Two Knight -class cruisers, Kay and Galahad, were also along for the ride, hanging off either side of the Eagle . Eight Hunter -class destroyers were riding in formation with the cruisers while a pack of six Knife -class frigates brought up the rear. Nine Arrowhead -class corvettes led the way in a forward screen for each branch of the formation, gliding quietly through space.
All in all, the force contained nearly a third of Jacob’s personal command. That command had grown, thanks to Al-shira’s efforts to capture some of the most recently upgraded ships, but it remained the smallest out of the members of the Admiralty Board. The difference in size had helped her weasel several more refitted ships out of the other admirals, but not out of any generosity on their part. The fact was, the other admirals heavily mistrusted those refits, and they had been more than ready to let them malfunction under Jacob’s orders rather than their own. The barely concealed glee in their generous messages releasing the ships to him was not exactly encouraging; just once Jacob wanted to get a force that was expected to succeed.
Still, it was better to have a small group in the right place than to have a large one dispersed and out of position. Jacob tried to push past his misgivings and turned his attention back to the situation. “Thank you Lieutenant Urchel. Lieutenant Hart, are any of our ships reporting a threat?”
The officer at the Analysis console shook her head and bent over her console. “No, sir. It looks like the entire system is clear. The only active ships in the system are registered as friendly craft. There are no emergency signals or requests for assistance either. The Oathbound colony appears to be at normal status.”
Jacob nodded and turned his attention to the craft in orbit. Though quite a few of the Oduran refugees had landed their ships on the surface to create living space on the frozen world, there still seemed to be numberless hundreds of ships in orbit. Millions were still waiting for the opportunity to join their comrades on the surface and abandon the collection of barges, converted warships, and transports they were depending on now. The ramshackle fleet looked like it was a junkyard for old Oduran equipment, and Jacob was surprised the refugees had not suffered any major catastrophes with so many half-functional ships in space.
Yet those ships weren’t alone, and Jacob frowned. “It looks like there is a lot of merchant traffic. More than usual.”
Lieutenant Hart answered his unasked question. “Yes Sir. Some of them are registered as charitable missions to help the refugees, but others are just bringing trade goods for the new colony.” He cracked a smile. “It’s probably more trade than Tiredel ever saw before now.”
“Most likely, Lieutenant Hart.” Jacob watched the merchant ships a moment longer before he turned his attention to the last major area of activity in the system. “How are the…salvage…operations going?”
There was a long moment of silence in the command center, and Jacob could hear the reluctance in Lieutenant Grey’s voice when she answered. “The operations are proceeding, sir. No unusual activity noted.”
Jacob kept his eyes fixed on the spot. The ships there were the last remnants of the Battle of Tiredel, where so much of the Oduran military and the Celostian Navy had been destroyed. The remains of four of Eagle ’s sister ships were there; all four Golem -class dreadnaughts were in a state of partial disassembly as engineers worked to pull them into more manageable chunks. Seven wrecked Oduran dreadnaughts, all Banner -class vessels, were beside them being harvested for materials. Their hulls were marked by the blast waves of missiles, punctured by railgun shells, or seared by plasma lances, a silent testament to the vicious battle that had broken them.
Of course, those eleven ships were not the sum of the destruction wrought. Cruisers, destroyers,
All in all, the force contained nearly a third of Jacob’s personal command. That command had grown, thanks to Al-shira’s efforts to capture some of the most recently upgraded ships, but it remained the smallest out of the members of the Admiralty Board. The difference in size had helped her weasel several more refitted ships out of the other admirals, but not out of any generosity on their part. The fact was, the other admirals heavily mistrusted those refits, and they had been more than ready to let them malfunction under Jacob’s orders rather than their own. The barely concealed glee in their generous messages releasing the ships to him was not exactly encouraging; just once Jacob wanted to get a force that was expected to succeed.
Still, it was better to have a small group in the right place than to have a large one dispersed and out of position. Jacob tried to push past his misgivings and turned his attention back to the situation. “Thank you Lieutenant Urchel. Lieutenant Hart, are any of our ships reporting a threat?”
The officer at the Analysis console shook her head and bent over her console. “No, sir. It looks like the entire system is clear. The only active ships in the system are registered as friendly craft. There are no emergency signals or requests for assistance either. The Oathbound colony appears to be at normal status.”
Jacob nodded and turned his attention to the craft in orbit. Though quite a few of the Oduran refugees had landed their ships on the surface to create living space on the frozen world, there still seemed to be numberless hundreds of ships in orbit. Millions were still waiting for the opportunity to join their comrades on the surface and abandon the collection of barges, converted warships, and transports they were depending on now. The ramshackle fleet looked like it was a junkyard for old Oduran equipment, and Jacob was surprised the refugees had not suffered any major catastrophes with so many half-functional ships in space.
Yet those ships weren’t alone, and Jacob frowned. “It looks like there is a lot of merchant traffic. More than usual.”
Lieutenant Hart answered his unasked question. “Yes Sir. Some of them are registered as charitable missions to help the refugees, but others are just bringing trade goods for the new colony.” He cracked a smile. “It’s probably more trade than Tiredel ever saw before now.”
“Most likely, Lieutenant Hart.” Jacob watched the merchant ships a moment longer before he turned his attention to the last major area of activity in the system. “How are the…salvage…operations going?”
There was a long moment of silence in the command center, and Jacob could hear the reluctance in Lieutenant Grey’s voice when she answered. “The operations are proceeding, sir. No unusual activity noted.”
Jacob kept his eyes fixed on the spot. The ships there were the last remnants of the Battle of Tiredel, where so much of the Oduran military and the Celostian Navy had been destroyed. The remains of four of Eagle ’s sister ships were there; all four Golem -class dreadnaughts were in a state of partial disassembly as engineers worked to pull them into more manageable chunks. Seven wrecked Oduran dreadnaughts, all Banner -class vessels, were beside them being harvested for materials. Their hulls were marked by the blast waves of missiles, punctured by railgun shells, or seared by plasma lances, a silent testament to the vicious battle that had broken them.
Of course, those eleven ships were not the sum of the destruction wrought. Cruisers, destroyers,
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