by Max Glebow
“Thank you, Lit-ta. You were right to assume that the quargs hit us, and we won. Except now we’re practically out of a fleet.”
“20 of our dreadnoughts will be at your disposal soon. They’re on their way, as you know. I’m afraid that’s all we can do for humans right now. Don’t get me wrong, the Senior can’t leave our systems unprotected.”
“No doubt I understand perfectly well, and I appreciate the help you’ve sent us, but I didn’t bother you to send more ships.”
“I’m all ears,” the lizard has shown her slightly forked tongue.
“This is an exceptional situation. Our fleet is extremely weak, but the quargs have an even worse situation, their strike force of the best ships is completely lost. They may still have some forces left, but they are scattered across different systems, and the enemy will not be able to assemble a capable fleet quickly. I've sent you a document. This is the counterstrike plan I want to launch on a planet where the enemy is holding captured humans and lizards. I’m sure the plan is absolutely real, but it needs to be implemented very quickly, within a couple of months, before the quargs recover from the defeat. Without your participation, we may not be able to make it.”
“You've said 'I', and not "we", Igor. What do you mean by that? Is that a personal plan of yours, or has it already been approved by your President?”
“For now, this is my personal initiative. The plan is being developed within my ministry, but it affects almost all the top leaders of the Earth Federation, so many of them have already been briefed in general terms. The Minister of Defense and the head of the diplomatic department have been notified of our conversation. I have not yet reported to Marshal Tobolsky, he is not to be disturbed by raw proposals, and I don’t know yet if you’re ready to support us. So right now, you and I are having some preliminary consultations,” I smiled, “A formal request through diplomatic channels will be made in the event that you and I agree behind the scenes. Well, if we don’t make a deal, there won’t be a request. Why tarnish official relations between the allies with a formal refusal?”
Lit-ta went silent for a while, thinking about what I said.
“It’s not that simple, Igor,” she finally said, “We also have no unity in the ruling elite. The Senior has unquestionable authority, but she too must take into account the interests of powerful families. Well, we have almost everything as in your world, yeah, as probably everywhere, except maybe there are swarm societies. But I got distracted, so let’s get back to your plan. I asked you once, how are you going to get so many people and lizards out of the deep rear of the quargs?”
“I remember your question, Lit-ta. I said I’d introduce you to a general, and now I think it’s time you meet. It will be very useful for him to know what additional transportation he can expect if you decide to join us.”
“Igor, after our conversation, I consulted my logistics experts, and they all unanimously assured me that even if we mobilize everything that can fly through hyperspace, we won’t have even five per cent of the ships we need for this operation.”
“Read the document, Lit-ta. It’s all described in detail. We’re going to use a new transportation technology that few people even in the Federation know about.”
Lit-ta took a good, hard look at me.
“All right, Igor, I’ll contact you in two hours.”
However, she did not make contact after two or three hours. The incoming signal on my tablet didn’t arrive until late in the evening, and a completly unfamiliar reptile looked at me from the screen.
“Hello, Admiral,” said she, then stuck her tongue out and swung it from side to side, “My name is Sink-la, and lizards call me the Senior.”
“Good time, Sink-la. I’m honored to be able to speak to you in person,” answered I as politely as possible, trying to hide my utter amazement from what was happening.
“I have long wanted to speak to a man who has played such a significant role in bringing our peoples together and in shaping good-neighbourly relations between them, and now there’s a good reason, Lit-ta has shown me your plan.”
I waited silently for the continuation, and it followed:
“What you called a mobile transport ring was very impressive, Admiral. Am I to understand that you are personally involved in the development of this technology?”
“You understand correctly, Senior.”
“We are ready to take the most active part in your operation, Admiral, but with one condition, which you may have already guessed. The strike fleet must be led by you.”
***
“Igor, will you take me with you there?” asked Inga, looking over my shoulder at a three-dimensional image of the planet and its orbital cargo and passenger terminal of impressive dimensions, to which transport ships and shuttles were docking in a continuous stream, “there was no work for me near star Ran, the Fleet and planetary defences had done everything, and here... Let’s board this thing, shall we?”
I thought for a second. Inga never did strategic planning, she was not particularly interested in politics and the various behind-the-scenes games of back alley wrestlers, but sometimes she intuitively came up with some interesting ideas that I later used with a good effect. I remembered, for example, her casual remark that a blow to the cavitated quarg docks can be arranged as a combat test of a drone torpedo, which was exactly what I ended up doing.
Anyway, I took very seriously the words of my girlfriend, which sounded like a joke.
“Where will you go from me?” I smiled back, “You’re coming with me. Dragon’s Tail comes out of repair in a couple of weeks, and this time, there’s room in it's hangars for a battalion of unmanned robots and their delivery systems.
“That's super!” Inga wrapped her hands around my temples, gently but persistently turned me to her face and said firmly, “Don’t think you can just take me there and back. We have to get our prisoners out of there together, each doing his job. If you leave me out of this, I won’t understand.”
“Sure. Why would I drag your robots all the way out there if I don’t use them for the intended purpose?”
