Star People

Chapter 23

Face Off!

Jan 12^th, 13 AE…

A few hundred miles from the eastern coast of Merdov, two large battleships separated from their fleets and began approaching one another. Of all the conflicts of the Zedan war, this would be known as the clash of the steel titans. It would go down in history as the Great Battleship Duel.

The super dreadnaught Kilgari versus the star battleship Missouri.

On the bridge of the Kilgari, General Rommet assessed his opponent. The Missouri was roughly about the same size as the Kilgari, and he estimated the main guns to be around 16-inch caliber. They were triple-mounted in three turrets, two in the front and one facing rearward. It also had three smaller, triple-mount turrets, two in the front and one in the rear. The speed and armor would probably match that of the Zedan ship as well. Even though the Kigari’s main guns were 18-inch, the Missouri’s weapons were nothing to scoff at. If it were a normal ship, Rommet would already be greatly concerned.

However, this was not a normal ship. It could fly. It had that strange barrier that protected it from all enemy fire. And if he were to assume that the Missouri’s fire-control system was the same as the other Free Land ships, then its guns were deadly accurate. And there was no telling what other weapons the Missouri had aside from its naval guns. Clearly this was not a fair fight.

And there was one more factor he needed to keep in mind; the commander of the Free Land ship, Captain Mark Delan. Though he knew nothing about Delan’s military history or abilities, he could tell from Mark’s tone of voice that he was an experienced officer. He sounded younger than himself, but he could discern that Mark was no stranger to combat. He sounded confident and disciplined. And with all the technological advantages the Free Land ship had, why wouldn’t he be confident? Rommet knew that if he was in command of such a vessel, then he would be confident enough to take on the world by himself.

However, Rommet’s crew was loyal and would follow him to Hell if need be. They would give it their all in what he suspected would be their final fight.

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On the bridge of the Missouri, Mark gazed at the main holo-viewer as it displayed the Kilgari. From what he remembered from the briefings and data logs, the Kilgari was similar to the type of large battleship from World War 2, the Yamato-class. Before being reconstructed and refitted in 6 AE, the Missouri was originally an Iowa-class battleship and the Yamato-class ships were larger. The Yamato had been equipped with 18-inch guns, and was said to be protected by at least 16 inches of armor plate, with the turrets having 26 inches. The guns could hurl a one-ton shell up to 26 miles or over 40 km. And though most of its controls were mechanical or analog, it was considered to be very durable and destructive… by World War 2 standards.

Mark had no doubt that the Missouri held the advantage in all categories of defense, mobility and firepower. A well-placed shot with a single kinetic round would end the duel in an instant. And he had a feeling that his opponent knew this as well. In fact, it was probably assumed by the survivors of the Merdov invasion fleet that the Kilgari stood no chance against its rebuilt and upgraded World War 2 counterpart.

Thinking about his opponent, Captain Delan began to speculate what kind of a man Erstal Rommet was. According to all intelligence reports, Rommet was the Supreme Commander of the Zedan forces and had a long history of military victories. He was described as courageous, tough-minded and not afraid to take risks if the odds were favorable. He had already displayed competent tactical ability when he tried to split his forces and create an opening through the Free Land fleet. That strategy might have worked, if he had been facing against a foe of similar technological level.

When it came right down to it, the centuries-wide gap in technology levels was so enormous that no amount of World War 2 tactics and weapons could overcome it. It would be so easy to annihilate the Kilgari in one attack. However, Mark decided not to humiliate his foe like that and let him make the first moves. The Council of Prime Directors wanted to show the Zedan military just how pointless it was to wage war against the Star Alliance. Reelan’s husband would allow Rommet to use all of the experience and firepower at his command, and let him realize the error of challenging the might of Free Land.

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On the bridge of the Kilgari, Rommet brought a pair of binoculars to his eyes and saw the Missouri as it was just coming into range. Though he knew that his enemy had a barrier that deflected all incoming fire, the Zedan commander still had to show that he didn’t fear the Missouri.

“Load all main turrets! Prepare to fire!”

