“She did, did she?” A speculative look came into Leon’s eyes, and Jacob felt a swirl of suspicion. When he opened his mouth to ask, however, Leon waved his questions off. “No, no. You’re not getting me involved. If you want to know what she’s been up to, then you’ll have to ask her. I’m not dumb enough to square off against her, and if you’re smart, you’ll trust her instincts.”
Thrown completely off balance, Jacob grunted and looked around the room. “It, ah, looks like the Fords have been keeping you rather busy.”
“That definitely goes without saying, Sir.” Leon motioned to the bulkhead, indicating the space outside the ship. “Not that I have a lot of ships to supervise, but the ones I have been looking after have managed to give me trouble.”
Jacob chuckled. “I can understand that much. I used to have a few troublesome officers under my command, once.” He tried to look innocent when Leon gave him a glare. Then Jacob grew serious as he continued. “About your ships, Leon. I notice you have a few more than you started with.”
“Ah yes. The dumbships.” Leon grinned. “My own creation if I might say so.”
“Dumbships?” Jacob sat back and cocked an eyebrow. “You might need to work on your labeling, Captain Nivrosky.”
“I learn from the master, Admiral Ironsides.” Leon chuckled as Jacob winced, then he tapped a few controls on his reader and handed it over. “When we first arrived, I knew there was no way we could stop an Oduran scout from seeing exactly how many ships were in the system. Even a simple merchant could have jumped through and seen us from a distance, and the first thing we would have known about it was when the enemy vanguard started jumping in.”
“So you gave them something else to look at.” Jacob glanced through the notes and paused to bring up a schematic of one of the asteroids on his console. The wireframe image of the thing hovered above the projection unit. A rock with DE sails and a couple of rad masts, it looked neither gloriously complicated nor refined. He looked back at Leon. “I hate to break it to you, Leon, but these things aren’t exactly going to fool anybody. If you get a good enough look, then you’re going to know these are just a bunch of rocks.”
“True, if you have military grade sensors.” Leon shrugged. “I figured most unofficial scouts would be flying some kind of merchant ship, which wouldn’t be able to resolve the ships as well. They’d know how many sails we had active, but they wouldn’t see what those sails were flying.”
“And if the Odurans sent in an actual corvette or something? Then they would know these rocks and your detachment were all you had.”
Leon nodded, but a mischievous smile twisted his lips. “Again, true, but a military scout would probably try to get a few consistent readings. Which is, of course, when they would notice not all of my force was here.”
Jacob paused. “What?”
Leaning forward, Leon tapped a finger on the reader. “I've been having about a third of my force rotate in and out of the system, usually stopping near potential hiding places like the moons near the fourth planet and the big patch of asteroids further in system. When they were gone, I had dumbships take their places in our formations.” He paused expectantly.
Realization dawned. “Any commander worth his salt would think you were trying to conceal the movements of those ships. If he saw you doing that enough, he’d suspect you had more ships waiting in ambush.”
Leon shrugged. “Which we didn’t, at least until now. Any scouts would report back that the enemy was clearly up to something sneaky, but would still be unsure of how many ships were ready to respond to an attack in the system, mostly because they knew we were trying to hide something. They could never be sure they had seen all of them, not without performing an in-depth reconnaissance several times. I would be able to see them if they started to do that, and I could have gotten a message to you to come in time if they had.”
“Unless they managed to come without warning you.” Jacob shook his head. “I hate to break it to you, Leon, but the time for the dumbships is over. Yeseti is planning on leading her entire task force through the Fords in less than a day, and unless I miss my guess, she’s going to come through without any warning. No scouts, no hesitation, just the entire fleet passing through on the way to our territory.”
Eyebrows raised, Leon whistled. “A bold move. If she’d come before you had, we would have been blown away. From what you’ve told me, she has enough to walk all over my task force without even noticing.”
