by C. R. Daems
I had expected some kind of reaction and was surprised that none of the three shuttle-brigades had responded to losing the Sb1 ten Lights.
"Riss captains, attack Sb3 using red-Wraiths!" I half shouted, seeing the Ecitoni's non-response as an opportunity and feeling a sense of urgency. Using the red-Wraiths would provide us an opportunity to attack Sb3 without having to wait for the missiles to load, if they hadn't reacted to the Red squadron’s assault on the Sb1 shuttles.
"Byer, prepare to deploy a red-Wraith to take out E10. Wait for my command to release the red-Wraith."
"Fire and then skip to Sb2."
Just then the Mother ship released its fighters, which looked like a deadly desert Haboob—a thousand tiny grains of sand racing toward the Red squadrons. They disappeared, and seconds later the UFN fleets fired—a salvo of close to four hundred missiles. Accompanied by a hundred Light cruisers, the fighters raced towards the UFN fleets.
Ironically, what few shuttles remained continued to and from the Mother ship. I waited for a minute and a half, time for the Ecitoni fighters to move a light-second away.
"Captains, you are free to fire on the shuttles. R1 through R5, fire on Sb2. R6 through R10, on Sb3," I said, knowing r-Kharis would take that as his assignment.
The Ecitoni fighters had disrupted sixty percent of the UFN missiles with chaff and phosphorus material but lost fifteen percent—one hundred fifty. The remaining eight hundred fifty continued to race toward the UFN fleet. By now, the UFN had fired another salvo of missiles and the fighters were under fire from the Irises' fifty centimeter lasers. They lost another twenty-five percent—two hundred and twelve—but the surviving six hundred and eighty-five continued on like a greyhound chasing a rabbit. But now they reached the UFN Ghost fighters and lost eighty percent. Good, but not good enough. One hundred and thirty-seven reached the UFN fleet, destroying eight Lights and damaging seven others.
Suddenly, Eden space was quiet. The Ecitoni fighters had been destroyed and the surviving shuttles were either in the Mother ship or on Eden with no one to give them orders.
"Well, Riss brothers and sisters, let join the UFN fleet and decide on our next move," I said into the tight-beam connection.
* * *
Zhu scheduled a meeting for the next day, because his fleet was still in the process of providing for the injured and making ship repairs. I decided to call a staff meeting and include all Riss-humans. We met several hours later.
"When we aren't needed here, Ja'Sai and I should return to Earthol to make sure the Mother ship is dead. I'd like a look inside. They seem stupid, but they had space traveling ships, a traveling factory, and who knows what else," Sheva said, looking excited at the prospect.
"And some of us should return to Sparrow’s Nest. I think the Mother ship was in its death throes when you called us to Eden, but we should make sure," Da'Maass said. "Sheva's right, we should examine the Mother ship to verify it can't regenerate itself and to see where they have been and whether we can expect more." He laughed and took a gulp of wine.
"You are both right. We need to ensure the three Mother ships are dead and to see what we can learn from them. At the same time, enough of us must remain in Eden space until this Mother ship is no longer a threat," I said, wondering what we would find out on the Mother ships about other species and humans.
"What about the Ecitoni on Eden?" Zhang asked, frowning in thought.
"A problem we can't solve." I sighed in exasperation. "Although we fought the Ecitoni to save the SAS, I'd wager the people on Eden feel we intentionally let the Ecitoni invade the planet when we could have stopped them, and they plan someday to get even. As a consequence, the commandos would have as much to fear from the Edens as the Ecitoni." When no one commented, I continued. "We will decide tomorrow at the meeting with the UFN how to split our forces. For now, each of you should send me an inventory of your weapons so we can ensure that each cruiser has an adequate supply."
* * *
We met on the Mnemosyne the next morning. I felt a bit guilty as I waited for Admiral Kyu and his party. The UFN had suffered significant deaths and casualties where the Riss hadn't.
Thalia was right. The object was to win each battle, not to be fair or heroic. Seeing Master Yu look out the shuttle’s door snapped me back to the present. Kyu exited, followed by Yu, his admirals Kishi and Yang, and their security.
"A great victory, Admiral Zhu. Your fleet destroyed their fighters with their ability to defend the Mother ship as well as destroying their shuttle-brigades."
"Thank you, Leader Reese. A good team effort. I noticed you destroyed thirty Light cruisers, which if we are right will mean they have less Lights to direct and defend their shuttles."
We were quiet on the way to the third level. "I have food and drinks on the table. A mini celebration. I think our actions yesterday have given us the advantage."
Zhu nodded and proceeded to collect a cup of tea before joining the semi-circle of Riss-humans along with his admirals.
"My fleet commanders estimate the Mother ship may have two hundred shuttles remaining but less than ten Lights to support them…and no fighters." He smiled.