“You didn’t get it, Igor. I have to land on the planet physically, not as a remotely controlled robot. There are billions of people and lizards that need to be evacuated. It’s gonna take real people to do this, not iron guys with cannons. ”
“Well, it’s not going to be without the iron guys, either,” I tried to get away from this dangerous subject that suddenly emerged, “Those are General Barrington’s men who will evacuate the prisoners. I can send your battalion to cover them on the surface.”
“Okay,” Inga suddenly agreed,“But I will command the battalion from the cockpit of the commanding robot that will land on the planet with Barrington’s men.”
“But why, Inga?” I sincerely didn’t understand why she was so persistent.
“I don’t know, Igor, or, rather, I can’t really explain it. These people... Many of them were captured at the beginning of the war. They waited there for help, for years, even for decades, living in primitive conditions in this eternal cold. A lot of people have probably died, and some have lost all hope. Maybe I’m just a stupid chicken, but... when our commandos storm the planet, the prisoners should see that they are aided by human beings, not by soulless iron guys.”
***
“Admiral, Sir, there's a report from Captain Yoon Gao,” reported the communications operator, “A chain of hyper-beacons to the Kappa Ceti system is ready. Fleet vanguard can move forward.”
I took another look at the tactical projection, where the summary information on the status of the ships and sections of the mobile portal was being posted. Those sections were my greatest interest.
“Fleet vanguard, start acceleration,” I gave the order that started our first joint large-scale combat operation with the lizards.
We’ve been preparing for three months since the day the quarg fleet surrendered in star Ran system, and now it was D-day. The shipyards and shipbuilders d
id their best, 50 battleships, 47 cruisers, five hybrid Titan-class ships, and 10 aircraft carriers were now in a compact formation outside the Kuiper belt. Two hundred 'Invisibles' were in a separate group. There were also 40 dreadnoughts of the lizards and about three hundred of their transport ships resembling giant acorns, which were also waiting for my orders. The armada of evacuation ships under General Barrington was to join us later, they were not required to begin the operation.
My orders set in motion the fleet advance party. Its core consisted of 12 ship-segments of the transport ring. Each of them had dimensions comparable to a battleship, and a strangely curved shape, as it was one-twelfth part of the ring. The segments had their own engines and were capable of linear hyperjumps as any Earth Federation battleship. However, they carried no weapons other than anti-aircraft, and all their internal space, not occupied by the engines and life support systems of the small crew, was allotted for the hyperportal equipment.
The main argument against my counterstrike idea was reluctance to leave the vital centres of the Federation unprotected. This view was widely shared. Even tough and uncompromising high ranking officers like Knyazev and Nelson considered the counterstrike to be very attractive, but requiring careful consideration, for it was not clear what we would do if the quargs strike at a time when almost all of our capable fleet will be at their rear.
However, this problem was solved by the introduction of a pair of mobile transport rings.
“Fleet, start acceleration. The rallying point is Barnard’s Star system,” I’ve put the main force in motion. I was about to strike the most powerful blow against the quarg territory in the history of their war with the Earth Federation precisely from that star system, where we first met the enemy battleship, which was later named Titan.
Barnard’s Star had a very good location. By concentrating our fleet there, we were able to deflect any enemy strike on our systems quickly. Successful defences of star Ran's planets have been adopted, and now the network of underground shelters for troops and the population, as well as bunkers, concealing anti-space defence systems and missile batteries from orbit, has been considerably expanded and reinforced by various weapons systems. So right now, any colony could effectively resist a space invasion for at least a week or two. That was more than enough time for the fleet to react and explain to the aggressor how much it underestimated our ability to defend ourselves.
The fleet waited two weeks at the rallying point. During this time, we have conducted several exercises, particularly important for the interaction of our heavy ships and the 'Invisibles' with the dreadnoughts of the lizards. This was unexpectedly difficult, as the characteristics of the Allies' weapons were very different from ours, so, it required a particular tactic to use them, and we had to operate in a unified manner. But somehow we did it.
“The segment ships, form the transport ring,” I ordered the second separate unit of the fleet. It was time for the active phase of the operation. The vanguard of the fleet, which was sent forward along the chain of hyperbeacons, reported that it had reached the point of the space provided for in the plan, which was one jump away from our target, Kappa Ceti. Now, there were also segment ships forming a huge ring, that was capable of passing not only Titan-class battleships but also enormous evacuation transports, bloated as hippos, specially built for Barrington. They were slow, uncomfortable for the passengers, but they were capable of accommodating just a fabulous amount of people and lizards. Under normal circumstances, such ships made no sense, they couldn’t even fly independently through hyperspace, but with transport rings, their defects became irrelevant.
***
Tobolsky hesitated for a long time, but eventually approved the operation plan. It happened after Sink-la, the Senior Lizard, contacted him. What they were talking about remained unknown, but a couple of days after that conversation, the President convened a meeting of the Federation’s top military leaders at his residence, to which I was invited.
