by David Tatum
There were some definite murmurs of agreement, but Beccera, sitting at the end of the conference table, didn’t like the small talk Tager was opening with. Knowing that Pleiades was the likely aggressor had twisted something inside him, and now he was more desperate than ever for information.
“Please, Mr. Tager,” he said. “Let’s just get on to business, shall we?”
“Yes, of course, sir.” Tager replied. “Let me start by introducing our guests from the Cygni Confederation, Commander Jared Aebischer, and the civilian intelligence representative he has been escorting to this meeting, Ms. Sophia Saprykin. Ms. Saprykin is the reason I’m here right now, fully informed, and not still hanging about around a Cygni dockyard without even knowing about the strike on Earth. Ms. Saprykin, if you would?”
“Thank you, George,” the woman replied gracefully. She was middle-aged, quite a bit overweight, and looked like someone’s kindly old stay-at-home mom. Most of those in the room, however, recognized her by name as one of the best ‘declared’ intelligence analysts Cygni could boast. She was known for an intuitive grasp of events that was unheard of, and frequently was requested by name by foreign powers whenever a joint intelligence operation was being enacted. Her presence showed just how important this meeting was to the Cygni, and she immediately had the attention of everyone in the room. “Ladies and gentlemen, over the past year, the Pleiades Republic has systematically killing the intelligence officers and assets of every foreign power they could reach. The only nation which seemed capable of infiltrating even the lower echelon ranks of their government was the Larkin Triumvirate, whose information – from what we can tell – is spotty, at best.
“Recently, however, we acquired a new source we believe to be quite reliable. His report is, to say the least, astonishing. He is a project manager for the archaeology division of the Pleiades Science Directorate, and when Director Ian Karlsson gave him inexplicable orders regarding his recent archaeological discovery he decided to investigate his superior. At great risk to his own life, he made contact with the only foreign power he had reliable access to – us – and sent information he uncovered suggesting a secret alliance between Pleiades and an unknown power.
“It was this unknown power that convinced Pleiades to start a war with the Earth Alliance, hoping to prevent an expected delegation of foreign experts to come and investigate a certain archaeological discovery. From that, together with information we... obtained... from the Larkin Triumvirate, we correctly assessed Pleiades intention to assault Earth itself. The whole invasion is supposed to cover the destruction of a scientific fleet en route to the Pleiades home system; conquering Earth itself would merely have been a bonus to them, from what we can tell.”
Beccera stiffened. “Destruction? Are they to accept no quarter, then?”
“None,” Saprykin confirmed.
“Wait. You’re saying they conducted a massive strike on our homeworld – sacrificed tens of thousands of military personnel and dozens of capital ships – just to cover an attack against a minor archeological expedition?” Burkhard interjected incredulously. “What is this discovery? Are they insane?”
Saprykin sighed. “I can only speculate that something about that particular expedition must have severely threatened them or their secret allies in some way.
“This behavior is... troublesome. I doubt it would come as any surprise for you to learn that we in Cygni have been preparing a possible action of our own against Earth Alliance, although not on so grand a scale as what just happened. After this intelligence assessment, however, we feel that Pleiades is too great a threat for us to stay on the sidelines. With that in mind, I’m here as Cygni’s representative to offer you our assistance in this war.”
The tension in the room suddenly went up. Cygni had been known to blame others for wars they started, just to get two enemies to fight each other. The thought on everyone’s mind was that this could be just such a case... especially given the flimsy explanation for Pleiades motives and their admission of hostility.
Tager stepped in at that point. “Our embassy’s analysts confirmed their data,” he said. “While we do have trust issues with Cygni itself, all of the evidence points to their telling us the truth this time. Furthermore, we need to work together on this, because we have a window of opportunity to launch a counterstrike that we will lose without the support of their ships.”
Beccera frowned. “Explain.”
