Prologue: In Fury Born

"Hull breaches in sectors 7 through 15, emergency bulkheads have closed but we're still venting atmosphere!"

"Damage control reports they can't reach the compartments! The entire section is just gone!"

"We've got more torpedoes incoming!"

"Goddamn it! UNE ships, this is Akira-5, we have civilians onboard that have not evacuated! Cease fire!"

Explosions shook the station and screams could be heard. The officer visible in the visual pickup looked ragged as he tried to grapple with the magnitude of the disaster unfolding around him. His efforts were for naught however as another blast swept through. The man had just enough time to turn around before the feed was awash with a flash and terminated.

The clearing of a throat behind her shook Evangeline Kosygin out of her daze and she found herself looking at her own reflection on the lit screen. Hair long ago whitened from the strain of command seemed to overwhelm all of her other features, though a pair of cold blue eyes shone through the haze to stare back. Tearing her gaze away, Kosygin turned around to see her chief of staff standing at the doorway.

"It's not polite to intrude upon a lady unannounced, Vincent," she chided lightly.

"Apologies ma'am," Commodore Vincent Taylor said without a hint of earnestness. "The other flag officers are beginning to arrive and I thought you should know."

Kosygin nodded and started towards the door but quickly halted. Turning once more, she shut down the wall display before continuing out.

The shuttle flew steadily albeit not gracefully through the formation of ships hanging in the emptiness of space. All of them dwarfed the miniscule transport, but one in particular easily eclipsed her consorts. The two elongated heads marked the ship as a carrier and there was a sense of strength and fortitude in the sharp lines of the hull. As the most powerful ship in the fleet, it was not surprising the Independence also served as the flagship of the entire Colonial Independence Navy.

"Now that's a rare sight," the senior officer aboard the shuttle commented.

"Yes sir, it is," one of his subordinates agreed.

Floating next to Independence were two more carriers and a clear dozen cruisers with their distinctive bulbous heads. Of course, this was only what was visible from their angle. Behind the shuttle was its point of origin, another carrier flanked by yet more cruisers and frigates.

"I haven't seen this many of our ships together since when you took the foldpoint, Admiral."

The addressee nodded silently, taking the time to enjoy the view. It was both reassuring and disconcerting, this mass of warships. There was probably no safer place to be from attacks by UNE naval forces, but this gathering begged the question of why so much of the Colonial fleet was concentrated at all. The CIN as a whole had been consistently outnumbered in capital ships by the navy of the United Nations of Earth. Despite the number of worlds fighting for the right to self-government that made up the Colonial Independence Movement, few possessed major industrial resources. This created a major imbalance between deployable assets that forced the CIN to make do with what it had to defend far too many potential targets. Based off of the latest fleet strength reports, the admiral knew that the CIN had to have uncovered major, important systems to pull a fleet this large together. What could be so important that they would run such a risk he did not know. Then again, he would find out soon enough.

Several other shuttles were also converging on the Independence and each had to wait their turn regardless of the prestige or distinction of their passengers. When the shuttle did land however, the crew greeted each disembarking officer with the courtesy and respect they were due, a courtesy that these same officers returned.

"Black Fleet, arriving!" a crisp voice announced.

The name was not one the Colonials had originally given to their elite. Indeed it was an appellation applied by their enemies to give form to their fears. With such endorsement, it was not surprising the Colonials had themselves adopted its usage.

"Permission to come aboard, lieutenant," the grizzled looking man said as he stepped onto the deck.

"Permission granted, Admiral Suvorov," the lieutenant responded with a sharp salute.

The officers accompanying Suvorov followed quickly and the party was escorted out the hanger.

"A most impressive ship," Suvorov commented. "A shame we won't have time to tour it properly."

"Perhaps after the war is over, sir," the officer immediately behind Suvorov said.

The admiral chuckled. "Well, one can only hope, Simon."

Climbing aboard a cart, Suvorov sighed and adjusted his uniform once more. It was an affectation he knew his subordinates found amusing, but considering the potential topics today a point of normalcy would be good for all their nerves. The ride was over shortly and Suvorov's party was guided to a large conference room. Several other officers and their staff were already present and Suvorov nodded to them. To the hostess however he formally presented himself.

"Fleet Admiral Kosygin."

Evangeline Kosygin turned from the main display at hearing her name and smiled slightly at Suvorov.

"Ah, Aleksey. Good to see you made it."

"Apologies for being so difficult to reach," Aleksander Suvorov said. "Operations behind enemy lines tend to require I make myself as scarce as possible."

"Of course. And I see you've brought Simon and Enrico with you."

"Ma'am," Commodore Simon Matthews, Suvorov's chief of staff, greeted courteously.

Enrico Navarres simply nodded, keeping his mouth shut like a good flag lieutenant. Kosygin herself was only accompanied by one other officer, her own chief of staff. The other member of her staff would not be needed for this particular meeting and she was occupied with other matters anyway. Taking note of the other officers that were filtering in, Kosygin moved to the head of the table.

