Yancy and Essex both looked surprised but it was the Commodore that spoke first.
“There you are Dupain, come and join us,” he said looking down at his plate as he cut off a piece of rare steak and dipped it in some dark gravy from a silver gravy boat near his plate.
Janice Dupain looked to the two servers and signal them with a movement of her head to leave. Both stewards quickly left not wanting to be there as the flagged ranked officers had it out.
“Commodore Essex, why are you and your fleet still in this system? You should have left yesterday,” she demanded.
“Well, Admiral, my fleet still needs to take on more supplies and some of my ships are in the middle of preflight diagnostic which may take several more days,” he explained still feeding his face as he talked.
“Really?” she prompted looking the pair over. Essex attacked while Yancy sat back and looked for a weakness. “What about your rendezvous with the Wolf Squadron? If you delay much longer you might throw off the whole offensive operation.”
“Yes, that is a risk,” he said with a sigh and continued, “Perhaps, you and 8th Defense Fleet should take over that part of the mission and the 34th would stay here. After all, your fleet has already gone through shakedown drills and are ready to leave immediately.”
Dupain looked at him for a moment and then turned her gaze to the other admiral in the room.
Admiral Yancy wiped her mouth with her napkin and nodded in agreement.
“Yes, I believe your fleet is combat ready and could leave in just a few hours if you had to. This way you could make the meeting with Admiral Hope and keep to his time schedule.”
Janice Dupain really wanted to walk over and dump their table and all of its contents over them. Instead, she just smiled and stepped a little closer.
“Is this the game you played with Admiral Norton-Underhill?” she asked.
“Whatever do you mean?” Yancy said feigning surprise at her accusation.
“I always wondered how the 12th Defense Fleet had ended up out on the frontier and trapped at Jericho Six?” she said, “What was a fleet of older ships that should have been guarding a Starbase or a key bend point doing out on combat patrol?”
“Norton-Underhill volunteered his fleet,” Essex replied as some beef gravy dribbled down his chin.
“He was anxious to get into the fight,” Yancy added looking wide-eyed at the notion that they had done something improper.
“I’d believe that if he had been told that an Attack Fleet was not ready for combat and that if he didn’t get out there right away then the enemy could gain a key foothold in the sector. I’m sure he would have volunteered to go as he is no coward. Old Eggy is one of the three bravest men I have ever known.”
“What are you saying?” Commodore Essex spat finally wiping his chin with his napkin.
“First of all, you need to add a Sir or Ma’am to the end of that, Commodore,” she said dressing him down.
Admiral rank was a funny thing in the Confederation Space Fleet. When it was started they had to unify all of the world’s space programs and had to adopt a single common ranking system. Much of the world used the rank of Commodore for their lowest flag rank or one star. The United States and a few other countries used a rank of rear admiral lower-half for one star and rear admiral upper-half for a two-star admiral. One star admirals were supposed to be equal with commodores but over time the gold star Commodore’s rank fell below the rank of a silver star admiral lower-half. Admiral Dupain just reminded him of that fact clearly taking the gloves off.
Granny Essex made a face and was about to say something when his half-sister put her hand on his arm stopping him.
“Then I’ll ask, what do you mean, Janice?” she said using Dupain’s first name. Yancy, like her, were both Rear Admirals Lower-Half and were basically equals.
“I mean that my orders say for me to come here and for the Commodore to leave,” she stated and continued, “If he is unable to get his fleet in gear and on mission then I will relieve him of command and appoint an acting fleet captain of my choosing to take over for him.”
“You don’t have that authority!” Admiral Yancy stated being a starbase commander for sector gave her the authority but not another fleet admiral.
“Really? Then you better read this,” she said tossing her a data crystal.
Yancy was a little unprepared to catch the crystal and dropped it on the floor. Leaning down she picked it up and stared at it.
“It says that I’m the sector commander for Admiral Hope and have overall command of all ships and this starbase. It also places both of you under my direct authority,” she said pulling the trump card that she had been saving.
Admiral Yancy’s hands were shaking as she downloaded the data and quickly read it. Letting out a sigh of defeat she handed her palm pad to her brother who lips moved as he read the orders giving her the area command.
“Why would the Admiralty do this to us?” Yancy said grabbing her napkin from the table and gripping it.
“I’d say they don’t think either of you has enough combat experience and that you don’t even seem to realize that there is a war on,” she said telling them what they needed to hear.
“This is outrageous!” Granny Essex fumed tossing the palm pad onto his plate of half-eaten food.
“Now let me make myself clear, you have twenty-four hours to get your fleet on the move to support Admiral Hope. You have two hours to get me your movement plan for your line of advance. Do I make myself clear, Commodore?” she said really wishing he’d give her a good reason to relieve him.
“Yes, Ma’am,” he mumbled.
“What about the carrier?” Yancy prompted seeing that Dupain was turning to leave.
“What carrier?” she asked turning back.
“Why your carrier, I’d like to have it,” Essex said with an evil smile.
“You want the Shinano?” Dupain remarked shocked at his request.
“Yes, I have an old escort carrier, the Boyington which doesn’t have the bender drives to keep up with my fleet. I want to give you the Boyington and I’ll take the Shinano in her place,” he argued trying to justify taking her larger carrier.
