Into the Black

(Conference Room, Blackstone Station, Star’s Reach System)

The conference room was mostly full. The Captains and their Executive officers of every ship in the Black Star Navy were all in attendance, either in person or in holopresence, as well as General Khan and the Majors in charge of all six companies of the Black Star Marines. All of them were waiting with baited breath.

When everyone was seated, I took the podium, and the whispered conversations stopped. “Greetings, ladies and gentlemen, warriors of Black Star. As you all ought to know by now, the Yathru Corporation has declared corporate war on the Black Star company.

“One month ago, forces belonging to the Yathru Corporation attacked our ‘relief’ forces in the Tsk’neth system after we annexed the system by request of the surviving population following an Exterminatus event to wipe out the fourth planet, which had been overrun by zombies. These forces were apparently ordered to try and take our ships and people captive, hoping to claim them, and any secrets they knew, as spoils of war.” There was an uptick in murmured conversation, but I held my hands out to quiet it. “They, of course, were utterly destroyed, save for their flagship, which we captured.

“Through the interrogation of the enemy commander, we have discovered that the fleet’s orders were given at the highest levels of their corporate structure. In addition, the fleet we faced comprised the majority of their mobile forces, aside from their headquarters defense forces. That does not mean the rest of their territory and their facilities are undefended, of course, just that they rely more on fixed defenses and smaller ships, for in-system use.

“Yathru either controls or owns outright five other systems, including the Gateway system of Maccara, where they have their headquarters. In addition, they own major space stations in four additional systems. Under the Bylaws of Corporate Warfare set down by the Interstellar Corporate Court, all these facilities are considered viable targets for military strikes, now that the one-month notice period has passed.”

I gave the room a feral grin. “We’re going to take down all of these facilities in a set of simultaneous strikes across the Free Worlds Alliance, in a move to firmly settle this little Corporate War before anyone gets any ideas about repeating it. We are going to make such an example of Yathru that the rest of the interstellar corporations will get the same idea as the pirates have, and decide that not fucking with us is the key to a long life.”

When the cheers died down, I said, “Now, obviously not everyone here will be going out on these strikes. Just like we are allowed to attack Yathru, they can attack us. So, we cannot leave our people unprotected. This meeting, therefore, is to divide up the secondary targets.”

General Khan raised a hand, a smirk on his face. When I nodded to him, he asked, “Secondary targets? Then you have someone in mind for the Primary target?” The bastard knew I did, but, hey, a bit of showmanship never hurt.

“Yes, General, I do. First Group of the Black Star Navy’s Offensive Fleet will attack the Yathru Headquarters at Maccara, along with the First and Fourth companies of the Black Star Marines and their attendant craft. Our mission will be to capture or kill as many ranking members of the Yathru corporate structure as possible.”

I paused for a moment, to emphasize what I was about to say. “Additionally, as Maccara Prime is a wholly owned territory of Yathru, and is designated a Corporate World, under the Bylaws of Corporate Warfare, we are allowed to attack the planet and its infrastructure itself. There are few restrictions on what weaponry is allowed, save that the use of planet-crackers, atmosphere burners, virophage weapons, and all other weapons that would end all life on the planet are forbidden. We will, of course, be abiding strictly by the letter of those bylaws in the assaults on Maccara and the other corporate worlds.

“Now, as stated, the majority of Yathru’s mobile forces have been wiped out. However, they are not defenseless. Their trade stations are the least defended, of course, but even they have patrol craft and fighters enough to deter pirates and delay raiders, acting in conjunction with system defense forces.”

“The corporate worlds, on the other hand, will be substantially better defended. We can expect actual warships to be part of the system defense, primarily corvettes and frigates, backed by stationary defense platforms, fighter squadrons, and patrol boats. Yathru’s control of a Gateway makes them a significant trading presence in the Alliance, causing them to be wealthy enough to afford proper defenses for their worlds, and with enough enemies that they need them.”

Looking around the room, I said, “Now, Fourth Group, you’re not going to get to go on the attack, because if Yathru is going to cause trouble, Tsk’neth is where it is most likely to happen. The defense groups for our bases will be on alert as well, but we’re in a good position on that point. Dimiya is home to the Confederacy’s capitol, so that limits what they can do, and Madrigal was a tough enough nut before we started upgrading it that even we needed to use trickery to take it down. Nuevo Edo and Star’s Reach are unreachable to them except through the Gateways. Direct assaults through the gateway are too risky, so any threat to those systems will come from the Amazon gate, which is under close observation.”

I nodded to Third Group’s captains. “Third Group, I want you to hold back, as well. Your group is more suited to support and field logistics, anyways. I understand that the construction of Unknown Kadath Base is well underway, but the defenses are not yet finished. Once construction is finished and the automated defenses are handled, we’ll bring you back to Star’s Reach so your crews can rotate through shore leave, before we find your next assignment.”

Turning to the remaining naval officers, I said, “That leaves First, Second, and Fifth groups for naval battles. I’ve been informed that all ships in these groups have been outfitted with the Anchor Drives, which expands our operational parameters substantially. According to our information, the four secondary targets are not as well defended as the others.

“Second and Fifth groups will split their forces into three groups each. These groups will have separate targets, which I am sending you now, along with provisional force composition. These compositions are based on reports from the Commodores and their Captains, but if there are factors we are unaware of, Commodores may reassign ships as needed, so long as they ensure each target has sufficient strength to fight.”