by Chris Hechtl
“Good to know,” Admiral Irons said with a nod.
“We need to get in and stop them. Stop Horath permanently. Nova bomb them since we can't get in easily without catastrophic losses,” Secretary Martindale said. “Do whatever it takes to end this,” the Neochimp secretary of energy said darkly, looking from one naval officer to the other.
“This is inexcusable. Genocide on such scale …,” Moira was clearly distressed.
“Can we even get in to bomb them?” Broken Antenna asked.
“Should we stoop to their level?” Doctor Kraft asked carefully. He was shocked and a bit dismayed about the idea of nova bombing Horath but not surprised. And if any population deserved it, then it was that one he reminded himself. But as a doctor, the idea of such destruction and death was anathema to his entire core.
“Hell yes, if it stops something like this!” Yorgi snarled, clenching and unclenching his fists in rage.
“I know what you are feeling, honestly I do, Yorgi, all of you,” Admiral Irons said as he looked around the room. “I went through it during the Xeno War and on ET,” Admiral Irons said. “But bombing Horath won't stop what is happening in Tau and possible elsewhere now. It is revenge, and yes, it is punishment.”
“Agreed. It is like locking the barn doors after the horses and branacks have escaped,” George said with a sniff.
“Exactly. It would give me a sense of satisfaction I admit, but that's my dark side,” Admiral Irons said. “And it would stop them from pulling anything else out of their labs there in Horath.”
“Cut the head off the snake,” Yorgi said, looking directly at the Admiral.
“For the moment, lets table that discussion and do as you suggested a moment ago, Admiral, work on the here and now,” Doctor Kraft said. “What can we do to help? Obviously, we need hospital ships to get in there fast. We also need to interdict any shipping that comes out of Tau. They'll have to be quarantined and thoroughly vetted.”
“Agreed,” Admiral Irons said with a nod. “We're going to need to send every available hospital ship in to Tau. They'll need escorts though,” he said with a grimace.
“Not really a good time to pull support away from the war fronts,” Yorgi sighed. “But we can't send them in bare ass I know,” he said.
“I'll put a call in to crash develop some additional hospital ships. We'll farm it out to the civilian yards too,” Admiral Irons said, glancing at his HUD to Protector. The A.I. nodded and made a note.
“That will take time. Every moment we wait means the plague spreads. People are people; they run from something like this. When they do, they inevitably spread it further and faster. By the time we get in, it could get into Upsilon or even here,” Doctor Kraft said.
“Fire break,” Dreams of Tomorrow, the Gashg secretary of science and technology, said. All eyes turned to her. “The commodore needs to get out ahead and cut off the ship or ships spreading the plague. Cut them off and quarantine those already exposed, not work from behind and play catch-up.”
“I think we can trust the commodore to figure that part out,” Admiral Irons said. He turned to the doctor. “We can and will send Good Hope and Florence Nightingale to them as soon as possible. We'll strip the sector of all hospital ships for the moment; we can always build more. I'll have orders issued for their movement as well as any hospital ships currently in the pipeline to get to Tau stat.”
The doctor smiled thinly at the admiral's use of a favored term in medicine.
“In the meantime, see what you can do to find a way to treat it on as broad a spectrum as possible. I know there isn't a magic cure-all with the limited amount of data, but see what the labs can think of,” he ordered. The doctor nodded. Admiral Irons turned to Admiral Sienkov. “Yorgi, work the intelligence angle again. Who are the culprits? Check the timing,” he said.
“I did. It is too pat; it sounds like those ships that went into Tau recently from Fourth Fleet,” the intelligence secretary said. “One of them, the Gorgon returned due to structural damage. She met up with a Nelson who had captured a pair of ships in the New Dublin jump chain. Both warships were destroyed in Nightingale as you know,” he said. The admiral nodded. “Unfortunately, due to their destruction, we didn't have much to get out of their computers. Nothing at all from their personnel of course,” he said. “There were no survivors from Gorgon. She was the most likely ship to have data.”