"Please be seated," she instructed.

The officers moved to their respective places but no one actually took a seat until Kosygin herself was in hers. Rank did have its privileges after all and Kosygin had fought for colonial independence longer than almost anyone else. Most of the others who would have been able to claim otherwise were already dead.

"I have called all of you here today," Kosygin began, "because a decision has been made, one that could well end this war."

The room had already been silent waiting for Kosygin to speak. Now the stillness seemed almost deathly.

"As the senior flag officers of the Colonial Independence Navy, all of you were briefed on the Relic we discovered three years ago," Kosygin said. "All of you were also briefed on the Ragnarok Contingency when it was first formulated by the Council."

The stillness was broken by a few gasps as the officers realized just where this was leading. Several years after the colonies began an open rebellion against Earth, the CIN had discovered a massive construct in deep space. Dubbed the Relic, the CIN had spent years more studying and trying to pry loose the artifact's secrets with painfully slow progress. What the Colonials had learned though indicated the Relic possessed unprecedented power. In point of fact, application of that power was at the root of the Ragnarok Contingency.

"In light of the strategic situation the colonies find themselves in, the Colonial Council has formally ordered me to carry out Ragnarok. The fleet will be rendezvousing with the Relic at Fold Point 415 and then proceed to Earth. If the UNE refuses to surrender even after we take control of the high orbitals, we are to deploy the Relic and destroy the planet."

For several moments the gathered officers simply stared at Kosygin as if they could not believe what they had just heard. The ability to destroy an entire world was something imagined by humanity since antiquity but no one had ever conceived of a credible method to do so. There were periods of time when humanity came close, such as the case of nuclear weapons, but these would only have sterilized the planet's surface. The mass itself would still be intact. The Relic however truly did possess the ability to rip a planet physically to pieces, though no human mind had conceived it. As the officers fully absorbed what Kosygin was proposing more than one felt a sense of horror grip them, some so strongly they were not quite sure how to give voice to it. Others however composed themselves to do just that.

"Permission to speak freely ma'am?" the man seated two down from Kosygin asked.

"Of course, Gregor."

"Begging your pardon ma'am, but has the Council gone absolutely insane?" Vice Admiral Gregor Lancrest demanded. "Are they seriously ordering us to murder ten billion innocent civilians!?"

"If the UNE refuses to surrender, then yes," Kosygin stated bluntly.

The war for independence between Earth and her colonies had dragged on for many years. While the CIN under Kosygin's leadership had scored a string of major victories since the start of the war, there was always a sense that everything they did only served to delay the inevitable. Earth was simply too powerful industrially and was managing to make good the losses her forces inflicted far faster than even the worst fears of the Colonial leadership had allowed for. That same leadership's desperation was now at a tipping point, leading to this moment. Not everyone however shared their reaction to this desperation however as Lancreast was making quite clear.

"What the hell is wrong with them!? Are they that eager to commit an Akira Massacre of our own!?"

"No, they and we are not," Kosygin said firmly, almost coldly. "We will be offering Earth the chance to settle this war peacefully. It is only if they refuse to see reason even when faced with annihilation will we be forced to use the Relic."

"And if we press them like that, do you really think the UNE will just roll over, ma'am?" Lancrest persisted.

"Whether the UNE itself is willing to surrender or not is irrelevant," Kosygin said. "If we can remove Earth from the equation, then the UNE will lose its ability to prosecute the war and they will have no choice. You know the numbers, Gregor. Earth alone has more people on it than all the colonies. More importantly, the Sol System's industrial capacity is an order of a magnitude greater than all the colonies combined. We cannot win a war of attrition. Every 'victory' we've achieved has actually only increased the strategic imbalance."

Lancrest fell silent but his eyes betrayed his continued unease.

"Admiral, how much of the government's thinking was influenced by the reports of the consolidating UNE fleet?" Suvorov asked.

"A great deal," Kosygin admitted. "Our best guess is that the UNE has committed at least 80% if not more of their actively deployed naval assets for a strike against Taranto. And if they succeed, they'll have taken out our largest and most important shipyard."

That drew more grimaces from the gathered officers. Taranto was not simply their largest and most important shipyard as Kosygin had said, it was the only large scale shipyard in CIN hands.

Suvorov rubbed his beard in contemplation. "If the numbers are right, nothing we could put together could stop them. We'd be heavily outnumbered."

Kosygin nodded. "But with the Relic, we could disable the entire UNE fleet and pick them off. The loss of the majority of their naval assets combined with the loss of Earth would shift the strategic balance heavily, if not permanently, in our favor."

"Then why not just use the Relic offensively against their fleet?" Lancreast demanded. "Why go after a civilian target?"