“Of course, with the one-hundred and twenty fighters stationed on this starbase, the lost a few dozen that the Shinano carries with forty-eight over the twenty-eight that the Boyington carries just wouldn’t be that much of a loss. It would also allow the 34th to advance at a faster pace,” Yancy stated trying to help her brother build a case for the trade.
Dupain shook her head thinking that they must really have a low opinion of her.
“No, the 34th has other ships including a half-dozen freighters that won’t be able to bend at the fleet’s maximum range. You also have a hospital ship, the Mary Walker that will slow you down. So, request denied, do you have any other great ideas?” she asked.
“Yes, with the 8th Defense Fleet here you won’t need the armored cruisers, ISS Conqueror and the ISS Formidable. I would like them transferred to the 34th,” Essex requested.
“That would give you, four armored cruisers, a battle cruiser and a battle carrier as your capital ships,” she stated amazed at the man’s arrogance to think he would get those extra ships.
“I’m sure that the 8th Defense Fleet will be able to defend the starbase without their help. After all, if Hope is right then Starbase 24 is now safely behind the front lines,” Admiral Yancy remarked.
“Request denied, and of note, I have very discretionary command authority and the 8th will not necessarily be staying here. My orders are to move to the furthest Confederation base to support frontline operations. That would be either the Sargasso Base Station or the Templar Base at Blue Rock.”
Both Essex and Yancy looked dumbfounded at this news. Dupain took that as a good moment to turn and leave.
“Remember Commodore, twenty-four hours or I’ll relieve your sorry ass,” she said as she turned about and walked briskly out of the office.
/> Exactly twenty-four hours later the 34th Attack Fleet left the star system of Ryu-Six by its Beta gravity well. It was what Admiral Dupain had expected, instead of using the Alpha Well and facing the massing Karduan blocking force he elected to use the Beta Well and avoid taking his fleet into action. She didn’t envy Hope having to have such a man under his command or having to depend on him in a fight.
“Essex took the Beta Well!” Mike exclaimed looking across the desk to the admiral. He had taken a shuttle over to Shinano at her request and was now being updated on the situation.
“Yes, he did,” she answered calmly.
“Going that way would take at least ten days longer to get to Austro Prime and what about that understrength Karduan Squadron stationed one bend off the Alpha Well?” he continued in outrage at the Commodore’s stupidity and cowardice.
“I believe he felt that his orders indicated for him to leave immediately and that with his late start he had no time to deal with matters that I should now be handling,” Admiral Dupain reasoned.
“But he has been here for over a year and never did anything to attack the enemy,” Lt. Collins said shaking his head in disgust.
“I not sure he would have been a help if he had stayed and I wouldn’t want him to further his career by doing nothing while others fought,” she said not seemingly unhappy in the least at his leaving.
“I don’t think the Goliad will be able to catch him unless I take the Alpha Route,” Mike said thinking aloud.
“Well, I’m going to be moving against the blocking force within the next twenty-four hours if you would like to join in. I expect that the bend will be clear in less than a day. That is unless you’d like to stay here? I’m sure I could have your ship attached to the 8th and your orders augmented.”
“Ma’am, I’d love to help you with that enemy squadron and would be honored to fight under your command. I really don’t care about Essex but I do need to get back to Admiral Hope, that is after the battle of course,” he said nodding with a focused look in his eyes.
Admiral Dupain looked at him with her one piercing brown eye and casually took a sip of green tea from her English tea cup.
“Then welcome to the 8th Defense Fleet, if only for a day or two,” she said happy to have not only another ship for the upcoming fight but also this interesting officer. Her old friend Hope certainly knew how to inspire loyalty as well as how to train young men into capable warriors.
“So, ma’am, what’s the plan?” he said with a sort of glint in his blue eyes.
“All in due time, I’m having a Captains’ Call at twelve hundred hours,” she stated and added, “Until then meet with my S-4, Commander Wiest and go over any needs that your ship and crew might have.”
“Yes, Ma’am,” he said as he saluted and left to find the 8th Defense Fleet’s S-4 supply and logistics officer.
At twelve hundred hours, the fleet’s captains met on the ISS Shinano, gathering in what was normally the pilots’ briefing room. Not all of the captains were present as some of their ships were guarding the Beta gravity well. For those not present they would be comm. linked in on a secure channel.
The room was set up for fifty-five seats and though Dupain had only nineteen warships and six support ships that made up the 8th Defense Fleet it seemed that almost every seat was taken. Mike surveyed the full house and assumed that some of the captains might have brought their second or third officers with them.
As he looked about he recognized a face in the crowd. It belonged to a full commander who was turned and talking to another full commander. The officer he spotted was Commander Bob Williams who was the captain of the Legend Class armored cruiser ISS Formidable.
Captain Hunter and he had spoken to the Formidable’s captain when they had first reached the system. He was even Edmund Hunter’s old friend, but Mike doubted that he would remember the Star Tiger’s acting XO. Taking a wild guess, he bet that the officer sitting next to Williams was the captain of the other armored cruiser, the ISS Conqueror.