“I have no doubt you would have been able to give them a bloody nose, Leon, but I mean to do quite a bit more than that to them.” Jacob set Leon’s reader aside and leaned forward. “We have the chance to trap them here—to hit them hard enough while they are crossing the Fords so neither the Collective nor the League will have the chance to recover in time to hit us again. I’m going to take that chance.”
Leon nodded slowly. “What do you want me to do, sir?”
Jacob dismissed the image of the dumbship and brought up a map of the Manassas Fords system itself. “There are only two stable, crossable portions of the dark matter obstacles in the system. Here and here.” Both locations were highlighted in orange. “The rest of the dark matter moves around too much for us to be able to predict with any accuracy, and given how it can effect a ship’s DE sails, I doubt Yeseti is going to want to risk them with her precious fleet.”
“Especially not with her own hide at risk.” Leon smiled. “Those safe areas are risky too—both have patches of dust and micrometeorites in them. They’ll have to move slower to avoid damage.”
“Right.” Jacob pointed to the image. “I want you to take Galahad and a detachment of ships and set up to hit them as they come through one of those two passages. From what I’ve seen, you could manage to hide right around here.” Another location flashed, this time in the orbit of the sixth planet. It was an enormous gas giant with a large number of moons.
Leon considered the spot. “Lots of cover there to hide behind. Still, it might be risky to place us there, especially since we’d be behind enemy lines. If they spot us early, they might isolate and destroy us before we can run. Those passages will be just as bad for us as they would be for the Odurans.”
“I know.” Jacob met Leon’s stare evenly. “That’s why I’m putting you there. I need someone familiar enough with the planet to manage to hide his ships. I also need someone who can time the attack at just the right moment, when most of the enemy fleet is committed to the passage and unable to support their rearguard.” He paused. “Can you do it?”
There was a long pause as Leon thought the situation over. Then he nodded. “Yes, Sir. I believe I can.” Leon looked up from the image again, and his expression grew determined. “How many ships will I have?”
“I’m giving you four other cruisers and four squadrons of destroyers. They are all going to be Crown- and Hunter-class ships.” Jacob held up a hand when Leon’s expression shifted. “Before you ask, I considered giving you a few more light combatants, but you’ll be isolated from the rest of us for a long time. I don’t want ships in a position where they will lack the armor and endurance to handle the fire directed against them, and all of the ships I will send with you—aside from Galahad, of course—are ones that have received the refits. They’ll hold up well under fire.”
Leon sat back, his expression still dissatisfied. “I understand your point, but I would like to have a few more escorts, if only to be able to pursue anyone who runs. The last thing we need is for their lighter craft to swing around and take us in the back.”
The objection brought Jacob some pause. “You’re right. I’ll see what else I can shift around.” Then he tapped a few other buttons, highlighting two other locations. “The balance of our forces will be located in different parts of the system, on the other side of the passage. I’m going to locate one group, under Isaac on the Kay, here.” The area around another gas giant glowed green. “The rest of us, under my personal command from Eagle, will wait here.” One final
spot blinked, located near the fourth planet where Leon had been conducting his deception operations.
“An interesting deployment pattern.” Leon brought his gaze over to study Jacob. “You want at least one of them to be able to meet the Odurans as they cross the Fords, to hit them head on no matter which passage they choose. I assume the other will then move to flank them and support the initial attack?”
Jacob spread his arms wide. “Correct, Captain.” He leaned forward and laid both his forearms on the desk. “Do you think we can manage to hide our forces well enough to take them by surprise?”
“It’s possible. If they come charging in without taking a closer look first, you should have very little problem in keeping most of your forces out of sight.” Leon shrugged. “All the same, no matter how quickly their task force comes into the system, they’re going to anticipate some kind of resistance to be waiting for them. That may mean we’ll have to station some of our ships outside the cover, if only to give the Odurans a picture they would expect. Otherwise they may stop for a moment to make a more thorough scan of the system, which could mean they would locate one of our groups in hiding.”