“In order to hide their massive military upgrade,” Saprykin replied, taking over once again for Captain Tager, “Pleiades has been basing the new their new war fleet outside of their home system. When they officially admit they were the ones who attacked Earth – and we believe they will when they hear back about the success or failure of the mission to destroy the science fleet – the need for secrecy will be over, and they will redeploy the new ships defensively. Until this happens, however, a quick strike force could do significant damage to their home system’s infrastructure. Their current home fleet is relatively small, and is filled with older model ships that haven’t had the new technologies integrated, yet. Cygni wants to strike, but the plan requires two separate major battle forces. We only have one assembled and ready to go at this time. Your command is moderately small – just a single squadron of outdated warships – but your one squadron should be all we need for the plan to work.”
“What plan?” Beccera asked, narrowing his eyes dangerously.
“Well... I’d like to ask Commander Aebischer to explain that for me, as the military liaison,” Saprykin replied, bowing to her Navy escort.
“Thank you, Milady.” Aebischer stood, giving his seat to the intelligence officer as he took her place in front of the assembly. “Current estimates show that we have a sufficient force assembled to engage the current Pleiades Home Fleet effectively in battle, although the result of such a battle would likely be a mere prolonged stalemate. However, we feel we have sufficient force to draw the enemy out of position, pulling them from their home world and leaving their orbital infrastructure almost defenseless. These orbital stations are not entirely unarmed, but a single squadron of warships should be able to disable and hopefully destroy them with minimal losses in a short space of time.
“Pulling a squadron out of our own fleet, however, would likely not leave us sufficient force to pull the enemy fleet out of position and keep them there. We know of exactly two squadrons we could possibly call upon to aid us in this battle before our window of time opens up, and one of them still might not show up in time: Yours, and the other Earth Alliance squadron which you were supposed to rendezvous with at this location. If we don’t move today, however, we may be too late.”
Beccera nodded. “I see. So you think it will take, what, six more days for their attack force to return to Pleiades with their report?”
“I think it will take significantly longer, given that they are limping home and must tend to damaged ships the whole way,” Aebischer replied. “Ten days, I’m thinking. However, in four days, the science fleet from Earth to Pleiades will meet with a task force intending to destroy them and likely be wiped out, and once that is done any other forces they’ve been able to assemble in their military build-up will be free to join the defense of their homeworld.
“As I alluded to earlier, it is imperative that we protect this archeological expedition and discover why it is of such extreme significance to the Pleiades Confederation. Unfortunately, we have nothing that can arrive in time to intercept the attack. We were hoping your forces... Commodore Beccera, is something wrong?”
Beccera suddenly went so pale he looked like the white was painted on his face, and he looked like he was about to fall out of his chair. His wife was alive, yes... but in four days, she wouldn’t be. And there was nothing he could do about it.
“Commodore Beccera’s wife is on that archaeological expedition,” Burkhard explained. “Perhaps we should take a moment and have some coffee brought in while we consider our tactical options?”
&n
bsp; As the meeting paused for the wardroom stewards to attend to the refreshments (and Beccera to compose himself), Rachel started a hushed conversation with someone over her wrist comm. “Mr. Aebischer,” she called, so loudly that everyone stopped to stare at her. “Precisely how long do you estimate it will be until that science fleet can be attacked by Pleiades forces? To the minute, that is?”
Aebischer hesitated, then checked the data in his notes. “Four days, three hours, twenty two minutes, milady.”
“Four days, three hours, and twenty-two minutes,” she relayed into the comm device. No-one heard the reply, but her relieved smile said that the answer was a good one. “Mr. Aebischer, you may not have a ship which can make it there in time, but we have one very special corvette which might.”
——————————
“You’ve got two hours to leave, and yet you’re spending that valuable time trying to transfer one of your officers?” Tager asked in disbelief. He was having a last-minute conversation with Commander Burkhard on the Sirius while both men were waiting for their shuttles. A couple of the other officers waiting to depart were also in the room, making it very obvious they weren’t paying any attention. “I’m not even sure why you’re bothering with this mission – what can a single corvette do against a fleet, anyway?”