"Because neutralizing their fleet isn't enough," Suvorov replied for Kosygin. "Destroy it and Earth will simply build a new one. On the other hand, if we attempt to hold Earth to prevent them from doing so, it leaves the surviving UNE forces to wreak havoc in our rear. Eventually we'll be forced to go after them, which could well give Earth the chance to rearm."

"We couldn't hold Earth anyway," said Kosygin, "at least not for any meaningful length of time. It has taken the colonies years to stockpile the munitions that a push on Earth would expend, nevermind our logistics train has been pushed to the breaking point just keeping up with our advances. Whether intentionally or not, the UNE has lured us into an extremely precarious position."

"I suppose we did do a thorough enough job of weeding their ranks of incompetent officers," Suvorov said dryly.

Kosygin conceded a brief smirk but her face quickly hardened. "The Colonial Council did not reach this decision lightly and I concur with the strategic reasoning behind it. I do however understand the moral and ethical objections such an operation would elicit. For that matter, I doubt my own conscience would ever forgive me if the Relic was actually deployed against Earth. But we are at war, ladies and gentlemen, and wars can only be won or lost. If losing means the destruction or subjugation of my own home, then I will carry out my orders regardless of how much it will haunt me."

Looking at the assembled officers, Kosygin saw them solidifying into two distinct factions. Suvorov's eyes were hard and determined, indicating the admiral thought much the same as Kosygin herself. Lancrest remained unconvinced even as he understood and even accepted the cold, calculating logic of the decision. But humans were not logical creatures by any means and the very passion that drove some to incalculable atrocities could also create immense strength of character. In some ways Kosygin was glad Lancrest steadfastly opposed the order. Men and women like him would be needed if the colonies were to not lose their soul if she indeed ended up destroying Earth.

"As I said, I understand the objections," Kosygin continued. "For this reason, I am permitting those flag officers that do not wish to participate in this operation the opportunity to withdraw. This will not reflect in your record in any way, you will simply be reassigned to protect the rearguard while the rest of the fleet deploys with the Relic."

The offer took the others by surprise, Kosygin saw. She caught a slight hint of approval in Suvorov's features and a mixture of relief and even guilt in Lancrest's. But when the vice admiral spoke, there was no hesitation in his voice.

"If that is the case admiral," Lancrest said, "I hereby request reassignment for myself and my staff."

"I as well, ma'am," another officer added.

"Myself and my personnel as well, ma'am."

That left four of the flag officers Kosygin had invited willing to carry out the operation with her.

"Your requests are granted," Kosygin said. "Vice Admiral Lancrest, you are hereby ordered to take your flagship to Taranto and assume command of the shipyard's defenses. Keep it safe until the war is over."

Standing, Lancrest saluted in acknowledgment of his new duty and left the room with his assistants.

"Commodore Taylor will forward your assignments to you once I have formalized them," Kosygin said as she turned to the other two flag officers.

They too saluted before departing, leaving Kosygin with those willing to share in her damnation. The room was silent for a few moments as they considered their choice. None were quite sure whether they had just committed an act of courage or cowardice in staying. What was abundantly clear however was that they were committed.

"There're still some nuts and bolts that need to be sorted," Kosygin said. "We're only going to get one shot at this so I suggest we make sure everything is nailed before the fleet deploys. If we do our jobs right, the colonies can finally claim our rightful independence. If not, the UNE might well repeat the Akira massacre as retaliation."

The remaining officers all nodded grimly in agreement and Kosygin allowed herself a slight smile. If she was to sin, there were worse people who could accompany her to Hell. There were certainly worse people to fight being damned with.

Taking a deep breath, Kosygin gazed out at the officers. "Then let's get to it. And God help us all."

End of Prologue

What Price Victory was actually started, and if I'm remembering right, finished before What Measure Honor. Victory started as a one-shot scene where a survivor of the Black Fleet was brought in to debrief the colonial flag officers of what happened. I wanted to try and capture the sort of shell-shocked demeanor of someone on the receiving end of the strike suit, which as an enemy pilot would be godawfully horrific considering how easily the thing can slaughter entire squadrons when in strike mode. The effort eventually ballooned into a larger story wherein I wanted to see if I could capture the humanistic side of the colonials, to show that they aren't setting out to be genocidal maniacs. Things however spiral quickly out of control because, you know, genocide isn't something you can exactly contain.

Ultimately Honor and Victory proved to myself that I had reached the level of technical skill to write stories of moderate complexity and, more importantly, bring characters to life. Since then, I've worked on tackling ever more complex stories, starting with In Tune and continuing on my current batch of stories. So arguably these two stories served as the foundation for my return to active writing. As a consequence, while they will share certain similar styles, they are much, much rougher in overall polish. I'm not going to try to rework any of them either beyond any grammar or spelling mistakes I might catch while splitting the chapters up for uploading, so don't be too surprised if these stories don't match the level of depth my later ones do.