by David Tatum
The Inkhad’s commander relaxed and nodded appreciatively. “Yes, sir. Thank you, sir. But what if a Fleet ship approaches my position before our other ships can react?”
“Then you are ordered to flee. We may have a few tricks up our sleeve, but nothing Fleet has is fast enough to catch you at a run.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Now, I think that’s a good lead-in to why I’m making a slight modification to Commodore Green’s orders,” Daniels said. “If we did not find a Fleet presence in the neutral system, the Chihuahua should make a quick run through their ‘home’ system as well. Chihuahua’s scanners, however, are not ideal – for all her other advancements she has a basic modern sensor package, which in a single ship is best used for close to medium range tactical assessments. If the Inkadh could make one sensor pass, even at extreme range, it should be able to direct the Chihuahua on where to focus those more detailed short-ranged scans. Inkadh is incapable of defending herself, however, so Superb and Ishmael must also be present to provide cover should we jump into a bad situation and need to make a hasty retreat.
“Of course, no matter what precautions you make there is always the chance of something going wrong. I would like to introduce my tactical officer to brief us all on what we know about Fleet facilities. Cadet Lieutenant Turk, if you would?”
Turk wasted no time, stepping up to the front of the room. However, his eyes were not on the crowd as they should have been, but instead were locked on his hand comp. “We all know that this exercise is supposed to give the Academy enough ships to outnumber Fleet to make up for Fleet’s ships being newer and more advanced warships. However, the Academy has not been able to complete the re-commissioning of all of its ships, so at the moment the number of Fleet’s forces are rather intimidating. Breaking it down, Fleet has fifteen battleships, fourteen heavy cruisers, four frigates, and eight corvettes. The corvettes are split evenly between Hornet and Alligator class ships; the frigates include two Ventures, one Raven, and one Ptolemy class; the heavy cruisers are mostly Valkyries, though there are two Allegro class; and finally, the most diverse group, the battleships: We must deal with two Terrible, two Rhino, two Corona, two Saratoga, and seven Argus class battleships.” With that, he paused dramatically. It wasn’t news for anyone present, however.
“I think we were all well aware of the ships in the Fleet list, Lieutenant Turk,” Daniels sighed impatiently. “We’ve all read the Navy list. I believe we’re much more interested in the other facilities available to them.”
The officers all came alert at that statement. As far as anyone else knew, there were no Fleet facilities outside of the ships – while all three stars in which the war games were taking place had been claimed for colonization by the Earth Alliance, only the system in the Academy’s sphere of influence had been developed enough to hold anything other than marker buoys, as far as they knew.
“Yes, sir,” Turk said, flushing. “In a move which surprised both Fleet and Academy forces, K1 Enterprises, the manufacturers of the Valkyrie class heavy cruisers as well as many civilian ventures, used the Wargame as leverage to help win a bid for a construction contract. They were able to immediately launch one complete colony station – which was assembled during the period that our forces were refitting our ships – in exchange for the contract to also build the next five new colony stations over the next five years. Commodore Green was briefed on this three hours ago and passed the information directly to us.
“We are not certain what else was provided to them with that station, save that a ‘Norn’ class colony ship deployed it and is part of it, and the package deal the Navy received includes multiple satellites as well as some support ships that this Norn class vessel carried into the system.”
Chris started. “Excuse me, Nat, but did you say this was one of K1 Enterprises Norn class colony ships?”
Turk, looked decidedly ruffled at being addressed rather familiarly as ‘Nat,’ nodded stiffly. “That is what I said, yes.”
“Then I may be able to provide some more information,” he answered back regretfully. “In the summer before I joined the Academy, I interned with K1 Enterprises. Some things I can’t tell you about because of a non-disclosure agreement, but I can give you a few specs that were only known to K1 employees.”
Several people shot Chris sympathetic glances. K1 was an up-and-coming company with an excellent reputation both as an employer and as a successful ship builder, but everyone knew what working there meant. As part of the legal settlement following the Azumah Station Incident, the company which was responsible for the disastrous gravity generator design had been dissolved and all its assets seized. The seized assets were used to create K1 Enterprises, a corporation held in trust for the victims and their families in partial compensation for their losses. K1 also was saddled with a 10 year hiring restriction, during which it could only employ survivors of the disaster and their extended families.
“Go ahead, Mr. Desaix,” Daniels said.
Chris stood up and joined Turk at the front of the room. Typing a few commands into his hand comp, he plugged it into the conference room’s main computer system. The display screen in front of the table immediately flashed with light and started showing several illustrations.
“I may have only been an intern, but I worked in the public relations office for the sales teams, providing technical documentation for their presentations. That meant I received early estimates for many statistical aspects of K1’s proposed projects. Among the presentations I worked on was the Norn class. The exact statistics I have may be a bit dated, and was certainly sanitized by K1 Enterprises’ administrators to only put this prototype in the best light, but what information I do have is probably more accurate than anything we can currently get from the public record.
“Some of you may not know what, exactly, a colony ship contains; the Norns are the first production-grade colony ships launched in nearly twenty five – excuse me, thirty, now – years. Colony ships are intended to move into orbit over a planet, ‘unpack’ themselves, and then act as orbital cities. These orbital cities are to provide housing, large-scale aquariums, large-scale terrariums, laboratories, manufacturing facilities, and so forth.
