Rafe said, “Let’s forego the sensor review this time.”
“No problem,” Bill responded. “You want drinks or food in your briefings?”
Rafe shook his head. “We’re all business this time. In and out. We’ll get our briefing done and be out of your hair ASAP.”
Bill nodded. The meeting broke up and Rafe and his party proceeded down the hall.
Captains, operations, and intelligence officers converged on the rec room that had been converted into a briefing room. Metal beams had been mounted across the deck to allow for a series of raised floor sections with a broad assortment of mismatched chairs and tables. This setup gave an unobstructed view of the front of the room to watch briefs and allow the briefer to see the entire audience.
Sky Mallory, her chief of staff, and her ship’s intelligence and operations officers walked into the rec room and stood quietly to one side as the pirates greeted each other enthusiastically. Men and women hugged each other and traded slaps on the back. Conversations roared on in all parts of the room. Sky observed their clothes and behavior. There was no attempt at uniformity in dress. Obviously, everyone wore whatever struck their fancy. Attire ranged from flashy, brightly colored clothes suitable for a wild night out on the town to somber dark attire. A few even wore work overalls. Footwear ranged from work boots to athletic shoes to casual walkabouts and sandals.
On further observation, there were two items approaching uniformity. The vast majority of women and a sizeable number of men wore earrings. Several were the same and it became obvious the earrings represented ships. Pirates wore crossed rifles, wolves, six shooter pistols, werewolves, and other emblems in their ear lobes or affixed to other parts of their bodies. The other similarity was each pirate was armed with a dagger. The weapons were carried on belts, in boots, and strapped to thighs. These weren’t for decoration but were instantly available for use if the owner desired. Ship assignment was at work here also. Pirates from the same ship had the same style of dagger. The pirates made the rounds with each other but soon segregated naturally into captains, operations officers, and intelligence officers.
“They are so young,” whispered Commander Goldman.
Sky had not noticed, but her chief of staff was correct. The captains were in their late twenties or early thirties, the other officers were in their mid or late twenties. Several pirates looked barely out of their teens. It was true the anti-aging drug, Longevity, was widely available, even in the Badlands. This drug made estimating anyone’s age difficult but there were other ways to tell age. People using Longevity may look young but would act more mature and experienced and thus reflected their older, actual ages. These pirates looked young and acted young. They were young, much too young for the responsibilities they routinely carried out. As she observed the pirates celebrating their meeting, Sky was reminded of a university class reunion at the five-year mark. No, Sky reflected, that wasn’t quite right. It was more like a five-year reunion of a class from The Academy. Not only were they glad to see each other, they were glad to see each other were still alive.
Twenty minutes later, Captain Shane Delacruz and his officers entered. The atmosphere became subdued and quiet. Several pirates moved toward individual newcomers and hugged them or had private words. This was a new experience for the flotilla and people were feeling their way through. Revenge was on everyone’s mind. It wouldn’t bring the dead back, but it would help the living.
Captain Raferty Hawkins walked in with Tactical, Baby Doll, Captain O’Hare, and Captain Takahashi of Dragon five minutes after the entrance of Captain Delacruz. The timing was not a coincidence. He wanted to give everyone time to embrace Charlie Squadron but not time to dwell on it. People gradually stopped talking and stood as close to attention as pirates ever achieved. Baby Doll and Tactical moved away from Rafe, Killian O’Hare moved to the captains’ group on the far side from the entrance, and Riki climbed to the back of the room to join the other support ship personnel. Tactical moved to the front of the room as a briefer. Sky noticed she and Baby Doll wore cheetah earrings. Everyone began to be seated. Surprisingly, Baby Doll cut between Commander Cassidy and the seat she obviously intended to take next to Captain Mallory. Baby Doll took the seat herself as she smiled innocently at Cassidy. Cassidy glared at her for a moment and took the seat behind Sky. Sky nodded at Cassidy in sympathy but let it go. Obviously, this was not an accident and there had to be a reason for Baby Doll to sit next to her.
