Reprise rolled in from below and took out the HuK with several well-aimed shots.
It took Geary a moment to realize that Majestic’s death might not have been in vain. “When those Syndic battleships went for the kill on Majestic, it took them off their trajectory and slowed their intercept of Titan and Goblin.”
Desjani took a moment from maneuvering Dauntless to scan her display. “The Fifth Battleship Division might make it in time,” she agreed.
Might make it. He certainly couldn’t count on Conqueror or Orion being of any use. Geary swung his own gaze to the other side of the Syndic formation. The remaining Syndics were altering course to come around at Titan, Goblin, and beyond them Witch and Jinn. As a result, the edges of the box formation whose center had been blown away were folding inward, the four sides of the box collapsing in toward vectors aimed at the four Alliance auxiliaries.
But coming down on the same edges were the Alliance subformations centered on battleships. Captain Armus in Colossus led Amazon, Spartan, and Guardian straight toward one edge of the Syndic formation anchored on three Syndic battleships that had been mostly untouched up to this point. As the huge ships lumbered into contact, the four Alliance battleships volleyed everything they had at the leading Syndic battleship, then hit the second as they flashed past. In their wake, the Alliance battleships left the leading Syndic battleship a pile of junk and the second with significant damage. In exchange Colossus and Spartan had taken several hits, but none critical.
At the same time, the lighter units on both sides clashed, the now-superior numbers of the Alliance ships telling as Syndic light cruisers and HuKs reeled from repeated blows.
Soon afterward, Relentless, Reprisal, Superb, and Splendid wiped out the two Syndic battleships and their escorts holding another edge of the increasingly chaotic Syndic formation, battering the enemy but losing the heavy cruiser Vambrace in the exchange.
Titan took another hit, then a Syndic light cruiser made a firing run on Goblin while Alliance destroyers flashed past, trying to knock out the attacker.
A surviving Syndic heavy cruiser led two light cruisers and several HuKs straight for Titan. “Damn,” Geary whispered.
He hadn’t been watching Furious and Implacable, which had finally completed their long, wide swing through space and instead of aiming for more Syndic capital ships had focused on the closest threat to the auxiliaries. Now the two Alliance battle cruisers tore past, riddling the Syndic heavy cruiser, blowing up one light cruiser and shattering the second, while the battle cruisers’ escorts wiped out the HuKs.
“Not bad,” Desjani praised, her own battle cruiser division still curving up and around. “I told you Cresida would stick with the auxiliaries if she knew you were counting on her.”
In trying to avoid the other attacks, Orion found itself directly between Titan and Goblin and the two Syndic battleships that had annihilated Majestic. Having expended all of their remaining missiles on Majestic, the Syndic battleships were trying to close within hell-lance reach while Titan and Goblin poured on all of the acceleration the damaged auxiliaries could manage in an attempt to stay out of range.
Orion started dropping back out of the line of fire between the Syndic battleships and the auxiliaries as if she had lost propulsion, even though Geary couldn’t see any damage reported to Orion’s propulsion units. “That does it. If Commander Yin survives this battle, she’s out as commander of that ship.” His eyes focused on Conqueror, still far enough ahead of Titan and Goblin to be unable to defend them from the two Syndic battleships. “Captain Casia, too. I’ll court-martial both of their worthless asses.”
Desjani stretched her mouth in a humorless smile. “Cowardice before the enemy. You can just have them shot by order of summary execution. No one could complain with the records of this engagement as the official proof.”
At the moment, with the fate of Titan and Goblin teetering in the balance, that option sounded entirely too good to Geary. If he lost those two ships because of Casia’s and Yin’s avoidance of battle, he knew he might not be able to resist the temptation to follow Desjani’s advice.
Hell lances from the Syndic battleships began reaching out at extreme range, licking at the shields of Titan and Goblin. Geary knew the shields on the auxiliaries couldn’t long withstand the punishment that a pair of battleships could inflict even at maximum range.
Flanconade weaved between the Syndic battleships and the Alliance auxiliaries, drawing Syndic fire for the few moments needed to tear apart the Alliance destroyer.
The sacrifices and the maneuvers finally added up to a decisive number as Fearless, Resolution, Redoubtable, and Warspite came within weapons range of the two Syndic battleships. The four Alliance battleships split their fire, two hammering one Syndic battleship and the other two hitting the remaining one as the Fifth Battleship Division finally engaged the enemy.
As the Alliance battleships drew away, both Syndic battleships staggered and slowed dramatically because of blows aimed at their propulsion systems. Titan and Goblin slowly pulled out of range as the hobbled Syndics tried to keep targeting them, then Tulev’s four battle cruisers came in from another angle on their second firing run and smashed the trailing Syndic battleship.
Geary blinked, trying to take in events all through the region of battle. Desjani was leading Dauntless, Daring, and Victorious against a hurt Syndic battleship. Elsewhere, Vengeance and Revenge were bearing down on the remaining Syndic battleship that had nearly destroyed Titan and Goblin. The other Syndic battleships still capable of fighting had been stripped of their escorts and were being slammed by repeated firing passes from Geary’s subformations. The Syndic formation had completely fallen apart, replaced by a trail of damaged ships and debris leading back to where the Casualty Flotilla had once existed. The only remaining organized Syndic naval force in Lakota Star System was the guard force, a mere two battleships and two battle cruisers with their escorts, far away and heading for the hypernet gate at a fast clip. “We won.”
Dauntless’s hell lances tore into the targeted Syndic battleship, then null fields from Dauntless, Daring, and Victorious dug huge holes in the enemy vessel. Desjani let out a long breath as Dauntless left her broken enemy behind, then nodded to Geary. “Yes, sir. You did.”
“We won,” Geary repeated. “This fleet won this victory, not me.”
“You did help,” Rione pointed out dryly.
Taking a deep breath, Geary called his fleet. “All ships in the Alliance fleet, general pursuit. Break formation and ensure no Syndic warships escape. Destroyers and light cruisers not engaged with the enemy are to recover escape pods from Alliance ships.”
Space in Lakota Star System was now filled with wreckage and hundreds of Syndic escape pods. Geary’s warships were pouncing on surviving but damaged Syndic warships, overwhelming them and adding to the quantity of both debris and escape pods as the remnants of the Syndic force were wiped out.
But the victory hadn’t been painless. Majestic was gone, along with the heavy cruisers Utap, Vambrace, and Fascine. The defenders of the auxiliaries had taken heavy losses. In addition to Flanconade, the light cruisers Brigandine, Carte, and Ote had been destroyed, as well as the destroyers Armlet, Kukri, Hastarii, Petard, and Spiculum. Most of the other ships in the fleet had taken various degrees of damage and lost crew members. Measured against the Syndic losses the price was insignificant, but