Rommet then ordered his helmsman to turn hard to port as he wanted to bring all of his guns to bear on the Missouri and deliver a massive broadside. As soon as they got within position, he received word that the turrets were ready and swiveled toward the target. Then he barked out a single command.

“OPEN FIRE!”

The nine, massive guns let loose with a series of thunderous noise and flashes of light. Massive projectiles were sent hurtling into the sky on trajectories that would impact in seconds.

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“Incoming enemy projectiles!” Ensign Taichen announced.

“Full stop, and back us out, Ensign Gatsbu.” Mark said calmly.

“Aye, sir!” The Velor officer replied as he made the Missouri stop and reverse its direction. Due to the g-force nullifiers and inertial dampeners, none of the crew felt the sudden lurch and change in direction of the ship. The nine projectiles harmlessly landed in the water in front of them, causing huge water spouts to appear.

Mark could have simply let the shells hit the barrier and there would be no damage to the ship. However, he wanted to show to the enemy that the Missouri was more than capable of outmaneuvering enemy fire and didn’t depend solely on its barrier for survival.

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“All shots missed!” The Kilgari’s helmsman announced.

“Damn!” Rommet swore. He had no idea that the Missouri was able to maneuver so quickly. How could something that large easily stop and reverse like that? And now the Kilgari had exposed its broadside to the enemy, giving his opponent a huge target area.

He expected his enemy to let loose with the Missouri’s forward main turrets, but was surprised when only the front secondary guns fired off a salvo.

“Full speed ahead!”

The Kilgari increased its speed as it tried to move out of the line of fire. Unfortunately, as Rommet had suspected, the Missouri’s, fire-control systems were just as advanced as the other Free Land ships. Two kinetic shells struck the forward turrets, while the other four hit on various areas of the superstructure. The entire ship shook from the hits. It wasn’t enough to knock it out of the fight, but the damage was considerable. Both forward turrets were still operational but were smoking and slow to respond. Their armor had a pair of gaping holes in them. The communications array and radar station had taken hits. Two of the secondary guns on the starboard side had been knocked out. Sirens began to blare as damage control teams rushed to put out the fires.

Even with just their secondary guns, the Missouri proved to be formidable.

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“Direct hits, Captain!” Gatsbu announced.

“We’ve given them a bloody nose with that attack.” Lieutenant Commander Harken commented. “And we had those kinetic shells set on low power.”

“Maneuver to point 1, 7, 4, Ensign.” Mark commanded as he waited for his Zedan opponent to make the next move.

“Aye, Captain!”

“So you’re going to let him try again?” Reelan asked.

“There’s really nothing he has that could come close to hurting us. So why not show him just how useless his weapons and tactics are?”

“Captain, the enemy vessel is now trying to swing about for another broadside.” Ensign Taichen announced.

“Helmsman, reduce speed.”

“That will bring our broadside parallel with the enemy vessel’s broadside.” Gatsbu pointed out. “He will also be closer.”

“I’m counting on that.” Mark assured. “Let’s see if he can actually hit the broadside of a battleship.”

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On the Kilgari…

Rommet growled as the two main turrets slowly turned to aim at the Missouri. Due to the damage suffered from the first attack, the revolving mechanisms were badly damaged. When they finally came into position, he ordered all the guns on port side to open fire. First the main guns let loose with another salvo. This was immediately followed by the secondary guns. A huge barrage of 18-inch and 6-inch shells came hurtling toward their target.

However, several of their shots missed the Missouri. Those that did manage to land on target were easily stopped by the defense barrier.

The Zedan commander let off a stream of curse words at the lack of results. Even though he knew about the barrier, it was still quite frustrating.

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As the battleship duel continued, ships on both sides watched with interest; the survivors of the Merdov Invasion Fleet and the Star Alliance vessels.

On the Zedan cruiser Vandar, the bridge crew observed the battle through high-powered binoculars.

“It’s just not fair!” Petty Officer Regin Sars cried out.

Admiral Logran Vattos turned to his subordinate with a frown. “What is it, Sars?”