“Sometimes terraforming equipment is kept separate from the populated colony ship, but in the Norn’s case it was included as a selling point. Terraforming equipment is not meant for combat, of course, but someone skilled in improvisation could, without damage to the facility, make tactical use of a few things: Explosive and implosive devices capable of altering planetary landscapes might be included, but I doubt such a use would be authorized for a simple exercise, even one as significant as the Wargame. Of far greater concern is a device intended to ionize or de-ionize existing atmospheres. With little effort, this device could be used as a massive EMP generator, with enough power to even tear through the electronic shielding employed by modern spacecraft. I am... uncertain how the Chihuahua’s new shield systems would react to such a device.
“The Norn colony ships were planned to have another unique feature, however: They came with a set of parasite ships capable of both atmospheric and interstellar flight. While not intended for military-grade combat, those parasite ships include several armed cutters equal to most Orbital Guard ships. In addition, a Valkyrie class cruiser is contractually required to be delivered to the Navy with each completed Norn sent on a colonizing expedition. I suspect this means the Dragon has finally been completed, after a long construction delay. She had been slated for Epsilon Eridani’s defense fleet, but it is possible she was delivered to the Navy to be a part of the War Game.
“The prototype Norn-class Colony ship – if this is, indeed, the prototype – will be unpacked into one main station and several satellite facilities. The Yggdrasil is the name of the orbital city section. The remaining orbital facilities included would be the terraforming satellite Skuldr, the farming satellite Verthandi, and the Urdr – a ‘natural biolab’ satellite, a new concept by K1 Enterprises, whi
ch should allow scientists to preserve and study indigenous flora and fauna and determine which can be re-introduced to the planet’s surface once the terraforming process is complete.”
As he spoke, images projected from his hand-comp at timed intervals. No-one at that table cared about this ‘natural biolab’ satellite, but he was in a rhythm, now. This was a presentation which, at least at one time, he must have rehearsed often enough to get the timing exactly right. Rachel noticed that his voice took a slightly different tone as he spoke, one which gave him the air of professionalism he often seemed to lack whenever he was acting as an officer.
“Many of the included parasite ships are superficially similar, but each is equipped differently depending on the assigned task. Three freight shuttles were equipped for terraforming service. These are the Thor, the Odin, and the Loki. A fourth, the Marler, is available as an option.
“Likewise, three utility shuttles were also included – these designed largely for a payload of passengers and not equipment. As you can see from the diagrams, they are able to travel in the extremely dense atmospheres you sometimes find on pre-terraformed worlds. They are equipped to clear potentially dangerous wildlife from landing areas and act as command and control facilities for landing parties. Yggdrasil’s are the Freya, the Peorð, and the Brunhilda.
“Finally, we come to the three armed cutters. Just like standard Orbital Guard ships, they are armed with a single-barrel particle cannon and a 12” rail gun, both turret mounted. K1’s documentation claims those cutters can maneuver even at speeds of .21c, but I happen to know that number was incorrect. Those claims were based on a prototype armed cutter, the Mjolnir. The original Mjolnir was redesigned after its engines had to be ejected during a test flight, however. While sturdier and less likely to explode, the Mjolnir II is incapable of maneuvering safely when traveling any faster than .17c. This means they are on par, speed-wise, with the Inkadh, and are even a little faster then Ishmael. The three of these ships designated for the Yggdrasil are the aforementioned Mjolnir II, the Sleipnir, and the Valhalla. Despite the reduction in maneuvering speed, these ships will be the fastest available to Fleet forces.”
“Of note, the prototypes for these cutters – despite the sales literature – did not have any interstellar capabilities installed as of the end of my internship at K1 Enterprises, though the techs were working on it. Also, as they were intended to be crewed by civilians, I am not sure they will be employed in the Wargame. I suggest we request clarification from the Wargame’s current arbitrator as to whether they are legitimate targets or not.”
“The base is,” Captain Morrison piped in from her observer’s position. “But I haven’t heard anything about the parasite ships, either way. I wasn’t even aware the base was equipped with them.”
The slideshow style presentation behind Chris returned to the initial image, and it soon became obvious that he was done talking. Rachel almost felt like giving polite applause for his performance.
“Well,” Daniels sighed, standing up. “Would you mind copying that presentation over to our files for study?”
Chris shook his head. “Nothing I said was covered under the non-disclosure agreements I signed, so that should be no problem. Some of it may be a bit dated. You may be able to update some of that information if you can find K1’s sales brochures.”
Daniels stood up. “All very interesting, but now we need to decide what to do with this new information. We will adjourn for twenty minutes. Captains, please be prompt; junior officers may attend to other duties if required. Mr. Desaix, I do not expect you to return. You and your teams are directed to co-ordinate the work on any of the particle cannons we can get streaming-ready, post-haste. Meanwhile, I will get in touch with Admiral Mumford on board the Don Quixote with the question about whether those armed cutters should be considered legitimate targets. The rest of you, feel free to head to the officers’ wardroom to pick up some refreshments. We’ll get down to the nitty-gritty when you all return. Thank you, all.”