"I agree. The question is how many fighters, shuttles, and cruisers can the Mother ship manufacture and how long can they wait for…supplies," I said, wondering out loud.
Zhu sat with his eyes closed for several minutes. "I imagine food is the priority. If there are millions in that Mother ship, they have to be fed or the Mother ship and all its functions will cease."
"And the timing will depend on their stockpile of food." I shook my head. "I wish we had been able to look inside one of the mini-Mother ships. That would have given us a hint. It could be that…animals are a necessary or preferred supplement, but they grow something that can sustain them for months or years," I said reluctantly, hoping I was wrong.
"A depressing thought. I would hate to send marines into the Mother ship knowing the Ecitoni could number in the millions and are much stronger and their reflexes faster."
I gave a snort. "True. That thought even depresses me, since it would mean we
couldn’t kill the Mother ships on Earthol or Sparrow’s Nest by starvation."
"I suggest we wait a week. If this Mother ship does nothing, I will send Admiral Kishi and the Green Fleet with you to Earthol so we can attempt to discover the secrets of the Ecitoni Mother ships," Zhu said.
* * *
"Alright, the Mother ship appears content to wait us out, which means they have food and are probably making new cruisers and shuttles and fighters. Consequently, Admiral Zhu and I believe we need to infiltrate the Earthol Mother ship, which appears dead. He has agreed to send Green Fleet with us for support. The question is who should go and who should stay. Any volunteers to go to Earthol?" I asked and got an immediate show of hands from everyone present. "That's a help." I shook my head in frustration.
"Alright. Bradshaw, Katlin, and Zhang." I paused as smiles appeared on their faces. "You are going to Sparrow’s Nest to support UFN in keeping the Mother ship from getting supplies from the planet while we find enough information to develop a permanent solution. Pavao, Elissa, and Jaelle will remain here in Eden space to support the UFN in destroying any shuttles the Mother ship sends to the planet. Sheva, Ja'Sai, Da'Maass, and I will go to Earthol and see if we can get a tour of the Mother ship."
* * *
"I hope you aren't planning on entering the Mother ship," Terril said, giving me a hard stare. "You're not a commando."
"I'm not planning to; however, we do need to look inside. They definitely have a manufacturing plant, a baby nursery, schools, and food production—because they make no attempt to occupy a planet after the inhabitants are gone. They couldn't survive otherwise. It took a month or two to get here from where they were. They had to eat during that time, to replace the ships they lost during encounters with other intelligent species, and to make repairs and extend the colony."
"If you already know that, why do you need to look inside?" Terril persisted.
"So we will know how to destroy their infrastructure. Otherwise, they can just move on."
"Wouldn't that be good?"
"They could move on, rebuild, and come back."
"Why not just shoot several thousand missiles at each Mother ship?"
"It may come to that, but what if the missiles ignite something inside of the Mother ship that causes an explosion that destroys all the ships in the area as well as the planet?"
"No more Ecitoni!" Terril grinned. "OK, I see your point. You're trying to fight smart, and that requires more information, which you are hoping to find inside the Earthol Mother ship."
"Any thoughts?" I asked, as that was Terril's area of expertise—boarding ships.
"Yes. You stay out."
"As Admiral Wattson would say, ‘That's your homework assignment. It's due when we reach Earthol in three days.’"
* * *
Shortly after arriving in Earthol, Admiral Kishi contacted me.
"Senior Captain Ba Li informs me that nothing has happened since we left. He thinks we can pronounce the Mother ship dead."
"That would be good news, Admiral Kishi. Why don't we meet when we reach Captain Ba Li's squadrons. We should be in his area of space…" I looked to r-Kharis.
"Within six hours. I invite you and whoever you think appropriate to the Mnemosyne to exchange ideas. Would fifteen hundred hours be convenient?"
"Yes, Leader Reese. That is most acceptable." Kishi nodded and cut the connection.
I had a shower and a short nap and was in the shuttle bay in time to meet Admiral Kishi's shuttle. He exited the shuttle with four captains and their security. They stopped at the bottom of the steps and bowed. I bowed back.
"Leader Reese, this is Senior Captain Ba Li and his squadron leaders: Captain Chen, Captain Haru, and Captain Fai."
"Thank you for coming. If you will follow me, I'll take you to level three, where my Riss captains are waiting."
"We have heard much about your level three," Ba Li said as we rode the elevator to the third level.
"A place for everyone to relax during the boring days in transit or while sitting around waiting for something to happen," I said as we strode into the area. They stood with their eyes wide with disbelief. I made the introductions and then went on to describe the action at Eden.
Ba Li was quiet for several minutes. "Then you don't believe the Mother ships are dead, nor that we can starve them to death?"