Rafe started the brief, “Welcome. First, I’d like to thank Captain Mallory and the Aurora Empire for the great gift of munitions and supplies.” He nodded toward the Empire contingent amidst applause and whoops from the audience. “Captain Takahashi has divided up the supplies as appropriate and I understand your log dogs are getting it now. If you have a problem with the division of supplies, feel free NOT to talk to me about it.” Again hoots and laughter. Everyone knew Riki would be fair and, even if she wasn’t, complaining to Hawkins would do no good.
At this point Rafe briefly recounted the Potenka battle. Not only did he cover Predator’s part but also reviewed the Empire’s fight. As the briefing covered the actions of the destroyer Pearl to save Mackenzie, a strange thing happened. Pirates started to beat dagger hilt ends on tables and boots began stomping rhythmically on the floor. A chant began and quickly picked up in volume and intensity. “Pearl, Pearl, Pearl” echoed throughout the room and the facility. Sky and her contingent looked around the room in surprise. Never had they expected this salute to the bravery of one of their own companions. Indeed, they hadn’t even thought Pearl or their part in the battle would be mentioned. After ten seconds, the chanting ended in a loud collective cheer showing a respect for bravery and sacrifice. Sky had to blink several times to clear her eyes, and she saw other Empire officers doing the same thing. These pirates continued to surprise her. They were allies of convenience with no particular love for the Empire, but had no problem saluting one of the lost Zeke ships.
Hawkins then reviewed Captain O’Hare’s fight with Senator’s convoy. He focused on the destruction of the two OrCon ships while glossing over the ending of the battle. Normally this battle would have been briefed by one of the participants in the fight as a matter of courtesy and recognition for a job well done, but Rafe didn’t want this to be an opening for fruitless discussion and accusations. Everyone knew what had happened and opinions were already in place. No point in giving those opinions an airing here. There were more important items to cover. Killian O’Hare sat perfectly still and said nothing despite several pirates glancing her way.
He then moved quickly on to the battle at Gammatiga. The destruction of the two OrCon supply ships was key to future operations. The OrCons had to secure a supply source before the next battle to ensure resupply after that fight. If they couldn’t do that, they would have to wage the upcoming battle knowing they were expending munitions that could not be easily replaced.
“So much for the past. Now on to the future. Tactical will give a general brief covering our future operations. We will then take a quick break while I have a few words with all captains. Then Tactical will provide the captains and ops officers with a detailed brief. But before she starts the general brief I will cover my commander’s guidance to her.”
Actually, the guidance had been worked out between him and Sky Mallory, but this was not the time to mention that with this group. The plan had been mutually drawn up and agreed to between the pirates and the Zekes, but it would be briefed as a pirate plan.
“Despite our three victories, the enemy flotilla still outnumbers and outguns us. If we take them on in a stand up fight, even if we manage to win, there wouldn’t be many of us left. Hard to enjoy a victory when you’re dead. In addition, it is probable the OrCons will receive support from the Goths, either from the squadron with them now or from reinforcements from their base at Rosstrappe or any Goth ship currently on patrol. I think the Goths will use the excuse of the damage done to the Goth destroyer in the Senator bat
tle and their embarrassment at the loss of the two OrCon supply ships at Gammatiga to take a more active role in this fight by sending forces after us and doing some level of coordination with the OrCons. The Goths know Captain Mallory has sent sitreps home, and they will want to maintain deniability if accused by the Aurora Empire of actively aiding the OrCons. The Goths will say they were pursuing the pirates who were in the company of the Zekes. They will make it very clear they were not after Zekes but only the pirates. Of course, if they happened to engage these pirates and a Zeke ship or two is caught in the crossfire, well, unfortunate accidents happen in battle all the time.
“So we will face the OrCons and a probable increase in Goth support for them. The OrCons have a number of weaknesses. They are far from home with a reluctant ally of dubious intentions. They have a new enemy they didn’t account for in their planning. They have undoubtedly exceeded their timeline for accomplishing the destruction of the Empire forces and they have lost many ships to an inferior force so they will be anxious to end this fight and return home. This anxiety might lead to a rash mistake on their part. Their biggest problem is their limited supply support. We will exploit that.”
