This period of conflict was used by the Shepherds as a chance to reorganize and better prepare for further aggression from Earth. Unit organization was changed with a heavier emphasis on sustainment elements. Mobile bases that could be used by company sized units were developed to allow smaller forces more strategic freedom from supply hubs. Airborne and orbital assets were expanded, and new satellites and warships were commissioned to create an early warning system against new threats. Defected 7th fleet personnel were tasked with drafting and quantifying CEF combat doctrine, and Shepherds line units were rotated through rigorous drills and training to learn the ins and outs of this style of warfare. Allied forces underwent similar training to operate alongside the Shepherds’ units as auxiliaries, although this training fell short of integrating the forces involved. New developments, techniques and attempts at coordination were used to combat the CEF forces still on the planet and those allied to them, ensuring that anything adopted was battle tested.
By the time the CEF relief force arrived, the Shepherds had rebuilt and expanded to nearly 200% of their original strength. This relief force would not be taken by surprise this time, but the Shepherds had an ace up their sleeve. The defected 7th fleet and its assets, while much smaller than the relief force, gave their space forces a much-needed boost as well as information on CEF equipment and tactics.
HO-03/5409.4, the only star system known to contain a gate to the Nereus system, was long considered to contain nothing of value. A hot C-type star, HO-03/5409.4 used to be be home to a pair of carbonaceous planetoids until approximately a thousand years ago, when their erratic orbits led them to collide and smash each other to pieces, creating a large quantity of rocky debris. Instead of spreading out into an asteroid field, the vast majority of the debris was caught in the gravity field of the largest fragments, resulting in a densely packed cloud of asteroids all orbiting on the same vector. The explorers who initially discovered HO-03/5409.4 concluded that they were witnessing the beginning of the formation of a new planet, and while an observation post was set up it was not considered a major scientific priority, as a more developed example of the same process was already under observation at CP-08/5379.3. The composition of the planets meant that the asteroids contained no valuable metals, and the debris field had been written off as a mere curiosity well before the Human Concordat collapsed.
When the majority of the 7th fleet abandoned their attack on New Jerusalem, they jumped back to HO-03/5409.4. As part of an arrangement—having only been discussed in the initial meetings between New Jerusalem and CEF leadership—still remain unclear, Admiral Untide declared that the fleet would remain in the system for the foreseeable future until the inevitable relief force arrived. The fleet took up residence in the debris cloud, converting the old scientific observation post into a makeshift base. The fragments masked the signature of the ships, allowing them to monitor activity in the system while remaining undetected. Ships from New Jerusalem would occasionally arrive bringing supplies, while some vessels and crews would rotate out of the system when needed by the Shepherds. But for the most part they stayed still, lying in wait.
Senior Sergeant Francois Ntumba was not a happy man. From the cockpit of his angel, perched atop a rocky hill, he watched as CEF remnants dueled with Shepherds forces in the valley below. As opportunities presented themselves, he would put rounds from his cannon into an unfortunate CEF machine. That was boring but was made all the worse by the new 2nd Lieutenant he had been straddled with. The other NCOs and even the company’s Master Sergeant had warned him this one was bound to be a handful. Fresh out the officer’s academy, top of the class, and some of the highest scores in angel piloting ever were good for performance, but all painted a picture that breaking in this newly minted LT was going to be an ordeal. Ntumba had only met his new team leader and charge in passing before this emergency deployment, and his mind was filled with the mental image of a cocky, arrogant kid who would get somebody killed.
“Team 2-2 this is 4-1, Ntumba be advised 5 Marbas broke through our perimeter and are heading your way.” Ntumba mentally sighed to himself. As if breaking a new LT wasn’t bad enough, now he was about to be outflanked by five CEF frames.
“2-1 this is 2-2, we have 5 contacts coming in at our 2 o’clock, moving to engage,” Ntumba radioed the new lieutenant. “Kowalski, we got company, on me,” he radioed over to the other angel pilot on the hill who was serving as his guard. The two shifted slightly to their right, and within a minute 5 blips appeared on sensors. As they moved into view both Kowalski and Ntumba were ready to fire. Kowalski’s beam and Ntumba’s paired pistol shots missed. Unlike Kowalski, though, Ntumba intended to miss. His target shifted slightly to avoid future fire and … “There” he said to himself as he pulled the trigger on his main weapon. The shoulder mounted cannon roared and caught the frame — the CEF called it a F2-21 — right in the upper torso, blowing it off. The bottom portion of the machine careened into a rock and fell to the ground.
The return fire bounced off his angel’s thick armor, but he heard Kowalski scream as a laser beam lanced through the cockpit, killing him. The remaining frames were moving fast on their hover systems, coming right at Ntumba. He flipped on the radio again. “2-5 is down, contacts closing.”
“2-2 hold tight, I’m coming to get you,” came a near immediate reply from his team leader and new Lieutenant. That’s not going to be fast enough, Ntumba thought to himself. He peppered the incoming frames with pistol shots and missed another cannon round before they were on him. The first slammed into him and spun off as Ntumba’s angel fell on its back. The second frame slowed down and took aim at his angel’s cockpit. Ntumba swore he saw the glow of the laser just before a beam slammed into the frame, catching it in the gut and knocking it back. The final two trailing frames split off from each other, but another beam caught one in the head. The blind machine slammed full speed into a rock, falling down and not moving. As Ntumba levered his angel up he saw the frame that had slammed him sliding across his field of view as a new machine landed in front of him. Its gleaming purple armor gave it an almost regal appearance. High on its back, a pair of wing-like maneuvering thrusters made subtle moves to arrest the angel’s motion. In each hand was a hissing energy weapon. The remaining two frames began to circle in opposite directions as the new arrival switched its lasers to burst mode and put a blast from each into the one on the left, dropping it. The death of the third frame made an opening. The last one slammed into the purple angel, and the twisted pair collapsed backwards. Ntumba finally got his angel to its feet in time to see the purple angel lever the twitching form of the CEF frame off of it, a massive knife sticking out of its cockpit. Before Ntumba could get over to help, the purple angel’s pilot used a quick burst from their jump jets to stand up, and one from the wing-like thrusters to stabilize themselves.
Ntumba was stunned, he knew the LT was good but that? Four kills in less than 15 seconds, and an unreal level of control needed to stand up with thrusters. He finally pulled himself out of his stupor. “Thanks for the assist, 2-1.”
“My pleasure. Sergeant, are you alright?” came the reply.
“Yeah, I think so. That was impressive,” Ntumba said, still stunned at the display.
“Thank you, that means a lot from someone as experienced as you. One sec. 4-1 this is 2-1, all targets destroyed.”
Francois Ntumba would remember this day in years to come. He had had the honor of being there for the first combat op of 2nd Lieutenant Leah Mannerheim.