Marshal Tobolsky looked more tired than usually. The miserable remains of the once-powerful Federation Fleet that returned from the Battle of star Ran made a distressing impression on the President. The feeling that he was unable to protect the people who had entrusted him with power put pressure on Tobolsky’s psyche like a hydraulic press. The dreadnoughts of lizards in the orbits of the Federation planets, introduced into the cover squadrons of the major star systems by necessity, only reinforced his sense of weakness. Now, things were a little better, but months of impuissance have taken a heavy toll on the president.
“Gentlemen,” Tobolsky tried to speak in a hard voice, but fatigue kept breaking through in his intonations, “The counterattack plan was approved by the General Staff and agreed with the Allies. It was approved by both me and the Senior Lizard. In fact, the preparations for the operation are already under way, so you know all the details, only formalities remain. Rear Admiral Lavroff, you are now in command of the invasion fleet. Your candidacy has been agreed with the Allies, and for their part, Governor-General Lit-ta, who is well known to you, has been appointed leader. It is specifically stipulated that she, along with the entire Lizard fleet, will be under your command, so all matters of authority are settled.”
“Mr President, can I ask you something?” The Minister of Defense has addressed Tobolsky.
“Yes, Mr Minister, I’m listening.”
“The Rear Admiral is not high-ranked enough to command a fleet of almost 1,500 streamers, a hundred of which are heavy ships and aircraft carriers.”
“Do you object to Rear Admiral Lavroff’s candidacy?” specified the President.
“No, Commander-in-Chief, Sir, I don’t mind Lavroff. I object to his rank.”
“I totally support this statement, Mr President,” said Knyazev, “My recommendation to award the Rear Admiral and to promote him to the extraordinary rank have been with you for almost two months.”
“I think the Minister of Defense is right, too,” said Admiral Nelson politely, “and my recommendations regarding Lavroff are also waiting for your decision, Mr President.”
Tobolsky sighed.
“It would be better, gentlemen, for you to decide between yourselves what you want from me and then write recommendations. I have three reports from you, and there’s something different about each one. So, Rear Admiral Lavroff has earned his second Gold Star in the latest battle, as did Fleet Admiral Nelson, so congratulations, gentlemen. The award ceremony will be held, as usual, at the presidential palace in three months. But that’s not all,” the President stopped me and Nelson from trying to answer by the regulations, “Rear Admiral Lavroff has been promoted to the rank of admiral due to exceptional circumstances and the need to appoint him commander of a large fleet. Congratulations!”
“Serving the Earth Federation,” responded I coming to attention according to the regulations. The President didn’t interrupt me this time.
“I remember that in your military specialty, you are a commando, Admiral,” Tobolsky smiled, “and, frankly, the Chief of the General Staff already chewed my ear off about it,” here he took a short look at Knyazev,“so, you, Igor Yakovlevich, are no longer just an admiral, but you have also the right to wear the uniform of the Colonel-General of the Commandos with all the appropriate insignia. I believe, you appreciate this very rare bonus, which is almost unique.”
“Thank you, Mr President,” I took the liberty of smiling, “It’s really valuable to me.”
***
“Fleet, form a travel order to pass the transport ring.”
The actions under this order have already been practiced on a number of training exercises, and now the ships have taken up their positions quickly. Depending on the size of the ships, they had to pass through the portal one, two or even three at a time. The size of the transport ring, which was designed to let huge evacuation transports pass through, allowed for this, but still the passage time of such a large fleet through the portal was measured in hours.
Titan-class batt
leships were the first to enter quarg space near Kappa Ceti. Behind them came the 'Invisibles', having penetrated the grey haze of the portal, and then dozens of battleships and dreadnoughts began to fall into the deep rear of the quargs, they immediately occupied the pre-assigned positions in formation and began preparing to jump onto the boundary of the star system under attack.
When the battle fleet had passed through the portal, I gave the next order, “Strike squadron to accelerate for the jump to Kappa Ceti.”
Chapter 10
We didn’t wait for the transports. We were counting on them to catch up with us while we should be taking control of the second planet and the entire system.
Our appearance behind the orbit of the eighth planet has put the quargs in a state of shock. I don’t think Kappa Ceti has ever seen a fleet this size in its entire history. Kappa Ceti was a medium-valued system with only one fully terraformed planet with an artificial sun in orbit and a pair of gas giants with a fairly dense industrial infrastructure on satellites and in space. Had it not been for the second planet where our prisoners were held, storming this system with the forces now facing the stunned quargs made no sense.
The pathetic cover squadron, consisting of two battleships, a cruiser, an old aircraft carrier, and a dozen destroyers, did not attempt any meaningful action. Having become a shapeless pile, it withdrew to the third planet under the protection of a pair of orbital fortresses. No one tried to protect industrial areas near the gas giants. I didn’t see any activity near the second planet either, except that a dozen transport ships were trying to escape the star's zone of influence in the opposite direction of our point of emergence from the jump.
The panic signal of our attack on the system by a completely inadequate force was, of course, already sent by the quargs to their center, but all things considered, it was a week or two, before any significant enemy fleet could arrive, 'cause the quargs were supposed to assemble this fleet, pulling two or three ships from different star systems.