"Destroying their shuttles may cause many Ecitoni to die, but I don't think it will result in the destruction of the Mother ship. I think they are alive and that their factory is running full time making replacements for the ships we destroyed. Of course, all this depends on how much scrap metal they have accumulated and how much food they have or can produce. We aren't going to find those answers watching the outside of the Mother ship. We need to get inside."
That generated a lot of discussions that lasted for most of the night but ended with a plan of action—we needed to map the Mother ship.
For the first phase, the Riss ships circled the cylinder, looking for likely landing pads or shuttle bays, missile or laser mounts, communications or sensors, and engines. That took three days and discovered what we thought were one hundred ten shuttle bays, no missiles—which was surprising, considering the kamikaze fighters—seventy laser stations, only one cluster of engines at the rear end, and forty antennae and sensors.
Phase two was the most dangerous. One ship was picked from three different squadrons of Green Fleet and three from the Riss to make a variety of exploratory attacks on the Mother ship.
The first attack was made by a Light from Green Dragon squadron one. The captain closed to two hundred thousand kilometers and launched eight missiles. Chaff disrupted three, automatic lasers destroyed four, and one struck the ship with little effect.
The second attack was by a Heavy from Green Dragon squadron two. The Captain raced by the Mother ship at five hundred gravs shooting twelve missiles—four every second—which targeted three different sections. His ship—which had been at two hundred thousand kilometers—sustained moderate damage from laser fire and scored four direct hits.
The third attack came from Da'Maass, who skipped to the center of the Mother Ship at a distance of ten kilometers, fired lasers and twelve missiles, and skipped five seconds later. Automatic laser fire caused some moderate damage, but no missiles were fired. All twelve missiles scored, but with little internal effect that we could see. Even the external damage didn't look bad.
The fourth attack was made by a Light from Green Dragon squadron three. The Captain fired three salvos of eight missiles each. He stayed one light-second distant and the salvos were sixty seconds apart. No missiles or lasers from the Mother ship. He scored only five hits.
I made the fifth run. We sent a duster to the approximate area Da'Maass had attacked, skipped a second later, and delivered twelve Riss-solution missiles. All twelve hit.
The sixth run was made by Sheva, who delivered two red-Wraiths to the area Da'Maass and I had attacked.
Ja'Sai made the final run, a slow survey of the Mother ship in stealth mode. Afterward, we met on Mnemosyne. I included the senior commando commanders, because I knew that would be the next phase.
"It's hard to believe—not only how little damage those attacks produced, but how much repair work had been accomplished in less than twenty-four hours," Ja'Sai said while reviewing his SID. He tapped on the device and a large vid of the thi
rty-minute scan appeared. "The only area where there is a gapping hole is where Minerva, Mnemosyne, and Elpis chose to concentrate their attacks. But even there, I saw no evidence of internal explosions or the deep penetration I expected."
"That is a true Dragon ship," Captain Ba Li said, shaking his head. "I am surprised it doesn't belch fire."
I stood. "Although I don't want to send anyone into that…Dragon's belly, we need more information. Maybe we could destroy the one on Earthol if we don't run out of missiles first, but I don't think that approach will work on the Mother Dragon on Eden. We need to understand what’s inside. That is where their weaknesses and strengths lie. Right now it’s a stalemate. To win, we need to know where they are vulnerable." I looked to Colonel Seng and the Senior Green Fleet commando, Colonel Ayaka.
Seng spoke first. "I hate to admit it, but I don't have a clue. Normal boarding actions don't apply here. We don't know what the inside looks like, nor how many Ecitoni are in there, nor the type of weapons they have, nor their commando equipment." He paused to look at Colonel Ayaka.
"Colonel Seng is right," Ayaka said. "It's a mission for heroes. Because of the Mother ship’s lasers, you can't support the landing party after they board." He shrugged. "Open a hole wider with a few more of those nasty Wraiths, deploy several combat shuttles, and hope the survivors can radio back enough information before they are killed."
Great, I cursed. Just the kind of stupid fighting I detested. "Admiral Kishi, I would like Colonel Ayaka and Colonel Seng to get their senior people together and come up with a plan that has a chance of getting the information we need—and has survivors."
Kishi stared at me for a long time, then grinned. "Colonel Ayaka, Leader Reese expects you and Colonel Seng to be smarter than the Ecitoni. To fight smart."
Seng gave a snort. "True. Our captain doesn't like her troops dying, even in wartime against overwhelming odds."
* * *
It took Seng and Ayaka two days to call for a joint meeting, this time as Admiral Kishi's guests.
"What do you think?" I asked Terril as we rode in my shuttle to the Green Dragon.
"It's a reasonable plan, considering we don't have a clue what’s inside that Dragon ship," Terril said with a grin. "Ni'Shay is right. You make people think you already know the answer, but we have to figure it out so we own it. Damn tricky."