Free Ark Royal by Christopher Nuttall

towards Nelson Base.  Orbital activity didn't seem to have reached any higher a tempo than it had once the first warnings had reached Earth, but he couldn't help noticing that Ark Royal wasn't the only starship sending shuttles to the naval base.  In fact, almost every ship was sending shuttles to its respective headquarters.  Something had clearly gone very wrong, he decided, feeling a chill settling around his spine.  Had the aliens attacked again?
     
    They were greeted by a party of Royal Marines, who checked their ID implants and then pointed the two newcomers into a large briefing chamber.  Dozens of other commanding officers – and a handful of subordinates – were filling into the chamber, all looking equally bemused.  Ted nodded to a couple of commanders he knew, then found a seat near the stand and sat down.  Fitzwilliam sat down next to him.
     
    The First Space Lord entered a moment later and took the stand.  He looked more than just tired, Ted noted; he looked badly shocked.  Something had definitely gone badly wrong ... he leaned forward as a Commodore called the room to attention, then dismissed the formalities with almost indecent speed.
     
    “Four hours ago, a courier boat arrived from New Russia,” the First Space Lord said, without preamble.  “The system has fallen to the enemy.”
     
    It took a long moment for his words to sink in.  Everyone knew just how many starships had been assigned to New Russia, along with the planet’s not-inconsiderable orbital and planetary defences.  The Russian government had always taken a progressive view of building up their defences, if only to ensure that the new Russian homeland remained untouched and untouchable.  There were few worlds with more fixed defences ...
     
    “Analysts are working on the recordings now,” the First Space Lord continued.  “However, it is with a heavy heart that I must confirm the destruction of the unified defence force, including HMS Invincible and Formidable .”
     
    This time, shock swept around the compartment like a physical thing.  Invincible and Formidable were – had been – the two most modern carriers in the Royal Navy.  They’d both carried the most capable fighter units in the fleet, while their crews had been counted among the elite.  And now they were gone.
     
    “As of now, we must assume that New Russia is under occupation,” the First Space Lord said.  “Furthermore, the political unity of humanity has been badly dented.”
     
    Ted swallowed.  There had been twelve carriers at New Russia; six Russian, three American, two British and one French.  Between them, the smaller ships and the fixed defences, there had been almost a million naval personal assigned to the system.  The recriminations would start soon, if they hadn’t begun already.  Humanity’s unity could be lost before it had ever really been established.
     
    “The Russians only had nine carriers,” Fitzwilliam said, softly.  “Losing six of them is going to hurt.”
     
    It would do more than that, Ted knew.  The Russians had believed, perhaps rightly, that it was better to have a handful of carriers but place most of their resources into smaller ships.  Right now, though, those smaller ships would be badly outmatched by the aliens.  There was little hope of recovering New Russia.
     
    He scowled, thinking through the implications.  Humanity had lost the industrial base the Russians had built up over seventy years, along with losing control of gravitational tramlines leading further into human space.  The aliens could jump out towards Earth, if they were so inclined, or they could alter course and pick off a number of smaller colony worlds before bringing the war to an end.  There were just too many targets to be defended adequately.
     
    If there is such a thing , he told himself, bitterly.  There had been twelve carriers at New Russia ... and the aliens had taken them apart.  God alone knew how much damage the