“Okay, but the other personnel we captured from Fourth Fleet? Anything from them?” Moira asked, leaning forward.
“I'm having Monty check the databases now. My belief is that if they heard scuttlebutt or something they kept it to themselves for fear of retaliation. Spreading a biological weapon is a war crime,” he said.
“We still haven't confirmed it was Fourth Fleet,” Doctor Kraft pointed out. Accusing eyes turned to him. He spread his hands in supplication. “Call it playing devil's advocate here.”
“I doubt the public will cry any crocodile tears if anything … unfortunate and permanent happened to Horath,” Secretary Martindale said, shooting the admiral a significant look.
“Possibly not, but I want our ducks in a row,” the admiral said. “Get on this,” he said with a nod to Yorgi and Doctor Kraft.
“The good news is, we haven't gotten any reports of this in Pi or Sigma sectors,” Admiral Sienkov said.
“Could this be a one-off? Someone wanting to test the weapon in a sector?” Secretary Custard asked.
“That is my general feeling, but it is supposition at this point,” Yorgi replied with a nod to the agricultural secretary. “I know we've gotten as deep as Tir na nog in Pi and the reports do not mention any sort of illness.” Doctor Kraft nodded. Tir na nog was the latest star system in Pi to request an application to join the Federation.
“How are we going to handle the media?” Moira asked. “They are bound to find out eventually,” she said.
“We can work on crafting a series of responses that are contingent on what they know and how they got it. Considering this is currently classified, I'll come down hard on anyone who leaks it,” Admiral Irons said with a black scowl. “We don't need or want a panic. That can kill more people than the actual virus.”
“People are people, Admiral, they react in fear to things they seemingly can't fight,” Doctor Kraft said. “We do need to educate our people on what to look for.”
“Agreed,” the admiral said. “But we can do that over time. For the moment, we're going to focus on getting resources into Tau while containing the threat and preventing it from spreading to our population through Airea 3 and other points of contact,” he said.
“They have so far only used biological weapons once here in Rho. On Epsilon Triangula,” Doctor Kraft said with a nod. “The vaccination initiatives we started should help with any possible plague … unless it is Xeno or something new cooked up in a lab,” he warned.
“Only used in ET that we know of,” Yorgi corrected. “We still have limited data on the other star systems in the eastern section of this sector. The ones currently in the enemy's hands.”
“I think we need to recess for a moment. I'm going to put a call in to Admiral Subert and update him and have him get the shipping moving on his end while getting as many hospital ships and supply ships thrown together as he can. I'm going to put calls in to the civilian yards too,” he said. He turned to the treasury secretary. “We're going to need to pay for them,” he said.
“Emergency funds, sir,” T'rel'n said, signaling first-level agreement. “If ever there was a reason to use them, this is it. Just give me a list of where you need to send the money to go and the amount,” he said. “We can tidy up the details with congress and the oversight committees later.”
“Okay, good,” Admiral Irons said with a nod of approval. “Mnemosyne, I'm going be calling the Yard Dogs, you might want to have them ready,” he said.
“They can build some hulls as they've proven, sir, but they don't have the ability to build the necessary medical equipment,” the A.I. warned.
“We'll take care of that. Getting the hulls is the important thing. If you can call them and Prime, I'll work on ETMI and the others,” the admiral said. “Giving Faith an order of hospital ships makes sense actually, she can work with Doctor Richards to man and equip them.”
“ET has been exporting some good medics,” Captain Broken Antenna said with a nod. “And I know they've been working on expanding their medical equipment and pharmaceutical exports.”
“What about Bek?” Admiral Sienkov asked. Moira looked up with interest.
“We can try them,” the admiral said guardedly. “But it will take time to get the ships out of the rapids and then into Tau,” he warned.
“True,” Admiral Sienkov admitted.
“While we're working on that,” Admiral Irons turned to Doctor Kraft. “Get with Doctor Richards and others. See what they can come up with. I don't mean just cures but also equipment and personnel,” he said. The doctor nodded and made a note.