He turned around and motioned to Tactical, “Take it away.”
There were hoots and boot stomping. Despite her stoic approach to everything and everybody, Tactical’s expertise and bravery had earned her respect and even affection within Flotilla One. She was superb at her job, did her best to keep everyone alive, and this was much appreciated.
“The best OpsO in the flotilla,” Baby Doll whispered to Sky as an opening remark.
“I’m sure,” Sky said somewhat neutrally. In fact, she was sure that opinion was correct but she wasn’t sure why Baby Doll was seated next to her.
Tactical put up a list of the enemy forces including the Goth escorts on a 3D imager. “This brief will be a broad overview of the upcoming operation. Details will be covered within our breakdown groups and on the handout disks covering the operation. These discs will be given out at the end of this brief.” Tactical turned from the image to look at her audience. “The goal of this operation is the complete destruction of the combined enemy flotilla which we have dubbed the GorCons.” Much hooting and pounding stopped the brief for a few seconds. “As you can see from the force list, the GorCons have no support ships. Although we believe their ships are fully loaded at this moment, there is no readily available higher-level maintenance support or resupply for munitions and consumables. It is possible the Goths will support the OrCons but we suspect that has not been planned for and would need to be negotiated between these two temporary allies with the OrCons doing their negotiating from a position of weakness. This can’t help but drive a wedge between these two allies of convenience. Since the Goth escort squadron never had support ships with them, the entire flotilla will have to move to a supply source or have one brought to them after the next battle. The Goths would be reluctant to allow the OrCons to return to Rosstrappe and the OrCons would be equally reluctant to go there and leave the field of battle, so we believe the Goths will send support out from Rosstrappe or the combined enemy force will move to a support base in the Badlands. If they send a convoy, this will accomplish two things from the Goth point of view. It will provide the support needed and give the Goths an excuse to put more ships in the area without seeming to insult the OrCons. The disadvantage is the time needed to put together the convoy and then sail from Rosstrappe to this vicinity. With the actions we will take in the near future, they will have to send a convoy out eventually.”
Tactical now covered the opening phase. “By now the GorCons will be deciding on a supply source for their combined force. Convoy resupply from Rosstrappe will take days so the enemy will be forced to secure a more immediate source. The nearest supply base is on Harper’s Reef. We will proceed to Harper’s Reef and destroy the base there. That is the most likely destination of the enemy ships so we should be able to bring them to battle on our terms. If it so happens the enemy task force is not in the vicinity, we will still accomplish something by taking or destroying the base.”
Tactical did a series of hand flicks and the 3D imager now adjusted to display Harper’s Reef and its defense, then the attacking pirate ships appeared as red blips on the display. “The attack will be done by Flotilla One only. The Zekes will—.”
Tactical was interrupted by a young dark man standing up among the group of operations officers, “Why don’t the Zekes hit the Goth base too? They benefit from the base’s destruction. They should take some risks too.”
There was some pounding on chairs and feet stomping as several pirates agreed with the sentiment.
Baby Doll leaned close to Sky, “Pac Xu, operations officer of Desperado, a Wolfpack ship. He’s new at his job and trying to make an impression.” She shook her head sadly, an obvious comment on the young man’s statement. “He’s going to make an impression alright. No way O’Hare lets this pass.”
As if on cue, Killian O’Hare looked over her right shoulder at the standing operations officer and spoke as if she were addressing a rather dim child, “The Zekes aren’t attacking the Goth base because they aren’t at war with the Goths. Their main objective is destruction of the OrCon squadron. If they were to hit the base, it would be an act of war and might bring the Goths into the war on the OrCon side against the Aurora Empire. I’m sure the Zekes will participate by providing a covering force and early warning if enemy reinforcements arrive, but they have to stay out of the base’s sensor sweeps.” She stared at him intently. “I thought all that was obvious but apparently not.” She now turned further to the right to look behind her at a man who shifted uneasily in his chair under her stare. Pac Xu quickly sat down.