“What’s the point of dueling with an opponent if you can’t even hit them?! To be fair, they should fight Rommet without that cheat!”

Logran glared at Sars for a long moment, before responding. “You are demoted two steps in rank.”

“What?!”

“War is not a question of what is fair and what isn’t.” The admiral chided. “You are to fight the enemy with all your capabilities. Only a fool would go into battle without all of his weapons and equipment.”

“But at this rate, General Rommet is going to lose!”

“Yes, Rommet already knew that he wasn’t going to win. That is not the point of this duel.”

“What?”

“This duel is not just to satisfy his own sense of honor, but also to ensure the safety of the surviving crews of the invasion force. Do you not know of the terms of this duel? Regardless of who wins, we are to surrender unconditionally to Free Land and become prisoners of war. Those were his final orders to us.”

“Why would he order us to do such a thing?!”

“It’s because he knew what would become of him and us, if we were to return to Zedan in defeat. The Grand Leader would very likely have all the senior officers and their families executed for failure. However, if we were captured as prisoners of war, then the Leader cannot accuse or execute us and our loved ones. This duel is our proof that we were just following orders. Therefore, only Rommet would be seen at fault for issuing those orders. He’s doing this to save us. Free Land has agreed to treat us fairly as prisoners of war. You should be grateful for General Rommet’s sacrifice.” The admiral then turned his attention back to the battle.

Sars was left speechless for a long time before turning his gaze back to the two battleships.

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Watching from satellite surveillance and drone reconnaissance video feeds, General Kurdo and Admiral Kajor observed and analyzed the battleship duel in depth.

“Captain Delan is holding back.” The Velor commented.

“Are you surprised?” The Catian asked. “A single salvo from the anti-proton guns would end the duel in an instant. In fact, a broadside of kinetic shells at full power would be overkill.”

“So why is he holding back so much?”

“I believe he’s honoring his opponent by letting him fight back, even though it is virtually useless to do so. Not that it matters, since the Kilgari’s end is inevitable.”

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On the Missouri…

Mark nodded to his wife after the second enemy salvo failed to damage the ship. She turned to the helmsman.

“Ensign, set two aqua-missiles at 5% power and launch them at the Kilgari.”

“Aye, Commander!”

On the starboard side of the Missouri, a panel opened up and two aqua-missiles were fired into the water.

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“Incoming torpedoes!” The Zedan hydrophone operator shouted out.

“Evasive maneuvers! Full speed!” Rommet shouted.

The Kilgari immediately increased its speed and turned to avoid the underwater missiles. However, the crewmembers were expecting them to be like the unguided torpedoes that they used. One simply had to move out of the way. What they weren’t expecting was that the torpedoes corrected their course and turned with them.

“Impossible!” The Zedan Supreme Commander said as he was told that the underwater projectiles were still going to hit.

KA-BOOM!

The super dreadnaught shuddered as both aqua-missiles hit the stern on the port side. Emergency sirens sounded off as the crews desperately worked to seal the breach in the hull.

“General! Emergency crews report that the breach in port stern section 45 has been sealed off.”

“Good. We should be thankful that the hull was armored enough to withstand such a hit. We survived with only a small hole.”

What they didn’t know was that the aqua-missiles had been set at low power. At a higher setting, the missiles would have blown a hole so large that the emergency crews would have no chance of sealing it up.

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On the Missouri…

“The crew members of the Kilgari are tenacious. I’ll give them that.” Harken admitted.

 “They barely managed to survive a hit from low-powered aqua missiles.” Reelan pointed out before turning to her mate. “Captain, I think this has gone on long enough. I believe there is an old Earth saying that we should ‘take the kid gloves off.’ We’re just dragging this out longer than it needs to be. We’re basically tormenting the enemy. It’s best to put him out of his misery.”

Mark considered the enemy ship for a minute before nodding. Rommet had wanted to go out in a blaze of glory and Mark was disrespecting his opponent by pulling his punches.

“Ready all primary and secondary batteries. We’ll finish this duel fast.”

“You’ll be using the main pulsar guns?”