“I don't need to remind all of you that we don't need news of this to break out. If it does, it could invariably start a panic that we don't need or want to have to deal with at this time,” he said. Heads nodded or signaled assent somberly. “Good. Let's get on this then before it gets worse,” he said.
“I believe it is going to get a lot worse before it gets better,” Doctor Kraft said with a heavy sigh.
“In the meantime, while I've got the rest of you here,” the admiral said with a small smile, “we might as well hit on a couple of things so we can bump Monday's meeting ….”
]][#]]]{OO}===}==>
Epsilon Triangula:
Medical Commodore Helen Richards checked her staff for reactions as she took her seat. She was still feeling her new rank and star out. She'd finally accepted it and enjoyed some of the prestige that went with it. But with that prestige came even more responsibility she thought as she picked up her cup of coffee and took a sip before she put it down again.
She listened with half an ear as the group discussed the plague and its implications. Speculation on what was the vector and how to combat it was one of the major topics as expected. Her mind wandered slightly as she thought of how best to get the suggested remedies to where they were needed most in a timely manner.
Obviously one of those spiffy Sojourner class couriers with antimatter power was the answer she thought. That was how she'd gotten her most recent promotion a year and a half ago, she reminded herself. The same ship that had carried the promotion of Shelby Logan had made stops along her return flight to hand out other promotions and keys. Apparently, Admiral Irons had believed in getting the biggest bang for his buck.
“I believe it is airborne; it has to be. Blood transmission … that wouldn't spread it fast enough, and obviously not between species. The question is a methodology of treatment. Vaccines direct to the individual …”
“We'd have to culture the virus first. We don't have it,” Doctor Ivanov said. He looked over to Doctor Hadjiri who nodded in agreement with him.
“A broad-spectrum delivery method is the most effective at getting at the population, but it is hit or miss. Airborne of course. We'd most likely have to engineer our own virus to bring the cure to the effected in such a way as it doesn't infect the uninfected,” Yosef mused.
“I see your point,” Doctor Ivanov stated. “I think the answer is nanites,” he said, eyes twinkling. That made a few of the doctors sit up and then nod slowly.
“They can be reprogrammed though. It is dangerous. There is also the threat of public backlash,” Doctor La Plaz warned.
“True,” Helen replied with a nod.
“We also have legal issues with using nanites on a friendly population, ma'am,” Doctor Ramius warned with a hiss. All eyes turned to the Naga medic. “We'd have to look into that. Hell, I'm not even certain our implants will let us use them in the first place,” he said.
“They did here on ET. Why not abroad?” Doctor La Plaz asked.
“True. We can look into it,” Helen said. “Okay, look, we keep everything on the table,” she said as she got an alert of an incoming message from the ansible. “And that's my cue to leave it in your hands while I go deal with someone calling through the ansible,” she said. She opened her inbox when it indicated she had mail. She frowned as the others murmured to each other. Her eyes moved back and forth as she scanned the document. “Okay, on top of playing researcher, we've been tasked with building medical equipment they'll need plus finding the warm bodies to run it all,” she said after a moment.
“Fun,” Doctor Milinkov said. “We've become not only the one-stop medical shop, but now we're exporting?”
“Get over it,” Helen said flatly, eyeing the virologist.
The Virologist turned to her. “I didn't say I wasn't in agreement, I was just …”
“Can it. It is necessary for the survival of all,” Helen said flatly. “I'm going to recommend we work on looking for this or other diseases and up the mandatory vaccine lists,” Helen replied. “We need to get more people vaccinated so they are less susceptible to such attacks,” she said.
“Are we certain this is an attack?”
“For the moment, we're labeling it as such, but we are not making it public. For the time being, we're going to do everything we can to stop it. Focus on that,” Helen ordered. The people in the room nodded or signaled assent.
]][#]]]{OO}===}==>
Pyrax
“So, that's the deal. Somehow we need to shoehorn the hospital ships in priority while juggling our other commitments. We can't afford to drop the ball,” the admiral said, looking at Captain I'rll.