“Harve Osteen, captain of Desperado,” Baby Doll kept her commentary going, “wouldn’t want to be him later.”
“I’ve heard Killian O’Hare is not quite all there,” Sky spoke diplomatically.
“She’s crazy as hell,” Baby Doll did not speak diplomatically. She now looked at Sky directly. “But don’t equate crazy with stupid. Many people have made that mistake with often fatal results. She knows her business. Her people swear by her and she has Raferty Hawkins’ complete support. ”
Sky nodded as Tactical continued the briefing.
“Captain O’Hare is correct. Flot 1 will be the attacking force on Harper’s Reef. The Zeke force will provide high cover in case any ship wanders into the area. It is possible the GorCon force will be proceeding there already as it is the closest supply source, and they will want to secure it. Once the attack begins, the Reef will start screaming for help so any Goth ship in the area will move to defend the base, so it is very possible ships may appear during our attack or are already at the base.
“The Reef has a defense of floating sensor and missile platforms backed up by ground batteries of missiles and guns. The layout, as far as we know it, is on the handout disk. The aim of our attack will be to systematically destroy the floating platforms from the outside inward with a missile and gun attack from our two reinforced squadrons.
“With the departure of Vindictive and Bandit on another mission, Marauder will join Alpha squadron and Vandal will join Wolfpack. The attack plan will be covered in detail with the operations officers and commanding officers later. The two squadrons will move on the base together. Alpha will provide anti-missile defense and Wolfpack will provide offensive fires. As the defenses are reduced, Alpha will gradually switch to offensive fires. We will slowly advance on the base while taking down its defenses. We do not want to take unnecessary casualties here. It will be a methodical attack designed to induce surrender. We cannot take out the comm systems right away, so the base will have plenty of time to scream for help and it might bring the GorCon squadron running. Hopefully, the destruction of the defenses and our progress toward the base will show the base personnel the hopelessness of their situation and they will surrender before help can arrive. If this happens, we take what we can in the time allowe
d. The supplies we received at Gammatiga are being spread out to all the other ships in the flotilla right now so there should be room on each of our attacking ships for additional supplies from the Reef. All flotilla shuttles will participate in the load out.
“If it becomes obvious the base will not surrender, or if reinforcements appear, we will attempt to destroy the supply areas of the base. Be prepared to execute a shuffling of targets on a moment’s notice. All known targets are listed on the hand out disk so you will have them on the target list you feed into your fire control computers. Our intel on this base is limited so it is possible, indeed likely, we will have to update targets as we scan the base. Again, be flexible as to weapons employment. The bottom line here is, we get the supplies, or nobody does.
“While the attack is progressing, the Zeke ships will maintain a high guard while staying out of sensor range of the base. They will ensure we are not surprised by enemy reinforcements by providing warning and, if necessary, intercept these reinforcements before they can support the base. This interception includes local Goth patrol forces if required by the situation. If the OrCon/Goth squadron shows up, the Zekes will engage them at long range to slow their advance and, more importantly, get them to expend their limited supply of munitions.
“Once the base is taken or destroyed, we will linger in the area as long as feasible. We want the enemy force to know we are there. As you know, the Reef is in a large empty expanse of space. We did not want a pitched battle with the GorCon force there. With nowhere to hide and no chance of an ambush except from subspace, this is not the place for a fight to the finish. We want the enemy to catch us on sensors and chase us to the Nomad asteroid belt. We want the battle to be in the asteroid belt. After the destruction of the base on the Reef, the Goths will have to support the combined force with a relief convoy from Rosstrappe or pull their force off the field of battle. We predict the OrCons will not want to retire from the field, and the Goths will have to support them regardless of their own personal preferences since the two OrCon support ships they were guarding were destroyed. We can hide in the asteroid belt and fight the GorCon force on as close to equal terms as we are likely to get. We need to engage them before any relief can arrive from Rosstrappe. If reinforcements join the combined enemy force, we can’t engage them with any hope of success.
Allies of Convenience: Pirates of the Badlands Series Book 1 Page 18