“And if they find one, Admiral Yeseti might get spooked and keep looking until she’s found them all.” Jacob shook his head. “That wouldn’t be good for us.”
“No, it wouldn’t.” Leon smiled. “Speaking as the commander of the force that would be left most exposed if they do find us, I would prefer to give them something else to look at, something they would not find threatening, but would reassure them nothing else is going on under the surface.”
Jacob nodded slowly, thinking the problem over. Any ships he left out of his formations were going to be exposed and in danger of being hit and overwhelmed in detail. They would also leave his formations weaker, making the entire plan much riskier if the Odurans managed to overwhelm one group or the other. He couldn’t afford to leave too many out in the open, or he risked defeat, but if he left too little, it would tip off the enemy.
Then Jacob hit on a perfect solution, and he smiled. “Well, what do you say if we give your dumbships one last mission? They could be parked right about here.” He pointed to a location far back from both passages, where a task force could intercept one or the other of them with ease. “We put a few corvettes and frigates there to act the part of the actual picket force, and then have those ships run when the Odurans show up.”
“That way they think we were trying to cover New Manassas with a dummy navy—which we were, originally—and we’re running now we’ve failed. It’s a good deception.” Leon started to grin. “I’m just sad those dumbships can’t get in a good hit of their own. They’ve served us rather well for a bunch of rocks with sails and thrusters strapped on.”
“That they have.” Jacob chuckled. “It is too bad they can’t have a railgun or two. They would probably overheat after the first shot, but it might at least surprise whoever flies by them.”
Leon shrugged. “Actually, I doubt they’d overheat. More of a heat sink to go around with all the rock, you know. The main problems we’ve had are the speed they move at—every single one of them crawls along, and maneuvers are a pain. And of course there’s no chance they could be riftjumped anywhere. That much mass is more than any known jump generator could handle, no matter the size of the Capistan. Still, if you didn’t mind making a warship that had to stay in the system after you were done, they wouldn’t do half bad.”
Jacob’s mind caught on the idea. Something about the image of a lumbering asteroid bristling with weapons tugged at his imagination, and he puzzled over it for a few moments. Then he shook his head; there would be time enough for such ideas later—if Yeseti and her friends didn’t kill them all first. “Anyway, Captain, help me work out the kinks in this plan. The last thing we need is for Yeseti to catch me off guard and destroy us, so don’t leave anything to chance.”
Jacob wandered through the crowded Engineering spaces on the Eagle, listening to the clank of the crew’s tools and the hum of the ship’s machinery. His security team trailed behind him, eyes alert. Though Al-shira hadn’t reported any further direct threats to Jacob’s life, Major Rasband wasn’t taking any chances. Even if the woman was not quite as hands-on as Ashford had been, she had taken her duty very seriously. If someone managed to kill the High Admiral, the security team was not going to be the one who dropped the ball.
The thought amused Jacob when he peeked into an access tunnel. How long had it been since he’d been one of these Engineering crewmembers? Three years, almost four? It seemed a lifetime ago, as if he’d managed to drift into another universe where time moved faster. He wondered if even in his most optimistic moment, when he’d entered the Academy full of dreams and ambition, he’d ever expected himself to ascend this high. Given Catherine’s usual opinion of his actions, his sister had likely only hoped Jacob wouldn’t manage to get himself killed doing something stupid. So far, he’d avoided —a fact that would hopefully remain true for the next few days as well.
“Another visit from the high and mighty? Hell, I might as well start decorating this place, make it a bit more classy.” Lieutenant Commander Turley’s voice was tinged with rough humor, and Jacob turned to face him with a smile. Turley saluted, a gesture Jacob returned, and then he continued with a wry smile on his face. “To what do I owe the pleasure, sir?”
“Nothing much. Just visiting old friends before the battle starts.” Jacob smiled and looked around. “I hope I’m not interrupting anything.”
