle above our homeworld, although a pyrrhic victory, was still a victory,” said Kryne. “Although I can’t prove it, I believe that we may have dealt the enemy a blow to their fleet that they’re still recovering from.”

“I wish that were true,” said Klish. “However, until we can prove your theory, we must continue to assume the enemy has the strength and will to carry on this war.”

“The XO’s correct wishful thinking is no substitute for cold, hard facts,” said Krystar. “Commander Kryne, what did we learn from our scans of the planet’s surface?”

The image of the enemy fleet faded and was replaced by a picture of a city. “As far as I can tell, the enemy has herded all of the population on the continent into or around New-Kolek. We have images of massive camps on the outskirts of the city packed with people. Most surprisingly, the enemy does not appear to have entrenched themselves nor do they have a significant number of forces on the planet. Our scan was quick and therefore incomplete, but my estimation is nothing more than a couple of scattered companies down there.”

“Arrogant bastards,” said Krystar. “They don’t think we’ll fight back. Once the High Command sees this they’ll dispatch all they can to retake what is legally ours.

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