“Yes, sir, we'll get it handled,” the female Veraxin buzzed.
“How?” the admiral asked.
“We have a civilian yard in the star system now. It is small, but we can send them some of the work. I don't know what their schedule is like however. But I do know the smaller yard modules are underutilized. We're building couriers, destroyers, CEVs, and Cervidae, but I think we can squeeze in some hospital ships,” the Veraxin said. “What I'm actually thinking to make the commitment is to pull a couple Liberty class ships we've got in to the yard and then refit them as hospital ships and just replace them as freighters down the road. It sucks, but it will allow us to get the ships done faster and where they need to be. We can do something about the medical contingent on ET if we have to,” she said. “By doing that, it'll cut the build schedule down to three weeks versus four months for the first unit from scratch,” she said.
“Yes, but it'll throw our resupply efforts to hell in a handbasket. The same for moving supplies and personnel to and from the Bek nexus,” recently promoted Captain JG Ch'n'x complained.
“Well, if the Tau mission had a Liberty class hospital ship to begin with, this might not be as big a problem as it is. Whose idea was it to give her a single Dora class hospital ship instead of a Liberty as previously planned? A small ship like that to service an entire sector?” the recently promoted Veraxin senior grade captain demanded.
Captain Ch'n'x reared back as if she'd been physically assaulted. She buzzed angrily; her antenna and mandibles moving in agitation. The fact that her plan to short the Tau mission in favor of the eastern front was known wasn't really the problem. The reminder that she'd done so to help her old colleague and that she'd been supplanted by a Bekian interloper still bothered her.
Admiral Subert glanced from one Veraxin to the other. He could tell Ch'n'x was furious with the jab. “What's done is done,” he interjected before their argument could spin out of control. “Commodore Logan signed off on it as did Admiral Irons. We need to move on and fix the problem.”
“Aye aye, sir,” Captain I'rll replied, signaling first-level agreement.
“Yes, sir,” Captain Ch'n'x said signaling the same.
The admiral turned to Captain I'rll. “Go with your plan.” He waved a hand to stop Ch'n'x from complaining. “We'll deal with the problems in Ops as they arise. Figure it out,” he said.
“If you can get the first ship to me by tomorrow, I should have a slip ready. I'm juggling assignments now; we've got a cruiser ready for her first working-up exercise. If we can get logistics to help expedite both the loading of the cruiser and moving parts in place for the refit, we will be able to hit the ground running. Since we won't be touching the hull, hyperdrive, or other drive systems, she should be good to go once she's refitted.”
“I'll get on making equipment for the ships. Give me a list of what you need in each,” Commander Fox said.
“The basic logistics inventory of a Liberty class hospital ship is now in your inbox,” Lieutenant Barry stated. “Are we making one ship or two?”
“Two minimum,” Admiral Subert said, holding up two fingers. “We'll need a support ship for them as well as escorts,” he said, turning to Captain Ch'n'x. “Tin cans at the minimum,” he warned.
“What about siccing them with Gamma convoy? They will be ready to deploy in four and a half months …” the Veraxin said.
“We can't delay that long,” Captain I'rll stated. “Since the ships do not need a drive overhaul, we're going to focus on just reconfiguring their interiors with the hospital ship modules and equipment. I can get them back in space in two weeks from the moment they come into their slips. They'll need a few days to blow the rust off and can work on working up on the way to Airea 3,” she stated.
“Agreed,” Admiral Subert said. “Though I believe we should check the drives and make any necessary maintenance before the long jump,” the admiral said.
“Understood, sir,” the Veraxin engineer said, making a note on her tablet.
“Good. Now, two escorts minimum and a tanker. They'll have to pick up personnel in ET. I think we can arrange a refueling and resupply there, though they'll scarcely need it,” the admiral said.
“Aye, sir. We'll have at least one Liberty coming from the ETMI yard but no scheduled date on completion at the moment,” Captain I'rll reported. “The same for the yard here and the two civilian yards in Antigua.”