Both of these ships had come from another attack fleet, the 29th back during the Breakthrough but had never been recalled. Admiral Dupain had made sure that they stayed with her and they, in turn, gave her fleet a much more serious bite. Having spoken to Commander Williams weeks ago, he was sure that he was now very happy to be with the 8th and anxious to fight. Counting the ISS Goliad and the two armored cruisers this gave the 8th Defense Fleet twenty-two warships.
Giving up on finding a seat he found a place along the back wall and waited for the briefing to begin.
A call of “Attention!” yelled out by an officer by a side door brought the room to its feet.
Admiral Dupain’s cane tapped on the floor echoing a bit in the silent room as she walked to the center front of the briefing room. The flag officer then faced them and said, “As you were and please be seated.”
The room sat down, all eyes staring at the one-eyed admiral.
“I know they call us a Defense Fleet but I think you all know that sitting on our thumbs waiting to be attacked is not my style,” she said nice and loud so everyone could hear.
The room full of officers grinned, some even laughing softly to themselves.
“This fleet is going on the attack!” she announced and continued, “This attack will be in force and will be in six hours. I know that most of you are ready to fight right now but we will wait just a little while longer.”
She scanned them and then looked to an officer in the front row who had a question on his face but didn’t ask it. A simple nod of her head was all she needed to indicated for him to speak.
“Who and where is our target, Ma’am?” a Lt. Commander inquired.
“We’re going to take out the battle group of Karduan ships blocking our Alpha Well’s exit aperture which is in route to the front. It is believed that this is one of the last forces behind our old lines in this sector. Once we clear it then we will have better security for the sector and a fast line of bends to support the Wolf Squadron.
“How many enemy ships?” someone off to her left said.
Dupain smiled and looked to the back of the crowded briefing room. Everyone turned in their seats and followed her one-eyed gaze.
“Lt. Collins, would you come forward and assist me with this part of the briefing,” she said.
At first, he thought she was joking but she sounded quite serious as well as having the whole room now looking at him.
“Aye, Ma’am,” he said finding his voice after a moment and forcing his legs to work.
As he made his way to the front she continued, “I’m sure many of you have seen the battle vids and reports from the Star Wolf and her Task Force. If you have then you may recognize Lt. Collins as a member and as a ship captain from that Task Force.”
Some of the officers smiled, others nodded and a few looked down at their palm pads.
Mike moved up close the admiral, “How can I help, ma’am?”
“Just tell them what you saw when you passed through Karduan lines,” she said.
He nodded but didn’t smile, as nobody liked surprises let alone giving an impromptu briefing to a command group like this.
“I went through the enemy lines with the Star Tiger almost two months ago,” he started trying to give them a truthful impression of the usefulness and timeliness of his intelligence. “A battle destroyer, two full destroyers, two companion destroyers and four destroyer escorts that were all at stations keeping near the Alpha Well that leads to this system. They had two other destroyers covering their Beta Well. When the Star Tiger slipped through their lines there were two Karduan freighters and a destroyer escort bringing supplies into the system at the time.”
“So, twelve warships with one big boy battle destroyer and at least two of them guarding the opposite well,” a Commander said to his left recapping it and making it sound like it was just a matter of fact.
“But that was two months ago,” a full lieutenant said from the middle right of the a
isle. Mike thought that he was the right age and rank to be either a sloop or a frigate captain.
“Agreed! So, they could still be there, they could have withdrawn as they became cut off from their supply lines or …” Mike said pausing.
“Or what?” someone said.
“Or a reinforced fleet has arrived to help them,” he said to some grunts and huffs of disapproval at his wild speculation.
“What makes you believe that, Lt. Collins?” Admiral Dupain inquired yet already knowing the answer herself.
“There is a Karduan Grand Fleet Mistress named Pir-Ly of the House of Win, who has been hunting the Star Wolf. Admiral Hope defeated a trap she laid for us at the Battle of Arcadia while destroying several of her ships including a battle destroyer. He then tricked her and drew her deeper into her own territory pulling her away from our lines,” he informed vividly remembering his part in the battle and the Admiral’s chase of war.
“How many more ships could there be?” another officer asked.
“No way to tell, we took out ten of her squadron’s ships at Arcadia but the Grand Mistress had at least twelve more ships at the time. That included a star destroyer and another battle destroyer,” he replied knowing what the minimums could be.
Some of the seated officers looked concerned at this news. It was one thing to go after a squadron that is missing a few ships whereas it is a different story to go after one that been reinforced with a dozen ships including two major capital ships.
“Why do you think they might be there?” Dupain prompted.
“Admiral Hope thought that after they swept the sector and couldn’t find us that she’d either withdraw into Karduan space proper or move to one of two places to find our Task Force,” he answered glancing to the admiral who gave him a subtle nod.
“Those two systems were the Ryu-Six System with Starbase 24 and the other was Austro Prime which is where the Star Wolf had initially escaped from,” Admiral Dupain stated, “Right now the 34th Attack Fleet is heading there by the Beta Well to Austro Prime. That leaves us the enemy ships blocking our Alpha bend.”
Wolves at the Gate Page 21