Lunar fleet ambushed at Igor
A Parthian fleet under the command of the notorious pirate leader Raven Feeder surprised and largely destroyed a Lunar fleet. Some heavy elements did make it to join the rest of the Lunar fleet.
For the last three years Luna had been besieging the Parthian Satrapy of Igor and routinely rotates forces that are stationed there. It was in the midst of such a rotation that the ambush occurred.
Besieger besieged
More Parthian forces have entered the Igor system and forced the Lunar fleet into a fortified 'camp'. Igor's own forces freed of besiegement joined in.
Admiral Trägheit, the commander of the siege forces, expressed confidence the 'incident' would be brief when the 'relief fleet arrived'.
"It's only a matter of time." He asserted.
Daring exploits by Lunar Commodore Wilfox
Nigel Wilfox, nephew of the Wilfox was commander of a light flotilla of the incoming fleet. He was ordered by Admiral Xingu to cover the retreat of the Lunar fleet.
Separated from that fleet he now runs hit and run raids against the Parthian forces in the Igor system.
Ironically it was Nigel Wilfox who ambushed and captured Ravenfeeder during the recent Black Forest-Republic war.
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Admiral Xingu was truly amazed at the sheer size of the Parthian force. The forces were of varied quality. It seemed as if they had dragged everything they could along both old and new.
Then there also several fleet with ships he didn't recognize. That meant that Parthia had an ally then didn't know about.
Yet Grand Admiral Trägheit remained convinced that 'help was coming'. It had been thirty days and time was running out.
Xingu knew what the problem was. The forward base at Masque had only two fleets and one of them had been sent under his command and had now been destroyed. The other couldn't leave the valuable shipyards and repair facilities unprotected. That meant that any relief forces had to come in from Luna's partly constructed bases in the recently gained Etruscan tetra-planet system.
Grand Admiral Trägheit expected relief might be a long time coming thought Xingu.
+++
Ravenfeeder was almost ready. The artillery had been steadily firing on the lunar fortifications but now the Gordans where almost in place.
The Republic had invented them during their first war with the Black forest. They were a towed missile launcher packed with many numerous missiles. The Republic had stocked them with 100 or so each.
But Parthia had a huge stockpile of missiles now largely useless in ship to ships combat. All of them had been loaded in huge Gordans with 500 missiles each. He had emptied out the entire stockpile.
+++
Lunar fortification destroyed!
Lunar fleet defeated in a fleet action.
Using massive numbers of missiles Parthia pounded several 'holes' in the Lunar 'wall' of forts and entered the Lunar base. In the engagement that followed Luna's forces were out-numbered.
Moreover the Parthian leader pulled yet another trick out of his hat with an array of mobile siege guns aboard catamarans that allowed him to briefly outgun the Lunar force.
"They had huge causalities." Remarked Admiral Xingu who managed to escape capture.
"But in the end they destroy three Lunar fleets and Luna's entire siege train." He added.
+++
Nigel knew he had to leave. The Parthian fleet was now spreading out to hunt him down.
It had been for him a good fight and he might even get another promotion out if it. Both Grand Admiral Trägheit and Admiral Xingu were disgraced while his own reputation had been enhanced.
Someday, he thought, I will be as powerful as my cousin and found a new house.
+++
He had broken the siege, brought supplies for Igor, and helped the salvage fortification from the Lunar camp. Now Raven feeder had to move on.
But first he harvested the officers and noncoms that had distinguished themselves. They would be sent back to Parthia to crew the growing and more modern fleet building there.
Yes that meant this fleet would be less capable but his aim was to destroy as much of Luna's position as possible.
It was time to go to the next target.
Lunar cabinet decides to send a fleet from South Cluster to the far South
"Our forces in the Far south can defend themselves but to reopen the offensive we need more squadrons." Said Prime Minister Inskeep.
Not everyone was happy with this decision.
"This is a distraction from our true interest and concern. The Black Forest is engaged in a massive build up and may decide to use it competitive advantage against us." Said Earl Jane Grey.
It should take approximately three months for the fleet to arrive.
Parthian forces attack and invade Masque
As expected the Parthian force under Ravenfeeder attacked Luna's forward base.
In the initial engagement despite several routs of Parthian squadrons the Lunar fleet was defeated. It retreated in good order toward the Etruscan area.
Hordes of civilians ;loaded aboard almost any kind of ship seeking to escape the expected slaughter by Huly invasion forces.
Meanwhile the Parthians destroyed or stole all the orbital factories and repair facilities.
+++
Eleanor threw the report on the table and made a sound of disgust.
"If they had hit here they would have swept my whole duchy away along with the client states." She said.
"Indeed." Said Aurelia Campbell.
She was compact woman with bright red hair and florid complexion. She was dressed in a tartan skirt of the Campbell clan and a red jacket over a white blouse.
She looks pretty good for a woman that has lived two centuries, thought Eleanor.
"I am surprised that Luna was caught twice," observed Aurelia.
"Are you going to go relieve them?" asked Eleanor.
Aurelia nodded. "I pretty much have to. Shoverde's fleet was destroyed trying to escape Igor. If the Company wants to keep the Alliance with Luna it's going to have help."
Aurelia was one of the most powerful women in the Company, having a seat on its board. She had commanded fleets for centuries.
"What I need you to do.." said Aurelia.
Eleanor was annoyed. She was sovereign duchess not this woman's subordinate. Even if the Company was her benefactor proper respect should be given sovereigns.
She said nothing however.
"I'll take my siege train and supply feet somewhere and hide it. I suggest you move your own fleet to guard it and evacuate who you can. It is critical that you keep a fleet in being. Especially if we are defeated in trying to help Luna."
Eleanor didn't like the tone but agreed with her and had already started planning. Indeed it had been planned several years ago.
The rub was that her civilian population would be left without much in the way of defense.
"I agree with you though I expect they don't have much in the way left. It looks to me as though they stripped everything out of their outer empire to raise this force. That is why except for ______ we've had so little resistance over the last year." She said.
Aurelia clearly agreed. She nodded her head.
"It explains why the SPQR was able to expand so easily in the west as well."
+++
"You shouldn't be worried over her rude and forthright manner." Nietzsche told her. "Her father is the same way and from I have heard about her mother she was even worse. The whole family seems to have this problem."
Eleanor nodded absently. After Aurelia had left she had moved over to the couch and got herself comfortable.
She didn't ask how he knew she was annoyed. He was a past master at body language and moreover knew her quite well.
"How do you think they will do?" asked Nietzsche.
He knew much about military matters but felt that Eleanor had a better grasp of the military situation. Knowledge and reasoning were powerful tools but Eleanor had the addition of intuition- perhaps even precognition- he lacked.
He had known her now for five years and they grown quite close. If he had been in a human body-something that was possible- they might even be intimate.
She listened to him and treated him as an equal. That was not so among the Company elite. No matter how capable he was they still thought of him as a robotic machine that served them.
"I suspect she will have trouble." Said Eleanor. "She has experience and I am certain she has been briefed but Naval tactics have changed drastically over the last generation. More over I know Ravenfeeder and he is a clever and mercurial quite capable of acting quickly to exploit his opponents weaknesses."
Nietzsche had long felt that Eleanor and her countrymen all had what might be called a psychic hunch talent. There was evidence that the elite in the Black Forest had undergone genetic manipulations based on Shrike stock.
"How would you handle him?" asked Nietzsche.
"With a fleet that size? I'd play Fabius."
If you enjoyed this episode of Eleanor's participation in the war between Luna and the Parthians in the so-called Southern Area of the Human Expanse you may want to read or download and read this expanded story siege of Huly.pdf in PDF format.
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