Turley chuckled. “Well, I’m sure there are a few card games that might get abruptly cancelled, and you can be sure some stupid bastard who was tempted to start an unofficial boxing match might make a better decision, but that’s just the curse of being a High Admiral. Boredom must be a heavy burden to bear, Sir.”
Jacob laughed. “I don’t know about boredom, but life does seem to be filling up with hardships since I got this job.” He cocked an eyebrow at Turley. “Do you want it? Maybe we could trade.”
With a rather rude snort, Turley spread his arms to indicate the whole Engineering section. “A nice, soft admiral-type like you working with this bunch? They’d eat you alive in a week. No, Sir, you just keep hobnobbing with the high and mighty and leave the hard work to us. We’ll make sure everything gets done to Admiral Ironsides’ high expectations.”
It was hard not to wince. “So the nickname’s gotten down here too.”
“Gotten here? It might have started here.” Turley laughed, his sides shaking. “No harm in having a reputation—though I’ll be damned if you haven’t gone about earning it the hard way, Sir.” He shook his head. “I think we’ve just barely managed to put everything right that got shaken loose at Kryshaen, and you’re already throwing us in it again. It’s like you flag officers have nothing better to do than to make work for everybody else.”
Jacob nodded in mock solemnity. “Well, it’s a tough job, but somebody’s got to do it. Besides, if I didn’t we might all be out of work. Then where would we be?”
“On a beach somewhere, I’d bet.” Turley grinned. “Still, I guess this is nice. A regular damned vacation spot.” He gestured to the banks of machinery and access tunnels around them. “What more could a man ask for?”
Jacob chuckled. “I suppose you’re right, Turley.” He looked around with a wistful expression. “You ever ask yourself what you would do if you were done with all of this?”
“Me?” Turley’s expression turned a little thoughtful. “Now that you mention it, not really. I guess I’ve just assumed there’ll always be another mess to clean up.” He grinned again, this time nudging Jacob with a shoulder. “At least you’ve been good for business there.”
“Happy to help.” Jacob returned the salutes of a group of ensigns who crossed their path. As those young officers turned down a side corridor, Jacob watched them speaking with each other and felt a hint of nostalgia. “Any real trouble going on in Engineering, Turley? There’s no one giving you a headache, is t
here?”
“No one worse than an ensign I remember serving with aboard Wolfhound, Sir.” Turley nudged him again and then shrugged. “This crew is a good set of men and women. They’re damn good—I think I’ve only had two or three real discipline problems since our launch, and they’ve been worked out very easily. Things have been going smooth as hell, when I think about it.”
Somehow, Jacob could sense things probably hadn’t been quite so sublime, but he could see the rough sort of pride Turley had in his people. He decided not to push any further—if Turley told him there were no real problems, then he could trust things were being taken care of. “Good. Tell the crew I’m proud to be serving aboard with them.” Then he paused. “Thank you, Turley. I know you’re busy, so I’ll leave you to your work.”
Turley glanced around the cavernous engineering bay, running his eyes over the various innards of the ship. “Good. You’ve sure as hell made sure I have plenty!” Then the engineer returned his gaze to Jacob. “Give ‘em hell Jacob, and let’s end this whole thing so I can find my beach somewhere.”
Unable to suppress a smile, Jacob offered a mock salute. “As ordered.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
“Sir, we have a contact coming in.”
Jacob looked up from the report he was reading, and felt the bottom drop out of his stomach. As he watched, more dots from sensor contacts appeared. They came in singletons, then in an avalanche of dots filled that the Oduran side of the Fords with light. He forced a smile for the rest of the officers in the room. “Looks like they’re here.”
He had no need to worry about being spotted, at the very least. All his were securely tucked in behind the cover provided by the system’s planets; the sensor readings were actually being relayed by a set of satellites his task force had left in orbit. The platforms had been intentionally gathered from obsolete stores, since the more aged they looked, the more irrelevant the enemy would assume them to be. After all, wouldn’t a Navy task force carry much more modern equipment?
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