Daniels left immediately, but Chris fiddled with his hand comp for a few moments first. As the tactical team of the Chihuahua stood up and started to mingle with the other officers, Rachel leaned over him resting her elbows on his shoulders.
“I’m sorry you’re going to miss the rest of this meeting,” she said to him softly. “But that was a great presentation.”
“Thanks,” he replied with a grin. “Glad I never purged that presentation from my files.”
“How did anyone get a cutter to move the same speed as a corvette, though?” she asked.
“By designing the smallest, fastest corvette they could... and then removing all of the mission-unnecessary gear to reduce mass. Things like broadside rail guns, non-turreted chase armaments, and anything required for long-term deployments like bunks and kitchen facilities, since cutters aren’t expected to be deployed for much longer than one or two shifts. It’s still the largest cutter ever built, however – her engine is the same size and diameter as the Chihuahua’s.”
Rachel raised an eyebrow. “So, basically, she’s an under-armed corvette incapable of interstellar travel or the ability to sustain a crew overnight?”
“Yep,” Chris said. “She’s all speed and little else.”
“Please tell me this wasn’t your design,” she sighed. “I would hope you would make something a bit better than that.”
“He was an intern!” Cohen laughed. Langer and Orff, the last two members of Burkhard’s tactical team, joined in with a chuckle. “No matter how good an engineer he is, who’d trust an intern with such a design?”
“No,” Chris answered Rachel, ignoring the laughter. “I designed the utility shuttles instead, although not for this project. K1 had an internal contest for the design of a lightweight Army landing craft open for any employee, with possible prizes available. I was informed that, due to costs, it did not meet the requirements of the assignment my boss sent my plans – and me – to Project Norn, where it was adopted after some modifications.” Finishing with his hand comp, he stood. “Now, if you all will excuse me, I have to get started.”
“Need any help?” Rachel asked sympathetically, shooting a glare over at the now dumbfounded Cohen and Langer.
“Nah, this is child’s play. What’d you password the lockdown on the Ishmael, by the way?”
“The password won’t do you much good by itself – I encrypted it. I’d better go with you.”
Chris shrugged. “If you want, though the encryption protocols you’re familiar with are standard enough I could decrypt it myself.”
Rachel hesitated. If she were honest with herself, she was hoping to use this as an excuse to get out of the meeting ahead, but the excuse did seem a bit watery.
“Go,” Burkhard said. “You two head on back to the ship. One of you should relieve Mr. Schubert, who has been patiently manning the Chihuahua’s conn despite his many protests that he never, ever wanted to take command. I figured he needed the experience, even if he insists the command chair makes him break out in hives.”
Chris laughed, nodding to Rachel. “He’s right. Wolf’s probably going stir crazy, by now.”
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EAS Colony Station Yggdrasil
Vice Admiral Lee Craig, the commander-in-chief of the Fleet side in the Wargame, looked around at the command team she’d been given for the exercise. It was a good bunch – the best of the best, in fact – but she still felt something was missing. Perhaps it was the lack of a ‘civilian’ representative – Governor Geraci was returning to 94 Ceti with the Yggdrasil’s arrival, and the civilian director of the station was too busy with set-up procedures to come to the meeting – but Craig didn’t think that was it.
The war room of the Argus was filled to standing room only – quite a feat, considering the luxuries afforded the ship the Navy’s latest, greatest warships were designed after. Rear Admiral Honeycutt, Commodore Chapelle, and Commodore Klingler all stood at the head of the table, fla
nking Lee as she allowed everyone the few minutes of gossip time she figured they would need before she settled them down to start the meeting. As she waited, she surveyed the crowd, trying to figure out just what it was she was missing.
Most people in the room were chatting, laughing, and smiling confidently, all unconcerned about their place in the Wargame. The one notable exception to that rule, however, was Captain Martin Wendkos of the Tarantula. He looked thoughtful, and appeared to be muttering to himself as he looked around, but beyond that Lee couldn’t tell anything about the man’s state of mind. Lee refused to allow any doubt to show on her face, but Wendkos has submitted a report on the Academy forces that disturbed her. Curiously, Wendkos was the only person who hadn’t brought his executive officer to the meeting – it wasn’t mandatory, but it was expected. Especially since a part of the meeting was to go over the reports on the Academy testing Wendkos and the Tarantula had just completed.
Wendkos’ report was just about the only thing that gave her any doubt about the Wargame’s outcome. Everything was coming up roses for the Fleet side, especially since the Yggdrasil had arrived. Three more ships for their side – even if they were just lowly cutters – were a great help. One of the cutters had some technical flaws (an electronics package necessary for interstellar flight hadn’t been installed before shipment, and wouldn’t be until the Wargame was complete), but so far that was the only problem to arise with the Norn station prototype. Nothing had arisen regarding the regular Fleet warships, either, so things were looking good.
Something was still bothering her, however.
Deciding that an appropriate amount of time for socializing had been granted, Lee cleared her throat meaningfully. Within seconds, everyone was quiet and either sitting or standing at attention.