“Yes, but only at reduced power. Even if we hold back, that ship can’t much more. If we put in too much power, the Kilgari would be vaporized. We’re going to take out the enemy’s weapons and engines with the next strike.”

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On the Kilgari…

Just after dealing with the hull breech, Rommet was informed that the Missouri was steaming toward them, closing the distance to under 10 miles. Again he was astounded at just how fast and maneuverable that ship was.

“So now it ends.” The Zedan commander stated as he signaled to his bridge crew to prepare for the final confrontation. He ordered all batteries to begin firing on the Missouri.

The main turrets of the Kilgari again swiveled toward the opponent. However, they would never fire again as the Missouri’s main turrets traversed faster and fired first. To the shock and horror of the Zedan sailors, all three of their main turrets were hit by kinetic shells. Despite having extremely thick armor, the shells easily punched through and detonated the magazines of each turret, causing the whole ship to shudder as they exploded.

The main turrets were completely wrecked as their guns sagged down. Two barrels of the first turret fell away from their mountings. The second forward turret was blown to pieces. The rear turret was also rendered inoperable as the muzzles of its gun barrels exploded. Fires broke out in multiple areas around the deck. In a single stroke, the main weapons of the Kilgari were nothing but burning piles of scrap metal. All the gunnery crews were either dead or badly wounded from the hits.

As the Missouri closed in, the Kilgari’s secondary guns opened up, unleashing a hailstorm of explosive and armor-piercing shells. However, they were again denied as the defense barrier of the star battleship stopped the deadly barrage from harming it. Then the Missouri’s own secondary guns rotated and returned fire toward the port side of the Zedan warship. Dozens of hits slammed through the superstructure, destroying vital control centers and weapon stations. Even the armor belt of the ship proved to be no protection as the kinetic shells smashed through with little effort.

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The bridge of the Zedan flagship was a scene of panic and confusion as damage and casualty reports came flooding in. The ship was constantly rocked by impacts and explosions as the Missouri pounded away.

“Number eight and seven guns have taken massive damage!”

“Sectors fifteen, thirty and forty-one are on fire. Emergency crews cannot keep up!”

“We have a breech on the upper deck!”

“The radar and fire-control systems have been knocked out!”

“Steering control systems have taken damage!”

Then a massive explosion occurred near the stern of the ship, causing it to slow down and began drifting. A message came in from the chief engineer.

“General! The main engines have been hit! All the boilers are out and there’s no hope to re-light them! We’re dead in the water!”

After receiving that report, Rommet knew that this was the end of the duel. A ship that cannot move was basically a stationary target. In another minute, all the remaining guns went silent, either from running out of ammunition or destroyed by the enemy.

The Kilgari, the pride of the Zedan Navy, had been reduced to a burning mass of metal on the ocean. With a deep breath, he gave his final orders to the surviving crew.

“All hands, abandon ship! Repeat all hands, abandon ship! Every man for himself!”

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As soon as the Kilgari stopped firing its weapons, the Missouri ceased firing as well. From a distance of five miles, Mark and his bridge crew watched as the main holo-viewer displayed a scene of absolute carnage. It wasn’t a pretty sight.

Even with reduced power, the kinetic shells proved to be too much for the enemy ship’s armor plating to withstand. The superstructure had been mangled and broken in several dozen places. There were small explosions and fires occurring all over the ship. Dead bodies littered the deck and those who were still alive were either filling up the life boats or jumping into the water.

On the Missouri’s bridge, Mark Delan felt no sense of accomplishment or victory. This had been a slaughter. He had to give the enemy commander credit. Rommet had fought his hardest, even though he knew that he stood no chance against Mark’s ship.

With the Kilgari dead in the water and its weapons destroyed, there was no doubt in anyone’s minds that the Star Alliance ship was the victor.

“Lieutenant, open a channel to the Zedan warship.”

“Aye, Captain!” Visera nodded as she established contact. “Communications channel open.”

“Very good.” Mark stood up from his chair. “This is Captain Mark Delan of the star battleship Missouri of Free Land. General Erstal Rommet, are you there?”