“This is the last thing I need to do before leaving,” Burkhard replied, ignoring the slight on the Chihuahua. He didn’t want to have to brief Tager or any of the Cygni forces on the ship’s upgraded capabilities. “It’s a disciplinary issue. Orff is a good kid, really – he can take a watch, he’s very organized, and he loves paperwork. His theoretical knowledge of tactics is impressive, although he has proven to be poor at applying that knowledge. He’d be a capable back-up tactical officer, or even an ideal logistics officer, but he needs a bit of humbling, first. He forced me to publicly admonish him in such a way that he can’t serve in my ship’s chain of command, so he’s been taken off the watch rotation. With a fresh start he can still be a competent officer, and I need someone who can keep a watch to replace him. I’ve already appointed a new first officer to replace him, but I need either another navigator or another communications officer desperately.”
Tager shook his head. “I don’t have a navigator to spare, and none of my communications officers could take a watch. I do have a logistics officer who has experience keeping a watch, and might be able to sub in as a communications officer in a pinch – Lieutenant Jari Koivu. Would he do?”
Burkhard sighed. “At this point, a paperweight would do if it could handle a watch. I’ll take him.”
“I’ll signal Athena to send him on over to your ship on the double,” Tager replied.
“Good,” Beccera said, stepping into the waiting room. “Then we can get going. Our shuttle is ready, Conrad.”
“And just where do you think you’re going?” Captain Barbara Meier of the Natsugumo protested.
Beccera glanced at her. “To my ship, of course.”
Meier shook her head. “I’m afraid not. Mr. Beccera, you are the only flag officer we have, and because of that there are two reasons you should not go back to that ship.”
“And those are?” the Army officer asked, turning a glare on her.
“W-well, sir,” Meier began, stuttering a little under that glare. “A corvette – or ‘pocket frigate,’ if you insist on calling it such – doesn’t have the command and control abilities that a flag officer needs to command a fleet. It was okay for you to stay on board the Chihuahua when your commission as acting-commodore was little more then a formality that would be terminated the moment we met up with the rest of the fleet. Now that you’re leading us into battle, however, things are changing. You have now assumed genuine authority, and your rank of Acting Commodore, once a mere formality, is now much more than that... and the Chihuahua is not equipped for the reality of being a squadron’s flagship.”
Burkhard glared at the Natsugumo’s captain. “Ma’am, if command and control is the problem, I am certain our engineering team could build a command and control center in a matter of hours.”
“I’m sure you could,” Meier replied knowingly. “After all, your ship was favored above all others when it came to picking your crew.”
Rachel opened her mouth to protest, but found she couldn’t. The facts just weren’t on her side – they were allowed to hand-pick the ideal crew from the Academy, after all, and she knew it. It was entirely possible that nepotism was the reason they had been granted that particular privilege, and she certainly couldn’t prove otherwise, or even come up with a plausible alternative explanation. Regardless, it seemed rather petty to bring it up now that there was a war on.
“However,” Meier continued. “Even if that is the case, there is another matter you really should consider. As the only flag officer representing Earth Alliance, it is your responsibility to remain with the bulk of the fleet, especially when we are about to engage in joint maneuvers with a foreign power of dubious reliability.”
“But my wife...” Beccera sputtered. “I need to be part of the rescue! I can’t just—”
“Drew,” Burkhard sighed, gently grabbing his right arm and turning the man to face him. “As reluctant as I am to admit it, Barb’s right. You have to remain with the fleet. And you’re emotionally compromised – we’ll rescue your wife, and you’ll be able to see her for yourself when you catch up. Trust us with her, all right?”
Beccera hesitated, taking Burkhard aside for a private conversation. “Conrad... I was very reluctant to accept this job. I only did because I expected to have your advice and council while I was in charge of the fleet. I’m not sure I can deal with this job without someone I trust nearby.”