There was a long stretch of silence and only static was heard. Finally, the Zedan commander replied.

“This is General Erstal Rommet… of the Zedan battleship Kilgari. To Captain Delan of Free Land… I hereby acknowledge you and your crew as the victors… and I must now endure the dishonor of defeat.”

“You and your crew fought admirably, General. There’s nothing to be ashamed of. I see no dishonor on your part.”

“You are… most kind.”

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On the bridge of the Kilgari, Rommet sat alone. He had already ordered his bridge crew to abandon ship with the others. They had protested but he would brook no disobedience. Now he was speaking with the captain of the ship that he knew that he couldn’t defeat.

“Prepare to be boarded, General. We intend to transfer you and any survivors onto the Missouri.” Captain Delan announced.

Rommet shook his head. “There is no need for that. Aside from myself, there is no one else alive aboard this vessel. I have already ordered all hands to abandon ship, including my bridge crew.”

“Then what about yourself?”

“I intend to go down with my ship.”

“What purpose will it serve for you to die?”

“I am… simply fulfilling my duty… as a Zedan officer. As the captain of a military vessel, you must also understand duty.”

“I do. However, my first duty is to preserve the safety of my crew.”

“And with this battle, I have preserved the safety of those under my command. You will abide by the terms of the duel?”

“I assure you that your people will be treated fairly as prisoners of war.”

“That is good. In a way, we are quite similar. In another reality… in another time and place… I might have called you… a friend.”

“I’m… honored.”

Rommet stood up and walked over to a control panel. He then opened up a small compartment to reveal a red button and a key slot. Reaching into his vest pocket, he pulled out a small key, in which he inserted into the slot and turned it.

“And now, it is time for me… to perform one final duty. I will not be taken as your prisoner… nor will I permit the Kilgari to be taken as a war prize. Please allow this old warrior and his ship… to die with dignity. Goodbye Captain Delan.”

He then pressed the red button, which activated the scuttling charges of the Kilgari. Just afterwards, he pulled out his pistol, raised it to his right temple, and pulled the trigger.

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Mark and the rest of his bridge crew watched with surprise and shock as several large explosions occurred along the length of the Zedan warship. The ship started to sink rapidly as water rushed into the huge holes in that hull that had been created by the scuttling charges. Fortunately, most of the sailors who had abandoned ship were far enough away as the Kilgari was sent to a watery grave. There was one final, massive explosion, which signaled the ship’s death as it was blown in half.

As soon as the two halves disappeared beneath the waves, the remaining Zedan ships raised their white flags in surrender. They would honor Rommet’s final command. Those who were in lifeboats or were in the water also signaled that they were surrendering.

Mark quickly gave the order to begin rescue efforts. He then let off a long, tired sigh as he sat back down in his chair. Once again, Reelan would break protocol as she stood up and positioned herself behind her husband. She began to massage his shoulders and neck to help ease the tension away.

“You know that this isn’t over.” Mark said to his mate.

“Of course not.” The Kyteeri First Officer agreed. “But at least we gave Rommet an honorable way out of this war.”

Mark could only nod as he watched the main holo-viewer as it displayed the images of Free Land ships sending out rescue craft to pick up the survivors of the Zedan fleet.

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On the Iowa…

“And so the Merdov Invasion Force has been defeated.” General Kurdo announced after confirming Mark’s victory. Not that he had any doubt of the Missouri winning over the Kilgari.

“I must commend Captain Delan for showing restraint and discipline during the duel with the Zedan flagship.” Admiral Kajor said.

“I have to admit, if Rommet wasn’t an enemy general, I could almost admire him. At the very least, he deserves our respect.”

“Indeed. Now all we need to do is take care of that fleet that’s heading toward Bisra and then we can focus on the Zedan continent itself.”

“Speaking of which, I have received a report from Admiral Silana.”

To Be Continued…

Author’s Notes

Readers might recognize the final scene of Rommet to be similar to the ending of that Star Trek Episode “Balance of Terror.”   

I decided to give this chapter early as I’ll be off for a couple of weeks again. Enjoy!