Burkhard smiled gently. “You are perfectly capable of handling this fleet, Drew. You know how to lead, how to make decisions, and how to command. All you need is a guide to Navy life... and I’m not the only one who can be that.” He paused, then bent over to whisper in his ear. “I’d normally recommend the Superb, but Barbara’s angling for her ship to be your new flag. Let’s use that. Her ship’s one of the newest in the squadron, and it came with modern command and control facilities, but that’s not why you want to be aboard her.”
“Then why?”
“While she has some of the things needed to be a good Naval officer, and her tactics are sound, I don’t trust her as a leader. You can provide that leadership... and I have suspicions about certain members of her crew who I’ll comm you privately about before we leave. Keep an eye on them while you’re there, and let me know if you agree.”
“But how am I supposed to provide that leadership?” Beccera asked, talking just as softly. “I can’t command a fleet. Hell, I can’t even command a single ship.”
Burkhard smiled. “Just keep a level head, and that’s all you’ll need. There are plenty of people who understand naval tactics, but not everyone can command men. You do.”
Beccera paused for a long time, then finally nodded. “Very well,” he said aloud. “But we’ll be right behind you, so you’d better make sure my wife’s in one piece when I see you again, got it?”
Burkhard grinned and saluted. “Yes, sir.”
PART IV: ENDGAME
CHAPTER XXVI
EAS Keppler, in Hyperspace Transit
Dr. Kimiko Beccera was, to put it bluntly, bored. She had reviewed the briefing materials seven times already, and could recite everything included in the report from memory. She tried talking to the other scientists, but found dallying with the internal politics of their scientific cliques both tiresome and irritating, with Frank Orwell and Mara Sommers always taking opposite positions whenever even a hint of room for debate was given. The Navy did provide various recreational facilities throughout its ships, but none of what was available really interested her.
Which was why she had accepted the long-standing invitation to tour the bridge by Lieutenant Christian Shay, the captain of the science ship Keppler. She wasn’t sure why she got an invitati
on and none of the other science team members did, but she wasn’t going to question her luck.
Shay guided her around the bridge, explaining what each person did and how their station worked. While the Keppler was run by the Earth Alliance Navy, there were no weapons beyond a few basic side-arms on board. Instead, a large number of scientific instruments requiring expert specialists filled its hull. Despite the sizeable knowledge base required to operate them, however, the Lieutenant was able to demonstrate each of them to her skillfully.
“Keppler was initially designed specifically for the study of stellar radiation,” Shay explained. “She holds the record for the closest approach to any known star – specifically Earth’s Sun – when we actually went inside the chromosphere at a distance of twenty-five hundred kilometers. We had to apply some special ablative shielding for that mission, so it seems unlikely we will ever get that close again unless we want to start investigating significantly cooler stars.”
“Amazing,” Kimiko marveled, genuinely impressed both with the ship and with the young man. “Thank you, Lieutenant. This has all been quite fascinating.”
Shay grinned at the woman. “It’s a real honor just to have you here, ma’am,” he said.
Dr. Beccera studied the young man in amusement. “I was unaware I had any admirers on this ship.”
“Oh... I, um, it’s not quite like that,” Shay admitted. “While I certainly respect the fascinating discoveries you have made and your remarkable archaeological finds, I’m actually very glad to meet you for an entirely different reason.”
“Oh?” she asked, curious.
“Yes, ma’am,” Shay replied. “About thirty years ago, my father – a Marine – was involved in a joint training operation with an Army unit around Procyon A. As you are probably aware, there’s not much at Procyon A beyond an asteroid belt. In that asteroid belt, however, were a number of Army and Marine training facilities... and at the time, it also housed the largest ammo depot in the Earth Alliance. It just so happens there was an organization that knew about the ammo depot, and believed that a few teams of Marines and Army soldiers engaged in training exercises would never be able to defend it. During the attempted raid, the Army commander saved the life of a certain Marine officer who survived long enough to become my father. That Army officer was your husband.” He paused to grin. “I’m here today because of him, ma’am, and so I am very glad to be around to show you my ship.”